Chapter 211 Manifestation
The pattern composed of three simple shapes, triangle, circle and vertical line, was once widely considered to be the symbol of Gellert Grindelwald.
Normally, Della would only see this symbol in books, but in the four-story castle of Durmstrang, Della, who was wearing a thick leather coat and walking around the campus under the guidance of Karkaroff, could see such graffiti on the walls everywhere.
"Does this Grindelwald symbol have any other meaning in Durmstrang?" After seeing such new carvings on five or six walls, Della turned to ask Karkaroff.
"No, Miss Riddle, those students were just imitating," Karkaroff, who was also wearing a thick leather coat, said immediately. Facing Della, he unconsciously bent slightly. "Grindelwald used to be a student of Durmstrang. He left this indelible mark on the wall of the third floor on the west side."
"In fact, I was just about to take you there," Karkaroff said carefully, observing Della's expression. "Cockrell is our best professor of Dark Arts Studies and a senior member of the International Dark Arts Society. His office is next to the wall on the third floor on the west side."
"Witch Party?" Della saw that Karkaroff was overly cautious when he said this.
"Yes..." Dela pointed this out, and Karkaroff was relieved. He explained to Dela, "He has been a professor here for a long time. I don't interact with him much, but, but there are rumors that-"
The redness on Karkaroff's face, which was covered by thick fur, faded away. His eyes rolled around and his mouth moved several times before he squeezed out a trembling voice from his throat, "It is rumored that decades ago, Cockrell taught - Master."
Master, the Dark Lord Voldemort.
Karkaroff must be extremely afraid of him, otherwise why would he be so timid even to say his name.
Moreover, he was one of those who betrayed "excessively".
Della had read what she could find about Karkaroff's life, and didn't think much of him. She also didn't like his policy of only accepting pure-bloods since he became the headmaster of Durmstrang - Durmstrang used to accept half-bloods.
But as a student, Della had the courtesy to respect her teacher. Besides, Karkaroff was a principal after all, so Della smiled at him reassuringly, "Don't worry, Igor. By helping me, you are showing loyalty to my father."
【my father】
Karkaroff was greatly comforted by these words. He breathed a sigh of relief, and his eyes slowly calmed down. He looked at Della more respectfully, "Professor Cockrell has agreed to guide you. I will take you there, Miss Riddle."
Della smiled and nodded, then followed Karkaroff to Professor Cockrell's office.
When she got there, Della saw the eye-catching vertical pupil triangular eye logo on the wall at a glance, and immediately distinguished this logo left by Grindelwald himself from the graffiti.
Different from the imitation works of novice graffiti, the triangles, circles and vertical lines on the wall in front of me have a cold and firm sense. Even people who don’t know this mark at all can see some faith from the crisp strokes.
And the faith that people see is probably just the condescending pursuit of Gellert Grindelwald.
Della knew about Grindelwald. She didn't like his slogan when she read the book, but Grindelwald still had advantages over Voldemort - he had very strict theoretical support. Although most of them were his own theories, they were enough to support an organization with convictions.
According to records, after Grindelwald was arrested, almost no of his followers denied their Wiccan identity, and quite a few chose to commit suicide.
Think about those Death Eaters who tried to escape after Voldemort's fall. Haha, the difference between commanding and ruling.
Della doesn't like either of these two people, but if she has to rank them, Voldemort's dislike must be ranked first, and Gellert Grindelwald is now just an irrelevant prisoner trapped in a high tower.
"Let her in alone." When Karkaroff raised his hand to knock on the mahogany door of the office next door, a hoarse and serious male voice came from inside the door. He spoke German. Karkaroff stopped and fear flashed in his eyes.
"Hello, Professor Cockrell, I'm Della Riddle," Della gestured to Karkaroff, signaling him to step aside, and then shouted loudly in German, "It's a great honor to receive your guidance."
After saying that, she pushed open the door and walked in. Her eyes were filled with green light. The strong smell of black magic made her eyes slightly widen. The sound of the blazing fire surrounded her instantly. The sound of the door closing also exploded in her ears like thunder. Della felt intimidated and subconsciously raised her wand to cast a spell.
