94

Chapter 94: Magic Wand, Dragon Egg

Wade couldn't grasp it: "What's the wand got to do with this?"

Neville inspected his wand, tracing every familiar scratch, and murmured, "This isn't my wand—it belonged to my dad. My grandma never wanted me to use it; she said it wouldn't work well unless it was my own... but I..."

He insisted on carrying his father's wand instead of going to Ollivander's for a new one—it was like having his parents by his side.

Whenever Neville cast spells with this wand, he felt inadequate, but he had grown accustomed to it. He accepted his clumsiness, timidity, and lack of natural talent long ago, often questioning why he ended up in Gryffindor instead of Hufflepuff.

In fact, during the Sorting, Neville had argued with the Sorting Hat extensively—he believed he lacked the bravery for Gryffindor and requested Hufflepuff instead. Yet the Sorting Hat insisted on Gryffindor, finally making its decision.

However, since joining the SSC, Neville felt daily improvement. Charms were becoming easier. For the first time, he felt genuine joy and accomplishment. So, when he faced setbacks in spell learning again, he couldn't rationalize it as before—

"Yeah, I'm just useless, can't do anything right."

—He knew he could do it, but his chosen companions seemed to hold him back.

Neville confided in his Book of Friends to his grandmother, and Mrs. Longbottom urged him once more, firmly: "Let go of this pointless attachment. You need a new wand that suits you!"

"Wade, tell me... what should I do?" Neville asked, perplexed.

Wade sensed Neville's inner conflict and knew he had already made a choice. Asking him to abandon his sentimental attachment was akin to asking him to forsake his parents' memory—it was a dilemma.

After a moment's thought, Wade suggested, "Why not leave it to chance?"

"Chance?" Neville, bewildered, was taken aback.

Wade retrieved a silver Sickle from his pocket and held it between his fingers. "Heads—you continue with your father's wand. Even if it takes ten or a hundred times more effort to achieve the standard, you won't give up!"

He flipped the Sickle swiftly.

"Tails—you honor your parents' memory, choose the wand that suits you best, gain more power, become the son your parents would be proud of, and have the strength to protect others."

"Do you understand?"

Neville swallowed hard, nodded, and stared nervously at the silver Sickle.

Wade glanced down, seeing Neville's fists clenched tightly, creasing his robes.

"Let's begin, then."

Wade flicked his fingers, sending the Sickle spinning high into the air. Neville lifted his gaze, eyes following the shimmering silver light as it ascended—and descended—his heart leaping into his throat!

Wade covered the Sickle with his palm and slowly revealed it.

"Gulping."

Neville's throat tightened, palms sweating profusely.

Just as the Sickle was about to be uncovered, Wade abruptly grasped Neville's hand again!

"Ah!" Neville exclaimed, "I haven't seen it yet!"

"—But you already know the answer, don't you?" Wade asked. "—What's the answer you truly desire?"

Neville froze, thunderstruck.

Leaving him to contemplate alone on the couch, Wade stood and departed.

"How's Neville?" Theo approached, concerned.

"He'll figure it out," Wade assured, gazing at the Silver Sickle in his palm, suddenly smiling and slipping it into his pocket.

—How ironic! Fate seemed to favor this bumbling kid.

But...

Instead of being led by fate, wouldn't it be better to make a deliberate choice?

…

In the blink of an eye, Easter holidays arrived again, and this time, professors assigned copious amounts of homework. With only two weeks of break, most students opted to stay at Hogwarts.

Neville requested permission to leave school to visit Diagon Alley and find a wand that truly suited him.

Wade also sought leave, intending to spend Easter with his parents at home and study spells with Lupin in Hogsmeade.

The Memory Extraction spell wasn't as advanced as Wade had anticipated. If the provider concentrated on recalling memories willingly, the spell became quite simple. Forcibly extracting hidden memories was considered advanced dark magic.

Occlumency required extensive practice, starting with mental clarity—no thoughts, no recollections, no awareness. Advanced techniques involved weaving false memories and emotions to deceive Legilimens.

Over the break, Wade made significant progress in the Transformation and Disguise Curses, and learned several fire spells. Lupin also imparted useful exam techniques, such as spells to check for errors in papers.

Returning to school the day before term resumed, Wade distributed Easter eggs to friends and noticed Harry and Hermione looking anxious.

"What's wrong?" Wade asked.

"It's Hagrid..." Harry exchanged glances with Hermione, then said gravely, "He's acquired a dragon egg and plans to hatch it!"

Wade recalled, "Isn't that illegal?"

"Yeah!" Harry frowned. "What if he's caught? Hagrid doesn't seem to care, he just wants to be a dragon parent!"

"Well... very Gryffindor of him."

Wade muttered under his breath, then addressed their concerns seriously, "I know a friend who works as a breeder with Mr. Scamander. Perhaps you can convince Hagrid to let us help hatch the dragon egg there? Or discreetly relocate it to a permitted breeding area. Of course—"

To their astonishment, Wade added, "Assuming you can persuade Hagrid to abandon his current plan—private individuals can't raise dragons without risking Azkaban."

That wouldn't be an easy task.

Hagrid's love for dangerous creatures was inherent, and raising dragons had always been his dream. Despite understanding Harry and Hermione's concerns, he couldn't bring himself to relinquish the unborn dragon. Tears welled in the half-giant's eyes as he imagined the creature's fate once separated—perhaps captured for blood and dragon liver.

This impasse continued until the dragon was nearly due to hatch.