After Headmaster Dippet recounted what had just happened, the professors present all looked at Wade differently.
"I suddenly feel that volunteering to be the guidance professor for moral education was a bit unnecessary," Professor Slughorn said with a pained expression.
The reason he had rushed to take on that role in the first place was to protect Wade.
But now it seemed Wade didn't need his protection at all.
"Even if Grindelwald himself made a move against Wade, he might not be able to take him down so easily! Wade, you've really put me in a difficult spot!"
"Pfft~ Ahaha," Dumbledore couldn't help but laugh. "You took on that responsibility of your own accord. You can't just drop it now."
"I know… of course…" Professor Slughorn said dejectedly.
"Professor… let me help you," Wade said at just the right moment. "You can keep your name on it."
"Really?!"
"Yes. At most, you'd just need to show up at critical moments and read from a script," Wade said.
"That's wonderful!" Slughorn beamed, his round belly jiggling with delight.
Since Wade's safety was no longer something he needed to worry about, and his workload was being lightened as well, those little hobbies he'd had to set aside could finally be picked up again.
And when he looked at the Basilisk's corpse again, the expression on his face grew even more delighted.
The appearance of rare materials meant new rare potions for a master of Potions.
For any potion master who truly loved the discipline, that was a lifelong pursuit.
For a time, a cheerful atmosphere filled Slytherin's Chamber.
However, Dumbledore's expression gradually turned grave.
Professor Slughorn's earlier words had reminded Dumbledore of something.
Something extremely important.
That was the fact that Wade had once held Grindelwald back on his own for a period of time.
Yes, held him back, not confronted him head-on.
If Wade had possessed his current level of strength back then, there would have been no reason for him to rely solely on technique to stall Grindelwald.
In other words, Wade's strength at the time had been far inferior to what it was now. His power had surged only recently.
Dumbledore could not help but feel a quiet sense of alarm. To grow so powerful in such a short span of time…
Could the amplification from ancient magic really be that terrifying?
And if so… what was the price?
Dumbledore thought of that powerful senior witch who had disappeared many years ago, so completely that even her name had been lost.
To this day, Dumbledore had been unable to determine what caused her name to vanish.
He had only managed to piece together some fragments of her movements after graduation.
The cause was unknown… and if there had been an enemy, that enemy was unknown as well…
Dumbledore looked at Wade with quiet concern.
He truly did not want Wade to one day vanish just as suddenly, leaving not even his name behind.
While Dumbledore was lost in worry, Wade and Professor Slughorn had already "divided the spoils" over there.
Even the two shattered eyeballs had been split evenly, one for each of them.
In the past, Slughorn would never have handed something so dangerous to Wade.
But now, he had no need to worry about that at all.
This kid was even stronger than he was. What was there left to worry about?
Besides, Wade's skill in Potions was no small thing either, so Professor Slughorn had even less reason to worry about materials being wasted.
At this point, Wade pulled the two-handed greatsword out of the Basilisk's body, preparing to carve it up properly.
Newt also walked over and, drawing on his experience as a magizoologist, pointed out where to make the cuts.
He then took out a notebook and began sketching the details of the Basilisk's various parts, clearly intending to study what its internal organs looked like as well.
A moment later, Wade raised the coldly gleaming greatsword and brought it down with a wet slash.
Under Newt's guidance, the strike precisely avoided the protection of the scales and plunged through a gap between them.
"We should leave…" Professor McGonagall said, her face turning slightly pale at the blood-soaked scene before her.
"Yes… let's go back," the other professors said as well. With everything settled, they prepared to depart.
"Professor… take me with you. My legs feel a bit weak," young Tom said pitifully, tugging at Professor McGonagall's sleeve.
"Oh, poor child. Come with me," Professor McGonagall said, leading Tom toward the doorway.
"Before we leave, I must remind you all of one thing," Headmaster Dippet said solemnly. "Everything that happened today must remain confidential."
"On the one hand, this is for the sake of one of the Four Founders, Slytherin's reputation, as well as the school's public opinion. On the other hand, it's to avoid unnecessary complications. And as for Wade's situation, I hope you will all keep that confidential as well. I already explained the reasons in the Headmaster's office earlier."
Everyone nodded in agreement.
After the professors left, Headmaster Dippet and Dumbledore turned to look at the three people still busy dissecting the Basilisk.
Looking at the bloody scene, Headmaster Dippet's lips twitched slightly.
He nudged Dumbledore with his shoulder. "Ahem, all of them are your favorite students… aren't they?"
Dumbledore rubbed his forehead. "They used to be… yes…"
…
Two hours later, Wade finally left the Chamber.
