Hogwarts: This Dark Lord is so evil

The morning sun filtered through the branches of the trees, landing on the windowsill of Tom's bedroom.

Today was a rare sunny day.

Tom had gotten up early, tidied up, and finished breakfast.

Without house-elves to serve him, and after refusing help from the Riddell family's servants.

He had to cook for himself according to the magical cookbook.

However, with magic to help, even if he couldn't cook originally, following the steps would result in decent dishes.

Cooking was much simpler than brewing potions.

Tom looked at the clock in the room; it was just around nine o'clock in the morning.

However, he didn't go outside to practice spells as he had before.

Instead, he stood by the window, looking at the sunlight outside and thinking for a while.

Then, he picked up his books, hurried downstairs, and left the woods.

… …

Old Tom was sitting in his bedroom, in his favorite spot, quietly reading a book.

At least on the surface, it seemed that the wizard attack that had happened a few days ago hadn't affected him.

Just as Old Tom picked up the teacup next to him and took a gentle sip, the corner of his eye caught someone walking in from outside.

"Tom… Why have you come here today?" Old Tom asked in surprise.

According to his understanding of his son, he shouldn't easily leave his woods.

"It's nothing… I wanted to read some books today, and this place seems quite good… Can I read here?" Tom said.

"Of course."

Although Old Tom was surprised by Tom's unusual behavior, he didn't refuse him.

Although the two of them still seemed distant… the attack a few days ago had actually brought them closer together invisibly.

Old Tom stood up, looked around his room, and then went to a desk next to him piled high with various books, laboriously picking up a stack of them.

He wanted to clear the desk so that Tom would have a place to sit down and read.

Tom took out his wand and tapped it gently, and the books on the desk floated up automatically, then stacked neatly in the corner one by one.

Old Tom felt a lightness in his hand, "Oh… thank you… In that case, magic is still very convenient."

"You've just recovered from a serious injury, so don't force yourself…" Tom paused, then asked, "Have they left?"

"Yes… They just boarded the ship to France this morning… The events of the past few days have had a great impact on them, so going out to relax is a good thing."

Old Tom said calmly.

After all, Lord and Lady Riddell were old, and even though Levid had removed many bad memories during the treatment, the experience of that day still inevitably caused some damage to their spirits.

Therefore, Old Tom let them travel to relax.

Then, the father and son suddenly ran out of conversation, each silently sitting at the desk, reading their respective books…

During this time, Old Tom also had the servant brew a pot of tea for Tom and bring some refreshments.

As for the butler, Mr. Augustus, he was busy re-recruiting guards.

However, the results weren't very good.

Because of what happened that day, the Ministry of Magic told the Muggles that robbers had robbed Riddell Manor, and many of Riddell Manor's guards had died.

This made the Muggles feel afraid…

No one dared to work in such a dangerous place.

Mr. Augustus had to raise the salary to barely recruit a few people…

After an unknown amount of time, Tom suddenly stood up and came to Old Tom's side.

"What's wrong?" Old Tom asked in surprise.

He always felt that his son was a bit abnormal today.

"Can I see the book you're reading?" Tom asked.

"The book I'm reading?" Old Tom flipped through the book in front of him, glanced at the cover, "I'm not sure if you'll like it…"

"I can try… I'm sorry to bother you," Tom said.

"It's okay, I've read this book many times."

As Old Tom spoke, he handed the book in front of him to Tom.

When Tom took it, he used a strand of his hair to turn it into a beautiful bookmark and inserted it on the page that Old Tom had been reading, then turned it over to look at the title.

"'The Republic'… Plato…" Tom murmured, reading the title and author on the cover.

"Plato was an ancient Greek philosopher, and this 'Republic' is his representative work," Old Tom briefly introduced.

"I see…" Tom frowned. This was indeed not the kind of book that would attract him, but he still didn't put it down, but took it back to his desk, seemingly intending to read it seriously.

Looking at his son's actions, Old Tom suddenly understood something. Was this… his son trying to understand him?

However, this method was a bit too clumsy…

Old Tom thought for a while, put down the book he had just picked up, and said, "Tom…"

Tom looked at his father.

"You're reading my book, then… can I read your book?" Old Tom said.

Tom looked at the stack of magic books in front of his desk, then nodded, "Of course… but you might not understand it."

"It doesn't matter. I can try too," Old Tom said with a smile.

