"Then we simply won't look at it," Dumbledore said with a smile. "Don't worry. I've already made preparations. I have a good friend who, after hearing what I planned to do, worked through the night to make some small devices that let us see things without using our eyes. We tested them before coming. They work very well."
Headmaster Dippet said, "And once the magic in its eyes is neutralized, the basilisk is nothing more than a massive poisonous snake. We're quite confident about handling it. Oh, right. For this operation, we also invited a magizoologist, Mr. Newt Scamander."
"Yes, we should set off soon, Tom. The castle should already be fully prepared," Dumbledore said.
Tom nodded, returned the book in his hands to Headmaster Dippet, then grabbed an overcoat and threw it on before following Dumbledore and the Headmaster out of the woods.
"What about the other students staying at school? Did everyone get sent home?" Tom asked.
Dumbledore shook his head. "We don't plan to let the remaining students know about this. It could cause widespread panic. So I asked Professor McGonagall to hold a very lively Christmas ball in a large, secure hall. All the students are attending. We've set up protective measures around that hall. After you help us open the door, you should go straight to the ball. Leave the rest to us."
"Alright," Tom nodded. That made things much safer for him.
"We'll inform your grandfather first, then set off."
However, the moment the three of them stepped out of the woods, they ran straight into Wade Reynolds, who looked positively radiant.
The instant Wade saw the three people in front of him, the smile on his face froze.
Headmaster Dippet, Professor Dumbledore, and Tom in the middle wearing a constipated expression...
It looked exactly like a scene of a prisoner being escorted under guard.
Oh no, I'm done for.
This is it… even Tom, my accomplice, has been caught!
Wade's expression changed instantly. He stopped short and started thinking about how to smoothly escape.
Tom was startled when he saw Wade as well, but when he noticed that Wade wasn't carrying the briefcase with the Dementor inside, he couldn't help letting out a sigh of relief.
If Wade had still been hauling that Dementor around at a time like this, Tom would absolutely have been dragged to his death by this bastard.
Even if Dementors were creatures that operated under a deal with the Ministry, they were still legitimate Ministry employees!
What Wade had done already counted as kidnapping a Ministry official!
"Wade! Perfect timing," Dumbledore said. "About that creature Slytherin left behind…"
"Oh! So it's that!" Wade's smile immediately returned to his face. "I thought—"
"Thought what?" Dumbledore asked warily.
Don't tell me this boy and Tom have gone and caused some kind of catastrophic trouble again?
At this point, Dumbledore was practically stress-responsive. He couldn't help it. Over the past two years, nearly every major incident seemed to involve these two boys somewhere in the middle of it.
"Nothing, nothing. I thought you were here for a meal. I was just about to go back and prepare some more ingredients. Ahem, Professor Dumbledore, Headmaster Dippet, Merry Christmas. So, you've found clues about that creature?" Wade said quickly.
Tom couldn't help curling his lip. Changing the subject… hmph, Wade's classic move.
"Yes. We've confirmed that what Slytherin left behind was a basilisk," Dumbledore said gravely. "We found the location, but it seems it can only be opened by Parseltongue, which is why we came to ask Tom for help."
Only then did Wade finally relax.
So it wasn't his own mess being exposed. In that case, everything was fine.
"Can I come take a look as well?" Wade asked immediately. "I've read some records about basilisks. That kind of dark creature is top-grade material all over. Especially its blood and venom."
"Alright, you can come too," Dumbledore nodded.
"Albus?" Headmaster Dippet looked at Dumbledore in surprise.
They didn't actually need Wade to be there. It would be far too dangerous. If Tom weren't needed to open the door, Headmaster Dippet wouldn't have even come to find him.
So seeing Dumbledore agree to Wade's request without much hesitation genuinely surprised him.
"Better to agree, Armando," Dumbledore said helplessly. "Otherwise, there's a good chance we'll run into Wade inside the chamber before we even see the basilisk. Having him come along is still safer than letting him sneak in on his own."
Headmaster Dippet understood what Dumbledore meant. He sighed and said, "Looks like that old hat really is a bit muddled, isn't it? These are clearly two Gryffindors."
Tom waved his hand. "I'm not one. This has nothing to do with me. I'm a pure Slytherin. Wade is the Gryffindor one. Even if he's not a lion, he'd at least be a chimera."
"Tom, you're talking too much."
...
Hogwarts had clearly already made preparations.
Many of the students staying at the castle were walking together in the same direction.
Professor McGonagall had arranged a safe place for them there.
When Wade and Tom appeared in the Headmaster's office, everyone inside turned to look at them at once.
Aside from Professor McGonagall, almost all the professors were present.
Besides the professors, Newt was also there, holding a suitcase and sitting quietly on a chair in the corner.
Professor Slughorn jumped up from his seat. "Albus? Bringing Tom is one thing, but why did you bring Wade as well?"
"I wanted to see the basilisk, Professor. I might even be able to help," Wade said honestly.
"Nonsense! What help could you possibly be?" Professor Slughorn scolded. "If you want to see it, I can show you a memory in the Pensieve later. Running into the castle now is extremely dangerous!"
Headmaster Dippet waved his hand. "Alright, Horace. These two children are not as fragile as you think. You'll be responsible for keeping an eye on them later. Just make sure they don't run off."
"Alright, alright… the old ones are unreliable, and the young ones aren't much better either," Professor Slughorn muttered to himself.
The door to the Headmaster's office opened again, and Professor McGonagall walked in. "The students have all been gathered in a safe location."
"Good. Then we'll proceed according to plan. Come over here, everyone, and take one of these," Dumbledore said as he pulled a small box out of a drawer.
When the box was opened, Wade saw that it contained several pairs of oddly shaped glasses.
"Here, everyone take a pair. These aren't transparent. Strictly speaking, they're more like blindfolds. However, once you put them on, you'll be able to perceive your surroundings through magic," Dumbledore said as he distributed the glasses to everyone present.
Wade received a pair as well.
"Whoa! This is really cool!"
He couldn't help exclaiming the moment he put them on.
Because rather than glasses, they were more like thermal night-vision goggles.
Except what these goggles showed wasn't heat, but magic.
Anything imbued with magic glowed red, while objects without magic appeared gray.
And inside the lenses, every person present was glowing red all over.
"These are glasses that let you perceive the environment through magic. The higher the magical power of an object or person, the brighter the light it reflects."
By this point, everyone had received a pair of glasses and put them on one after another.
Then Wade suddenly felt the surroundings grow quiet, and it seemed as though everyone's gaze had passed through the lenses and fallen squarely on him.
"Uh… what is it?" Wade asked, feeling a bit guilty.
"That's impossible! You bastard… why are you so blinding?" Tom said despairingly as he stared at Wade through the glasses.
"Blinding?" Wade abruptly remembered something.
Oh no.
"Wade… your magical power is actually this strong. This is truly unbelievable," Dumbledore said in shock.
The expression on Wade's face froze instantly.
This is bad. The fact that I'm ridiculously strong is finally about to be exposed.
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