Chapter 12: For Money—No, For Saving People!

Wade and Tom hid in a dark corner, observing a well-kept small house not far ahead, complete with a nice little garden in front.

It was clear that the people living here were not lacking in money.

But according to the confession, the other trapped children were locked inside.

Tom wrapped himself tighter in his worn jacket. "I still don't understand why we're delaying going to Diagon Alley for money! I wanna see the magical world!"

"I've told you, it's not for the money," Wade replied irritably.

He was doing this to accumulate merit points for doing good deeds. Robbing from robbers was just a side effect... Of course, he couldn't explain this to Tom.

"If it's not for money, then what is it for? Are you really doing this to save people? I can't see that you have such a good heart."

"Honestly, Tom, besides being a little strict with you, when have I not had a good heart with others?"

Tom closed his mouth. This bastard seemed to be right...

The thing was, Wade had only ever bullied him, so Tom had developed the false impression that Wade was never a good person.

In fact, to others, Wade, who had taught him a lesson for being a bully, was actually a good person!

"Forget it, I'll be honest with you. What you're saying isn't entirely wrong. Besides saving people, part of the reason is indeed for money," Wade turned and looked at Tom.

"The money Dumbledore gave us definitely isn't much. It should just barely be enough for us."

"This means, a lot of things we'll have to buy secondhand, and there will be many things we can't afford."

"Are you really okay with using secondhand textbooks left by others, wearing secondhand robes that others no longer want, using secondhand wands that have been used up by others? Well, these aren't the most important things."

"The important thing is... Dumbledore said we can only use secondhand textbooks. What does that mean? It means spellbooks are definitely not cheap in the wizarding world..."

"We need knowledge, Tom, knowledge beyond just textbooks! Don't you want to get stronger?"

Tom couldn't help but feel a rush of excitement when he heard the last two sentences.

Indeed, he could tolerate a poor quality of life; after all, he had lived like that in the orphanage for so many years.

But when it came to increasing his power, he couldn't just settle for that!

"Also, although we don't know much about Hogwarts, one thing is for sure: everyone at that school has special abilities, just like us."

"In other words, we won't be the most special ones there. If we still look like a bunch of poor beggars... what do you think will happen?"

Tom's heart skipped a beat upon hearing this.

Putting himself in others' shoes, as a seasoned bully, he understood this kind of mindset better than anyone.

Being isolated by ordinary people didn't bother Tom in the slightest; after all, they couldn't bully him.

But this was a magic school!

The power he had, others had it too!

Tom wasn't afraid of being bullied by ordinary people, but by other young wizards...

At that moment, after Wade's persistent persuasion and Tom's serious underestimation of his own strength, he actually started to worry.

In fact, he was really worried that the other students might be as strong as Wade.

"Out here, your identity is something you give yourself. So, we need money first," Wade continued to intensify his persuasion.

"But... Dumbledore said we can't use magic on ordinary people..." Tom hesitated slightly.

Tom was still unsure. After all, with the combined pressure from both Wade and Dumbledore, Tom had become much more cautious and not as confident as before.

Wade extended a finger and said, "First, they intended to traffick us, right?"

Tom nodded.

"So, I say we were acting in self-defense. Do you agree?"

Tom nodded again.

Wade then extended a second finger, "Second, from what we've heard from those people, there are other children trapped, right?"

Tom nodded once more, this time with a smile. "So we're saving people. It has nothing to do with money!"

Wade smiled in satisfaction. "You've already learned how to answer quickly."

"You're right, Wade. And since we have the ability, why should we live miserably?" Tom's gaze became determined.

Wade patted Tom's shoulder, delighted. "You've even learned to think more broadly!"

A flicker of red light passed through Tom's eyes. "Based on Dumbledore's behavior, he should be a good old man. So, even if he knows what we've done, considering the two points we've discussed, he won't blame us. At most, he'll just say we were too reckless!"

Wade continued, "But we can't avoid the risk because those traffickers even have corrupt cops as cover. Calling the police won't be effective, so..."

"So... we have to do it ourselves," Tom nodded. "The reasons are sufficient, so let's rescue the people first. Once we've rescued them, even if the so-called Ministry of Magic Dumbledore talks about finds out, we'll have an explanation."

"And... these bastards actually plan to kidnap me and sell me? They must pay the price!" Tom's eyes gleamed with a dangerous light once again.

In fact, Tom was someone who held grudges. If he couldn't take on Wade, could he not handle a bunch of ordinary Muggles?

"What do you plan to do?" Tom then asked.

"Actually, first, I need to figure out how many people are inside, and whether they have weapons like guns," Wade said seriously.

Although he knew magic now, he still had a deep fear of Muggle weapons—guns. He couldn't just charge in headfirst.

After all, he had only started learning magic a little over a week ago, and he wasn't as powerful as someone like Dumbledore. His available methods were quite limited.

"Tom... You can control snakes, right?" Wade asked, smiling.

Tom's face turned red. He had indeed once used a snake to spy on Wade's secrets about becoming stronger.

"I understand..." Tom said, then retreated into the corner, crouching down and making a hissing sound with his mouth.

Tom could speak Parseltongue, meaning he could not only talk to snakes but also command them.

This meant that many things humans found inconvenient could be done by snakes instead.

Soon, Wade noticed, from the crack in the corner, green grass snakes began to poke their heads out, and there were even many venomous snakes among them!

The sight of so many snake heads made the hairs on Wade's neck stand on end. But Tom seemed completely unfazed by the scene.

"Hissss... Hissss..."

Tom lowered his head and gave instructions to one of the smaller snakes on the ground. Afterward, the small snake turned around, slithered off in a winding path, and disappeared into the shadows.