The street was eerily silent.
The darkness of the night felt thick like ink, making the dimly lit buildings along the roadside appear even more sinister and eerie under the faint moonlight.
Wade quietly followed the floating blue flame, step by step, as it led him away from Hogsmeade Village.
Before long, he had completely left the village.
The glow of the street lamps, which had faintly illuminated his shadow, finally disappeared, stopping at the stone bridge at the village's edge.
Wade continued to follow the blue flame, which soon guided him down a narrow path, leading deeper into the forest.
As the trees grew denser, the dim moon above gradually vanished from sight.
Wade tilted his head up, but all he could see was the thick canopy of leaves, casting dense shadows in the night—shadows that looked like giant beasts lurking in the dark, waiting to devour anything that strayed too close.
By now, the only source of light left in front of Wade was the faint glow of the floating blue flame.
"Lumos."
A brilliant white glow burst from the tip of his wand, piercing through the oppressive darkness of the forest.
With proper illumination, Wade's unease slowly dissipated, and his thoughts gradually calmed…
Seeing that the blue flame seemed to be leading him toward the Forbidden Forest, Wade raised his wand.
"Protego!"
A transparent shield instantly flashed into existence, enveloping Wade's entire body.
Though the Shield Charm was an advanced spell, Wade—having the magical strength of an adult wizard—found it relatively easy to master.
Shortly after moving to Hogsmeade, he had specifically sought out Aberforth and learned this extremely useful defensive spell from him.
After all, he had recently suffered because of the Shield Charm during his encounter with Grindelwald's Party.
At the time, Tom had also wanted to learn it, but unfortunately, his magical strength wasn't yet sufficient. Even with exceptional talent, he could barely form a partial Shield Charm…
Several more minutes passed as Wade followed the floating blue flame, venturing deeper into the Forbidden Forest.
There was no clear path in the forest. If any existed, they were likely closer to Hogwarts' side.
Navigating through the dense and pathless Forbidden Forest, Wade pressed forward for another five or six minutes.
Finally, the blue flame came to a stop—hovering in front of what looked like a massive boulder.
Wade raised his wand, casting its luminescent glow onto the large stone in front of the floating blue flame.
Now that the light fully illuminated it, Wade could see clearly—this was not a mere boulder.
It was, in fact, a massive stone sculpture of an intricately carved toad!—Wait what? A toad..?
Just as Wade was about to examine it more closely to see what was special about it…
Suddenly—the stone toad opened its massive mouth and swallowed him whole, along with his Protego shield!
What the!!!
Everything went black for a moment.
However, Wade quickly noticed something—his Shield Charm remained intact, completely unharmed.
This meant that the toad itself likely wasn't hostile!
Then—Whoosh!
Wade felt his entire body spin rapidly, like being pulled through a magical vortex.
A bright light flashed before his eyes and in the next instant—Plop!
His feet landed firmly on the ground!
Wade quickly surveyed his surroundings.
To his surprise, he was no longer in the Forbidden Forest.
Instead, he now stood inside a massive stone chamber.
The size of this chamber was immense—easily half the size of a football field.
Even more astonishingly, the ceiling stretched nearly ten meters high!
Yet, despite its enormous size, the chamber was completely empty.
Unlike the Forbidden Forest, where darkness reigned under the dense canopy, this underground chamber was illuminated as if by daylight—yet there was no visible source of light anywhere.
Wade turned around and found himself standing before another massive stone toad sculpture—nearly identical to the one in the forest.
So… this stone toad was a portal?
Its method of teleportation, however, was rather peculiar.
The one in the Forbidden Forest had 'swallowed' him—and this one here had 'spat him out'.
He had no idea where he had just been transported to.
Just then—"If I were you, I'd step away from that big toad immediately. Otherwise, it might just swallow you up and send you right back."
A familiar voice echoed in Wade's ears.
This..
The same voice that had appeared in my dreams!
Wade scanned the chamber, searching for the speaker—But he saw no one.
Clearly, the owner of the voice was not in the chamber itself.
Then, the voice called out again—"Come up here."
"Where are you—Oh?.."
As soon as Wade finished speaking, a thick white mist began to emerge from an unknown source.
The mist spread rapidly, rolling across the ground like waves, obscuring everything in sight.
Wade instinctively gripped his wand, his muscles tensing as he remained on guard.
Then, a figure slowly took shape within the dense fog.
At first, it was just a vague silhouette, but as the mist swirled around it, the shape became clearer—a tall, robed individual standing motionless in the distance.
Despite the hazy surroundings, Wade could feel the weight of the figure's gaze fixed upon him.
"Welcome," the voice said once more—this time, much clearer than before.
It was deep, smooth, and carried an eerie calmness.
Wade narrowed his eyes, staring at the robed figure.
"...Who are you?" he asked cautiously.
The mist continued to swirl, distorting the space between them, but the figure remained unmoving.
"That's not important," the voice replied. "What matters is why you're here."
Wade tightened his grip on his wand.
"I was led here by that fire," he said. "You told me to follow it."
"Yes," the figure responded. "And you came." A pause. "Now… let's see if you're truly worthy."
The mist quickly filled the vast stone chamber!
Wade's expression grew unusually solemn as he recognized the familiar white haze.
Nightmare magic…!!!!!!
The moment the thought surfaced in his mind, the entire environment shifted in an instant!
The once barren stone chamber had transformed—becoming a vast, blooming garden filled with birdsong and fragrant flowers.
Wade stared at the sight in shock.
There was no doubt—the person in front of him had mastered Nightmare Magic to a degree far beyond his own. Their skill had already reached the level of affecting others.
Wade, however, was not discouraged by this realization. After all, he had only started learning this magic a day ago.
He was confident that one day, he would reach the same level.
But at this moment, he finally understood—the final step described in the manuscript was not an exaggeration.
"Come closer," the voice said. "Let's have a chat."
Wade turned his gaze toward the source of the voice.
There, in the middle of the garden, stood a pavilion. Inside, a round table and two chairs were neatly arranged.
One of the chairs was already occupied by a peculiar figure.
Peculiar—because he didn't look human at all.
What kind of normal person was completely shrouded in swirling black mist?
Wade strode forward without hesitation and took a seat across from the strange figure.
It was only upon closer inspection that Wade could see the full extent of his unsettling presence—the man's entire body was wrapped in an eerie, shifting black haze.
"Ahh~ We finally meet, Wade," the figure said. "I'm sure you have many questions. That's fine—you can ask them now."
Though his tone carried an unmistakable amusement, Wade couldn't see his facial expression through the swirling darkness.
Without hesitation, Wade nodded and got straight to the point. "Who are you? And why are you looking for me?"
The figure let out a deep sigh. "I am merely a pitiful soul—one enslaved by power. As for why I sought you out… it's because only you can save my life."
"Me?" Wade raised an eyebrow. "Save your life?"
At that moment, the small, glowing blue lighter floated out of Wade's pocket, drifting gently into the figure's waiting hand.
"This lighter…" The figure chuckled. "Only you can see the glow, can't you?"
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Read ahead: P^treon: Captain69
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