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"Corvinus Gaunt is a wizard of extraordinary brilliance. His command of magic is almost limitless, and he possesses a vision far beyond that of ordinary people." Fontaine continued speaking.
The moment Corvinus came up, his tone changed noticeably. The caution from earlier faded, replaced by open admiration.
It wasn't the kind of respect an ordinary wizard had for someone stronger. It sounded more like someone speaking of a goal that could never be reached. Even now, as a prisoner, Fontaine made no effort to hide it.
"Were you his student?" Tom asked.
"I wasn't worthy of that honor." Fontaine smiled bitterly and shook his head.
"Mr. Gaunt is an incredibly pure-minded wizard. He doesn't care about bloodlines or status. The only thing he values is talent in magic."
"Unfortunately, that's exactly where I fell short. At least in his eyes, I wasn't qualified to become his student. The only reason I became Headmaster of Ilvermorny was because Mr. Scott recognized my ability to run a school."
"You could say... Mr. Scott was my real teacher." His expression grew noticeably more respectful as he said the name. "He was also the one who introduced me to the Sun Chasers and brought me into their plans. Through him, I saw a world far larger than the ordinary magical community."
"Elrowyn Scott." Dumbledore turned to explain. "He was Ilvermorny's headmaster two generations before Fontaine. After Gellert was imprisoned in Nurmengard, Scott took over the school and led it into an era of tremendous growth."
"Before his time, Ilvermorny's reputation was largely confined to America. Many prominent American wizarding families still preferred sending their children to Hogwarts because of its longer history and more established education. But Scott changed all that."
"He completely restructured Ilvermorny's curriculum and introduced an intensely competitive academic system. He also made magical knowledge that had once been monopolized by a handful of old families available to every student."
"Under his leadership, the school reached heights it had never seen before. To this day, he's considered Ilvermorny's greatest headmaster after its founder."
Tom smiled, "Professor, doesn't that make Scott a lot like you?"
Dumbledore chuckled awkwardly. "I think the gap between us is rather significant. During my years as Headmaster, Hogwarts' reputation has certainly flourished, but much of that is tied to me personally. Scott, on the other hand, strengthened the institution itself."
"We exchanged letters several times over the years, discussing ways to help students learn more effectively. But I always felt his educational philosophy was too strict. He viewed magic as a tool every student had to master. His professors set clear learning objectives for every child..."
Dumbledore glanced at Tom, "...It's actually much like the exams and tests you've introduced. Minerva would probably get along with him wonderfully."
"But I've always believed magic should be something students pursue willingly. Forcing them to study branches of magic they dislike only makes them miserable."
"Well," Tom shrugged, "on this one, I side with Scott. Looking at the situation now, if you'd educated your students his way, you'd probably have a lot less to worry about."
Dumbledore had no rebuttal.
How could he possibly have predicted decades ago that the wizarding world would one day be exposed to Muggles?
Realizing he'd interrupted again, he quickly changed the subject, "My apologies, Agilbert."
"It doesn't matter." Fontaine waved it off casually. "I'm just glad Mr. Riddle appreciates my teacher's educational philosophy."
Tom steered the conversation back. "You mentioned 'their plan.' What exactly was it? Was exposing the entire magical world Scott's idea? To speed up the Quetzalcoatl's recovery?"
"Perhaps," Fontaine spoke honestly. "But I truly don't know. When I first learned that Mr. Gaunt existed, I naively believed his goal was to unite the magical world."
"Eventually, I realized that wasn't it at all. If he had wanted to..." He looked directly at Tom, "...the entire wizarding world would've belonged to him long before you were ever born."
Tom didn't argue.
Herpo's strength alone was enough to judge Corvinus Gaunt's level.
Schemes. Numbers. Political power. Organizations. Against beings like Corvinus Gaunt, all of those things became surprisingly insignificant.
After a long silence, Dumbledore finally asked, "So his true objective was excavating the ruins? Where exactly are the Aztec ruins?"
"For at least the past several centuries, Mr. Gaunt rarely left the Aztec ruins." Fontaine explained, "He only became active again after the Quetzalcoatl awakened."
"As for where the ruins actually are..." He shook his head. "I honestly couldn't tell you. It's as though that world has become linked to Mr. Gaunt himself."
"Whenever he wishes, he can open a passage leading directly there. That place is a pocket dimension. Inside, both time and space become... unclear."
"I've been there several times. The longest visit felt like nearly two months. But when I came back, I discovered only ten days had passed outside."
Tom frowned deeply, "Are you certain time itself changed? Could it simply have affected your perception?"
That wasn't good news. Two months versus ten days. A sixfold difference.
If time truly flowed that differently... then Corvinus Gaunt's actual time occupying the ruins might already exceed a thousand years.
A monster who had lived for over a millennium... even someone as hopeless as Umbridge would have become frightening with that much time. Never mind someone as gifted as Corvinus.
Tom met Dumbledore's eyes. Both saw the same grim realization reflected in the other's gaze.
Fontaine, however, simply shook his head. "I'm only describing what I experienced. I don't know the actual mechanism. I'm hardly someone of your caliber."
"And the entrance to the ruins isn't fixed. It usually appears somewhere along the U.S.-Mexico border. At least that's where I've always emerged."
"Even without the altered flow of time, it's still been several centuries since Gaunt discovered the ruins." Tom nodded before asking another question. "How many members does the organization have? And how old are they?"
"I know what you're getting at." Fontaine smiled. "You're wondering how they've managed to live so long."
"Well, I've personally met more than twenty members. And the original group is still alive."
"Beyond them are several gifted wizards personally recruited by Gaunt over the years. The youngest among them is Percival Graves."
"And the reason they've all lived this long..." His voice lowered, "...is the blessing of a divine corpse."
"A divine corpse?" Dumbledore's eyes narrowed. "Whose remains?"
"The Quetzalcoatl's." Fontaine's eyes filled with both reverence and fear as he recalled the sight. "The Quetzalcoatl's body is larger than any mountain. It's buried beneath the very center of the ruins."
"The area is covered with broken stone pillars and shattered sacrificial altars."
"The portions of the altars visible above ground are actually just tiny fragments of the divine body. The Sun Chasers' primary mission is to search for fragments of the Aztec ruins, or magical relics that have somehow found their way into the outside world."
"Whenever those artifacts are brought back and merged into the Quetzalcoatl's body... the body grants a reward. Your life force increases dramatically."
Tom looked at him. "Have you ever received one of those rewards?"
"Of course." Pride returned to Fontaine's face. "I once recovered several stone tablets engraved with ancient writing. After they were brought back to the ruins, the inscriptions suddenly shone with golden light. The tablets lifted into the air on their own and flew toward the altar."
"Then I heard something... a heartbeat."
"Moments later, a sphere of crimson light flew out of the altar and entered my body. After that, I became at least twenty years younger. My magic also grew considerably stronger."
"It's difficult to describe. It felt as though a body that had nearly run dry was suddenly filled with life once more."
He sighed. "But I wasn't the luckiest one."
His expression dimmed. "That honor belongs to Percival Graves. He made an enormous contribution, and his own talent was exceptional. So Mr. Gaunt personally accepted him into the organization."
"He remains the only person this century whom Mr. Gaunt personally selected as a member."
.
.
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