Wade woke up at eight o'clock as usual, feeling refreshed. Then he went about his morning routine cheerfully.
Nightmare Magic allowed him to stay full of energy even after just a few short hours of sleep.
Then, in the washroom, he saw Tom with heavy dark circles under his eyes.
"Good morning, Tom. You're looking great today!" Wade said cheerfully.
Tom: "…"
"I'm joking. Maybe what you need is a dose of Invigorating Potion." Wade pulled out a vial of potion he had prepared earlier from his pocket.
Seeing the potion, Tom's resentment eased a little.
However, when he took the potion from Wade's hand, Wade didn't pull his hand back.
"Top-quality Invigorating Potion, just 5 Galleons!"
Tom widened his eyes. "You're charging me?!"
"You can't blame me for that, Tom. Small business, I have to pay for supplies too! You're not thinking of running a tab, are you?"
"Even if you're charging, isn't 5 Galleons for one bottle a bit too steep?"
"Come on, at least let me make a little profit, okay?"
"Invigorating Potion costs at most 1 Galleon per bottle, and you're asking for 5? I refuse to be extorted!" Tom tossed the potion back.
Wade quickly caught it. "Hey, if you break it, you're still paying for it!"
"Well, I didn't break it, did I?"
"Fine, fine... Are you sure you don't want the potion to stay awake? We've got a lot of classes today."
Tom shook his head, eyes firm. "I'd rather die from exhaustion! Blow myself up in Potions class! Jump off the Hogwarts tower and splatter! I still wouldn't take a sip of your potion!"
Wade gave him a thumbs up. "Nice! Respect! But when it's time for Potions class, find someone else to partner with. I'm staying far away from you..."
Tom gave a slightly chilling smile. "You think you can get away?"
…
That morning, they had Potions class—two periods back-to-back. And in the afternoon, another double session of Herbology.
For someone like Tom who hadn't slept all night, this schedule was pure torture.
After breakfast, he dragged himself to the Potions classroom, barely holding it together.
Meanwhile, Wade was still trying to peddle his Invigorating Potion beside him, but Tom remained firm—he was absolutely not letting this profiteer win!
On their way to class, they ran into Anne. After listening in for a bit, she decisively handed over 5 Galleons and bought the potion from Wade.
After seeing Anne drink the Invigorating Potion, Tom quietly cast a Whispering Charm and said to Wade, "Looks like we weren't the only ones who couldn't sleep last night. I wonder what she was doing."
Wade gave a soft hum, watching Anne's back with a thoughtful look, "Maybe playing with her cat?"
"I don't think she has a cat." Tom looked confused.
"She's a girl."
…
The Potions classroom was located in the dungeons.
Outside the classroom door, several Slytherin first-years stepped back instinctively when they saw Wade and Tom, their eyes filled with fear.
Wade couldn't help but smile—weren't these the same kids Tom had trounced yesterday? Apart from the few upper-years, all the others were present.
Once they entered the classroom, they realized it wasn't just the ones who had been beaten.
The other pure-blood students were all giving Wade and Tom strange looks—fear mixed with a subtle sense of alienation and rejection.
They were whispering to each other while casting furtive glances their way…
Although they were speaking quietly, Wade's excellent hearing picked up everything.
Clearly, the incident from yesterday had already spread.
And somehow, the story about Wade Reynolds being from a pure-blood family originating from some mysterious Eastern pure-blood ancient family had spread with it!
Wade suddenly understood—no wonder these guys were acting distant and cold toward him. It was probably because the local pure-blood families felt a strong resistance and rejection toward foreign pure-bloods.
After all, Wade was an outsider who had beaten up their own people.
From their perspective, it was like getting punched right at their doorstep.
Neither Wade nor Tom particularly cared about this. If they didn't like it, they could just beat them up again…
Slytherins generally admired strength. Beating them a few more times might actually help!
On this point, Wade and Tom were surprisingly in agreement.
Tom sat down without expression, choosing a random seat.
Wade said, "Anne, why don't you sit in the middle?"
"That doesn't seem right… me sitting between you two?" Anne hesitated, a bit embarrassed.
"Middle has the best view," Wade said with a straight face.
Tom cut in coldly, "He's just afraid I'll mess up the potion and it'll blow up on him."
Upon hearing that, Anne very sensibly declined Wade's offer. No one wanted to be on the receiving end of a potion explosion!
"Tom… must you really go down with me?" Wade said helplessly.
"Heh..."
"I'm changing seats," Wade said, getting up.
But just then, Professor Slughorn walked in with a smile.
"Class is starting, everyone, find your seats."
Wade turned to look and realized the classroom was nearly full...
And he couldn't exactly go sit with the Gryffindors next door…
"Alright, then we'll go down together," Wade sighed and sat back down next to Tom.
"I've always believed that Potions is the most magical subject," Professor Slughorn began. "A variety of seemingly unrelated ingredients, when mixed, can produce all sorts of astonishing effects..."
After briefly introducing the subject, Slughorn brought out a few cauldrons and placed them on the desk.
"Can any of you identify what's in these? If you can, it means you've properly reviewed your textbook! There will be a small reward for the correct answers!"
As soon as Professor Slughorn finished speaking, the classroom erupted into a buzz of excitement.
Clearly, everyone was quite intrigued by Professor Slughorn's mysterious "welcome gift"!
"Anyone want to volunteer to come up and identify them? Flipping through your books now doesn't count," Professor Slughorn said as he turned his gaze toward the Slytherin students.
As the head of Slytherin House, he naturally hoped the reward would go to someone from his own house.
Seeing that most students were still hesitating, he added, "How about this—everyone come up and take a look first, then write your answers down on parchment—"
Before he could even finish speaking, two hands shot up.
Professor Slughorn looked up and smiled in satisfaction.
"Wade, Tom, since you've both raised your hands, come on up together. Write your answers on parchment. If neither of you is correct, we'll let the others have a go."
Slughorn did this every year with the first years—it was his way of identifying those who had a genuine interest in Potions.
After all, any student who had managed to read through the dull and tedious Potions textbook before even starting school had to be at least somewhat passionate about the subject.
Wade and Tom stepped forward immediately. Both of them knew that Professor Slughorn was clearly paying them special attention.
There was no denying that this professor might become a major supporter for them at school in the future, so it made sense to play along with him—for the sake of long-term plans.
Simply put, they couldn't let the teacher's question hang in awkward silence.
Besides, both of them had a hunch about what the professor was trying to do.
Sure enough, after Wade and Tom finished writing their answers, Professor Slughorn exclaimed with excitement, "Absolutely correct! I'll award each of you 20 points!"
Wade and Tom exchanged a glance, both thinking the same thing—just as expected! After losing so many points earlier, they definitely needed to find chances like this to earn some back.
__________
Your slave—I mean—I'm here with yet another chapter!!
Read two weeks ahead: P^treon: Captain69
__________
Every 200 Power Stones = 1 extra chapter
Every 6 Reviews = 1 extra chapter