Hogwarts: This Dark Lord is Good?

Wade stepped aside after shaking Hagrid's hand and quietly watched as the others greeted him in turn.

Ideological education did not necessarily have to take place in a classroom.

Being gradually influenced by an atmosphere like this, slowly accepting and becoming accustomed to it, could subtly shape the members' values just as effectively.

That was why Wade seized every opportunity to let each member experience this kind of environment.

Hagrid had only just met everyone, and his circumstances were very similar to Flitwick's. That made him a perfect example for encouraging the members to develop greater empathy.

Everyone already knew Flitwick well. Now, seeing Hagrid in a similar situation, they would find it even easier to empathise with him.

"You can all just call me Hagrid..." Hagrid paused. "Yeah, Hagrid is better."

Friends would normally address one another by their given names, which in Hagrid's case would have been Rubeus. Yet strangely, Hagrid preferred everyone to use his surname instead.

Although the others found it a little odd, they noticed the reluctance in his expression and chose not to ask.

Wade had a small suspicion of his own.

Perhaps Hagrid was extremely sensitive about being half-giant.

When others called him by his surname, it might make him feel closer to being a wizard rather than a giant.

After all, Hagrid was his father's surname. Using it perhaps helped diminish the sense of difference brought by his giant heritage.

"Hagrid, welcome. I hope your time at Hogwarts will be both enjoyable and fulfilling."

Wade had Hagrid sit down, while Flitwick took the seat opposite him and enthusiastically began telling him all about Hogwarts.

"Have you tried using magic at home yet? When I first got my wand, I tried every spell in my textbooks!" Flitwick said cheerfully.

"My dad tried teaching me a little at home, but..." Hagrid scratched his head. "I find it kind of difficult. It always feels like my magic doesn't listen to me."

As he spoke, Hagrid took out his wand.

"Wow, that's a long wand!" Flitwick exclaimed.

Hagrid's wand was made of oak and measured a full sixteen inches.

It was practically the longest wand Wade had ever seen.

By far.

"Sometimes I wonder if Hogwarts sent me an acceptance letter by mistake... I'm so clumsy. Can I really learn magic?" Hagrid asked, filled with both excitement and worry about the future.

Flitwick smiled. "You'll be fine. As long as you practise, you'll definitely learn. Trust me, Hagrid. If Hogwarts sent you an acceptance letter, that means your magical ability is more than sufficient to study there."

With Flitwick's reassurance, Hagrid soon relaxed.

And because of the unique atmosphere in the compartment, he naturally began talking with the other members as well.

For the Hagrid of the past, that would have been almost impossible.

Wade withdrew his gaze from Hagrid.

His goal had already been achieved.

Overall, today's lesson had been quite effective.

At that moment, a short, plump witch pushing a trolley knocked on the compartment door.

Wade walked over and opened it.

The witch smiled kindly.

"Anything from the trolley, dear?"

Wade looked at the snacks piled on the trolley, then glanced back at the laughing and chatting companions inside the compartment.

He grinned.

"I'll take the lot."

With that, Wade pulled a large handful of Galleons from his pocket.

At this point, Wade Reynolds was the perfect embodiment of someone who had absolutely no shortage of money.

Anyway, it was all money the pure-blood families had willingly given him, so Wade didn't feel the slightest pain spending it!

There were plenty of people in the compartment, so even if they bought every snack on the trolley, everyone could easily finish them. There was no need to worry about anything going to waste.

Everyone cheered as they carried the snacks from the trolley into the compartment.

The witch simply watched them with a warm smile.

Once the trolley had been completely emptied, she pulled out a large bag and began taking out more snacks, quickly restocking the empty trolley.

"...You restock awfully fast," Wade remarked admiringly.

"This time of year is always the busiest, so it never hurts to come prepared," the witch replied with a smile.

Creak, creak...

The fully stocked trolley began rolling again. The old witch stopped outside the next compartment and knocked on the door.

"Anything from the trolley, dear?"

Wade watched her retreating figure thoughtfully.

At first glance, there was nothing remarkable about the witch, yet he couldn't shake the vague feeling that she wasn't as ordinary as she appeared.

Of course, it was nothing more than an inexplicable intuition. He couldn't say exactly why he felt that way.

Am I really just being too sensitive?

"Wade, come look! I got a rare Professor Dumbledore card!" Anne called excitedly from inside the compartment.

Wade's thoughts were interrupted, so he closed the compartment door again.

"Two Galleons. Sell me that card."

With a flick of Tom's slender fingers, two gleaming gold Galleons appeared in his palm.

