Damn.. After hearing his introduction, Wade's suspicions were completely confirmed.
The only one who could be that tall at just nine years old was Rubeus Hagrid, the half-giant.
Hmm… so his father was still alive right now?
Wade thought to himself that he absolutely had to meet this Down Bad Perv… ehm.. Hero someday!
As a former biologist, from a biological standpoint, he was extremely curious… just how had this hero managed to impregnate a ten-meter-tall giantess?!
A toothpick stirring a cauldron…
However you thought about it, it seemed impossible…
But since this was Hagrid, then the "mum" his father had gone to visit was surely the giantess Fridwulfa.
Giants weren't very bright, so if Hagrid's father had gone to see her and gotten injured, that was only natural.
"Next time you see a dragon, you mustn't go near it! Dragons are extremely dangerous creatures!" Newt warned Hagrid solemnly.
"But that dragon just now was really gentle… I wanted to keep it…" Hagrid muttered in protest.
"The dragon just now was in a very unusual state, completely different from others… You should be glad it was depressed and unwilling to move, otherwise you might have been roasted and eaten before you even got close!" Newt said sternly.
"Th-that serious?" Hagrid clearly didn't believe it.
Wade said, "Hagrid, you'd better believe it. This is Mr. Scamander, the world-famous magizoologist! The author of the bestseller Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them! There's no one else in the world who understands magical creatures better than him!"
Wade's praise left Newt blushing furiously.
He quickly waved his hands, saying, "You're exaggerating… exaggerating…"
But Hagrid's eyes instantly filled with admiration as he looked at Newt.
"Have you read Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them?" Wade asked.
"I… I don't like reading books…" Hagrid admitted, embarrassed.
"I happen to have a copy here. If you're interested in magical creatures, you should read it." Wade handed him a thick bundle of bound parchment. "Knowledge is power, Hagrid. Only by reading more can you interact with magical creatures better!"
"Mm!" Hagrid took the bundle with excitement.
He didn't like reading, but if it meant learning to deal with magical creatures better, then he could read!
At that moment, Newt looked at the bundle of parchment in Hagrid's hands, as if he wanted to say something but held back.
But with Hagrid right there, and the atmosphere already set, those questions weren't easy to ask aloud.
"Rubeus! Where are you…"
Suddenly, a distant voice called faintly.
"It's my dad!" Hagrid said excitedly.
"Then go find your father. Remember, before you have enough ability and knowledge, you must never approach dangerous creatures like dragons! It's for your own safety!" Newt warned again.
"Got it, Mr. Scamander!" Hagrid said, clutching the bundle of parchment as he dashed into the nearby woods, running toward the voice.
Wade watched his retreating back and couldn't help saying, "Only nine years old, and already that tall… really strange, Newt."
But Newt didn't respond for quite a while.
That was when Wade noticed Newt was giving him a very strange look.
"Uh… what's wrong? Do I have flowers growing on my face?"
"No… it's just, there's something I've been meaning to ask you, Wade."
"What?"
"You encouraged Hagrid to read, that's good. And to read my book… not bad either. But what you just handed him… that looked like a handwritten copy? Don't tell me you never bought my original?"
"Uh? Damn… if I said it's because I liked your book so much that I copied it out by hand, would you believe me?" Wade asked with a sheepish grin.
"Should I believe that, Wade?"
"Uh…"
Now it was Wade's turn to feel embarrassed.
If you remember Wade's 1st time coming to the Wizarding World...
Back when he bought books in Diagon Alley, with his photographic memory, he had simply memorized a whole stack and then written them out afterward.
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them was one of them!
After all, in first year he didn't even need Care of Magical Creatures textbooks… He figured he could buy the real one later, so he just transcribed it himself.
And just now, when he saw Hagrid, he had casually handed over that handwritten copy.
And he'd done it right in front of the original author…
Ah, well…
"Alright, I'm not blaming you. Even if you bought a pirated copy, I wouldn't mind, because the purpose of writing that book wasn't entirely to make money," Newt said. "I was just curious why you'd end up with a handwritten copy. Do people still copy books by hand and sell them as bootlegs these days?"
"No… I was poor back then. I'd go to the bookshop to read, but couldn't afford to buy, so I memorized some books on the spot and then wrote them out afterward… That handwritten copy just now was one of those I transcribed."
"Ah…" Newt stared at Wade in shock.
He had thought Wade saying he memorized his book was just an exaggeration.
But to think… the boy had actually done it?
As amazed as Newt was by Wade's ability, he couldn't help but feel a pang of pity for what he'd gone through.
…No money to buy books, so he had to copy them out?
For a moment, Newt's kind heart was stirred again.
"Never mind, I'll give you one of my own collector's editions when we get back!" Newt said, eyes slightly red. "And if there are any other books you want to read, just tell me—I'll buy them for you!"
"Uh… that's really not necessary…"
"Don't be shy, Wade. A bright child like you shouldn't be troubled by money. You should be able to focus on learning… how about this, why don't I adopt you? Tina and I don't have children yet anyway…"
"Ah? No, no, no… that's not necessary!" Wade was completely dumbfounded.
I thought of you as a brother, and you want to be my dad?
"Don't be embarrassed, Wade. Tina and I both like you very much. I'll write to Dumbledore about it as soon as we get back!"
"Please don't!" For the first time, Wade felt like he'd really gone too far.
…
Riddle Manor.
In front of Tom's house.
"Protego!"
Facing the steady stream of pebbles old Tom kept throwing, Tom once again used a Shield Charm.
Although he managed to block the stones he couldn't dodge just now, he still felt very dissatisfied with his performance.
Because at the end of the day, pebbles were just pebbles. If they were spells—even if not Wade's spells, just an ordinary wizard's—the speed would be nothing like a thrown pebble.
Which meant, judging by the casting speed he'd just shown, he might manage to block stones, but he wouldn't have time to defend against spells.
In real combat, he had already lost!
Old Tom noticed something was off in Tom's expression and stopped his hand.
"Tom, what's wrong? Didn't you block it just now?"
"No… the rhythm is still wrong…" Tom said in frustration, scratching his head.
Old Tom didn't know what his son was troubled about, so he tentatively asked, "Uh… if the rhythm's wrong, then should I adjust mine?"
"It's not your rhythm… the rhythm of an attack can't be controlled, nor should it ever be fixed. The only rhythm I can control is my own. But… my speed is still too slow!"
"Oh… you mean your casting speed?" Old Tom began to understand.
"Yes… my Shield Charm always comes out too late," Tom said gloomily.
"The Shield Charm, you mean that transparent barrier just now?"
"Mm."
"Why not just keep it up all the time?"
"Keeping the Shield Charm up constantly drains too much energy, and it distracts me, making my casting speed slower. And in a one-versus-many fight, the Shield Charm can easily be broken quickly if people focus fire on it. Then trying to cast it again wastes precious time that shouldn't be wasted… So, dodge spells when you can, and only use the Shield Charm when you can't. In battle, the best way is to cast it only when needed, not maintain it all the time."
"Oh…"
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