Replacing the castle caretaker did not bring much change to the students' daily lives.
Most students, however, agreed that the new caretaker was much friendlier than the previous one.
Ms Paris was also extremely talkative. No matter when students encountered her, she could always find something to chat about.
Some girls who had suffered romantic setbacks even sought her out specifically to confide in her.
After secretly observing Ms Paris for quite some time, Dumbledore had to admit that she was very conscientious and extremely popular.
Since he already had plenty of other matters to deal with, and remembering Headmaster Dippet's earlier warning, he eventually stopped paying so much attention to Ms Paris and turned his focus back to his own problems.
In order to solve the major issue of adding dark magic to the curriculum, Dumbledore even went to the Chamber of Secrets to consult Slytherin.
Slytherin was extremely enthusiastic and even said that Hogwarts should have started teaching dark magic long ago.
However, Dumbledore told him that the Hogwarts and the world of today were ultimately different from those of Slytherin's era.
There was no longer a need for so much fighting and conflict.
Compared to the dark and chaotic times of the past, people in the wizarding world now longed more for peaceful and stable lives.
Especially with a world war already raging in the Muggle world.
In the end, Slytherin was persuaded by Dumbledore.
He put away the comprehensive collection of dark magic he had prepared and reorganised it into a new compilation that focused heavily on the various terrible negative consequences of dark magic, then handed it to Dumbledore.
After announcing the curriculum reform, Grindelwald came almost every day to urge Dumbledore to change the course content, even providing new textbooks.
Dumbledore agreed on the surface, but even after keeping the textbooks for quite some time, he still made no changes to his lessons.
Whenever Grindelwald pressed him, Dumbledore simply claimed he was still preparing.
Eventually, an enraged Grindelwald gave Dumbledore one week to get ready.
Dumbledore did not particularly care. During that time, he quietly compiled a new set of teaching materials based on the dark magic textbooks Grindelwald had provided.
...
The struggle between Dumbledore and Grindelwald had little to do with Wade.
The dark magic Grindelwald had provided was extremely basic even for Tom, let alone Wade.
Wade's Hydra plan continued to progress steadily.
At the same time, the content of Professor Slughorn's Moral Education classes also began to change quietly.
Using the lesson plans Wade had provided, along with specially prepared slides, Professor Slughorn began giving the students detailed lessons about the darker side of society.
The miserable lives of those excluded by society.
The hardships faced by people at the bottom of the wizarding world.
And many similar topics.
Whenever this happened, Professor Slughorn followed Wade's suggestion and marked down the students who showed obvious empathy.
According to Wade, these students had strong ideological awareness and a high capacity for empathy. They were exactly the kind of people the Mutual Aid Society needed most.
Professor Slughorn did not question it much, even though many of the students he marked were already members of the Mutual Aid Society.
In truth, he had more or less guessed what Wade wanted to do.
But for someone like Wade, doing nothing and living an ordinary life would have been the strange thing.
Ambition and ability.
That was what a true Slytherin should possess.
Although Slughorn still did not know exactly what great undertaking Wade was planning, he hoped that his own name might one day have a place in Wade's achievements.
...
Inside the SMASH club room.
"These people can serve as reserve members for Hydra. We can continue observing them afterward and gradually bring them in. This will be a long process, so there's no need to rush."
Wade handed Tom a list.
Tom accepted it in surprise and began reading through the names.
"I originally thought you started those Moral Education classes just to spread our ideas. I didn't expect you were also using them to select people. But... a lot of the people on this list are pretty weak."
Naturally, there were both ordinary and outstanding students at Hogwarts.
Tom had spent a long time helping manage the club, so he knew very well which students were talented and which were mediocre.
Yet most of the names on this list belonged to students of average ability, while truly gifted students were few and far between.
Shouldn't recruitment focus on choosing the most talented people possible?
Most of the names on the list were even Hufflepuffs. There were barely any Slytherins.
"I only need people with the right mindset, because those are the ones who will stand with us. It doesn't matter if they're weak right now. I have ways to make them stronger...."
"Besides, our cause doesn't require everyone to be good at fighting. Combat prodigies aren't the only kind of geniuses. We need talented people from every field. In the future, our organisation will require all kinds of people. We can't fill it entirely with brutes who only know how to fight."
Tom nodded and looked down at the list again.
Suddenly, he realised that these unremarkable names belonged to the most ordinary people in the wizarding world.
In other words, the overwhelming majority.
"These are... the people?"
Wade paused slightly, then smiled.
"Yes. These are the people. The people we're fighting for, and the foundation of everything we're building. Don't think they're weak. Once they come together, they become a powerful force."
