Wade was stunned by Dumbledore's reply. He genuinely hadn't expected him to say something like that.
To Wade, those words sounded almost foolish.
He had never imagined Dumbledore could truly be so selfless.
Then again, if Dumbledore were not that kind of person, he would never have been described as "great."
Wade let out a quiet sigh.
He knew he could never become someone like that.
That was why, even if he wanted to become a Dark Lord, he had never once wanted to become a "great" Dark Lord.
Dumbledore himself had continued to grow.
From the ambitious young man of Godric's Hollow, he had gradually become a compassionate professor, and then, little by little, a truly great wizard.
It could be said that the moment he resolved to overcome the darkness in his own heart and accept the invitation from the International Confederation of Wizards, he had finally become the greatest Headmaster.
Wade's mood sank slightly.
Because he knew that one day, he would most likely find himself standing on the opposite side of this professor.
...
With Dumbledore looking after Elena, Wade no longer had anything to worry about.
He finally returned to the safe house after quite some time away.
The moment he stepped inside, he was greeted by a remarkable sight.
A mouse was sprinting through the house with a cat in hot pursuit, while behind them a panting house-elf struggled to keep up.
Toby trailed after them, repairing every broken or damaged object they left behind. As he worked, he let out exhausted sighs and occasionally scolded the troublesome pair in a weary voice.
"Young Master Wade!"
The moment Toby saw Wade appear by the fireplace, his bloodshot eyes widened with delight.
At the same time, Tom Cat and Jerry immediately stopped chasing each other and stood before Wade with awkward smiles.
Looking around at the house, which would have been torn apart if Toby hadn't constantly been repairing it, Wade suddenly felt rather guilty.
"I'm sorry, Toby. I should have made them behave."
"No, no, no! Young Master Wade mustn't apologise to Toby! Toby failed to keep them under control. Toby is incompetent! Toby must punish himself!"
With a shrill cry, Toby snatched the stick from Tom Cat's paws and raised it to smash against his own head.
"Didn't I tell you that you're not allowed to punish yourself without my permission?" Wade said calmly.
Toby froze.
His face filled with panic, yet he had no idea what he was supposed to do.
According to everything he had ever known, if he disobeyed his master or failed in his duties, he should punish himself.
But punishing himself would also be disobeying his master's orders.
Toby stood there, looking as though his brain had nearly stopped working.
"All right, Toby. Put the stick down," Wade ordered.
Once Toby obediently lowered the stick, Wade turned to Tom Cat and Jerry.
"You two. Have you done everything Toby told you to do?" he asked sternly.
The cat and mouse nodded in unison.
"What have they been studying these past few days?" Wade asked.
Without a word, Toby picked up a thick stack of parchment from the nearby table and handed it over.
"They... they learn far too quickly," Toby said with a bitter expression.
Wade accepted the parchments.
It was an extensive study schedule, detailing everything Tom Cat and Jerry were supposed to learn each day.
Then he noticed that every single item had been crossed out with dense lines.
Clearly, these two near-conceptual creatures had been learning so quickly that Toby had nearly fallen into despair.
The speed at which Toby drafted study plans simply couldn't keep up with the speed at which they learned.
"You two... play an instrument for me," Wade said.
Tom Cat and Jerry immediately ran to one side. Tom Cat sat down at a grand piano, while Jerry scampered onto it, pulled away a small cloth, and revealed a miniature piano.
A moment later, Wade found himself listening in astonishment to a piano duet performed by the cat and mouse.
He had no idea what piece they were playing. He had never learned the piano himself. All he knew was that it sounded wonderful.
When the performance ended, Wade and Toby applauded enthusiastically.
Wade then stroked his chin as he studied the somewhat nervous cat and mouse.
"Ha! I've got a new idea!" he said excitedly. "Since you're both so talented, I assume you've learned to draw as well. Then why don't you make an animated film? That's it! You can draw everything yourselves, and I'll find someone to turn it into a proper cartoon!"
"Young Master Wade, that's a brilliant idea!" Toby exclaimed. "That way they'll never have any spare energy left to smash things! They can even earn money for Young Master Wade!"
"Exactly!"
Tom Cat and Jerry both bit their fingers, exchanged panicked glances, and swallowed hard at the same time.
"I'll pay you properly and give you holidays too. I'm not some kind of devil, after all. Kek, kekeke..." Wade chuckled with the unmistakable laugh of a devil.
The plan itself wasn't difficult.
