A streak of light tore through the night sky, plummeting downward…
Boom!
"Cough, cough…" Wade stepped out of the smoke, coughing.
In his hand, he held half of a charred broom.
After several hours of high-speed travel, his modified broom had finally been pushed beyond its limits and drained of every last bit of potential.
Fortunately, Wade knew the Flying Charm, or he would have been killed in the fall.
But who could have expected the broom to explode after he had already landed safely?
Luckily, Wade reacted quickly and immediately cast a Shield Charm to cover the burning broom.
Although the Shield Charm was ultimately shattered by the blast, Wade himself was not seriously injured.
Moreover, the remains of the broom were not completely destroyed in the explosion. Aside from the parts that had burned away, he collected all the remaining fragments.
These were valuable experimental materials. Wade intended to study the traces left on the wreckage to develop a new type of broom.
After quickly cleaning up the scene and storing the remains, Wade turned and vanished into the air.
Before long, voices could be heard in the distance.
The explosion had been quite loud, drawing many Muggles over.
Especially in these times of war, people were extremely sensitive to the sound of explosions.
However, Wade had already dealt with everything at the scene, and the Muggles would find nothing.
He soon arrived at a nearby town.
Since it was already night, there were hardly any people outside.
Even those on night patrol could not see Wade under his Disillusionment Charm.
Wade stopped in front of a sign and took a look. He did not recognize the writing.
However, when he saw the familiar red flag in the center of the square, he immediately knew where he was.
This modified broom really was fierce. After only a few hours of travel, it had carried him all the way from the North Sea to the Soviet Union.
Since he was here, it would be unwise to show himself in front of Muggles, or he might run into trouble.
Wade could only look for a place among wizarding settlements.
Wizards remained uninvolved in Muggle wars, so staying in a wizarding community would not be a problem.
Of course, he could also camp out in the wilderness, which might be even safer.
Without much thought, Wade chose the second option.
After all, in his current situation, he had no idea where any wizarding settlements might be.
He quietly lifted into the air with the Flying Charm and headed toward the forested hills outside the town, hoping to find a secluded place to set up a temporary camp.
"That patch of woods looks good. Maybe I can pitch a tent on the hilltop…" Wade immediately lowered his altitude and flew over.
He needed a proper rest, and then he would modify another broom.
However, the moment he flew into the forest, the scene before him changed drastically.
The previously deserted woodland transformed in an instant into a small town.
Looking at the strange, irregular buildings, Wade immediately realized he had accidentally entered a wizarding settlement.
"What was that saying again? Searched high and low, only to find it without effort…"
Since there was a wizarding community here, Wade no longer needed to set up a tent himself.
He landed directly on the street.
Dim streetlamps cast a yellow glow, bathing the road in dull light.
Unlike the dark, silent Muggle towns outside, this street still had quite a few people walking about.
They were all speaking Russian, which Wade could not understand.
From their clothing and appearance, it was clear they were all wizards.
There were still a few shops open along both sides of the street.
Only then did Wade feel at ease enough to cancel the Disillusionment Charm.
He kept his head down, pulled his cloak tighter, and walked along the street without drawing attention. After all, there were other wizards dressed in a similar manner.
It was just that people could not help but feel that this wizard was a bit too small in stature.
After wandering for a while, Wade finally stopped in front of a small tavern.
There was a signboard outside with part of the text written in English.
It said the tavern not only served drinks but also provided lodging.
Without hesitation, Wade pushed the door open and walked in.
Clang…
The bell above the door rang.
He stepped inside and casually removed his cloak.
The tavern was about the same size as the Leaky Cauldron.
However, the patrons inside were completely different.
The moment Wade entered, he saw a group of burly men sitting around, bare-chested, downing vodka in large gulps.
Very classic.
After giving them a brief glance, Wade walked to the bar and took a seat.
The bartender was a bald old man, who looked somewhat surprised when he saw him.
Foreign wizards were rare in a place like this, let alone a young wizard with such a striking face and hair.
The old man first said something to him in Russian, which Wade did not understand.
He scratched his chin, then asked in broken French, "Êtes-vous français ou canadien?"
Wade guessed he was asking if he was French or Canadian, so he just nodded.
Remembering the sign outside with English on it, Wade said in English, "I can actually speak English…"
"Ah, that makes things easier." The old man let out a sigh of relief and replied in English. "French is too hard to learn, but I can manage a bit of English."
The old man's English carried a heavy accent, but Wade could understand him well enough.
"Then let's speak in English… I'd like something to eat. Do you have a menu?"
"Alright… kid, where are your parents?" the old man asked as he handed over a worn menu.
"Oh, it's just me. My parents aren't here."
