Chapter 12: When Away from Home, Your Identity Is What You Make of It!

Li Weide and Tom hid in a dark corner, observing a rather nice detached house not far ahead, complete with a charming little garden in front.

It was clear that whoever lived there was far from lacking money.

But according to the testimonies, the other trapped children were locked inside.

Tom wrapped his old jacket tighter around himself. “I still don’t understand why we’re delaying our trip to Diagon Alley just for money!”

“I told you, it’s not about the money,” Li Weide snapped irritably.

He was doing this to earn merit points for good deeds; the whole black-market stuff was just incidental... Of course, that was impossible to explain to Tom.

“If it’s not for money, then what? Is it really just to save people? I don’t see how you could be so kind-hearted.”

“Come on, Tom, aside from being tough on you, when have I ever not been kind to others?”

Tom shut his mouth. The bastard had a point... It was just that Li Weide had always bullied only him, which was why Tom had the mistaken impression that Li Weide wasn’t a good person.

In fact, from the perspective of others, Li Weide, who disciplined the bully that was Tom, was actually a genuinely good person!

“Fine, I’ll be honest with you. You’re not entirely wrong. Besides saving people, part of my motivation is actually about the money,” Li Weide said, turning to look at Tom.

“The money Dumbledore gave us definitely isn’t abundant. It’s barely enough to get by.”

“That means a lot of things we need have to be secondhand, and there are still many things we simply can’t afford.”

“Are you really okay with using secondhand textbooks left behind by others, wearing robes nobody wants, and wielding worn-out used wands? Well, those aren’t the most important things.”

“The key point is... Dumbledore said we can only use secondhand textbooks. What does that imply? It means spell books aren’t cheap in the wizarding world...”

“We need knowledge, knowledge beyond just textbooks, Tom! Don’t you want to get stronger?”

Tom’s heart skipped a beat upon hearing those last two sentences.

Indeed, he could endure a poor quality of life—it was what he had been used to all those years in the orphanage.

But when it came to increasing his own power, he wasn’t willing to settle for less!

“Besides, although we don’t know much about Hogwarts, one thing is for sure: that school is full of people with special abilities just like ours.”

“That means we’re not the most unique there. What do you think will happen if we still look poor and shabby...?”

Tom shuddered at that thought.

Being isolated by ordinary people didn’t bother him at all; after all, they couldn’t bully him.

But this was a school for magic!

The powers he possessed were shared by others there!

Tom wasn’t afraid of ordinary people’s bullying, but other young wizards...

At that moment, under Li Weide’s subtle psychological influence, Tom, who had seriously underestimated his own strength, actually began to worry.

In fact, he was genuinely concerned that the other students might be just as formidable as Li Weide.

“When you’re out there, your identity is what you make it. So, we have to have money first,” Li Weide pressed on.

“But... that Dumbledore said we can’t use magic on Muggles...” Tom hesitated, still uncertain. With both Li Weide and Dumbledore weighing on his mind, he had lost much of his previous confidence.

Li Weide raised a finger. “First, those people intend to traffic us, right?”

Tom nodded.

“So, I say we’re acting in self-defense. Do you agree?”

Tom nodded again.

Li Weide raised his second finger. “Second, we heard from those people that other kids are trapped inside, right?”

Tom nodded once more. “So this is a rescue mission. It has nothing to do with money!”

Li Weide smiled with satisfaction. “You’ve even learned to answer quickly now.”

“You’re right, Weide. And since we have the ability, why should we live in misery?” Tom’s eyes grew resolute.

Li Weide patted Tom on the shoulder, delighted. “You’ve even learned to apply logic!”

A glint of red flickered in Tom’s eyes. “Knowing Dumbledore’s character, he’s a good guy. So even if he finds out what we did, considering those two points, he won’t blame us. At worst, he’ll scold us for being reckless!”

Li Weide continued, “But we have to be reckless because those traffickers even have corrupt cops covering for them. Reporting to the police won’t work, so...”

“So... we have to do it ourselves.” Tom nodded. “We’ve got enough reasons. Let’s rescue them first. Once the Ministry of Magic Dumbledore mentioned finds out, we can explain ourselves.”

“And... those bastards actually planned to sell me for money? They have to pay!” Tom’s eyes shimmered with a dangerous light once more.

In truth, Tom was a very vengeful person. If he couldn’t stand Li Weide’s bullying, how could he not stand these ordinary Muggles?

“What’s your plan?” Tom asked.

“First, I need to find out exactly how many people are inside and whether they have guns or other weapons,” Li Weide said seriously.

Although he had learned magic, he was still very wary of Muggles’ deadly weapons—guns—and couldn’t just storm in.

After all, he had been studying magic for just over a week and wasn’t a powerful wizard like Dumbledore. His options were limited.

“Tom... can’t you control snakes?” Li Weide smiled.

Tom’s face flushed. He had indeed once used a snake to spy on how Li Weide became stronger.

“I get it...” Tom retreated back into the corner, crouched down, and hissed softly.

Tom's snake-like tongue wasn’t just for talking to snakes; he could command them.

In other words, many tasks humans couldn’t easily do could be entrusted to snakes.

Soon, Li Weide noticed countless green grass snakes peeking from cracks in the corner, interspersed with many venomous snakes.

The sheer number of snake heads made one’s hair stand on end. Yet Tom seemed perfectly accustomed to this scene.

“Hisssss...”

Tom lowered his head, issuing instructions to one of the smaller snakes on the ground. The snake turned and slithered off into the shadows.

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