Edward and Tom were hiding in a dark corner, observing a rather nice-looking small detached house not far ahead, which even had a very pleasant little garden out front.
Suffice it to say, whoever lived here was definitely not short on money.
Yet, according to the confessions, the other trapped children were locked up inside.
Tom tugged 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 for the money," Edward said, sounding annoyed.
He was doing this to perform good deeds and earn merit points. Turning the tables on criminals and robbing the robbers was just a side benefit... Of course, there was no way he could explain that to Tom.
"If you're not doing it for the money, then what are you doing it for? Don't tell me it's really to save people? I never took you for someone with such a kind heart."
"Be reasonable, Tom. Apart from being a bit strict with you, when have I ever been anything less than kind-hearted to anyone else?"
Tom shut his mouth. The bastard actually seemed to have a point...
It was just that Edward had always bullied only him, which was why he had developed the mistaken impression that Edward was never a good person.
In fact, in the eyes of everyone else, Edward—who had taught him, the neighborhood bully, a lesson—was genuinely a good guy!
"Fine, I'll tell you the truth. What you said isn't entirely wrong either. Aside from saving people, a part of my reason really is for the money," Edward turned to look at Tom.
"The money Dumbledore gave us certainly isn't abundant. It should just barely be enough for us to get by."
"That means a lot of the things we need will have to be bought second-hand, and there are even many things we won't be able to afford at all."
"Are you really willing to use second-hand textbooks left behind by others, wear second-hand robes that others threw away, and hold a second-hand wand that someone else used until it broke? Well, those aren't even the most important things."
"The important thing is... Dumbledore said we can only use second-hand textbooks. What does that tell you? It tells us that spellbooks definitely aren't cheap in the wizarding world..."
"We need knowledge, knowledge beyond textbooks, Tom! Don't you want to become stronger?"
Upon hearing those last two sentences, Tom couldn't help but feel his heart skip a beat.
Admittedly, he could tolerate a poor quality of life; after all, he had gotten through so many years at the orphanage that way.
However, when it concerned the growth of his own power, he certainly couldn't just settle!
"Besides, although we don't know much about the situation at Hogwarts, one thing is for certain: that school is filled with people who possess the exact same special abilities as us."
"That means we won't be the most special ones there. If we still look like a pair of ragamuffins... what do you think will happen?"
Hearing this, Tom felt a chill in his heart.
Putting himself in their shoes, as a veteran bully, he understood the psychology of such people better than anyone.
Tom didn't care at all about being isolated by ordinary people; after all, they couldn't do anything to bully him.
However, that was a magic school!
The power he possessed, others possessed as well!
Tom wasn't afraid of being bullied by ordinary people, but other young wizards...
At that moment, under Edward's relentless psychological manipulation, Tom—who severely underestimated his own strength—actually began to worry.
In fact, he was genuinely worried that all the other classmates would be just as formidable as Edward.
"When you're out and about, your status is what you make it. So, we need money first," Edward pressed his advantage.
"But... that Dumbledore said we aren't allowed to use magic on ordinary people..."
Tom was still somewhat hesitant. There was no way around it; under the double blow from Edward and Dumbledore, Tom had become much more cautious and lacked his former self-confidence.
Edward raised a finger. "First, they were planning to traffic us, right?"
Tom nodded.
"So, I say we are acting in self-defense. Do you agree?"
Tom nodded again.
Edward raised a second finger. "Second, we learned from those people that there are other children trapped inside, didn't we?"
Tom nodded once more. "So we're saving people. This has nothing to do with money at all!"
Edward said with gratification, "You've even learned to buzz in with the answer ahead of time now."
"You're right, Edward. Besides, since we have the ability, why should we live in misery?" Tom's gaze grew firm.
Edward patted Tom on the shoulder and said happily, "You've even learned to draw inferences about other cases from one instance!"
A flash of red light crossed Tom's eyes. "Judging by Dumbledore's demeanor, he should be a goody-two-shoes. Therefore, even if he finds out what we did, considering those two points combined, he won't blame us. At most, he'll just scold us for being too reckless!"
Edward continued, "But we have to be reckless, because those human traffickers even have corrupt cops covering for them. Calling the police is completely useless, so..."
"So... we have no choice but to do it ourselves," Tom nodded. "The justification is more than sufficient, so let's save people first. As long as we save them, even if that Ministry of Magic Dumbledore mentioned finds out, we'll have a valid explanation."
"And... these bastards actually planned to capture me and sell me for money? They have to pay a price!" A dangerous gleam flickered in Tom's eyes once again.
In fact, Tom was someone who held grudges. If he couldn't afford to provoke Edward, could he not afford to handle this bunch of ordinary Muggles?
"What do you plan to do?" Tom asked next.
"Actually, I first need to figure out how many people are inside and whether they have weapons like guns," Edward said seriously.
Although he could use magic now, he was still deeply wary of Muggles' lethal weapons—guns—and couldn't just barge straight in.
After all, he had only been formally studying magic for a little over a week. He wasn't a powerful wizard like Dumbledore, and the methods available to him were actually quite limited.
"Tom... can't you control snakes?" Edward asked with a smile.
Tom's old face flushed. He had indeed once used a snake to spy on Edward's secret to growing stronger.
"I understand..." With that, Tom retreated back into the corner, squatted down, and made a hissing sound.
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, Edward noticed green grass snakes poking their heads out from the gaps in the corner of the wall, many of which were mixed with highly venomous snakes!
The sight of these dense, writhing snake heads was enough to make one's hair stand on end. Yet Tom seemed completely accustomed to this sort of scene.
"Hiss, hiss, hiss..."
Tom lowered his head and instructed one of the little snakes on the ground. Afterward, the little snake turned its head, wound its way through the twists and turns, and vanished into the shadows.