For the Greater Good || Tom Riddle ||

Chapter Six: Mysteries are Everywhere

1951- THE UNITED KINGDOM

"So, what is Dark Magic?"

Gwendolyn Gawmdrey felt a pit open inside her. It was a wound that was never truly healed—constantly repairing but the damage was so great that whatever festered within always managed to scrap away at the scab and sinew so that it rot and rot and rot until all that was left was a gaping hole.

It took her a moment before she caught her breath. The silence screamed in her eardrums, rocketing her head with pulsating trepidation. Every second she didn't speak, the anticipation of her answer grew tenfold.

"Well," she began tersely, but without a tremor in her voice, "unlike basic magic, Dark Magic does not have the same... limitations."

The unfamiliar woman looked at her earnestly. "Could you elaborate?"

She swallowed hard. She would kill him for this. This was a mistake.

She felt the Darkness within her begin to bubble and worked quickly to snuff out the flame. However, such an integral spark within her being did not want to be extinguished.

She took a deep breath.

"All Dark Magic has a price."

***

Her apartment in London was quite quaint. Small, minimalist, and warm. The building had eight other apartments spread across three floors, and she happened to be on the second. Walking into the building for the first time, she was surprised to see she had to climb up a set of rather steep stairs to reach the first floor of accommodations. The ceiling was high, with thick wood beams that were painted a dainty cream, adorned with gold crown molding. A small crystal chandelier hung from the threshold.

The second floor had a wide hall and a bay window at the end of it. Radagast enjoyed basking in the sun there on summer afternoons, much to the chagrin of Gwen's neighbor, Mr. Wu, who worried the cat would somehow break into his apartment and murder his beloved parakeet.

The feline was of course oblivious to the distaste, spending hours at a time fluffing his tail and cleaning black and white paws atop the embroidered cushions. Gwen always cast a Scouring charm to rid the pillows of any cat hair.

Ever since she had moved out of Elphias' residence in Sussex, her life had become a lot slower despite moving to the bustling city. She had spent months recovering in the solitude of the cottage, but she never found herself without chores to do—Special Advisor to the Wizengamot, Elphias Doge, made sure of that. Whether it be tending to the honeybees or maintaining the flower garden or breaking apart spats between Choo-Choo the fire breathing chicken and Radagast, Gwen was never bored.

After her life fell apart, it was a natural decision to return to the cottage. She had nowhere else, at least, that either wasn't destroyed by Aurors as soon as word of Grindewald's defeat became widespread or attached to tarnished memories. But somehow, the cottage remained on its peaceful pedestal. Away from the crowds and prying eyes, Gwen could be whomever she wanted to be in her cozy room in the countryside. And Elphias was welcomed company.

What she appreciated the most about the man was his honesty. He was candid. Straightforward. He told her the truth, no matter how he felt it would impact her feelings. There was never any hidden agenda behind his shrewd eyes.

Of course, she did have to listen to long-winded tales of him and his deceased partner, Vincent, but she truly didn't mind. She enjoyed it. Gwen knew that it would have taken a magnificent person to get Elphias to gab the way he did. She wondered how many other people were talked about with such mirth after death, and she estimated it to be very few.