(┬┬﹏┬┬)Ahhh.. Sorry for not uploading! I had a big school test! I'm free today, so I'll upload another chapter.♥
Also, huge thanks to Nikiforos Dakoulas, Anonymous moose, and Shahzaam for their patronage!♥♥🔥🔥🥰
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"This is…?" Wade found the design of the key somewhat familiar.
"It's the key to a Gringotts vault! Your beauty potion is selling extremely well. Especially since it has a fresh scent that other similar products lack—it's become very popular among witches. So, I opened a vault at Gringotts under your name. The profits will be automatically deposited into it each month," Professor Slughorn said with a smile. "See? I told you you'd be making a fortune."
"Then… Professor, did you take your share?" Wade asked.
"Me? No, this is all your profit. I won't take anything," Professor Slughorn waved off the idea.
For one, he didn't need the money. For another, he believed it wouldn't be right to take money from Wade.
If he didn't accept any payment, it was purely a gesture of help—something Wade would surely be grateful for, right?
But if he took money, what was simply a friendly favor would become a business partnership, and that wasn't what Slughorn wanted.
"Alright then… thank you so much for your generosity!" Wade quickly understood the implications, so he didn't press the issue. Instead, he emphasized his sincere gratitude.
Seeing that Wade was so tactful, Professor Slughorn was delighted.
"Wade, you really are a clever child!"
…
After leaving Professor Slughorn's office, Wade felt like he was walking with a noticeably straighter back.
Having a lot of money really did change how you felt inside!
Wade was already thinking about what kind of experimental equipment he should purchase.
By the time he arrived at the club activity room, Abraxas was already waiting.
He and Tom were sitting together on a sofa in the office area.
When he saw Wade come in, Abraxas immediately stood up, though the unease on his face was obvious to anyone.
Wade sat down in his usual seat and looked at Abraxas, who walked over and stood in front of his desk.
"Tom may have already told you why I asked you here?"
Abraxas nodded. "Yes… but I don't want my family's issues to affect the club or your work, so… I was planning to try and convince my father on my own."
In truth, Abraxas had been worried that his family situation would get him kicked out of the club by Wade, so he'd been keeping everything to himself, planning to resolve it on his own...
He had worked so hard to join this club—he didn't want to be expelled for any reason.
Besides, he didn't believe the club could actually offer any useful help in this matter...
"Abraxas, it seems you never wanted my friendship in the first place…"
"Eh?" Wade's words jolted Abraxas into full awareness.
"I—I didn't mean it that way, how could I…" Abraxas was so flustered his words barely made sense.
"You seem very afraid of owing me a favor... I can understand that. Maybe in the end, because of your family, you'll go back to believing in pure-blood supremacy and withdraw from the club... In that case, you wouldn't need a friend like me anymore," Wade said calmly.
"No! That's impossible! I'll never speak of pure-blood supremacy again! And I would never quit the S.M.A.S.H club! Please believe me!" Abraxas said anxiously.
"Is that so? I believe you. But why don't you believe me?" Wade sighed, then added, "...What did I do that made you show me such disrespect?"
"You didn't treat me as a friend... You didn't even bother to call me 'President.'"
"I've said it from the beginning—every member of the club is each other's support, the closest of friends…"
"If you had come to me earlier, as a friend, and asked for help, then today, your father—who's always been pressuring you—would only be encouraging your continued involvement in the club, not opposing it…"
Abraxas froze. Facing Wade's calm and confident gaze… He had so much he wanted to say, but for some reason, the moment he looked into Wade's eyes, the turmoil in his heart gradually settled.
Lowering his head, Abraxas finally said, "President… as a member of the club, and your friend, I need your help."
"Heh~" Wade stood up and slowly walked to stand in front of him.
He gently patted Abraxas on the shoulder and said kindly, "Tomorrow, you'll receive a letter from your father—expressing his support."
Abraxas left with a flushed face.
However, the troubled expression that had been on Abraxas' face shifted to Tom's face.
"Wade, I think you might have been a bit too rash…" Tom furrowed his brow and asked.
Tom wasn't opposed to Wade acting all high and mighty because he knew he had no way of stopping him.
But he just hoped that his big bro could have a little sense before acting all high and mighty!
For Abraxas to surrender, it had all been forced.
Who knows how many rounds of manipulation it took to get to this point.
But… Abraxas' family…
They were an old pure-blood family!
What made Wade think he could change their mind completely overnight?
Was it just because Wade was good-looking?
"What's wrong? Is there a problem?" Wade asked, confused.
"You… you really dared to promise that!" Tom was completely out of patience.
"Why wouldn't I dare?" Wade said with a smile. "Right now, the society is thriving. This is the best time to build our image as leaders..."
Tom replied weakly, "What kind of image are you trying to build?"
"I need to establish an image of being all-powerful… Only then will they feel awe when facing me. And since Abraxas is a model figure in the society, solving his problem will have a very strong effect," Wade said earnestly.
Tom said pessimistically, "You… but I feel like you're going to screw this one up. Forget building some all-powerful image, you might end up destroying all the prestige you've built so far in one go... Even if you just tried to make Abraxas happy for now, that'd be better than promising to change his family's values..."
"We brought Abraxas in so we could bring him and the influence behind him into our fold. Just changing Abraxas' mindset isn't enough. Only when we bring his family over too will it count as a true success," Wade said as if it were obvious.
Tom sighed. "So how do you plan to change his family's values and get them to befriend you? Don't tell me you're going to barge into their house and beat them up like before?"
Wade smiled. "Don't be so violent, Tom… I do have some softer methods."
"...Wait—you really are planning to barge in!"
"Tom, just like Abraxas, you should trust me too, shouldn't you?"
"Spare me that nonsense! I'm not as easy to fool as Abraxas."
…
After parting ways with a constipated-looking Tom, Wade headed to the owlery and sent a letter to Toby, who was working in Hogsmeade.
By the time he returned to the dormitory, Toby was already there waiting.
A house-elf who could Apparate freely in and out of Hogwarts was, of course, faster than Wade.
"Master Wade, what would you like Toby to do?" Toby asked respectfully.
Wade raised his hand and stroked his smooth chin, then pulled a Galleon from his pocket and handed it to Toby.
"Master Wade, do you need Toby to buy something?"
"No… Just take it." As Wade spoke, he drew his wand and lightly tapped the Galleon.
A faint red glow rippled across the golden coin before quickly vanishing.
Then, Wade took out another Galleon and cast the same spell on it.
"It's a bit troublesome to contact you through owls every time, so... keep this Galleon safe. When I want to find you, I'll squeeze the one I'm holding, and the one in your hand will start to heat up. Once you feel it getting warm, you'll know I'm trying to reach you. Likewise, if you want to find me, just squeeze your Galleon, and I'll know as well."
"Understood! Master Wade, you're incredible! You've only been in school a short while, and you already know such amazing magic!" Toby squeaked, full of flattery.
"It's not that impressive, just a basic Protean Charm..." Wade replied casually.
The Protean Charm fell under Transfiguration, and for Wade, it really wasn't difficult at all.
"Is there anything else you need, Master Wade?" Toby asked while carefully wrapping the Galleon in a clean handkerchief and tucking it safely into a pocket he magically sewed into his curtain-like clothing.
"And this key—take it back to the wizard tower and keep it safe. It's the key to my personal vault at Gringotts. In the future, I might need you to withdraw money and buy some things for me..."
When Toby heard that Wade was entrusting him with the vault key, he was moved to tears.
"Toby… Toby will absolutely fulfill Master Wade's orders!"
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