Wade naturally agreed to Dumbledore's proposal.
A training plan personally designed by Dumbledore to enhance his strength could only benefit him. There was no reason to refuse.
"You really were quite busy this Christmas holiday," Dumbledore said. "When I went to the safe house to look for you, I couldn't find you at all. Then when I went to Tom's place, I heard that you had just left not long before…"
"Hm? Why didn't Tom tell me you came?" Wade asked in confusion.
"I didn't see Tom. I only spoke with his grandfather for a bit before leaving," Dumbledore paused, then continued. "I originally planned to tell you about this during the Christmas holiday. Unfortunately, no matter where I looked, I couldn't find you… I was a little worried, because even Fawkes couldn't locate you, which is highly unusual. Where exactly did you go?"
Wade felt a little guilty. At the time, in order to treat Nagini, he had deliberately gone to his senior's territory.
He had not expected her base to be so well hidden. It was one thing for owls to be unable to find him, but even a phoenix could not sense his location.
"I found a secluded place to treat Nagini," Wade said. "There were some difficulties in the process, and I couldn't remove her blood curse, but… most of the side effects have been cleared. She can now turn back into a human."
"What? Is that true?" Dumbledore stared at Wade in shock.
The news that Nagini could return to human form was so astonishing that Dumbledore immediately forgot to ask where Wade had been hiding.
"It's true. The night before the holiday ended, we were all together at Riddle Manor. Tom can vouch for that," Wade continued.
"Then where is she now?" Dumbledore asked quickly.
"She's gone to visit some old friends first, and then she'll slowly think about her plans for the future," Wade Reynolds said with a shrug. "I think since she's visiting old acquaintances, she'll definitely come to see you as well. So I didn't tell you at first, hoping to give you a surprise. But since you've already noticed, I had no choice but to tell you in advance."
At this point, Dumbledore was so filled with joy that he completely forgot his initial questions about where Wade had gone. Instead, he shifted all his attention to Nagini's recovery.
So Wade told Dumbledore what he could about the treatment process.
When he cured Nagini, Wade had already known that sooner or later he would have to explain to Dumbledore and the others how he had done it.
That was why, before leaving his senior's place, he had her prepare a set of explanations that would be convincing enough for Dumbledore while still concealing nightmare magic.
In short, it came down to releasing the Transfiguration on Nagini, forcefully suppressing her in her beast state, and then using ancient magic to erase the consciousness of the beast soul, allowing Nagini's human consciousness to take control again.
Although the explanation was somewhat vague, Dumbledore did not doubt it much.
After all, Nagini had truly been cured, and Dumbledore did not even know that nightmare magic existed. From his perspective, Wade had nothing to hide from him.
Moreover, only Wade could use ancient magic. The right to explain it now belonged solely to him. It was essentially a skill unique to him. Even if one wanted to doubt it, there was no way to verify anything.
After clarifying some basic details, Dumbledore told Wade to go back and rest first. He had originally planned to discuss the training program that night as well, but did not bring it up again.
After Wade returned to his dormitory, Dumbledore also hurriedly left Hogwarts through the fireplace.
…
Early the next morning, Wade resumed his normal school life as usual.
However, whenever the professors faced Wade, they could not help feeling a little uneasy.
After all, they had all witnessed this extraordinary boy's strength before…
Yet, just as Wade had said in the Chamber back then, being strong in a fight did not mean there was no need to learn other knowledge.
So the professors' discomfort did not last long, and they soon returned to their usual manner.
As for Slytherin's ghost, he spent only the first few days burying himself in research on the basilisk's gaze curse. After that, he could no longer restrain himself and began hiding on Wade, secretly observing what the castle he had once fought for looked like a thousand years later.
"The environment is far too comfortable. Many parts of the curriculum have been simplified… It's unbelievable that they even canceled weapons training. No wonder your swordsmanship is so terrible… If that fellow Godric saw Hogwarts today, I'd wager he'd be even more upset than I am…"
"And those so-called pure-blood students nowadays… Are you sure those troll-like brutes are really pure-bloods?"
In the Chamber of Slytherin, Slytherin's ghost hovered in midair, talking nonstop.
After the basilisk had been dealt with, the entrance to the Chamber had originally been sealed by Dumbledore and the others.
But what they sealed was merely the basilisk's passageway.
Slytherin's ghost simply led Wade in through another entrance and even had Wade set up a laboratory here as well.
By now, Slytherin had more or less finished observing the castle, and he no longer wanted to follow Wade around all day to attend what he considered childish classes.
So he decided that from now on, he would often stay in this Chamber.
