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When Tom heard Dumbledore mention that there was a way to solve this issue, he also became anxious. He quickly looked at Wade, hoping that he could come up with a good solution.
Otherwise, if this matter was settled, their plan to move toward freedom would be completely ruined.
At least, before graduation, there would be many things they couldn't do.
"Oh! What is the Fidelius Charm?" Wade asked calmly.
Seeing Wade's calm expression, Tom's heart became much more at ease.
Perhaps this guy still has a solution!
Dumbledore's expression turned serious.
"This is a very complex spell. Simply put, it's a spell that hides a secret deep in the soul of a living person, permanently."
"Because the secret is hidden in the soul of the chosen person—what we call the 'Confidant'—it can never be discovered unless the Confidant chooses to reveal it."
"I only need to take the address of where you're living as the secret to be hidden, and then, Grindelwald will never be able to find you."
"This way, both you and your guardian's safety can be guaranteed," Dumbledore continued.
"As for the choice of the Confidant... I'll take that role. I think, in this world, there shouldn't be anyone who can force me to reveal the secret I wish to hide."
After hearing Dumbledore's explanation, Tom's face immediately turned ashen.
It's over. The dream of freedom has flown away...
Dumbledore's plan was flawless.
Tom couldn't think of any way to refuse it.
"Thank you for your kindness, Professor. But... there's no need to trouble yourself. I really don't want to become part of any family. As for the guardian, you can find one for Tom. I have Toby to take care of me, so you don't need to worry about me," Wade said in a low, sorrowful tone.
Tom widened his eyes. What about bringing me along?!
Dumbledore asked in confusion, "But, why? To me, family is the most precious thing in this world. If you could become part of a new family..."
"There are some things that, if you've never had them, you'll never lose them..." Wade replied, then sat back on the bed, hugging his knees, staring silently out of the window, his face still wearing an expression of deep sadness.
"Ah..." This was the first time Dumbledore had seen such an expression on Wade's face.
In his memory, Wade had always been sunny, confident, and full of life...
Dumbledore couldn't help but recall his conversation with Mrs. Cole.
When he inquired about Tom's situation, he had also asked about Wade.
Mrs. Cole had told him that she had found Wade on the street.
The boy had been full of confusion, only saying his name was Wade Reynolds and that he had no family, and then he said nothing more...
At that moment, Dumbledore understood. Wade's strong resistance to joining a new family must be related to the past he didn't want to talk about with anyone.
If he was not mistaken, it should have been a very sad past... one that had left a huge shadow on Wade's heart.
And that shadow was so deep that it made Wade afraid to ever have any familial bonds again.
"...If you've never had something, you'll never lose it..."
These words deeply troubled Dumbledore.
He certainly understood what it felt like to lose a loved one... it was nothing short of heart-wrenching!
Dumbledore looked into Wade's eyes again and, as a habit, used Legilimency to probe his thoughts.
The result he received was, aside from sadness, more sadness!
Dumbledore was finally moved. If he let this child continue in such sorrow, it might break him completely...
Therefore, he didn't dare to press him any further. Even with all his magical power, this kind of emotional issue couldn't be healed by magic.
"Since that's the case, then... alright, as for Tom..."
Tom, being the clever one, immediately saw Dumbledore looking at him and loudly said, "I'm his only friend! I have to stay with him!"
Dumbledore looked at Tom, then at Wade, and finally relented.
"Alright... you can stay with him. I won't find you guardians..."
In Dumbledore's view, Wade had no family and refused to be adopted.
If he took away his only friend, Wade would truly be alone.
So, Dumbledore decided to leave Tom with him. After all, Tom also didn't want to be adopted.
At this moment, Wade turned his head back around and forced a smile, one that seemed rather strained.
"Thank you, Professor Dumbledore. I... I truly apologize for not accepting your kindness... it's just... it's just that I..."
Tom, meanwhile, was thoroughly impressed by Wade. Get this man an award!
He hadn't expected that, in such an unfavorable situation, Wade could still play the emotional card, land a blow on Dumbledore, and then turn the situation around!
Dumbledore sighed. He had no idea what Wade had been through in the past.
And unless Wade chose to share, he couldn't ask more. After all, just reminding Wade of past events made him react like this. To make him speak about it... that would truly be too cruel.
"I can promise not to find you a guardian, but the Fidelius Charm must be cast, and I must be the one to find your place to live."
Although this outcome wasn't entirely satisfactory to Wade, getting to this point was still a win.
At worst, he could find another secret base to conduct his experiments.
However, for Tom, this outcome was entirely acceptable.
Although he still hadn't managed to directly escape from Wade, at least he didn't need to find a guardian anymore!
He couldn't stand Mrs. Cole's supervision, let alone anyone else's...
Once Dumbledore and Professor Hicks left, Wade's sad expression vanished in an instant.
Tom, seeing this, wasn't the least bit surprised.
As expected, it was all an act! No wonder! This guy is really something..
At this moment, Tom was truly starting to admire Wade more and more. With just a few words, he managed to deal with the difficult Dumbledore!
Wade rubbed his face. Luckily, he had learned the occlumency earlier, or else he would have almost been exposed just now.
He hadn't expected that, in that kind of situation, Dumbledore would actually use Legilimency to probe his emotions...
But thankfully, with the occlumency, he was able to conceal his emotions very well.
At least, Dumbledore, who had roughly tried to read Wade's emotions with Legilimency, absolutely couldn't see through him.
In fact, Wade hadn't told a single lie just now.
He hadn't volunteered that his past was tragic; everything was just Dumbledore's own assumptions!
What Wade had done was simply use his acting skills and words to cleverly leave a gap...
"Wade! Your acting skills are too good! Now we don't have to live under others." Tom said smugly thinking Dumbledore was fooled by two children.
"Yeah, thanks. Alright... don't get too smug, or it'll be bad if we get caught."
"Got it!"
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