In this world, the longest road was Wade Reynolds' trap.
At this point, Tom had completely given in.
Forget it… as long as he got the benefits in the end, getting scammed a little didn't really matter.
Endure.
"So… whenever you're done playing, just let me know how to land…" Tom said helplessly, floating in midair.
Wade, still on the ground, argued, "How can you say that? I'm not playing! I'm helping you get used to the feeling of steering. Once you figure it out, you'll naturally be able to come down."
"Yeah yeah… you're always right…" Tom couldn't even be bothered to argue with him anymore.
When it came to being shameless, no one could beat Wade Reynolds. And the worst part was that when he wasn't acting like a decent person, he always had a ton of nonsense to justify it.
"Toby, look closely. This is an example of what not to do. When you cast any spell on yourself, you should first think about its counter curse…"
Hearing Wade using him as a teaching example for the house-elf, and speaking so quietly as if afraid he'd overhear, Tom couldn't even muster the energy to be mad anymore.
The real problem was, for some reason, he was starting to feel more and more exhausted…
He had no idea how much time had passed, but Tom started feeling a little drowsy, as if he'd even dozed off for a moment.
When he opened his eyes again, he noticed that at some point, Wade had tied the rope that was supposed to hold him securely… to a tree off to the side.
As for Wade himself, he was sitting leisurely on a large rock, fishing.
Tom felt completely numb. Was this guy even human?
Though furious, he still raised his voice and shouted, "Wade… excuse me… have you had enough fun yet? If you're done, could you let me down?"
"What are you even saying? I'm helping you practice magic. Who's playing?" Wade replied casually. "Besides, you don't need me to let you down. You'll come down on your own in a bit."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"When your stamina runs out and your magic runs dry… you'll fall," Wade said nonchalantly.
"Wait—fall?! Don't joke about this… Wade…"
"Who's joking with you?"
"You… no… you're just trying to scare me, r-right?" Tom's voice started trembling.
At first, he thought Wade was just messing with him and would let him down safely in the end.
But now… this guy was seriously saying he'd let him come down after his stamina and magic were drained?
He was at least ten meters off the ground! If he fell… he'd be splattered!
For someone like Tom, who was absolutely terrified of dying… this was a living nightmare.
"Wade Reynolds! Let me down!" Tom roared.
"What? You don't want to come down. What's that got to do with me?" Wade answered innocently.
"I do want to come down! Really!"
"But you're still floating up there, aren't you? That just means you don't want to come down."
"You… you absolute monster! You think I want to be floating up here?!"
"Of course. Weren't you the one begging me to teach you this spell?"
"Aaahh! You're impossible! You're driving me insane! If I die from this, I swear I'll haunt you forever! Just you wait!"
"Sigh… Tom, you're really hopeless. I even hinted it to you so clearly. Haven't I told you before? Magic is about the will. The spell has always been the same. Whether you go up, down, left, right—it all depends on what you want."
Tom froze. "Wait… what…? Something that important, why didn't you say it earlier? Why didn't you say it earlier?!"
"I did tell you! I clearly said it earlier! I literally told you, 'When you want to come down, you'll come down!' Didn't I? Ask Tobby if you don't believe me," Wade huffed in annoyance.
"Oh! Yes! Master Wade did say that. It's just that Master Tom didn't take it seriously," Tobby nodded earnestly.
Tom thought back for a moment… and realized… Wade had actually said that. Word for word.
"…Is there… any chance… you could've just explained it more directly?" Tom groaned, feeling mentally exhausted beyond belief.
Taking a deep breath, he carefully recited the spell again, focused all his will, and visualized himself descending.
Sure enough, the moment he did, his body started turning into black mist and began drifting downward.
Except… something didn't feel right.
Because the descent was getting faster… and faster.
"Wait… hold on… You scammed me again, didn't you?! Aaaaah—"
SPLASH!
Tom plunged straight into the lake.
Heh~
By the time he dragged his drenched, exhausted self out of the water, Wade was standing there calmly, checking his pocket watch.
"You absolute—" Tom started, only to choke on his own words.
Wade cut him off mid-sentence. "Thirty minutes and forty seconds… Not bad, Tom."
"…What?"
"I'm saying, thirty minutes and forty seconds—that's your current flight limit. If you go past that, you run out of stamina and fall."
"How do you even know my limit?"
"I just measured it. Right now. What, are you slow today? You didn't seriously think I made you float that long just to mess with you… did you?"
Tom lay face down on the ground for a long moment, stunned. Finally, he flopped onto his back in the mud, stared up at the sky, and weakly muttered, "Bloody fucking hell…"
Fine. As much as he hated to admit it… Wade always had a point.
He was starting to suspect that every time this guy tricked someone, he'd already planned ten different backup explanations in advance.
No—more accurately, Wade never tricked people for no reason. Somehow, every single prank ended up sounding meaningful afterward.
Even though this whole thing was exhausting… figuring out his current flight stamina limit was useful. Extremely useful.
Still, the feeling of wanting to curse someone but having no legitimate excuse… was bloody miserable.
Whatever.
At least he'd gotten a free flying spell out of it. Could've been worse.
Just as Tom was starting to drift off, half-asleep in the grass, a snowy owl swooped down from the treetops, a letter clutched in its beak.
"Huh? Who's that for?" Wade asked curiously, looking up.
"Obviously it's for you. Who else? You know I don't have friends," Tom groaned, still sprawled out in the mud, too exhausted to even bother rolling over.
By then, Wade had already taken the letter and opened it.
"Oh, look at that… It's for you, not me." Wade grinned and flicked his wand.
The letter floated over to hover right above Tom's face, perfectly positioned so he could read it without even lifting a finger.
...
Mr. Riddle,
We have received a report that at approximately 9:30 this morning, you performed a levitation-type charm outdoors.
As you are well aware, underage wizards are strictly forbidden from performing magic outside of school. Further violations of this kind may result in expulsion from Hogwarts (Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery, 1875, Clause 3).
Additionally, please remember that according to Section 13 of the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy, any magical activity that risks exposure to members of the non-magical community (Muggles) constitutes a serious offense.
Wishing you an enjoyable summer holiday,
Narl Gabraith
...
Tom shot upright. "Hold on—mate!"
Staring at Wade, who was now grinning smugly like the cat that caught the canary, Tom let out a wail of despair. "Why?! You were using magic too! Why is it only me getting the warning?!"
"Oh, right… forgot to mention." Wade's smile widened. "I already figured out how to block the Trace."
"Is there… any chance you could teach me how to do that?" Tom asked, his expression so numb it was almost pitiful. "You know, it'd be… convenient for both of us if I learned."
Wade shrugged. "Sorry, totally slipped my mind. You know how it is—I just invented a brilliant new spell, got a little too excited… kinda forgot that out here isn't classified as a wizarding settlement, so it's really easy for the Ministry to pick up on magic."
"Bloody fuckig fuckity fuck!! Wade, you absolute menace! So this was your trap all along?" Tom groaned and flopped back into the mud again.
"Language, Tommy boy! And why are you frustrated? You wound me. When did I ever set a trap for you? Heh heh~ Relax, Tom. It's just a warning letter. They won't expel you… yet."
__________
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