Hogwarts: Please Graduate Soon

"I've noticed you have a unique talent for turning a dreadful situation into a cheerful one," Snape said, taking advantage of Dumbledore's intimidation as he inspected the three-headed dog's wounds before delivering a sarcastic remark. "A little wizard has turned a three-headed dog into this state; he could well be the next Dark Lord, and you still have the nerve to praise him?"

"If you hadn't informed me it was a student who intruded, I might've thought it was Quirrell..." A flicker of shock crossed Snape's eyes; he had just been discussing Quirrell with Dumbledore in his office when an enchanted portrait burst in, announcing that a student had entered the forbidden area and that Filch had been diverted.

The two then came together to investigate.

"I doubt that," Dumbledore replied with a smile, "Tom…"

"Don't mention that name!" Snape shuddered, as if he had encountered something utterly terrifying.

"Alright," Dumbledore sighed somewhat resignedly, "Severus, if you want to truly defeat the Dark Lord, you must learn to face him—as a regular person, at the very least."

"A regular person?" Snape snorted. No one on this earth has the audacity to call the Dark Lord a regular person, except perhaps one—a certain predecessor of his from Numengard.

"Let's get back to the subject," Dumbledore said, his eyes reflecting a serious light. "The rise of the Dark Lord was accompanied by many coincidences and a series of poor choices that led him onto this path."

Speaking of Voldemort, Dumbledore couldn't help but sigh, "If I had properly guided him back then, perhaps none of the subsequent events would have transpired."

Snape scoffed at Dumbledore's perspective: "Some people are just inherently bad seeds. If you had the ability, you should have killed him when he was still in school!"

"I haven't taken a life in eighty-two years…" A glimmer of sadness flashed in Dumbledore's eyes.

"Stop reminiscing about the past. Who is that little wizard? Don't tell me you don't know—this entire castle is filled with your eyes and ears."

Snape understood well that despite Dumbledore's general negligence, there wasn't a secret within Hogwarts that he didn't know. Quirrell was the same; that fool thought he was hiding well. But as soon as he appeared, even Dumbledore, let alone Snape himself, could smell that disgusting filth.

He must have come into contact with that fellow!

"In fact, I really don't know," Dumbledore mused for a moment, "I only have a rough guess, but jumping to conclusions would be irresponsible."

"Humph, go ahead and protect them." Snape dropped the remark, no longer wanting to waste time with him. He left two bottles of healing potions behind and strode away, his robes trailing behind him.

In the corridor, only Dumbledore remained, continuing to use healing spells on the three-headed dog's injuries.

"Wayne Lawrence, quite the terrifying talent."

Snape was correct; the entire castle was Dumbledore's network of spies, referring to the omnipresent portraits. Each portrait had been instructed at the time of their creation to serve the current headmaster. The actions of Wayne and his companions would naturally not escape unnoticed.

While the specifics of what transpired in the room were unknown, Dumbledore was well aware of the capabilities of the other three. Only Wayne, the new little wizard, was the correct answer.

Perhaps he should shift his gaze a bit, paying more attention to some of the other outstanding students.

---

The next day.

At nine in the morning, Wayne yawned as he entered the washroom to freshen up, finally feeling awake after changing into a clean set of robes.

He had exhausted himself in the restricted section yesterday and had only realized he needed to leave when the roosters crowed across the campus.

This was the real treasure.

Any book placed in the restricted section certainly had its unique significance or posed some danger. For instance, the book "Alchemical Souls: Equivalent Exchange" Wayne had been perusing contained many dangerous alchemical recipes, some even with the risk of death.

It felt a little early for him to be looking into this; there was still so much knowledge he hadn't grasped.

Without a substantial amount of practical experience, rashly attempting to create high-level alchemical items would be an unwise choice.

However, Wayne didn't come away empty-handed; he could say his trip was indeed worthwhile.

He summoned one of the school's owls and rapidly jotted down a long list of materials, their quantities, and slipped several galleons into the owl's pouch before sending it off to Diagon Alley.

After completing this, he went to the kitchen for breakfast and then left the castle, heading toward the edge of the Forbidden Forest.

September in the Scottish Highlands was already quite chilly. Today was overcast with heavy humidity; fog shrouded the castle so that only the tips of the towers were visible from afar.

Following the Black Lake, Wayne traversed the grassy area and arrived at a small cabin on the edge of the Forbidden Forest.

It couldn't really be called small, at least the door stood three or four meters high, with a rugged style that made it seem as if a child had hastily constructed it.

Before Wayne could get closer, a black dog beside the cabin began barking.

Soon, a deep voice came from within the cabin, filled with complaints.

"Fang, is another little wizard trying to enter the Forbidden Forest? Block him quickly!"

Then there was a flurry of activity.

Wayne activated his animal affinity talent, and instantly, Fang's barks turned into whines of eagerness.

This was a little trick he had discovered; his talent would only take effect when he expressed a desire to bond with the animals.

"Little wizard, keep your distance; the Forbidden Forest is not a place for you."

Hagrid finally emerged, his wild hair and tangled beard giving him a rather disheveled appearance. Standing almost three meters tall and two meters wide, he was a true giant.

"Hello, my name is Wayne Lawrence. I'm not here to go into the Forbidden Forest; I'm actually looking for you."

Wayne flashed a harmless smile, continuing to rub Fang's head.

"Looking for me? Don't play tricks; I won't believe that!"

Hagrid remained on high alert; these little wizards would resort to any trick to enter the Forbidden Forest.

He waved to Fang, "Fang, come here!"

To his astonishment, his dog seemed not to hear him, remaining sitting obediently as Wayne played with him.

"That's right, I have some things I'd like to ask you for help with," Wayne replied with a smile. "Oh, I forgot to mention, I'm a first-year Hufflepuff student."

"What kind of Hufflepuff would deceive you?"

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