Chapter 52: Professor Murray's Party

It seemed that Steven had been tasked by his father with looking after the party guests—namely, Wade. He accompanied the young wizard throughout the event, showing no signs of impatience. 

However, the significant height difference between the two made the sight amusing for many guests. People would glance at them and often stifle a chuckle.

Steven paid no attention and continued to guide Wade through Alsophila Garden.

The garden was meticulously maintained, with long pale-yellow tables covered in a variety of food and drinks for the guests to help themselves. 

The party was centered around a fountain, and in the middle of the fountain was a mermaid statue—one of the legendary, incredibly beautiful mermaids, with a graceful figure and a shimmering fishtail, softly singing an enchanting melody.

Small dancer statues adorned the surrounding stone railings. They danced tirelessly, and as they spun, golden orbs of light scattered around them. 

Wade reached out and gently touched one of the light orbs, which popped like a bubble, leaving a cool sensation on his fingers.

The surrounding green grass was freshly trimmed, like a lush, velvety carpet. The flower beds and the area around the fountain were filled with a variety of vibrant, blooming flowers. 

Clusters of blossoms crowded together in a display of vivid color, some of which were flowers typically seen only in the spring or summer, all blooming out of season here.

Along the paths were towering trees with canopies shaped like giant umbrellas, giving the garden its name—Alsophila Garden. 

Steven proudly explained these trees to Wade, sharing that their history dates back over 200 million years, predating even the dinosaurs. They were true living fossils, and the Murray family had a house-elf dedicated to caring for them.

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

"Got it," Steven replied. The crane landed on his shoulder and then tilted its head, as if looking at Wade.

Seeing Wade staring at the paper crane, Steven smiled and said: 

"This is one of my father's creations. He once visited a magical school in Japan and discovered that students there enjoyed folding these small paper cranes. After he returned, he started using them to send messages. 

Eventually, the Ministry of Magic adopted the idea, but they found the cranes too cumbersome and switched to paper airplanes instead. They aren't as graceful or interactive—they don't talk or have any aesthetic appeal—but they're cheap, which is about their only advantage."

"Ministry of Magic?" Wade thought for a moment and then asked, "What did they use to send messages before paper airplanes?"

Double-sided mirrors are too expensive, so it couldn't have been the Floo Network, right?

"They used owls," Steven replied, barely containing his laughter. "Just imagine—dozens of owls flying around an office, or cramming into elevators, with feathers and droppings everywhere. I saw it once as a kid—it was a total disaster."

Wade finally understood why Steven's tone carried a hint of disdain when talking about the Ministry of Magic—after seeing officials flustered by owl droppings, it would be hard for anyone to hold them in high regard.

The small stone platform was a small garden raised about two or three feet off the ground. White marble steps led up to it, with pale purple bell-shaped peach-leaf flowers swaying in the breeze. 

Delphiniums and geraniums were scattered around, and moss climbed up the brick walls. The air was especially fresh and pleasant.

In the small garden, besides Professor Murray, there were only five or six people, all dressed elegantly and appearing quite distinguished. Hearing footsteps, they all turned to look.

Their reactions were perfectly synchronized—they first noticed the towering figure of Steven, then their eyes dropped down, landing on Wade, who looked like a dwarf in comparison.

"Oh, Wade, my boy!" Professor Murray exclaimed and walked over happily. 

Completely ignoring his actual son, he placed a hand on Wade's shoulder and guided him toward the group. "This is the student I just took on this year—my true student—Wade Grey!"

The group nodded and smiled at Wade. A man with curly brown hair complimented, "It seems this child must be exceptionally talented to have earned such admiration from you at such a young age, Professor."

Professor Murray nodded and said: "He's only a first-year, but he's already surpassed your level in alchemy when you graduated, Marchionne."

Everyone burst out laughing, clearly familiar with Marchionne's struggles. Although he had taken alchemy as an elective, he wasn't particularly skilled at it, likely causing Professor Murray a lot of headaches during his schooling.

Marchionne chuckled awkwardly but wasn't embarrassed. He took a serious look at Wade.

Professor Murray, apparently thinking that his earlier statement wasn't convincing enough, quickly followed up with another example: 

"This child, through self-study alone, memorized the entire contents of Spellman's Syllabary, Magical Hieroglyphs and Logograms, Rune Dictionary, and An Introduction to Ancient Runes—all within just two months!"

"Whoa—"

At this, the group finally grasped the true meaning of "exceptionally talented." Most of them had taken Ancient Runes or even Alchemy and knew how difficult it was to memorize those crooked symbols and strange hieroglyphs.

At the very least, this child's memory and diligence surpassed 99% of people.

"And that's not all—"

Professor Murray dragged out his words, clearly proud, deliberately saving the most impressive part for last. The group leaned in, their interest was piqued.

Wade observed silently.

While he didn't yet understand the exact identities of these people, one thing was clear—he had already grasped Professor Murray's high standing.

"He's only been studying with me for a little over a month, and he's already completed his first creation! I swear, it was entirely his own work—I didn't guide him on a single letter!"

Professor Murray proudly announced, as he dramatically revealed a brand-new Book of Friends, floating it in the air before the group. With a barely-contained smile, he asked, "Can you guess its purpose?"

"A Book of Friends?"

The group exchanged glances, then orderly gathered around the book, each drawing out their wands to examine it. The Book of Friends was repeatedly engulfed in various glowing spells as they tried to investigate it.

But Murray had enchanted the book with protective spells, making it impossible for ordinary detection charms to reveal its magical structure.

Before long, two people gave up. They weren't truly interested in what a child could create and didn't believe it could be an impressive alchemical product. They had only been flattering Murray to stay on his good side.

The remaining few continued their examination for a while longer. Suddenly, Marchionne's eyes lit up. He plucked a leaf, transformed it into a quill, and wrote a line on the paper.

[Money is a boundless ocean, and I wish to swim freely within it.]

He quickly flipped through more pages, becoming more and more enthusiastic with each turn. At first, the others didn't think much of it, but soon they too widened their eyes in surprise, swallowing nervously as they watched.

Professor Murray smiled with a look of complete satisfaction on his face.

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