For the Greater Good || Tom Riddle ||

Chapter Seven: Nefarious Acts

1951- HOGWARTS SCHOOL FOR WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY

Light flitted through the diamond-pane windows, illuminating dust particles as they floated slowly down to their resting place on the floor. She had forgotten the small details—the rounded stonework, the small, engraved gargoyles, the various swords that hung in their sheaths, suspended by magic. An iron chandelier hung from the ceiling, as well as a dragon's skeleton.

As she sat in the hard, wooden chair, memories that she had not entertained in years resurfaced. Hiding in the long hallways, sweeping up the stairs, admiring the candlelight. It was a surreal feeling, as if she had unlocked some long-shrouded part of her brain, previously dormant and dark. Thoughts and images surged forward, tumbling from her neuronal casings, recreating lived experiences behind her eyes.

Emotions rose within her, threatening to sweep everything away all at once as the memories rolled back into the recesses of her mind—a protective effort—but Gwen desperately latched on, if only to have a taste of the past for just a few seconds more.

The woman across from her cleared her throat, and the utterance broke the spell. Gwen slowly brought her attention back to the conversation at hand, albeit reluctantly, her eyes pulling away from the window.

"Gwendolyn, could you tell me, why are you interested in the Defense Against the Dark Arts position?"

The question hit Gwen by surprise. It was a totally appropriate question to ask, however, Gwen had not thought deeply about her motivation for interviewing for the professorship.

Why am I doing this again?

She knew that she enjoyed academia, having worked at the Department of Mysteries. However, while she felt that she was positively contributing to society in a way, the actual implementation of her research was slow to be adopted in mainstream society. Teaching seemed to be an occupation with a large impact almost immediately.

And if she could save anyone from the fate that she suffered, she would do so in a heartbeat.

Her mouth felt dry before she spoke. She wet her lips.

"In a way, I have always been confused by the categorization of the Dark Arts," she started quietly, almost trailing off. "During my schoolyears, I actually wrote my fifth-year thesis on the concept of the Unforgivable Curses in relation to other aspects of mundane magic. There's actually very little existing documentation and literature on the delineation between so-called "dangerous magic" and the Dark Arts.

"After all, there's many a household charm, and not to mention some hexes and jinxes that are quite nasty bits of magic, yet they're classified as mundane. So, I have to argue, is the determinant rather the caster's intention than the spell itself?"

The woman looked pleased by her answer, but Gwen wasn't quite done.

She spoke as though she had thought about this for millennia. An obvious academic passion was alive inside of her. "We know that is the case for some spells. The Cruciatus Curse, for example. To successfully perform this curse, merely uttering the incantation is not enough; the wizard or witch must possess a deep desire to cause the victim pain and to take pleasure in their suffering...

"On the other hand, most of magic follows a simple set of rules. An incantation must be uttered, paired with the correct wand movements, and if all aligns, the intended magic is produced."

The unfamiliar woman, whose name she learned was Professor Zhang, wrote down some notes with a magical feather quill. She didn't even bother looking down at the paper.