Dumbledore's face filled with question marks.
What madness has seized Snape to storm in, accusing him like this?
And must you shout so loudly?
"Severus, what's the matter?"
"Lawrence hung Flint on the wall." Snape tightened his robes. "All because Flint was about to insult his little girlfriend. Ah, the Gryffindor one."
Snape gave a derisive snort. "Your two favourite students – one's a foolish brute. The other's a lawless master of manipulation."
"You should have seen it earlier – every Hufflepuff obeys his every word, and Lawrence is only in his second year! No, to be precise, he had already shown such potential during his first year."
Dumbledore frowned.
"Severus, please elaborate in more detail."
Snape coldly recounted the incident and McGonagall's final decision.
"Somewhat reckless."
After listening, Dumbledore calmly remarked: "But this is already the best outcome. Mr Lawrence's anger must be taken seriously. Letting it out is actually a good solution. After all, he's no ordinary student. Having a straightforward temper isn't necessarily problematic."
"Are you certain?" Snape sneered. "Then you can deal with the Flint family when they come knocking. Don't bother me about it."
Dumbledore suddenly smiled.
"Severus, you didn't come here to complain, but to help Mr Lawrence, did you?"
"Nonsense. Why would I help him?"
Snape turned his head away. "I simply think he's too unrestrained. You must rein him in."
"Sometimes malice can be a form of kindness." Dumbledore maintained his smile. "I understand you don't want Mr Lawrence to make too many enemies. Rest assured, I can still assist those pure-blood families for some time."
"What do you mean?" This time, Snape genuinely didn't understand.
"It's simple. This isn't about helping Mr Lawrence, but the Flint family."
Dumbledore looked up, the gaze from behind his half-moon spectacles making Snape instinctively flinch.
"What I'm most grateful for is that Lawrence was born into the Muggle world – and as Muggle aristocracy at that. This ensures he won't share the prejudices against Muggles that Tom and Grindelwald harboured, allowing our world to continue peacefully."
Dumbledore steepled his fingers. "But this only guarantees no issues on the grand scale. Should any pure-blood family provoke him, I wouldn't be surprised if they were to vanish from history. When new powers rise, there are always those who become stepping stones."
Snape felt a chill.
The words were spoken lightly, but how many pure-blood families even existed in the wizarding world?
He now understood Dumbledore's meaning.
As long as Wayne Lawrence didn't become another Voldemort, the occasional... minor transgression would be overlooked.
Moreover, since Wayne hadn't instigated this incident, there was even less cause for concern.
Yes, this old man has always been like this.
During Snape's own school days, Slytherin had its junior Death Eater clique while Gryffindor had the Marauders running rampant.
The entire school had been in chaos, only marginally better than the climate of fear outside.
And what had Dumbledore done then?
"Severus, if the Flint family sends anyone, you'll handle it." Dumbledore resumed his usual mild tone.
"As you know, my relations with those families have never been ideal."
"Hmph." Snape snorted.
He'd well and truly shot himself in the foot. Coming to complain, only to end up cleaning up Wayne's mess – what a raw deal.
Yet despite his reluctance, Snape didn't refuse the task.
...
Unaware that a certain bat-like professor stood ready to shield him from the fallout, Wayne was currently chatting with his good friend.
"Tom, you wouldn't believe it. Today, a Slytherin student got pinned to the wall just for saying 'Mudblood.'"
[Such a thing actually happened?]
[Young Master Potter, who would dare do this?]
Tom called out smoothly. Having overcome his initial frustration, he'd regained his fighting spirit.
He even felt the diary falling into 'Harry's' hands was fate's arrangement.
His future self had been defeated by Harry, and now was the perfect opportunity for revenge. If he could just manipulate 'Harry' into opening the Chamber of Secrets and releasing the Basilisk... Not only would it drive Dumbledore from the school, but he could also seize the chance to drain Harry's life force and resurrect himself.
What could be more thrilling than using one's mortal enemy to exact revenge?
With this goal set, Tom's fighting spirit was fully ignited. He would use every means to gain 'Harry's' trust and possess his body.
Wayne wrote modestly: "Just a Muggle-born wizard. He's very powerful, quite handsome too, and extremely popular at school."
[Oh, Young Master Potter, with your family background and status as the Boy Who Lived, such honours should rightfully be yours, not that Mudblood's.]
Very brave, insulting me like that.
Wayne's smile froze momentarily.
"Tom, don't swear at people. We're all classmates here."
[My apologies, I was merely outraged. Since when do Muggle-born wizards dare attack pure-bloods?]
