Brooms of this era were ultimately nowhere near as fast as those of later generations.
Moreover, although the broom had a Cushioning Charm so it would not dig into him, after flying for an entire morning, Wade still felt sore all over.
Right now, all he wanted was to find a place to rest properly, and then modify this damned broom while he was at it.
Otherwise, he was worried that before he even arrived, that old Slytherin fellow would give out first.
However, he had already left the British Isles long ago, following the Obscurus's guidance and flying northeast.
So beneath him now was the North Sea. There was no way for Wade to rest on the water.
He had no idea how much time had passed. Just as he was about to give up and push on until Norway or Denmark before finding a place to rest, he finally spotted a small island on the sea.
The island was tiny and uninhabited, just right for Wade to take a break.
He landed, stretched lazily, and his whole body immediately crackled with a series of pops.
"Damn...… I really need to start exercising more. Using a broom for long-distance travel was a bit reckless after all." Wade frowned and pressed a hand to his lower back.
Thinking about it now, his preparations had been far too hasty. At the very least, he should have gone to Knockturn Alley to buy a flying carpet.
Flying carpets were banned in Britain, but perfectly legal in other countries.
As long as he flew out of Britain on a broom and then switched to a carpet, the speed might not be as fast, but it would at least be far more comfortable.
"Claiming that flying carpets are Muggle handicrafts, so enchanting them is illegal… what a joke. Don't Muggles have brooms in their homes? You can't enchant a Muggle handicraft, yet you can enchant a Muggle cleaning tool. What a ridiculous rule. In a Muggle household, which is more common, handicrafts or brooms? Muggles use brooms for cleaning, while wizards mostly use cleaning charms. Oh, damn it… this is nothing more than a monopoly by broom manufacturers…"
Wade muttered his complaints without pause, but his hands did not stop moving.
He quickly set up a temporary tent on higher ground and casually cast several protective spells, such as Homenum Revelio and similar wards.
Soon, his tent was concealed.
Even if another wizard happened to pass by, they would not be able to see Wade's temporary campsite.
He checked his watch. It was already noon.
He took out a set of cooking utensils and a bag of ingredients from his suitcase, tossed them outside the tent, and then went back in to begin modifying the broom.
The utensils began moving on their own the moment they hit the ground. Before long, the sounds of cooking drifted in from outside.
Inside the tent, Wade quickly dismantled the broom into a pile of parts.
Improving a broom had never been a simple task. Otherwise, those who sold brooms would have long since started producing faster models.
So, with Wade's current level of alchemy, trying to improve a broom in a short time was unrealistic.
However, if the goal was simply to squeeze every last bit of potential out of a broom without caring whether it would be ruined afterward, then there was still a way.
In any case, Wade had brought several brooms with him. Losing one or two would not be a big problem, though it would cost him quite a few Galleons.
After observing for a while, Wade came to understand the basic principles behind a broom.
"So the principles behind brooms are this simple? Then why are they sold at such high prices? Damn...… is this what a monopoly looks like? This kind of business must be controlled by pure-blood families. No, when I get back, I should get into this as well."
The truth was, Wade was rather short on money at the moment. Even aspiring to be a Dark Lord required funding.
The twenty thousand Galleons in his Gringotts vault might sound like a lot, but it had taken him a long time to save up.
And if he really went all out on alchemical research, it would be spent very quickly.
Alchemy materials were far more expensive than potion ingredients.
The main reason Hogwarts did not offer alchemy classes was precisely because the materials were too valuable.
For Potions, students could still gather the required ingredients for the term in Diagon Alley. But how were they supposed to obtain alchemical materials?
Not every student had the kind of wealth the Malfoy family possessed.
Wade had only dared to touch alchemy after earning some money from selling potions.
After making up his mind, he pushed aside all distractions and decisively picked up his carving knife, beginning to inscribe Ancient Runes onto the internal components of the broom.
After several hours of work, Wade carefully reassembled the broom's core.
By now, the core components were densely covered in Ancient Runes.
He slowly released his hand, then took out the Elder Wand and lightly tapped it against the core.
Silver light began to illuminate the runes in sequence, like circuits coming to life.
As all the runes lit up, the core component slowly floated into the air.
"Excellent! It worked! And it didn't explode," Wade said cheerfully. "Well… as long as it didn't explode."
After hastily finishing his now slightly cold lunch, Wade quickly packed up and set off again.