"Wow, Tom! You really do like Dumbledore!" Anne exclaimed in surprise.

Tom raised his chin and replied with a cold expression, "It just happens to be the one card missing from my collection! You know I can't tolerate imperfection!"

Wade couldn't help rubbing his nose.

All right. At this point, Tom had been thoroughly shaped by Dumbledore.

Not long after the last few members arrived in the compartment, the Hogwarts Express finally began to move.

Many young witches and wizards leaned out of the windows, reluctantly waving goodbye to their families outside.

For many of them, the next time they would see their families would be Christmas. Quite a few first-years couldn't help tearing up.

The Hogwarts Express rounded a bend, and Platform Nine and Three-Quarters disappeared from view.

Only then did the young witches and wizards settle back into their seats.

Wade opened his notebook again.

He turned to the newest page, where a remarkably lifelike drawing of a broomstick had been sketched.

The new broom design was almost complete.

He needed to finish it as soon as possible, then send the blueprints and a prototype to old Malfoy.

Suddenly, someone sat down across from him, bringing with them a pleasant fragrance.

Hmm? What's with this nice smell...?

Grace didn't smell this good, and Tom didn't wear perfume.

"Anne, is there news from Grindelwald's side?" Wade asked.

"Huh? How did you know it was me? Why couldn't it have been Tom? You didn't even look up," Anne asked curiously.

Wade put down his pen, looked up, and smiled.

"Because Tom doesn't like wearing perfume, so it couldn't be him. And when Grace came over earlier, her perfume smelled different. You're the only two girls in the compartment, so it could only be you. By the way, your perfume smells very nice."

"It's not perfume. I just changed shampoos..." Anne said reservedly as she smoothed her long hair. "You really do notice everything."

"I just have a slightly better memory than most people..."

Wade scratched his head. He couldn't quite understand why girls always insisted they had changed shampoos whenever someone noticed their perfume.

Still, Wade didn't expose Anne.

"Well, your shampoo smells very nice too! Anyway... was there something you wanted to talk to me about?"

Wade could only gently remind her to get to the point.

"Ah... right, I almost forgot." Anne glanced around, then used a Whispering Charm. "I heard from my aunt that Grindelwald sent people to investigate your family during the holidays!"

Wade immediately straightened. "Did he find anything?"

"He did! But your family wouldn't even let Abernathy through the door!" Anne said in amazement. "Your family estate is enormous. An entire mountain range belongs to your family!"

Wade narrowed his eyes slightly. "How did they know which family was mine?"

"Didn't you once ask Walburga if she knew about it?" Anne replied, still looking astonished.

Among British pure-blood families, owning a fine manor was already considered a sign of great wealth.

But this wizarding family was on another level entirely.

They owned an entire mountain range.

"I see... Still, even if Abernathy had been allowed inside, it wouldn't have helped much. There are so many people in the family that even members of the same clan might not know one another personally." Wade paused thoughtfully. Find a way to let Grindelwald learn that.

Of course, Wade was not actually a descendant of that family, nor did he have any idea how many members the family had.

However, judging from Anne's claim that an entire mountain range belonged to the Li family, it was safe to assume that the clan was enormous.

So Wade began quietly patching up this convenient misunderstanding for Grindelwald.

"Grindelwald seems to have withdrawn everyone he sent to investigate your background. He looks very wary of your family," Anne added.

Hearing that, Wade immediately understood that Grindelwald's misunderstanding about his supposed family background had only deepened.

If he was wary enough to pull his people back, that meant Grindelwald did not dare approach the Li family directly to verify anything.

As far as Grindelwald was concerned, Wade would continue to be a member of that ancient family.

And if even Grindelwald believed it, the other pure-blood families certainly wouldn't question it.

Used properly, this misunderstanding could become an excellent trump card.

Of course, even if someone from that family eventually came forward and declared that Wade had nothing to do with them, he still wouldn't panic.

There were plenty of hidden wizarding families in the East. That Li family was merely one of the great families known publicly.

Besides, Wade had never personally claimed to belong to that family.

In fact, he had never even admitted that there was a family behind him at all.

If everyone else misunderstood, what did that have to do with him?

And that family was clearly enormous.

Perhaps even they had no idea how many distant branches of their bloodline had scattered elsewhere over the generations.

In other words, as long as Wade never met them face to face, even the Li family themselves might have difficulty determining whether he had any connection to them... right?

Well, isn't that convenient?

As long as this beautiful misunderstanding spread far enough, he could squeeze another fortune out of those pure-blood families.

At the thought, the corners of Wade's lips slowly curled upward.

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Read 12 Advance Chapters—P@t- Captain69