Nurmengard.
Grindelwald looked at the now-empty goblin-metal sphere in his hand, a pleased smile appearing on his face.
"Vinda, it seems those two ambitious boys are quite confused right now," Grindelwald said as he slid a piece of parchment across the table to Vinda.
It was a letter addressed to Anne, with the senders being Wade and Tom.
Vinda opened the letter and glanced over it.
In it, Wade and Tom expressed their surprise that Grindelwald not only knew about that particular magical power, but had also sent them two samples of it.
From Grindelwald's perspective, it looked like Wade and Tom had discovered this magical power on their own and had done quite a bit of research into it.
So, he figured, if he sent the two of them the very magical energy they were seeking, they'd be even more likely to come over to his side.
Grindelwald was well aware that many of the sites in the Forbidden Forest were now empty.
By generously sending them two portions, he believed that the uninformed Wade and Tom would naturally assume that Grindelwald had already claimed most of the magical energy for himself.
In other words, if they wanted to grow stronger using that energy, they'd have no choice but to turn to him.
This was exactly why Grindelwald chose to send the magical energy as a Christmas gift to Wade and Tom.
Sure enough, on Christmas Day, Anne received a letter co-written by Wade and Tom…
"Have Anne write back and keep them steady for now. Once they return to the castle and find there's no more magical power left in the Forbidden Forest, she can begin slowly guiding them," Grindelwald said with confidence.
"Understood."
Since Grindelwald was set on bringing those two boys under his wing, he obviously had his reasons.
So Vinda didn't ask any further and turned to go carry out his orders.
"Oh, and one more thing…" Grindelwald called after her. "The plan targeting MACUSA… can begin."
…
At the safehouse in Godric's Hollow.
Wade was bustling around the garden, busy with various tasks.
Even Tom, who usually stayed holed up in his room reading, had been dragged outside to help.
"Gardening? You dragged me out here to dig in the dirt—using my precious time meant for studying magic? What's going through your head?" Tom was furious.
"Don't underestimate gardening, Tom… especially when it comes to these lovely magical plants. With proper care, they can make you stronger too," Wade said earnestly.
"What nonsense are you spouting? Even if you grow herbs perfectly, they're just potion ingredients at best… At most you can sell them for money. What does that have to do with getting stronger?" Tom asked impatiently.
"How could you have such a narrow view, Tom?" Wade closed his eyes and said with delight, "You've clearly never experienced the sheer joy of ending a fight using nothing but a few chomping cabbages…"
"Chomping Cabbage? Battle?" Tom felt like he could understand those words individually, but once strung together, they made no sense at all.
"Anything, if used properly and to its full potential, has the power to turn the tide in battle…" Wade said with a smile.
This was one of the ultimate combat techniques personally taught to him by his senior!
Seeing that Tom still looked completely baffled, Wade sighed and tossed a book into his hands.
Tom glanced down at the cover and saw the title—One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi.
"Isn't this just the Herbology textbook?"
"Yes, it is a textbook… but I bet you haven't memorized it yet, have you?"
"Memorize… memorize it? The whole thing? It's massive! Where am I supposed to find the time or energy for that?" Tom weighed the thick book in his hands, his face turning a shade paler.
"Time is like water in a sponge—there's always more if you squeeze a little."
"Are you talking about yourself…"
"Think bigger, widen your perspective. Don't assume that the only way to grow stronger is by mastering more spells," Wade said as he waved dismissively and bent down again to dig and plant. "By the way, I've already memorized it."
Tom closed his mouth and stopped talking. If someone had a memory that good, they could pretty much do whatever they wanted...
"Don't just stand there like a statue—go bring over that bucket from over there," Wade started giving instructions.
Tom looked over and saw that the bucket was filled with crystal-clear water.
"Why carry water? A simple Aguamenti would do…" Tom muttered as he pulled out his wand.
"If I needed spells for that, I wouldn't need you… That bucket over there contains a special nutrient solution I personally mixed! It speeds up plant growth and… makes them just a bit stronger," Wade explained.
"Careful—don't spill it! That stuff's expensive!"
It was a recipe he'd picked from the complete potion compendium rewarded by the system.
Who knew whether the system had copied it from the past or the future?
Not that Wade cared much either way. It was meant for gardening, after all…
As long as it worked, who cared where it came from?
Tom could only bring the bucket over with a sullen face.
When Wade saw Tom bring the bucket over, he pulled out two large watering cans and handed one to Tom.
"I've been meaning to ask…" Tom narrowed his eyes, eyeing Wade. "That massive book… and now these giant watering cans—where exactly are you pulling all this from?"
