Steven was probably tasked by his father to entertain guests—namely Wade—at the party. He stayed with the young wizard the entire time and didn't seem impatient. However, the significant height difference between them clearly amused the other guests, who occasionally chuckled when they saw them.
Steven pretended not to notice, accompanying Wade on a tour of the Cycad Garden.
The garden was meticulously maintained, with a long, pale yellow table laden with various foods and drinks for guests to help themselves.
The party was held around a fountain, in the center of which stood a mermaid statue—the kind from legends, beautiful with a graceful figure and a shimmering fish tail, singing enchanting melodies.
Small dancer statues adorned the stone railings around the fountain, tirelessly dancing and scattering tiny golden orbs of light as they spun. Wade reached out and lightly touched one of the light orbs; it popped like a bubble, leaving a slight coolness on his finger.
The surrounding green lawns were freshly mowed, like a plush green carpet. The area around the fountain and the flowerbeds were planted with a dazzling array of flowers, clusters of blooms crowding together, looking exceptionally vibrant. Some were even flowers typically seen only in spring and summer, yet they bloomed here regardless of the season.
Along the paths were tall trees with giant umbrella-like canopies, which gave the "Cycad Garden" its name—cycads. Steven proudly introduced Wade to these plants, explaining that their history dated back over 200 million years, even predating dinosaurs, making them true living fossils. The Morrie family even had a house-elf specifically dedicated to tending to these cycad trees.
Halfway through their tour, a paper crane flew over and suddenly spoke in Professor Morrie's voice: "Steven, bring Wade to the small stone platform."
"Alright," Steven replied, and the paper crane landed on his shoulder, tilting its head as if looking at Wade beside him.
Seeing Wade staring at the paper crane, Steven1 chuckled and said, "This is my father's creation. He once went to a magical institute in Japan for an exchange and found that the students there enjoyed folding these small paper cranes. When he came back, he started using paper cranes to send messages. Later, the Ministry of Magic adopted the idea, but they found paper cranes too troublesome and switched to paper airplanes—they're neither flexible nor capable of speech, and they lack aesthetic appeal. Their only advantage is their low price."
"The Ministry of Magic?" Wade thought for a moment and asked, "So, before paper airplanes, what did they use to send messages?"
Two-way mirrors were too expensive, that was impossible. Surely not the Floo Network?
"They used owls," Steven said, stifling a laugh. "You can imagine—dozens of owls flying chaotically in the office, or crammed into elevators, with droppings and feathers everywhere—I saw it once when I was little, it was a disaster."
Wade now understood why Steven's tone inadvertently carried a hint of disdain for the Ministry of Magic—anyone who had seen those officials in a mess from owl droppings would likely lose respect for them.
The small stone platform was a raised garden, a few feet above ground. It had white marble steps, with pale purple bellflowers swaying in the breeze, and delphiniums and geraniums scattered throughout. The brick walls were covered in moss, and the air was exceptionally fresh and pleasant.
Besides Professor Morrie, there were only five or six other people in the garden, all dressed lavishly and appearing to be of high status. Hearing the voices, they all turned to look.
Their movements were perfectly synchronized. First, their eyes landed on the tall Steven, then they collectively dropped to find Wade, who looked like a dwarf in comparison.
"Oh, Wade, my boy!" Professor Morrie walked over gleefully, completely ignoring his own son. He placed a hand directly on Wade's shoulder, ushering him toward the group: "This is my new student—my true student—Wade Grey!"
Everyone nodded and smiled at Wade. A man with curly brown hair complimented, "It seems this child must be exceptionally gifted to be so highly regarded by you at such a young age, Professor."
Professor Morrie nodded and said, "He's only a first-year, and he's already surpassed your alchemy level when you graduated, Marchioni."
The others burst into laughter. Clearly, everyone knew that while Marchioni had taken alchemy as an elective, his skill was truly subpar, likely giving Professor Morrie many headaches during his school years.
Marchioni chuckled, not at all embarrassed, and looked intently at Wade.
Professor Morrie seemed to feel his previous statement wasn't convincing enough, so he immediately gave another example: "This boy, through self-study, memorized the entire content of 'The Table of Magical Phonetics,' 'The Compendium of Magical Glyphs,' 'The Runic Dictionary,' and 'Ancient Runes for Beginners'—in just two months!"
"Hoo—"
Now everyone finally understood the weight of "exceptionally gifted." Most of them had taken Ancient Runes or even Alchemy, and they knew how difficult those squiggly symbols and strange syllables were to memorize.
If nothing else, this child had surpassed ninety-nine percent of people in terms of memory and diligence.
"Not only that—"
Professor Morrie drew out his words, full of pride, deliberately saving the most important part for last. The others cooperatively adopted interested, listening postures.
Wade observed silently.
Though he didn't yet know their identities, it was clear that Professor Morrie's status was very evident.
"He's only been studying with me for a little over a month, and he's already completed his first work! I swear, he did it entirely on his own; I didn't guide him a single letter!"
Professor Morrie boasted loudly, revealing a brand-new Book of Friends as if it were a winning lottery ticket. He made it float in the center of the group, suppressing a smile as he asked, "Can you guess its purpose?"
"Book of Friends?"
The few people exchanged glances, then orderly gathered around the Book of Friends, each taking out their wands to examine it. The Book of Friends was repeatedly enveloped in various lights.
However, Professor Morrie had placed a protective charm on this Book of Friends, preventing ordinary detection spells from revealing its magical structure.
Soon, two people gave up. They weren't particularly interested in a young child to begin with, nor did they believe he could create any impressive alchemical products; they were just flattering Professor Morrie.
The remaining people examined it for a while, when the man named Marchioni's eyes suddenly lit up. He plucked a leaf, turned it into a quill, and wrote a line of text on a piece of paper.
[Money is a bottomless ocean; I wish to swim freely within it.]
Then he quickly flipped through the pages. The more he flipped, the more fanatical his expression became. The people around him, who had initially been indifferent, gradually widened their eyes, swallowing repeatedly.
Professor Morrie wore a "everything is under control" smile.