Besides Charms and Transfiguration, Wade spent the most time on Alchemy. While studying alchemy, he continuously deepened his understanding of several other subjects.
The book Professor Morrie lent him, Beginning Magical Item Creation from Scratch, was completely different from other alchemy texts. It contained almost no dry history or theory, nor did it dedicate extensive passages to the interrelationships of the four elements. Instead, from the very first line, it focused on how to manufacture various magical items.
From common auto-ink quills, moving photographs, flying broomsticks, and Howlers, to rarely owned items like Pensieves, magic mirrors, Invisibility Cloaks, and sentient suits of armor, Wade could find almost every magical item he had seen or heard of in the book.
It even mentioned the Sorting Hat and Time-Turners, though for the latter, it only offered some conjectures without specific manufacturing processes.
And the aforementioned magical items couldn't be created just by reading the book. It was like someone unfamiliar with electricity or programming trying to build a computer, even with a complete set of manufacturing instructions.
Magical items were far more complex and dangerous than computers; without the corresponding foundational knowledge, even the simplest steps would be incomprehensible.
Wade studied with Professor Morrie for several weeks, listening to him critique the sixth and seventh-year students' homework and projects. He also assisted Professor Morrie in creating a teaching aid for his class.
After some time, Professor Morrie suggested he could try manufacturing the simplest magical items himself—just three to five spells, properly combined, could produce some wonderful effects; auto-ink quills and Howlers were examples of this type.
Ideas sparked in Wade's mind: perhaps he could make a quill automatically change ink color while writing, or add distance-measuring capabilities to glasses, or even create a dancing puppet. Almost simultaneously with these ideas, the spells and specific steps for creation formed in his mind.
The spells and runes needed were basic and he had completely mastered them. He was confident he could succeed with just a few practice attempts—but should he really do it? If he did, what would distinguish his work from the student projects Professor Morrie called "trash"? It would still be unoriginal, a perfunctory completion of an assignment, with little inherent value.
This was Wade's first alchemy project. He didn't want it to be so casual, nor did he want its ultimate fate after submission to be the rubbish bin.
That night, Wade's mind was filled with floating thoughts, preventing him from falling into a deep sleep. In a state between waking and dreaming, he suddenly heard rustling sounds.
Wade sat up in bed, pulled out his wand, and waved it. The oil lamp in the dormitory lit up, casting a soft, orange-yellow glow.
The dormitory was utterly quiet, but faint sounds came from outside the window.
Wade put on his clothes, got out of bed, and went to the window, only then realizing it was snowing outside.
Fluffy snowflakes drifted down, covering the entire castle in pure white. The thick snow blanketed everything messy, creating an exceptionally serene and empty feeling.
A flash of inspiration struck Wade's mind; he suddenly knew what he wanted to create. When this idea surfaced, all other concepts seemed gaudy and superficial in comparison.
He returned to his bed in good spirits and slept soundly until morning.
Wade had thought that making Quirrell fall and bleed from the nose was quite out of line, but it turned out to be nothing, because the Weasley twins soon pulled off an even more heart-stopping stunt. They enchanted several snowballs to chase Quirrell around, finally hitting him on the back of the head.
Professor McGonagall was furious. She stormed directly out of the Great Hall and promptly deducted thirty points from the twins'—her own House! She also gave them a month's detention—half a month before the Christmas holidays, and another half a month after returning from the break.
The Weasley twins pretended to be remorseful and sincerely apologized, but as soon as they were out of the professors' sight, they became triumphant.
"Why were you targeting Quirrell?" Wade asked curiously, standing in the corridor. For someone like him, who knew the truth, the twins' actions were practically pulling teeth from a tiger's mouth.
Moreover, while the Weasley brothers loved pranks, it wasn't like them to provoke a professor directly. After all, Gryffindors were very concerned about the House Cup points (because being behind in points would surely lead to ridicule from Slytherin). If Professor Quirrell had deducted two hundred points from them right then, no one else would have had much to say.
Wade was very puzzled—when had they become so reckless?
The Weasleys stared at him for a moment, then looked as if something clicked. "Ah, you're—"
"From the library—"
"What's your name again?" both brothers asked together.
"Wade Gray, from Ravenclaw House," Wade said.
The twins immediately understood. They had heard that name countless times from their youngest brother, Ron. Every time Ron finished classes with Ravenclaw, he would speak enviously and jealously of a first-year wizard named Wade, how he was admired by the professors, and how he was definitely the next Percy or something similar.
But from what they observed, Wade Gray was completely different from their brother Percy, and like them, he was an alchemy enthusiast, which made him instantly likable.
The Weasleys exchanged glances, then leaned in. "Aren't you curious?"
"Quirrell always wears that big turban—"
"No matter how the weather changes, he never takes it off—"
"We asked the house-elves in the kitchen, and he hasn't even let them wash that turban for him—"
"So there must be some secret hidden under his turban! Something he doesn't want people to know!" Fred Weasley stated definitively. "Maybe it's some Dark Arts weapon that messed with his brain."
"Or maybe he has a horribly ugly bald spot—" George Weasley couldn't help but laugh. "Imagine that sight, it must be hilarious."
"Don't bully Professor Quirrell just because he's easygoing!" Wade said in a "Hermione-esque" tone, subtly advising, "Would you dare to mess up Professor McGonagall's bun?"
"Don't say such terrifying things, will you?" Fred, with an air of instant familiarity, directly put an arm around Wade's shoulder. "And I've noticed something else strange, do you know what it is?"
"What?" George asked, playing the straight man.
"I've noticed—" Fred looked at Wade, drawing out his words, "—we've been talking about the suspicious things with Quirrell's turban, but you don't seem curious at all!"
Wade's heart skipped a beat. He suddenly realized that beneath the brothers' playful demeanor lay an incredibly sharp intuition.
His gaze shifted slightly, and George immediately noticed it.
He raised an eyebrow slightly and asked, "So you know?"
Wade crossed his arms, took a step back to lean against the wall, and squinted at the Weasleys. "So... this is an interrogation?"
George and Fred exchanged glances, then laughed simultaneously. "Of course not!"
"You discovered the answer to the problem before us. We lost this round," Fred said seriously.
"But as for interrogation, that's impossible. We'll find the answer ourselves!" George flashed a brilliant smile.
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