HP: Pure-Blood Glory

"Uncle, what are you thinking?"

Laike asked, looking puzzled at his uncle inside the carriage.

The last things Wade had said sounded as though he was ready to gamble the entire family once again.

It felt as though the Lance family, having just escaped from a quagmire, was about to dive back into the mud—practically a death wish.

Wade remained silent for a moment, a nostalgic expression crossing his face.

"Laike, do you know what my biggest regret in life is?"

This question left Laike unsure how to respond. Despite living together for so many years, his understanding of his uncle remained superficial at best. 

It seemed that his uncle had allowed Laike to take over and become the heir not out of a desire to groom the next generation, but because he had grown disillusioned.

Otherwise, Laike's marriage to Catherine would likely never have happened—or if it had, Catherine wouldn't be as carefree as she was now.

"I don't know, Uncle"

Laike answered, shaking his head.

"My biggest regret was not becoming one of Grindelwald's saint/follower." Wade's eyes grew distant as he spoke. "I was invited by Lord Grindelwald himself, but because of the family's objections, I didn't join. I stayed away from the plan for 'the greater good.'"

Seeing the regret on his uncle's face, Laike felt like he was looking at a lunatic.

"You wouldn't understand, Laike," Wade continued, seeing his nephew's expression but not caring. "The Dark Lord you experienced is the one they call He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. He is powerful, terrifying, and mad."

"But he is also lowly, shortsighted, and selfish."

"To even mention him in the same breath as Lord Grindelwald is the greatest insult."

The fanatical reverence in Wade's tone made Laike want to stop listening. It felt like his uncle was preaching to him.

"Do you think Luke Gaunt will have the same future as Grindelwald? That doesn't seem promising either"

Laike replied, his voice trailing off.

He wasn't sure if his uncle would lose his temper for pointing out the flaws in his idol.

But Wade didn't react as Laike expected. Instead of getting angry, he immediately calmed down when Grindelwald's downfall was mentioned.

"Lord Grindelwald failed, yes. But many of his supporters withdrew in time and still profited."

"I see a shadow of Lord Grindelwald in Luke Gaunt, but that's not the reason we should align with him."

"No, we should align with him for the benefits he can bring us, even if he falls"

Wade sighed and shook his head. "Perhaps I should really give you a proper lesson. Compared to Luke Gaunt, your performance today was far, far inferior."

Laike wasn't sure exactly how large the gap was between himself and Luke, but he realized that in terms of shamelessness, vigilance, and willingness to sacrifice for profit, he was still far behind his uncle, Wade.

He realized that the person he should be comparing himself to wasn't Luke Gaunt—it was his own uncle, Wade Lance.

---

Luke had no idea what exactly Wade Lance's intentions were in siding with him. Even if the Lance family joined his camp now, it wasn't as if they were saving him from any dire situation.

After all, the Lance family wasn't particularly powerful. In the aristocratic circles, they couldn't compare to the Malfoy family in influence. In terms of manpower, they couldn't match even the Weasleys. And as for prestige within the magical community, the entire Lance family together couldn't compare to Harry alone.

Back in Tom Riddle's time, if you wanted to become a loyal Death Eater, you had to check your family tree to see if you were worthy. Clearly, a family like the Lances wouldn't have made the cut.

Right now, however, following Luke and gambling their future still held some value.

But truthfully, if this had been during the time when Voldemort was stirring the waters and Luke was on the rise, Luke wouldn't have spared them a glance.

The ancient twenty-eight wizarding families were already dividing the spoils—what right would they have to join in?

With this on his mind, Luke prepared for bed, but not before going over the next day's lessons one last time.

"Moondew and powdered Asphodel petals can serve as the primary ingredients in the 'Sleeping Draught' where they act as neutralizing agents. When heated in Wormwood extract and infused with magic, they will undergo..."

Just reading it made Luke's scalp tingle. To be fair, memorizing this material wasn't a big deal for someone who had studied liberal arts in his past life.

But it felt a lot like how he had approached chemistry back then—he could memorize equations easily, but when it came time to balance them or analyze chemical reactions, his mind would go blank.

In chemistry, improper procedures could cause accidents, but with potion-making, it was even riskier. In chemistry, mistakes might result in incorrect reactions. But in potions, if your wand movement was even slightly off—whether in angle, force, or any number of details—the whole process could fail catastrophically.

Explosions, faulty potion effects—those were common issues. In more severe cases, potions could turn into deadly toxins, killing the potion master.

And unfortunately for Luke, he knew his talent was no lie. He could memorize the instructions just fine, but truly understanding them was difficult. He had the steps down, but he would definitely mess up some critical detail.

"Potions... you can just buy them"

Luke muttered to himself, closing the book. In his heart, he consoled himself. After all, he had plenty of money. If he paid enough, even Snape wouldn't turn down a commission to brew potions for him.

Of course, if their relationship soured, he wouldn't dare drink anything Snape brewed for him. It would be like offending a chef and still going to their restaurant to eat.

Who knew how many "extra ingredients" might get added to the dish?

With this thought, Luke realized what he needed to do.

He couldn't afford to act like he knew everything in front of Snape. He needed to prepare two thorough notebooks on potions to show sincerity.

He had to put in genuine effort, showing Snape through his actions that it wasn't a lack of willingness to learn but simply a lack of talent.

Of course, if the system happened to bless him with some talent points in the future, he could easily pull off a dramatic turnaround and give Snape the shock of his life, showing off how far he'd come.

With that comforting thought, Luke drifted off to sleep, his face resting on his copy of;

'One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi'

In his cozy little corner, Booker tilted his head, puzzled as he observed Luke's sleeping form.

The next morning, as Luke woke, Potions class awaited, right on schedule.

*****

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