Chapter 157: Pocket Magic Pet

Wade smiled without saying anything, but suddenly a voice sounded beside him: "The farthest distance in the world is not life and death; it's me being right here in front of you, yet you still ignore me, meow." Marchionne looked over in surprise and saw a tiny white cat with emerald eyes and a slender tail emerging from behind Wade, perched on his shoulder and licking its paw. The cat was only slightly larger than an egg, with soft, slightly curled white fur draping over its head, and its eyes sparkled like sapphires, making it incredibly cute. Marchionne glanced between Wade and the little cat and asked, "So... is it this?" "How rude! I am the one speaking to you, meow!" the tiny cat replied indignantly. "As you can see, I am Wade's newest creation, named Alice, meow. I am a pocket magic pet, and soon to be the next global trend, meow." Alice hopped down from Wade's shoulder and trotted around on the table, saying, "I don't need baths, I don't need food, I'm always clean and beautiful, and I offer devoted companionship—isn't that fantastic, meow?" "Well... um..." Marchionne's gaze flickered between Wade and Alice, and ultimately settled on Alice as he asked, "So why are you the one introducing yourself?" "Wade is practicing Animagus magic, meow!" Alice said, patting Wade's arm with her paw. "He can't speak at the moment, so I'm his spokesperson, meow." Alice punctuated each statement with a "meow," while tugging at a loose thread on Marchionne's sleeve with her little paw. Marchionne asked, "Then, are the things you're saying now coming from Wade, or are you saying them yourself?" "The master can control me to a certain extent, meow," Alice explained. "But the initial programming affects my expressions and behavior, meow." "What else can you do?" Marchionne asked with interest. "Oh, there's so much I can tell you, meow! I could go on forever, meow..." Wade pressed a finger to the cat's head, and her smug attitude instantly vanished. She sat back down obediently, though her tail still swayed lightly. Wade took out his wand, and lines of text appeared in the air: [I'm not sure why, but even though I didn't program her with a chatty personality, she talks non-stop.] [She's too noisy. I'll explain the details myself.] [The pocket magic pet can be seen as an upgraded version of wizard chess. Its main function is companionship, offering conversation, and even checking for typos in writing—I adapted the functionality from an automatic correction quill.] [My vision for a magic pet includes being able to provide weather updates, route information, reminders for schedules and time, help with book of friends messaging, and even play music.] [This is currently an incomplete version, mainly focused on conversation. I hope these pets can provide emotional value to their owners, much like family or friends. However, due to the subtle nature of magic, each magic pet has a completely unique personality.] "Wade, I know I've said this before, but I have to say it again!" Marchionne exclaimed excitedly. "Your envisioned creations are always so remarkable! They're bound to bring us unimaginable profit!" [I should remind you that the cost of making these pets is high, and they are difficult to produce,] Wade replied. "Once buyers fall in love with them, cost won't be an issue," Marchionne said with a smile. "There will always be someone willing to cover that for us... Have you made other pets?" [Yes.] "Alice is a proud and sweet little princess, so what are the personalities of the others?" Marchionne asked curiously. Wade pulled out a dragon-skin pouch from his bag. Marchionne noticed it was wriggling, as if something inside was moving. Wade opened the pouch and took out the pets one by one. First, a fiery red fox emerged and lifted its head proudly: "A filthy bag like that hardly suits my noble stature!" Its fluffy tail fanned out elegantly behind it, and its slanted, alluring eyes were full of disdain. Next, a silvery-gray hamster quietly scooted to the edge of the table, nibbling on a cookie. Despite lacking the ability to actually eat, crumbs scattered all over the table. Then came a golden lion. Stretching its sleek body, it looked at Marchionne and said, "Are you sad about something? Tell me, so I can enjoy it!" Marchionne: "..." Lastly, a handsome black panther stepped forward, holding a bright red rose in its mouth. With a graceful stride, it placed the rose in front of Marchionne. "Before I met you, my life was like a black-and-white movie. Then you appeared, coloring my world. I want to protect you, care for you, make you happy. I'll do anything you want me to