Wade's request was something the Senior naturally had no reason to refuse.
Besides, she'd been alone for so many years and had long since grown deeply accustomed to loneliness. Now that she had someone to talk to, she actually felt quite good about it.
Senior explained to Wade, "In fact, every spell has a certain range. And… if your focus and concentration are high enough, you can even cause the form of the spell to change noticeably."
"Only exceptionally powerful wizards can achieve that through their understanding of magic. However… those with ancient magical abilities are an exception."
"Releasing your ancient magic all at once may be powerful, but it's not actually the best way to use it."
"The best way to use it is actually to enhance your own magic with ancient magic… I imagine you've experienced that sense of enhancement before."
Wade nodded. He thought back to when he'd poured all his ancient magical power into a single Transfiguration spell.
And had turned a lively, energetic Nagini into a tiny snake.
Even Dumbledore, upon seeing it, felt that this Transfiguration was nothing short of overwhelming…
So, Wade told the Senior about that experience.
"When I first awakened my ancient magic, I used it the same way you did. But as my understanding of it deepened, I realized that all you need is just a trace of ancient magic added to your spell, and you can end up with something far more powerful than before! There's no need to waste so much."
Wade suddenly understood. "So, this lightning chain-like spell attack of yours is actually achieved using the power of ancient magic?"
Senior said happily, "You're really clever. That's right. And what's more, it doesn't even consume much of your ancient magic power. Look at me—I can only use a tiny bit of ancient magic right now… but I can still fundamentally change the form of the Killing Curse!"
"The most important part is that if you're only using ancient magic to enhance your own magic, no one will be able to detect it. So technically, you're not going against Professor Dumbledore's instructions."
It had to be said—even though the Senior had been frozen when she was still very young, her wealth of battle experience meant that what she could teach Wade was far more than he'd imagined.
So, over the next half month, Wade studied with Tom during the day, and practiced Parseltongue with Nagini on the side.
At night, he entered dreams to study nightmare magic and ancient magic under Senior's guidance.
With Senior's instruction and Wade's own foundation in ancient magic, his nightmare magic advanced rapidly.
After just half a month, he was already able to enter the dreams of people whose magical strength was lower than his.
And if he enhanced it with ancient magic, his nightmare spells could even begin to affect others in the waking world.
Along the way, his ancient magic also improved.
Senior told him that he must visit any place that might be a hotspot for ancient magic. Even absorbing it just once—even the smallest amount—would do more good than an entire year of solo practice.
This made Wade all the more excited about those places.
If he didn't have to go to bed early every night to meet Senior in his dreams—and if that notebook weren't hidden away in Hogwarts' Restricted Section—he'd have rushed into the Forbidden Forest every evening to search!
…
In the blink of an eye, it was the morning of September 1st.
That day, Wade and Tom both got up early.
Just as the admission letter had said, today, Wade and Tom were supposed to head to Hogwarts.
By the time they got up, their luggage had already been packed neatly by Toby and placed in a corner of the room.
"My Master Wade is going off to school… Toby… Toby won't be able to go with his Master Wade. But Toby will follow your orders and stay at the Hog's Head for now."
Toby looked utterly dejected at not being able to accompany Wade to Hogwarts.
Especially after learning that there were plenty of other house-elves at Hogwarts who would be helping to take care of the students—he felt a mix of emotions that was hard to put into words.
"Haha~ It's alright Toby. Hogsmeade is just a short walk from Hogwarts anyway. I'll come visit you often," Wade said as he gathered his toiletries.
Tom gave a cold snort. "From what I've heard, only third-year students are allowed to visit Hogsmeade on weekends. Otherwise, it would be against school rules…"
"What? Did I hear that right? Tommy boy! Are you actually planning to follow the rules?" Wade said with a look of utter shock.
"What's that supposed to mean? What's so strange about it? Do you think I'm the kind of student who goes around breaking school rules for no reason?" Tom frowned.
"Hehe~ nothing. I'm just surprised by the change in you," Wade said with mock sincerity. "If Professor Dumbledore could see you now, he'd be so proud!"
