Chapter 465: Purpose and Exchange
Chapter 465: Purpose and Exchange
Cariel looked at the woman he once considered his mother. He knew she greeted him loudly and enthusiastically to prevent him from calling her "Mom."
Wade knew his real mother, and his memories had never been altered.
Despite being at the door with no one around and the room packed with enough vampires to fill a classroom, they still feared Dumbledore. They planned to trick Wade into the room before making their move.
Cariel didn't intend to deliberately oppose her. He simply turned to look at Wade, his gaze cold.
Even if Wade now regretted coming, it was too late to leave.
Cariel's eyes scanned Wade's neck, his fingers twitched, and his pupils contracted slightly as his breathing grew rapid.
Wade, seemingly oblivious to all this, smiled with his eyes and said, "Good afternoon, ma'am", as if he were a normal student visiting a classmate's home.
He walked past the plump woman and entered the room without a hint of suspicion.
The woman exchanged a glance with Cariel, a satisfied and sly smile on her face. After Wade entered, she looked around and closed the door behind him.
"Bang!"
The sound of the wooden door slamming shut and something hitting the floor reverberated, making the floor seem to jump twice.
Cariel paused in the foyer for a moment before entering. Inside, he saw Wade lying on the ground, bound and searched. Byrd held Wade's wand, examining it.
"Is it over already?" the scarred vampire said, dissatisfied. "That was a bit too easy, mate."
"Did you want to fight Hogwarts wizards?" Roberts said cheerfully. "It's best if no one gets hurt... I never expected it to go so smoothly."
"Who's this kid?" one of the vampires asked, looking at Cariel. "Are you a vampire too? Why are you wearing Hogwarts robes?"
"This is my son. He has some magical talent", Byrd said. "Thanks to Dumbledore's 'tolerance,' even vampires can attend the school, giving us this opportunity."
When he said "tolerance", he emphasized it, the sarcasm obvious. The other vampires laughed.
"Good job, kid!"
Someone opened a bottle of wine and raised a glass.
"Even though we didn't get to act, Byrd, everyone here came prepared to die."
The burned vampire suddenly spoke up, his tone cold. "You won't go back on the promised reward, will you?"
The laughter abruptly stopped.
"Of course not. The wealth in this kid's vault still belongs to you."
Byrd, though regretting it, still smiled confidently under the gaze of the room full of vampires.
"That's great!" the burned vampire said. "From what I know, wizards like him, who have many business dealings, can get goblins to withdraw money from their vaults with just a letter—Byrd, I need a letter now."
"Me too", the scarred vampire quickly added, seemingly embarrassed that he hadn't contributed. "I don't expect more wealth, but the promised 30,000 Galleons can't be short."
"Right, Byrd", the other vampires chimed in. "With him in your hands, you'll have a constant source of wealth. A letter now will send us away, and you won't back out, will you?"
"Letters to Gringotts must be handwritten. How many can he write in a short time? Who gets them first? To avoid conflict, let's wait until we're in a safer place to write them."
Roberts urged, "I feel uneasy in this place. It seems like Dumbledore could appear at any moment."
Gale added, "That's true. We should leave now."
As he spoke, he noticed Wade Grey suddenly turn his head and look at him. For some reason, Gale felt a sudden regret for speaking.
Perhaps it was the eerie calm in Wade's eyes that set off a sharp alarm in his mind.
Gale glanced at the room where Lockhart was held, unsure if he should leave his captive behind and run.
Byrd looked down at Wade Grey, who had been silent since being captured. He wondered if Wade was too despondent, too afraid, or if he was using his mysterious mind to plan an escape.
But Byrd never underestimated this young wizard who had brought such significant changes to the wizarding world in just a few years. He decisively snapped the wand he had taken from Wade.
"A wizard without a wand is worse than a Muggle", Byrd said, lifting Wade from the ground and glancing at his nominal son. "Cariel, put away your wand. Don't let him take it by accident."
"I understand", Cariel said, lowering his head obediently.
A drunk vampire mocked, "You're being too cautious, Byrd."
Cariel watched as Byrd dragged Wade towards the fireplace. The plump woman had already prepared a large bowl of Floo Powder. He hurried a few steps and said, "Dad...?"
"Aren't you getting sentimental, kid? Talking about friendship now?" the scarred vampire sneered.
"No, not that", Cariel said, lowering his voice and looking at Byrd pleadingly. "Wade Grey has a magical item I really like... Dad, can I keep it?"
"Of course... what is it?"
Having achieved his long-term goal, Byrd was in a good mood and agreed readily.
“It’s... a necklace.”
