Hogwarts: Voldemort, don't stop me from studying

Chapter 1005 Chocolate Frog Cards
The principal's office door closed softly behind me, the silverware in the room jingled softly, and a thin layer of smoke rose from it, while the portraits continued their gentle snoring as always.

“Sit down, Vader.”

Dumbledore sat down behind his desk, waved his wand, and a teapot and two porcelain cups popped out of the cabinet and clattered onto the table.

Immediately afterwards, Wade heard a clear, melodious cry—

A golden-red bird gracefully flew down from its perch and landed lightly on the table in front of Vade.

Phoenix Fox tilted its head, its bright eyes fixed on the boy, its gaze seemingly filled with curiosity and inquiry.

Then, it gently lowered its head, and a tear fell onto the back of Wade's hand, shimmering with a pearly luster.

Wade was taken aback. The cool liquid on the back of his hand disappeared in the blink of an eye, and his body seemed to feel a little lighter.

He smiled and said, "Thank you, Fox... but I'm not hurt."

“Perhaps it senses that you are injured,” Dumbledore said, picking up the steaming teapot. “But the injury is somewhere invisible to the naked eye.”

Foxy let out a cry, nuzzled his head against Wade's arm, and then flew back to his perch, though his eyes remained fixed on Wade.

"Fox still likes you so much."

"Dumbledore said with a smile. He poured tea, rummaged through his drawer, and took out two plates of snacks, namely the cream toffee and chocolate frogs that had been mentioned before.

"After a long journey, I think sweets always make one feel better. Have a taste, Vader."

Wade politely thanked him, but simply held the teacup in his hand.

He has no interest in eating sweets for the time being.

Dumbledore pushed the plate of chocolate frogs forward again and said, "Perhaps you would like to try this? This batch of chocolate frogs is very lively; I saved it especially for you."

Wade: "..."

What kind of energy could a chocolate frog have? Unless you put a real frog inside.

However, seeing the expectation and smile in the principal's eyes, he put down his teacup, picked up the small box, and the dark blue wrapping paper was as smooth as before, decorated with a few golden stars.

As Wade tore open the packaging, a dark brown shadow shot out the instant the lid opened.

As if he hadn't reacted in time, he leaned back slightly, his hand clapping a beat too late, and the frog landed with a "plop" on Dumbledore's desk.

"See, I told you it was full of energy."

The principal said with a smile, not surprised by the result.

He swiftly caught the escaped frog, and the chocolate frog immediately froze. When still, it looked only similar to a real frog in outline.

But Wade's eyes told him that he still had little interest in trying.

Dumbledore took a bite without a care, then his eyes lit up slightly: "Oh, they added raspberries and hazelnuts this time, it tastes even better."

Looking at the remaining chocolate frog in his hand, he said meaningfully, "Young people are always easily misled by appearances, and sometimes they miss the opportunity to grasp the essence."

Wade's expression became more serious than before. He was pondering what Dumbledore was hinting at when the headmaster said with great regret:
"Like my cockroach pile, there are very few people who can appreciate their deliciousness."

Wade chuckled. "They're bound to lose a lot of potential customers by making the desserts look so bizarre... Besides, sometimes people aren't against a pile of cockroaches, they're afraid of a real cockroach getting in." As he spoke, he casually glanced down, about to throw away the remaining packaging, when his gaze suddenly stopped.

On the picture in the box, a black-haired boy is looking at him with a faint and calm smile on his lips, and his gray eyes reveal a sense of understanding, as if he can see through people's inner thoughts.

The moment their eyes met, the boy in the picture nodded slightly, then lowered his eyes and looked at the book in his hand.

This, this is...

Wade's heart began to pound.

He recognized it as one of the photos a reporter had taken of him during the magic school league, but he never expected it to appear here.

Wade looked up and saw Dumbledore gazing at him with a smile.

Looking at the picture again, he almost stiffly flipped the card over.

Wade Gray

Currently studying at Hogwarts School of Design, he is one of the most gifted alchemists of our time.

His well-known inventions include: the magical communication device Book of Friends, the Communication Pea, the Mirror of Flow, the best companion, the Magical Puppet Pet, and the universally loved Soft Light Badge.

"Congratulations, Wade."

Dumbledore's voice rang out at just the right moment. He picked up his teacup, his tone full of genuine satisfaction.

"Being featured on a Chocolate Frog poster is a significant recognition of a wizard's influence in a specific field. And..."

He blinked, a hint of childlike interest in his eyes:
"Given your age and potential, I have no doubt that your picture descriptions will be updated many times in the future. You might even become the record holder for the most versions."

“Collecting all versions of Chocolate Frog cards is a great pleasure for many wizards—including me.”

Wade held the smooth card in his hand, a surge of heat rising to his ears, and he looked somewhat embarrassed; his shoulders also felt heavy, as if he felt some kind of invisible pressure and expectation.

At the same time, an undeniable sense of joy was growing in my heart.

Seeing his complicated expression, Dumbledore said with emotion, "Put it away. This is your honor. There is no need to be ashamed of it."

"Speaking of the picture card updates, you may not have noticed, but this time someone has been removed from the Chocolate Frog picture cards."

Wade paused for a moment, then realized something: "The headmaster of Ifamoni—Egilbert Fontana?"

“It was him.” Dumbledore leaned back in his chair, his voice deepening. “As the headmaster, he secretly persecuted Muggle-born young wizards, participated in political intrigues, and even allegedly violated the Act of Secrecy…”

He paused, his tone heavy with sorrow and disappointment: "He was an old friend of mine, but I never imagined... that Fontana would do something like this."

The office fell silent for a moment, then the atmosphere suddenly became serious.

Out of the corner of his eye, Vader suddenly saw something move—in the portrait, Phineas Black couldn't contain himself and forgot to pretend to be asleep, secretly opening his eyes to look at the two people in the office.

He was always so impatient, unlike another headmistress, Delilah DeWente—that witch was a master at pretending to be asleep, always appearing as if she were fast asleep.

The snow was still falling outside the window. The office was so quiet that you could hear the soft patter of snowflakes hitting the windowsill.

(End of this chapter)