Malfoy's face turned red with anger, but he was speechless. His past actions spoke for themselves; no one believed he hadn't done it on purpose.
"Only a poor family could resort to such pathetic tricks!"
Malfoy scoffed, beckoned to his son, and the two quickly departed.
"You shouldn't mind him, Arthur. That fellow is rotten to the core…"
Hagrid said, trying to smooth out Mr. Weasley's robes.
Ginny Weasley, who had stumbled, hurried to pick up the books scattered across the floor, which included a set Harry had given her—
The complete collection of books published by Lockhart, outrageously expensive, so much so that even emptying the Weasley Family's vault wouldn't be enough to buy a single one.
The Weasley brothers and Harry all helped her pick up the books, and soon they were all collected. Then, an unfamiliar hand offered her an old textbook, asking, "Is this the last one?"
"It should be… Thank you."
Ginny quickly took it, feeling a bit down that she had to use such old things.
She suddenly realized the voice was somewhat unfamiliar and looked up to see an unfamiliar boy.
"You are…"
"Wade?" Harry said happily. "Are you here to buy books today too?"
"Yeah," Wade said naturally. "I heard today is Lockhart's new book launch, and I'm a bit curious about this adventurer."
"What adventurer," Ron scoffed. "He's just a boastful peacock!"
"Don't talk nonsense!" Hermione immediately retorted. "Have you read his books? Gilderoy Lockhart often ventures into desolate places and deals with the most dangerous creatures!"
Ron's mouth slowly opened as he stared at Hermione, who was practically a spitting image of his mother, as if he'd seen a dragon dance.
"Wake up, Hermione. Can't you tell just by looking at him? He's just a pretty boy!" Ron yelled incredulously.
His words drew angry glares from the many Lockhart fans around. If he weren't a child, he'd surely have been beaten up.
Hermione was also angry. "Don't slander him! Mr. Gilderoy Lockhart is a very brave man! He can even defeat a Werewolf single-handedly!"
At the mention of "Werewolf," Harry's expression became a little unnatural. He quickly interjected, "Alright, let's not argue about this. Wade, have you bought all your books?"
"Yes, I'm heading back now," Wade waved his hand. "See you at school."
...
Steven didn't leave until he had dropped Wade off at home. Wade opened the front door to find the house empty.
He knew Mr. and Mrs. Gray had organized their company employees to work overtime today to complete an urgent order, so he wasn't surprised to find no one home.
Back in his bedroom, Wade pulled out his pencil case and gently tapped it with his Wand.
This level of application wouldn't trigger the Ministry of Magic's Trace monitoring.
The pencil case unfolded layer by layer, then transformed into a suitcase.
Wade opened it. At the bottom of the case were several boxes of varying sizes. Currently, only one of them contained anything.
He opened a flat box and took out a black notebook.
It was a very old diary. The faded date on its cover was fifty years ago. Opening the first page, a blurry name could be seen:
Tom Marvolo Riddle.
The same name also appeared above the diary in his vision.
Wade picked up a pen and wrote a line:
[It is not our talents that make a difference in the world's progress, but how we use them.]
The words shimmered on the paper, then absorbed into it, vanishing without a trace.
Then, new words appeared on the paper:
[It's been a long time since I met someone with the same thoughts as me. I guess you must be a talented young Wizard.]
The words flashed, then disappeared, followed by a new line appearing on the paper:
[It's just that people like us often don't get understood or recognized. I used to be very lonely; are you the same?]
Sorry, I don't feel like having a heart-to-heart with you.
Wade unhesitatingly shoved the diary back into the box.
As the lid closed, runic chains began to crawl over it, wrapping around in circles, forming a vine-like pattern that finally secured it.
He placed the diary as far away from the Diadem as possible.
Although both Horcruxes were tightly sealed in magic-shielded boxes, Wade still felt a sense of urgency.
I need to figure out how to deal with the Horcruxes… at least one of them first…
To prevent them from affecting each other, creating some kind of magical resonance, and escaping containment.
...
At six in the evening, Mr. and Mrs. Gray finally returned, bringing two boxes of pizza they had packed from a nearby restaurant.
"Rush orders are such a hassle. If it weren't for a long-time client, I wouldn't have agreed to pay overtime for him."
Ferdinand said, loosening his tie, "Wade, have you been waiting long? Why didn't you watch some TV?"
"I read a book for a bit. I bought new textbooks today in Diagon Alley."
Wade helped his mother take off her coat and hung it on the rack.
Ferdinand placed a briefcase on the table and said, "This is what you wanted... Wade, use it wisely and don't get yourself into trouble."
"I understand, Dad," Wade said.
"What is it?" Fiona asked curiously, "I asked your dad on the way here, but he wouldn't say."
Wade smiled and said, "It's magical ingredients required by the school, like fly eyes or toad spawn. Do you want to see?"
He pretended to open the case, and Fiona immediately jumped behind her husband, closing her eyes and exclaiming,
"No, no, no, don't open it! I'll have nightmares if I see it!"
Ferdinand lightly tapped his son's head, and Wade gave a mischievous smile.
After dinner, back in his bedroom, he finally opened the briefcase.
The small case was packed with personal resumes, containing basic information like photos, names, personalities, and family members. Tucked inside was also a transparent specimen collection bag with three or four strands of hair.
These were the "magical ingredients" Ferdinand had collected for him, mostly from prison inmates. Some looked extremely dangerous just from their appearance, while others seemed harmless.
There were also some from barbershops or hospitals, with photos of men and women, old people and children.
Collecting hair was easy, but gathering information about the hair's owner was not, especially since he couldn't hire someone else to complete such a crucial task.
Ferdinand had spent a long time, little by little, collecting so many. As for the Polyjuice Potion, Wade had already brewed a large pot of it last semester.
Even Dumbledore couldn't tell if someone was using Polyjuice Potion or not; Barty Crouch had proved that to him long ago.
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