The dazzling white light gradually coalesced into a vague creature.
Just standing beside it, Wade felt warmth and joy. For no apparent reason, even his mood improved considerably.
It was the complete opposite of how he felt near Dementors.
So Tom Riddle, the person destined to become the Dark Lord, had truly learned the Patronus Charm.... Damn...
With a sigh, Wade looked at the white creature again.
Under Tom's control, the creature nimbly leaped about in the woods outside the cabin.
However, no matter how Wade looked, he couldn't make out what kind of creature it was. It was as if a layer of mist enveloped it, obscuring its true form.
Even so, judging by the strength of the Patronus Charm, it was already on par with a fully formed Patronus. Still, not being able to clearly see the Patronus itself was undeniably puzzling.
"What kind of creature is your Patronus?" Wade asked curiously.
As the creature gradually dissipated, Tom lowered his wand and struggled to his feet.
"According to the books, it might be because the caster's talent isn't strong enough… but I'm definitely strong enough! And you saw the power. It's no different from a normal Patronus Charm."
"Not strong enough?" Wade Reynolds pondered. This might be connected to Tom's recent shift away from being a Dark wizard.
Still, Tom's change couldn't be fake. Otherwise, there was no way he could have produced even such a vague Patronus.
"I need to get some sleep… You can take that Dementor away now. You were just being 'kind' by letting me practice the Patronus Charm so it could feed, right? So that's where the trap was. Ha… I fell for your trick again…" Tom leaned weakly against the wall and walked back into the house.
Wade scratched his head. Tom's learning ability really was frightening. He was exceptionally good at summarizing his failures.
Which meant that after being tricked by Wade so many times, this fellow had only grown more and more shrewd.
Wade sighed helplessly and picked up the suitcase, giving it a shake.
He'd originally planned to milk Tom for a while longer, but unexpectedly, he only managed to harvest one round before it ended.
Still… it wasn't a big deal. After all, Tom wasn't the only one Wade could take advantage of, right?
Kekekek~~
...
Early the next morning, after leaving Riddle Manor, Wade knocked on the door of the Rosier residence.
Seeing the startled looks on Anne Rosier and her parents' faces, Wade flashed a broad grin, revealing two rows of gleaming white teeth.
"Anne, would you like to learn the Patronus Charm?"
…
In the blink of an eye, more than half of the Christmas holiday had passed.
Hogwarts.
Dumbledore and Headmaster Dippet walked through the castle corridors at night.
Because of the Christmas holidays, the entire castle lacked its usual liveliness and seemed rather deserted.
"It should be here," Dumbledore said, flipping through the manuscript in his hand. "But… why would he build the entrance in a girls' lavatory?"
Dumbledore looked down at the manuscript, then up at the girls' lavatory in front of him, wondering whether he had misread it.
Headmaster Dippet shook his head. "That's not surprising. Over a thousand years have passed, and the castle has undergone many changes. You know, Hogwarts doesn't need to follow Muggle construction rules. So it's hardly strange that an entrance to the Chamber of Secrets from a thousand years ago would now be inside a girls' lavatory."
"In that case…" Dumbledore closed the manuscript. "Shall we go in and take a look?"
"Of course. We've been combing through Slytherin's records for so long and only managed to find this small lead. And Grindelwald isn't at Hogwarts right now. It's the perfect opportunity."
Headmaster Dippet said this as he drew his wand and strode inside.
Dumbledore had no choice but to follow.
It looked like an ordinary girls' lavatory, with nothing out of the ordinary about it.
But these two were no ordinary wizards. Before long, they noticed a tiny snake engraving on the tap of one of the sinks.
Headmaster Dippet reached out and gently placed his hand on the snake, then slowly withdrew it after a moment.
"This should be the place. I can sense the magic here…"
"Can you open it?" Dumbledore asked.
"I'm afraid not. Even as Headmaster, I can't open this mechanism," Headmaster Dippet said. "It seems Slytherin took precautions back then, even overriding the Headmaster's authority."
Dumbledore fell into thought. "Do you remember how Tom opened the trial grounds in Slytherin's study?"
"He said he used Parseltongue?" Headmaster Dippet stroked his white beard. "Hmm, that certainly fits Slytherin's style. No wonder the manuscript didn't specify how his descendants were meant to open it…"
"Any descendant of Slytherin would know how to open it the moment they saw this symbol, just like how Tom opened the passage earlier," Dumbledore nodded.