The old man looked surprised. In times like these, who would let their child wander around alone?
But considering that distance between countries meant little to wizards, he soon made sense of it.
Perhaps the boy had simply run off on his own.
At that moment, Wade stared at the Russian text on the menu, at a bit of a loss.
"Oh… I forgot…" The old man swapped it for an English menu. "Before the war, quite a few British wizards passed through here, so I kept an English menu. Though I've rarely seen any wizards from Canada."
After Wade placed his order, the old man turned and handed the slip to the kitchen.
"What would you like to drink?" he asked again.
"Hmm… what do you recommend?" Wade replied casually.
The old man chuckled. "You can't exactly drink vodka, so your options are limited. How about…"
"How about you go home and drink milk, Маленький ребенок (Little kid)?" The old man was rudely interrupted.
A drunken burly man staggered over and sat down beside Wade, a malicious grin on his face.
"Andrews! What are you doing?" the old man snapped at him.
"Hmph… old Paul, this has nothing to do with you!" Andrews shot him a glare, then turned back to Wade and mocked him in accented English. "What's a little monkey like you doing out here instead of drinking milk at home?"
After Andrews finished taunting him, his companions behind him burst into laughter.
"What does that have to do with you, you drunk pig?" Wade sneered.
"What did you say!?" Andrews roared, his large hand sweeping out to grab Wade.
"Andrews! Stop!" Old Paul shouted angrily.
He would not allow anyone to cause trouble in his tavern, especially not someone trying to bully a child.
However, before Old Paul could even draw his wand, Andrews was sent flying backward, smashing through several tables and chairs before slamming hard into the wall.
Old Paul stared in shock toward the scene, then looked back at Wade.
He had thought the boy's guardian had arrived, but now it seemed that was not the case.
"Sorry for damaging your tavern." Wade smiled and placed five Galleons on the counter.
"Uh… that's too much…" Old Paul said instinctively.
"Oh, that's for what comes next. The fight isn't over yet." Wade smiled as he turned to face Andrews's companions behind him.
By now, Andrews had been helped up by his friends.
He glared viciously at Wade, wand already in hand.
Boom!
The fight erupted instantly.
Though they had been drinking, their strength was unexpectedly decent.
When they attacked Wade together, they all used nonverbal spells.
However, that was nothing to Wade.
During the second half of the term, he had practically been beaten up by Dumbledore every night. Over time, he had gradually become able to hold his own against Dumbledore when the latter fought using only magical skill.
Compared to Dumbledore, this group was nothing.
Faced with the various curses flying at him, Wade casually blocked them all.
Throughout the entire exchange, he did not even take a single step back.
At this moment, not only Old Paul, but everyone in the tavern was stunned.
No one had expected a wizard of his age to handle multiple opponents so effortlessly.
While Andrews and the others were still in shock, Wade's counterattack arrived.
"Levicorpus…"
Moments later.
Old Paul sighed as he looked at the burly men hanging upside down.
"This is rather embarrassing, Andrews… so what was the point? As far as I remember, you're not the type to bully a child."
"I… I was bullying him?"
"Well, it does look like you're the one being bullied now," Old Paul added.
Andrews had sobered up by now, his face flushing red.
"Sorry, Mr. Paul, may I have a word with him?" Wade asked politely.
"Oh, of course… just try not to make things worse, alright?" Paul said, his tone carrying a hint of caution.
He had already guessed that this was likely a powerful wizard who had taken Polyjuice Potion for some reason. Otherwise, how could he be this strong?
So Old Paul was genuinely worried that this ruthless person might kill someone in his tavern.
"Hey, you drunk pig, why did you provoke me for no reason?" Wade asked.
Andrews turned his head away without answering, but the person beside him spoke up.
After all, no one wanted to keep hanging upside down, especially after drinking.
In heavily accented English, the man said, "Earlier today, he got beaten up by someone who looks a lot like you… so when he sees someone like you, he gets angry…"
"Someone like me?" Wade asked in surprise.
"Yeah… although he had black hair, he looked quite similar to you, like if you were to age and…"
"Oh, I see." Wade understood.
No wonder this brute had shamelessly tried to bully a child. It turned out he had been beaten by a wizard who looked like him earlier that day.
Wade stroked his chin, then flicked his wand lightly. The men across from him all dropped to the ground at once, landing in a heap.
He could not help but feel a bit curious about this wizard. If he were not in a hurry to go and aid that old Slytherin, he might have gone to meet him.
"Hey, do you know that wizard's name?" Wade asked casually.
"No… but I think I heard him say his surname was… Renolds…"
_______
o(*￣▽￣*)ブSupport and read 12 Chapters ahead of WN at-
Patreon/Captain69