Hogwarts: This Dark Lord is so evil

"Alright, I didn't mean to blame you. I wouldn't mind even if you bought a pirated copy, because my purpose in writing this book wasn't entirely to make money." Newt said, "I'm just curious, why would you get a handwritten copy? Do people still copy books to sell as pirated versions these days?"

"It's not that... I was poor back then, and I couldn't afford to buy books at the bookstore, so I temporarily memorized some books and then transcribed them from memory when I got back... The handwritten copy from earlier was what I transcribed from memory back then..."

"Ah..." Newt looked at Leavede in shock.

He originally thought that Leavede saying he had memorized his book was an exaggerated metaphor.

But he didn't expect... this kid actually memorized it?

While marveling at Leavede's ability, Newt also felt sorry for his situation.

...No money to buy books, so he had to transcribe them from memory?

For a moment, Newt's kind heart was touched again.

"It's okay, I'll go back and give you the collector's edition that I use for my own collection!" Newt said with red eyes. "If there are any other books you want to read, you can tell me, and I'll buy them for you!"

"Ah, this... no need..."

"Don't be polite with me, Leavede. A gifted child like you shouldn't be bothered by money or anything like that, you should focus on studying... Or, how about I adopt you? Anyway, Tina and I don't have any children yet..."

"Ah? No, no, no... no need!" Leavede was stunned.

I treat you like a brother, but you want to be my dad?

"Don't be embarrassed, Leavede. Tina and I both like you very much. I'll write a letter to Dumbledore about it when I get back!"

"No way!" For the first time, Leavede felt like he might have gone too far.

...

Riddle Manor.

In front of Tom's room.

"Protego!"

Facing the stones that Old Tom kept throwing over.

Tom cast a Shield Charm again.

Although he defended against the unavoidable stones just now, he was still very dissatisfied with his performance.

Because stones are, after all, stones. If they were replaced with spells, even if they weren't Leavede's spells, just ordinary wizard's spells, the speed wouldn't be comparable to thrown stones.

In other words, according to his casting speed just now, although he could defend against stones, he wouldn't have time to defend against spells.

In actual combat, he would have already lost!

Old Tom stopped when he saw that Tom's expression was not right.

"Tom, what's wrong? Didn't you defend against them?"

"No... this rhythm is still not right..." Tom scratched his head in distress.

Old Tom didn't know what his son was worried about, so he tentatively said, "Uh... if the rhythm is not right, then I'll adjust it?"

"It's not your rhythm... the rhythm of attack cannot be controlled in the first place, nor should there be a fixed rhythm. What I can control is only my own rhythm, but... my speed is still too slow!"

"Oh... you mean the speed of your spellcasting?" Old Tom understood a little.

"Yes... my Shield Charm is always cast not timely enough." Tom said dejectedly.

"Shield Charm, are you talking about that transparent barrier just now?"

"Mm."

"Why can't you just maintain it all the time?"

"Maintaining the Shield Charm all the time takes a lot of energy, and it will also distract you, causing the casting speed to slow down... Also, in a one-versus-many situation, the Shield Charm can easily be quickly broken by focused fire. Releasing it again would waste time that shouldn't be wasted... So, it's best to dodge the spells that can be dodged, and only use the Shield Charm to defend against the ones that can't be dodged. During combat, it's best to only release the Shield Charm when needed, instead of maintaining it all the time."

"Oh..." Old Tom understood a little, "Sounds like it's a pretty advanced technique."

"Yeah... I actually already mastered the timing, but... it's always a little bit slow..."

"Since it's an advanced technique, it should be normal for it to be difficult to practice. Are you a little too impatient?"

"No... I'm not actually afraid of it being difficult to practice, nor am I impatient, it's just that... if I adapt to this wrong rhythm now, it won't be good for the future..."

The Shield Charm is, after all, an advanced spell. Even if his talent is high and he has completely mastered this magic, he will still be a little strained when casting it because he is too young.

This little bit of strain will slow down the casting and disrupt the rhythm...

To practice, he needs to adapt to the slow rhythm of his casting.

But... once he develops the habit of casting slowly, when he grows up in the future and his casting speed increases, this rhythm will be disrupted again, and he will need to readjust...

Breaking a habit that has been formed is even more difficult than re-practicing!

So, he's not afraid that he won't be able to learn it, but that he will get used to this wrong rhythm!

It's like tailoring clothes... The clothes tailored now may fit well, but people always grow up.

When you grow up, these clothes won't fit anymore.

To make them fit, you have to enlarge them... But, to enlarge a small piece of clothing, that's troublesome...

