Hearing these two names, Wayne's mind raced, quickly recalling who Borgin was referring to.
Godelot.
A notorious Dark Wizard in history, dubbed 'the Unpleasant'. He invented numerous Dark spells, the most famous being the Snake Summons Spell, which summoned venomous snakes to attack foes.
But the most feared was a plague curse, rumoured to create and spread epidemics on a massive scale.
This vile magic, however, had been lost to time, surviving only in written records.
It was said that Godelot once wiped out several villages with his plague curse, claiming hundreds of innocent Muggle lives.
He also compiled Magick Moste Evile, a forbidden Dark Arts tome not even kept in Hogwarts' Restricted Section—merely mentioned in passing by other books.
Godelot had another notable distinction.
He was once the master of the Elder Wand, treating it as both companion and mentor. Legend held that Magick Moste Evile was completed under the wand's guidance.
Yet during his research, his son Hereward stole the wand and imprisoned him in a cellar.
In the end, this formidable Dark Wizard starved to death in his own dungeon.
Records of Hereward were even scarcer, with no clear account of how he lost the Elder Wand.
But as its master, he likely met a grim fate—like all others who wielded it.
"What did you find?" Wayne asked.
"A hoard of Dark Artefacts as burial offerings," Grace cut in. "Most importantly, we discovered the original Magick Moste Evile. That's why we were hunted after taking it."
Borgin's face twisted in dismay as he obediently emptied all their findings from a pouch.
One book immediately drew Wayne's attention, radiating intense Dark Magic.
"Mr Lawrence, everything's here," Borgin whispered.
Wayne was pleased with his cooperation.
"I've no interest in the rest. Magick Moste Evile is mine. Any objections?"
"None at all."
Though Wayne had claimed the most valuable treasure upfront, Borgin felt he'd gotten the better deal.
Other Dark Artefacts can also earn a fair bit of money.
What he loved most were Galleons and collecting all sorts of treasures. Since quality was out of the question, maintaining quantity would have to do.
"I'll visit Knockturn Alley to find you before term starts."
With that, Wayne paid him no further attention, instead turning to Grace.
"Senior, after such a dangerous incident, surely you've had your fill of fun?"
"Find a stable job. If you're willing, I can recommend you to the Ministry of Magic—the Department of International Magical Cooperation, the Transportation Office, or even the Department of Magical Law Enforcement would be possible."
Grace's companions immediately looked envious.
Who in their right mind would still want to dabble in grave-robbing when such a good job was on offer?
Grace had always kept a low profile—who knew she had such influential connections?
"Who says I'm just having fun?"
Now that the life-threatening danger had passed, Grace reverted to her usual languid demeanour.
"I'm clearly helping those poor treasures see the light of day again, uncovering secrets."
"What secrets?" Wayne asked.
"I just want to know... how Helga Hufflepuff really died," Grace murmured, her expression briefly distant.
Wayne was taken aback—he hadn't expected Grace to harbour such lofty ambitions.
"Have you found any leads?"
"No." Grace shook her head dejectedly, but quickly rallied. "It hasn't been long. As long as I keep at it, I'll make progress eventually."
"Fair enough." Wayne nodded.
If his senior had her own aspirations, he wouldn't stand in her way.
"Return to London soon. I'll help stabilise the magical power in your mark, so this doesn't happen again."
"Mmm, understood." Grace giggled. "Does this mean I'm being kept by my junior now?"
"Of course."
Wayne answered with complete seriousness—this was a lesson he'd learned well.
When faced with Grace's teasing, the key was never to back down.
The more flustered you acted, the more she'd escalate.
Sure enough, hearing his blunt admission, Grace pouted, finding it no fun at all.
After exchanging a few more words, Wayne's remaining strength waned, and he dissolved back into white light, vanishing into the Mark.
Once he was gone, the others—who'd been holding their breaths throughout the conversation—finally relaxed.
Damian, whom Grace had saved, couldn't contain his curiosity. "Grace, I heard you call him 'junior'... but you only just graduated, right?"
"Is he still a student?"
"What if he is?" Before Grace could reply, Borgin sneered. "Can Mr Lawrence's brilliance really be diminished by something as trivial as age?"
"Even if you lot lived another hundred years, you wouldn't be fit to lick his boots!"
