"The Reynolds family? Ryan Reynolds?"
As the current head of the Black family, Pollux Black had some knowledge of the world.
Though he had never heard of anyone named Ryan Reynolds, he vaguely remembered that in 1867 various powerful Pure-Blood families from all over the world had established the country.
Moreover, he knew Aberforth. While Pollux had had some unpleasant dealings with him, he was aware that Aberforth was Albus Dumbledore's younger brother.
Aberforth only ever left that run-down pub of his when carrying out Dumbledore's personal requests.
Which meant that the two children Aberforth had escorted personally were definitely doing so at Dumbledore's behest...
And now, as Dumbledore's reputation grew stronger by the day, even those pure-blood families who looked down on everyone else were growing increasingly cautious about underestimating him.
So when Pollux considered the fact that these two children had warranted Dumbledore sending his own brother to escort them, he found himself believing almost all of what Wade had just said.
Still, even though he knew he was in the wrong, the pride of a pure-blood family wouldn't allow him to admit fault so easily—not even if he feared the family behind Wade Reynolds.
His wife and child were watching, after all!
"Hmph... If that's the case, I very much look forward to meeting the elders of your family," Pollux said in a haughty tone.
Still, the fact that he said that much meant he now believed Wade's words.
After saying so, he should've been able to leave with dignity.
But unexpectedly…
Wade spoke up with visible excitement, "Really? Then let's set a time! One of my uncles just happens to be visiting me, and I heard he has gotten bored of Hunting Thunderbirds for fun and hasn't been in the best of moods lately… Maybe sparring with a native British pure-blood wizard would cheer him up."
Pollux's face turned pale, then green.
While he was fairly competent in dueling, the thought of someone from a family with a crazy person who hunted Thunderbirds by himself, and especially someone who would cheer up just by fighting another pure-blood—meant the guy was probably a seasoned duelist...
Pollux couldn't help but feel a bit nervous.
His child was still young, and his wife still in her prime…
Besides, how could a noble, elegant pure-blood wizard stoop to brawling like a brute?
"Heh, what a shame, I've been terribly busy lately. I've got a mountain of things to take care of, so your uncle got lucky this time. Otherwise… hmph hmph…"
Finishing his rather forced attempt to save face, Pollux quickly tugged his daughter along toward the wall, afraid Wade might say something else.
As the girl was being dragged away, she still shot Wade a fierce glare, her eyes full of defiance.
Wade, however, didn't care in the slightest. He didn't even bother returning a proper look—his gaze held only a faint trace of condescending pity.
As if he pitied her for being born into such a "lowly" family…
Just as Wade expected, that pitying look nearly made the girl explode with rage.
But before she could say anything, her father pulled her into Platform Nine and Three-Quarters.
"Father! You don't actually believe that guy, do you?" the girl snapped angrily as soon as they stepped onto the platform.
"Walburga, do you think a Mudblood would have that kind of confidence and posture?" Pollux replied irritably.
That boy looked more like a pure-blood than he did himself!
Walburga thought back to Wade's performance earlier, and deep down, she had to admit her father wasn't wrong.
But... she just couldn't accept it! When had she ever been looked down on like that?
Fuming at the thought, she reached out and gave her younger brother a hard pinch. "Why didn't you speak up for me just now?"
"Ow! Why are you pinching me? I… I didn't even do anything to you…"
Alphard looked utterly wronged. He hadn't dared to make a single sound the entire time, and yet he still couldn't escape his sister's wrath.
Irma glanced at her husband and couldn't help but say, "You clearly don't have anything going on lately… Don't tell me—you're scared…"
"Scared? Me, scared? That's impossible! I just… I just… You really want to see me brawling like some brute, Irma?" Pollux snapped, clearly flustered.
"Alright, alright, it was just a misunderstanding. No need to make a big deal out of it…" Seeing her husband already fired up, Irma didn't press the matter further.
…
Outside Platform Nine and Three-Quarters.
Once the Black family had left, Wade finally dropped the expression on his face—one that had looked more pure-blooded than any actual pure-blood.
Turning his head, he caught sight of Aberforth and Tom staring at him with odd expressions.
