Chapter 67 - Chapter 67: Tom: Does he really consider me a friend?

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The Great Hall, which had been filled with murmuring moments before, now fell completely silent.

Both the professors and the students who had been whispering all stared at Tom in stunned silence.

Under all those gazes, Tom's face turned deathly pale.

He'd spent enough time in the wizarding world by now to know exactly what Azkaban was.

That was a wizard prison!

What in the world was the Sorting Hat doing sending him to prison?!

The Sorting Hat always seemed to have the final say—if it said someone belonged somewhere, that's where they went. Was it really going to send him to Azkaban?

At that moment, Tom wished the earth would just swallow him whole.

"Hm?" The Sorting Hat itself sounded confused after blurting out "Azkaban." It didn't understand why it had said that either.

This was something that had never happened since the founding of Hogwarts.

Dumbledore looked at the Sorting Hat with a puzzled expression and was just about to pick it up and inspect it.

But the Sorting Hat spoke again.

"Haha, I was just playing a little joke on him. How could it be Azkaban? It should be… Slytherin!"

As soon as the Sorting Hat said that, the silence in the Great Hall broke, replaced by a wave of murmuring voices.

To be honest, no one had ever heard of the Sorting Hat playing a joke like that on a new student before.

Of course, no one truly believed the hat had meant it seriously—most assumed the old thing must be glitching.

After all, it was nearly as old as Hogwarts itself.

Still, Tom had definitely made a name for himself the moment he entered school…

He yanked the Sorting Hat off his head and fled from the stool as fast as he could.

Already seated at the Slytherin table, Wade stood up and smiled at him. "Welcome, my dearest friend… the Prince of Azkaban."

His words drew a wave of laughter from the students at the Slytherin table.

"S-Shut up!" Tom nearly lost it.

Wade grinned and pulled Tom down into the seat beside him. "Haha~ Don't be mad, Tom. It was just a little joke. It's not like it actually sorted you into Azkaban, right?"

"This was humiliating, Wade…" Tom growled through clenched fists, his voice full of anger.

Wade replied with a meaningful smile, "Humiliating… but still better than getting beaten up, don't you think, Tom?"

"Ah.." That one sentence snapped Tom out of his rage.

Up until now, he'd been too consumed by embarrassment and fury to think clearly…

But now he realized—this had to be Wade's revenge!

Wade had been sorted just before him.

Which meant he must have done something to that wretched hat—made it embarrass him on purpose!

It was payback for what happened on the train!

Tom had known Wade would retaliate. He had even tried to prepare himself mentally for it.

He had even fantasized that maybe—just maybe—he'd be able to guard against Wade's revenge.

But he never expected this kind of move...

Even someone as resilient as Tom could barely take it!

That bastard really didn't hold back! Ugh!

But after the anger came fear and frustration.

Because even though he knew Wade had tampered with something, he had no idea how Wade had pulled it off.

It was the same on the train—those boys Tom had egged on to cause trouble for Wade hadn't even gotten their wands out before they started brawling… with each other.

And judging by their reactions afterward, they had clearly been seeing illusions.

Every one of them thought they were hitting Wade—when in fact, they were just beating on their own friends…

From all this, Tom could only conclude one thing: Wade seemed to possess some kind of magic that could deceive others—possibly even deceive magical objects.

That realization left Tom feeling powerless all over again.

He had worked so hard, studied so diligently, all to become stronger.

But in the end, it felt like the gap between him and Wade was only growing wider.

Could it be that the belief he'd always held—that he'd eventually catch up to Wade—was nothing more than a delusion?

"Tom, overthinking won't help. You'd be better off focusing on what we're about to eat," Wade said cheerfully, eyeing the spread of British cuisine on the table with interest.

"You... how did you do it?" Tom couldn't help but ask in a low voice.

Wade smiled. "Oh dear Tom, you know me. Ever since you met me, I've always liked experimenting with different types of magic. So if a spell or two comes out that you haven't seen before, it's really not all that surprising, is it?"

Tom had no response.

While he was still grinding away at learning known spells, hoping to become stronger as fast as possible, Wade had already developed new magic of his own.

And Tom had personally witnessed just how powerful that new magic was...

How could he still delude himself into thinking he could catch up to someone like that?

He gave a self-mocking smile.

At that moment, all of Tom's previous determination had been completely crushed by Wade.

"Tom, you look a bit discouraged," Wade suddenly said. "You're not thinking of giving up, are you?"