One witch snapped, "What are you so proud of, Borgin? We still haven't settled accounts with you!"
"My mistake this time. It's just money—I'll pay you back once we return."
Borgin brushed them off, no longer deigning to engage.
Earlier, he'd kept quiet out of fear that Wayne might think he'd duped Grace, terrified of facing consequences later.
But now that the danger had passed, why should he grovel before a bunch of mercenaries?
With an ingratiating smile, Borgin sidled up to Grace.
"Miss Grace, I had no idea you were so close to Mr Lawrence. You should've said so earlier."
With a slight glance at him, Grace said indifferently, "I didn't know you were acquainted with him."
"It's not too late to know now," Borgin fawned with an ingratiating smile, his tone dripping with sycophancy.
"You're interested in ancient tombs—we could collaborate. I have information on several major burial sites here. What do you say..."
Borgin desperately tried to curry favour, offering exorbitant prices in an attempt to win Grace over.
With such a trump card in his hand, his future explorations of dangerous sites would be much safer.
Grace didn't refuse.
She did need to rely on Borgin's connections and network to uncover clues related to Helga Hufflepuff.
...
Meanwhile, Wayne resolved his troubles and returned his consciousness to his physical body.
Without further delay, he went straight to bed.
The next morning, he awoke to find the room piled high with packages of all sizes.
To make it easier for him and Cho to receive gifts, Nicolas had deliberately disabled the secrecy charms around the manor the previous night.
Unwrapping presents was always a delightful process.
After a quick wash, Wayne sat on the floor and began his unboxing spree.
Picking up the nearest envelope, Wayne chuckled.
It was from that lad Wotley.
Inside was a photograph of the entire Wigtown Wanderers Quidditch team, complete with their signatures on the back.
Accompanying the photo was a letter, which revealed that Wotley had been doing well lately, having already participated in two matches.
Wayne picked up another letter—a love confession... The writer claimed she had fallen in love at first sight after seeing Wayne's photo in Witch Weekly.
Her seventh husband was also on his last legs, and if Wayne was willing... they could jointly inherit the soon-to-be-late husband's fortune.
Wayne fell silent for a full two minutes after reading it.
The woman also mentioned she was a pureblood.
Seventh husband...
Though there was no photo, he had a pretty good guess who the sender was...
He incinerated the letter with a flick of his wand, pretending nothing had happened.
Ever since winning that ridiculous "Most Charming Smile Award," he'd been bombarded with bizarre letters—from offers of vast sums for an heir to unsolicited explanations about the symbolism of steel wool (wealth and endurance).
The reason he'd received far more gifts than usual today was mainly due to these people.
Wayne also discovered several suspicious-looking sweets. A single sniff revealed the poorly brewed love potion within.
For safety's sake, he destroyed anything questionable and sorted the harmless items for future regifting.
After a long while, he finally separated the gifts from friends and professors.
Senior Grace had sent another batch of "benefits"—photos even more eye-catching than before. Wayne hadn't expected her to remember him while tomb-raiding; she must have prepared these well in advance.
He, on the other hand, hadn't gotten her anything, which left him feeling slightly guilty.
Then there was Cedric. The stingy git had sent him a few rare Chocolate Frog cards.
Since being saddled with his massive debt, Cedric had grown increasingly tight-fisted.
Wayne strongly suspected these cards had been swindled from Ron—he couldn't recall Cedric ever having a collecting hobby.
Next were the twins, who gifted two newly developed prank gadgets they'd recently invented.
The first was invisible ink. Unlike ordinary ink that disappears immediately after writing, this one had a delayed vanishing effect.
When written, the homework would appear completely normal, filled with visible text. But once handed in, whether the professor could read it or not would be left to fate.
The second was slug bubblegum. The colourful sweets would determine the hue of your mucus - whatever colour you ate, you'd find yourself constantly sniffing with similarly tinted mucus for the following period.
Sometimes Wayne marvelled at these brothers, wondering how their minds brimmed with such ingenious prank ideas.
Were they simply born geniuses?
Iron Hat Princess Hannah gifted her homemade beef jerky.
Susan Bones gifted an ancient book from her family's collection.
Toby gave him a yo-yo, while Norman presented a multi-purpose shovel that could be used in Herbology.
