Free Web NovelChapter 654: Lupin’s Whereabouts & Voldy’s Happiness
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"This one’s good, this one’s good."
"Nope, this one’s terrible. Who the hell was this stingy? They only sent two packs of candy?"
"Why is it gemstones again...? One or two is fine, but why is everyone sending gems? What am I supposed to do with all these, pave roads?" ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm
Just as the three were getting deeper into their unboxing frenzy, Nicolas slowly walked into the storage room with Astoria supporting him.
The old man had seen the news that morning.
A new powerhouse on Grindelwald’s level had suddenly appeared, and this Sun Chaser might have some past conflict with Tom. Naturally, Nicolas took it seriously.
Originally, he had intended to talk with Tom over breakfast, but after waiting forever without seeing him, Astoria finally informed him that Tom had dragged everyone to the storage room first thing in the morning to open presents.
Seeing the three little treasure goblins so engrossed in sorting gifts that they hadn’t even noticed his arrival, Nicolas almost laughed from irritation.
The boy was already rich, and the girlfriend he’d found came from a thousand-year-old family swimming in wealth.
So why were the two of them still this obsessed with money?
Only after Nicolas chuckled did Tom finally notice him.
Grinning, he waved him over, "Oh, teacher’s here. Come help us open them."
"Get lost." The old man laughed and cursed at him. "I’m not a money-grubber like you. What’s the point of having endless wealth? The truly valuable things can’t be bought with money."
"Then hurry up and leave your inheritance to me already."
The muttered comment nearly sent the old man straight to the grave.
"You little bastard, you’re always talking about inheritance while I’m still alive. I really should donate it all to charity..."
Seeing Nicolas on the verge of losing his temper, Tom coughed awkwardly and wisely stopped teasing him, returning to the presents instead.
There weren’t many people in the world who could yell at Tom like that anymore. But Nicolas was obviously an exception.
After opening a few more boxes, Tom pulled out a massive rectangular package nearly three meters wide and over two meters tall.
A gift that huge naturally caught Nicolas’s attention as well. The moment he recognized the insignia on the wrapping, his expression changed slightly.
"This is from Grindelwald?" the old man said cautiously. "Tom, be careful."
When it came to terrible reputations, Grindelwald never disappointed anyone. Nicolas genuinely feared there might be some curse or Dark Magic hidden inside the gift.
Tom verbally agreed, gave the package a half-hearted inspection for show, then ripped it open without hesitation.
A gigantic framed painting appeared before them.
Daphne glanced at it once. Since it wasn’t a still-life painting she liked, she immediately lost interest.
Tom, meanwhile, frowned deeply, his face full of disgust.
"What the hell is this supposed to be? What’s so interesting about a painting of a bunch of men?"
Seriously, where did old Gellert get the nerve to criticize Andros? With a gift like this, he might as well not have sent anything at all. Did he really think everyone had the same questionable tastes as him?
Just as Tom was considering what excuse he could use to beat Grindelwald up later, Nicolas suddenly widened his eyes and hurried over to the painting for a closer look.
"Teacher, what’s wrong?" Tom asked suspiciously, a bold thought surfacing in his mind.
Don’t tell me this painting just turned Nicolas gay?
"Quiet."
The old man snapped back without even looking up. He carefully examined the painting inch by inch. After studying it twice over, he finally let out a long sigh.
"It’s authentic... this is the real thing."
"So it ended up in Grindelwald’s hands. No, wait, that doesn’t make sense. He was locked in Nurmengard back then... which means the Acolytes must’ve acquired it."
"Old man, what exactly are you muttering about?" Tom asked impatiently. "You’re killing the mood for opening gifts here."
Nicolas turned around and glared at his final disciple like a disappointed father. "I keep telling you to read more books and develop some artistic refinement, but you never listen. Look at you now, acting like an uncultured barbarian."
"You don’t even recognize the Nativity with Saint Francis and Saint Lawrence. If people found out you were my student, my reputation would be ruined."
"Now you’re just being unreasonable," Tom rolled his eyes. "Why would a wizard need to study that stuff? And who says I don’t have artistic taste? Just tell me their names."
As he spoke, his wand flashed wildly with green light.
Nicolas was truly defeated.
He had wanted to raise Tom into a perfectly well-rounded genius, but the boy only cared about magic and enjoying life.
With a sigh, the old man finally began explaining the painting’s origins.
the Nativity with Saint Francis and Saint Lawrence was the masterpiece of the famed Italian artist Caravaggio, widely considered a national treasure-level work of art. After the painting mysteriously disappeared decades ago, it had only grown more legendary.
Nicolas had adored the painting in his youth, but it had always been housed in Palermo, one of the Vatican’s strongest spheres of influence. Even he hadn’t dared casually go admire it there.
And after all these twists and turns, the painting had somehow ended up as Grindelwald’s gift to Tom.
Only for Tom to completely fail to recognize its value.
What was this if not a tragic waste?
