Wade had come to Diagon Alley today for one reason: to find suitable materials.
As for running into the outlaw Mr Chang, that had merely been a minor diversion.
For the flying castle to remain airborne, it would ideally need a material that was both light and durable.
Powerful as the Gubraithian Fire energy core was, using lighter materials with better magical conductivity would make the entire castle more agile.
And to build the castle Wade envisioned, he would need far more than a single type of material.
He had already made up his mind. If no suitable materials existed in this world, then he would find a way to create synthetic ones.
He had to admit, it would be a fascinating challenge.
Still, there was no need to rush. Even if he intended to establish his own organisation, it wouldn't happen until after graduation.
And there were still several years to go before then.
Suddenly, standing in the middle of the street, Wade let out a soft sigh.
"...The ideas are all great, but... this is going to cost a fortune! I'm so poor!"
As he strolled around casually, he began calculating how to make large amounts of money.
Having Professor Slughorn sell Potions for him was still far too slow!
Come to think of it, he wondered how the cooperation talks with the Ethiopian Ministry of Magic were progressing. If Basilisk farming could be expanded on a large scale, the money would probably start flowing much faster. Still... that wouldn't solve his current problems.
Wade walked over to Florean's Ice Cream Parlour and bought two cups of vanilla ice cream before sitting down at a small round table outside.
He placed the palm-sized Alduin on the table and set one of the cups in front of him before returning to his thoughts.
Alduin sniffed the ice cream. The cold sensation made him somewhat uncomfortable.
"Huff!"
A tiny jet of flame emerged from his nostrils.
The ice cream immediately melted into liquid.
Only then did Alduin stick out his tongue and begin slowly licking the melted treat.
Wade paid little attention and continued thinking.
In truth, he had plenty of ways to make money, but very few that could be turned into cash quickly...
Just as he was absentmindedly scooping up ice cream while pondering,
a booming voice suddenly came from nearby.
"Wade! Is that really you?"
Wade looked up in confusion and was greeted by an enormous belly.
Leaning back in his chair and looking higher, he finally saw a large, good-natured-looking boy.
"Hagrid?"
"Wade, it's great to see you again!" Hagrid said with a broad smile.
"Have a seat." Wade pulled over the chair beside him.
Hagrid happily dragged the chair over and sat down with some difficulty.
For someone his size, the chair was still rather small.
"What brings you here today?" Wade asked curiously. "Doing some shopping? Oh, right... you should be starting school this year! Have you received your acceptance letter yet?"
"I have!" Hagrid said happily. "Professor Dumbledore delivered it to me early... My dad was over the moon!"
Wade nodded. Hagrid had probably faced some obstacles in gaining admission, otherwise Dumbledore wouldn't have personally intervened.
It had been the same with Flitwick.
True, admissions to Hogwarts were determined by the Book of Admittance and the Quill of Acceptance.
But above the Headmaster stood the Board of Governors.
The fact that Hagrid was a half-giant would be difficult to conceal from them.
So, setting prejudice aside, some governors would naturally have reasonable concerns about whether admitting a half-giant to the school would be safe.
"So you're here to buy your school supplies today?" Wade asked.
"Yep!" Hagrid's eyes suddenly lit up as his gaze landed on Alduin, who was sitting on the table.
"Have some ice cream. How about vanilla?" Wade suggested.
"Sure, sure!" Hagrid had already forgotten why he'd come in the first place. Watching Alduin slowly licking his melted ice cream, all he wanted was to stay here a little longer.
A while later, Hagrid sat there with a cup of ice cream, scooping up mouthfuls while staring at Alduin.
"Wade... this..." Hagrid finally couldn't help asking.
"I made it myself. It's a little puppet, just a toy," Wade explained.
"Wow! You made it yourself? You're amazing! It's so lifelike... I can even see the sadness in its eyes," Hagrid exclaimed.
Both Wade and Alduin, who was lying on the table, raised their heads to look at Hagrid.
No wonder this big fellow would eventually become the Care of Magical Creatures professor. That keen sensitivity towards magical creatures was not something everyone possessed.
"Oh! It's looking at me!" Hagrid said excitedly.
"Mm... that's normal. You've been staring at it. When I made the puppet, I tried to imitate a dragon's habits as closely as possible," Wade said casually.
"I see... then the Hungarian Horntail you modelled it after might have something on its mind. If it were a real Hungarian Horntail, staring at it like this would be considered a challenge... it'd attack you," Hagrid said quietly.
There wasn't really any good answer to that, so Wade simply lowered his head and continued eating his ice cream.
Just as he was wondering how to say goodbye to Hagrid, a familiar voice sounded nearby.
"Hi, one watermelon ice cream, please!"