"They should have received my gifts by now, too, right?" Wayne muttered.
He'd given both of them the same thing - the Charging Charm they'd been longing for.
It had taken considerable effort for Wayne to perfect this spell. He wondered if they'd manage to learn it.
Professor McGonagall's gift was an early edition of Transfiguration Today, featuring an exceptionally brilliant article by Dumbledore.
In return, Wayne had given Professor McGonagall a research paper to review before submitting to Transfiguration Today.
For the mature cat-loving professor, seeing her students excel was the greatest gift of all.
Professor Flitwick gifted a Remembrall that emitted different coloured lights to indicate the importance of forgotten matters.
Professor Sprout presented a packet of Echo Vine seeds - rare plants that absorbed surrounding sounds for storage, releasing them all at once when heated.
Wayne accepted these happily.
Then his expression darkened.
Last year, when Snape sent no gift, Wayne had made a special "courtesy call" to remind him.
This year, the old bat's memory proved better, sending him... a bottle of Flobberworm mucus.
Market price: 3 Knuts per bottle - cheaper than soft drinks...
Worse still, the bat had specifically written, urging Wayne to visit Spinner's End before term began, regarding "something important".
Wasn't he afraid Wayne would come demanding retribution?
After Wayne had gone to the trouble of gifting Snape a bottle of Pepsi, too. Like casting pearls before swine.
Yet this piqued Wayne's curiosity. What could be so important that Snape would remind him twice?
Now he'd have to investigate.
Next came the girls' gifts.
Gloves, scarves, hats, jumpers...
Hermione and others seemed coordinated, handmaking nearly every clothing item and accessory he might wear.
At least he wouldn't need to ponder school attire - just wear the complete set.
Fleur, all the way in France, sent a sachet containing precious herbs. Even Sakura contributed a Christmas gift - A hand-sewn purse with adorable fox patterns.
Cassandra gifted magical jigsaw puzzles depicting Ilvermorny's campus. Tapping completed puzzles with a wand revealed interior details.
...
By the time Wayne finished organising everything and went downstairs, it was 10 o'clock.
The elderly guests were taking tea with pastries, Cho seated between Tina and Perenelle.
Spotting Wayne, Nicolas teased, "Finished at last? Nabby was terrified by all those owls - must've been a hundred."
"Can't be helped when one's this popular." Grinning, Wayne sat beside Newt as a steaming breakfast appeared before him.
The moment he finished eating, an impatient Newt asked:
"Wayne, that Human Transfiguration you gave Tina and me..."
That morning, Newt had discovered their gifts - two vials of Elixir of Life representing thirty years' lifespan, and the Human Transfiguration manuscript.
After the shock brought by the Elixir of Life, the more he studied this Human Transfiguration, the more familiar it seemed—there were even traces of Dark Magic within it.
A dreadful suspicion took root in his mind...
Having found no answers, Newt had been restless since morning.
"It's Grindelwald's Human Transfiguration," Wayne admitted frankly.
"Where did you get this?" Tina's eyes widened as she spoke warily. "Did one of his followers approach you, or did Grindelwald use some means?"
Newt and Grindelwald had a... complicated relationship, but Tina's history with Grindelwald was even messier.
For one, Tina was the first Auror ever to arrest Grindelwald—though there had been an element of his own compliance, the feat still made her famous.
Then there were personal reasons.
To summarise: her man had used her man to deal with his man's man.
The dynamics were exceedingly convoluted.
Wayne didn't intend to burden the Scamanders with the Horcrux matter, so he simply explained that Dumbledore had taken him to see Grindelwald, even getting Nicolas to vouch for him.
Only then did the elderly couple relax.
Still, Tina cautioned, "You must be extremely careful when dealing with Grindelwald in the future. His greatest skill is bewitching wizards with words."
"Several of my former colleagues were deceived by him and ended up committing terrible mistakes."
"Don't worry," Wayne nodded obediently before suddenly turning to Newt with a grin.
"By the way, didn't you say before that if I ever went to Nurmengard, I should remember to pass on your regards to Grindelwald?"
"Grindelwald was delighted to hear you still think of him. He even said that if he ever gets out, he'll make sure to visit you for a proper catch-up."
Newt: "..."
I was just boasting—who'd have thought you'd actually go!