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

Vader took a silver scimitar from his pocket and held it between his fingers, saying, "Front end—continue using the wand your father left you, even if it takes ten or a hundred times the effort to reach a normal level, you will not give up!"

Yin Xike twirled it halfway between her fingers.

"On the other hand, cherish your longing and love for your parents in your heart, choose the most suitable magic wand, gain greater power, become a son that your parents can be proud of, and also have the power to protect others."

"Do you see clearly?"

Neville swallowed hard, nodded, and stared nervously at the silver coin.

Wade glanced down and saw Neville's hands clenched into fists, crumpling the hem of his clothes.

"Then—let's begin."

As Vader spoke, he flicked his finger, and the silver scimitar spun rapidly, soaring high into the air. Neville involuntarily looked up, his gaze following the dazzling silver light as it rose and fell—his heart leaped into his throat!

Vader covered the silver coin with his palm and slowly opened it.

"Gudong."

Neville's throat tightened, and his palms were sweating profusely.

Just as the silver scimitar was about to be revealed, Vader suddenly clenched his fist again!

"Ah!" Neville couldn't help but exclaim, "I haven't seen it yet!"

"But you already know, don't you?" Wade asked. "What is the answer you really want?"

Neville was stunned, as if a thunderbolt had struck him.

Wade got up and left, leaving him alone on the sofa to think things through.

"How is Neville?" Theo walked over and asked worriedly.

"It's okay, he'll figure it out."

As he spoke, Wade glanced down at the silver Sike in his palm, then suddenly smiled and put it in his pocket.

—What?! It turns out that fate is also looking out for this silly child.

but……

Isn't it better to make your own decisions after careful consideration than to be pushed along by fate?

……

Before we knew it, the Easter break was here again, and this time professors from all subjects had assigned a lot of homework. With only a two-week spring break, most students wouldn't choose to go home.

Neville applied to leave school so he could go to Diagon Alley and pick out a wand that would truly suit him.

Wade also applied to leave school, but he only went home to celebrate Easter with his parents; the rest of the time he was at Hogsmeade learning spells from Lupin.

The spell to extract memories wasn't as complex as Vader had anticipated. If the memory provider concentrated on recalling the information and was willing to give it up voluntarily, the spell could be quite simple. Forcibly extracting memories that the recipient wanted to hide, however, fell under the category of sophisticated dark magic.

Occupy Central requires extensive training, with the most basic requirement being to empty one's mind—to stop thinking, recalling, and perceiving. More advanced techniques involve weaving false memories and emotions into the mind to deceive the master of Legilimency.

During the holidays, Vader made the most progress in Transfiguration and Disillusionment Charms, and also learned the uses of several Fire Charms. Lupin also taught him some useful tips for school, such as spells for checking papers for typos.

When Wade returned to school the day before the start of the semester, he handed out Easter eggs to his friends and noticed that the two Gryffindors looked nervous and worried.

"What's wrong?" Wade asked.

“This…” Harry and Hermione exchanged a glance, then Hermione said with a troubled expression, “It’s Hagrid… He got his hands on a dragon egg and is actually planning to hatch it!”

Wade recalled for a moment: "I remember this being illegal, right?"

“Yes!” Harry said with a worried look, “What if someone finds out? Hagrid doesn’t care at all, he’s only thinking about becoming Mother Dragon!”

"Hmm... that's quite Gryffindor."

Wade muttered a low grumble, then, seeing their obvious annoyance, said, "I know a friend who works as a breeder for Mr. Scamander. Perhaps you could entrust the dragon eggs to them for incubation? Or perhaps you could secretly move them to a permitted breeding ground. Of course—"

Amidst their surprised expressions, Wade added, "The prerequisite is that you can persuade Mr. Hagrid to abandon his current plans—private individuals cannot keep dragons unless he is willing to go to Azkaban."

This is not an easy task.

Hagrid had a natural affinity for all dangerous creatures, and raising dragons was his lifelong dream. Even knowing that Harry and Hermione's concerns were valid, he couldn't bring himself to abandon his adorable, unborn dragon baby. The thought of the little guy's turbulent life after leaving him, even being captured by wizards to have his blood drawn and his liver harvested, brought tears to the half-giant's eyes.

Before long, the delay dragged on until the baby dragon was about to be born.

Chapter 95: Hatching

"Expelliarmus!"

Neville shouted, and Hermione's wand flew from her hand, landing on the cushion beside her.

"It worked!" Hermione exclaimed happily, skipping her wand pick up and rushing over to hug Neville.

“That’s great, Neville!” Theo clapped enthusiastically, then helped Hermione pick up her wand and return it to her.

Neville finally smiled and said happily, "I tried it at home, and my grandma was very happy. She said my father didn't know the Disarming Charm when he was in first grade!"

"Is this a new wand?" Michael examined his wand.

“Yes.” Neville showed his new companion to everyone: “Cherry wood, unicorn hair, Mr. Ollivander said it’s perfect for me.”