"Watermelon? Certainly, sir. But I'd still recommend our signature vanilla flavour this year. Would you like to try it?" the owner asked with a smile.
"No! Vanilla is the flavour I hate most!" Tom said viciously.
Wade glanced at his own vanilla ice cream.
For some reason, he felt as though the boy was taking a shot at him.
"Ahem... Tom?"
Hearing the familiar voice, Tom shuddered.
"Damn it... I must not be awake yet. How am I hearing that guy's voice? Don't tell me I'm having another nightmare?"
"Tom, turn around. This isn't a nightmare," Wade said cheerfully. "Although... were you referring to me as though I'm your nightmare just now?"
Tom slowly turned around and saw Wade smiling at him.
Today, Wade was wearing a wizard's hat and had been sitting with his back to the entrance, so Tom hadn't noticed his trademark black hair when he'd entered.
Otherwise, even if a troll had been chasing him, he still wouldn't have run into this blasted ice cream parlour.
Tom turned back in disbelief, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. After calming himself down for a while, he put on a bright smile.
"Boss, make that vanilla instead. Vanilla is actually my favourite flavour."
Maintaining the fake smile, Tom walked over to Wade's table.
"Have a seat, Tom. What a coincidence. I didn't expect to run into you today," Wade said cheerfully.
He had encountered quite a few unexpected people today.
"Indeed... it is rather unexpected," Tom replied with a smile plastered on his face.
Only Hagrid looked at him in confusion, because he could have sworn he heard Tom grinding his teeth.
"What are you doing here?" Wade asked.
"S... the old man told me to come out and relax. He said staying cooped up at home all the time wasn't good for me."
Though Tom smiled outwardly, inwardly he was filled with bitterness.
He had thought Slytherin made sense, which was why he'd come to Diagon Alley to unwind.
But...
Wasn't this supposed to be a day off?
Running into Wade the moment he stepped outside wasn't relaxing. This was overtime! This was a high-intensity work assignment!
Naturally, Wade could tell that the boy was resistant to him, but he wasn't really in the mood to tease the silly kid today.
"Relax. I don't need anything from you. I was just saying hello. Go have fun. Ice cream's on me."
Tom's eyes widened in disbelief.
What... he's actually letting me go?
According to his usual style, shouldn't he be squeezing every last drop of labour out of me?
No, wait!
It must be a trap! He's testing my loyalty, isn't he?
"Er... if there's anything you need me to do..." Tom said hesitantly.
"Tom, I appreciate the enthusiasm, but I genuinely don't need anything from you today," Wade said with a smile.
"Oh..." Tom nodded.
Based on his understanding of Wade, this wasn't a test.
After all, one test was enough.
"So, what are you here for today? Buying something?" Tom asked casually now that he had relaxed.
The moment he said it, he regretted it.
Why am I so nosy? What if he ropes me into work again?
"Nothing much. I'm just looking for some materials and, while I'm at it... trying to figure out how to make some money." Wade frowned.
"Money?" Tom blinked.
"Yeah. A lot of important experiments require a mountain of Galleons..."
"You..." Tom glanced at the bewildered Hagrid beside them and seemed hesitant to continue.
"What is it?" Wade asked.
Switching to a Whispering Charm, Tom lowered his voice.
"Don't you always say you want to become a Dark Lord?"
"That's right!"
"But... what kind of Dark Lord earns money personally? Look at Grindelwald. Has he ever lacked money? Honestly, if I had your kind of power, I'd never be short on funds."
Wade smiled.
"The path I'm taking is ultimately different from Grindelwald's. He can force some pure-blood families under his influence to support him and even hand over parts of their businesses. But I can't do that. If I did, I'd merely become the new exploiting class myself... and that would be detrimental to our cause in the future."
"So what?" Tom replied casually. "You eat meals one bite at a time, and revolutions happen step by step. You can't expect to become fat in one mouthful."
"Become the new exploiting class first, then gradually reform things afterward. By then, it'll be easier to change what belongs to you than what belongs to others. And... if you regret it in the future, you can always cut your losses in time. Besides, no matter what system you're trying to imitate, you still have to adapt it to reality."
Wade froze for a moment, then burst out laughing.
"Haha... you've got a point. Circumstances really are different everywhere. No matter what we do, we have to seek truth from facts and cross the river by feeling for the stones. I suppose I've been a little too impatient."
As expected of you, Tom!
A born Dark Lord from childhood!
Tom looked utterly baffled.
Wait, what did I say?
Why do you suddenly look so enlightened?
"Well, I'll be off then..." Tom stood up, preparing to make his escape.
"Tom, shall we go visit Abraxas? I've always been curious about the Malfoy Manor," Wade asked.
Tom's mouth twitched.
Wasn't this supposed to be a holiday?
How has this suddenly become work again?!
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