After advancing to Sequence 8, Vade did not immediately begin acting as a Clown. Instead, he focused his attention on studying.
The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1, by Miranda Goshawk.
This was one of the first-year textbooks. It contained the Unlocking Charm, the Levitation Charm, the Knockback Jinx, the Wand-Lighting Charm, the Fire-Making Spell, the Mending Charm, and many other spells.
For a first-year student, attempting to learn magic without a teacher’s guidance was both difficult and dangerous. A single mistake could easily result in injury.
However, Vade was not merely a wizard. He was also a Sequence 8 Beyonder.
His heightened spiritual intuition and keen instincts helped him avoid danger, making it relatively easy for him to teach himself a few simple spells.
Moreover, after spending the past eleven years continuously training his spirituality, he had become extremely proficient at controlling magic. At the very least, when it came to wandless magic, his natural talent was exceptional.
Of course, casting with a wand was simpler, smoother, and consumed less magic than casting without one. Even so, wandless magic could be kept hidden as one of his trump cards.
"As expected, I really am a genius."
Vade gently polished his wand and made a decision.
Unless absolutely necessary, he would not reveal his ability to perform wandless magic.
He would also need to conceal his magical talent. It was best to appear perfectly average, neither exceptionally gifted nor noticeably poor.
He did not neglect his other subjects either.
A History of Magic, Magical Theory, A Beginner’s Guide to Transfiguration, One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi, Magical Drafts and Potions, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, and The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection.
The books were piled on the table, and Vade spent more than half of every day studying them. Without realizing it, he was gradually becoming an outstanding student.
The book that surprised him most was Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.
It contained detailed records of numerous magical creatures, including their habitats, temperaments, and danger classifications.
His intuition told him that the book would help him locate many ingredients suitable for Beyonder potions.
It had been published in 1927, and its author was Newt Scamander.
It was already 1991, so Vade had no idea whether the man was still alive.
Should Scamander still be living, Vade would have to find an opportunity to meet him.
Time passed quickly, and soon it was late July.
As usual, Vade was eating downstairs at the Leaky Cauldron, though his gaze occasionally drifted toward one particular man.
Quirinus Quirrell.
He was a timid-looking man with a thick turban wrapped around his head.
Vade did not know much about Harry Potter’s story. Before being reborn, he had only watched the first three films and had not paid particularly close attention.
However, he vaguely remembered that this man would become Hogwarts’ Defence Against the Dark Arts professor, and that the remnant of Voldemort’s soul, the story’s main villain, was attached to him.
Vade should have kept his distance.
However, he could not suppress his curiosity and activated Spirit Vision to examine him.
Buzz!
With a single glance, Vade felt a bone-chilling cold spread throughout his body.
Quirrell’s hands and feet appeared red, his heart green, his abdomen alternated between orange and yellow, and his throat was blue. His entire body was surrounded by white light.
These were all signs of good health.
However, when Vade’s gaze reached Quirrell’s head, the healthy purple aura that should have been there was contaminated by a layer of darkness as black as ink.
The black aura resembled a venomous serpent. Although weak, it was extraordinarily sinister and emitted a piercing chill.
At that moment, the black aura suddenly churned.
Vade felt as though a red-hot needle had been driven into his skull. The indescribable agony nearly made him cry out.
He hurriedly deactivated Spirit Vision.
Only then did the pain recede like the tide.
When he recovered, he discovered that the back of his robes had been soaked through with sweat.
"Until I reach a sufficiently high Sequence, I can’t use Spirit Vision carelessly. Ordinary wizards might not notice anything, but powerful ones are another matter."
Vade silently warned himself.
Had Voldemort not been so weakened, that single glance would have been nothing less than an attempt to get himself killed.
"I felt someone spying on us."
A hoarse voice suddenly sounded inside Quirrell’s mind, causing him to tremble.
"Who was it, Master?" Quirrell asked cautiously in a whisper that only he could hear.
"How should I know? But whoever it was must be nearby.
Find them and kill them. We cannot allow anyone to interfere with our plans."
Quirrell looked around at the crowded pub, and his face twitched.
That was easy for Voldemort to say, but how was he supposed to find the culprit among so many people?
He could hardly kill everyone.
Even if he tried, he would not stand a chance against all of them.
"M-Master, could you give me some sort of clue?"
"Useless fool. How did I end up with someone as incompetent as you?" Voldemort cursed angrily. "Look for whoever seems unusual. Find the person who stands out the most."
Quirrell nodded nervously.
His gaze moved from left to right as he carefully examined every person in the pub.
Noticing his actions from the corner of his eye, Vade’s heart tightened.
Ignoring the damp, uncomfortable feeling against his back, he immediately adjusted his posture and expression.
He pushed the Clown’s control over facial expressions and body language to its limit.
Sure enough, Quirrell’s gaze passed over him without pausing and moved on to the next person.
"Master, I haven’t noticed anything unusual.
Could it be... could it be that you were mistaken?"
"Are you questioning me?"
Creak!
The pub door suddenly opened.
A giant of a man, two or three times the size of an ordinary person, entered with a nervous young boy beside him.
"You’re here, Hagrid. The usual?" Tom called.
"Can’t, Tom. I’m on Hogwarts business today."
Hagrid patted Harry on the shoulder.
"I’m helping young Harry buy his school things."
Tom paused and stared at Harry Potter in astonishment.
He could not help exclaiming, "Bless my soul. Harry Potter!"
The chatter filling the pub abruptly stopped, leaving the room completely silent.
Almost everyone turned to look at the bespectacled boy with a lightning-shaped scar on his forehead.
"Welcome back, Mr. Potter," one customer said excitedly as he stepped forward and shook Harry’s hand. "Welcome back."
Harry was still at a loss when a gray-haired witch tightly grasped his hand.
"Doris Crockford, Mr. Potter. I can’t believe I’m finally meeting you."
"It’s such an honour, Mr. Potter. I can’t begin to describe how pleased I am."
"Mr. Potter!"
Vade joined the crowd, his excitement plainly visible.
"I’ve heard your story. I never expected to meet you before the start of term."
His excitement was genuine.
Quirrell had clearly sensed that something was wrong, and Vade had no idea whether his disguise would hold.
However, the moment Harry Potter arrived, the perfect person to take the blame appeared.
Vade had never intended to become involved with the Boy Who Lived.
But right now...
He could not have been more grateful.
"Are you going to Hogwarts too?" Harry asked.
"Just like you, I’m starting my first year.
My name is Vade. Vade Moria."
Vade behaved like an excited fan meeting his idol. After shaking Harry’s hand, he hurried eagerly up the stairs, using the opportunity to escape Quirrell’s line of sight.
(To be continued.)