Cariel walked over, meeting Wade’s indifferent gaze and instinctively lowering his eyes. He reached out and took a slender gold chain from Wade’s neck, which held a shiny, hourglass-shaped timepiece.
As Cariel held the Time-Turner, his hands couldn’t help but tremble, and his usually slow heartbeat quickened like never before.
“What is this thing, kid?” a thin vampire suddenly asked, eyeing the gold chain with a greedy and inquisitive look.
He didn’t know what it did, but he could see from Cariel’s face that it was something extraordinary.
Cariel’s fingers twitched, but before he could speak, Roberts intervened:
“Enough, Tucker. The kid has done a great job today and deserves a reward. Besides, with thirty thousand Galleons, what magical item can’t you buy?”
Tucker looked around and saw that the other vampires seemed to think it was distasteful to covet the kid’s possession, and he had indeed done nothing today. Reluctantly, he shut his mouth.
Cariel clenched the timepiece in his hand, feeling the sharp edges digging into his palm.
At that moment, Wade suddenly laughed.
“I’ve always found it strange why you were so obedient to them... So this was your goal, Cariel.”
He looked up at Cariel, his eyes seeming to hold a hint of pity. “But it’s impossible... It won’t change anything.”
Cariel sneered in response. “Do you think you’re the only one who reads books? I’ve read magical history too, and I know what happened!”
He had only been worried that Wade would say the name of the Time-Turner, but for some reason, facing those cold, indifferent eyes, a surge of uncontrollable anger rose within him.
He would rather Wade had yelled at him, cursing his betrayal and baseness, than be looked at with that expression.
“Alright, you can chat later.”
Byrd grew impatient. He pushed Wade towards the fireplace, grabbed a handful of Floo Powder, and threw it into the fire, which turned green. He stepped in with Wade and shouted, “Milltown 25!”
Cariel had already quietly retreated to the door, ready to slip away unnoticed, when he noticed someone else with the same idea.
Their eyes met, and Gale awkwardly smiled. “Um... I need to use the bathroom...”
Suddenly, a surprised voice echoed from the living room. “What’s going on?”
Cariel turned to see Wade and Byrd still standing in the green flames of the fireplace, not having been transported.
Panic spread through the room as the scarred vampire pulled them out and said, “Let me try!”
He threw in some Floo Powder and clearly stated, “Milltown 25!”
After a few seconds, the flames showed no reaction.
“Try another place...” Roberts suggested frantically. “Try the Leaky Cauldron!”
But the scarred vampire was still not transported.
“This fireplace has been disconnected from the Floo Network!” Byrd, who was more knowledgeable than most vampires, clenched his teeth in frustration.
“What do we do now?” Artemis asked, at a loss. “Do we have to take this kid to the village to find a working fireplace?”
“Idiot! If the Floo Network is disconnected, it means this place has been under surveillance for a long time!” The burned vampire strode forward, pressing a knife to Wade’s neck. “If you don’t want to die, contact your people and get the Floo Network reconnected!”
Wade smiled, his tone still oddly calm. “Or what? Are you going to cut off my head? Then you won’t get what you want—wealth, safety, and the alchemical knowledge in my mind.”
His gaze swept over the frightened faces of the others, as if his life were not in their hands.
The burned vampire narrowed his eyes and sneered. “Arrogant brat, we can’t kill you, but we can make you suffer!”
He turned the blade and plunged it into Wade’s shoulder without hesitation.
Gale flinched, instinctively pressing his own shoulder.
But then, he realized that the young wizard didn’t scream. Instead, the burned vampire looked bewildered.
“Damn! What’s going on?”
He pulled out the dagger and saw that Wade’s shoulder didn’t bleed, and there was no sign of muscle or bone. The wound was filled with a pale, soil-like substance.
“Such a pity. I quite liked this robe.”
“Wade” twisted his arm, and the ropes binding him fell off.
“What kind of monster are you?” the vampire, unfamiliar with the magical world, asked in horror.
“Homunculus!” Cariel exclaimed in shock. “How can it be a homunculus?”
“It’s impossible!” Byrd’s face contorted in madness. “I could hear your heartbeat and the sound of your blood flowing!”
“Oh, you mean that!” The homunculus Wade removed a badge from his chest and said calmly, “Recording and playing back sounds is something even Muggles can do. But you’re lucky—what you heard was indeed my master’s heartbeat, just from yesterday.”
As soon as the badge left his chest, the vampires despaired to find that the sound was indeed not coming from him.
Byrd’s eyes turned fierce as he glared at Cariel, who was also stunned. “The one who spoke to me earlier was definitely Wade... Could that have been you in disguise?”
“You’re right.” The homunculus Wade smiled faintly. “Guess when we switched, Cariel.”
(End of Chapter)
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