"I don't want to be a professor!!" Wade Reynolds said calmly.
Wade really didn't want to be a professor.
If it had been the world before he transmigrated, being a professor and living a steady life would have been fine.
But now... having fully seen extraordinary power, and with his own power being quite good, the idea of settling for a quiet life as a professor could no longer satisfy Wade.
People can endure darkness because they have never seen the light...
Tom shrugged. "I don't want that either... If one day I really decide to be a professor, there would definitely be a targeted reason... You and I are similar in some ways. So I'm not at all surprised by your answer."
"Seems you've already gotten to know me pretty well, Tom..." Wade smiled.
"Really?" Tom lay back on the bed. "What I know is only the parts you wanted me to know, Wade."
"That you can think of that proves you already understand me quite well — at least more than most," Wade said cheerfully.
Tom's tone suddenly turned cold. "You don't seem worried at all that I might know more about you. Have you forgotten I'm always ready to defeat you?"
"Grindelwald also knew Dumbledore very well, but he still lost, because Dumbledore was stronger. The difference in power remains the decisive factor. So, I don't mind you studying me, Tom. With your current strength, you're still far from being able to pose any real threat to me," Wade said calmly.
"Ha… Wade, you really are an arrogant bastard!" Tom said reluctantly.
"Thank you for the compliment, Tom. Alright, enough talk. I suggest you get some sleep early—preferably right now," Wade said casually while flipping through his Gen-Z spellbook.
"Now? It's only eight o'clock!" Tom frowned.
He had only come to tell Wade that he had managed to overcome his inner demons; after that, he was planning to continue reading and studying!
But Wade wanted him to go to bed now?
"There's an event tonight. We need to be fully energized!" Wade said, pumping his fist.
"You're not planning to talk to me about some kind of 'ideological' topic, are you? Deal with that yourself! I'm terrible at that sort of thing!" Tom protested, shaking his head. "Why don't you go talk to my so-called father? I think he'd love that kind of discussion… his room's got an entire wall stacked with books on ideology."
"Oh? That sounds rather interesting… but that'll have to wait. Tonight, I'm not here to discuss what kind of thoughts we should be instilling in people. You know me, don't you think I know you too? Discussing ideology isn't really your thing."
"Thanks, I feel insulted."
"No need to thank me."
"You—whatever. So what are you planning to do tonight? I advise you to take it easy; Slytherin still hasn't had its points restored!" Tom snapped.
"I'm planning to go to the Restricted Section. Haven't been there in a long time. You should come."
"The Restricted Section?" The look of anticipation vanished from Tom's face. "You go on your own. I'm not really interested in Dark Arts right now."
"What? You're not interested in Dark Arts? Did I mishear? Isn't that your favorite thing?" Wade was astonished.
Voldemort... not interested in Dark Arts? What kind of fucked up sentence is this!
"Just for a while… I plan to slow down for a few years. Right now, learning Dark Arts would take too much energy. I'm still young; there's no need to rush." Tom put his hands under his head and stared up at the green canopy.
He'd thought it through clearly: surpassing Wade in a short time was impossible.
And trying to learn Dark Arts to quickly close the gap was completely unnecessary.
Even if he learned Dark Arts, he still couldn't beat Wade. Worse, when he used Dark Arts to attack Wade, that guy—unhurt—could calmly and precisely point out the flaws in Tom's own Dark Magic.
If Wade can do Dark Arts and Tom can't do them as well, what's the point of learning them?
All things considered, learning Dark Arts now would be a thankless effort. Better to practice disarming spells in combo. At least that would buy a couple more rounds.
"Dumbledore would be thrilled to hear you say that, Tommy boy…" Wade said while silently checking his Merit Point balance.
Then he realized this action was completely unnecessary.
After everything he had done—like guiding Grindelwald to change his ways—the system's conversion rate had begun to slow down.
Perhaps it was because the number of changes had increased, making the merit calculations more complicated.
This half-finished system was like an overloaded computer, gradually lagging worse and worse.
As a result, the system no longer credited Merit Points all at once. Instead, they accumulated slowly…
Sometimes one point per second, sometimes 0.1 per second, and occasionally it would take several seconds just to add one.
Because of this slow and continuous growth, Wade could no longer tell whether Tom's change was genuine or fake.
He suspected that as his interference in this world grew greater, the conversion rate would continue to slow.
Still, it didn't really matter anymore. With Merit Points coming in around the clock, Wade was no longer short on them.
Unknowingly, he had already accumulated nearly a hundred thousand Merit Points!
So, he hadn't paid much attention to his balance for a while; he just checked the refreshed shop items every night.
Of course, Wade didn't buy things blindly.
It wasn't because he couldn't afford them, or because he wanted to save Merit Points—it was simply because he had nowhere to put things he didn't need.
For example, dragon eggs. A few hundred points each, cheap enough, but buying them now would only cause trouble.
"What are you planning to find in the Restricted Section? Is there still any Dark Magic you don't understand?" Tom's question interrupted Wade's thoughts.
"Your understanding of the Restricted Section is far too narrow." Wade shook his head. "In terms of collection volume, the Hogwarts Library is unmatched across all of Europe. Do you really think a library like that would have only Dark Magic books in its Restricted Section? And those so-called 'forbidden' books are only forbidden to students. Professors can borrow them freely."
"So you're not looking for Dark Arts… then what are you looking for?" Tom asked.