"Ugh! That's disgusting! Who wants to make that old man proud?" Tom said with a look of pure revulsion.
"Toby is so moved… Young Master Wade is even willing to break school rules for Toby!" Toby was overwhelmed with emotion.
Tom stood to the side, completely speechless.
He simply couldn't understand the way house-elves thought.
Still, even Tom had to admit—it was much more comfortable having a house-elf around. Especially when Toby treated him with just as much respect and even helped pack his luggage.
Knock knock knock!
There was a knock at the door.
Tom said, "Come in!"
Aberforth pushed the door open, a faint smile on his face.
"Gentlemen, we need to get to King's Cross Station before ten-thirty, and then take the Hogwarts Express."
Wade and Tom exchanged a glance.
"Hogwarts is less than three miles away from us… and yet we have to travel thousands of miles just to catch a train?" Tom was stunned.
"Yes," Aberforth said matter-of-factly.
"And… the Hogwarts Express ends at Hogsmeade Village, doesn't it?" Wade added.
"Exactly!"
"But we still have to waste six or seven hours on a train ride?"
Tom couldn't make sense of it at all. It was such a waste of time! Wouldn't that time be better spent studying?
"It's a Hogwarts tradition, gentlemen," Aberforth said with a smile. "Even if you were right next to Hogwarts, I would still recommend taking the train. It gives you a chance to get to know your future classmates on the way."
"After all, for the next seven years, you'll be studying at the same school… Aren't you even a little curious about who your classmates are? You might even make a few more friends. You know, connections can be very important in many situations," said Aberforth.
Tom turned his head away in disgust. "I came to Hogwarts to study, not to socialize."
"Alright, alright, let's go. I've heard the old pure-blood families have some incredible legacies," Wade said, his eyes glinting.
"Legacies? You mean unique magical knowledge?" Tom's interest was clearly piqued.
"Of course. Just think about how much we've learned from Mr. Aberforth in the time we've been here."
"Fair point! Let's go, then," Tom said, eyes full of determination.
"It's only eight o'clock, Tom…"
…
Ten o'clock sharp.
Wade and Tom had changed into the finest clothes they'd bought from Mr. Morgan Malkin's shop and now stood in front of the fireplace in the Hog's Head.
When you're out in the world, making a good impression is never a bad thing.
Hiss hiss hiss… Wade was speaking to Nagini, coiled around his arm.
"If you're trying to say 'Let's go,' then you need to slow down the second syllable. Otherwise, you're actually cursing someone," Tom said disdainfully.
"Nonsense! It's when you slow it down that it becomes an insult!" Wade replied, clearly annoyed.
Tom stared at Wade in shock. Damn! He really had learned it!
A moment later, the two of them, carrying their luggage, appeared in the Leaky Cauldron.
Green flames flared up in the fireplace once more, and Aberforth stepped out from within.
"Let's go. I'll take you straight to King's Cross Station."
Truthfully, both Tom and Wade felt they didn't need an escort.
But Dumbledore had already made it clear that Aberforth must go with them.
Otherwise, Dumbledore was worried the child abduction incident from before might happen again…
The Leaky Cauldron wasn't all that far from King's Cross.
Aberforth took Wade and Tom by carriage, and it took a little over twenty minutes to get there.
As they entered the station, Tom stared at the ticket in his hand, brows tightly furrowed.
"Platform Nine and Three-Quarters… There's no such platform in this station."
"That's to keep Muggles from finding it, Tom," Aberforth explained. "This way."
Soon, Wade and Tom were brought to a wall.
Wade already knew that Platform Nine and Three-Quarters was hidden just behind what looked like a solid wall.
He observed it carefully and could sense faint magical ripples coming from it.
Aberforth was just about to explain the hidden wall to Wade and Tom..
When suddenly, a sharp, unpleasant female voice rang out from behind them.
"Mudblood! Out of the way!"
The three of them turned around to see a well-dressed, haughty-looking couple standing there.
