After that night, the atmosphere in Nolan's dormitory remained tense.
It was understandable.
After all, Malcolm Baddock had always taken pride in one thing above all else—his bloodline.
For centuries, pure-blood wizards had symbolized wealth and nobility. Their lineage alone gave them the perceived right to look down upon half-bloods and Muggle-borns.
But what happens when a pure-blood wizard no longer appears to be superior?
They go bankrupt.
And in both the Muggle world and the wizarding world, bankruptcy was a disaster.
A bloodline that couldn't generate wealth was useless. Unlike the noble houses of old, wizarding families held no titles, no land—only their names and their gold.
Without Galleons, blood purity became more of a shackle than a status symbol.
It wasn't just Nolan's dorm that was affected.
Malcolm and Miles were never going to get along.
From the very first day at Hogwarts, Malcolm had mocked Miles for his impure bloodline, and Miles had retaliated by exposing Malcolm's embarrassing accident on the Hogwarts Express.
Two years had passed since then, yet their rivalry remained as bitter as ever—just like the never-ending feud between pure-bloods and half-bloods.
…
"What's the point of this pocket watch?"
Miles leaned over curiously as Nolan worked on his watch, carefully adjusting it with a screwdriver and a few other tools.
"It's a new magical device I'm creating," Nolan said flatly, tilting the watch to show its inner workings.
Inside, intricate runes and magical arrays interlocked in a dazzlingly complex design, densely packed together until they filled the entire watch's mechanism.
Miles shuddered. "Merlin's beard, Nolan, please don't explain how it works. My brain isn't built like yours. It's a normal brain—one that's already full of important questions, like what's for dinner tonight."
Nolan raised an eyebrow. "A shame."
At the other side of the dormitory, Malcolm Baddock hesitated, his hands gripping his desk as he subtly leaned closer.
He was curious—very curious.
Everyone knew Nolan was rich.
But where did all his money actually come from?
Some students believed Nolan's fortune came from his family's businesses in the Muggle world.
But others—especially the pure-bloods—refused to believe that a mere Muggle business could generate that much wealth. Instead, they were convinced that Nolan possessed a secret—some hidden way of making Galleons inside the wizarding world.
And really, it wasn't hard to believe.
Ever since first year, Nolan von Draugr had been inventing all kinds of strange, groundbreaking magical contraptions.
And Malcolm?
Malcolm was jealous.
If he could, he wouldn't mind learning Nolan's tricks—perhaps even becoming his student in the art of making gold.
But before he could say anything, Miles noticed his interest.
With a smirk, he said coldly, "A pure-blood wizard interested in the ideas of a half-blood? That doesn't sound quite right, does it, Nolan?"
"Is that what you think?" Nolan responded indifferently. "Malcolm, if you want to take a look, go ahead. I don't mind anyone studying my work."
Malcolm hesitated.
"Oh… never mind," he muttered in a low voice, slinking back into the corner of the room. "I was just… curious."
Instead, he buried himself in his Potions homework.
Nolan soon finished assembling his silver pocket watch, slipped it into his robe, and stood up.
"Come on, Miles," he said, heading toward the door.
"We've got plans tonight."
Malcolm let out a quiet sigh, listening as his two dormmates' voices faded down the corridor.
"Miles, can't you at least try to get along with Malcolm?"
"Malcolm? You mean Baddock?" Miles scoffed. "Oh, sorry, Nolan—I must've forgotten his name. If that's what you're asking, then no. And it's not my fault. It's his. He's the one who looks down on us half-bloods."
"Is that so…"
Their conversation continued as they left the common room, leaving Malcolm behind in the dormitory.
His hands curled into fists.
His gaze flickered toward Nolan's desk, which was always cluttered with strange trinkets and broken wooden splinters—the remains of unfortunate broomsticks that had been dismantled for parts.
And then there was the Muggle gaming console—old, battered, and gathering dust.
Malcolm remembered how, back in their first year, Nolan had loved that thing, carrying it around like some kind of precious treasure.
Some of the other Slytherins had been interested at first, but… without any actual Muggle skills, they were terrible at playing. Eventually, after enough humiliating defeats, they all lost interest.
"So, Nolan finally got bored of it, huh?" Malcolm muttered, glancing at the console before shifting aside several broken Rubik's cubes.
Beneath them lay Nolan's research notes.
To any wizard interested in magical innovation, those papers were priceless.
Malcolm hesitated.
Then he glanced at the door.
The common room was silent.
Nolan and Miles didn't seem like they were coming back anytime soon.
So Malcolm reached for a sheet of parchment… and began copying.
He didn't know which notes were valuable and which were useless, so he copied as much as he could, hoping to trade this knowledge for some desperately needed Galleons for his family.
It was a tedious, painstaking task.
He worked late into the night, stopping only when he heard voices returning to the common room.
Panicked, he hurriedly stuffed Nolan's research back where it belonged.
But in his rush, his hand bumped against something.
A hard, metallic badge fell from the desk and clattered to the floor.
Malcolm froze.
Then, moving quickly, he scooped it up and shoved it into his pocket.
He took a deep breath, composing himself, before stepping out of the dormitory to rejoin his classmates.
…
Meanwhile, in the Slytherin common room, a special demonstration was about to take place.
"Come on, Nolan!" a sixth-year wizard called out eagerly. He had been a prefect last year. "Show us your new invention!"
"I'm not sure if you'll even be able to see its effect," Nolan admitted with a thoughtful frown. "After all, the entire purpose of this invention… is to make something unseen."
He turned, scanning the gathered students before his gaze landed on one person.
"Eve, would you mind helping me?"
The silver-haired girl stepped forward, her twin pigtails bouncing slightly as she moved.
"What do I need to do, Nolan?"
"Just hold this."
Nolan handed her a glass goblet before stepping back five paces. Then, he pulled out his silver pocket watch.
"Are you ready?"
"Wait—" Eve quickly interrupted, shifting nervously. "Do I just hold it? Or should I balance it on my palm?"
"Just hold it steady. Don't worry, Eve."
Nolan's fingers pressed down on the watch's mechanism.
For a single moment, everything went completely still.
As if time itself had… stopped.
The students blinked, glancing around in confusion.
"What just happened?"
Then, suddenly—
"Ah! The goblet disappeared!"
A first-year wizard shrieked, pointing wildly.
Eve gasped, staring at her now-empty hands. "Wait—how did it get into your hands?!"
Because sure enough—
Nolan was now holding the goblet.
He twirled it between his fingers, smirking.
"See? You didn't even notice it working. That's because the magic inside this silver pocket watch can pause time. Just now, I stopped time for about one and a half seconds. During that brief moment, I simply walked over and took the goblet from Eve's hands."
The common room erupted into shocked cries.
"Pausing time?! That's impossible!"
"I've never heard of a spell that can do that!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
P.S. Speaking of the badge Malcolm stole…
That little detail?
It's been a very long-standing plot thread.
It was hinted all the way back in Chapter 22.
I wonder if anyone still remembers it…