"What else can I do if I don't give up? I… I can't compete…"

"That doesn't sound like something you would say, Tom," Wade replied, sounding bored. "The Tom I know isn't someone who gives up just because things get hard. He endures. Then, at the right moment, like a snake, he sinks his fangs into his enemy's throat—for a clean, fatal strike."

Tom stared at Wade in shock.

He didn't understand why Wade was saying all this—he had already made up his mind to give up, to never challenge Wade's authority again…

Wasn't Wade's speech just encouraging him to get back on his feet?

Wade continued, "Tom, I know what you're capable of… I'm really looking forward to what kind of surprises you'll bring me in the future."

Hearing that, Tom couldn't help but feel a surge of anger.

So that's what this was?

Wade thought he posed no threat at all, and was just playing with him?

Was he just treating him like some clown who didn't know his place?

Wade, with his overwhelming strength, stood high atop the mountain, looking down from above as Tom flailed at the base like a clown, shouting up at him…

That image filled Tom with a deep, burning sense of indignation.

"You will see the surprise I have in store for you one day!" Tom said slowly, emphasizing each word.

Wade smiled and replied, "As I said before—I'm really looking forward to it, Tom."

In Wade's eyes, Tom was his best tool for earning merit points.

He couldn't let Tom be crushed too badly and fall into despair, so he'd given him just the right push.

And clearly, it was working.

Suddenly, Alphard, who had been sitting nearby, spoke up. "You two have such a great relationship. My sister never encourages me like that."

Tom blinked in surprise. "Encourage?"

"Yeah. Wasn't Wade just encouraging you this whole time? If it were my sister, she'd already have torn me down to nothing," Alphard said helplessly.

Tom frowned and glanced at Wade again, only to find him already chatting with an older student, completely uninterested in what was going on beside him.

Tom couldn't help but replay Wade's words in his mind, suddenly feeling a little lost.

Could it be that everything Wade had just said… was really just meant to encourage me?

The whole "clown" thing… had he just been overthinking it, too sensitive?

At that moment, Tom began to recall everything that had happened since he met Wade.

And then he fell silent again.

Because he realized that ever since meeting Wade—despite the many times he had tried to scheme against him—Wade's retaliation had always been more like a warning than true revenge.

Just like today—Tom had tried to get people to beat him up, and yet Wade's only response was to humiliate him a bit. Other than that, he was left completely unharmed.

And truthfully, whenever there was some kind of benefit, Wade never forgot to include him.

Like that time when Wade asked Dumbledore for books—he made sure to ask for a copy for Tom as well.

To be honest, if the roles were reversed, and he'd been in Wade's place—facing someone much weaker who kept provoking him—he would've long since found a way to get rid of that person for good.

He would never have treated someone like that the way Wade treated him.

Could it be… that despite all their surface-level tension, Wade actually considered him a friend?

Could it be that, all along, he had just misunderstood Wade?

That thought left Tom truly confused.

Meanwhile, Wade, still chatting animatedly with the upperclassman beside him, had no idea that in just the span of a few minutes, something subtle had shifted deep inside Tom's heart.

At that moment, Anne came running over and sat beside Wade with excitement.

"Wade, Tom—I knew you two would be Slytherins!"

Anne had been sorted after Tom.

Following the chaos caused by Tom's little incident, Dumbledore had taken the time to thoroughly inspect the Sorting Hat. Only after confirming there were no issues had he allowed the ceremony to continue.

So it wasn't until now that Anne completed her Sorting—and, of course, ended up in Slytherin.

Wade quietly scooted a little farther away from her, though his face still wore a warm, friendly smile.

"It's great that we're in the same house. I was actually a little worried I might get placed somewhere else," he said.

"There was no need to worry," Anne replied. "You're clearly a Slytherin. I'm great at reading people. But… Tom, how did you make the Sorting Hat send you to Azkaban just now?"

Tom was still lost in his tangled thoughts, and when he heard Anne's question, he instinctively shook his head. "I… don't know…"

Anne exclaimed in surprise, "You actually answered me! We've known each other for several hours now, and this is the first time you've spoken to me!"

"Tom's just not very good at talking to girls, Anne. It's not that he has anything against you, he's just a shy boy." Wade said with a gentle smile.

Tom glanced at Wade with a strange look.

Wade had spoken up for him many times before, but until now, Tom had never thought much of it—he'd just assumed it was Wade's twisted sense of humor.

But now, after Alphard's comment earlier, Tom's thoughts had completely shifted.

It seemed… Wade really did see him as a friend…

Otherwise, why would he keep defending him like this—so casually, yet so deliberately?

A friend… So I can have a friend too?

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Now it's time to sleep! My League of Legends rank has taken a dive😭

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