"Then the future wizarding world..." A light flashed in Tom's eyes.
"The wizarding world? No. Our future won't be limited to the wizarding world," Wade corrected.
Hearing that, Tom suddenly remembered Wade's entanglements with Grindelwald, as well as his own earlier guesses.
Both of them had their sights set on the entire world.
"My perspective was too narrow..."
"All right, Tom. Take a look at this."
As Wade spoke, he tossed him a ring.
Tom caught it and began examining it.
It was a small black ring, warm to the touch, though Tom could not tell what material it was made from.
A tiny Hydra emblem was engraved on its face.
"Members of the same organisation should have some kind of token," Wade said with a smile. "A ring is much better than tattooing something directly onto your arm, right? Or do you want the tattoo route?"
"Tattooing it on your arm?" Tom frowned. "What idiot would do that? If you ever needed to hide your identity, it would be impossible. Anyone could tell what you were at a glance."
Wade merely smiled without saying anything.
There was, in fact, an idiot named Voldemort who had done exactly that.
"Oh, right. I also plan to add a communication function to the ring. It should only require some flexible use of Switching Spells," Wade said.
"Hm, that sounds useful. Can it send information precisely to one specific person?" Tom asked.
"This one is only a prototype. At the moment, it can only send messages to everyone at once. Direct communication with a specific person isn't possible yet." Wade shrugged.
This was only the first version produced by the goblin workshop. Next, he would need the goblins to continue improving it.
With their alchemical skill, it probably would not take long.
"The most important thing is a concealment function. When necessary, it should be able to hide itself on the wearer's hand so no one else can detect it," Tom suggested.
"Good point. We should also add a function that binds it to its owner. If something happens to the original owner, we don't want an enemy picking it up and infiltrating our organisation," Wade added.
Tom's expression turned serious.
It seemed the path ahead was destined to be dangerous. Otherwise, Wade would not have considered something like that.
"All right, come over here. I'll explain my ideas for the organisation's future structure."
Wade took out another densely written sheet of parchment and began explaining it to Tom.
For some reason, the more Tom listened, the stranger he felt.
"Wait..." He interrupted Wade. "You don't need to explain everything in this much detail, do you? The way you're talking, it sounds like you're making arrangements in case you die."
"Hah! The chances of that are extremely low, Tom. It's just that you're the organisation's second-in-command, so you need to understand these things better than anyone else. Make sure you remember everything I'm telling you. You'll also be responsible for explaining it to the others later. I don't want to repeat myself."
"Oh, so you just want to be lazy again..." Tom inexplicably felt relieved.
"Of course! If the leader has to do everything personally, what's the point of having subordinates?"
"I just feel like... you've been in a bit of a hurry lately."
"Time waits for no one, mate. It may not sound pleasant, but this Muggle war really is a good opportunity for us. If we don't move quickly, we might miss it..."
...
"The organisational structure is settled. Next comes equipment..."
Wade walked through Hogwarts's dim corridors while thinking.
After finishing his explanation of the organisation's structure, he had sent Tom away.
Wade intended to visit the goblin workshop again.
He needed to have a set of equipment custom-made for Hydra's members.
Equipment was extremely important for increasing combat strength. The watch he had created, for example, could provide its wearer with much stronger protection.
And every member's life was important.
He also needed to design protective equipment capable of resisting lethal curses such as the Killing Curse.
This would require a great deal of experimentation. However, after the Senior had handed the goblin workshop over to him in advance, many of Wade's experiments were now being carried out by the thoroughly brainwashed goblins.
That was why Tom felt Wade had not been disappearing as often as before.
Just as Wade was thinking while walking towards the Room of Requirement, someone suddenly appeared in front of him.
The new castle caretaker, Helora Paris, stood there holding an oil lamp and smiling at him.
Wade instinctively raised his arm and checked his watch.
"Sorry, Ms Paris. I'll be back in the dormitory soon."
"It's fine. Curfew isn't until nine. It's only half past eight," Helora said with a smile.
"Uh... then I'll be going?" Wade said hesitantly.
"Of course. It's rather dark here, so watch your step."
"Thank you..."
Wade walked past Helora.
Then he suddenly heard her speak softly behind him.
"You're not the first person I've met with that kind of talent."
Wade immediately stopped.
"What kind of talent?"
Helora did not answer.
Instead, she continued speaking as if to herself.
"The last person who possessed that talent... I buried her with my own hands."
"....!!"
Wade slowly turned his head.
"Who ...exactly are you?"
____
And the plot thickens... yet again!😎
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Read 12 Advance Chapters—P@t- Captain69