"You can find him and remove the magic from him, right?" Slytherin asked. "You said it wasn't a curse..."
"Finding him isn't the problem, but as for removing the magic... I'm only fifty percent confident," Wade replied.
"Fifty percent? Isn't this your magic? And according to what you just worked out... as long as he sees you in person, he should wake up from that nightmare, shouldn't he?" Slytherin took the parchment containing Wade's analysis and quickly read through it.
"Yes. In theory, that's true, but only if Tom's condition matches the theory I just came up with," Wade said calmly. "If my theory is wrong, then things could become much more complicated."
Slytherin slowly looked up at Wade, his expression somewhat conflicted. After reading Wade's analysis on the parchment, he had already guessed what might happen in the remaining fifty percent of cases.
It had already been confirmed that everything around Tom could be altered by the power of the nightmare magic.
The only two things they did not know were how much the nightmare magic on him had changed, and how wide its area of influence had become.
The most optimistic possibility was that the moment Tom saw Wade with his own eyes, he would break free of the nightmare magic, shatter the lie that "Wade Reynolds does not exist," and fully awaken.
But there was also a pessimistic possibility.
If the runaway nightmare magic could erase everything related to Wade, then it might also affect Wade himself once he entered its range.
If it merely made Wade temporarily forget who he was, or altered his identity into something else, just like the newspaper had changed, then that would not be too serious.
But what if the most extreme possibility occurred?
If this curse could erase everything related to Wade, then upon encountering Wade himself, was there a chance it could erase Wade too?
Of course, perhaps Wade would return to normal once Tom left the area. But what if he did not? Wade was a person, not an object. No one knew whether some other strange change might occur.
In theory, the nightmare magic on Tom should have been nowhere near powerful enough to do such a thing.
But even Dumbledore's perception and memories had been altered without him realising it, and he had only recovered after Tom left Hogwarts. That alone proved that the strength of the nightmare magic on Tom had undergone some bizarre change.
So Wade had no choice but to take even this most absurd possibility into account.
It was not unusual for wizards testing new magic to lose control of it for some inexplicable reason and die as a result.
In the original timeline, Luna's mother had died in an accident while experimenting with a new spell.
So with a completely new form of magic like nightmare magic, something that had never existed before, any strange change was possible.
Besides, this was also the first time Wade had "hypnotised" so many people at once. It was entirely possible that something had gone wrong and he had overlooked some crucial factor.
"I'll bring him back," Wade said, reaching out to stroke Fawkes's warm feathers. "After all, this happened because of my negligence."
"Fawkes, wait here for me for a little while. When I come back, take me to Tom. I know you can help me find him."
Wade understood why Dumbledore had sent Fawkes to him.
Aside from being able to deliver letters quickly, Dumbledore was also hoping Wade could use the phoenix's ability to travel instantly and locate people to find Tom as soon as possible and bring him back.
"Wouldn't it be dangerous for you to rush over there like this...?" Slytherin hesitated.
One was his descendant, while the other was the student he admired most.
He wanted Wade to save his descendant, but at the same time, he did not want Wade to put himself at risk.
"I have to go, old man..."
"Actually, if you don't go, Tom won't be in immediate danger," Slytherin said hesitantly.
Now that he understood the situation, he no longer wanted Wade to rush off to find Tom. After all, Tom had only been deceived into forgetting everything about Wade. His life was not actually in danger.
Wade, on the other hand, might be.
Even if the chance was small, it was still something that should be considered carefully.
For a proper Slytherin, a 0.01 percent chance of dying was fundamentally no different from a 99 percent chance.
"Don't worry about the nightmare magic erasing me. Nightmare magic isn't some kind of world law. With my abilities, do you really think I could be killed by my own magic? The chances are far too small."
Wade reassured Slytherin as he folded the parchment covered in magical analysis and slipped it into his pocket.
"Besides... you don't understand Tom. He'll never stop until he finds the truth. And if he keeps searching without ever finding it, he really might go mad. I don't want to see a mad Tom..."
A mad Tom had another name.
Voldemort.
And he was not a pleasant person.
Wade often joked about Tom becoming noseless, but he had no intention of actually watching him turn into that noseless man.
"Where are you going?" Slytherin asked.
