Hogwarts: Voldemort, don't stop me from studying

Of course, this cannot be said out loud, otherwise Fiona will use at least a thousand words to prove that there is a world of difference between them.

Wade could only shut up obediently and listen to Madam Malkin say to his mother: "Don't worry, Mrs. Grey, I promise that you can get his new robe by three o'clock in the afternoon at the latest. Let's take a look at the style of the dress first... Which color do you like? Ah, this color suits his skin tone very well, you have a good taste... What are your requirements for accessories? For boys, they don't need to be too complicated, nor too many. Noble and elegant is the best..."

"Mom!" Wade couldn't help but say.

Fiona looked back at her son, sighed regretfully at his protesting look, put down the useless but shiny things such as the gem-studded necklace, bracelet, and ring in her hand, and said, "Just choose the cufflinks, the cufflinks will do - you don't need anything else."

Madam Malkin smiled and put away the other things. She didn't show any impatience at all and spent a long time with Fiona choosing cufflinks. They finally decided on the dress, and Madam Malkin suddenly said, "My dear, Mr. Grey can't wear old shoes to match his new dress, right? Would you like to see our latest dragon skin boots?"

Wade stared at the ceiling with his eyes blank, regretting that he hadn't brought a book with him - he was now looking forward to other guests coming in so that Madam Malkin would be busy. Otherwise, Fiona could spend the whole day here.

Suddenly the doorbell rang. Wade immediately turned his head and saw Ferdinand coming in with a newspaper.

Ferdinand nodded to Wade and asked, "Have you bought your clothes yet?"

"No." Wade couldn't help but sigh: "I'm picking out shoes."

It took him a lot of effort to resist the urge to complain to his father.

"Have you taken measurements?"

“I measured it as soon as I walked in.”

"That's good." Ferdinand said to his wife, "Fiona, take your time choosing. I'll take Wade to buy other things. You can wait for us at Madam Malkin's place after you order the clothes."

Fiona waved her hand and said, "Okay. Don't keep me waiting too long!"

As the Greys left the house, Ferdinand said to his son, "I've subscribed to the Daily Prophet—and I've subscribed to you, too. They'll send it to school by owl. From now on you'll have to get used to following politics."

Vader nodded.

The father and son walked around Diagon Alley and bought other things in less than half an hour. Wade also made a note of the names and product catalogs of several shop owners so that he could use Owl to buy the items he needed when he arrived at school.

Especially the potion materials - Hogwarts only provides the most basic ones for free. Rare and expensive materials are only provided in small quantities when formally taking related courses. It is impossible for a little wizard like him to practice freely.

When they returned to the robe shop, Fiona had just chosen her shoes and was sitting there drinking tea and flipping through a magazine called "Wizard Weekly". When she heard the bell at the door, she turned around and immediately smiled brightly.

Wade smiled, but before he could say anything, Ferdinand, who was walking behind him, strode over and asked softly, "Have you finished shopping? Are you tired?"

Fiona, who hadn't even stepped out of the robe shop, stretched her arms and said, "Yeah, shopping is really tiring - what are we going to eat for lunch?"

"Isn't there a nice French restaurant nearby? How about going there? Order a foie gras steak and grilled cod..."

Chapter 51 Ferdinand's Fear

On the day of Professor Murray's party, Wade changed into the suit and dragon-skin boots that Fiona had carefully selected for him after breakfast. He stood in front of the mirror while Fiona circled around him, adjusting some details from time to time.

"So handsome, baby!" Fiona kept giving exaggerated compliments, "You are definitely the most dazzling little gentleman at the party. Seriously, why don't you wear the necklace I picked for you? The bow and arrow pendant is super cool, and it will definitely make other kids envious."

"No! Mom, I'm not a three-year-old child." Wade refused firmly without hesitation.

Fiona sighed: "You didn't want to wear it when you were three years old—"

"So I didn't wear it when I was eleven."

Ferdinand raised his wrist from time to time to check the time and occasionally looked out the door.

"The professor said he would pick you up at 10 o'clock, right?" he confirmed with his son.

"Yes, that's what the letter said."

But it was only a minute before 10 o'clock and there was still no one outside the door.

"Is he late?" Fiona guessed.

"Maybe something delayed them." Ferdinand looked outside the door again: "I just hope they don't show up at the door suddenly."