"Well then, it seems we'll have to interrupt Tom's pleasant holiday," Headmaster Dippet said. "Hopefully he won't mind having his break disturbed."
"Hmm…" Dumbledore hesitated. "We don't know what lies behind that door. If it really is a basilisk, Tom would be in great danger facing it!"
After studying Slytherin's manuscripts, Dumbledore and Headmaster Dippet now knew that the creature Slytherin referred to was indeed a basilisk.
"Albus, you're overthinking it," Headmaster Dippet said. "If Slytherin simply let his descendants die, how could they possibly carry out his final wishes? Besides, the manuscript states that before leaving Hogwarts, he put the creature into a deep sleep and even left a method to awaken it. In other words, as long as we don't wake it, there's no danger. We just need to deal with it before it wakes up."
"I haven't read that section yet…" Dumbledore said with a wry smile. "It seems I really have been a bit muddled."
"I know you've been far too busy lately. In that case, I'll help shoulder some of your workload and let your mind get a bit of rest," Headmaster Dippet said sympathetically.
"Armando… that's clearly me taking over your work," Dumbledore said helplessly.
"Heh, young man, so you're not muddled now? All right, let's head back for now. We'll go find Tom tomorrow. Don't worry, he won't be in any danger. He only needs to open the door for us, then he can leave."
…
In the garden outside the Somnolen Wizarding Tower.
Wade Reynolds sat on a deck chair, holding a newly crafted container for residues.
He used the absorption magic his senior had taught him to slowly draw in the newly converted benign residues stored inside.
After some time, Wade finally opened his eyes.
When he had started absorbing, it had still been daytime. By the time he finished, night had already fallen.
"Hmm..."
Wade set the container aside and looked up at the stars and the bright moon.
Over the past few days, he had been visiting just about everyone.
He had also been urging his friends to practice the Patronus Charm in front of Dementors.
Of course, among them, only Anne Rosier was barely able to produce a faint wisp of white mist. The rest hadn't succeeded at all.
After all, not everyone possessed Tom's talent.
Even so, regardless of success or failure, Wade had successfully harvested a large quantity of beneficial residues, far exceeding his initial expectations.
It was also worth noting that Henry and Alphard, when they came to visit him, both firmly believed that Wade had come to teach them advanced magic as a reward for their diligent academic efforts.
After all, the Patronus Charm was indeed considered advanced magic.
From that point on, they believed President Wade Reynolds's promises even more.
It was truly an unexpected windfall.
Wade withdrew his gaze and casually opened the suitcase beside him.
The Dementor crawled out, trembling.
This Dementor was no longer the vigorous creature it once was and looked rather sickly.
"Come here," Wade said.
The Dementor didn't dare hesitate and quickly floated over.
Wade stood up and tapped its neck with his wand.
The red ring vanished.
"Alright, I'll leave this box here. As for you, go back to Azkaban now. Once you've recovered, come back to this box and wait for me. Don't try to disobey my orders, or.. I'll come to you~ and you know what will happen, right?" Wade said.
The Dementor prostrated itself on the ground, trembling non-stop.
Ten minutes later, Wade Reynolds hid the suitcase in a secluded cave outside the Wizarding Tower and released the Dementor back to Azkaban.
Using it to scam people was only a short-term gain. Sending the Dementor back to Azkaban brought long-term benefits.
After all, only Azkaban could afford to keep monsters like these.
As for whether Azkaban would notice, that wasn't a problem at all.
No wizard was bored enough to count exactly how many Dementors there were in Azkaban.
Otherwise, Grindelwald wouldn't have been able to take one out so easily in the first place.
Wade assessed his current strength, factoring in the amplification from ancient magic and the slight increase gained from the recent benign residues.
His current overall power was roughly equivalent to two Snapes.
Only now could Wade truly be said to possess formidable strength.
Combined with his nightmare magic and various other methods, he was now capable of contending even with Dumbledore or Grindelwald.
Of course, without actually fighting them, Wade couldn't know his precise limits.
Battles between wizards aren't simply a matter of who has stronger magic.
Many objective factors, such as spellcasting technique and combat experience, also play crucial roles.
In an actual fight, even something as simple as stepping on a stone and slowing yourself down for a moment could lead to instant defeat.
That was precisely why Wade Reynolds remained cautious despite his considerable strength.
Confidence was acceptable, but arrogance was absolutely not.
_________
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