Boom!
Tom's prized Shield Charm around the wooden target shattered instantly. The target inside was blown to pieces, leaving only a burning base still standing in place.
Tom and Anne stared at the pitiful remains of the wooden target, their faces pale.
"Not bad," Wade said with satisfaction, blowing away the wisp of white smoke rising from the muzzle. "I engraved runes on the gun to reduce its weight and recoil. Oh, and there are anti-magic runes as well, to prevent wizards from tampering with it. As for the bullets, I've temporarily engraved four types of runes: explosive and flame runes to enhance power, a magic-breaking rune, and a tracking rune to prevent missed shots…"
Tom wiped the sweat from his forehead. "Wade, do you want me dead that badly?"
"What are you talking about? Weren't you the one who said you could block bullets?" Wade shot back.
"Are those even bullets? What kind of pistol fires exploding rounds?" Tom jumped to his feet.
"Mine does," Wade said smugly.
"Fine… give me one." Tom did not stand on ceremony and promptly grabbed the other revolver from the table.
If it were an ordinary Muggle pistol, Tom would not even bother to glance at it. But something Wade had modified was a different matter entirely.
A single shot had more power than the Blasting Curse, and the bullet traveled faster than a spell. It even tracked its target.
It was practically the perfect tool for ambushes.
…If he had something like this, could he take advantage of Wade's inattention and shoot the bastard in the back?
"I feel like you're thinking something very dangerous, Tom," Wade said, giving him a warning look.
!!
"What dangerous thoughts could I possibly have? You're overthinking," Tom replied calmly as he pocketed the pistol, then reached for the ammunition. "Give me some bullets too."
"Anne, do you want one? If you need it, I can have another custom-made for you. I was in a bit of a rush this time, so I only prepared two," Wade said with a smile. "In fact, I plan to equip every comrade with one in the future…"
"For now… I don't think that's necessary." Anne had only just recovered from her shock.
In truth, she was a little frightened by the pistol's power and needed time to recover.
If Tom had not stopped her earlier and she had actually served as the target, one shot would have shattered ten Annes.
"It's fine. I'll prepare one for you first. When you need it, I'll give it to you," Wade said with a smile.
"You mentioned earlier… making a Thompson submachine gun. When can you get that done?" Tom suddenly asked.
Wade shook his head. "The gun itself isn't hard to obtain, but… do you know how fast a submachine gun burns through ammunition? Engraving runes onto each bullet one by one, I'm worried my house-elf will drop dead from overwork. So until I can set up a dedicated production line for the ammo, a submachine gun is off the table. For now, a small pistol for self-defense is enough."
Tom happily fiddled with the revolver in his hand, as if he had not been the one dismissing pistols just moments ago.
The three of them continued testing the guns in the Room of Requirement for quite a while. Only after every last unfortunate wooden target had been reduced to scrap did they reluctantly leave.
But the moment they stepped out of the Room of Requirement, they ran straight into Dumbledore.
Anne's face immediately turned pale.
Wade and Tom, meanwhile, guiltily touched their pockets.
However, Dumbledore seemed preoccupied and did not notice anything unusual about the three of them.
"Sorry, I have something to discuss with Wade," Dumbledore said to Anne and Tom.
Then he turned to Wade. "Come with me for a moment. I have something very important to discuss with you."
"Of course, Professor…" Wade had no choice but to follow him.
Watching the two figures walk farther away, Anne said, "This is the first time I've seen Professor Dumbledore wear that kind of expression."
"Whatever it is, it's not small," Tom said. "Could it be Wade has finally been exposed?"
"Can't you wish him something better?"
…
The fireplace in Dumbledore's office was pleasantly warm.
But Wade could sense the heaviness in Dumbledore's heart.
"What happened, Professor?"
Dumbledore said gravely, "Do you remember the matter I told you I wanted to investigate before? I've just discovered something… and I have a feeling it may be connected to what I'm investigating."
For a moment, Wade could not recall which matter Dumbledore meant.
But when he saw Dumbledore take out a senior student's file, Wade remembered.
"Professor, what did you discover?" Wade asked.
Dumbledore then recounted everything that had happened in the Forbidden Forest in meticulous detail.
A glint flashed through Wade's eyes.
"You mean… when multiple dark creatures are gathered together, they can trigger a kind of magical power similar to ancient magic?"
In fact, while studying Dementors and Obscurials, Wade had also noticed that the magic within both gave him a strangely familiar feeling.
So it was actually a power similar to ancient magic. Could this be related to the origin of ancient magic?
"Only similar, and mixed with many impurities. I cannot be certain it is truly the power of ancient magic. And… the nonexistent person those supporters saw, as well as the centaurs' distorted memories, all reminded me of this matter." Dumbledore looked at the nameless file on the desk.
Wade's brows lifted slightly. "You suspect this missing senior?"
"I am not suspecting that student. Rather… I am wondering whether she may have encountered a similar environment and then experienced something we do not yet understand," Dumbledore said with a frown.
"Professor… I want to take a look inside the Forbidden Forest," Wade said.
"That would be very dangerous… I'll go with you," Dumbledore said.
"Don't worry. I won't be going personally." As Wade spoke, he patted his pocket, and a mass of black mist drifted out.
"An Obscurus?" Dumbledore looked at the cloud of mist in surprise.
"I discovered that after the Obscurus loses its consciousness, I can use ancient magic to attach part of my awareness to it and control its movements." Wade closed his eyes as he spoke.
The next second, the mist-like Obscurus suddenly stirred, then condensed into a vague humanoid shape before Dumbledore.
"So I'll control this Obscurus to take a look in the Forbidden Forest…"
Wade's voice came from the Obscurus, carrying a slightly muddied tone compared to his real body.
"And your main body…?"
Wade's real body opened its eyes. "It's fine. My body is still here. I'm just using a small portion of my consciousness to remotely control the Obscurus."
In truth, this was not the application of ancient magic, but nightmare magic.
Projecting part of one's consciousness was a basic use of nightmare magic.
Wade was still unable to let his consciousness drift freely without a vessel like the Senior could.
However, attaching it to an Obscurus with powerful magic posed no problem.
Controlling the Obscurus was like piloting a drone.
Of course, this particular "drone" was rather powerful in combat.
At the same time, Wade also planned to bring Slytherin along to take a look.
Regarding this matter, Slytherin would definitely be very interested.
___
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