"No, there are ordinary people around here! How many people would see him?" Fiona said with certainty: "He must have been delayed by something. Maybe we will receive a letter from an owl soon."

Fiona said, and ran over to open a window to make it easier for the owl to fly in. Just as she turned around, the flames in the fireplace suddenly turned green, illuminating the entire room with green, and then a dark shadow walked out of the fireplace.

Ferdinand jumped up, quickly reached behind his clothes with his right hand and pulled out the pistol. With his other hand, he pushed Wade back and shouted, "Who is it?!"

"Don't—Dad, it's Professor Murray."

Wade hurriedly grabbed his arm and suddenly found that his father's palm was very cold.

He looked over in surprise and found that Ferdinand's teeth were clenched, the veins on his neck were exposed, and his tense expression seemed very cold and unfamiliar.

Wade was stunned for a moment.

Ever since he received the Hogwarts acceptance letter, the Greys have been very happy. They are full of curiosity about the magical world, eager to participate in this world, and their understanding of the wizarding world is almost better than that of Wade.

Vader had always thought so.

But at this moment he suddenly discovered that perhaps his father had always hidden a deep fear of the wizarding world in his heart.

Fiona was only startled at first, but she calmed down after hearing what Wade said. She took a few steps forward and asked curiously, "Is this the Floo trip?"

Ferdinand walked over quickly, as if to greet the guests with his wife, but Wade saw that he was actually standing in front of Fiona.

It was Professor Murray who came out of the flames. He patted the soot off his body and said with a smile, "Yes, it's a safe and convenient way to travel. Everything is good except that the soot will stick to you. Hello, Mr. Grey, Mrs. Grey, I am Terrence Murray, I think you should know."

"Of course." Ferdinand had already put away his pistol, and there was no sign of anything unusual on his face. "Welcome, Professor Murray. I'm sorry, my fireplace hasn't been thoroughly cleaned for more than two years."

Fiona popped her head out from behind him and asked, "Can we travel on fire, too?"

"Oh, probably not." Professor Murray smiled and said, "In fact, the Ministry of Magic prohibits the connection of fireplaces in non-magical people's homes to the Floo Network. I asked someone to temporarily open the Floo Network permissions for me in order to pick up Wade. It will be restored after we leave - Wade, I'm glad to see that you are ready."

"—Yes, Professor."

Vader glanced at his parents, put his wand into the wand pocket on his dress robe, walked over and said, "Shall we leave now?"

"Of course, the guests are waiting for us!" Professor Murray took out a small bag filled with sparkling powder like a magic trick and asked, "Have you used Floo powder?"

"No, Professor."

"It's simple, just watch me do it."

He handed the bag to Wade, picked up a pinch of powder and threw it into the fire. Suddenly the flames turned emerald green.

"Remember, you must clearly pronounce the address - Alsophila Garden. Close your eyes and don't wander around in the fireplace, or you will get bruised and may even come out of another fireplace."

Professor Murray walked right into the fire and demonstrated, "Aldera Garden."

He disappeared from the fire in a flash.

Wade also pinched a handful of Floo powder and walked towards the fireplace. When he was about to throw it, he turned back, looked deeply at his father and said, "Dad, I'll be back in the evening."

"Yeah." Ferdinand's throat rolled, wanting to say something but holding back, he looked down at him: "Follow your professor - don't conflict with others."

"I understand." Wade nodded seriously.

Fiona put her hands on her hips and pretended to be angry and said, "You only said goodbye to Dad, but not Mom?"

"How come?" Wade smiled and went forward to hug his mother: "Goodbye, Mom."

He sprinkled the Floo powder, and the flames immediately turned into a turquoise color. Weed suppressed his instinctive fear of fire and walked in as if he was used to it.

The flames surrounded him like a warm breath. Through the firelight, Vader saw the remaining fear in his father's eyes.

It is the anxiety and fear that comes with a person's long-held belief that a safe haven is suddenly intruded by a stranger...

"Alpinia cycad garden." Wade looked at his father and spoke clearly.

In an instant, his parents and the living room disappeared from his sight. He spun rapidly in the green flames, and countless fireplaces flashed by quickly. Wade immediately closed his eyes. When he was dizzy, the rapid rotation suddenly stopped. When Wade was about to fall, a pair of strong arms supported him.

"It's not very pleasant, is it?" said a voice. "I heard that this is your first time using the Floo Network."

