"Very well... but only out of respect for you. I've never had much sympathy for poachers," Wade said helplessly.
In truth, Wade knew very well that killing people in front of Newt was not a good choice.
That was why he had held back from the very beginning.
Otherwise, the Weather Charm would not have been dropping such thin bolts of lightning...
"Poachers are despicable, but they should still be judged by the law," Newt nodded.
"Enough! Do you really think you've got us cornered? There are only two of you, while we still have five people!" one of the wizards roared.
"Five people? I seem to remember there being more than thirty of you just now," Wade said mockingly.
The wizard was immediately rendered speechless.
"Let's count properly and see how many there actually were." Wade snapped his fingers.
The surrounding vines immediately began moving again.
Many unconscious wizards were dragged back from afar by the vines...
Several others were dug out of the ground entirely.
As for those dragged back from the distance, a few still had Magical Chomping Cabbages firmly attached to their backsides!
These mutated Chomping Cabbages, specially bred by Wade, carried toxins in their fangs. A single bite was enough to send someone into an immediate deep sleep...
Wade clapped his hands, and the Chomping Cabbages obediently released their prey. They hopped happily back toward him, shrank down, and leapt into his pockets one after another...
Newt stared curiously at the unusual Magical Chomping Cabbages, but the current situation was hardly appropriate for asking questions.
Looking at their companions being dragged back one by one, the five remaining wizards were on the verge of collapse...
Wade smiled and asked, "So, are you surrendering?"
At the same time, countless vines instantly transformed into sharp wooden spears, thrusting toward the five wizards and frightening them into huddling together...
"Not surrendering? Fine, then..."
As soon as he finished speaking, the wooden spears continued advancing toward them at high speed!
"We surrender! We surrender!" the five wizards shouted desperately.
Even though they answered quickly, several spear tips still reached their throats and pierced the skin...
A red spell shot out and instantly split into five beams, striking all five wizards simultaneously.
"Tsk, how boring..." Wade waved a hand, and the wooden spears quickly retreated, turning back into vines.
The vines wrapped around the five unconscious wizards and hung them in the air alongside their companions...
Only then did Newt finally have time to rush over and examine the dragon's condition.
Wade also strolled over to the dragon's enormous head.
"Yo, Old Black. Long time no see!"
The dragon raised its eyes and gave him a melancholy look before turning its gaze away again. It let out a long stream of hot breath, almost like a sigh.
Wade was greatly surprised.
So this fellow could actually understand human speech?
"Relaxing Charm..." Newt pointed his wand at the chain around the dragon's neck.
Clatter...
The chain instantly fell apart and dropped to the ground.
Wade picked up the links and examined them.
Hmm... this thing was far inferior to the goblin collars.
Most likely, it was some defective product the goblins had sold to these fools.
"What are you planning to do?" Wade asked.
"About what?" Newt was busy checking the dragon's body and did not understand what Wade meant.
"This fellow is so depressed that it couldn't even be bothered to move when it was about to be slaughtered. How are you planning to cure it?" Wade asked.
Newt's hands stopped moving. He let out a long sigh, and judging from his expression, he looked like he was about to become depressed himself...
"It took me a great deal of effort to figure out the reason behind its depression. But... there's nothing I can do about it." Newt sighed again.
"Why?"
"You know that it looks completely different from other dragons. From a human perspective, that would be like being born a strange and ugly deformity... at least, that's how it sees itself. Unless I can somehow change its appearance... it'll remain depressed until the day it dies," Newt said helplessly.
"So that's the problem?" Wade studied the great black dragon before him. "Who would've thought that beneath such an imposing body, you'd have such a sensitive heart? If someone used your heartstring to make a wand, it'd probably be even more sensitive than Veela hair..."
"Wade..." Newt looked at him helplessly. "This isn't really the time for jokes. And... it can understand you."
"My apologies, Mr Scamander... but have you ever considered using Transfiguration to reshape it?" Wade asked.
"Transfiguration? Reshape it? That's impossible... how could Transfiguration..." Newt suddenly stopped.
He looked at Wade with eyes full of excitement.
He still remembered how unusual Wade's Transfiguration was. Back then, he had even managed to shrink Nagini down to the thickness of a thumb!
"I know what you're thinking... but my Transfiguration isn't permanent. I'd have to reinforce it every few days. Even if I changed its appearance with Transfiguration, it would still only be an illusion, not reality. I can't spend the rest of my life looking after it. Keeping dragons is illegal, after all," Wade said with a frown.
"Even so, we have to try... while it's recovering, I'll continue trying to communicate with it," Newt insisted.
"Then you'd better prepare yourself. If it comes to believe that it's been 'cured', only to return to its original appearance later, it might end up killing itself."
Newt hesitated.
"And if it were a human, that would be one thing. You could reason with them slowly. But it's a dragon... how exactly are you planning to persuade it?" Wade asked again.
Newt shook his head helplessly, his voice heavy.
"We have to try... The Ministry of Magic is already running out of patience. Whenever they deal with dangerous and uncontrollable creatures like this... they always resort to the same solution in the end."
"They want to kill it?"
"Unless it can recover and return to living in the dragon reserve." Newt let out another sigh.
"Hmm... those gentlemen at the Ministry really are strange."
"They just hate trouble... after all, if this dragon causes an incident, they'll be the first ones blamed."
"That's the Ministry for you." Wade nodded in understanding. "Very well, then. I'll do what I can."
He glanced around.
"It looks like your reinforcements are about to arrive... Please don't tell them about me. I'm here illegally, after all. We can talk about everything once we're back."
"Ah! Right, I haven't even asked why you're here!" Newt hurriedly asked.
But in the blink of an eye, Wade had vanished.
"Let's go."
High in the air, Wade beckoned to Slytherin, who had been watching the entire spectacle unfold, and flew toward the location he had previously discovered.
"Very good. Your combat techniques have improved again. Even the most difficult spells now seem effortless in your hands..." Slytherin said with satisfaction.
As everyone knew, possessing powerful spells did not necessarily mean a wizard was powerful. But a wizard who could control the strength of their spells at will was undoubtedly a master among masters.
"That fight was rather unpleasant. There wasn't any satisfaction in it at all," Wade admitted honestly.
At that moment, a series of Apparition cracks echoed in the distance. It seemed that Newt's reinforcements had finally arrived.
Neither Wade nor Slytherin lingered. They quickly made their way to the hollow tree and found within it a diadem of breathtaking beauty...
Wade gently stroked the diadem. It felt cool to the touch, and the magic contained within it was both gentle and powerful.
Bathed in sunlight, the diadem radiated a soft and dazzling glow...
"As expected of Ravenclaw... even after a thousand years, her Diadem remains as pristine as the day it was made." Wade turned the diadem over in his hands, finding himself reluctant to put it down.
It was almost impossible to understand how Voldemort could bear to turn such a masterpiece into a Horcrux...
There was no advantage to making the Diadem a Horcrux compared to using any other object.
And once it became a Horcrux, the Diadem's original function would be destroyed.
"What a criminal waste! No, when I get back, I absolutely have to give Tom a good beating!"
"Hm? What criminal waste? And why are you suddenly planning to beat up my poor descendant again?" Slytherin asked, completely bewildered.
"Oh, nothing. I just don't like the look of him."
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