Wade didn't understand, "What does that have to do with wands?"
Neville looked at his wand, his gaze sweeping over every familiar scratch on it. He whispered, "This isn't my wand, it's my dad's – my grandma originally didn't want me to take it. She said if it's not your own wand, its effectiveness will be greatly reduced... but I..."
He insisted on bringing this wand, not buying a new one at Ollivanders – it felt as if his parents were still by his side.
Whenever he cast spells with this wand, Neville always felt inadequate, but he didn't dwell on it. He had long accepted the fact that he was clumsy, timid, and not particularly talented. He even often wondered why he was sorted into Gryffindor instead of Hufflepuff.
In fact, during the Sorting Ceremony, Neville had argued with the Sorting Hat for a long time – he believed he didn't possess the courage required by Gryffindor and pleaded with the hat to sort him into Hufflepuff. But the Sorting Hat insisted he belonged in Gryffindor, and ultimately announced that result.
However, after joining SSC, Neville felt himself steadily improving every day. Spells began to seem less difficult, and for the first time, he experienced immense joy and a sense of accomplishment. Because of this, when he encountered setbacks in spell learning again, he could no longer calmly tell himself –
"Yes, you're just that stupid, you can't do anything right."
– He knew he could actually do it, but the companion he had chosen was hindering him.
Neville complained to his grandmother in his friendship ledger, and Madam Longbottom once again forcefully told him – let go of those useless attachments, you need to get a new wand that suits you!
"Wade, what do you think... what should I do?" Neville asked, confused.
Wade knew that when Neville hesitated about this, he already had a preference in his heart. It was just that going against his long-held conviction felt like abandoning his feelings for his parents, which made it so difficult for him.
Wade thought for a moment and said, "How about we let a coin decide?"
"A coin?" Neville, immersed in his dilemma, was instantly dumbfounded.
Wade took a silver Sickle from his pocket, held it between his fingers, and said, "Heads – continue using your father's wand, even if it means putting in ten or a hundred times the effort to reach a normal level, you won't give up!"
The silver Sickle spun halfway in his fingers.
"Tails – cherish your thoughts and love for your parents in your heart, choose the most suitable wand, gain greater power, become a son your parents can be proud of, and possess the strength to protect others."
"Did you see clearly?"
Neville swallowed hard, nodded, and nervously stared at the silver Sickle.
Wade's gaze swept downwards, seeing Neville's hands tightly clenched into fists, crumpling his clothes.
"Then – begin."
Wade said, flicking his fingertip. The silver Sickle spun rapidly, flying high. Neville involuntarily raised his head, his gaze following the dazzling silver light as it rose – then fell – his heart suddenly leapt into his throat!
Wade covered the coin with his palm, then slowly opened it.
"Gulp."
Neville's throat bobbed, and cold sweat broke out on his palms.
Just as the silver Sickle was about to be revealed, Wade suddenly clenched his hand again!
"Ah!" Neville couldn't help but cry out, "I haven't seen it yet!"
"—But you already know, don't you?" Wade asked, "—What your true desired answer is."
Neville froze, as if a thunderclap had exploded above his head.
Wade got up and left, leaving Neville alone on the sofa to ponder.
"How's Neville?" Theo walked over, asking worriedly.
"He's fine, he'll figure it out."
Wade said, looking down at the silver Sickle in his palm, then suddenly smiled and put it into his pocket.
—Well, well! Fate was looking out for this clumsy kid after all.
However...
Perhaps making a well-thought-out decision himself, rather than being pushed by fate, was more suitable, right?
...
In the blink of an eye, it was the Easter holiday again. This time, the professors for each subject had assigned quite a bit of homework. With only two weeks of spring break, most students chose not to go home.
Neville applied for leave from school; he planned to go to Diagon Alley to choose a wand that truly suited him.
Wade also applied for leave, but he only went home for Easter Day to celebrate with his parents. The rest of the time, he was in Hogsmeade, studying spells with Lupin.
The spell for extracting memories was not as profound as Wade had initially thought. If the memory provider focused on recalling and was willing to actively offer the memory, the spell could become quite simple. Forcibly digging out memories a master wanted to hide, however, was high-level dark magic.
Occlumency, on the other hand, required long-term training. The most basic requirement was to clear one's mind – to not think, not recall, not perceive. Advanced techniques involved weaving false memories and emotions in the mind to deceive Legilimens masters.
During the holiday, Wade made the most progress in Transfiguration and the Disillusionment Charm. He also learned several uses for fire spells. Lupin also taught him some small tricks that would be useful at school, such as a spell to check for typos in essays.
Wade returned to school the day before classes resumed. As he distributed Easter eggs to his friends, he noticed that the two Gryffindors looked nervous and worried.
"What's wrong?" Wade asked.
"This..." Harry and Hermione exchanged glances, and then Hermione said worriedly, "It's Hagrid... he got a dragon egg, and he's even planning to hatch it!"
Wade recalled, "I remember that's illegal, isn't it?"
"It is!" Harry said, looking distraught, "What if someone finds out? Hagrid isn't worried at all, he's just focused on being a dragon mom!"
"Hmm... quite Gryffindor of him."
Wade muttered under his breath. Seeing their distress, he said, "I know a friend who works as an animal caretaker for Mr. Scamander. Maybe you could transfer the dragon egg to them to help hatch it? Or arrange for someone to secretly move the dragon egg to a place where dragon breeding is allowed. Of course—"
As their eyes lit up with surprise, Wade added, "The premise is that you can convince Mr. Hagrid to give up his current plan – private individuals can't keep dragons, unless he's willing to go to Azkaban."
This was not an easy task.
Hagrid naturally loved all dangerous creatures, and raising a dragon was his lifelong dream. Even though he knew Harry and Hermione's worries were valid, he couldn't bring himself to give up his beloved, unborn dragon baby. The thought of the little one suffering after leaving him, or even being captured by wizards for blood extraction or dragon liver harvesting, brought tears to the half-giant's eyes.
Thus, time passed, dragging on until the dragon baby was about to be born.