Grace handed the potion over.
"This effect is amazing! And what's rare is that it even has a light, pleasant fragrance! It's so much better than the one my mum uses—hers smells awful," Grace said excitedly.
"As long as you like it. That's great," Wade said cheerfully.
"So, how many Galleons do you plan to sell it for?" Grace asked a bit nervously.
"If you need it, I can provide it for you anytime," Wade replied with a smile.
"Really?!"
"Of course. As core members of the club, you should enjoy some benefits."
"That's awesome! If you can offer this ointment as a reward, I'm sure it'll attract lots of other girls at school to join!"
"Of course, then let's happily settle it that way."
Tom watched from the side with a detached expression. Although it seemed the club's funding would likely rely on this stuff, he still couldn't quite understand—was appearance really that important?
In his view, true strength was what mattered most!
If he could gain great power… even if he lost all his hair, even his nose—so what? Who would dare call him ugly?
…
After leaving Professor Slughorn's office, everyone dispersed according to their respective tasks.
Wade and Tom, on the other hand, needed to head over to the newly assigned classroom to set up the club space.
On the way, Tom glanced around to make sure no one was nearby, then said in a low voice, "I finally understand why you turned down Professor Slughorn's funding."
"Oh? And why is that?" Wade asked with interest.
"You wanted to use Professor Slughorn's connections to help you earn money in the shortest amount of time!" Tom said, a little excited.
Though he didn't quite understand why others cared so much about appearance, he had no objections when it came to making money.
Wade smiled. "Tom, you're making progress."
Suddenly, Tom seemed to realize something and asked in surprise, "Don't tell me—you approached Professor Slughorn from the very beginning just to pave the way for all this?"
"Mhm… If we want to realize our goals, we need to rely on some outside forces from the very start… and Professor Slughorn is very important for us."
Wade paused briefly, then continued, "He's important, but he's not our only support. We need to broaden our perspective. We must unite every possible force we can… even if some people you may have looked down on at first…"
Tom followed Wade's gaze and saw a visibly uneasy figure standing at the entrance to the club classroom.
"Abraxas Malfoy? What's he doing here?" Tom asked in confusion.
Then, as if something had just dawned on him, he added, "Is he also one of those 'forces we can unite' you mentioned?"
"Why not? The influence of the pure-blood families is still considerable. If we can bring them in, it'll benefit us a great deal," Wade said with a calm smile.
"But he's a Malfoy… We just gave him a beating not long ago… How can we possibly bring him in after that?"
"Kekeke~ You're forgetting something, Tom. That list of names came from him. In the eyes of the other pure-bloods, he's already a traitor. Do you think he still has a place among them? His only choice now is to turn to us."
Hearing this, Tom suddenly understood.
He made everyone think that Malfoy is the traitor!!!
At that moment, Abraxas, having spotted Wade and Tom, visibly trembled, but in the end, he gathered his courage and stepped forward.
"Wade… I… can I join your ..mutual aid club?"
Oh?
"You do know what you're saying, right?" Wade Reynolds asked in a low voice.
"Yes, I'm very clear—I... I want to join your S.M.A.S.H club!" Abraxas Malfoy said, his voice trembling.
"You should know, between us, we seem to be enemies..." Wade said slowly.
Abraxas quickly replied, "We used to be! Now, there's no way I could still be your enemy! You know that!"
"That's not so certain… Who knows what kind of scheme you're cooking up by trying to join us?" Wade looked at Abraxas with suspicion.
"I know I was wrong before, and here, I sincerely apologize again! I... I beg for your forgiveness."
Wade appeared to be contemplating, as if he were seriously considering it.
Abraxas saw this and thought Wade was beginning to relent. He quickly added, "Please, let me join… You should give me a chance to make things right, shouldn't you?"
Wade said blandly, "That day when I was recruiting, I told everyone—except for the truly bad ones, anyone could join our club. And you, my friend, should know very well into which category you fall in the eyes of every member of our club."
"But… I… I really know I was wrong!" Abraxas was so anxious he was on the verge of tears.
Wade sneered, "You realize you were wrong? No, it's not that—you just realized you can't survive at Hogwarts any longer."
"I…" Abraxas Malfoy was so crushed he couldn't even respond.
Clearly, Wade had seen straight through his current predicament.
He was now completely estranged from his former allies—after all, he had sold every one of them out.
At this point, if Wade refused to take him in, the only path left for him was to transfer schools…
He really didn't want to transfer. But if he had to—where would he go?
Beauxbatons? Durmstrang? Maybe Ilvermorny?
But if he went to any of those, he'd no longer be a native pureblood—he'd become an outsider.
And Wade's early experience being ostracized? Abraxas had witnessed it with his own eyes.
He didn't have Wade's talent. He couldn't possibly carve out a path in a foreign school the way Wade had done here.
Just as Abraxas was drowning in despair, Wade suddenly asked, "You just said you realize you were wrong, didn't you?"
"Yes! I fully realize I was wrong!"
"Anyone can spout pretty words, but I'm not interested in hearing things that may or may not be true. If you truly know your mistake and genuinely want to join us, you'll have to prove it through your actions," Wade said calmly.
The desperate Abraxas, suddenly hearing there might be a chance, clung to it like a drowning man grabbing a lifeline.
"Tell me, what do I need to do?"
"You need to prove you're not one of those pure-blood bastards our society refuses to accept..." Wade paused for a moment, then continued, "You should know just how many people you've bullied before, right?"
"I… I've changed..."
"Answer the question!"
"I... I remember..."
"Write down the names of everyone you've ever bullied. Then go and apologize to each one of them—personally. You have three days. If your apology is sincere enough to earn their forgiveness, then of course, you're welcome to join us. If not… there's nothing I can do."
Without waiting for a response, Wade walked right past him with firm strides.
Tom followed behind Wade, casting a cold glare at the dazed Abraxas.
…
Due to the overwhelming number of members, Wade had to apply for a larger club activity room.
At the moment, he and Tom were using Levitation Charms to arrange the furniture in the new room.
"I thought you were going to accept Abraxas's request right away? Why didn't you?" Tom couldn't help but ask.
"Obedience born from desperation is more lasting than loyalty given freely. If he gets in too easily, he'll never understand who holds the leash." Wade replied with a smile.
Tom's eyes lit up as he suddenly understood. "Ah, I see now…"
"But what if he can't get forgiveness from those he bullied?" Tom asked again.
"Then he doesn't get to join," Wade said with a grin.
_________
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