After all, he had no idea what danger that old Slytherin fellow had encountered, or how much longer he could hold on.
The modified broom was indeed several times faster than before.
However, the faint trembling of the handle constantly seemed to cry out in protest, as if on the verge of collapse.
…
The owl "Dawn" swept past the treetops and, with a final dive, landed outside Tom's window.
Tom set down his quill and looked at the owl in confusion.
"Coo…"
Dawn dropped a note from its beak onto the table in front of him.
As Tom picked up the note, he casually pushed a nearby plate of biscuits toward the owl.
"Coo…"
While the owl ate, Tom quickly skimmed through the contents of the note.
"Hm? Why are they here?" Tom struggled to his feet, then reached for the cane beside him.
He glanced at the long staircase, then at the window.
"Forget it…"
In the next moment, a mass of mist wrapped around him and carried him swiftly out through the window, landing outside the woods.
If not for the fear of being seen flying by the Muggle servants in the house, he would have simply gone out the front door.
Tom set the cane on the ground, then drew his Yew wand and gave it a light tap.
The cane quickly transformed into a somewhat crude wheelchair.
After sitting down, Tom tapped the wheel with his wand, and the wheelchair began to move on its own.
From a distance, however, it looked as if he were propelling it himself.
Thinking of how far away the front gate was, Tom frowned. Sometimes having such a large estate was not exactly convenient.
Fortunately, he did not need to make his way slowly all the way to the gate. As soon as he emerged from the small grove and reached the main path of the estate, he spotted a group of youths gathered in the distance. They were the core members of the SMASH mutual aid society.
When Lord Riddle learned that these youths were Tom's classmates, he understood who they were and quietly dismissed all the servants.
As a result, there were no Muggle servants or guards anywhere near them.
Seeing this, Tom dropped the act. He tapped the wheel again, and the wheelchair accelerated, speeding forward rapidly.
"Hey! Tom's over there!" Henry was the first to spot Tom racing toward them in his wheelchair from afar.
The group moved to meet him, saving Tom quite a bit of effort.
"I didn't expect your family to be this rich. This estate is huge!" Alphard blurted out the moment they met.
"Why are you here?" Tom did not answer and instead questioned them directly.
"Wade told us to come. Didn't he tell you?" Henry asked in confusion.
"No…" Tom sighed. "Since you're here, come with me. Head to my cabin. Don't stay outside. The servants and guards at my home are all Muggles."
At his words, the group of youths immediately gathered around him and began heading toward his cabin.
With them around, Tom no longer needed to secretly use magic on the wheelchair himself.
Grace McLaggen stepped forward and took over pushing the chair.
"What did Wade send you here for?" Tom asked, unable to hold back.
"He told us to come gather at your place when we had time. You can guide us in practicing magic," Flitwick said with a cheerful smile.
Now that Tom was sitting in the wheelchair, he was slightly shorter than Flitwick, which inexplicably put him in a rather good mood.
After all, this was the first time he had ever had to look down to speak to someone.
"I'm already like this, and he still wants to squeeze more work out of me?" Tom closed his eyes in indignation.
"Wade says this is called putting the capable to work. Among us, you're the strongest, aren't you?" Grace replied.
Tom almost laughed in anger. "He's far more capable than I am. Why don't I see him working harder? Oh… damn it. When he told you to come here to practice magic, did he even consider that magic isn't allowed outside school?"
The group looked at one another, until Charlie Prince finally spoke. "Wade said you'd have a way."
Tom was silent for a moment before letting out a sigh. "Fine, I do have a way… but you must never tell anyone!"
He understood now. These core members were the foundation Wade intended to rely on in the future.
So this was his plan. Have Tom teach them how to remove the Trace, and strengthen them as much as possible.
"Where's Wade? Isn't he here?" Anne asked curiously.
The others also looked at Tom. They had all assumed Wade would be present, but when they saw Tom coming out alone, struggling along in his wheelchair, they realized their respected leader was not here.
"How would I know where he went?" Tom said irritably. "He told you to come, yet didn't even send me a letter."
The group soon entered the woods and arrived at Tom's cabin.
The cabin was not large, but even with all of them inside, it did not feel cramped.
"Alright, everyone, gather around and take out your wands. I'll teach you how to remove the Trace. But let me remind you once more, this must remain absolutely secret. Otherwise… the Ministry of Magic will come knocking."
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