do." Marchionne stood there, stunned, and finally turned to Wade. "Is... is it a romantic hero?" Wade's expression was one of exasperation, and words appeared in the air: [Feel free to laugh if you want; these ones are all a bit... unique.] "Oh no, it's not funny at all, Wade," Marchionne said, with a familiar gleam of money in his eyes. "Their varied personalities only make the magic pets more marketable!" Fixing his gaze on the panther, Marchionne asked, "What influences their personalities?" Wade thought for a moment before replying: [I don't know... Maybe it's a subconscious thought when I imbued them with life, maybe something from the process itself, or perhaps even the materials and their forms have an effect...] [Without extensive experiments and comparisons, it's hard to confirm anything definitively.] Marchionne nodded thoughtfully. "It's unfortunate we can't mass-produce identical pets, but unpredictability itself could become a selling point... Each pet would be one-of-a-kind, which makes for great advertising..." While pondering how to maximize profits from the magic pets, he conjured paper and pen, jotting down ideas rapidly. "People who keep pets, even if they don't need feeding, are unlikely to stop at just one." "If they love their magic pet, they'll want to give it a cozy home... no, a luxury villa! We could even sell matching furniture and a garden..." "With that, clothing and accessories could also be a hit... The pets could even make friends with each other, and owners could throw weddings for them or create pet families..." "Holidays should have special costumes... mini flying carpets or toy broomsticks would be ideal... and we could make miniature Hogwarts Express trains... Muggle cars and planes might work well too..." "Uh... if we make them human-like, would anyone want to date one? An ever-faithful partner..." Wade watched as Marchionne's parchment grew longer, the text multiplying... Someone had once told him, "The cheapest part of having a pet is the pet itself." He could practically envision the day when Marchionne would leave wizards worldwide with empty pockets. Wade didn't reveal the magic spell-bonded pets yet, but perhaps... once the technique was perfected, he could prepare a few bright, clever little creatures for his parents. ... Wade left Marchionne with the instructions for creating the pets. The contractual details, manufacturing steps, and other specifics were naturally being managed through Lupin and Aslan's Magic Workshop. Wade himself remained primarily focused on his studies. His current priorities included using alchemy to refine the magic pets, practicing Animagus transformation, and learning the Fiendfyre curse. While Lupin had agreed to teach him Fiendfyre, he approached the lessons with great caution. Wade had learned a lot of theory and written three essays but hadn't yet started practical training. In this area, Wade wasn't impatient—he had plenty of time and patience. Every now and then, Wade would use the Disillusionment Charm to slip into the Restricted Section, poring over almost every book that mentioned Fiendfyre. After Charms class, Wade even consulted Professor Flitwick about various fire spells and control techniques. Though Professor Flitwick didn't have experience with "burning down half a town," his understanding and mastery of spells were beyond comparison. After several sessions, Wade could make flames dance on his fingertips without burning himself. Keeping a Mandrake leaf in his mouth for an extended period, Wade had also gradually learned how to talk and eat normally. He'd once heard that some people could hold a sharp blade in their mouth and still eat and speak like normal. Although Wade hadn't reached that level, he had figured out a few small tricks to protect the delicate leaf during daily activities. At night, he cast a spell to keep his teeth from moving, so as long as he didn't chew, the leaf's size meant he wouldn't accidentally swallow it while asleep. On the night of the full moon, Wade was fully prepared. Professor Sprout clipped the carefully selected leaf for him and watched as Wade placed it in his mouth. The bitter taste of the plant's juice spread through Wade's mouth. Professor Sprout said, "I had the kitchen prepare some liquid food for you. During this period, try to stick to non-chewable foods, and avoid drinking too much water if you can." "Although you can try again if needed, go into this with a determination to succeed on the first attempt and stay mindful at all times. This process can be grueling. Most people, after failing once, don't want to go through it a second time." "While I