Hogwarts: Voldemort, don't stop me from studying!

His expression was somewhat off, which made the originally joyful Wade uneasy. His expression subconsciously became serious, and he said earnestly, "Yes, Father."

"There was even someone who wanted to buy it out for 200,000 Galleons—but your professor didn't agree?"

"Yes."

Ferdinand, looking as if he were having difficulty breathing, said, "You're still with your professor—"

"—Professor Morrie."

"Yes, it was Professor Morrie—and a businessman—who went to Diagon Alley—"

“—It’s Mr. Marco Marchionni.” Wade hesitated for a moment before saying, “They all took very good care of me.”

"And then, right before your eyes—and that of a goblin—he transferred all fifty thousand Galleons into it?"

"Yes, father."

Ferdinand's expression was too strange; it didn't seem like he was simply proud or happy for him. Wied felt slightly uneasy.

It was only then that he realized he should have consulted his parents—but under Marchionne's urging, everything today seemed to be on fast-forward, and he subconsciously ignored it.

Logically speaking, Professor Morrie and Machione weren't such careless people. But considering that neither of his parents possessed magic, perhaps in their eyes, despite being only eleven years old, Wade was the only member of the Grey family with whom they could communicate on equal footing and make decisions.

Realizing this made Wade feel slightly uncomfortable. He suppressed these emotions and tried to speak in a light tone: "Because school is about to start, Mr. Marchionne is very anxious and afraid of missing this opportunity to make money, so everything seems rushed—I'm sorry, Dad, I forgot that I should have come back to discuss it with you first."

“Alright! Wade is only eleven years old. Do you expect him to be perfect in everything he does?” Fiona pretended to be unhappy and pushed Ferdinand away, then hugged her son and kissed his forehead very hard. “That’s wonderful, baby! Mom is so proud of you! How many eleven-year-olds can achieve financial freedom on their own? And it’s your unique achievement! It’s amazing! I can’t believe I gave birth to such an outstanding son!”

She showered him with kisses, then pulled Wade up from the sofa, urging, "What are you waiting for? Let's eat dinner! I've made a big meal! Ferdi—go wash your hands too!"

"--good."

As Vader was pushed toward the dining table, he turned around and saw Ferdinand standing up, holding onto the back of the sofa. He even stumbled and almost fell as he walked toward the bathroom.

Fiona didn't see it; she hummed a song and cheerfully lifted the lid, the aroma of the food instantly awakening everyone's taste buds. But Ferdinand couldn't eat a thing; he almost poked a tomato into his nose, and after the steak fell off his fork, he chewed on the fork a few times before realizing it.

“Your dad is so shocked!” Fiona whispered to him, worried that Wade would feel frustrated or disappointed. “When he was eleven, he couldn’t even do addition and subtraction within one hundred!”

This is too exaggerated.

Wade couldn't help but smile, for the non-existent, clumsy father his mother spoke of, and for the sparkling love in his mother's eyes.

"Dad—" After dinner, Wade tentatively asked, "Professor Morrie helped me a lot today. Although he said he didn't need it, I still want to thank him, but I don't know how—"

According to some of the "unspoken rules of the workplace" he had learned in his previous life, it would be appropriate to give Professor Mori 20,000 to 30,000 Galleons at this moment; otherwise, it would be considered "insensible." However, after hesitating for a long time, Wade still felt that if he said that, Professor Mori would probably turn on him on the spot.

Past experience is not applicable now, at least not to Professor Morrie; otherwise, it's hard to say whether it would be "gratitude" or "insult."

As an eleven-year-old, Wade knew he didn't need to appear too sophisticated or slick. But he also felt he couldn't simply accept Professor Morrie's kindness as if nothing had happened.

"Oh—" Ferdinand was a little taken aback, and after a while he said, "Write a thank-you note, Wade—"

"write a letter?"

Wade never expected that his advice to Steven during the day—to write a letter—would be sent back by his father that very evening.

“Yes, write a letter, be sincere and thoughtful—” Ferdinand thought for a moment and said, “Remember to send Professor Morrie a small gift on his birthday or holidays—most importantly, repay him with better grades…”

“I understand.” Wade nodded.

“Yes, go write the letter, Wade. And—” Ferdinand forced a smile: “I’m very proud of you, son.”

……

After watching his son return to his bedroom, Ferdinand slumped down, ran his hands through his hair, and looked utterly dejected.

“What’s wrong with you today?” Fiona hugged him from behind, resting her head on his neck, her long hair sliding down his shoulders. She grumbled, “Wade made a lot of money from his little inventions, the professors at school are so nice to him, and the businessmen he met are honest and helpful… everything is great, so why do you look like this? Wade didn’t even smile when he went back to his room… Ferdi, whatever the reason, don’t be a spoilsport, okay…”

She muttered to herself, and she could feel her husband's tense muscles gradually relaxing.

“Yes, you’re right.” Ferdinand grasped his wife’s hand, forcing a smile. “Their professor is a good man… everything is fine… I was just too shocked, I’m sorry…”

"I'm fine. Just remember to apologize to Wade tomorrow morning... He was so happy to share his achievements with you, and you didn't even give him a kind look..."

"--knew."

……

Late at night, after his wife was completely asleep, Ferdinand put on his clothes and went to the balcony. He wanted to light a cigarette, but his hands were trembling so badly that he failed several times.

He finally managed to light it, took a deep drag, and the smoke blurred his vision, as well as the lonely London night.

Only then did Ferdinand finally succumb to overwhelming fear.

His Vader… his intelligent, sensible, obedient, and kind son… with a mind worth at least a million pounds, possessing immense wealth that could be readily converted into cash… gone with some strangers to a completely unfamiliar place… if Vader encounters danger… if he gets hurt… what can his father do…?