"Because as spells have been simplified and casting speed has increased, close combat as a way to assist in dueling has gradually been phased out. That's why there's no longer any need for weapons training," Wade Reynolds explained.
"Simplified spells?" Slytherin sighed.
"Yes, while that improves casting speed and makes learning easier, it's precisely because of this simplification that students today are gradually drifting away from the essence of magic."
"Take Tom, for example. He's indeed very clever, but whenever he encounters a powerful spell, the first thing he asks is always what the incantation is!"
"If it were my students a thousand years ago… admittedly, their talent wasn't as great as Tom's."
"But when they faced such situations, their first reaction was always to ask what the principle behind the magic was. For instance, when dealing with the Blasting Curse, they would explore what caused the flames to form, how the magical flow should run, and whether reversing that flow might produce a freezing effect…"
"In this regard, Tom doesn't even measure up to your blood-cursed beast friend."
In truth, Tom's outstanding talent had long made Slytherin, whose mindset had already begun to shift, gradually overlook the fact that Tom was a half-blood wizard.
So now, Slytherin truly cared about this gifted descendant of his.
That was why, when he saw some of Tom's disappointing performances, he felt especially irritated.
It was the kind of anger that came from wanting someone to do better.
"You're right," Wade nodded in agreement. "Simplified spells are easier to master, and naturally, people begin to overlook why those spells work in the first place. Once they ignore the essence of magic, if they then forget the incantations as well, they become exactly what people call mediocre wizards."
Even though spells had been greatly simplified and improved in this era, there were far more mediocre wizards now than there had been a thousand years ago.
Not only now. In a few decades, there will be even more mediocre wizards.
In the era of the savior Harry Potter, not to mention ordinary wizards, even some active Aurors could not cast the Shield Charm at all.
"Kid, I have to say, in this regard, you've done very well… at least you haven't been blinded by your own talent," Slytherin said as he looked up at the ceiling of the Chamber, a trace of nostalgia flashing in his eyes.
Wade looked at him and suddenly asked, "People often say that ghosts appear because they still have unfinished attachments. Then what is yours?"
"I don't even know how I died… how would I know what my attachment is?"
Slytherin said irritably, then continued, "If I really had to name one… maybe it's uncovering the secret of immortality? But right now, I want even more to recover my remains. It's truly baffling. Even if I was the greatest of the Four Founders, my remains are still just bones. What use are they? Could I brew tea with them or something?"
"I'll find a way to help you recover them," Wade said after a moment of thought.
"You already have an idea?" Slytherin asked. "If you do, you can tell me. I can look into it as well."
"I'm thinking that there should be a connection between the soul and the remains. Otherwise, you wouldn't have said back then that you could sense your remains underground. And then, just when we started digging, your remains disappeared. So now, can you really sense nothing at all?"
Slytherin said bitterly, "There's truly no connection anymore… it's as if they vanished from this world entirely!"
No wonder he felt so furious. That hollow, eerie feeling was like having been reduced to dust and scattered to the winds. The last trace he had left in this world had now disappeared without a trace.
"Maybe we can first figure out why there is a connection between the soul and the remains, and then work backward to understand why you lost that connection," Wade suggested.
"Yes, that's exactly what I was thinking. So… I need test subjects! And test subjects aren't hard to come by. All I need is a freshly dead person and that person's newly formed ghost!" Slytherin said the most terrifying words in the gentlest tone.
"I'm afraid that would be very difficult…" Wade looked at him calmly.
Slytherin sighed. "Alright, alright… this era is truly boring. You even have to tiptoe around just to find a test subject."
"It doesn't have to be fresh remains," Wade said. "There are plenty of ghosts in the castle, and for many of them, we know exactly where they were buried. If you go ask them, there won't be any problem."
Slytherin immediately began to hesitate. "This matter… isn't urgent."
"Is becoming a ghost really that hard to talk about?" Wade said helplessly.
"For me… yes!" Slytherin said without hesitation.
"Alright then… suit yourself." Wade shrugged. "But if you're unwilling to interact with other ghosts, then I really don't have any other options right now. You can't expect a living person like me to ask ghosts those kinds of questions. They'd think I was mocking them."
"Anyway, you don't need to worry about that. I'll get you the data," Slytherin said vaguely.
Since it had come to this and Slytherin still would not give way, Wade had no choice but to stop dwelling on it.
That was the downside of a prideful person. Such a hassle…
Then Wade took out the core he had obtained from the puppet knights during his earlier trials. "Let's look at something else, for example, how this core actually works…"
"You really are something. You won't even give me a moment to rest," Slytherin said.
"With all due respect, you've already rested long enough."
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