The Christmas holiday only lasted two weeks.
Wade spent the entire break busy, so ironically, the most relaxing time for him was when he boarded the Hogwarts Express back to school.
At this moment, Nagini had temporarily left to visit some old acquaintances from her past.
As for Slytherin's ghost, Wade had put him back into his pocket.
Although there was some tension between him and Slytherin, the contract had already been signed. What needed to be done still had to be done.
Wade sat in the train compartment, holding a pencil and sketching in his notebook.
Drawn on the pages was the magical trajectory diagram of the basilisk's gaze curse.
This diagram was now complete. The originally missing parts had already been filled in by Slytherin.
Slytherin might be cold-hearted, but he had never gone back on his word once he made a promise.
The magical trajectory diagram was ready, but turning this curse into a spell that could actually be cast would still take time to research.
"Have you really never considered turning this curse into a piece of Dark Magic?"
Wade frowned and asked Slytherin in his pocket using a whispering charm.
Since Slytherin had managed to reconstruct the magical trajectory, it meant he had indeed studied it. Wade did not believe Slytherin had never thought about turning it into a proper Dark spell.
Slytherin's faint voice reached Wade's ears. "I only studied the flow of magic. I never researched how to turn this curse into Dark Magic…"
"Why not?"
"Why? Back then, there were so many more interesting studies waiting for me. A person's energy is limited, after all, while in this world, interesting research topics are endless. Even I, the great Slytherin, could not possibly study everything within a finite lifetime."
"To be honest with you, when I grew old and suddenly decided to pursue immortality, it wasn't because I feared death. It was because I needed more time. Only by becoming immortal could I have enough time to explore more of the unknown…"
Wade laughed. "That sounds a bit like Ravenclaw."
"I am very different from Rowena. Her pursuit is pure reverence for knowledge. I, on the other hand, want knowledge to serve me, to make me stronger. I believe you understand that feeling, boy, because you are the same kind of person."
"That's too absolute," Wade shook his head. "I pursue power, but I still have my bottom line. For example, I would never capture innocent people to conduct human experiments."
After all, Wade had grown up under normal values. Even after being thrown into this world and gaining great power that made him more decisive and ruthless when necessary, he still had his limits.
If he were to act like Slytherin, how could he live with himself? Right? RIGHT???
"Enough of that…" Slytherin brought the topic back. "If you don't have the time, I can help you research it. I'm idle anyway."
"You'll help me research?" Wade stroked his chin in thought. It did not sound entirely impossible, but given Slytherin's personality… he would need a little provocation.
"What? Do you doubt my research ability?"
"It's not that I doubt your research ability. It's just that… you're a ghost now. How are you supposed to feel changes in the flow of magic? If you can't sense it, how can you research a spell?" Wade waved his hand repeatedly. "So no, it won't work. You can't really help."
"… "
Slytherin fell silent. Clearly, Wade's words had hit a sore spot.
After a long while, Slytherin finally said stubbornly, "I can provide ideas. I have countless experimental experiences. I can give you plenty of professional guidance."
Slytherin was not desperate to help Wade with his research, but once Wade implied that he could not help, Slytherin's rebellious streak was immediately triggered.
If you begged me to help you run experiments, I might not even bother. But you say I can't do it? That I'm useless now?
Then I'll damn well prove it to you!
I'm Slytherin. I may be dead, but I'm not senile!
Wade: Kekeke~~~
"Fine… providing ideas is acceptable. But without personally experiencing the flow of magic, your suggestions might not be very suitable. You should be prepared for that," Wade agreed rather 'reluctantly'.
To Slytherin, those words were a heavy blow.
Back then, whenever he offered to help students with experiments, which one of them wasn't overjoyed?
And now, this fellow agreed so reluctantly. He even said his ideas might not be useful?
Grinding his teeth, Slytherin said, "You'll soon see whether my opinions are suitable or not. Don't forget, that basilisk was bred by me! When it comes to the curse of its gaze, how could you possibly understand it better than I do?"
Slytherin was not foolish. He vaguely sensed something was off, but his pride would not allow him to think too deeply about it.
Because of his great power, Slytherin had always been extremely arrogant.
So even if he clearly realized this was Wade's provocation, he still would not allow Wade to doubt his ability.
After that, Slytherin fell silent and did not say another word, as if he had truly gone to organize his thoughts.
Seeing this, Wade calmly closed his notebook.
And you say, 'we are the Same Kind of Person'.. foolishness Slytherin, foolishness~
With a tool like you helping me, I naturally do not need to rack my brain so much.
At this moment, the compartment door was pushed open, and Anne Rosier walked in.
"You're here. Sit down," Wade said as he moved the pile of books beside him aside to make space.
"Mm…" Anne sat down.
"What has Grindelwald been doing over the holiday?" Wade asked.
