When William returned to Privet Drive number twelve, lunch had just ended.
Declining Lupin's offer to heat up the food for him, William, for once, didn't head straight to the basement as soon as he got back, but instead went to the sofa, patted the leg of a black dog which, in Lupin's view, was almost like a cripple, and then pressed the head of a cheetah into his lap, giving it a good rub——
"How's the situation?"
Sirius shifted his gaze from the TV and looked curiously at William.
"Just as we guessed, Dumbledore handed everything to Professor McGonagall——and then, when Snape found out I was going to take the position, he went through the drama of crying, making a scene, and threatening suicide."
William nodded, yawning widely.
"Haha——I knew it, that Bat Spirit definitely can't handle it!" Sirius laughed exaggeratedly.
"Not talking about that——what's he watching?"
William also smiled and shook his head, then he turned to look at a boy sitting upright in front of the sofa. A large tome, much bigger than his head, lay on the low table in front of Tom, who was reading it intently, seemingly unaware of William's return——
"... Wizard War Laws. Article eighteen, during peacetime, under any circumstances, it is forbidden to use the three Unforgivable Curses on any human or human wizard as defined, and once discovered, will result in a lifetime sentence in Azkaban."
Tom was frowning, muttering to himself.
"... Is this the kind of content covered in the first-year textbooks at Hogwarts?"
William blinked, uttering a "stupid" sound, having enrolled twice, yet never actually attended the first year.
"Of course not——he found that book on your bookshelf."
Sirius tossed the apple in his hand into the cheetah's mouth, then stood up and brushed the cat fur off his pants, "Ah——I need to catch up on some sleep, stayed up last night finishing... what did I finish watching again?... Damn, looks like I really need some sleep." Sirius, slightly confused, headed towards the stairs.
So there were only William and Tom left in the living room, the latter belatedly raised his head, his eyes lighting up when he saw William.
"Mr. William!"
The boy instinctively called out; William was still not quite used to being called brother——it would be more acceptable if it were Hermione.
"Have you finished previewing all the textbooks Dumbledore left you?"
William slid off the sofa onto the plush carpet——he glanced again at the book in front of the boy, nearly half of the Magic History: General Editor had been flipped through, and with the word-for-word reading just now... could there be another all-knowing soon?
Moreover, regarding Tom's enrollment, after some discussion between Dumbledore and William, they decidedly wrote Tom's name directly in the Book of Admittance.
After all, Dumbledore didn't have much time to take care of children, better to get the boy into school early rather than letting him self-learn.
"Finished——twice!"
Tom nodded, and as if trying to prove it, he grabbed the magic wand he'd bought just a few days ago, made of willow wood, with a phoenix feather core——yes, yet another tail feather from Fawkes, if it wasn't for the phoenix's rapid regeneration and metabolism, Fawkes's feathers probably couldn't keep up with Olivander's Wand Shop's demand.
"Lumos!"
The tip of the magic wand lit up, a hint of excitement on the boy's face.
"And, I wanted to learn more——about past events, Professor Dumbledore said that only by understanding history can we better know how to... well, change ourselves?"
Seeing William nod, Tom quickly continued, in the past two months with old Dumbledore, this kid's world view was rapidly shaping.
But William didn't want to see Tom turn into another Dumbledore... that old man lived too burdensomely.
"The idea is good, but this book..."
William flipped a few pages casually, "Too much nonsense, not a word on the core elements." He pointed to a description about Dark Arts, "The focus is never on what articles ban, but on how to identify threats around you, to then respond, protecting yourself or others from 'incidental' harm when someone doesn't adhere to rules——"
Seeing the boy somewhat puzzled, William continued, "You must know, Black Wizards don't care whether you use Dark Arts or not——they surely will use it——which is why you all have a subject on Defense Against the Dark Arts."
William's tone was casual, yet the content opened Tom's eyes wide.
"Protect... oneself?" Tom repeated, locking his gaze on William intently, "Just like... the way you taught me before?"
William knew what Tom was referring to——but to be honest, that dream (details in chapters 273 and 274) was quite distant, it took William a moment to recall, "Yes, just like I taught you before, you must learn to punch bullies——"
"Then, I bruised Billy's eye and was confined by the matron for two and a half days——"
"Because the orphanage's rules were made by Ms. Thalia——"
"So, am I not yet strong enough to bruise Matron Thalia's eye?"
"Bingo."
William had no awareness of leading children astray, if he used Legilimency right now, he might hear Tom's inner voice——this little guy was starting to calculate how strong he must become to bruise Dumbledore's eye.
"Alright, I understand."
Yet outwardly, Tom obediently nodded, rarely displaying his 'true nature' in front of William; of course, by 'true nature' here, it does not refer to the Dark Lord's nature, but rather the nature of a lively child——probably related to the complex feelings the boy had towards William.
William noticed this but didn't intend to correct it.
If Voldemort had, throughout his growth, always had an elder or a friend just a step above him, his mental journey might have significantly changed, right?
"However——"
William added however, "The key is in 'protecting yourself and those around you,' not in how to bruise someone else's eye——I will teach you how to identify threats, teach you how to quickly make dangers disappear——but power inherently has two sides, it shouldn't be used recklessly to fabricate threats——power is a tool, but if you reverse it... "
William narrowed his eyes, pausing meaningfully, "You probably understand my means of dealing with Black Wizards?"
Tom nodded in semi-understanding, looking down at his hands, pale and tender, seemingly a far cry from the powerful, dangerous, ultimately doomed Black Wizard images described in books, far enough that——
There was still hope for him.