The first time they chose a wand, the wonderful feeling of finding half of his body was unforgettable for every young wizard. They each touched Neville's wand and said with certainty that he would become an excellent spell master.

As they chatted and laughed, the door to the Umbrella House slid open. Neville turned around and saw Harry walking in with a frown. He greeted him warmly, "Harry, you're here too!"

“Hi, Neville,” Harry said hurriedly. “Oh, Hermione—great, you’re here too! Michael, do you know where Wade is?”

“He went to the library to borrow books, he should be here soon—do you need to see him?” Michael said.

"—It's Hagrid," Harry said. "He asked me to invite Hermione, Neville, and Wade to the cottage."

—The hunting ground guard? That big guy…

Michael raised an eyebrow slightly.

The Hogwarts students often saw Hagrid's cabin across the lawn, but few dared to approach. To them, the unusually large Rupert Hagrid looked terrifying. Some students even thought he was just a servant of the castle and didn't know his name.

The name of the gamekeeper is more often associated with the Weasley twins, who are frequently heard to have been dragged out of the Forbidden Forest by him.

Surprisingly, Harry and he actually had a pretty good relationship—but why did he invite Wade?

As they were talking, Wade came in from outside, carrying a book. After hearing Hagrid's invitation, he put down his book, and the group went together to Hagrid's cabin.

On the way, Harry told them, "Hagrid said—the little dragon is about to hatch, and he wants us all to see it. After all… not many people get to witness a dragon hatching… right?"

Harry's voice trailed off as Hermione stared in disbelief.

“I can’t believe it—he even knew he was raising a dragon!” Hermione exclaimed angrily. “He lives in a wooden house!”

“No—Hermione—” Harry whispered, “At least don’t fight today—Hagrid is looking forward to it—”

Hermione nodded reluctantly, her face tense.

When they reached the cabin door, Harry went up and knocked. Hagrid opened the door, looking very happy.

"Hurry up, you've come just in time!" Hagrid exclaimed excitedly, "The baby's about to come out!"

Harry walked in, but his steps suddenly froze.

Ron was also sitting in the cabin. He turned his head to look over, then quickly avoided their gaze, staring intently at the dragon egg as if studying the patterns on its shell.

Hermione looked at this and that, somewhat at a loss.

"Come in quickly, don't just stand there."

Hagrid, completely oblivious to the subtle tension among them, swept the two men inside with a wave of his hand. He then leaned down to Wade and said, "I'm glad you could come, Wade. Not many people have witnessed a baby dragon hatching; I bet you're interested, aren't you?"

“Of course, thank you for the invitation, Hagrid,” Vader said with a smile. He walked in, ignoring the awkward looks of the three people, and sat down in an empty chair, looking with great interest at the dragon egg on the table that was making a clicking sound.

—This is a dragon!

Even though it's a Western lizard dragon, who wouldn't want to see it!

As he sat down, Wade felt as if he had seen something strange. He looked up and saw a long, thin, soft tuft of white hair hanging from the ceiling, along with several copper kettles, like some kind of ethnic minority decoration.

In Hagrid's messy little house, the white fur had an unusual, pristine, and sacred quality.

Hermione, eager to start a conversation, immediately asked, "What animal's fur is that, Hagrid?"

“Oh, it’s unicorn hair, plucked from its tail, hanging on a tree branch in the forest.” Hagrid hadn’t paid much attention at first, but seeing that Wade was also staring at it, he said, “Oh, Wade, you’re studying alchemy, aren’t you? Here, take it. I have more if you need more.”

He generously tore off a large handful and handed it directly to Wade.

Vader declined, "Too expensive, Hagrid! A single unicorn tail hair costs 10 Galleons."

Ron, who had been keeping a straight face, almost fell off his chair. He stared in astonishment at the white hairs that he had initially thought were horse tails, his eyes nearly popping out of their sockets.

The Weasleys had seven children and lived a very frugal life. When he went to school, he didn't have anything new—he wore his brothers' old robes, carried an old wand, used old textbooks, and even his pet was an old mouse that his brothers didn't want.

Ron has never saved more than a gallon in his entire life.

“It’s nothing,” Hagrid shook his head, saying dismissively, “I often find them in the woods—”

He forcibly stuffed all the unicorn tail hairs into Wade's hands.

Hagrid's idea was actually quite simple—on the night the Potters died, it was Hagrid who carried the infant Harry out of the rubble, and at that moment he felt a strange sense of responsibility towards this weak, fragile little life. When Harry was eleven, he even went to personally guide Harry into the wizarding world.

Hagrid looked at Harry with the same appreciative gaze a parent would have for their child. After learning that Harry had received care from Wade at school and learned many useful spells from him, Hagrid had been thinking about how to repay him on behalf of Harry's parents. Seeing that Wade had something he liked, and that he happened to have something similar, he happily gave it to him.

Hagrid's complex thoughts were probably beyond his own comprehension, but Wade sensed some of them. He glanced at the oblivious Harry and accepted the money.

It doesn't matter whether the gift is expensive or not; he will always have a way to repay it someday.