Tom was slightly stunned when he heard this. Those were the words he had just said.

He picked up his wand again and tapped it gently, and the books he had brought with him automatically flew to Old Tom's desk.

"Thank you…" Old Tom curiously picked up the books and looked at them. Then, with great interest, he picked up the thickest one, "A History of Magic," from the pile of spell books and began to read.

The room quieted down again, with only the occasional sound of pages turning.

Old Tom read quickly, especially when flipping through a history book like "A History of Magic" that didn't require much thought.

In about an hour, he had completely finished the thick "A History of Magic."

Then, he picked up "Advanced Spell Analysis" and began to read it.

Compared to Old Tom's reading speed, Tom's was a bit slower.

Reading every word carefully!

"The Republic," a book involving philosophical, political, artistic, and educational ideas, left Tom confused…

It was simply because he lacked the necessary knowledge, so he couldn't understand many things.

This content wasn't as straightforward as books that taught spells…

By the time Tom forced himself to finish, he realized it was already noon.

Old Tom had already finished Tom's books and was reading his own again.

Old Tom seemed to sense Tom's gaze.

"It's noon, let's eat first," Old Tom said, putting down his book.

"Okay…" Tom didn't refuse.

The two walked out of the study and into the dining room.

Old Tom pressed the bell on the table.

The servants immediately brought up their lunch…

Lunch was simple: a perfectly grilled steak for each person, and a few pieces of soft, fragrant bread.

In addition, there was some fresh milk.

While they were eating, Old Tom suddenly asked, "How is it? Can you understand it?"

"Not really…" Tom shook his head honestly.

"That's normal, Tom. If you don't understand the history of the Muggle world, it's hard to understand the ideas mentioned in it," Old Tom said with a smile. "Of course, once you have enough knowledge, you'll find that some of the thoughts sparked by these ideas are really interesting…"

"Then… can you understand my books?" Tom asked casually.

"It's okay. Your books, except for 'A History of Magic,' which tells the history of the wizarding world, are all about the use of spells… There's nothing that requires special thought," Old Tom replied.

For him, these magic books were like reference books.

They only taught you how to use magic, without mentioning the principles of magic.

"It's boring, isn't it? Especially 'A History of Magic'…" Tom couldn't help but say.

"Not at all. I've only just discovered that the history of wizards is so interesting… Well, your political system is actually quite crude… Also, spells… Although I can't use them, many spells are actually related to the wizard's emotions, which is really interesting. But…" Old Tom paused, then continued, "Those spells called 'Dark Magic' are really creepy…"

Tom then realized that the notebook about Dark Magic that Dumbledore had sent him was also in the pile of books that Old Tom had just read.

"Existence is justification… Magic, like a sword, is double-edged. Although it has some negative effects and may hurt oneself, it's much more useful than other spells when dealing with enemies. It can be said that Dark Magic is the most powerful magic. It's the wizard's most powerful weapon," Tom said matter-of-factly.

"Is that so?" Old Tom remembered the experience of being tortured that night. The spell he was hit with at that time, according to the notes, seemed to be called the Cruciatus Curse? It was indeed very powerful…

"Then… presumably the powerful wizards in your wizarding world are all very proficient in Dark Magic?" Old Tom asked.

"Yes… Few powerful wizards are not proficient in Dark Magic," Tom said. "However… there are also people who are proficient in Dark Magic but never use it… Even so, he's still terrifyingly strong…"

Old Tom asked curiously, "Who is this person?"

"You met him at St. Mungo's, Professor Dumbledore…" Tom sighed and said, "He should be the most powerful wizard I've ever seen… Even Grindelwald… Oh, that is, the most powerful dark wizard in the wizarding world, is no match for him."

"A dark wizard, is that just a wizard who is good at using Dark Magic?"

"You could say that…"

"But you said that Professor Dumbledore doesn't use Dark Magic?"

"Yes."

"But you also said that Dark Magic is more powerful than other spells?"

"Yes…"

"Then that's strange. Why is it that the wizard in the world who is most proficient in Dark Magic… Grindelwald, using the wizard's most powerful 'weapon,' is not a match for Dumbledore, who never uses Dark Magic?"

"Uh…" Tom was directly stumped by his father's question.

Old Tom continued, "Although I don't understand magic very well, but according to what you said… in your wizarding world, it's still people who are powerful, not magic…"

Upon hearing this, Tom fell into deep thought…