ƪ(˘⌣˘)ʃHuge thanks to Talal Baqren and Trey Phillips for their patronage!♥♥
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"Haha~ Why do you look so tense. You've already promised me, haven't you? That your abilities would be used for my sake." Wade said gently.
"I.. yes.." Tom was quiet again for a moment before asking, "You're handing the club over to me… so what about you? What are you planning to do?"
Wade pondered for a bit before saying, "Tom, do you believe a wizard's power has a limit?"
"I suppose… there must be a limit, right?" Tom frowned. "I'm not really sure…"
"Hmm, assuming that a wizard's power has a limit… then do you think every wizard has the same limit?" Wade continued to ask.
Tom replied, "It probably wouldn't be the same. Everyone's talent is different… Like, some people are naturally stronger than others…"
"Right… so if that's the case, then does it mean that if someone doesn't have great talent, no matter how hard they work, they'll never surpass someone with better talent?" Wade asked again.
Tom was starting to realize what Wade was getting at, and he asked, somewhat confused, "You want to find a way to break through the limits of a wizard's power? But… we're still kids, aren't we? We're far from reaching our limits."
"Some things need to be prepared for early... Don't forget what our goal is. Reality is harsh—without overwhelming power, you don't even have the right to speak up," Wade said calmly.
Tom still didn't fully understand. Wade said to prepare early, but wasn't he starting a little too early?
As if seeing through Tom's thoughts, Wade continued, "Breaking limits has never been an easy thing. If it were simple, then people like Dumbledore and Grindelwald wouldn't be so rare… This kind of research might take a very long time…"
At the mention of Dumbledore and Grindelwald, Tom's eyes lit up with longing.
To be as powerful as them…
"Then let's divide the work!" Tom's eyes grew firm. "You focus on finding ways to make us stronger, and I… I'll do everything I can to expand our influence!"
"Mm, in that case, you'll need to be careful," Wade reminded. "If you want people's support, then don't resort to intimidation tactics with your own people."
If he didn't say it outright, Wade feared Tom might accidentally turn their mutual aid club into something resembling the Death Eaters…
That kind of group only stayed together because of Voldemort's strength. It had no real cohesion. The moment Voldemort fell, the entire organization crumbled.
So, when it came to drafting the club's charter, Wade naturally had to be involved.
…
The next day, after class at noon.
Wade brought the other core members of the mutual aid club to visit Professor Slughorn.
Since Slughorn was the club's faculty advisor, he naturally had to be involved in drafting its charter.
Geniuses always tend to attract one another, and the moment Slughorn saw Wade walking in with the group, his face lit up with delight.
These kids were only first-years, yet they already had the capability to build such a large student organization—they were all talent!
The best part was that they were still so young! The younger the student, the more exceptional the talent!
He decided that once these kids grew up a bit more, he would invite them to join his Slug Club!
"Take a seat, everyone, don't be so formal," Professor Slughorn said cheerfully.
Then he suddenly realized… his office didn't have enough chairs.
Just as Professor Slughorn was beginning to feel a bit awkward, Wade smiled and said, "Everyone, just find a place to sit."
As he spoke, Wade casually pulled a few candies from his pocket and tossed them onto the floor.
In the next second, those candies transformed into elegant armchairs!
Professor Slughorn's mouth fell open. "Wade, that was a beautiful piece of Transfiguration! The last time I saw a lower-year student with Transfiguration skills like that was during Dumbledore's school days!"
Of course he was shocked—Wade was only a first-year!
Even knowing that Dumbledore had apparently given Wade some personal guidance before school started…
To be this skilled at such a young age was still unbelievable.
If Wade hadn't transfigured the chairs right in front of him, Slughorn would've thought he was dealing with an adult wizard!
Now he fully understood why Dumbledore was nurturing Wade as if he were a successor.
"You flatter me, Professor. I was just showing off in front of an expert," Wade said modestly.
"Too much modesty is a form of pride, Wade! Just look at the expressions on your friends' faces, and you'll know how impressive that spell really was," Professor Slughorn said with feeling.
Wade turned his head to look—apart from Tom, who wore a look of calm indifference, Anne, Grace, Charlie, and the others were all visibly shocked.
"You've got to teach me that trick, Wade!" Grace said, once again blown away by Wade's skill.
