The attack on the Hogwarts Express was certain to shake the entire wizarding world.
Because the incident involved underage witches and wizards, its nature was particularly serious.
Everyone at the Ministry of Magic was thrown into action. Even many employees who had already gone home after work were ordered back to the Ministry to work overtime.
Of course, none of the chaos outside had anything to do with Wade now.
All he wanted was a good night's sleep.
Nightmare magic and ancient magic consumed far too much physical and mental energy.
Ancient magic in particular placed an enormous burden on his body whenever he unleashed one of its most powerful attacks, even with the Hōgyoku replenishing his magic.
"I wonder if I can make another set of equipment to help my body withstand the magical strain..."
Lying on the soft, warm bed, Wade fell asleep before he even had time to check the system shop.
In his dazed state, he suddenly felt a distinct sense of weightlessness.
It was as though he were falling into an abyss.
Wade's eyes snapped open, and sure enough, he was plummeting downwards.
Just as he prepared to use his flying spell...
"Oof!"
Wade landed hard on his backside.
Rubbing his aching rear, he slowly stood and realised he had arrived somewhere familiar.
In the garden filled with blooming flowers, his senior sat in the pavilion with her back to him as usual.
She appeared to be reading, and a pair of glasses now rested on the bridge of her delicate nose.
"It seems you've accepted that body," Wade said as he limped over.
"It was my body to begin with, even if it came from another world," she replied without turning around. "And after recognising the connection between myself and that body, I discovered that my magic had improved again."
"Oh? Then perhaps magic doesn't originate from the soul as legend claims, but from the body and the bloodline. That would be worth researching," Wade said thoughtfully.
Muggles and wizards were both human. Wizarding children could be born into Muggle families, just as Squibs could be born into wizarding families.
That proved there was little difference between the two, or at least that they were extremely closely related.
So what exactly caused wizards to possess magic while Muggles did not?
Perhaps it was connected to dominant and recessive genes within the bloodline.
"You haven't come to see me in so long, and now you don't even have the patience to talk to me properly?" his senior said unhappily.
"That's not true..."
"Then why were you distracted while I was speaking?"
"I can't help it. Every casual remark you make gives me so much inspiration that I lose myself in thought without realising it," Wade replied sweetly.
It proved effective. She did not pursue the matter any further.
"I called you here because something important has happened," she said coldly.
"What is it? Does it have something to do with what happened today?" Wade scratched his head.
Far too much had happened that day.
"You displayed remarkable power today, fighting over a hundred opponents alone and using ancient magic twice within a short period. Very impressive," she said calmly.
"Er..."
Her words sounded like praise, but her tone suggested otherwise.
Wade did not know how to respond.
"You only managed it because of the piece of glassy rock around your neck, didn't you?"
"Yes..."
"Not bad. You're much cleverer than those goblins under me." She stood and slowly walked over to Wade.
"I sensed it when you used ancient magic in battle today, so I watched the entire fight."
Wade nodded.
Her nightmare magic was absurdly powerful. Within Britain, she could observe events almost anywhere as though she possessed an all-seeing eye.
"That also allowed me to see the current level of your ancient magic." She sighed. "The battle was impressive, but your ancient magic itself doesn't seem to have improved much."
"I simply can't find any more ancient magic hotspots. And I still have no way to filter the chaotic magic produced by those dark creatures. At this point, my ancient magic can only grow on its own," Wade said helplessly.
Wade finally understood why his senior was unhappy.
For every day his ancient magic failed to reach the required level, she would remain trapped for another day.
Perhaps it would not have mattered so much if everything were still as hopeless as before. But now she had clearly seen a chance of escape.
There was hope, yet it remained so distant. That only made the wait more agonising.
Every additional day she remained trapped meant another day of suffering.
But Wade had no solution.
It was not that he didn't want his ancient magic to become stronger.
He had already searched the Forbidden Forest and every accessible area around Hogwarts, but there were simply no ancient magic hotspots left.
Without them, his ancient magic could no longer improve at the astonishing pace it once had.
Searching elsewhere in the world would be like looking for a needle in a haystack. At the very least, he would need a device capable of accurately detecting ancient magic hotspots before setting out.
"Search elsewhere in the world," his senior said.
