Chapter 6: The Suspended Heart Finally Died

On the first floor, in a dim, small room, a dilapidated wardrobe and a small iron bed stood, making the space appear barren.

In a shadowy corner by the bed, Tom sat on a gray blanket, his gaze fixed intently on his right hand. Wrapped around his hand was a small green snake.

"Hiss, hiss, hiss..."

Tom emitted a series of serpentine sounds. The small snake, as if it understood him, nodded in a human-like fashion. A moment later, it slithered down from his hand, crawled out through the narrow window, and quickly vanished from sight.

"Veder... what is the secret to your power? I will find the answer soon... what you can do, I can do just as well!" Tom watched the direction where the snake had disappeared, silently clenching his fist.

...

"Stupefy!"

"Thud!"

A gray mouse fell straight down from the windowsill. Li Veder picked up a green stick from beside him and poked it; it felt as hard as a stone. Li Veder pondered for a moment, then performed a simple gesture with his hand.

"Finite Incantatem!"

"Squeak!"

The gray mouse, which had been as stiff as stone, came back to life. It bolted from the floor and scurried away frantically. However, there were few furnishings in the room, and the mouse had nowhere to hide, so it kept trying to dash toward the half-meter-high windowsill.

"Stupefy!"

"Squeak!"

"Finite Incantatem!"

"Squeak..."

After repeating this ordeal over a dozen times, the mouse stopped running. It simply lay on its back in the corner, playing dead. Li Veder ignored the creature and returned to flipping through the spellbook in his hands.

...

Indeed, practicing offensive spells was far more effective with a living target. However, Li Veder was somewhat puzzled: even with his talent, could he really master a non-verbal spell of this difficulty after only a dozen attempts? This learning speed seemed a bit too fast!

Furthermore, when facing Tom’s attack the other day, Li Veder had felt the magic strike him like a gentle breeze. It wasn't just non-threatening; it didn't even provide enough force to serve as a fan. According to the book, there was only one reason for this: a massive disparity in magical strength between the two parties, which had little to do with practice.

Logically, this shouldn't have happened. Tom was the future Dark Lord, and his talent was undoubtedly immense. Even if his own talent were superior, it shouldn't have been to such an overwhelming degree. Finally, Li Veder found the answer in the book's section on the principles of magic.

[...As a wizard ages, the intensity of their magic grows, reaching a theoretical limit after reaching adulthood. If one neglects practice, or for other reasons chooses not to use magic, the intensity will wane, or even vanish... Research suggests that the strength of a wizard's magic is also linked to the strength of their soul...]

After reading this, Li Veder recalled that he was not truly Tom's contemporary. In fact, after crossing over, only his physical age had decreased. His actual age was that of an adult! Therefore, it was highly likely that his soul strength remained that of an adult.

Thus, Li Veder reached a preliminary hypothesis: the magical strength he currently possessed had already reached the level of an adult! Fighting the underage Tom was essentially an adult beating a child—it was hard not to be overwhelming.

'Then... can my magical strength continue to grow naturally? If not, is there a way to break through this bottleneck?'

Li Veder was not anxious about this. As a former top biologist, breaking through the limits of the human body had been his primary research topic before he crossed over. Only now, his subjects had shifted from ordinary humans to wizards.

...

Tom flipped through his book absentmindedly, though his eyes never truly rested on the pages. In truth, the small snake he had sent out had not returned, which made him restless. He knew well that whenever Li Veder closed his door, it was to conduct his secret training.

Tom had sent the snake to spy, intending to have it report back so he could uncover the secret to Veder’s strength. But now, the snake that should have returned long ago was nowhere to be seen.

An hour later, Tom could wait no longer. Taking a deep breath, he headed toward Li Veder’s room on the second floor. As he approached, he saw the door was left ajar, as if waiting for someone.

Tom suppressed his paranoia and slowly pushed the door open. He saw Li Veder gently poking a gray mouse on the floor with a green stick. Suddenly, Tom felt that the stick looked familiar.

Li Veder turned his head, saw Tom peering in at the door, and a gentle smile spread across his face.

*Merit points have arrived...*

"Tom, you're here! I was just about to tell you—I've discovered an interesting use for our special ability."

When Li Veder stood up, Tom finally realized why the stick looked so familiar. It was a small snake, stiff as a board for reasons unknown!

Tom’s suspended heart finally died.

"Ding! Detected that the host has caused a slight deviation in the life trajectory of the future Dark Lord. Rewarding the host with 100 merit points!"

Li Veder: ?

...

Hogwarts. The roaring fireplace kept the circular headmaster's office as warm as spring.

"Armando, I happen to be going to London. Leave these two children to me," Dumbledore said, shaking the two letters in his hand.

"Oh, of course, no problem..." Dippet sat behind his large desk, stroking his somewhat messy white beard, his cloudy eyes fixed on Dumbledore. "Is it confirmed? Has he really come to London?"

"Not yet, it is only indicated by certain signs. But... you know, I cannot take any news regarding him lightly... especially since the source of this information is very reliable." Dumbledore carefully tucked the two envelopes into his coat pocket.

"Hmm... it was Scamander who wrote to tell you, wasn't it? He didn't seem to graduate from Hogwarts normally back then..." Dippet asked nonchalantly.

"Yes... but I assure you, Armando, Newt is absolutely trustworthy. And his capabilities are plain for all to see," Dumbledore said, his expression earnest.

"Mr. Scamander has indeed proven his ability and his stance through his actions; I do not mean to distrust him. I have always trusted your judgment of character. So... there is a high probability that he has truly gone to London. Are you prepared?"

Dumbledore took a deep breath. "Of course, I have long been prepared to face him. It is just that over these years, his movements have become very secretive, and he has not appeared before me again."

"Good, I am glad you have made your final resolve... If you need help, just ask. Though I am a bit old, I am not yet so useless that I cannot wave a wand..."

"I will, Armando... and thank you very much for your understanding and help over these years."

"Enough, don't be sentimental. You could do it well enough without my help. Go, go to London, and resolve all of this once and for all... Of course, after it is over, don't forget to deliver the acceptance letters to those two children. They are both in the same Muggle orphanage; a professor needs to visit in person to explain the situation."