All he needed to do was find a film studio, use Nightmare Magic or the Imperius Curse to exert a little influence, and then leave the rest to professional Muggle filmmakers.
Wade rubbed his nose as a strange thought suddenly occurred to him.
Wait... could it be that Tom and Jerry only came into existence because of me?
Ha! That's actually pretty amusing.
...
While staying at the safe house, Wade received a great many letters.
Without exception, every one of them came from pure-blood families.
After Dumbledore had confirmed that Ren Olds Chang was not a member of Wade's mysterious family, those pure-blood families turned their attention back to Wade himself.
Every one of them wanted to gain as much as possible from him.
In their eyes, Wade was a treasure trove.
If they could persuade him to part with another potion recipe on the level of the Dragon Pox cure, they stood to make enormous profits.
The reason they still welcomed him, rather than rejecting him, was not only because they believed he was backed by an extraordinarily powerful family, but also because the Dragon Pox potion recipe had not been given away for free. On the contrary, it had been sold at an extremely high price.
That fit perfectly with the pure-blood tradition of monopolising valuable resources, proving that Wade understood the rules of their world.
That was precisely why they all came seeking business with him.
Wade, however, ignored every other pure-blood family for the time being.
The only letters he replied to were those from the Malfoys.
There was no need for him to negotiate personally. No one understood pure-blood families better than another pure-blood family.
As long as he let the Malfoys act as his representatives, whenever he wished to introduce another valuable invention, Old Malfoy could negotiate far better terms with the other pure-blood families than Wade ever could.
Naturally, word soon spread that Wade dealt exclusively with the Malfoys.
As a result, every pure-blood family that had failed to gain Wade's favour began calling on Malfoy Manor instead.
Old Malfoy had only recently recovered from his illness and was still somewhat weak.
Yet seeing all those people who had once looked down on him now arriving at his door one after another left him feeling positively invigorated.
It only strengthened his determination to follow Young Master Wade without hesitation.
So when he learned that Wade needed funding for his research, he scarcely paused before handing over two hundred thousand Galleons.
Old Malfoy was far too shrewd not to see the opportunity.
In his eyes, someone who travelled in such an extravagant carriage should never have been short of money.
Yet despite clearly being wealthy, Wade still claimed he lacked sufficient funds for this research.
Just how extraordinary must the experiment be?
If such an enormous investment succeeded, just how immense would the returns become?
Of course, there was always the possibility of losing everything.
But life itself was a gamble.
The first time, he had placed his bet on Wade and won.
This time, that gamble had quite literally saved his life.
Dragon Pox was a disease that even the healers at St Mungo's had been powerless to cure, yet Wade had managed to do exactly that.
What was there left to hesitate over?
He simply had to trust Wade.
The Malfoys were investing in this project.
Besides, two hundred thousand Galleons was still well within what the Malfoy family could afford.
Such a massive transfer of funds naturally did not escape the notice of those who were paying attention.
Before long, news spread that the Malfoys were heavily backing and investing in Wade.
Many pure-blood families immediately verified the rumour with Gringotts, only to discover that it was entirely true.
When a family famous for always backing the winning side suddenly committed what was practically an all-in investment, what did that mean?
It meant the project was exceptionally secure.
Otherwise, how could someone as cautious as Old Malfoy ever be willing to commit so much?
As a result, the Malfoys' doorstep was once again worn smooth by constant visitors.
The last time, they had come hoping the Malfoys would introduce them to Wade.
This time, they came to invest.
Old Malfoy naturally accepted every offer.
The more funding Wade received, the greater the chance that his research would succeed.
Although his share of the eventual profits might be reduced by the participation of the other pure-blood families, the risks would also be shared.
Just one week later, Toby returned from Gringotts carrying a deposit certificate.
Staring at the long string of zeroes printed on it, Wade couldn't help freezing for a moment.
"Damn... these pure-bloods really are rich. And Tom was right. What Dark Lord ever earns money himself? This comes in faster than robbery."
Wade pulled out a long list and handed it to Toby.
"Help me buy everything on this list. Withdraw however many Galleons you need from the vault. If you can't find something, ask the Malfoys. Some of these materials are impossible to buy on the open market, but the old pure-blood families might have them hidden away in their private vaults."
"Understood!"
Toby vanished with the list in hand.
Wade looked down at the deposit certificate once more.
"Tsk... just how much wealth have these people extracted over the years? This is all squeezed out of everyone else."
____
[]~(￣▽￣)~*
Read 12 Advance Chapters—P@t- Captain69