The man pulled him out of the fireplace. Wade coughed twice, rubbed the ashes that accidentally got into his eyes, and saw a big man standing in front of him.

He was very tall, about two meters, with a sturdy build and a somewhat fierce look, but when he bent down and looked at him, his eyes seemed very gentle.

"Ahem - sorry, who are you?" Vader asked.

A cup of water was handed to him.

"Have some water." The big man took out his wand and used the [Clean Up] spell, and the dust on Wade's body disappeared immediately.

He said, "I'm Steven Murray, son of Terrence Murray. My father was waiting for you here, but a friend from France has just arrived, and he's going to go meet him - you can just walk around and have something to eat."

Chapter 52 Professor Murray's Party

Steven was probably assigned by his father to entertain the guest at the party, namely Wade. He accompanied the little wizard all the time and did not seem impatient. However, the huge height difference between the two sides obviously made the guests who saw them feel very funny. From time to time, someone looked at them and laughed.

Steven pretended not to see anything and accompanied Wade to visit the Alsophila garden.

The garden was neatly maintained and clean, and the long pale yellow table was filled with a variety of food and drinks for guests to help themselves.

The party was held around a fountain with a mermaid statue in the center - the kind of mermaid that was very beautiful in legend, with a graceful figure and a glittering fish tail, and moving chants coming out of its mouth.

There were also small dancer statues on the stone railings around them, dancing tirelessly, with small golden balls of light waving around as they spun. Wade reached out and gently touched a ball of light, which was popped like a bubble, and his fingers felt a slight coolness.

The green grass around it is freshly trimmed, like a green carpet. Various kinds of flowers are planted around the fountain and in the flower beds. The clusters of blooming flowers are crowded together, which looks particularly gorgeous. Some flowers can only be seen in spring and summer, but they bloom here regardless of the season.

On both sides of the road, there are some tall trees with crowns like giant umbrellas. This is the origin of the name of the "Altha Garden" - Alsophila. Steven proudly introduced this plant to him. Its history can be traced back to at least 200 million years ago, earlier than the dinosaurs. It is a real living fossil. The Murray family has a house elf who is responsible for taking care of these Alsophila trees.

Halfway through the tour, a paper crane flew over and suddenly opened its mouth to speak in Professor Murray's voice: "Steven, bring Wade to the small stone platform."

"Okay." Steven responded, and the paper crane landed on his shoulder. He suddenly tilted his head, as if looking at Wade next to him.

Steven saw Wade staring at the paper crane and said with a smile, "This is my father's work. He once went to Japan to exchange ideas with the magic school and found that the students there liked to fold these small paper cranes. After returning, he began to use paper cranes to send messages. Later, it was introduced to the Ministry of Magic, but they thought paper cranes were too troublesome, so they changed them to paper airplanes - they are neither flexible, nor can they speak, nor are they beautiful. The only advantage is that they are very cheap."

"Ministry of Magic?" Wade thought for a moment and asked, "So before paper airplanes, what did they use to pass messages?"

A two-way mirror is too expensive, it can't be the Floo network, right?

"Use owls." Steven said with a smile: "You can imagine - dozens of owls flying around the office, or filling the elevator, with feces and feathers everywhere - I saw it once when I was a child, it was a disaster."

Wade finally understood why his tone unconsciously carried contempt for the Ministry of Magic - anyone who had seen those officials being troubled by owl droppings would probably not respect them.

The small stone platform is a small garden with a foundation two or three feet higher. It has white marble steps, lavender peach-leaf bell-shaped flowers fluttering in the wind, delphiniums and geraniums scattered around, and mosses climbing up the brick walls. The air is exceptionally fresh and pleasant.

In the garden, there were only five or six people besides Professor Murray, all of whom were dressed in gorgeous clothes and looked distinguished. When they heard the voice, they all turned their heads to look over.

Everyone's actions were very consistent. They first saw the tall Steven, then looked down and found Wade, who looked like a dwarf compared to the former.

"Oh, Wade, my child!" Professor Murray came over happily, completely ignoring his real child. He directly put his hand on Wade's shoulder and took him to the crowd: "This is my new student this year - a real student - Wade Gray!"

Everyone nodded and smiled at Wade. A man with brown curly hair complimented him, "It seems that this child must be extremely talented. To be appreciated by you at such a young age."