Fu~ fufu~~
He was carrying a bulging suitcase in his hand while humming happily.
Hmm hm~ hmmm~~
This time, Wade could truly be said to have made a killing.
An entire Basilisk had been cleanly split between the two of them.
Newt had personally taught them the technique for the Extension Charm, making an exceptionally spacious suitcase each for Professor Slughorn and Wade.
He had even embedded a unique preservation charm inside the suitcases.
He truly felt that he hadn't been of much help this time, so assisting Wade and the others with packing the Basilisk materials was his way of contributing.
Moreover, the process allowed him to gain a clearer understanding of the Basilisk's internal structure.
By the time Wade emerged, Tom had already gone home.
Presumably, he needed some time to process everything that had happened today.
After saying his goodbyes to Dumbledore and the others, Wade picked up his suitcase and left Hogwarts through the fireplace.
Watching the green flames in the fireplace gradually fade, Headmaster Dippet couldn't help but click his tongue in amazement. "Geniuses appear every year, but one like this… I've truly never seen before. I'd wager that even a young Merlin might not have been much better."
"Hard to say… but I've decided that once the holidays are over, I'll design a dedicated study plan for him and guide him personally," Dumbledore said gravely.
"Is that really necessary?" Headmaster Dippet asked in surprise. "I'd say Wade learns better on his own."
"I know he's more effective studying by himself, but… I still want to watch him learn," Dumbledore said.
"You want to understand how his strength is increasing, don't you? Albus, didn't we just agree on this?" Headmaster Dippet frowned.
"I understand everything you said, but… there's a concern I need to discuss with you."
"What is it?"
"Do you remember the student I mentioned before, the one who disappeared years ago, whose name even vanished?"
"You mean… the ancient magic on Wade?"
"Yes…"
…
After returning to the safe house, Wade immediately Apparated to Somnolen the wizard tower.
After spending quite some time, he finally stored the various parts of the Basilisk separately in a corner of the first-floor laboratory.
Only then did Wade place the shattered Basilisk eye he had received onto the workbench.
By now, the Basilisk's eye was already destroyed, and the curse originally contained within it had lost its effect.
Yet for some reason, when Wade looked at the broken pupil, he still felt a chill run through his body.
Rubbing his hands, Wade frowned. "There's still residual magic? But why didn't I feel anything strange when we removed the eyes earlier?"
Strangely enough, the moment he finished muttering to himself, that sense of chill vanished abruptly.
This left Wade somewhat puzzled.
However, his desire for research quickly made him forget that brief discomfort.
Wade used the Basilisk's pupil and the traces of magical residue he had just explored with nightmare magic as references, picking up a quill and beginning to sketch continuously on a blank sheet of parchment.
After more than ten minutes, an extremely complex circular diagram appeared on the parchment.
However, several sections in the middle of the circle were left blank.
Relying on memory, Wade filled in several of the empty areas, but there was still one large void that could not be restored.
"Ah… if I'd known, I wouldn't have smashed its eyes," Wade said helplessly.
What lay before him was the magical trace diagram of the lethal curse contained within the Basilisk's pupils.
But because he had destroyed the Basilisk's eyes, even by cross-referencing the magical traces from both pupils and supplementing them against each other, he could only restore most of it.
After all, both eyes had been pierced in the same area. Those parts simply could not be reconstructed for the time being.
"What a pity. Otherwise, I might have been able to reconstruct the Basilisk's lethal curse through this magical trace diagram using spells. If that worked, I might even be able to derive a Dark Magic spell deadlier than the Killing Curse," Wade muttered to himself.
Suddenly, that same chilling sensation returned, making Wade shiver.
"Huh? What the hell?" Wade scanned his surroundings warily. "Don't tell me this Basilisk can turn into a ghost..?"
"That would be perfect! Researching the eye curse would be much easier then."
However, the surroundings were utterly silent. It seemed this unfortunate Basilisk had not produced any kind of "ghost" after all.
"Tsk, it can't be a draft, can it?" Wade carefully surveyed the wizard tower, feeling that something was off.
"Toby!" Wade snapped his fingers, and Toby immediately appeared.
"Master Wade, Toby is preparing your dinner. Do you have any instructions?" Toby asked respectfully, blinking his large eyes.
"Toby, this old house of yours… it doesn't have any unclean things, does it?"
"Oh! The master has found dirty things in the house Toby cleans!" Toby felt as if the sky had fallen. "Toby would go and commit suicide!!"
"Ayo… stop!" Wade hurriedly cut off the house-elf's wailing. "That's not what I mean. I mean… are there any ghosts or things like that in this old house?"
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