Sogali von Hohenstein, Durmstrang's finest graduate, bears the mark of an ancient family of dark magic. He becomes the most extraordinary Defense Against the Dark Arts professor in Hogwarts history.
He thinks this teaching post will let him escape his family, but then he meets an exceptionally gifted student named Tom Riddle.
They discuss runes and alchemy, exchanging forbidden knowledge about magic and the soul. On the edge of danger, they test and attract one another. Tom says, “Professor, you’re the only person who understands me.”
Until Sogali discovers that the student he admires most is carving up his own soul to create the abominations known as Horcruxes.
Warnings, persuasion, and confrontation.
“Tom, love isn’t a weakness. It’s the most powerful ancient covenant.”
“Then, Professor,” the young Dark Lord says with a smile, green light glimmering at his wand tip, “will this ‘covenant’ bind us until death?”
Years later, as he looks upon the boy who will become the Chosen One, the professor, having lost that covenant, falls silent. He knows it is time to finish the lesson left incomplete: either save the world or bury with his own hands the only person he has ever loved.