[Does Professor Dumbledore simply turn a blind eye?]
[Young Master Potter, your noble bloodline shouldn't suffer such injustice!]
If he hadn't known this thing's origins and intentions, Wayne might almost have been moved.
Such a loyal lapdog!
The Dark Lord truly was formidable - his flattery skills were exceptional.
"The Headmaster didn't intervene. It was Professor McGonagall who handled it..."
"..."
Wayne carefully moderated his tone, showing just enough dissatisfaction without being too obvious.
This gave Tom a glimmer of hope, making him grovel even more enthusiastically.
In his fawning, 'Harry' was practically being praised as Wayne himself.
...
After finishing his chat with Tom, Wayne began writing letters. He needed to make trouble for the Flint family.
It was predictable that Flint, having been humiliated so thoroughly, wouldn't let matters rest. Rather than waiting for them to cause trouble, it was better to strike first. As one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight, the Flint family had the closest ties with the Blacks, the Burkes and the Gamps.
Their ancestors had once been prosperous.
Their most famous ancestor was Josephina Flint, who'd once served as Minister for Magic. During her tenure, she'd exhibited extremely strong anti-Muggle tendencies, vehemently opposing the introduction of Muggle technology into the wizarding world - perfectly aligned with pure-blood aristocratic ideology.
However, she'd only lasted ten years in office - slightly longer than Fudge.
Then there was Ursula Flint, wife of Phineas Black, after which the Black and Flint families became closely connected.
Every family has its moment of glory, but the Flint family had long since passed its prime. They were slightly better off than the Gaunts or the Goyles, but not by much.
Wayne planned to fan the flames further.
The first letter was addressed to Tina. "Grandma Tina, Hogwarts is simply unbearable... my friend was actually called a Mudblood..."
Though Tina was now retired, her influence remained substantial, with countless disciples still serving in the Magical Congress of the United States.
Meanwhile, the Flint family's primary income sources, apart from collecting rent from two shops in Diagon Alley, came from smuggling medicinal ingredients.
What a coincidence—America and the European continent happened to be their main smuggling destinations.
After finishing his letter to Tina, Wayne copied it word for word.
"Grandma Perenelle, Hogwarts is simply..."
Wayne felt absolutely no guilt about tattling.
Both elderly women treated him as their own grandchild, no different from their actual descendants. Of course, they should know when trouble arose—children's matters were for children to resolve, but adult matters required adult intervention. He was confident that with these two ladies stepping in, the Flint family would at least endure a period of hardship.
Beyond this, Wayne also wrote to Borgin and Burkes, urging them to recognise the situation—and if possible, to take the opportunity to kick the Flints while they were down.
"Oh, right, I should have Nicolas deliver this to Fleur."
Suddenly remembering something, Wayne took out a brand-new notebook, wrapped it carefully, and addressed it to Beauxbatons.
This was a video communication device he'd crafted. Once Fleur received it, they could contact each other at any time. Relying solely on owls meant delays of two or three days—far too inconvenient.
He'd actually prepared another notebook for Gabrielle, too, but the little girl hadn't yet learned enough magic, not even the basic activation spell, so he had to abandon that idea.
Asking the Delacour parents for help... just felt oddly inappropriate.
After handling all this, Wayne opened his system interface.
In all honesty, he wasn't stirring up trouble this time purely for points and rewards.
He genuinely wanted to stand up for Hermione.
But in the process, some incidental benefits were inevitable.
Like building a wall in Berlin—killing two birds with one stone.
The system hadn't generated a major event this time, likely considering targeting one individual too trivial.
Still, the scattered points accumulated along the way were substantial.
Inciting unrest, bullying classmates, defying professors, losing house points...
Altogether, Wayne earned two thousand points in one go.
Combined with his usual savings, his total reserves now exceeded eleven thousand.
Wayne rubbed his hands together.
Today, he would redeem himself and prove his status as the luckiest summoner!
Even now, remembering his last reward draw made him wince in frustration.
Had that template card been a character summoning card instead, he wouldn't have felt cheated—in fact, he'd have considered it an absolute steal.
[Character: Lily Evans]
Magical Power: A
Charms: S-
Defence Against the Dark Arts: B+
Dark Magic: B
Transfiguration: S
Potions: S
Alchemy: A-
Special Talent: Crowd-Pleaser (Enhanced affinity, particularly effective against elders).
Overall Evaluation: S— A talented witch, the white moonlight of her generation, the "model child" in every elder's eyes.
That's right—Wayne had summoned Harry's mother.
Well, not exactly. Her template, rather.