trust in your willpower, I still hope everything goes smoothly for you, with as little suffering as possible." Wade's eyes curved in a soft smile as he replied quietly, "Thank you, Professor." "There's no need for thanks." Professor Sprout patted his shoulder. "And one more thing—try to speak as little as possible this month." ... Soon, Friday arrived. When Wade woke up in the morning, he immediately checked the Mandrake leaf in his mouth as he always did. There was no bitter taste, which meant the leaf was still intact. Feeling reassured, he got up, washed, and came out of the bathroom to find a bowl of aromatic minced meat porridge and a cup of strangely colored vegetable and fruit juice already on his desk. Closing his eyes, Wade quickly drank it down in a few gulps. He mounted his broom and flew to the Room of Requirement, where Fred and George were already busy in the alchemy room. Since Wade had borrowed the Marauder's Map from them, the three had been working on alchemy together. Michael and others had initially wanted to join, but he dropped out after a few days of trying to learn Runes, and he even removed Ancient Runes from his elective list without hesitation. "Thanks for the warning, Wade," Michael had said earnestly. "There's no way I'll be studying this next year!" Harry, Neville, Theo, and others nodded in agreement. Only Hermione gave them an exasperated look and continued painstakingly memorizing the Rune Dictionary. The Weasley twins weren't exactly masters of Ancient Runes either, but their enthusiasm for alchemy was boundless, and they had unique techniques to sidestep difficult problems, substituting simpler spells and more complex processes to achieve their goals. Sometimes, Wade even picked up new insights from their methods. A few days ago, Wade had returned the Marauder's Map to the twins, but they insisted the map shouldn't be exclusively theirs and left it in the umbrella room. Fred announced to everyone, "Anyone who wants to explore or go on an adventure, feel free to use it! Just remember our one rule—" "—'I solemnly swear that I am up to no good!'" the twins said in unison. Harry and Michael clapped enthusiastically. Hermione glared at them angrily. "If you get caught by a professor, it'll cost points for your House. I hope you all remember that!" The twins started secretly calling Hermione "Little McGonagall." They hadn't told anyone, but somehow, the nickname still got around. Hermione had heard about it too. But she wasn't upset at all; in fact, she considered it a compliment. ... Wade and the Weasley twins had temporarily put their research on the Marauder's Map aside, as the map not only contained many complex spells, but it was also intricately tied to Hogwarts, making it something that couldn't be replicated elsewhere. Wade also suspected that the original four had used extremely rare materials for the map, with ink that was no ordinary kind. However, without using destructive methods to analyze it, there was no way to deconstruct the detailed components. Even Lupin wasn't entirely sure because most of the materials had come from James Potter and Sirius Black. These two had once controlled the secret vaults of two ancient pureblood families, and Lupin had very little knowledge about what rare and ancient items they might have used on this map. What he could offer was help with spells, like the Human Presence Charm and similar spells. But for now, Wade didn't feel the need to study that. Therefore, their recent focus had shifted to repairing the two-way mirror. After over two hours of research, Wade checked the time, said goodbye to the twins, and made his way to Professor McGonagall's office. Lupin and Harry were already waiting there. Both of them, usually the type who didn't pay much attention to their appearance, were now dressed impeccably. Hats, ties, cufflinks—every detail was carefully attended to, and not a speck of dust was on their wizard robes. This was because today was the day of Sirius Black's trial. They were about to head to the Ministry of Magic. -------------------------------- ????????Please consider supporting this translation project by becoming a P@treon member!!! Your support is greatly appreciated! Available on my P@treon page for just $4!! Early access to the following translations:- ⭐Harry Potter: Becoming a Study God (HP:BSG)- +142 Chapters & 2 Chapters/Day ⭐MCU: Druid's Adventures (MCUDA)(⭐COMPLETE⭐) - Total Chapter 460 ⭐Famous Police Detective in Detective World (FPDDW)- +165 advance chapters ⭐Marvel: Little Genius (MLG) (⭐COMPLETE⭐) - Total Chapter 450 [email protected]/Lightreaper457 --------------------------------