When You're Out in the World, Your Identity Is What You Make It!

Li Weide and Tom hid in a dark corner, watching a rather nice detached house not far ahead. It even came with a lovely little garden out front.

It was safe to say that whoever lived here was definitely not short on money.

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

Tom pulled his old jacket tighter around himself. "I still don't understand why we have to delay going to Diagon Alley just for money!"

"I told you, it's not for money," Li Weide said irritably.

He was doing this to earn Merit Points by doing good deeds. Robbing the robbers was merely a bonus... of course, there was no way to explain that to Tom.

"If it's not for money, then what is it for? Don't tell me you're really doing this to save people? I can't believe you actually have such a kind heart."

"Be reasonable, Tom. Other than being a little harsh on you, when have I ever not been kind-hearted toward everyone else?"

Tom fell silent. The bastard seemed to have a point...

It was just that Li Weide had only ever bullied him, so he had gotten the mistaken impression that Li Weide had always been a bad person.

In fact, in everyone else's eyes, Li Weide, who had taught him—the bully—a lesson, was fucking well a good person!

"Forget it, I'll tell you the truth. You weren't entirely wrong. Aside from saving people, part of the reason really is for money." Li Weide turned to Tom.

"The money Dumbledore gave us definitely isn't plentiful. It should only barely be enough for us."

"That means we'll have to buy a lot of things secondhand, and there'll be plenty of things we simply can't afford."

"Are you really willing to use secondhand textbooks left behind by others, wear secondhand robes nobody wanted, and carry a secondhand wand that someone else has worn out? Fine, those aren't even the most important things."

"The important thing is... Dumbledore said we could only use secondhand textbooks. What does that tell us? It means spellbooks must be expensive in the Wizarding World..."

"We need knowledge, Tom. Knowledge beyond what's in the textbooks! Don't you want to become stronger?"

Tom's heart stirred at those last two sentences.

Sure, he could endure a poor quality of life. After all, he had lived like that for years in the Orphanage.

But when it came to increasing his own power, he could not make do!

"Also, while we don't know much about Hogwarts, one thing is certain: that school is full of people with abilities just like ours."

"That means we won't be the most special ones there. If we still look like a pair of poor beggars... what do you think will happen?"

Tom's heart tightened at that.

Putting himself in their shoes, as a seasoned bully, he understood the mindset of people like that better than anyone.

Tom did not care in the slightest about being isolated by ordinary people. It wasn't as though they could bully him anyway.

But this was a magical school!

The power he possessed was also possessed by others!

Tom was not afraid of being bullied by ordinary people, but if it was other Young Wizards...

After Li Weide's round of PUA, Tom, who had gravely underestimated his own strength, actually began to worry.

In truth, he really was afraid that the other students might all be as powerful as Li Weide.

"When you're out in the world, your identity is what you make it. So first, we need money." Li Weide continued pressing his point.

"But... Dumbledore said we can't use magic on ordinary people..."

Tom was still somewhat hesitant. There was no helping it—after the double blow dealt by Li Weide and Dumbledore, Tom had become much more cautious and was no longer as confident as before.

Li Weide raised one finger. "First, they were planning to kidnap and sell us, right?"

Tom nodded.

"So I say this counts as self-defense. Do you agree?"

Tom nodded again.

Li Weide raised a second finger. "Second, we learned from those people that other children are trapped inside too, right?"

Tom nodded once more. "So we're saving people. It has absolutely nothing to do with money!"

Li Weide said approvingly, "You've even learned to answer before being called on."

"You're right, Weide. And since we have the ability, why should we live such miserable lives?" Tom's gaze became firm.

Li Weide patted Tom on the shoulder and said delightedly, "You've even learned to draw inferences from one example!"

A trace of red light flashed through Tom's eyes. "Judging from Dumbledore's behavior, he should be a soft-hearted old man. So even if he finds out what we did, considering those two points, he won't blame us. At most, he'll criticize us for taking too much of a risk!"

Li Weide continued, "But we have no choice but to take risks, because those Human Traffickers even have Corrupt Cops covering for them. Calling the police is completely useless, so..."

"So... we can only handle it ourselves." Tom nodded. "We have more than enough justification, so let's save them first. As long as we save them, even if that Ministry of Magic Dumbledore mentioned finds out, we'll have something to say."

"And... those bastards actually planned to capture me and sell me for money? They have to pay the price!" A dangerous light flashed in Tom's eyes again.

Tom was actually a very vengeful person. He could not afford to provoke Li Weide, who had provoked him, but could he not afford to deal with these ordinary Muggles?

"What are you planning to do?" Tom asked.

"First, I need to figure out exactly how many people are inside and whether they have weapons like guns," Li Weide said seriously.

Although he knew magic now, he was still deeply wary of guns—the Muggles' deadly weapons. He could not just charge straight in.

After all, he had only been formally studying magic for a little over a week. He was not some powerful wizard like Dumbledore, and there were not many methods available to him.

"Tom... can't you control snakes?" Li Weide asked with a smile.

Tom's face reddened. He had indeed once used snakes to investigate Li Weide's secret to becoming stronger.

"I understand..." As he spoke, Tom retreated farther into the corner, then squatted down and began making hissing sounds.

Tom was a Parselmouth. Not only could he speak with snakes, but he could also command them.

In other words, many things that were inconvenient for humans to do could be left entirely to snakes.

Before long, Li Weide noticed green grass snakes constantly poking their heads out from cracks in the wall. Mixed among them were many venomous snakes carrying deadly poison!

The dense mass of snake heads made one's scalp tingle, but Tom seemed accustomed to such a sight.

"Hiss, hiss, hiss..."

Tom lowered his head and instructed one of the little snakes on the ground. Then the little snake turned away, slithered off through several twists and turns, and vanished into the shadows.