So, Tom needs a piece of "clothing" that can be worn from childhood to adulthood!

But, how could such "clothing" exist?

After a moment of silence, Old Tom suddenly asked, "Your Shield Charm, you have to cover your whole body every time you cast it, it's indeed a bit slow... So... is there any way to not cover your whole body, just have a part of it appear?"

Tom suddenly raised his head and stared at Old Tom intently.

Old Tom was startled, "Uh... I don't understand at all, just talking nonsense... I won't say it, I won't say it..."

"No! It's not that... I didn't mean to blame you... I just... suddenly heard you mention a solution, so I'm very excited!"

"Me? I mentioned a solution?" Old Tom asked in surprise.

"Yes! The Shield Charm... of course it doesn't have to be fully released!" Tom waved his wand.

Then, pieces of the Shield Charm appeared around him like scales, without any pattern!

In fact, before he had fully mastered the Shield Charm, this was how he used it!

Because he couldn't completely cover his whole body, he could only use a incomplete Shield Charm.

It's just that, after he fully learned it, he abandoned this usage.

But now... after fully mastering the Shield Charm, Tom can still split the Shield Charm and release it!

Moreover, because he has fully mastered the Shield Charm, even if he cuts the Shield Charm apart now, it will be much thicker than before!

It might as well be said that because he doesn't have to release the entire Shield Charm, Tom's concentration is stronger, and the fragments of the Shield Charm he creates will be more resilient!

The most important thing is that releasing only pieces of the Shield Charm is much faster than completely covering himself!

The only drawback is... that it's much more difficult than before, and you need to predict the enemy's spell landing point in advance.

If you don't predict correctly, and the place where the Shield Charm fragments appear deviates, then you will be directly hit and defeated...

However... it can be practiced! Moreover, even if he grows up in the future, this skill won't restrain him! On the contrary, because he has developed the habit of predicting the enemy's attack landing point for a long time, it will make him more calm in battle!

This is the "clothing" that Tom needs that can be worn from childhood to adulthood!

"Let's continue!" Tom jumped up from the ground and said to Old Tom opposite him.

"Okay! Of course!"

Old Tom felt very happy after knowing that his unintentional words could actually solve Tom's problems!

In the following practice, Tom appeared much more calm than before.

The casting speed increased, and he could block the stones just right every time!

Even in the end, Old Tom threw stones one handful after another, and Tom also seemed to be handling it with ease!

This gave Tom a huge boost of confidence.

However, stones are, after all, stones, and cannot be compared to real spells.

So...

"Could it be that I really have to be beaten up by that Leavede guy again? Alas... I don't know if I'll have a chance to beat him back in this lifetime..."

Tom only stopped practicing in the evening.

And Old Tom's arms had long been sore and numb from throwing stones all the time.

If it weren't for Tom's potion to maintain his state, he wouldn't have been able to last this long.

Tom only noticed this after finishing the training.

"I'm sorry... I... I... I neglected it... I should have ended the training earlier. I clearly realized that you would be tired, but I completely forgot later..." Tom sincerely apologized during dinner.

He followed the practice habits of wizards, who don't get tired easily from waving their wands and casting spells, so practicing for a long time is not a problem.

However, Old Tom is just a Muggle. To achieve the best simulation effect, he needs to use the greatest strength every time he throws stones. Being able to last this long by throwing like this has already been very difficult!

"It's okay, your potion works very well... Also, I really need to exercise my body. Also... I've been stuck in the study all these years. Even though I have books to relieve my boredom, I actually feel lonely many times... To be honest, although I'm tired, today is the most relaxed day I've felt in these years..."

Upon hearing this, Tom felt an unspeakable feeling in his heart, which he had never experienced in the orphanage before.

Could it be that this is the kind of emotion that Dumbledore cares about the most? Is it also the source of Dumbledore's power?

He carefully experienced this feeling, and then suddenly felt that his heart was full of strength...

Regardless of magic or physical strength, it's just a kind of... indescribable spirit!

"I want to say... I feel the same way..." Tom said after a long silence.

Old Tom sighed softly. Logically speaking, he would never have been able to accept this son.

But... blood, emotions, these things are indeed so unreasonable...

Old Tom thought this while putting down his fork and picking up a newspaper next to him.

It was delivered at noon, and he hadn't had time to read it yet.

However, after reading the first page, he suddenly stood up.

"This is bad!"

"What's wrong?"

"There's going to be war... Tom, the Germans... France is likely to be one of their targets!"

Tom looked at him in surprise, "But, they... they just boarded the ship to France this morning! We have to find a way to bring them back before France becomes a battlefield..."