"Tom, that look of yours is a bit rude… Obviously, I'm pulling them out of this pouch enchanted with an Undetectable Extension Charm! What else did you think?" Wade said, patting the small bag at his waist.
"Oh, I see. I thought you were pulling them out of your a…"
"Hmm?"
"I mean, did you buy that pouch yourself?"
"No, it was in that spellbook Professor Hicks gave me. The charm was in there, so I figured I'd give it a try…"
"Wait, wasn't that an advanced spellbook?" Tom asked in surprise.
He had received the same spellbook as a gift—it was identical to Wade's.
"It is… but for me, it wasn't all that hard. I'd say I've more or less got the basics down." Wade patted his new pouch again.
"Is that so… not hard for you, huh?" Tom once again felt a deep sense of defeat. "I couldn't even manage the first spell in that book… My talent really doesn't compare to yours…"
"What was the first spell in that spellbook again?" Wade suddenly asked.
"Uh… the Patronus Charm…"
Pfft~!
Wade glanced sideways at Tom. "Is it possible that the reason you can't cast a Patronus has nothing to do with talent?"
"Huh?" Tom didn't quite catch his meaning.
"Tom, you're a Dark wizard. Dark wizards can't cast Patronuses."
"You—! You're the Dark wizard!"
"Baha! Nice joke! But Tom, lie to your friends if you must, but don't lie to yourself…"
"You—" Tom looked indignant, but deep down, he was already starting to consider the possibility Wade had just raised.
With a sullen face, Tom began filling his watering can with the nutrient solution, grumbling, "You're the great white wizard, right? Then how about you show me a Patronus? Since you've mastered the Extension Charm, the Patronus Charm shouldn't be a problem for you, huh?"
Wade paused mid-pour. "Well… yes, of course I've mastered it. Such a simple spell… but… just because you say so, I should perform it on command? Wouldn't that make me look like I'm showing off?"
Tom scoffed, "Heh… looks like you're not all that white either."
"Tom, do you believe I won't plant you in the ground like a Mandrake?"
…
The reason Wade suddenly got the urge to start growing magical plants was because Professor Beery's Christmas gift had been a selection of magical plant seeds.
Although the seeds she sent were all very safe, they gave Wade an idea.
Looking out at the empty yard, Wade immediately decided to send Toby on a trip to Knockturn Alley.
He bought a few seeds that—at a glance—definitely didn't look very safe.
To prepare, he even consulted his senior and received some valuable gardening advice from her.
He was confident that by summer break, he'd have a whole batch of plants capable of turning the tide in battle.
After finishing with the nutrient solution, Wade began using Transfiguration to construct greenhouses for the plants.
By the time he was done, it was already evening.
Wasting no time, Wade scarfed down dinner and headed straight back to his room to continue studying the Undetectable Extension Charm.
If he wanted to make full use of these magical plants, a proper container was absolutely essential.
Just like Newt's suitcase—with its vast internal space...
Wade hadn't been in this world for all that long, but the wonders of the wizarding world had almost made him forget he was once a biologist.
Even though the magical creatures in the wizarding world were vastly different from the organisms he used to study, there were still commonalities.
And in this world, in addition to magical plants, there were also powerful magical beasts.
When it came to making use of these "biological weapons," he was actually quite confident.
Soon, a week had passed.
During this time, aside from studying and researching magic in his room, Wade spent his days tending to the magical plants.
What shocked him was that in just one short week, the Chinese Chomping Cabbages had grown from seeds to half a meter tall—and had even begun to sprout green flower buds.
Wade knew full well that once those bud-like structures bloomed, the cabbages would be considered mature...
Under normal circumstances, Chinese Chomping Cabbages took at least three months to reach this stage from seed—even at their fastest!
But now… it had only been a single week.
At this moment, Wade finally realized just how ridiculously overpowered that nutrient solution he'd concocted really was…
It had to be a potion recipe from the future. If it were from the past, it would've been widely adopted by now.
Of course, it was also possible that the herbology master who invented it simply chose not to share it publicly…
But that didn't matter anymore!
Wade looked joyfully at the Chomping Cabbages, and at the Mandrakes whose leaves had already started to change color.
With this kind of nutrient solution, cultivating magical plants was going to be a breeze!
After tending to the plants, Wade returned to his room and began flipping through that potion compendium once again.
Now that he had a nutrient formula for magical plants, could it be… Was there also a formula for raising magical beasts?
Because the compendium was so extensive, even with Wade's memory, he hadn't fully memorized it yet.
But this time, he was filled with anticipation.
_____________
Read two weeks ahead:
P^treon: Captain69