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

"Have you forgotten how Ron Weasley made you cry? Potter and Weasley are inseparable, and if he joins us, he probably won't hide it from Weasley—are you ready to forgive him?" Weasley asked gently.

He seemed to have no opinion whatsoever; all his considerations stemmed from his concern for Hermione's feelings.

"Oh, that!" Hermione breathed a sigh of relief and smiled with relief. "That matter is long in the past, and he did try to remind his friend later, didn't he? Although it didn't really help—after spending time with him these past few months, I don't think Weasley is that annoying anymore. You can't hold a grudge for a lifetime over just one argument, can you?"

“Turning enemies into friends is a good thing,” Ryan said, easing the tense atmosphere. “Besides, Ron Weasley’s brothers are all outstanding, so he must have some great qualities too, right?”

Hermione probably doesn't agree with that.

After relaxing, she couldn't help but explain further: "Actually, I didn't originally plan to bring them in... Ron noticed Neville's significant improvement and questioned him several times, but Neville didn't say anything... But as you all know, Harry—if the Death Eaters and the Man from Nowhere return, Harry will be the first to be targeted—is not particularly outstanding academically. His grades are so-so, he hasn't mastered the spells taught in class, and he often has to attend Quidditch training—"

In Hermione's eyes, Harry Potter was originally a "good-for-nothing who had a good reputation but didn't study hard at all."

Later it came down to—"A decent person, but still not hardworking enough, what a jerk."

When he truly realized that Harry Potter had lost his parents in the war and was still being threatened by Voldemort and his remnants—

Harry Potter was shrouded in an aura of "poor thing" in Hermione's eyes.

What does it matter if his grades are a little worse or he's a little playful? How gratified his parents must be to see him growing up so happily and healthily!

But then, Hermione felt an even greater anxiety – she was, to begin with, a person who was easily anxious.

The thought of Voldemort being so close, Quirrell watching with predatory intent, and Dumbledore having mysterious and unknown plans, while Harry was just eating and playing around all day, piecing together his homework from various sources or copying from others...

Hermione wanted to pry open his skull and stuff all her anxiety inside!

There is no doubt that Harry Potter's future will face enormous challenges and dangers, which he cannot overcome simply by copying homework.

Hermione tried to teach them all the spells she had learned at the Umbrella House, but the problem was—it felt perfectly clear and easy for her to understand when Wade taught them, but when she tried to teach Harry and Ron in the same way, they seemed to have had their heads smashed by a troll and couldn't understand for a long time.

Hermione didn't understand why; she just felt extremely irritated. Sometimes she doubted the intelligence of the two men, but seeing Neville's progress, she had to admit that perhaps her teaching methods were flawed.

To help Harry improve his abilities as quickly as possible, joining the SSC seems to be the only option. The only better option would be for Dumbledore himself to be willing to personally mentor Harry… but how could that be possible?

Therefore, despite knowing it was presumptuous and might even upset others, Hermione made the request anyway.

Fortunately, Wade agreed.

Having been a member of the SSC for so long, Hermione naturally understood that as long as Wade agreed, no one else would be a problem.

……

"Why did you agree?" Michael couldn't help but ask when they were alone.

"Harry Potter?" Wade asked knowingly.

“Of course.” Michael said seriously, “Wade, I think you know how much trouble Harry Potter means—I didn’t think you would like this kind of trouble.”

“Yes, I don’t like it.” Wade leaned back in his chair and said, “But if it’s Harry Potter, then of course an exception can be made.”

“But—” Michael frowned, puzzled, “After all this time, even Neville should have figured it out by now—he’s just an ordinary boy who somehow escaped the Death Curse…and for some reason, the Man of Void disappeared that night, and the whole world has given him the title of ‘savior,’ as if the Man of Void was defeated by a baby—I used to think he was born with powerful magic, but—”

Michael hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped.

"But after he started school, it was discovered that his intelligence and abilities did not match his reputation as the 'savior'?" Wade looked out the window and said what Michael wanted to say but didn't.