"...."
"...."
Tom swallowed hard before asking, "You're really from that… Ryan Reynolds' family?"
Wade shrugged. "I made that up. Tom, don't tell me you actually believed it?"
Tom stared at him in shock. "It… it was fake?"
Just now, Wade had spoken with such conviction—his tone, his expression—it was as if everything he said had been unquestionably true.
And now he was telling him it was all fake?
Wade patted Tom on the shoulder. "I've said it before—when you're out in the world, your identity is what you make it. Our records at the orphanage were destroyed anyway. If I say I'm a pure-blood, who's going to prove otherwise? When you're dealing with arrogant people like that, you have to act even more arrogant. Of course, your strength needs to keep up too, or you'll just end up getting beaten…"
Tom frowned. "Aren't you afraid of being exposed? What if there really is a pure-blood family with the surname Reynolds…"
"Reynolds is a common name—in Canada alone, there are at least a few thousand people with that surname. There's bound to be some pure-blood families named Reynolds too. I never said which one. If he wants to investigate, let him try," Wade replied casually.
"Well, that's so you, Wade. Shameless as ever," Tom said with admiration.
Wade stroked the cold body of Nagini curled around his arm and said slowly, "I appreciate the compliment, Tom—but I don't like your choice of words."
Tom froze, suddenly alarmed, and quickly corrected himself.
"Ahem, I meant… you're as brilliant as ever."
While the two of them chatted, neither of them noticed the thoughtful look on Aberforth's face.
From Aberforth's perspective, Wade's words might not have been entirely lies…
He decided that once he returned, he would write a letter to his brother.
After all, Aberforth knew that his brother had always been deeply curious about Wade's origins.
And now, based on the things Wade had said today, perhaps some clues about his background could finally be pieced together.
…
Platform Nine and Three-Quarters was bustling with activity.
It was packed with Hogwarts students and the families seeing them off.
By the time Wade and the others arrived, the Black family was already out of sight.
Aberforth, after escorting them onto the train, also left in a hurry.
The Hogwarts Express was just as crowded.
Fortunately, they hadn't arrived too late—Wade and Tom still managed to find an empty compartment.
After stowing their luggage, Wade sat down by the window.
But Tom, unusually, didn't sit down to read. After saying a few words to Wade, he left the compartment.
Wade, of course, knew exactly what Tom was up to, so he didn't stop him. Instead, he began chatting with Nagini in his somewhat unpolished Parseltongue.
Tom stepped out of the compartment, eyes sharp and focused.
What Wade had said earlier had truly stirred something in him.
He was planning to go make a few "friends," and perhaps have a little discussion about their families' "heritage" and such...
After that encounter with the Black family, Tom now had a good sense of how these pure-blood families operated. It didn't take much effort to identify them—he could easily tell who was from a pure-blood family just by looking.
Tom strolled casually down the corridor of the train, peering into compartments one by one, searching for his targets.
Suddenly, he stopped in front of one.
Inside that compartment were the same Black siblings from earlier.
Tom hid just behind the door and peeked inside.
At the moment, aside from the two siblings, there were several other people in the compartment.
At the center sat a blond boy, speaking to the girl.
The girl looked clearly upset—no doubt still holding a grudge against Wade.
Tom curled his lip in disdain. Can't even handle a few words?
Back then, I...
Remembering the days he'd been under Wade's thumb, Tom couldn't help but feel a wave of bitterness.
Just then, the girl suddenly shouted, "Leave me alone, Malfoy! I'm in a bad mood right now—can you stop hanging around in front of me?"
Tom quickly stepped away from the door and watched from a distance as the blond boy, looking a little embarrassed, exited the compartment with a small group trailing behind him.
Raising a hand to his chin, Tom began rubbing it thoughtfully.
…
Meanwhile, Wade was in the compartment, listlessly reading a book with Nagini.
He had laid the book open on the table in front of him, letting Nagini coil comfortably around it so that the two of them could read together.
Nagini tapped the page with her tail, signaling for Wade to turn it.
Just as Wade flipped to the next page, the compartment door was suddenly yanked open!
A blond boy stormed in, followed by four or five others.
