20. Secret Room

From that day on, Dante and Charlie's friendship grew quickly.

At first, this unusual friendship surprised many people. Gryffindor and Slytherin students usually belonged to different worlds, but Dante and Charlie broke that tradition. When they walked side by side in the corridors or laughed together at lunch, other students no longer found their friendship strange.

Dante liked Charlie's warm and courageous personality. Charlie admired Dante's intelligence, his dark but charming sense of humor, and his extraordinary talents. The two worked together at Quidditch practice, studied together in the library, and sometimes even chatted in the Gryffindor common room.

None of the Slytherin students had ever dared to stand up to Dante again. They had seen his skills firsthand-they remembered how he had defeated Montague in a single move, how he had skillfully parried the other students' spells. What's more, Dante excelled not only in battle, but also in the classroom.

In every magic lesson, every potion experiment, every talisman practice, Dante's genius shone through.

Professor Flitwick's eyes lit up when he saw Dante's mastery of magic. One day during class, he looked at him and nodded, "Mr. Rosier, you have an extraordinary talent. You learn even the most complex charms almost instinctively."

Professor McGonagall, on the other hand, was fascinated by Dante's ability to transform. One day, when a complex transfiguration spell failed in class, McGonagall looked him in the eye and said, "Try again, Mr. Rosier. Dante, clutching his wand tightly, redid the spell and finished it perfectly. McGonagall smiled slightly. "When perseverance and talent come together, true wizardry is born," she added.

And in Potions class... he had even managed to get Snape's attention.

Snape was usually a professor who didn't compliment his students, but when he saw the excellent potions Dante had brewed, there was a brief glimmer of satisfaction in his eyes. One day, after examining the complex sleeping potion Dante had brewed in class, Draught of Living Death, he spoke softly:

"Very good, Mr. Rosier. Perhaps one day you will become a true master of the art of potions."

It was one of the highest compliments Snape could give.

The other professors at Hogwarts began to notice Dante as well. They realized he was not just a Slytherin, not just an ordinary student. He was someone who proved himself with his intelligence and talent, someone who made his own rules.

Montague, the Slytherin prefect, was in a very different situation.

The terrible punishment Snape had given him soon spread throughout Hogwarts. At first, only Slytherin students laughed, but soon the other houses heard the story.

One day, a Gryffindor student told it in the corridor, laughing:

"Did you hear? Montague had to clean snake bile in the North Dungeon with his bare hands!"

Even the Hufflepuff students shook their heads at the punishment. "How horrible, but I guess he deserved it..."

The Ravenclaw students were more interested in the details of Snape's punishment. A few were trying to understand why Snape had given this punishment. But everyone knew one thing:

Montague was no longer Prefect of anything.

The Slytherin students didn't respect him like they used to. They began to ignore him because he seemed weak now. A strong Slytherin would never have been so humiliated in Snape's eyes.

And Snape didn't stop there.

He had sent an official letter to Montague's parents about their son's failure and lack of discipline at Hogwarts. When the name of a pureblood family was so stained, the consequences were severe.

When Montague read his parents' letter, his face turned white. It contained only one sentence:

"Do not dishonor our family name any further."

After that day, everyone noticed that Montague was never the same. He didn't spend much time in the Slytherin common room, kept quiet in class and avoided the crowds.

As Dante rose, Montague fell.

____________________

As Dante watched Montague fall, he realized once again how power worked at Hogwarts. The strong ruled, and the weak were doomed to be crushed. But Dante wasn't going to be satisfied with just showing his strength. He had to become stronger. The spells he knew were not enough. He had to reach the legendary place he had seen in the Harry Potter movies, the Room of Requirement, and improve himself there.

Dante made his way to the third floor and studied the corridors of Hogwarts carefully. As he knew from the movies, he found the wide corridor just above the Great Hall. He stopped in front of the large tapestry on the wall and collected his thoughts. He had to feel that the room really needed the door to open.

He closed his eyes and breathed deeply. There was only one thought in his mind: "Give me a place to grow in the best possible way. Give me everything I need to become stronger.

For a few seconds, nothing happened. But Dante did not give up. He walked back and forth in the corridor three times, wishing for the room to open... And suddenly he saw the great heavy door in the wall.

With a gleam of triumph in his eyes, Dante opened the door and stepped inside.

The sight inside left Dante breathless. A great hall stretched before him. It was dimly lit, its stone walls decorated with mystical symbols. The floor was an old but sturdy stone floor. Old but sturdy wooden shelves lined the sides, and on them were ancient books, potion ingredients, and relics of ancient magic.

But most impressive of all was a huge dueling field in the center of the room. Intertwined magic circles were drawn on the floor. In one corner of the room were statues of wizards dressed in black robes. They held wands in their hands, their faces expressionless but sinister.

As Dante stepped inside, a scroll hanging on the wall caught his attention. On the scroll were the words in ancient Latin:

"Here only the strongest survive."

Dante smiled. This was exactly what he had been looking for.

Dante had always wondered about the power of dark magic. As a moviegoer, he knew how powerful the Unforgivable Curses were. But theoretical knowledge only went so far. He needed to practice to gain the upper hand in real battles.

He approached one of the bookshelves in the room. He studied the titles on the books carefully: "Shadow Magic and the Forbidden Arts", "On the Edge of Death: Anatomy of Dark Magic", "The Art of Undoing Curses".

His fingers touched the spine of an old, dusty book and carefully pulled it out. As he opened it, the spells inside caught his attention. Many of them were techniques that could not be found in normal spell books. One in particular caught his attention: "Oscuro Tenebris" - "Darkness of Shadows".

This spell was an ancient curse that used shadows to neutralize the enemy. After reading how to cast the spell, Dante moved to the center of the room. He grabbed his wand and began to draw power from the shadows.

"Oscuro Tenebris!"

In an instant, black, rippling shadows shot out from the corners of the room. The shadows swirled around Dante like a vortex, making the air in the room heavy. Then the sorcerer moved to one of the statues and began to wrap his shadow hands around it, squeezing it.

Cracks appeared on the statue's surface. Dante could feel the power coursing through his veins. The dark spells gave him a power that normal magic could not. As the statue shattered, Dante felt a sense of satisfaction wash over him.

But that was only the beginning.

Dante approached an old sorcerer's dummy in a corner of the room. This dummy was resistant to spells and perfect for practicing real duels.

First, he tried a simple attack spell.

"Confringo!"

A burst of blue flame struck the dummy in the chest, leaving a burn mark on the wooden surface. But Dante's real goal was different. After a few simple attacks, he decided to try something more powerful.

He reached for the old book again and opened another page. "Tenebris Umbra - Shadow of the Nightmare". This spell trapped the enemy in an illusion for a short time, allowing him to face his fears.

Taking a deep breath, Dante raised his wand and aimed the spell at the dummy.

"Tenebris Umbra!"

In an instant, the lights in the room dimmed and a cold breeze filled the air. Black mists began to swirl around the doll. Then the mist took the form of a man. Dante's eyes widened in amazement - there was a silhouette staring back at him. The silhouette was made of total darkness and had no face. But Dante realized that it was a reflection of himself.

This spell forced the target to face his inner fears.

Dante gripped his wand tightly and stared unblinkingly at the shadow. It was only an illusion. He would not give in to fear.

"Finite Incantatem."

The spell ended abruptly. The shadow vanished, the room returned to its original state.

Dante took a deep breath and lowered his wand. He was tired, but he felt strong. Dark magic was dangerous, but it also gave Dante the true power he needed.

It was what he was best at.

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