"I think there might be information about Blood-Cursed animagi in there…"
Before Wade could even finish, Nagini, coiled at the head of the bed, immediately raised her head.
Across from him, Tom jolted upright, staring intently at Wade.
"Besides, the four founders established this school over a thousand years ago—surely they left behind some manuscripts or records? What about the professors over the centuries? Not a single bit of magical insight or notes? So even if we can't find anything on Blood-Cursed animagi, we definitely won't come back empty-handed."
"Alright." Tom said, then lay back down again and quietly pulled up his blanket.
"What are you doing?"
"Sleeping."
"Didn't you say you weren't coming?"
"For Dark Arts alone, it's not worth going. But now, we have a reason we can't ignore, don't we?"
Wade watched Tom, who was trying hard to close his eyes and fall asleep, and couldn't help scratching his head.
Was the future Dark Lord being a little too righteous right now…?
Wade sighed in mild exasperation, then swiftly drew his wand.
At that moment, Tom opened his eyes and caught the motion. "What are you doing?!"
A flash of red light burst forth, and Tom stared at Wade in disbelief.
"So fast…"
Thud!
Tom lay on the bed, falling into a sleep as peaceful as a baby's.
"Didn't you say you wanted to fall asleep quickly…? Ah, damn, my hand moved too fast. Force of habit… Tsk." Wade said a bit guiltily, holding his wand.
"Well, where is my energising potion..." Wade muttered to himself.
…
Midnight.
Almost all the students were comfortably asleep in their warm beds.
But Wade and Tom were wandering outside.
Both of them had cast Disillusionment Charms and were speaking through Whispering Charms.
To see in the dark, they had also drunk Nightingale Potion, which granted night vision.
As they moved quietly through the corridor, Tom couldn't help but shiver.
Though it was only mid-October, the weather was unexpectedly cold. Even Nagini had to stay near the fireplace, or her body would go stiff from the chill.
"Do you have a way to detect curses? As far as I know, many of those books in the Restricted Section are cursed." Tom pulled his cloak tighter.
To be honest, if not for those curses, Tom would've already read through the entire Restricted Section last year.
"Relax, I'm fully prepared." Wade said as he suddenly turned with Tom into a side corridor.
"Hm? Isn't the library that way?"
"That side's by the windows—it's cold there. This way's a bit warmer," Wade said calmly.
"Hmph… I don't feel cold," Tom muttered, rubbing his stiff fingers.
Wade didn't respond, simply leading the way in silence.
In truth, it had nothing to do with the temperature.
According to the route map left by the Senior, the entrance to Slytherin's secret study was located along the path leading to the library.
They just needed to take a small detour.
So, tonight's supposed trip to the Restricted Section was merely a cover; Wade's real destination was Slytherin's secret study.
Otherwise, there would've been no reason to bring Tom along.
Before long, Wade stopped at the end of a corridor.
"Why did you stop?" Tom glanced to the right, where a staircase led upstairs. "We should go right, then turn left—wait, what are you staring at?"
Wade suddenly pointed at the wall at the corridor's end. "Don't you think that snake on the wall looks familiar?"
"This is near the Slytherin common room. Isn't it normal to see snake patterns around here?" Tom asked doubtfully.
The wall did look ordinary. Its only distinctive feature was the two intertwined serpents carved upon it.
However, that kind of design was common around the Slytherin dormitory area.
Tom couldn't see what was so special about it.
Wade continued to bluff, "Can't you feel the traces of magic on it?"
"Magic traces?" Tom stared at the wall, but even after nearly burning a hole in it with his gaze, he couldn't see anything unusual. "I don't see anything special… Wade, stop wasting time. We need to get to the Restricted Section."
"They're there. I'm not mistaken," Wade said seriously.
Hearing that, Tom also grew serious and looked back at the wall again.
Since Wade said there was something, there probably was.
"Why don't you try speaking Parseltongue to it?" Wade suggested pointedly.
"Hm? What should I say?" Tom asked.
Wade replied, "Something like 'open' or 'reveal.' You know me—I can understand a bit of Parseltongue, but my pronunciation's still not quite right."
Tom sighed. "Alright…"
He fixed his gaze on the two intertwined snakes on the wall and let out a series of hissing sounds.
"Sss-haa-shaa…"
Suddenly, the dim eyes of the two snakes glowed with a brilliant green light!
The serpents came to life, slithering upward along the wall.
As they moved away, the wall gave a loud click and slowly rose upward, revealing a pitch-black passage behind it.
Tom stared in astonishment at the transformation before him, momentarily lost for words.
"Well now… I don't usually take this route, and to think I only discovered this today!" Wade said in mock surprise. "But since it takes Parseltongue to open, Tom, this might be a legacy your ancestor left for his descendants."
At that, Tom felt a sharp pang in his chest.
An inheritance from an ancestor—of course that was a good thing!
But… couldn't you at least let me discover it on my own?
Now there was a certain Wade the Loot-Snatcher standing right beside him!
If there really was an inheritance, would any of it still end up in his hands?!
"Wade… leave me a bit, will you?" Tom said pitifully. "After all, it's something my ancestor left behind…"
"Eh? Tom! What are you saying! Am I that kind of person? How could I possibly take your ancestor's inheritance for myself?" Wade said cheerfully—then immediately darted into the passage.
Tom watched his back disappear into the darkness and felt an ache in his chest. You're not that kind of person? Then why are you running so fast?!
But… what could he do? He couldn't beat him. He really couldn't beat him at all! AAAAhhhhh!!!
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