"I'm going to see someone. No one in this world understands nightmare magic better than she does. And... there are some things I need to ask her in person. Perhaps the answer to all of this lies with her."
Slytherin sighed. "You're not telling me the whole truth. If the chance of you being in danger were really that small, then with your relationship with Tom, you'd already have left with Fawkes by now. But instead, you're going to find someone first..."
Wade paused for a moment, then said lightly, "You're overthinking it. I just want to make sure everything is handled as safely as possible, so I'm going to ask her a few questions first."
...
Tom admitted that he had acted somewhat impulsively, but he felt he had no choice.
He suspected the curse might only exist within Hogwarts, which was why he had decided to leave the school temporarily and investigate outside.
Perhaps if he retraced Wade's footsteps beyond Hogwarts, he might find some answers.
Tom had returned home that morning, and it was nearly noon by the time he left Riddle Manor.
He planned to find a wizarding inn and use its fireplace to travel to the safe house.
Tom wanted to know whether Toby, the house-elf who had always been utterly loyal to Wade, had also forgotten Wade's existence.
And if Toby had forgotten him too, what kind of explanation would this bizarre curse fabricate and place in his mind?
However, the moment Tom entered the inn, he stopped in his tracks.
Dumbledore was sitting quietly in the lobby of the wizarding inn, reading a newspaper.
"Tom, come and talk with me," Dumbledore said, setting the newspaper down on the table as his blue eyes fixed steadily on him.
Tom walked over helplessly and immediately noticed the irritating Ministry official on the front page.
It was the September 1st issue.
"Professor... why are you here?" Tom asked as he sat opposite Dumbledore. "I already asked my father to request leave for me."
"Yes. I did receive a letter from your father this morning asking for leave on your behalf. But judging from his wording, he also seemed rather confused by the situation. I could still tell that he was worried about you."
Dumbledore took out the letter and glanced at it.
"Besides, you slipped out of the school in the middle of the night. That was not a good thing to do."
"Professor, please don't stop me. I have to find out the truth. I've already told you what happened. I can't just stay at Hogwarts and pretend nothing is wrong," Tom said somewhat agitatedly.
He knew very well that if Dumbledore insisted on taking him back, he would have no power to resist.
"No. You've misunderstood me, Tom. I didn't come here to stop you. I came for two reasons," Dumbledore said calmly.
"Two reasons?" Tom asked in surprise.
Dumbledore said, "A student disappeared from Hogwarts. As Deputy Headmaster, I naturally had to find that student and make sure he was safe. Fortunately, you are unharmed, and with your father's leave request, your absence can at least be given a reasonable explanation. Don't worry. Given your unusual circumstances, I'll tell the others that you left the school properly this morning."
"Thank you..." Tom said quietly. "Then... what's the second reason?"
Dumbledore opened his mouth to speak, then suddenly paused.
"What second reason?"
"You just said you came for two reasons. Confirming my safety was the first one. What's the second?" Tom asked suspiciously.
"Did I say two reasons?" Dumbledore narrowed his eyes.
"Yes. I heard you very clearly," Tom said firmly.
The next moment, Tom keenly sensed a surge of powerful magic stirring around Dumbledore.
It lasted for quite some time before gradually subsiding.
Dumbledore frowned.
"I remember now. There was indeed a second reason, but... I'm sorry. I've forgotten what it was."
Tom stared at Dumbledore, a strange light appearing in his eyes.
"You were fighting against that curse just now, weren't you? If you hadn't resisted it, there would be no way you could even remember that you'd forgotten something! That means you may already have discovered the truth. Maybe you prepared yourself before coming here because you intended to tell me, but once you got close to me, you were still affected!"
Tom's voice grew increasingly excited.
"Otherwise, you wouldn't have said there were two reasons in the first place, and you wouldn't have brought this newspaper with you. I see... So that's it. The source of all this is me! You only start having problems when you get close to me!"
___
Um... hey guys, I graduated high school, and I'm a big boy now! Now help me choose my future path, ok?
So I wanna study law, and I also wanna study Psychology. What should I choose?
My somewhat childish goal is to have a YouTube channel where I can react to major news or trending topics, share my opinions, and all. Having a degree will help me build my public credentials. I have other aspirations as well, but that's pretty much what I wanna do in layman's terms.