Michael breathed a sigh of relief: "That's right, that's exactly what I meant."

He paused, then said, "You should see it clearly enough that you don't have any special expectations of Porter because of this. But why—"

“But Michael—” Wade turned his gaze from the window to his friend and said, “You shouldn’t have forgotten that Potter’s parents died fighting against Vader; they fought bravely to the very end. On that night, Harry Potter not only became the ‘savior’—he also lost his closest family member—”

"Yes—that's right—" Michael's face flushed with shame as he stammered.

“So whatever he did—or didn’t do—has nothing to do with any of this,” Wade sighed. “Harry Potter—is the orphan of a martyr.”

"The orphan of a martyr?" Michael chewed on the word, suddenly understanding why his parents wouldn't allow him to say anything bad about Harry Potter when he gossiped about it with them.

“Yes,” Wade concluded. “All those who have escaped the shadow of war and enjoy the peace they enjoy now have an obligation to take care of him—and children like him, don’t they?”

Chapter 69 Gray Eyes

Michael has left.

Wade turned his head and looked at the windowpane.

The figure in the glass had a pair of gray eyes. They were neither as deep as black eyes nor as bright as blue eyes. They were more like the calm surface of a lake in autumn and winter, devoid of any intense emotions.

Sometimes, the person you look into has an unusually cold feeling, making you wonder if their heart is just as cold.

Through the reflection in the glass, you can see a group of students carrying brooms, braving the rain, trudging through the grass back to the castle. Their faces and bodies are covered in mud, as if they had been rolling in a mud pit, and their features are almost unrecognizable, but the smallest figure among them still stands out.

Then, a man wearing a headscarf, looking as if he were cold, shrank back and jogged past.

A moment later, another figure, as black as a bat, strode into the castle, his robes billowing high in the wind, and even the rain seemed to shy away from him. His face was darker than the overcast sky, and the students he encountered on the way all hurriedly moved away.

Wade couldn't help but chuckle softly.

Harry Potter.

Voldemort.

Severus Snape.

The Savior, the Dark Lord, and the former Death Eaters.

Several people, whose identities are contradictory and who could even be described as murderous, live peacefully in the same castle as teachers and students, waiting for the moment when their true intentions are revealed.

Thinking of Michael's expression as if his soul had been cleansed when he left, Wade's lips curled up slightly.

He tidied up the clutter on the table, organized his recent homework and notes, and headed to the Astronomy Tower with his backpack.

—Of course, Harry Potter should join us, and we should even try to increase his strength. Otherwise, if Voldemort were to be resurrected—or gain even greater power due to some butterfly effect or something, who would stand in his way?

Is it Wade, who is still quite weak at the moment? Is it Michael, who spends all his time hanging out with girls? Or is it Dumbledore, who was cursed and fell from the tower in the story?

Harry Potter, despite his many flaws—such as recklessness, impulsiveness, and lack of self-discipline, and despite only being proficient in a few spells and not excelling in any of his other courses except Defense Against the Dark Arts—is undoubtedly a deadly weapon against Voldemort.

Leaving aside his infancy, from the time he started school, Voldemort basically lost to Harry Potter every year. In the last year, Harry Potter was even more miraculously able to find all of Voldemort's hidden Horcruxes in a very short time, finally sending the Dark Lord to his final demise, while he himself remained almost unharmed.

Whether it's the protagonist's halo or the chosen one...

Wade doesn't currently have the strength to defeat Voldemort, so he would never refuse such a friend.

Even if one day his power surpasses Voldemort's, he will not turn away Harry Potter—the world is ever-changing, and Harry Potter will always be a powerful trump card.

Outside the castle, a light rain was falling, and streaks of lightning flashed across the sky, casting dappled shadows through the windows that appeared abruptly and then disappeared.

……

"Terrible weather, isn't it?"

Professor Morrie poured himself a cup of hot tea, thought for a moment, then added some milk and sugar. He then sat down in his chair and said contentedly.

