For Christmas, Wade and Tom both chose not to stay at school.
So when the holiday officially began, the two packed their luggage and boarded the Hogwarts Express with several other students heading home for the break.
Tom returned to Riddle Manor to spend Christmas with his family and continue deepening his understanding of familial affection and the magic of love.
Wade, meanwhile, returned alone to the safe house.
In the safe house, Toby and Tomcat greeted Wade with an extremely enthusiastic welcome ceremony by the fireplace.
When Wade sat down on the living room sofa, he immediately saw the potted Fanged Geranium named "Fang" on the table.
At this point, Fang was much calmer than it had been months ago.
When it saw Wade, it gently shook its branches and leaves in greeting.
The swaying branches made the open petals tremble, and the little fanged mouths inside the petals clinked together, producing a metallic chiming sound.
It was clear that after months of nutrient solution, Fang had become far more horrifying than before.
Tomcat brought Wade a pot of tea, then made a series of paw gestures.
"You're saying you worried Fang was too lonely in the wizard tower, so you moved it back to the safe house?" Wade asked.
Tomcat nodded repeatedly, then patted Fang's thick branches, indicating that this was his good buddy and he wanted Fang to stay here.
"That's fine. He can stay here. Just don't go outside where anyone could see you. You know, whether it's you or Fang, you're both very unusual creatures to others. I don't want you to be in danger."
Toby walked over carrying dinner. "Master Wade, you don't need to worry about that. The little cat and Fang don't like going out. Their favorite thing is sleeping."
"Good." Wade picked up a piece of bread and took a bite, then saw Tomcat carry Fang's flowerpot back to the fireplace and begin brewing more nutrient solution.
"Looks like Tomcat has made his first friend…" Wade murmured. "Should I find him a mouse as a companion?"
Toby's large ears twitched for no apparent reason. "Master Wade, I don't think cats and mice can become friends… unless you want this entire house torn apart."
"You have a point…"
After dinner, Wade returned to his room to rest. When midnight struck, he woke up right on time.
He first took a routine look around the system shop and casually bought a few rare materials, then Apparated out of the safe house.
Because tonight, he had an appointment to keep.
...
Godric's Hollow had already been blanketed in a layer of pure white snow; everywhere the eye could see was white.
But the night sky was unusually clear.
Countless stars shone overhead, and the bright moonlight cast a quiet stillness across the entire valley.
Grindelwald sat casually on a large rock by the lake, looking up at the beautiful night sky.
"I've heard that centaurs can read glimpses of the future in the starry heavens, though they never seem to give clear answers…" Grindelwald turned his head to look at Wade as he stepped out from the trees.
Wade glanced around. This was the same place where he had once taught Tom the flying Charm.
"Unfortunately, I haven't dealt with centaurs yet. Even though I've gone in and out of the Forbidden Forest many times…"
Grindelwald nodded. "Yes, they are rather standoffish, aren't they? But when you do catch a few of their words, it's quite interesting."
"Did you bring what I asked for?" Wade didn't bother with small talk.
"Young people really are impatient… Can't you sit and chat with an old man for a bit?" Grindelwald said as he pulled a suitcase out from under himself.
So he had been sitting on it the whole time.
Wade extended his hand, and the suitcase flew straight into his palm.
"The Summoning Charm… Wade, I keep forgetting you're only a second-year," Grindelwald said with an appreciative look.
For him, although he liked Tom's pure and gentle nature, it was someone like Wade—young, powerful, sharp, and ruthless—who truly suited his taste.
Because he genuinely felt that Wade's personality and abilities were very much like his own in the past.
Wade didn't answer. He carefully examined the suitcase in his hands.
Even though the box was tightly sealed, he could still sense the immense negative emotions contained inside.
And he could feel the happiness in his own heart faintly being drained away.
"How is it? Satisfied? I picked out the strongest Dementor especially for you," Grindelwald said with a smile.
"I'm very satisfied," Wade replied with a smile of his own.
"Good. But… shouldn't you prove to me that you can control it?" Grindelwald asked with interest.
"Of course." Wade nodded and moved to open the locks on the case.
Grindelwald silently took out his new wand. "Go ahead and open it. I'm ready. If you fail to control it, I'll destroy it immediately."
"Don't worry." Wade turned the lock.
Snap!
The lid of the suitcase flew open on its own.
Whoosh!!
A withered, ugly hand gripped the edge of the case, and a rag-draped, corpse-like creature slowly floated out.
At the same moment, an icy chill rushed toward Wade.
It was a cold far more brutal than the dead of winter.
Just from the Dementor's ordinary movement, Wade felt every positive emotion in his mind draining rapidly.
The Dementor now took in its surroundings.
Stuffed in that suitcase for so long, the Dementor was angry even with its limited intelligence.
The moment it saw Grindelwald and Wade, it rushed straight toward Wade without hesitation.
The reason it didn't attack Grindelwald was simple: he was the one who had shoved it into the suitcase.
Grindelwald tightened his grip on his wand.
If Wade failed to control it, he would intervene immediately.
But as the Dementor drew closer and closer, Wade simply stood there, staring at it, perfectly still, as if frozen in fear.
Grindelwald frowned and was just about to act.
Yet the instant he raised his wand, the Dementor abruptly stopped right in front of Wade, no longer pouncing forward.
Grindelwald stared in shock as Wade leaned in to examine the Dementor up close.
"How did you do that?" Grindelwald stepped forward, staring at the frozen Dementor like it was a statue, utterly baffled.
Wade only glanced at him and said nothing.
"Alright… so this is your little secret, is it? Not telling me is fine. I can only say… it's quite an impressive little secret," Grindelwald said, unable to stop himself from recalling what had happened when he'd attacked Wade back then.
He suspected Wade might have used something similar on him that day.
While Grindelwald was still trying to figure out what this method could be, he saw Wade suddenly pull a red ring out of his pocket.
Snap!
With a crisp sound, the red ring clamped tightly around the Dementor's neck.
Assuming a Dementor even had a neck…
Immediately after, the Dementor snapped out of its statue-like state. But instead of attacking Wade again, it began thrashing in the air in pain.
Wade watched the creature with delight. He had only tried it on a whim, but he hadn't expected a goblin-made collar to actually fasten itself onto a creature as near-incorporeal as a Dementor.
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