Hogwarts: Third Dark Lord

Harry, paying no mind to the blood streaming down his arm, took one step after another toward Ron. His face was expressionless as he extended his uninjured hand and said:

"Ron, give me that diary."

Ron, who had been watching Harry with worry just moments before, immediately stiffened at his words, his expression turning guarded. Clutching his chest protectively, he responded:

"Harry, what are you trying to do? You already killed my pet! I'm not giving you the diary! This notebook… this is my hope! This is my only chance to become stronger!"

For a moment, Harry's stoic mask cracked. A trace of pain flickered across his face as he cried out:

"Ron! What are you thinking?! All you ever say is, 'I want to be stronger!' All you ever think about is getting stronger no matter what it takes!"

"I'm scared—scared that one day my friend will turn into… will become another Dark Lord!"

Ron's eyes widened. He stood frozen, silent for a long beat. Then, slowly, he raised a trembling thumb toward Harry, his jaw clenched tight.

"Well done, Harry. So noble, so righteous. Are you going to stand there and judge me now?"

Harry's eyes welled up with tears. He shouted back, voice hoarse with emotion:

"So what if I do?!"

Ron stumbled back a few steps, then jabbed a finger at Harry, rage rising in his voice.

"Fine… fine! You're amazing, aren't you?! We came to Hogwarts together—have you ever stopped to think that one day we'll leave Hogwarts too? Well, I don't want to go back to the Burrow!"

"Do you even know how much I've had to swallow all these years? Do you know what it's like to be overlooked, to have nothing—not money, not status, not talent! I don't have any bloody talent!"

"Everyone loves you, Harry! What kind of twisted world is this?! A broken world! This whole world is broken!"

With that, Ron pulled the diary from his robes. He held it high and strode step by step toward the stone statue of Salazar Slytherin deep in the Chamber of Secrets, his voice echoing:

"I'll climb to the top—step by step by step by step—until I stand above everyone! I will become the Dark Lord!"

When he turned back, Harry clearly saw the tears glinting in Ron's blood-red eyes. Ron's voice, choked with grievance, rang out:

"I'm done wearing hand-me-down robes, using secondhand wands, caring for pets that weren't even mine to begin with! I can't take it anymore!"

"I'm done being invisible to all of you. I'm done being someone you can ignore. I will become the Dark Lord!"

"I know there's another soul inside me. I even know that soul is Voldemort's—but so what?! I will become the Dark Lord! The one who bows to no one!"

The two locked eyes, both of them red-eyed, tears trembling on the edge of spilling over.

Across the chamber, Kirk and Cedric stood stunned, clearly affected by the emotional intensity. Cedric's hand around his wand was shaking.

Then suddenly—clap, clap, clap! Applause echoed through the chamber, completely out of place.

All eyes turned toward the sound. Sitting atop the head of the Basilisk was Wentworth, clapping with exaggerated admiration. Seeing everyone's gaze shift to him, he said:

"Brilliant! Truly brilliant! The last time I saw something this dramatic… ah, never mind, you wouldn't know it anyway. But Ron, I take back what I said earlier."

"You're not useless. Anyone who can be that ruthless to himself is far from worthless."

But then Wentworth's tone shifted, his face now mocking as he said with a smirk:

"Still, if you want to be a real Dark Lord, hurting yourself isn't enough. You have to be just as ruthless to others!"

"Who made you wear secondhand clothes? Who gave you that used wand? Who forced you to care for someone else's old pet? If you're the Dark Lord, why don't you go and kill them?"

Ron stood frozen, speechless.

Wentworth went on:

"As a Dark Lord, you should at least be the strongest of your peers. Actually—forget your peers for a moment. Let's start with your year. Who's the strongest in your year again? Oh right—Hermione."

At that, Wentworth gave Ron a sly, knowing look.

"So that's what this is about. Now I understand why the Basilisk attacked Hermione."

Ron jumped in, panicked.

"That's not true! The Basilisk attacked Hermione because—"

But Wentworth cut him off smoothly.

"Oh, that's right—I almost forgot. One Hermione isn't enough, is it?"

"If you know Voldemort's soul is inside you, then surely you also know who his sworn mortal enemy is, don't you? That's right—it's your best friend standing right in front of you: Harry Potter!"

"And from the look of it, you're not planning to spare him either."

Wentworth, seated atop the Basilisk, looked down at Ron and said coldly:

"You might not be great in other areas, but when it comes to being cruel to your own people—you're barely passable."

Perhaps it was Wentworth's words. Perhaps it was the way he loomed above them like a king. Whatever the reason, the moment he finished speaking, Ron roared in fury like a wild beast. He raised his wand and charged toward Wentworth.

But before he could make a move, Harry stepped in front of him, wand drawn, blocking his path.

"Ron, put the diary down! Voldemort! Weren't you always so eager to kill me? Well, here I am! What's the matter—you don't even have the guts to show yourself?!"

Ron stared at Harry, eyes full of inner turmoil.

"Harry, don't push me! I don't want to—"

Before he could finish, his expression twisted.

"Harry Potter! I have wanted to meet you for a long time. I want to see for myself… who defeated the greatest wizard who ever lived!"

At that, Harry squared his shoulders and shouted back without hesitation:

"The greatest wizard who ever lived… was Albus Dumbledore!"

Just then, another voice rang out from the chamber:

"Ahem. Sorry to interrupt. I really don't want to get involved in your personal vendetta, but—there's something I need to clarify."

Harry and Ron turned toward the voice. Wentworth had risen to his feet atop the Basilisk's head, gazing down at them.

"As the new leader of the Alliance, and heir to the Grindelwald family, I must make my stance very clear—"

"The greatest wizard of all time… is Gellert Grindelwald."

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