“Yes.” Wade, holding a cup of hot tea, smiled and said, “But I also think this kind of weather is particularly suitable for sleeping in. Muggles call this kind of even, continuous sound white noise, believing that it can block out other frequencies of sound, thereby improving sleep quality.”

As Wade became more familiar with Professor Morrie, he learned about the professor's attitude towards Muggles and no longer hesitated to discuss Muggle theories and techniques with him.

“White noise…” Professor Morrie pondered for a moment, then chuckled, “They always have some strange and wonderful research, don’t they? I even saw a… well, a research report before, which seemed to be about the relationship between the length of a human ring finger and intelligence.”

“But there are also some very interesting studies, such as the interaction between dreams and reality, time travel, and the forms of extraterrestrial life.” Wade thought for a moment and said with some longing, “They are also exploring beyond Earth. If interstellar travel can really be realized, I would really like to be one of their passengers.”

“I’m hoping for it too, but at my age, I’m afraid I won’t live to see that day. If you live well, there’s still a chance—or you might be able to forge a Philosopher’s Stone like Mr. Nicolas Flamel,” Professor Morrie said with a chuckle.

Wade smiled and said, "I've read in a book that the Philosopher's Stone can create an elixir of immortality—is Mr. Nicolas Flamel still the same as he was when he was young?"

He still remembers Nicolas Flamel in the film as a walking, pale ghost, his bones so brittle they would break at the slightest touch. He wondered if things would be different in this world.

“Hmm—” Professor Morrie hesitated for a moment before saying, “I can only say that—the elixir of immortality can indeed allow its possessor to escape death, but the cumulative effect over six centuries is terrifying, and the potion cannot completely counteract this effect—”

“Then such immortality doesn’t seem very interesting,” Wade said, tilting his head and thinking for a moment.

Professor Murray couldn't help but laugh: "Only a young person as vibrant as you would say such a thing without hesitation. When you're as old as I am, you'll understand—when people are nearing the end of their lives, the fear of death and the attachment to life will make us fear death and yearn for a longer existence."

"Professor Morrie thinks so too?" Wade couldn't help but ask.

“I’m just a mortal, of course I would,” Professor Morrie said, stroking his teacup. “But Albus once said—death is a great adventure. No one knows what the afterlife is like—it might be as terrifying as legend says, or as wonderful as legend says, or just nothingness—”

Professor Murray seemed to recall something, paused for a moment, and then suddenly murmured, "So I both fear death and look forward to that day—I will continue on my journey to see what lies ahead—"

Wade looked at him quietly.

Professor Morrie suddenly snapped out of his reverie and chuckled, "These things are too early for you—by the way, have you found the answer to the question I left you with before?"

“Yes.” Wade took the small box out of his pocket and placed it on the table, saying in a disapproving tone, “But Professor, this is too valuable.”

“The value of a gift lies not in how much money it costs, but in how you will use it,” Professor Murray said in a kind and encouraging tone. “Tell me your thoughts.”

Wade opened the box: "This is a piece of bird-snake skin—Steven told me about this creature; its body can stretch and contract at will, it can grow as large as a dragon, or it can squeeze into a small teapot, and it usually feeds on insects and mice—"

Professor Morrie nodded and asked, "Hmm, anything else?"

Vader took a deep breath: "—It's the best material to use for the Seamless Stretch Charm."

Chapter 70 The Box and the Crown

“Tell me your understanding of the Unseen Stretching Charm,” Professor Morrie continued with a smile.

“Yes.” Wade said seriously, “The Unfailing Stretch Charm is a spatial spell. I suspect it can simultaneously extend and fold space. This spell can be applied to any material—metal, clay, cloth, wood—provided it's used in a closed, finite space. Theoretically, the Unfailing Stretch Charm can expand space from finite to infinite, but in practice, it's affected by various factors, most directly by the material, the wizard's magic, and their understanding of the spell—”

Professor Morrie nodded slightly.

Most of what Wade said can be found in the book, but integrating it was no easy task. Moreover, it included Muggle theories and his own thoughts; if written down, it would be an excellent academic paper.