"Oh, that’s it?" Tom shrugged. "If you like it that much, just take it."
His interest vanished instantly.
If it had been a lost work by Leonardo da Vinci, maybe he would’ve kept it. But this Caravaggio guy he’d never even heard of—paintings about Jesus, no less—what was a wizard supposed to do with that hanging in his house?
"Good child. Very good child."
Nicolas instantly performed a perfect face-changing act. One second Tom was an unfilial brat, the next he was a wonderful student. Delighted, the old man carefully moved the painting aside to admire it properly.
Tom continued opening gifts.
After that, there really wasn’t anything else worth his attention. With Astoria helping as well, the speed of their unboxing increased rapidly.
That was, until they reached a congratulatory gift sent through Japan on behalf of Kamio.
At last, Tom finally showed interest and casually tore open the package.
Inside was a book. It contained not only lightning magic, but also extensive studies of Five Elements spells, along with numerous methods for constructing magical arrays.
He didn’t begin reading it right away, but he would definitely study it carefully later.
...
..
Finally, once the gift-opening had grown tiresome, everyone made their way to the dining hall for lunch.
Afterward, Nicolas asked Tom to stay behind.
"Has Remus contacted you recently?"
"We talked last week." Tom nodded, though his expression turned a little strange. Nicolas noticed immediately and raised a brow, waiting for him to continue.
Tom explained, "He infiltrated an expedition team made up of vampires and werewolves. They’ve made it to South America by now. The Amazon rainforest, specifically."
Nicolas understood at once. "The ruins connected to Castelobruxo?"
"Yeah. I honestly thought their school kept it under tight wraps." Tom laughed helplessly. "Turns out literally everyone knows about it."
Nicolas looked equally speechless. Shaking his head, he said, "Tell him to be careful. Those Sun Chasers really aren’t simple people. Speaking of which, what do you think about that bandit?"
That was right. "Bandit" had basically become Andros’s new nickname.
After all, the moment he appeared, he robbed Gringotts, then proceeded to loot one family after another. Every single time, he marched in openly, flattened everyone equally, and swaggered away afterward.
"I don’t really have an opinion," Tom replied casually. "Picking a fight with Grindelwald isn’t exactly a smart move for the Sun Chasers. Let the Acolytes probe their strength for us. Makes things easier on our end."
"You don’t need to worry about their strength. Usaki and I can handle them."
Nicolas nodded slightly, visibly more at ease.
He had confidence in Tom’s abilities, of course, but the one who truly reassured him was Usaki, the black shiny Rayquaza.
That near-divine power, enough to tear apart even the Feathered Serpent Quetzalcoatl, was far beyond ordinary humans chasing after the footsteps of gods. The problem was that the Sun Chasers had remained completely inactive for years, only to suddenly become so aggressive lately. It naturally made the old man uneasy.
Tom offered a few more words of reassurance before steering the conversation elsewhere.
Truthfully, given the current situation and the forces at his disposal, it wouldn’t matter even if he came completely clean with Nicolas.
The issue was what would happen afterward.
If he told him everything, the old man would probably overthink himself into exhaustion.
The more you knew, the more burdens you had to weigh.
At his core, Nicolas was someone who hated trouble. Back when he dealt with Grindelwald, it was only because Dumbledore had practically coaxed and tricked him into stepping in.
The same went for Newt Scamander. Even now, Tina still gritted her teeth whenever Dumbledore was mentioned.
Tom wasn’t as shameless as old Dumbles, so he planned to wait until everything was settled before telling Nicolas and Newt the truth.
Maybe then he could arrange a gathering and make Grindelwald and Newt each drink together, wiping the slate clean once and for all.
And if that still didn’t settle things... Then it wouldn’t be his problem anymore.
Tom stayed with the old man until afternoon, then went to check on the golden apple tree. By the time dinner approached, he finally returned to Hogwarts Castle with the Greengrass sisters and Gabrielle.
Originally, he had planned to return the next morning in time for class.
But Dumbledore’s invitation had been far too enthusiastic, so he ended up coming back early.
...
..
Africa—
"Hahahahaha!"
Loud laughter echoed through a dark cavern.
Outside the cave, Bellatrix and Lockhart naturally understood why Voldemort was in such a good mood.
If one Dark Lord got beaten down, maybe that Dark Lord just wasn’t all that impressive.
But when two Dark Lords got handled by the same wizard, then clearly the problem wasn’t them.
It just proved the other guy was genuinely monstrous.
Voldemort also couldn’t help feeling a bit smug about the situation. Andros was his enemy. Grindelwald was his enemy too.
If those two ended up fighting each other... Wouldn’t he be the one profiting in the end?
His mood soaring, Voldemort suddenly felt like his personal stock value had finally hit an all-time high.
Without another moment of hesitation, he pulled out the golden apple he’d been reluctant to eat all this time.
He opened his mouth and bit down hard.
Today, he was finally eating the fruit and taking another step forward.
.
.
.
