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

“Wait a week—it’s not a big deal, is it? Wasn’t it fine when we only had owls before?” Fiona asked curiously.

“How can this be the same?” Mr. Fosco looked at Wade and said, “Think about your son—madam—when he gets to school, all his classmates will be talking about and exchanging friend books, and he will have nothing. Won’t he be isolated? At the very least, he will feel inferior, right? Just imagine that scene—as a parent, wouldn’t you feel bad?”

Fiona imagined it for a moment, following his words—the students at school were playing in groups, chatting in their friend's book, laughing and joking with each other in perfect harmony, while her Vade could only stand alone in a corner, looking pitiful—Fiona immediately felt sad and nodded repeatedly, saying, "Yes! It definitely will! It's too pitiful, it can't be like that!"

"Right, that's what everyone thinks—at least let your child bring a Book of Friends to school so they don't feel out of place among the other kids—so how can anyone resist buying one?"

"I can't resist, I'll definitely buy it!" Fiona said enthusiastically.

Fosco sighed and walked away, muttering about the love parents have for their children. Fiona watched the crowds rushing to buy things with unease, then suddenly stood up, only to be grabbed by the arm by Ferdinand. Wied looked at her in surprise.

“Ferdi—”

“Wade already has a Book of Friends, remember?” Ferdinand said helplessly. “He has many, and he can exchange them with everyone he meets. He’s not some pitiful little guy.”

—He himself is the inventor of the Book of Friends, so what kind of person can't he have?

Fiona blinked, then exclaimed in realization, "Oh—that's right!"

Vader: ...

So you were genuinely swayed, and not just secretly promoting me, right?

Chapter 60 Farewell

The next morning, when Wade was woken up by his father, he found that it was an hour earlier than the alarm clock had been set.

“It snowed last night, Wade.” Ferdinand, still carrying a chill, urged, “Get up quickly, we need to leave early today.”

Wade sat up in bed, ruffled his messy hair, and drew back the curtains. He saw that the snow on the windowsill was about two inches thick, and the yard was a blanket of white. There was a ring of footprints around the car, left by Ferdinand when he was shoveling snow that morning.

Wade quickly dressed, went downstairs for breakfast, and heard his parents arguing in the kitchen—

"Listen to me, darling, it's too cold today. There's no need for us all to go to the station. I can see Wade off by myself—"

"But I also want to see Wade off; I won't see him for six months after he goes back to school—"

The two talked for a long time, but in the end Ferdinand insisted on letting Fiona stay at home—he usually doted on Fiona, but once he made a decision, no one could dissuade him.

After the two came out of the kitchen, Wade pretended not to have heard their argument. After breakfast, he asked, "Mom, could you take care of Miss Ava for me for now? We can let her fly to Hogwarts on her own when the weather gets better."

“Great!” Fiona agreed happily and immediately started planning: “I can make her owl food myself. General Bard’s rations are almost finished, and there’s Milion, I think she might need to lose weight, the running wheel we bought earlier was chewed up—”

Milion is Fiona's pet hamster. She's a shy little thing and doesn't usually require much attention from her.

Seeing that she was no longer dwelling on the departure issue and had instead focused her attention on her pets, Ferdinand breathed a sigh of relief. They quickly ate breakfast, and Ferdinand picked up Wiede's large suitcase and stuffed it into the trunk.

"Goodbye, Mom." Before getting into the car, Wade turned to say goodbye, and Fiona stood in front of the door waving vigorously.

The car slowly drove away.

Just as Ferdinand had predicted, the roads were slippery due to the snow, and cars were moving very slowly. Even so, a collision occurred, and two cars stopped on the side of the road with some broken parts scattered on the snow.

The car was quiet. Wade looked out the window when suddenly, a gray car appeared beside them as if it had been squeezed out of thin air.

"what!"

"What's wrong?" Ferdinand glanced in the rearview mirror and caught his son's surprised expression.

"It's nothing... I think I saw a car rear-end collision..."

"Yes, that happens often." Ferdinand didn't get distracted, focusing intently on the road ahead to avoid being unable to brake in time in case of a sudden accident.

Wade watched as the gray car beside them drove alongside for a few minutes before suddenly disappearing from sight. When he found it again, it had just caught up with the car in front and crossed the intersection. The next second, the green light turned red.

No one on the street noticed, including Ferdinand, who didn't see the car that seemed to be leaping forward.

—If an ordinary person could see this, it would probably be considered a ghost story, right?

Wade couldn't help but think.

The slowly moving car finally arrived at King's Cross station, with about ten minutes left before departure. Ferdinand unloaded his luggage cart, placed it on a trolley, and pushed it all the way to Platform 9¾. Here, Ferdinand walked slower and slower, finally having to stop.

Vidra took his hand.

“Let’s go in together, Dad,” he said.

Ferdinand smiled wryly, "No, Wade—I'm not a wizard, I can't—"

“Yes, you can,” Wade interrupted him, “Platform Nine and Three-Quarters has no magical restrictions, so even Muggles can enter. It’s just that the Ministry of Magic has put a spell on it, which Muggles usually ignore.”

