Far away at Hogwarts, Tver was still unaware of Grindelwald's careful intentions.
As the weather grew warmer, the club students still hadn't grasped the knack of casting Imp Spells, and tempers began to flare during class.
"I recall this lesson is meant for practicing evasive techniques. What is this? Since when does dodging require fighting?"
Tver fixed the two students in front of him with a stern gaze.
This was a joint fourth-year class of Slytherin and Ravenclaw.
They were still playing the glowing orb game, but after four years of refinement, it had evolved into multiple variations, each designed to train different skills.
Today's version required them to rely solely on their sensitivity to magic to identify and dodge the one dangerous orb among many of the same color.
But not long after the game began, Draco suddenly got into a scuffle with Goyle. More precisely, the slimmer Draco had been tripped by Goyle and knocked to the ground, on the verge of being pinned down.
Fortunately, Tver reacted instantly, separating the two with a spell before striding over.
Draco, clearly furious, was helped to his feet by a Ravenclaw boy. He brushed the dust off his robes and shot an angry glare at the sluggish-looking Goyle.
"I don't even know what happened. We were dodging the orbs just fine, and then Goyle suddenly slammed into me and tried to punch me like he'd lost his temper!"
Although his conflict with Goyle and Crabbe hadn't truly been resolved, after Professor McGonagall restricted access to the dueling arena, they had tacitly agreed to put things on hold for the time being.
After all, Draco had been focusing on building connections with other students, and the boy who had just helped him up was one of the results of that effort.
Only then did Draco seem to realize something and turned to the Ravenclaw boy.
"Thanks, Rose."
Although Rose hadn't stepped in the moment Draco was knocked down, coming over to help him up in front of everyone was enough to show that his efforts hadn't been in vain.
Draco reassured himself inwardly. In the past, when he had always been the center of attention, he had never suffered such indignity.
"Goyle, you've heard Mr. Malfoy's accusation. Do you have anything to say for yourself?"
Tver frowned as he looked at Goyle, who stood there in a daze. Something about him felt off, yet there were no obvious signs of anything wrong.
His blank expression resembled someone under the Imperius Curse, but with Tver's mastery of dark magic, he could not detect any trace of magical control.
Goyle blinked his small eyes twice. His heavy face showed none of its usual fierceness. It was hard to tell whether he was simply too dull or too intimidated by the professor to react.
"I… I don't know why I wanted to hit De… Malfoy… Right, I was just angry! How could he betray us!"
He stumbled over his words at first, but as his anger rose, his tone became more forceful and self-assured.
Taking advantage of the moment, Tver watched him closely. A faint blue glow shimmered in his eyes as he observed Goyle forcing his small eyes wide, trying to look furious.
Breaking ties with Draco and secretly badmouthing him with Crabbe;
spreading rumors about Draco in the common room; trying to ambush Draco in the dueling arena, only to hit Hermione instead; being given detention by Moody, a full year of it; during detention, being forced by Moody to resist the Imperius Curse or else dance the entire night;
...
His mind was simply too straightforward. It took Tver less than three seconds to sort through everything he had done over the past year, big and small.
Yet nothing seemed out of place.
Just as he claimed, he had merely happened to be standing next to Draco. When he saw Draco moving toward him, his anger flared, and he acted on impulse, wanting to vent it.
"Since neither of you has anything further to add, Slytherin loses thirty points. In addition to Professor Moody's detention, you will also serve one month of detention under Filch."
Tver withdrew his gaze and turned to Draco and Rose beside him.
"And Ravenclaw gains five points."
Since Draco was trying to make friends, Tver did not mind giving him a small push.
Aside from Goyle, who looked utterly dejected, the rest of the students, including Draco, quickly put the minor conflict behind them and refocused on the game the professor had assigned.
Normally, by the second half of the school year, professors would begin increasing the amount of theoretical material, meaning exam preparation.
This game was likely something the professor had specifically designed to help them review.
After settling the dispute, Tver wandered to the back of the dueling arena and began thinking about his own matters.
As for this class, it was nothing more than an excuse for him to take it easy while he focused on issues related to the club.
For Tver, dealing with Voldemort was simply a matter of responding as things came. What he needed most at this stage was to improve his own strength.
Especially now that he had found all four founders.
In truth, he had already sensed that the improvements in strength brought by the founders were becoming less and less noticeable.
It was not that the later founders were more stingy, but that his own power was gradually reaching their level.
At this point, any further growth would have to come from his own exploration.
Unfortunately, although the club's students were fairly talented, they were still stuck on the Imp Spell, making it difficult for Tver to test many of his ideas.
In the end, he had no choice but to take the risk himself and split off a portion of his soul for experimentation.
This even earned him ridicule from Marvolio. "You hesitate over splitting off a bit of soul, and you still dare call yourself the Dark Lord? Back then, I split mine in batches!"
Even so, progress was slower than expected.
If Dumbledore had not clearly expressed his disapproval of him teaching Imp magic, Tver would have wanted to bring him in to discuss and research it together.
"Professor, there are too many magic orbs mixed together. I can't tell them apart!" a student called out, noticing the professor seemed free.
After all, failing to dodge meant getting hit by a real magic orb, and that hurt.
"Whichever one hits you the hardest is the real one. Just remember its magical fluctuation," Tver replied without even looking up.
He was busy thinking about the difference between his Curse Imps and Soul Imps.
Following that advice, Draco immediately gave it a try. At first, it worked well, but soon he noticed something strange.
"But Professor, the magical fluctuations are changing!"
"Oh." Tver finally looked up and gave a slightly embarrassed smile. "I forgot to mention, these orbs simulate the fluctuations of different spells."
"These spells are also common offensive magic you may encounter, so make sure to memorize every type of fluctuation carefully."
"..."