In front of them stood a girl around thirteen or fourteen years old, quite pretty—though the nasty expression on her face completely ruined any charm. It seemed she was the one who had spoken.
Beside the girl stood a boy around eleven years old, his face similarly filled with surprise, apparently startled by his sister's harsh words.
Wade glanced at the family facing them; even without thinking, he knew they must belong to some pure-blood family.
Upon hearing himself called a Mudblood, a flicker of anger flashed across Tom's face.
After these past few days of familiarizing himself with the wizarding world, Tom had learned precisely what "Mudblood" meant.
During this time, he had searched relentlessly for any wizarding family that shared his surname, yet found nothing.
Thus, Tom secretly harbored a fear that both his parents might indeed be Muggles.
When he was insulted as a Mudblood, although anger burned inside him, he found himself at a loss for how to respond.
Aberforth's expression darkened as well. "Mr. Black, your daughter seems lacking in proper upbringing."
Mr. Black tilted his head upward, a fake smile plastered across his face. "Ah, it's you. No wonder I smelled the stench of a goat from afar."
He glanced dismissively at Wade and Tom, then scoffed, "Besides, my daughter spoke nothing but the truth—I don't see anything inappropriate about that. As for our family's upbringing, the Blacks hardly require your advice."
A vein bulged on Aberforth's forehead, as though he were ready to charge at Mr. Black at any moment.
Naturally, Wade wasn't about to let Aberforth start a fight. If Aberforth attacked first—and in front of Muggles at that—he'd end up in serious trouble.
"Black? I've heard of your family," Wade said slowly, in a drawling voice. "They say the Blacks are the purest of pure-blood families in Britain, but now… I find myself deeply disappointed."
Wade deliberately used a drawling tone he'd picked up from Alan Rickman, the future Professor Snape—both acidic and thoroughly Slytherin in its elegance.
His words immediately captured the attention of the Black family.
Tom and Aberforth also went silent, watching Wade closely.
Wade stared coldly at the girl and said with icy disdain, "How dare you presume I'm not pure-blood?"
"Presume? Ha! Who are you trying to fool? If you were really pure-bloods, how could you possibly not know how to pass through this wall? Only Mudbloods would be so ignorant!" the girl retorted contemptuously.
"So that's how you identify who's pure-blood and who's not... Clearly, your magical ability is even weaker than I'd imagined. I'm truly disappointed. Perhaps your ancestors secretly married Muggles—otherwise, how could your abilities be even inferior to a house-elf's? Even house-elves can instantly recognize who's pure-blood and who's not."
"You—you're insulting me!" The girl nearly exploded with fury at Wade's words, and her parents' faces filled with equal anger.
"So, when you called a noble pure-blood wizard a Mudblood, was that not an insult?" Wade's voice was icy cold.
"You claim to be pure-blood? But I don't see you with any Pure-blood parents. How have you never attended any banquets—" The girl was left somewhat dazed by Wade's words.
"Tsk, how ignorant and shortsighted. Do you think Britain is the only place in the world with pure-blood wizards? If Hogwarts is filled with fools like you, then perhaps I should attend Durmstrang instead," Wade continued, using Snape's signature acidic and cutting tone, steadily wearing down the fragile nerves of the Black family.
Wade's words stunned the entire Black family.
It wasn't about whether Wade was speaking the truth—it was about the sheer confidence in his expression, combined with his expensive-looking clothes and a tone even more aristocratic and pure-blooded than their own.
Mr. Black's arrogant expression gradually faded, replaced by cautious curiosity. "You claim to be pure-blood as well? Then might I ask, from which family do you come?"
A smug smile, more arrogant than theirs had ever been, appeared on Wade's face.
"My surname is Reynolds, Wade Reynolds. Of course, since all the British wizards are so uninformed. Perhaps you should visit Canada sometime and ask around about how long my family's lineage extends. Have you ever heard of Ryan Reynolds?"
Just as Wade finished his grand bluff, he caught sight of Tom staring at him in complete shock.
Wait... Tom couldn't possibly have actually believed him, could he?
(2300 Words)
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