Time passed slowly, and before long, the school year came to an end.
Grindelwald had kept saying that he would soon find the Scourers, but Wade waited for several months without seeing any results at all.
Although Grindelwald repeatedly insisted that he was merely letting the line run long in order to catch the bigger fish, Wade had the distinct feeling that the old man was the one being reeled in instead.
Of course, he could not say that aloud, or the old man would get angry, and there was no point in starting that argument.
Still, the current situation was not entirely bad.
Grindelwald was rarely at Hogwarts these days, which gave Dumbledore some peace and quiet. The other students also felt much less psychological pressure during their practical assessments, now that the old man was not standing over them.
All in all, aside from Grindelwald himself being unhappy, everyone else was quite pleased with how the term had gone.
This term's Defence Against the Dark Arts classes had also been far more interesting than before.
Although Dumbledore did not teach any Dark Magic, he still devoted a considerable number of lessons to explaining its dangers and how to deal with it when it was used against them.
And in order to satisfy Grindelwald's inspections, Dumbledore had also begun teaching students powerful spells appropriate to their respective year levels.
That way, he could keep Grindelwald satisfied while the students were equally delighted with what they were learning.
It was another solution that pleased both sides.
With Dumbledore relaxing his restrictions like this, even Tom rarely visited the Restricted Section anymore. The amount of useful magic he could find there was actually less than what Dumbledore was teaching in class these days.
Soon, the final examinations arrived, and Hogwarts entered its most stressful week of the year.
Wade had barely studied, yet he still received perfect marks in every subject.
Tom did as well, of course, though not quite for the same reason.
However, Tom knew perfectly well that Wade received an O in every subject simply because O was the highest grade available, and nothing above it existed.
Among the graduating students, the most outstanding was undoubtedly André Shafiq.
In his final N.E.W.T. examinations, André earned an O in every subject he sat.
When the term ended and the students began boarding the repaired Hogwarts Express, Ministry Aurors also appeared aboard the train to keep an eye on the journey.
After the attack at the beginning of the school year, if the Ministry still failed to strengthen the Hogwarts Express's defences, there would truly be no excuse left for them.
Tom stood beneath one of the statues in Hogwarts' Entrance Hall, holding his suitcase as he waited for Wade to come down.
Before long, he saw Wade approaching from the staircase.
Wade was still carrying his small suitcase, walking down the stairs with ease, as if he were in no hurry at all.
Tom glanced at the suitcase in Wade's hand.
The suitcase certainly did not look very large, yet there was an entire castle inside it.
"Can we go now?" Tom asked. "André and the others are already on the train. We want to hold another farewell for the graduates in the compartment."
"Mm. Wait a little longer," Wade said, stopping at the bottom of the stairs.
Just as he finished speaking, Ms. Paris appeared at the top of the staircase and started down.
"Over here." Wade waved.
Ms. Paris smiled and walked over to where the two of them were standing.
"You were waiting for me?"
"Yes. I'll leave the old man in your care. And... you're welcome to visit my home anytime," Wade said with a smile.
"Don't worry," Ms. Paris replied, smiling as she stood in the middle of the hall.
It was not until they had left the castle and were already on the path that Tom finally asked, "Which old man?"
"Your ancestor, obviously. Who else would I mean?" Wade replied casually.
"What?" Tom turned back in shock and looked at the smiling Ms. Paris. "How did those two... get involved with each other?"
Wade smiled. "The old man may be a ghost now, but he still has the right to make friends. Why do you care so much?"
"Sss..." Tom sucked in a breath.
Clearly, his thoughts had gone in the wrong direction the moment Wade opened his mouth.
But Wade could hardly be blamed for that. Everything he had said was true, even if Tom had heard it the wrong way.
Was Hufflepuff not one of Slytherin's closest friends from the old days?
And since Slytherin needed to help Wade breed basilisks while also wanting to remain with his old friend, he had decided to stay at Hogwarts during the holidays rather than return to Africa.
So asking Hufflepuff to look after that proud old man was perfectly reasonable in Wade's eyes.
Whether Tom misunderstood the situation had nothing to do with Wade.
On the Hogwarts Express, Wade and his group once again occupied a large compartment.
André sat beside the window, quietly watching the scenery outside. There was reluctance in his eyes, but even more excitement and anticipation for what came next.
In the distance, the towers of Hogwarts Castle rose above the top of a small hill, already growing smaller.
"I'll have Toby deliver the operating funds to you. As for what you need to do, I won't repeat myself," Wade said as he sat opposite him.
"Don't worry." André turned his head, his eyes burning with determination.
"Good..." Wade placed a black ring on the small table in front of him. "Come on. Tom prepared a farewell ceremony for the graduates. Today, you're the main characters."
Without changing his expression, André picked up the ring and slipped it onto his finger as if he had been waiting for it.
The Hydra emblem on its surface flashed with blue light for a brief moment.
A second later, the ring vanished from André's finger as though it had never existed at all.
At that moment, the Hogwarts Express slowly began to move, winding away from Hogsmeade and speeding into the distance.
More than a dozen Aurors followed on broomsticks, spreading out on either side of the train to scout the surrounding area as they went.
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Read 12 Advance Chapters—P@t- Captain69