The wizard appeared and disappeared without a trace, and Ferdinand didn't even know where to look for him...

He smoked one cigarette after another, his body trembling from his fingers to his toes.

The night was so cold it made you shiver.

……

Upstairs, Wade watched the smoke drift away and saw the faint flames flickering again and again.

He leaned against the railing, tilted his head slightly, and saw the waning moon like a silver hook hanging on the spire of a tall building.

Chapter 59 Shopping Spree

The last week of the holiday flew by. Wade felt like he had only read a few books, and time had already slipped away.

What Professor Murray left him was a small matchbox containing a small, curled, bluish-black sheet, resembling a dried caterpillar or a wing membrane torn from a bat's wing.

Because he couldn't use a wand, Wade only examined its appearance with a magnifying glass and didn't use any more destructive monitoring methods. He would be able to study it more carefully once he got to school.

Just as he himself had said, Machione indeed released "The Book of Friends" on schedule. Vader also received an invitation to the release day of Aslan's Magic Workshop, and an owl even sent him samples—two sets of each style, with a note that he could keep one set for himself and give the other away.

Rather than joining the "first day of release" frenzy, Vader preferred to stay home and read. However, Fiona saw an advertisement for the Book of Friends in the Daily Prophet and was eager to go, so the father and son accompanied her.

The family drove to Charing Cross Road in Westminster, parked nearby, and then walked to the Leaky Cauldron. It had recently snowed, and the ground was wet and slippery; Fiona clung tightly to Ferdinand's arm, her feet still slipping as she walked.

“I wish I could fly to the Leaky Cauldron right now—and have some butterbeer—no, fire whiskey—” Fiona muttered as she walked shakily.

"We're almost there," Ferdinand reassured her. In fact, they had already seen the Leaky Cauldron sign.

As Squibs, Ferdinand and Fiona were not accepted into magic schools, but the wizarding world did not completely shut its doors to them. Both Ferdinand and Fiona possessed magic within them, though they could not use it, which distinguished them from Muggles.

For example, they can see the Leaky Cauldron, which doesn't exist in the eyes of Muggles, and potions have normal effects on them.

For a pure Muggle, some potions that are commonplace to wizards can become deadly poisons when drunk, such as Bone Spirit; some injuries that are insignificant to wizards can be irreparable serious damage to Muggles.

When Wade was studying at Hogwarts, the Greys would sometimes wander around Diagon Alley. Although they didn't have wands, they could enter Diagon Alley by following other wizards when they opened the entrance, and no one usually said anything.

At that moment, Vader felt as if his parents had come home after entering Diagon Alley. They naturally started by having a beer at the Leaky Cauldron (at some point, Fiona stopped complaining about the cleanliness of the place), and then followed the winding path to the entrance, where they all looked at Vader.

Vader took out his wand and tapped a brick on the wall. A familiar archway immediately appeared, revealing a huge poster right in front of him—

[The Book of Friends, a groundbreaking landmark!]

[You haven't bought your child's Book of Friends yet? Merlin, what will he do at school?]

[Peak quality, excellent yet affordable, an irreplaceable enjoyment in the new era!]

[With me by your side, the world is different—communication anytime, anywhere, the Friends List changes our world!]

"Oh my god—" Fiona couldn't help but exclaim.

Colorful posters were visible from almost every corner of the street, and slogans scrolled across the screen, urging people to buy immediately. Diagon Alley was bustling with people, parents everywhere, and even many foreign wizards.

They no longer needed to go to the Marchionne shop, because there was a sales point every ten meters along Diagon Alley. The clerks shouted, "One book per person! One book per person! Hey sir, you've taken too many!"

"Don't worry! We'll be producing more products soon! Don't rush, if you're willing to wait a couple of days, you can sit in the store and browse at your leisure! We have all kinds of styles!"

But nobody listened to him; people kept pushing forward, clutching Galonnaise and shouting—

"Give me three books! I have three children!"

"Stop pushing! Who stepped on my shoe?!"

"I want the red one, give me the red one!"

Suddenly, a gasp rang out from the crowd, and the throng scattered with a whoosh. The two wizards were rolling on the ground and fighting, screams and shouts filling the air. They were quickly pulled apart by those around them.

Fiona swallowed hard. "Should we—maybe we should just stay here and look around—"

"—A wise choice."

Ferdinand bought ice cream, and the three of them sat at a small table outside the store, watching the daunting scene of people rushing to buy it.

The owner, Fosco, wearing a vest, brought ice cream to the table and said with a smile, "Are you here to buy a Friends account for your kids too?"

“Hmm—yes—” Ferdinand said vaguely.

“Then you’d better go buy it soon.” Fosco adjusted his bow tie and said, “I have inside information. The Book of Friends that Aslan’s Magic Workshop is working overtime to produce is only this batch. After it’s all sold out, their staff will have to take a few days off before they can continue working. So if you miss this opportunity, you’ll have to wait at least a week to buy it.”

Wade looked up at him—no wonder the shouts of the shop assistants trying to maintain order were completely ineffective; with these Diagon Alley owners spreading "insider information" and creating anxiety, of course everyone would worry about not being able to buy it.

"Your inside information is—" Ferdinand asked cautiously.

“Oh, I have a distant aunt’s neighbor’s daughter who works at the Aslan Magic Workshop, in charge of producing the Book of Friends, so my information is absolutely true and reliable!” Fosco said proudly.

“Oh—” Ferdinand nodded with some doubt.

Vader: ...

Could this "insider information" have been leaked by Marchionni's employees at his behest? In order to stimulate consumption, they deliberately spread rumors, while the official statement was "we have plenty of stock," and at the same time, they had someone leak insider information that "stock is tight." People will naturally choose to believe the latter.