Tom, have you forgotten? You're the one who reminded me of that." Wade said as he ate the spaghetti Toby had prepared.
"So how are you planning to conduct your ideological education classes this school year? Professor Slughorn has already handed the course over to you. Last term you only stopped because you were busy designing the challenge stages," Tom said.
Wade replied calmly, "There's no rush, Tom. Our classmates are still young. Before they can be introduced to something as significant as revolution, they first need to develop a proper worldview and values..."
"Think back to Abraxas. If he had remained trapped in his old way of thinking, without a proper moral foundation, he would never have been able to empathise with so many serious social problems. Without that empathy, they can never understand the meaning of revolution."
Tom considered this in silence for a moment. Abraxas had indeed changed over the past year, shedding some of that pure-blood arrogance in favor of something closer to genuine curiosity. It was progress, but fragile progress that could easily slip away if not reinforced.
Tom nodded slightly. He thought of Flitwick, and of the Muggle-born students who had been bullied.
Those wizards, already occupying the lowest positions in magical society, were the ones most capable of empathising, because Wade's revolution was first and foremost intended to improve their lives.
He had seen it himself in the way some of the younger Muggle-borns kept their heads down in the corridors, as if expecting trouble at any turn.
As for everyone else, if they were to support the cause, they first had to learn empathy. And to gain that empathy, they first needed to establish the right values. Otherwise, many of them, as beneficiaries of the current system, would not only refuse to support reform but might actively work against it.
They had been raised to believe their blood status entitled them to everything, and that kind of belief did not vanish overnight.
"Besides, we don't even know whether our current ideas truly fit the realities of today's wizarding world," Wade continued seriously. "We can't figure that out by sitting in school or staying at home. We need to go out and see the world. We need real experience. The books in the library only ever show one side of things, the side the people in power wanted preserved for future generations."
Tom nodded again.
"So that's why you spent the holidays travelling around?"
"No." Wade waved his hand. "To be honest, I haven't gone travelling with that purpose yet because I wasn't ready. Whenever I went somewhere before, it was because I had to. I always had another reason. Otherwise, I'd have stayed in the laboratory."
"You're still not ready? Professor Dumbledore told me your abilities are already exceptional. Is there anywhere left that you can't go?" Tom asked in confusion.
Wade's expression grew thoughtful.
"Tom, it's true that I can go to many places now. But with our current status, we're still only observers. There are many things you can never truly understand unless you experience them yourself. We've only been part of the wizarding world for a very short time. We actually know very little about it."
Tom looked unconvinced.
"Actually, I'm the one who's only been in the wizarding world for a short time. You aren't."
"What do you mean I'm not?"
"Stop pretending. By now everyone knows there's a powerful family backing you." Tom snorted. "You really fooled me. Back when we were at the orphanage, I genuinely thought you were a self-taught genius."
The moment Tom finished speaking, he saw the amused smile on Wade's face.
"What are you laughing at?"
Wade shook his head with a grin.
"I was just thinking this proves it's working. If even you, someone who has known me from the very beginning, misunderstood things, then everyone else definitely will."
"So you're saying this family behind you doesn't exist?" Tom raised an eyebrow. "You're still refusing to admit it?"
Wade sighed.
"Fine, I admit it. I have an incredibly powerful family with an extraordinary legacy behind me. Before I left, I memorised a great deal of my family's knowledge. But once I walked away, I broke their rules. Whether I live or die is none of their concern anymore. So if I ever get into real danger, don't expect a single person from that family to come and save me."
He simply knew too much now. It had become increasingly difficult to explain everything, so Wade decided it was easier just to admit it.
After all, with the rewards from the system, his accumulated knowledge really was comparable to that of a great wizarding family.
"Really?"
Ironically, Wade's straightforward admission only made Tom more suspicious.
"Oh, come on!" Wade snapped. "When I deny it, you say I'm refusing to admit it. When I admit it, you don't believe me either?"
"All right." Seeing Wade lose his temper, Tom immediately backed down.
After a while, once Wade had finished eating, Tom spoke again.
"Hydra... Right now it's just the two of us. When are we going to recruit new members? And what standards will we use?"
"In my plans, Hydra is of tremendous importance. Every member must be chosen with the utmost care. They have to share our ideals," Wade replied. "One disloyal person at the core could do more damage than a dozen enemies on the outside."
"But how will you identify them? Plenty of people with ulterior motives have already infiltrated the club, and your first Hydra members are obviously going to come from there."
"Identifying them isn't difficult. The real problem is that people change. Figuring out how to keep members faithful to their ideals is the greatest challenge. That's why I told you not to recruit anyone for the time being."
Every organisation had traitors. That wasn't unusual.
But the founding members were the most important. If any of them betrayed the organisation, the damage would be far greater than if later recruits did. A crack that started at the foundation would spread faster and wider than anyone expected.
"What about the Unbreakable Vow?" Tom asked hesitantly.
"That's not a bad idea, but it needs improving." Wade sighed. "I have no interest in becoming a wizard covered in magical vow scars."
The Unbreakable Vow left a mark on the hand once it was completed.
If he gained one mark every time a new member joined, his arm would soon look like a record of every promise he had ever made.
Wade didn't even want to imagine how scarred his arm would look after a few decades.
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Read 12 Advance Chapters—P@t- Captain69