“So—I—” Ferdinand took a deep breath, staring at the brick wall in front of him with the eyes of someone looking at a monster: “I can also—enter this platform—”

"Okay, come with me."

Videla took his hand and led him forward. Ferdinand looked tense, and just before he was about to crash into the brick wall, he couldn't help but close his eyes—

Nothing happened.

But suddenly it became noisy.

A deep red train was parked beside the platform, all the carriage doors open. Children dressed in Hogwarts uniforms pressed their faces against the windows, saying goodbye to their parents below. The platform was also crowded with people; some children were running hurriedly, while others were hugging their parents tightly.

Cats roamed freely on the ground, while an owl in a cage turned its head and looked around. Older students huddled together, already discussing their holiday homework, while others struggled to get out of their mothers' arms, saying, "Don't kiss me so much, Mom—I'm not a child anymore—"

"Have you put away all the friends' accounts?" A stern-looking old woman said to the child next to her, "Don't lose them, and remember to contact them every day."

The seemingly simple-minded child next to her honestly said, "I understand, Grandma."

"Can I have another Book of Friends, Dad?" a girl pleaded, clinging to her father's arm. "I have lots of friends at school—my sister isn't in school yet, you can buy her one in a few days—"

"Don't even think about it—" a girl who was clearly younger than him shouted, jumping up and down, "Don't even think about it—it's mine—"

Looking around, at least one in three travelers was talking about their "Friends' Book," with some eagerly taking out paper to write and engrossed in "online chatting." Others checked their Friends' Book every few minutes to see if there were any new messages. To reply promptly, some even carried a portable pen in their breast pocket or behind their ear.

Ferdinand watched the scene with near-obsession—Station 9¾ was unlike Diagon Alley, the place where his magical dreams had begun, yet which had ultimately shut him out. He had fantasized countless times as a child about the journey that would unfold here, but he didn't set foot inside until he was thirty-two.

After a long pause, Ferdinand looked away and said in a suppressed, slightly trembling voice, "Let's go, Wade—we'll find you a carriage."

They walked along the platform for a while and found an empty carriage. Wade put his suitcase away, got off the train, and said goodbye to his father.

“Wade—”

Ferdinand put his hand on Wid's shoulder, wanting to say something, but couldn't bring himself to speak.

Should I tell him to study hard?

—Wade has been studying harder than anyone else.

Tell him to build good relationships with others?

Ferdinand himself has said this many times.

Tell him that his parents will always be his support, and he can seek help from his family no matter what problems he encounters.

But Ferdinand knew perfectly well that he and his wife were completely powerless against the wizard. Even if Vader did ask them for help, what could they do for him besides sharing his pain?

After a long pause, Ferdinand's hand tightened slightly: "We are always proud of you, Wied—no matter what challenges you face, don't be afraid, don't hesitate, and ask your teacher for help whenever you encounter trouble—understand?"

Wade nodded, looked into his father's eyes, and asked softly, "Dad, you didn't actually want me to come to Hogwarts, did you? Why didn't you stop me?"

“…I can’t, Vader.” Ferdinand said with a wry smile, “I want to, but I can’t—because I’ve heard that if a minor wizard doesn’t learn to control his magic, he will generate a dark power called the Obscurus—destroying himself—destroying everything—”

So he could only watch with deep worry as his son stepped into the slaughterhouse, which he saw as a death-reaping machine...

Can't be stopped.

It cannot be stopped.

Chapter 61 The Train, Hyenas

A sharp whistle blew, and all the train doors closed. The locomotive, spewing steam, began to rumble forward. Wade waved from the window, watching his father's figure gradually disappear into the distance.

He turned and sat down, his heart heavy.

The Book of Friends felt faintly warm. Upon opening it, I saw that the first page already had several additional sentences—

[Fiona: How was the journey? The train should have left by now, right?]

Fiona: Miss Ava seems a little unhappy. I think it's probably because you didn't bring her with you.

[Fiona: Is it cold on the train?]

Wade smiled, took out his pen, and replied sentence by sentence—

[Wade: We had a smooth journey. The train just departed, and Dad should already be on his way home.]

If Miss Ava is unhappy, perhaps you could feed her some dried fish? It's her favorite snack; I remember it's on the second shelf of the cupboard. Or some dried beetles or dried locusts would also please her—but don't give her too many, or it might cause stomach problems.

Of course, you are aware of these things.

In addition, there must have been some kind of temperature-maintaining magic on the train, so it wasn't cold, and the scarf was also very warm.

I'll remember to take lots of photos.

"Hey, Wade!" Just as Wade finished writing, Michael poked his head in and said excitedly, "I knew you should be in this direction—men, here you are!"

He waved in another direction, then dragged his suitcase into the carriage, excitedly saying, "You've made big news, haven't you, Wade?"

"—What?" Wade was a little confused.

"Of course, it's the Book of Friends!"

Michael pulled out his wand, made the suitcase float to the luggage rack and sit down, saying, "Before school started, my parents were in a rush to buy a copy! They were so surprised when they found out I had a whole copy! But I thought it was a secret among SSC members, but then I heard it was already on sale in Diagon Alley—so the rumor was true, right?"