Hogwarts: Voldemort, don't stop me from studying

Chapter 1009 Welcome back
There weren't many students on campus when Wade left.

The corridor was empty and silent, with only the echo of Vader's own footsteps. He descended the spiral staircase of the Ravenclaw tower, passing beneath the dozing portraits, and past several high windows reflecting the morning light…

This road, which I've walked for four years, suddenly feels somewhat unfamiliar.

Wade quickly arrived at the auditorium, which was already mostly decorated with lights and colorful decorations. Compared to previous Christmases, this year's auditorium featured several tall fir trees adorned with shimmering gold spheres, and upon closer inspection, tiny fairies could be seen inside those translucent spheres.

Vader sat down in his favorite spot at the Ravenclaw table, observing everything with a mixture of appreciation and nostalgia.

Having experienced the storms in America, when he looked at Hogwarts again, he couldn't help but have a strange feeling—as if the school had also been encased in a crystal ball, possessing a peaceful and beautiful seclusion from the outside world.

Wade had already eaten breakfast and just wanted to sit in the auditorium for a while. He poured himself a glass of juice and casually opened a copy of "Transfiguration Today".

Having not studied for a while, his dormitory room was filled with a stack of various magazines and newspapers he had subscribed to, which Wade planned to read slowly when he had time.

More than a dozen new books have recently been published in the wizarding world, and Machione sent him the three most valuable ones, which are currently in Vader's bag.

As students gradually arrived at the auditorium for breakfast, the surrounding sounds increased—the clinking of knives and forks, students talking in hushed tones, and owls fluttering their wings to deliver packages…

"Snapped!"

He was suddenly patted on the shoulder from behind. Wade's eyes sharpened instantly, and then he heard a familiar voice:

"Why are you late today? Do you sleep in too?"

Michael said jokingly, then naturally walked over and sat down next to Wade. His gaze swept over the empty plate in front of him, and his brows furrowed involuntarily.

"You only drink juice for breakfast? Aren't you afraid people will suspect you?"

He muttered to himself, taking the liberty of forking a piece of bacon and placing it on Wade's plate, saying, "At least you should have another piece of bread, or maybe a fried egg?"

"Judging from your tone, anyone who didn't know better would think you were my guardian!" Wade relaxed his shoulders, looked up from the magazine, and raised an eyebrow. "I've already eaten, you can keep this for yourself!"

Then, without saying a word, he switched the plates in front of the two of them.

Michael stared at the plate of bacon that had suddenly appeared in front of him, then looked up abruptly, his eyes widening as he stared intently at Wade's face, stammering, "You...you are..."

Wade joked, "One piece of bacon doesn't seem enough, so how about adding a piece of bread... or a fried egg?"

He pulled out his wand and waved it, and a fried egg flew over and landed on Michael's plate.

After a few seconds of stunned silence, Michael's expression shifted several times, from surprise to delight to disbelief. He opened his mouth as if to shout, but then forced it back down, his expression becoming somewhat distorted.

Finally, he punched Wade on the shoulder, grinning with a hint of complaint, and said, "What's going on? Why didn't you wake me up this morning? You sneaked down here by yourself!"

Wade laughed, and the calmness between his brows dissipated somewhat.

He said, "I want to check out the school by myself... and don't you like to sleep in late?"

"Hey, I don't sleep in every day, besides, I have Potions class this morning..."

As he spoke, Michael looked at Wade, who seemed somewhat unfamiliar to him, and muttered to himself:

"Look closely, he doesn't really look like you anymore... You seem to have grown quite a bit taller lately, hmm..."

He suddenly fell into thought, turned his head and stared intently at Wade, his expression becoming more serious.

"What?" Wade subconsciously touched his face and laughed, "You don't think I'm an imposter, do you? How about telling me two things only we know to prove my identity?"

Michael didn't follow up with a joke; his excitement subsided slightly, and his voice became so low it was almost a whisper:
“Wade…the place you went to, people are dead…right?”

Wade paused, his mind flashing instinctively to the blood-soaked secret room of the Stonefield family, and almost asked, "What do you know?"

He then realized that for a student like Michael, the "dead" he was referring to certainly didn't mean a mountain of corpses and a sea of ​​blood.

In their eyes, even the death of one or two strangers is a heavy matter.

Before Wade could even speak, Michael already knew the answer from his face.

He sighed heavily, his tone unusually solemn: "Anyway, it's good that you're back safe and sound." He recalled the series of mishaps on the plane back from America, and looked at Wade, saying each word carefully:
“No matter what you do after leaving school, Vader, I hope you will always be you—the Vader I know, the one I can play with, discuss homework with, and study spells with, not some ‘hero Vader’.”

After a pause, he seemed to realize that he hadn't made himself clear, and added:

"Don't take on excessive risks just to conform to other people's expectations. Even Merlin makes mistakes... Don't always think you can solve all the problems by yourself!"

Wade remained silent for a long time.

Looking into his friend's eyes, he saw the clear worry and unreserved protection, and the sense of alienation that had lingered since returning from the United States was truly soothed.

He couldn't help but smile, his eyes crinkling, and said, "Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."

Michael's lips twitched, and judging from his expression, he seemed to want to say something like, "You know nothing about boundaries."

But before he could speak, another voice rang out—

"Hi, Michael!"

Anthony Goldstein, standing diagonally across the table, waved and said, "Don't forget this afternoon, we still have to set up the corridors in the North Tower, Professor Flitwick mentioned it yesterday!"

"understood."

Michael lazily raised his hand and waved.

Anthony sat down and began to eat. His plate was piled high with food, including five chicken legs.

After not seeing him for a while, Wade noticed that Anthony had really grown a lot taller, and even his voice had become much deeper. Wade couldn't even recognize his voice at first.

Looking at Anthony, another image suddenly flashed before Wade's eyes: a fellow Auror named "Goldstein" who died exposing the darkness—Salina.

His eyes flickered slightly as he recalled the man's serious and rigid demeanor when they first met.

I heard that Salina's brother, Samuel, has been appointed by Barrett as the new Auror Office Director.

However, as far as Vader knew, that person seemed to have deep doubts about the integrity and competence of the Magic Congress officials.

Because Lyra and the others had "disappeared," Samuel, wanting to avenge his sister, secretly joined what he saw as a more powerful organization—the Masonic Party.

“Anthony had a distant aunt who passed away.”

Just then, Michael whispered to him, "I heard they get along well. That aunt even gave him a gift last year... In short, I think this guy is turning his grief into appetite. He's been taking on a lot of work from the professor lately."

He shared his experience with Wade: "In short, you'd better stick to Viser's style and not talk to him. Otherwise, the moment you open your mouth, you'll be assigned work."

“I don’t really care,” Wade said quietly, snapping out of his reverie. “Making Christmas decorations sounds like a lot of fun.”

Michael wore a look that was hard to describe: "...Who are you? Are you Harry in disguise as Wade? Hand over the Polyjuice Potion!"

"what?"

Across a long table, Harry vaguely heard someone calling his name. Holding half a sausage, he looked up blankly and searched around.

As they were chatting and laughing, Wade suddenly felt a strangely perceptive gaze fall on him. He looked up and met a pair of slightly protruding, light-colored eyes.

Luna Lovegood was tilting her head to look at him, her long, light blonde hair slightly disheveled. She didn't seem surprised to meet his gaze; instead, she blinked gently.

"Welcome back."

The girl mouthed the words silently.

Wade smiled and raised the cup in his hand towards her.

　One update tonight

　　
　
(End of this chapter)