No burning sensation -
A second before chanting the spell, Della realized this and tightened her grip on the wand. In the end, she ignored the ominous green light surrounding her. Her face was calm, she lowered her hands, raised her chin slightly, looked down, and lowered her posture.
The hoarse and serious male voice snorted and laughed. Della's black eyes moved towards the sound and she only said, "This is really an eye-opener for me, Professor Cockrell."
"You and your father reacted in the same way, which makes me laugh."
When Della heard Cockerell say this, the green light in front of her eyes faded like a tide, but the sound of the fire was still ringing - she was indeed facing a burning fireplace with green flames of black magic burning in it.
The deep green flames made the office very bright, but almost everything inside had an old feeling of being overused. The flame light could only be reflected blurrily, shrouding the entire office in darkness.
Levin Cockerell's desk was on the left side of the fireplace. He sat in the center of the darkness. His thin face was very old and full of wrinkles, but his white hair was neatly combed and shiny, and his gray eyes staring at Della were bright, making him look a lot younger.
"Come here, Riddle," Cockrell said, his elbows on the table and his black leather-gloved hands clasped together. "Show me how much you look like your father."
"You may be surprised at the similarities between us, Professor Cockrell," Della walked over with a faint smile on her face, "By chance, I have seen what Tom Riddle looks like."
"Your facial features are almost identical," Cockerell commented as he looked at Della, who was smiling politely at the desk. He pursed his lips and his face became more wrinkled. "Even the expression you made when you first saw me was so similar."
"Then do you think that our purpose of meeting you is the same?" The curve of Della's lips widened slightly.
"I don't care about your purpose. I only care about one thing." Cockerell's expression did not change. He slowly began to unbutton his leather gloves. "Will you turn the world upside down where Dumbledore is?"
One of Dumbledore's greatest achievements was defeating Grindelwald.
And Grindelwald is Cockerell's belief.
"The wizarding world of Country Y will be a chessboard," Della said, her eyes moving slightly as she watched Cockrell's graceful movements.
"That's enough." Cockrell took off his gloves, revealing a pair of crystal clear hands, truly crystal clear. The flesh above his wrists seemed to be non-existent, and one could clearly see the bones connected together and the blood vessels beating from time to time.
Della was startled by what she saw. She opened her eyes wide and tilted her neck back slightly, but her feet did not move at all and remained firmly pressed to the ground.
"No fear, very good, Riddle. People who study black magic should get rid of fear." Cockrell stretched out a pair of strange hands in front of Della. He raised his eyes and his expression became deep. "This is what I will teach you next - manifestation. Fixing the upper limit of black magic by changing a part of the soul."
"Fixed upper limit?" Rather than asking about the inhuman hand that Cockrell had manifested, Della was more concerned about the manifestation of this function, which seemed to be a weak function at first glance.
"Dark magic is related to the soul. The deeper you study it, the greater the impact on your soul. You may eventually risk losing your mind," said Cockrell, who had finished his demonstration and began to put on his black gloves. "Manifestation is to selectively force all influences to a corner of the soul and express them on the body. This way, you can maintain your sanity and increase the power of dark magic."
"The upper limit means that a deliberately altered soul has a limit to studying black magic?" Della asked with a frown.
"Yes, this limit varies from person to person. If you are as talented as your father, then this limit is probably something that ordinary people cannot reach in their entire lives. Of course -" At this point, Cockrell blinked and chuckled without distinguishing his emotions, "You can also choose to be like your father and pursue the limit you can reach without setting any limits."
"He, didn't choose to manifest?" Della said hesitantly.
"No, he manifested, but he manifested without limits." Cockrell lowered his head and fiddled with his gloves carefully, then buttoned them up with a "click". "To be honest, I admire him for being able to open his soul completely to the dark arts like this."
"As for whether to learn or not, and how to learn," Cockrell clasped his gloved hands together again, and looked up at Della, "It all depends on you, Riddle."