Setting aside her identity, this was undoubtedly the weakest among S-tier templates.
The only marginally useful aspect was the Crowd-Pleaser talent.
Then again, Lily had been wildly popular at school back then, practically treated like a favourite daughter by the professors. Even now, Wayne often heard Lily's name mentioned by the three Heads of House.
Every time she was brought up, their expressions would fill with regret.
Especially Professor McGonagall—her eyes would inevitably redden.
As for the other one who never spoke of her... his love had been utterly devastating.
Wayne felt that if Lily had lived, she might well have become a future Hogwarts Head of House.
But what bloody use was that to him!
Alright, fine... it was somewhat helpful. At least the "affinity" effect could be utilised.
So Wayne went ahead and assimilated it.
Rounding it off, Harry could call him "Mum" now.
'Hell no.'
'No male mothers allowed.'
Wayne shook his head like a rattlesnake, physically dislodging the absurd thought from his mind.
Time for the draws.
First ten-pull: Purple rewards—Fiendfyre and the Imperius Curse.
Second ten-pull: Chain Lightning.
Third...
Fourth...
Up until the seventh, when something good finally appeared.
[Arcane Talent·Transcendence: Increases host's spellcasting speed, improves magical comprehension rate, grants minor aptitude enhancement.]
Wayne felt a cooling sensation spread through his mind, his thoughts becoming sharper—like he'd downed a Pepper-Up Potion.
A glance at his talent panel.
"Minor enhancement" indeed—the stats showed no visible change.
Not that it mattered. Boosting casting speed and having permanent Pepper-Up effects alone made it worthy of a purple reward.
Most importantly, he wanted to collect all arcane runes to raise Gathering Storm's quality ceiling.
The next two ten-pulls yielded nothing special—just common spells.
Then came the final draw, that nerve-wracking, eagerly anticipated golden glow.
The light shattered. The card bore no figure, only a radiance of utmost brilliance.
[Limit Break Magic: Final Spark]
[The signature spell of Runeterra's Lady of Luminosity, pushing light magic to its absolute limit—a terrifying force that pierces all.]
[Note: Learning Final Spark includes partial inheritance of light magic.]
Lux's ultimate...
Wayne's eyelid twitched.
Luxanna Crownguard.
Garen's sister. The Crownguard family's little princess. The darling of Demacia's entire upper echelon.
Born with prodigious light magic talent—so formidable that across the entire continent, only the opposing Dark Sovereign, Syndra, could rival her.
She even had that tank, Galio. If he could draw that, Wayne reckoned he could strut sideways through this world.
The light within me is unique, but my brilliance knows restraint.
Without hesitation, Wayne shattered the card. Dazzling radiance surged towards him, merging into his very being.
Wayne's robes billowed in the absence of wind as the magical power within him surged at an astonishing rate.
4.8 Snapes, 5.2 Snapes, 5.4 Snapes, 6.0 Snapes...
Finally, the unit of measurement changed.
0.2 Dumbledores.
Wayne's mouth twitched.
Six Snapes equalled 0.2 Dumbledores, which meant... Dumbledore's magical power was thirty times that of Snape's.
What kind of absurd gap was this?
Combined with their differing magical attainments, the disparity between the two would be even more terrifying.
Were you the magical world's version of Gandalf the White?
His mind flooded with numerous methods for channelling the power of light, along with the core techniques of the Final Spark.
After half an hour of meditative absorption, Wayne finally opened his eyes.
In that instant, his pupils took on a mesmerising kaleidoscopic hue, causing the waiting Gardevoir to become starry-eyed.
"Master looks so handsome!"
Striding briskly out of the wooden cabin, Wayne radiated brilliance, his body brimming with an unprecedented amount of magical power.
He felt exhilarated.
Desperate to shoot something.
Without drawing his wand, he simply extended both hands, palms upturned, and began floating mid-air.
Terrifying energy coalesced before erupting violently with a gentle push.
BOOOOM~!
A mountain at the far edge of the suitcase exploded violently, sending flocks of startled birds and magical beasts scattering.
When the dust settled, a hundred-metre peak had been cleanly sheared off.
This power...
Absolutely terrifying!
It wasn't just the destructive force - the spell travelled at blinding speed. Discounting the charging time, enemies wouldn't even have time to react. Once he improved the spell's proficiency to reduce charging time, this would undoubtedly become Wayne's ultimate killing technique.
Anyone foolish enough to block it with a Shield Charm would be blown to smithereens along with their protection.
"Wait."
Wayne's expression suddenly changed.
This casting posture and wind-up...
'Shinra Tensei?'