Bang!
Tom was slammed straight into the wall, his entire body embedded in it. Every bone in his body ached.
He sucked in a sharp breath before weakly saying, "You lunatic, do you really have to come at me like you're trying to kill me?"
"I was originally planning to forgive you, but unfortunately, you happened to walk right into the line of fire. I'd say you just have bad luck. I happened to have business with Newt as well." Wade curled his lips into a smile.
"Forgive me? What did I even do?!" Tom cried indignantly.
"Hmm... give me a moment." Wade frowned.
"Give you a moment for what?"
"I haven't come up with a reason yet."
"Shit... I knew it!"
"Tom, I just hope you understand that there's always someone stronger out there... I'm doing this for your own good. What if you become too arrogant and suffer a huge setback in the future? That's why I painfully continue to whip you into shape..."
"I think knowing you is already a huge setback... I swear, the thing I regret most in my life is kicking open your door back then!" Tom said mournfully.
Newt walked over and carefully examined Tom, who was embedded in the courtyard wall. Only after confirming that he hadn't suffered any serious injuries did he say, "You two certainly have a unique way of greeting each other."
"It's nothing. This is how we greeted each other the first time we met," Wade said indifferently. "When are you taking me to see that dragon again?"
"Right now, if you'd like..." Newt glanced at Tom in the wall. "As for him..."
"Let him figure out how to get down himself. If he can't even free himself, how's he supposed to accomplish great things in the future?" Wade said calmly.
Newt looked at Tom again.
Tom, still stuck in the wall, looked utterly miserable. He shrugged and laboriously raised a hand to wipe the blood from the corner of his mouth.
"I'm used to it... It's only a mortal wound..."
Newt: "..." This dialogue.. shouldn't it be 'It's only a flesh wound'..?
"Er... is he really alright?" Newt very much wanted to pull Tom down and examine him properly.
"He's fine. Don't be fooled by appearances, he's putting on an act. Come on, he'll clean himself up." Saying that, Wade dragged Newt away.
Once the two of them had gone far enough, the listlessness on Tom's face vanished. He immediately Apparated out of the wall and landed on the ground.
Tom frowned slightly.
"Tsk, so I still can't fool him? Heh... but I managed to secretly learn a few more spells today, so I can't really call it a loss."
...
"It seems you don't even need to speak incantations anymore when casting spells," Newt remarked.
"That's right."
"Being able to do that at your age is truly remarkable... But when you and Tom were sparring just now, why did you deliberately chant several spells out loud? If you'd used silent casting, you probably would have defeated Tom much sooner."
"But my goal isn't to defeat him. It's to temper him, isn't it?"
"I see..."
Wade and Newt once again arrived at the place where they had previously come to see the dragon.
The depressed dragon was still being kept there.
"How was it stolen in the first place?" Wade asked.
Newt let out a sigh.
"Didn't I go to Hogwarts to help you all before? When I came back, it was gone. At first, I thought it had finally come to its senses and flown away on its own. Who would've thought..."
"So that's what happened? I'm sorry. This was our fault," Wade apologized sincerely.
"It's nothing. You've already helped me get it back, haven't you? And you've even agreed to help treat it... But what were you doing in the Albanian forest?" Newt asked.
"I learned that Ravenclaw's Diadem might be there, so I went to investigate. I just happened to run into you all," Wade answered truthfully.
There was really no need to hide it. Dumbledore knew about Slytherin's existence, and even if he learned about the diadem, he wouldn't refuse to let Wade borrow it.
After all, Ravenclaw's Diadem wasn't a Dark object.
Newt said in surprise, "One of the Four Founders' relics? That's wonderful... But going alone was still too dangerous."
Wade smiled.
"Senior Newt, you're probably the one who understands me best. If you heard about a sighting of an extremely rare magical creature, could you really stop yourself from going? Besides, with my abilities, I'm not particularly worried about danger."
Newt paused before breaking into a bashful smile.
"That's true... If it were me, no matter how dangerous it was, I wouldn't be able to resist taking a look. And with how powerful you are at such a young age, where is there that you can't go?"
At that thought, Newt found himself feeling somewhat envious. If he had possessed such strength back then... perhaps his closest friend wouldn't have died...
The thought inevitably brought Grindelwald to mind.
But the world was absurd. The murderous Dark Lord had transformed himself into a spotless Ministry politician, and even Dumbledore had no way of bringing him down through legitimate means.
In silence, the two arrived before the depressed dragon.
Unlike the first time they had met, Newt no longer treated the dragon with such caution.
After all, this was a dragon that had watched itself being carved up without even bothering to move. What interest could it possibly have in hurting others?
The depressed dragon raised its eyes and glanced at the two human wizards before it.
"Huff..."
It let out another long breath, almost like a sigh.
Wade drew his wand and lightly tapped the air before the dragon.
Ripples spread through the air, and images of every species of dragon appeared before them.
"Old Black, I know you can understand me, so... pick one. What do you want your makeover to look like?" Wade asked directly.
Unlike before, the depressed dragon actually lifted its massive head and stared directly at him.
"It's really different from other dragons. It truly understands what we're saying..." Newt sighed.
"But that doesn't mean it's willing to be different from other dragons, does it?" Wade replied.
"Yeah... I think I understand how it feels. No one wants to be an outsider."
Newt scratched his head and sighed.
Back when he was at Hogwarts, he had been an outsider too, always out of place among the other students...
Until he was expelled, he had only ever had one close friend.
Meeting the dragon's suspicious gaze, Wade maintained his confident smile.
After a long while, the dragon finally raised a claw and tapped the image of a Hungarian Horntail.
Wade nodded.
"Understood."
With a wave of his hand, the projections vanished, and he raised the Elder Wand toward the dragon.
He mobilised all of his Ancient Magic and channelled it into Transfiguration.
At the same time, the image of a Hungarian Horntail appeared clearly in his mind...
Whoosh!
The enormous dragon before them suddenly began to shrink.
Then its features began to undergo dramatic changes.
The dragon itself stared in astonishment at the changes taking place in its body...
Its golden horns gradually turned bronze. Its scales remained unchanged, but its tail grew longer, and numerous sharp spikes emerged from it.
Before long, the strange dragon was gone, replaced by a fierce-looking Hungarian Horntail.
Wade wiped the sweat from his forehead and lightly waved his wand, causing a huge mirror to appear before the dragon.
"It's done... Are you satisfied?"
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