Chapter 647
Pride Fallen into the Dust
Chapter 647 Pride Fallen into the Dust
Wade: "..."
Hagrid: "..."
The two looked at each other.
Hagrid saw in Vader's eyes a shift from astonishment to understanding, while Vader saw in Hagrid's eyes a belated regret.
Before Wade could say anything, Hagrid slapped himself hard across the mouth, glanced around, then bent down and said in a low, urgent voice:
“Listen, Wade, you didn’t hear anything, did you?”
"……it is good."
"Actually, the third project didn't need to be kept strictly secret. In any case, you'll find out what the competition is about in two months anyway."
"you're right."
"But it's best not to mention it to anyone, including Harry... Sigh, I really shouldn't have told you that."
"Don't worry, I understand," Wade reassured him.
"Great, I knew you were reliable."
Hagrid was overjoyed. He patted Wade on the back with his broad palm, so hard that it almost made him kneel down.
"Let's go, you should leave the Forbidden Forest. It's not a good place for contemplation."
The two, one big and one small, walked out of the Forbidden Forest. Hagrid's movements were like those of a tank; even if he was careful, he would still break branches, flatten bushes, and knock down trees that blocked his way.
But with him by his side, all the subtle noises that had been keeping Wade on edge—rustling sounds, hissing sounds, faint growls, strange shrieks, the buzzing of insects, and barely audible breathing—seemed to disappear.
Wade quickened his pace to walk beside Hagrid and suddenly noticed that Hagrid's appearance seemed to have become a bit sloppy lately, unlike before when he always looked like a deer in heat, wanting to show off his charm.
He hesitated for a moment, then asked, "How are you and Mrs. Maxim... doing lately?"
Immediately, Hagrid's originally straight back hunched over.
"Sigh, we...we've run into a little problem lately..."
He didn't want to say much, and led Wade out of the Forbidden Forest in silence.
The toad in the cage remained quiet the entire time, so much so that Hagrid didn't notice the little creature in Wade's hand until the two parted ways.
Then, the toad watched as the scenery moved forward, and the familiar castle gate appeared before him. Many students passed by Vader and greeted him warmly.
As a toad, he naturally had no way of knowing the progress of the magic school league. He was somewhat surprised by Wade's popularity at the school, but he didn't think much of it.
Suddenly, Wade Gray paused slightly, turned his head to look at the other side of the corridor, and Toad subconsciously followed suit.
A group of Slytherin students were chatting and laughing by the window when suddenly one of them winked at the others—Draco Malfoy appeared from across the way and was walking briskly toward the Great Hall.
The group fell silent for a moment, then a tall, fat boy staggered out and deliberately blocked Draco's path.
Suddenly, an unavoidable obstacle appeared on the road ahead, forcing Draco to look up and see the person opposite him, whose deep gray eyes narrowed slightly.
“Get out of the way, Crabbe,” he said in a cold voice.
Crabbe didn't move. Instead, he took a step forward, clenched his fist, and, mimicking Draco's former arrogant tone, slowly said:
"What are you going to do if I don't allow it? Take my stomach out again?"
Draco's expression froze abruptly, and a hint of embarrassment appeared on his usually indifferent face.
He glanced around instinctively, and none of the nearby Slytherins were on his side; their faces all seemed to be watching a good show.
Nobody thought there was anything wrong with Crabbe causing him trouble.
After Lucius disappeared, news of Draco using the Guts Curse on Crabbe spread quickly, and everyone assumed that Crabbe's revenge was reasonable and justified.
Although Draco thought Crabbe might not even be able to spell "Fluorescence" properly, and that he could easily knock him out with a wave of his wand, he could only swallow his anger and walk past Crabbe under the watchful eyes of everyone. Crabbe wore a contemptuous expression, as if he had smelled something nauseating. As the two passed each other, he suddenly swayed, causing Draco to stumble and almost fall.
“Watch where you’re going, Draco!” Crabbe sneered. “There’s no father here to help you walk all day.”
Draco's expression turned deathly pale instantly, as if someone had poured a bucket of ice water over his head, but his cold eyes were brimming with burning anger.
His lips tightened into a thin line, desperately suppressing his impending outburst of emotion. He turned and walked away, hearing whispers behind him—
"Coward!"
"Just like his father..."
"Have you heard? The Ministry of Magic is causing trouble for the Malfoys again..."
"...Contraband was found inside the manor, and a hefty fine was imposed..."
"Serves him right! People like Malfoy..."
Draco whirled around, but couldn't catch anyone speaking. He only saw pairs of arrogant eyes and faint smiles on everyone's lips.
Some people looked at him with slight surprise, as if they didn't understand why he was so irritable; others had expectant glints in their eyes, hoping he would show an even more outrageous side.
Draco clearly realized that at this moment, whether he yelled, cursed wildly, or drew his wand to attack, he would only make himself look more pathetic.
He forced himself to straighten his back and continued walking forward. The faint laughter behind him was like the buzzing of wasps, burrowing into his ears; or like sticky spider silk, clinging to his body and impossible to tear off.
Wade looked down.
The toad in the cage could no longer hide his emotions. He was trembling with anger, his venomous eyes glaring fiercely at those who were mocking him, as if he might turn into a venomous snake at any moment and leap out to tear someone's throat.
The boy's lips curled slightly, pretending not to notice, and he carried the cage toward the principal's tower.
The gargoyles at the entrance remained faithfully guarding the entrance. Wade stroked one of their wings and said:
"Sizzling honey candy? Chocolate frog? A pile of cockroaches... That doesn't make sense either... So, pepper rascal? Peppermint candy?"
The gargoyle suddenly jumped away.
The spiral staircase ascended automatically, reaching the headmaster's office door. Just as Wade was about to knock, he suddenly heard Dumbledore's voice, unusually stern—
“This kind of event is no accident, Connelly! You'd better immediately dispatch the Reversal of Accidental Events Team and elite Aurors to investigate! Also, notify the International Wizarding Federation…”
“Dumbledore, Dumbledore, you’re always so alarmist,” Fudge said in a slick voice. “Do you know how many incidents I have to deal with every day? Most of them are just drunken wizards messing around.”
"But this time it's different!"
Dumbledore said solemnly, "This is the third time in a row that Muggles have suddenly aged and spontaneously combusted! This is a very dangerous sign, and something even more serious is bound to happen in the future, perhaps even worse than what happened to Voldemort..."
"Hey, why do you always bring up dead people?"
Fudge interrupted him somewhat hastily; even though Voldemort was now a thing of the past, he still dared not mention that person's name.
Under Dumbledore's stern gaze, the Minister of Magic replied dismissively, "Alright, alright, I've already sent people to investigate. I care about the safety of the wizarding world just as much as you do, Dumbledore."
The principal said in an icy voice, "Investigate? You mean those two recent graduates? I'd better pray they don't find anything out, otherwise, if they run into those wizards who use dark magic, it'll be a miracle if those young people come back alive!"
Fudge retorted in a shrill voice, "Dumbledore, the league is at a crucial moment, don't keep spouting this nonsense—what good will it do you to cause panic?"
A cloyingly sweet voice chimed in from the side: "Is it because some people always want to use this as an excuse to show how important they are?"
The office fell into a deathly silence. After a long while, Wade heard Dumbledore's disappointed voice:
“If you choose to pretend to be asleep even when faced with such clear facts, then there’s nothing I can do to wake you. But Connelly… I thought… I once thought that even if you weren’t brave enough, you were at least someone willing to take responsibility. Unfortunately, I was wrong…”
There will be only one update tonight.
I'll try to write more tomorrow.
(End of this chapter)