"But I'd need some kind of instrument..."
"I've already made one!"
She grabbed Wade's hand and slapped a watch-shaped object onto his wrist.
"If there's an ancient magic hotspot within five kilometres, this will point you in the exact direction."
"Huh? But the world is enormous. Even with a five-kilometre detection range, that's still like searching for a needle in a haystack. Perhaps I could improve it first?" Wade suggested cautiously.
"There's no need!"
She seized his hand again and thrust a thick stack of maps into it.
"I've already had people investigate several locations. If each of them contains enough hotspots, one journey through all of them should be enough to free me. So you'll leave tomorrow."
"What? So soon?" Wade was caught completely off guard.
"What? You don't want to go? You promised me!"
"Of course I'll go. It's just..."
Before Wade could finish, she grabbed him by the shoulders.
"Wade, I can't bear to remain in this wretched place for even one more day! I want to get out!"
She shook him violently as she spoke.
Wade could even feel her sharp nails digging into his arms.
"All right, all right! I never said I wouldn't go. I was only... caught off guard."
Wade hurriedly tried to calm his distraught senior.
Her green eyes were filled with tears. He had never seen her lose control like this before.
But he could understand.
Freedom was part of everyone's nature. If someone could escape even a day sooner, why would they willingly remain imprisoned?
Thinking about it carefully, Wade felt that he really had treated her terribly.
He had constantly used her as a convenient helper and received plenty of benefits from her. Yet not only had he failed to fulfil his promise, he had not even made it his highest priority.
She had prepared the locations and the detector herself, and he was still making excuses.
Damn. I'm awful.
"Let me think. After what happened today, Dumbledore definitely won't agree to let me leave Hogwarts," Wade said with a frown. "Perhaps I could use nightmare magic to create an illusion and make everyone believe I'm still at school. With my current skill, I could fool the other students and even some professors, but deceiving Dumbledore and the others would be difficult."
His senior seemed to calm down.
"Over these past few days, I've also seen what kind of person your Professor Dumbledore is. I think we can tell him about me now."
"Oh? You agree to let me tell him? If he gives permission, then there won't be a problem. My broom is fast, so visiting all these places shouldn't take too long."
"No. I'll speak to him myself. You're tired today, so go back and rest."
She waved her hand, and Wade suddenly felt an immense force pulling him backwards.
Before he could ask how she intended to speak with Dumbledore, his body was dragged towards a doorway.
Just as he was about to disappear through it completely, Wade stretched out and gripped the doorframe tightly.
"Why don't you let me stay? I'd like to listen in. I should at least know what the two of you intend to have me do."
A trace of surprise flashed through her eyes as she looked at Wade's hands gripping the frame.
She had not expected him to be capable of resisting her nightmare magic instead of being expelled immediately.
"Hmph. I told you to go back and rest, but you refused. Fine. If you don't mind waking up exhausted tomorrow, then stay."
She gave a cold snort and returned to her seat in the pavilion.
The moment she finished speaking, the pulling force from the doorway vanished.
Wade smiled, stepped back out of it, and sat in the chair opposite her.
The doorway remained even after he emerged.
Beyond it was complete darkness. Even Wade could not make out what lay on the other side.
His senior raised a finger and pointed towards it from afar.
A tiny speck of white light drifted gently through the doorway.
Then she stopped paying attention to it and casually placed another teacup before Wade.
Wade promptly picked up the teapot and poured a cup for each of them.
The fragrant black tea warmed his stomach. Although Wade knew none of it was real, it still felt very comforting.
As he began pouring himself a second cup, a tall, slender figure stepped through the doorway.
Even though Wade had been mentally prepared, he was still astonished.
She had truly pulled Dumbledore into the dream.
"Incredible..."
His senior glanced at him.
"It's not as impressive as you think. If he had refused, even I couldn't have invited him into the dream. He probably agreed out of curiosity."
Dumbledore surveyed his surroundings and quickly noticed Wade and his senior in the pavilion.
Wade immediately saw his expression darken.
Dumbledore strode over and stared intently at his senior, his blue eyes filled with scrutiny.
"Good evening, Professor."
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[]~(￣▽￣)~*
Read 12 Advance Chapters—P@t- Captain69