"Smart, wise, and possessed of a great obsession with becoming powerful... I think you should go to Slytherin. There, you can realize your full talent."
The Sorting Hat's voice echoed thinly inside Fleur's mind, a sensation she found quite novel.
She couldn't help but reach out and touch the crumpled old hat.
"Oh... don't do that, it tickles," the Sorting Hat chuckled.
'Then... in Slytherin, can I be closer to Professor Wick?' Fleur asked in her mind.
"Closer to Professor Wick? Oh... as a professor, the time he spends with students from each house is the same; there's no fundamental difference. However... I have heard that Professor Wick and the Head of Slytherin, Professor Snape, don't quite get along..."
"Then I'm not going to Slytherin," Fleur immediately and decisively rejected the Sorting Hat's suggestion.
"Ah... that makes things a bit difficult... Very well, I shall respect your wishes. In fact, beyond your pursuit of power, you have a streak of love for challenge and adventure deep in your bones. In that case..."
"GRYFFINDOR!"
"Whoo!" A burst of cheers and applause erupted from the Gryffindor table.
The other three houses looked dejected.
How could such a beautiful girl end up in Gryffindor?!
"Very well... in that case, Miss Delacour will enter Gryffindor House as a fifth-year to continue her studies," Dumbledore finally announced.
A trace of a smile appeared on Professor McGonagall's face. Students like Fleur—clever-looking and beautiful—were favored by every professor.
Provided... she wasn't as much of a troublemaker as the Weasley twins.
Beaming, Fleur stood up and walked toward the Gryffindor table. She glanced back at the staff table, only to find that Victor Wick, who had been sitting there just moments ago, had vanished.
"So, you did reach some sort of agreement with Grindelwald after all..."
Upon returning to his office, the first thing Victor Wick did was open the two-way mirror.
"Yes, those two hundred children are in your hands now," Dumbledore said with a face full of kindness.
Victor stared at him intensely, his face etched with the agony of a subordinate whose boss had just massively increased his workload.
"Exactly what kind of agreement made you concede so much? In my view, even if you agreed to settle those two hundred youths, you shouldn't have allowed Fleur to enter Hogwarts as a transfer student from Beauxbatons."
"He and I did indeed reach an agreement... that until Voldemort is truly dead, he will not make any further moves," Dumbledore said helplessly.
"So he's basically admitting he'll cause trouble later? That's a compromise with no bottom line!" Victor frowned and pulled out his wand. "Since he's going to cause trouble eventually anyway, I might as well go and finish him off now. Even if others try to stir things up in his name later, the fallout would be much smaller than him leading the charge personally."
"Victor... I understand your meaning, of course, but I proposed this agreement specifically to restrict him... I am more concerned about his prophecy." Dumbledore rubbed the bridge of his nose in distress.
"What if his so-called prophecy is fake? What if he breaks his promise to you again?" Victor asked.
Dumbledore silently extended his wrist. Above it was a peculiar curse mark, resembling a burn from a flame.
"This time, I made an Unbreakable Vow with him. It ensures he won't violate the agreement. And I have considered it carefully... if he wanted to achieve some goal, he wouldn't need to go through all this trouble. With his abilities, if he acted in secret, who among us could detect him? Yet he specifically sought you out, regardless of whether I found out. Therefore... he must have seen something in a prophecy. When I saw him, he felt like an actor who had just finished his role..." Victor silently stowed his wand. "You mean that by breaking his original promise to you and escaping Nurmengard to see me, he was just—"
"—playing his part in the prophecy, guiding the future toward the outcome he desires? And now that his part is done, he'll stay quietly in Nurmengard from now on?"
Dumbledore was silent for a long time before he whispered, "Regarding the prophecy, I can sense that he isn't deceiving me—at least not this time."
"Fine... if that is your judgment." Victor took a deep breath. "I have some properties and businesses in the wizarding world... I can settle those youths there... or simply establish a new institution or company to keep them busy so they don't start trouble out of boredom. Of course, this is provided you help me navigate the Ministry of Magic's paperwork. You know these kids are still years away from being legal adults... I don't think the wizarding world allows child labor!" "That won't be a problem," Dumbledore said, looking relieved. "I still have some old friends at the Ministry... We can—"
"—package this new company of yours as a training institution that can legitimately gather a large number of young people..."
Victor frowned, considering it. "That could work... In their spare time, they can do some good deeds to vent their excess energy, and I can reform their minds away from all those thoughts of fighting and killing."
"That's a wonderful idea, Victor!"
"You're sending them to some training institution? That... that doesn't seem right."
When Fleur rushed excitedly to Victor's office to report for duty, she was met with a decision that felt somewhat absurd to her.
After all, these young people had been itching to start some grand undertaking ever since they learned the person they were following was a powerful wizard.
But now, Victor was sending them to a training institution...
Victor was prepared for this. He asked calmly, "What did you all learn at that Nurmengard Institute of Magic?"
"Well... combat techniques, practical magic, infiltration, reconnaissance, disguise..."
"All combat-oriented skills, right?" Victor asked directly.
"Yes..." Fleur nodded slightly.
Victor waved his hand. "Times have changed, Miss Delacour. You can't achieve much by just fighting and killing. It's not like we're raising a banner of rebellion."
"Then what do you mean...?"
"You teenagers need well-rounded development—moral, intellectual, physical, and aesthetic! How can you only know how to fight and kill? You'll only be useful to me if you're spread across all walks of life in the future! That requires you to master various skills beyond combat!" Victor said decisively. "What I need are talents in various fields, not a pack of mercenaries!"
The logic was impeccable. Grindelwald had trained these youths to the standards of Aurors—or rather, secret agents—but there was no immediate war to fight. Besides, what kind of secret agent only knew how to kill without having any other supporting skills?
"Alright... I will pass on your instructions as requested," Fleur could only nod in agreement.
Seeing Fleur's reluctant acceptance, Victor continued, "I will establish multiple disciplines for them to study according to their interests. In the future, if I need someone to speak for me in the newspapers, I want someone in a reporter's position. If I need someone to secretly brew specialized potions, I want a dedicated Potions Master. If I need support from the Ministry of Magic, I want some of you in high-ranking positions... I want you to be a force to be reckoned with together, yet shine individually across the world! Do you... understand my meaning?" "Oh... I understand now!" Fleur's spirit, which had been flagging, instantly surged upon hearing this.
What was the point of minor brawling and petty fighting? Ploy and strategy like Professor Wick's were far more interesting!
Manipulating hearts and minds by infiltrating politics, religion, the financial system, and every other sector of society...
When the time came, a single call would rally influential figures from every industry—all of them their own people. What could possibly fail then?
Watching Fleur's enthusiastic departure, Victor pressed a hand to his forehead.
Although he had only said those words on a whim to appease the youths by following their logic, thinking back on it... wasn't this setup remarkably like forming the Knights Templar?
*Tsk... I really have become a villain...*