"Of course," Wade said gently. "In any area, if you need help, you can come to me. If it's something I know, I'll always be willing to assist. After all, that's the founding principle of our mutual aid society."
Professor Slughorn stood by, watching with a satisfied smile on his face. The more he saw, the more he liked this student—humble, polite, and never arrogant about his talent.
Such a good boy!!!~~~
Once everyone had taken their seats, Professor Slughorn served them each a dessert and a cup of tea.
"As for the charter of the society, I think the simpler the better," Wade began. "We should center it on our original purpose—helping one another and improving together."
Everyone nodded in agreement.
Tom added, "But there's a problem with that. People tend to be lazy by nature. I think it's likely that some members will show up just to receive help, but when it's time for them to contribute, they won't be willing."
Having grown up in an orphanage, Tom had seen the worst of human nature—plenty of people eager to take advantage, but few truly willing to give without expecting something in return.
"Tom, you're absolutely right. And that brings me to what I was about to say," Wade said. "But for this part, we'll need your help, Professor."
Slughorn had been watching their discussion with a smile, but at Wade's words, he leaned forward with curiosity. "How do you want me to help?"
Wade responded methodically, "I think we should set up a reward system—like a points leaderboard. When someone successfully helps another member and receives their acknowledgement, they get a point. We list members' names based on how many points they've earned. The leaderboard would update constantly. Then, at the end of the month, those with the highest scores would receive rewards."
Professor Slughorn lit up with delight. "That's a great idea! That way, everyone will be motivated to help each other! I can handle the prizes then!"
As a master of potions, Slughorn was hardly lacking in wealth. To him, funding a few prizes for Wade's club was a trivial matter.
But Wade shook his head. "You can absolutely choose the prizes, Professor, but we don't want you to fund them."
Slughorn was slightly taken aback. "Why not? I'm your advisor—it makes sense for me to provide your group with funding."
"If possible, we'd rather be self-sufficient," Wade said.
Slughorn sighed. He didn't know why Wade was so insistent on this, but seeing how firm the boy was…
"What do you plan to do about the club's funds then?" Professor Slughorn asked.
Tom and the others were also a bit puzzled. The professor was already willing to provide funding—why was Wade refusing?
But out of respect for Wade as the club president, they decided to hear his reasoning first.
"I recently finished modifying a potion recipe. I want to try using it to raise some funds for the club. I'm not sure if there's a market for it yet. Professor, would you mind taking a look for me?"
As he spoke, Wade pulled a piece of parchment from his robes and handed it over.
"A potion recipe you modified yourself?" Professor Slughorn's interest was immediately piqued.
He took the parchment and began reading it quickly.
"Ah! This is the one you asked me about before!" he said, suddenly understanding.
Wade had previously discussed a number of potion recipes with him while strengthening their rapport. This was one of the formulas Slughorn had shared.
But now, it had been changed in many ways. Slughorn's expression turned serious as he examined it more closely.
"What kind of potion is it?" Grace asked curiously.
"Hmm… it's something for girls," Wade said with a smile. "Right now, the skin-care potions that witches use on the market are quite expensive due to the high cost of ingredients. So… I took the liberty of modifying one, aiming to reduce costs while keeping the effects mostly the same."
"You modified a Skin-care potion?" The two girls present were immediately intrigued.
"Yes, but it hasn't been tested yet, so I don't know how effective it actually is. That's why I wanted Professor to take a look first. If it works, then we can see if it's possible to improve it even further."
At that moment, Professor Slughorn was still studying the modified recipe.
Truthfully, he hadn't held out much hope—after all, Wade had only just started studying potions not long ago. It was hard to imagine he'd already be capable of modifying a recipe effectively.
Slughorn had even prepared himself to offer a white lie—if the potion turned out to be ineffective, he would say it worked, or just personally perfect the recipe and help Wade earn some club funds with it.
However, the more he read the recipe, the more astonished he became.
Because he realized that Wade's modified recipe… might actually work?
Seeing Professor Slughorn's changing expression, Wade knew the plan was solid.
He was quite confident about this—after all, the recipe came from that Complete Compendium of Elementary/Basic Potion Recipes provided by the system.
This book being priced at 5,000 merit points was completely justified!
In it, nearly every type of potion included several different formulas.
The skin-care potion that Professor Slughorn had previously given Wade was also recorded in this book, with several alternative recipes.
The one Wade had chosen to use was arguably the most cost-effective of them all.
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