News came through the Book of Friends. Theo opened the cabinet door of the Vanishing Cabinet and saw Wade, whose hair was plastered to his forehead with sweat, looking exceptionally exhausted.
"What's wrong?" Theo reached out to help him. "You look like you've been battling a dragon."
"Honestly, I'd rather face a dragon," Wade said.
Legilimency seemed to be a magic related only to consciousness or the brain, but resisting it, Wade felt every muscle in his body straining.
By the time the practice session ended, there wasn't a single spot on his body that didn't ache.
Theo asked in astonishment, "You can already handle dragons now?"
"No, I mean... if I were facing a dragon, I'd run away incredibly fast."
Wade said, exasperated, "But this suffering... I brought it upon myself."
The two packed up their things, ready to leave. Wade inadvertently caught sight of the parchment Theo used for his notes.
After the Vanishing Cabinet was completely improved, they naturally conducted experiments, and each time was successful.
Even though this time, the experimental results didn't require comparison or analysis, Theo still recorded them meticulously and seriously, seemingly with no intention of discarding them for now.
Just like his performance in Potions class.
Even though Theo was terrible at Potions, his meticulousness and seriousness were unparalleled.
Over a year later, Wade had come to understand his companions quite well.
Michael was quick-witted and empathetic. He appeared frivolous but was actually shrewd and far-sighted.
Many times, Wade felt that Michael was actually very intelligent, but he rarely showed it.
Ryan didn't talk much but always carefully observed everyone, silently solving problems without ever boasting.
For example, when the target in the Umbrella House broke, or when the little crab malfunctioned, it was always Ryan who quietly fixed them.
Michael's words echoed in Wade's mind.
"Theo," Wade said as they left. "Starting tomorrow, we'll begin learning the Stunning Spell."
"Alright!" Theo smiled. "Finally, a new spell! Everyone's already learned the Shield Charm and the Disarming Charm, and we've been looking forward to learning a new powerful spell for ages."
"Learning doesn't mean proficiency, but mastering these three spells is enough to be considered a combat-ready wizard."
Wade hesitated for a moment, then said, "If we can successfully learn the Stunning Spell before next Friday, then you and I, along with Michael and Ryan, the four of us, will have a... well, a club activity on Saturday."
Theo asked in surprise, "Just the four of us?"
"Yes, just the four of us."
Wade affirmed, then added, "The activity won't be anything good... You can opt out if you don't want to participate."
"...I understand."
Theo's expression grew a little more serious. He sensed the hesitation in Wade's heart.
—He both wanted them to come along and wanted to keep them out of it.
Theo gave an easy laugh. "No matter what they say, I'm definitely going... Will it be dangerous?"
"The danger isn't now," Wade said. "It's in the future... related to the one whose name cannot be spoken."
Theo gasped in alarm. "The Dark Lord... he's infiltrated the school again?"
"Not exactly," Wade said. "If all goes well, perhaps we won't need to do anything at all."
"You've made me far too curious... Can't you tell me more?"
"Some secrets cannot be spoken aloud, neither now... nor in the future..."
Back in the dormitory, Wade burst out laughing when he saw a whole coconut on his desk.
Coconut water was sweet and thirst-quenching, and highly nutritious. Zoe and the others probably thought he needed quick nutritional replenishment.
After drinking water, washing up, and going to bed, fatigue quickly pulled him into a deep sleep.
In the following days, the SSC began learning the Stunning Spell. Theo and the others were exceptionally diligent, and Harry also stayed until the very end before leaving.
However, Harry's reason for this was that the Umbrella House was the only place where he was absolutely guaranteed not to run into Lockhart and Colin Creevey.
The new professor, Gilderoy Lockhart, unilaterally assumed Harry, like himself, craved attention. Every word he spoke made Harry so embarrassed he wished he could sink into the ground.
And Colin Creevey " случайно" ran into Harry several times a day, always wanting to take his picture. This almost stalker-like adulation made Harry feel extremely uncomfortable.
Because of this, he always spent most of his time in the Umbrella House to find some peace.
Michael privately asked Wade, "Aren't you going to invite Harry? You know, he... well... he easily burned the Dark Lord to ashes."
"No need. Even if he's the Boy-Who-Lived, frequent contact with that fellow isn't a good thing."
Wade vaguely brushed off the question, then said, "If you're afraid to say his name, how about a codename?"
"—A codename?"
"How about 'Tom'?" Wade asked.
"Tom? The landlord of the Leaky Cauldron?"
A lightbulb went off in Michael's head. "Actually, you're referring to that Muggle cartoon, Tom and Jerry, right? I've secretly watched some..."
He extended his own association.
"That person is like Tom; although strong, he always gets tricked by the little mouse. And we're Jerry... uh... Jerry?"
Michael hesitated slightly.
Ravenclaws called themselves "eagles"; they wouldn't consider themselves little mice.
But thinking that Voldemort was merely equivalent to a consistently failing blue cat, Michael then felt that the Jerry mouse analogy wasn't so bad after all.
He superimposed the terrifying image of the Dark Lord from his imagination onto Tom Cat, recalled the plot, and burst into laughter.
Wade also smiled.
He had excluded Harry from the beginning.
After all, this time, they weren't facing Voldemort himself, but merely a Horcrux.
Such a thing was best dealt with quietly.
If Harry were brought in, a resurrected Voldemort might gain this information from Harry's mind in the future, needlessly adding fatal risk to everyone.
He just wanted his friends to know what he was doing and to provide some help when necessary, not to lead them to their deaths.
A week passed quickly. On Monday and Wednesday, Wade served detention with Professor Sprout twice more.
Detention was actually a punishment for breaking school rules, not a reward.
So, for the latter two detentions, Professor Sprout spent an hour teaching him knowledge and another hour having him do odd jobs.
Fertilizing, transplanting, de-bugging, pollinating...
After each detention, Wade benefited greatly, but also ended up with a sore back.
On his way back to the castle, he heard Malfoy's voice: "I'm not a servant! If my father knew you dared to make me do this, he'd have you thrown out of school!"