Wade looked up at them, catching a glimpse of a familiar figure hiding just behind the door.
He immediately understood what was going on.
"Sorry, this compartment can only fit two more people at most. There's no way you lot will all fit."
The blond boy glared at Wade. "So you're the one who upset Walburga?"
Wade frowned and looked up. "Who?"
"You're not seriously going to play dumb, are you?"
Wade shrugged. "Play dumb? I don't even know who Walburga is."
"Looks like you need to be taught a lesson! Get him!"
With a wave of his hand, the blond boy and the four or five others behind him rushed in together!
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The dull thumps of fists hitting flesh echoed through the compartment, and only after a long moment did the noise finally stop.
The blond boy grinned triumphantly, despite the bruises around his eyes. "Heh, that should teach you a lesson…"
But just as the words left his mouth, his vision blurred—and suddenly, everything around him changed.
The person he'd just been pummeling on the floor wasn't Wade anymore—it was his own friend, Flint!
Meanwhile, Selwyn, Travers, and the others who had rushed in with him were now grabbing each other by the collar, looking around in utter confusion.
"Eh..?"
The blond boy turned his head and saw Wade—who should've been the one getting beaten—standing off to the side with his arms crossed, next to a pale-faced Tom, staring at them like they were complete idiots.
"Wh…what the hell is going on? Abraxas, why are you hitting me?"
Flint, his face swollen like a pig's, looked aggrieved as he stared at Abraxas Malfoy, who was still clutching his collar.
"I… I was hitting him just now… how did this—" Abraxas was completely stunned.
At that moment, Tom, who had been silently watching everything unfold, was overcome with a wave of fear and unease.
Because this whole thing—getting Abraxas Malfoy and the others to come—had been his idea.
From his earlier observations, it seemed that Malfoy might have a bit of a thing for Miss Black.
Tom had always been good at gaining others' trust.
So it hadn't taken much to convince Abraxas to come along and "teach Wade a lesson."
Tom had even calculated things in advance.
If these guys managed to beat Wade, it would be payback.
If they couldn't, then he could use the opportunity to observe the combat skills of his pure-blood peers and better evaluate his own strength.
After all, ever since discovering he was a wizard, the only peer he'd ever really fought was Wade…
But what he hadn't expected was that, the moment these boys stormed into the compartment—full of bluster and before they'd even drawn their wands—they had suddenly and inexplicably started beating each other up!
Meanwhile, Wade, the supposed target of the beating, had simply picked up Nagini and strolled past the group of brawling boys with total ease, before coming to stand beside Tom to watch the chaos unfold…
"You… What did you do to us?"
The situation was obvious enough now—even if Abraxas wasn't the brightest, he could still tell their fight had something to do with Wade.
"How strange. You were fighting each other—what does that have to do with me?" Wade replied with an innocent look. "Um.. I should be the one asking why you came into my compartment to start a brawl, right?"
Wade's words left Abraxas completely speechless.
The commotion had already drawn the attention of other students on the train.
A small crowd had gathered outside the compartment, pointing and whispering as they watched the scene unfold.
Humiliated under so many staring eyes, Abraxas's face flushed bright red.
"Bastard! You must have done something to us!"
Blinded by anger, Abraxas lunged forward, ready to hit Wade again.
But suddenly, he froze in place—his movement halted, and so did his friends'. Their expressions turned to sheer terror as they stared at Wade, as if seeing something utterly horrifying.
"Ah…"
The next second, the boys bolted, shoving through the crowd like madmen as they ran.
Tom stood frozen, wide-eyed, watching the scene with growing confusion and unease.
He knew Wade had definitely done something—but what exactly? He hadn't even drawn his wand!
Just as Tom was drowning in confusion, he suddenly felt a hand rest lightly on his shoulder.
Ah...
Then Wade's voice drifted softly past his ear.
"Tom, your friends are quite something. Worried we might get bored on the train, they actually came over to put on such an entertaining little show for us…"
The moment Tom heard the word "friends", a chill ran down his spine.
"No, no, no, y-you've got it all wrong… I barely know them… really! You have to believe me!"
(2400 Words)
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