"He's spent the entire break working on an education reform plan. It seems that in the latter half of the term, he wants to introduce some kind of test for students from first to fourth year," Anne said with a frown.
"A test? Why only first to fourth years?"
"It was originally meant for all years, but after Professor Dumbledore saw the proposal, he went to argue with him for a long time. Later, students from fifth year onward were excluded from the test for now because they have major exams and employment pressure to deal with."
"So what exactly is this test?" Tom, who had been reading nearby, could not help asking.
Anne shook her head. "I don't know the details either, but I once heard him mention that it's an assessment of students' combat ability. He even told me that with my combat skills, I would definitely pass. So I guess the test is probably related to fighting."
Wade shrugged. "Dumbledore won't let him mess around. Otherwise, what if he makes first-years duel trolls?"
In fact, before Wade enrolled, most young wizards below third year had little concept of wizard dueling. Being able to use one or two minor jinxes was already impressive.
Teaching spells like the Disarming Charm in first year was something Dumbledore had specifically adjusted after Wade entered Hogwarts.
Tom said, "It'll be fine. Because of the mutual support within the cooperative society, the members are much stronger than before. Even first-year members aren't completely helpless against trolls. Especially that Ravenclaw named Flitwick and that Gryffindor named Alastor Moody…"
As Tom spoke, he cast Wade a strange look. "By the way, how did you know those two had such good talent? You told me to go recruit them the moment they finished the Sorting Ceremony!"
"Excellent wizards are always drawn to one another," Wade said with a smile. "So it was just my intuition."
Tom narrowed his eyes. He did not believe a single word of what Wade Reynolds had just said.
For all he knew, this guy might have secretly investigated the new students before the school year even started.
Wade had no shortage of money now, and gathering information on new students was an easy task. As long as you paid, there would be plenty of people willing to do it.
…
That evening, the Hogwarts Express arrived at its destination, and Wade finally returned to Hogwarts Castle.
After the feast, full and satisfied, Wade was about to head back to his dormitory to get some rest when he noticed Dumbledore gesturing to him from the staff table.
Wade had no choice but to leave the group, part ways with Anne and the others, and walk over to Dumbledore.
"Professor, you wanted to see me?"
"Wade, I'm afraid I'll have to take up a bit of your time… come with me."
Wade nodded, and as he followed Dumbledore, his gaze swept over Grindelwald at the staff table.
At that moment, Grindelwald was scratching himself with a backscratcher while smiling at Wade.
He looked far more relaxed than he had before Christmas.
It seemed that during the holiday, the discussion between Grindelwald and Dumbledore that Anne had mentioned had given Grindelwald quite a lot of what he wanted.
…
In Dumbledore's office, the fire was still burning in the fireplace, making the room warm as spring.
"Please, sit. Would you like something to drink?" Dumbledore asked.
"No, Professor. I've just eaten quite a lot," Wade shook his head.
"Very well, then let's get straight to the point, and you can go rest afterward," Dumbledore said, leaning casually against his desk as he looked at Wade.
"I believe you now understand just how powerful your magic is."
"Mhm," Wade nodded.
Dumbledore said seriously, "Both Armando and I believe that the rapid growth of your magic is due to your talent in ancient magic. Having great power is, in itself, a good thing, but we are concerned that you may not be able to adapt to such a sudden increase in magic. So… I intend to design a training program for you."
"A training program? To teach me how to control my magic?" Wade asked.
"That's part of it… but from my observations, you have always controlled your magic very well. So the main focus of this program will be to guide you in making better use of your tremendous power, helping you become as strong as possible," Dumbledore said solemnly.
Wade widened his eyes and looked at Dumbledore in disbelief.
This man wants ME to become as strong as possible...?
Judging by Dumbledore's usual character, shouldn't he be telling me to restrain my power and keep a low profile?
Why is he talking about making me stronger instead? That did not sound like Dumbledore at all.
Say it now. Did Grindelwald drink Polyjuice Potion and turn into you?
"I know what you're wondering," Dumbledore continued. "But if you are to take over Professor Slughorn's ideological guidance role, you will have to face Grindelwald directly. I want you to understand how to use your great power and to have the ability to protect yourself in front of Grindelwald."
No matter how strong Wade's magic was, it would never surpass Grindelwald's by too great a margin.
When wizards possessed comparable magic, what decided the outcome was experience and reaction.
In Dumbledore's view, Wade's reactions were good, but his combat experience was still far behind Grindelwald's. So he needed to help Wade make up for this shortcoming.
Even if he could not match Grindelwald's battle experience in the end, he would at least gain more ways to protect himself.
Wade blinked.
Ok.. So, Dumbledore is gonna teach me to become stronger!!? Kekeke~ Professor, you said it yourself. You can't go back on it now.
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