Chapter 24: The Wanted Notice

As the saying goes, "When you take someone's favor, you owe them a debt." After obtaining the Disillusionment Charm, Hofa didn't immediately explore the school. The clue that led him to the charm was given by Indor. 

Now, he had to go to Hogsmeade to honor Indor's invitation. 

Having just achieved his first goal at the school, Hofa was eager to find a place to test out his newly acquired spell. 

Where better to do that than Hogsmeade? 

His spell fragment collection was only at (2/3), and he still didn't know what the system's ability to upgrade spells actually did. 

If he was lucky or had enough time, he also wanted to complete 50% of the exploration in Hogsmeade to obtain the final spell fragment. 

It was a good plan, but Hofa encountered a problem. 

He got lost. 

He remembered that in Harry Potter's third year, unable to get a guardian's signature to visit Hogsmeade, Harry had sneaked into the village with the help of the Invisibility Cloak and secret passages. 

Now, Hofa had invisibility, and he vaguely remembered the location of the secret passage. 

It was supposed to be behind a statue of a one-eyed witch on the fourth floor. 

But when Hofa reached the fourth floor, he was stunned. 

Before him were dozens of staircases going up and down, eight or nine branching paths. 

Some of the staircases were moving restlessly. 

Harry had found the statue because he had the Marauder's Map, but Hofa didn't. Faced with the vast and complex fourth-floor corridor, Hofa was momentarily disoriented. 

Fortunately, fate wasn't entirely against him. 

At that moment, a pearly-white female ghost floated gracefully past Hofa, her demeanor proud and elegant. 

Hofa recognized her—Helena Ravenclaw, the ghost of Ravenclaw House. 

Hofa quickly rushed ahead and reached out to stop her. 

"Miss Helena." 

Helena floated through Hofa's body, reaching the fourth-floor railing before slowly turning to look at him. Hofa felt as if he had been plunged into a bucket of ice water. 

"Bach…" the ghost whispered, her misty eyes blinking a few times. She actually recognized him, perhaps because he was a Ravenclaw student. 

Hofa quickly bowed and asked, "Miss Helena, I'm looking for a statue of a hunchbacked witch. Do you know where it is?" 

Helena looked up, pondering for a moment. 

"Oh, the one with the secret passage to Honeydukes…" 

"Shh, shh, shh!" 

Hofa was startled and quickly put a finger to his lips. 

Hogwarts was strict in this era, and he had no idea what would happen if someone overheard. 

Helena gave an almost imperceptible shrug. "Follow me, child." 

With that, she changed direction and floated away. 

Hofa breathed a sigh of relief. Perhaps these ghosts, having existed for so long, no longer cared much about the rules. 

Helena led Hofa through seven twists and turns. Sometimes she would pass through walls, while Hofa had to quickly navigate around several classrooms to keep up. 

Finally, Helena brought the panting Hofa to the hunchbacked witch statue. 

"I won't tell you the incantation. I just happened to be passing by." 

With that, the ghost passed through a wall and disappeared. 

It seemed the ghosts still favored students from their own house, Hofa thought. 

Although Helena didn't tell Hofa the incantation, it didn't stump him, as he remembered it from the books. 

Hofa took out his wand and gently tapped the statue of the hunchbacked witch. 

"Dissendium." 

The statue's hump opened, large enough for a slender person to enter. 

Hofa quickly glanced up and down the corridor—no one was around. He slipped inside. 

Boom! 

The statue closed behind him. 

The light disappeared, and before Hofa could react, his feet slipped, and he slid down a long, steep slope. 

After what felt like an eternity, he landed on cold, damp earth. 

He stood up and looked around. 

It was pitch black. 

He raised his wand and muttered, "Lumos!" 

A silver light shone from Hofa's wand, illuminating the darkness. 

He was in a narrow, low tunnel that twisted and turned like a rabbit's burrow. 

Hofa hurried along, stumbling occasionally due to the uneven ground, keeping his wand raised in front of him. 

The dark atmosphere was oppressive. This was the second time he had taken a secret passage in the castle, the first time being when he followed Miranda. 

After walking for a long, long time—about an hour—the tunnel began to slope upward. 

Ten minutes later, he reached the foot of a set of broken stone steps that stretched upward into the unseen distance. 

Above was a trapdoor. 

Hofa slowly pushed it open. He was in a cellar filled with wooden chairs and boxes. 

He climbed out of the trapdoor and closed it—the door blended seamlessly with the dusty floor, making it impossible to tell there was a door there. 

As soon as he closed the door, the long-dormant system sent a notification. 

Discovered Wizard's Secret Area: [Current Wizard's Secret Area—Hogsmeade] 

Completion of 50% Secret Area Exploration—You will receive [One-Third Spell Fragment] (One-Third Spell Fragment: Contains peculiar energy. Collect three to upgrade one of your spell abilities.) 

Completion of 100% Secret Area Exploration—You will receive [Great Sage's Knowledge] (Great Sage's Knowledge: Mysterious and unfathomable. Until you possess it, you cannot know its potential power.) 

The system was as usual, and Hofa wasn't surprised. 

Exploring 100% was probably impossible, but he could aim for 50%. Hofa remembered that this place wasn't as large as Diagon Alley. 

If he could reach 50% exploration before returning, he might be able to obtain another spell fragment. He didn't know what would happen if he collected three fragments, but he was very eager to find out. 

Exiting his mindscape, Hofa heard the chatter and laughter of people upstairs. 

To be safe, he first cast the Disillusionment Charm on himself. 

"Disillusionment." 

Instantly, the familiar sensation of being enveloped in cold liquid returned. 

Hofa knew he was in stealth mode. 

He slowly climbed the wooden stairs leading upstairs. 

Now he could clearly hear the voices of various people, not to mention the ringing of bells and the opening and closing of doors. 

Reaching the top of the stairs, he slipped through the door and found himself behind the counter of Honeydukes. He crouched, crawled to the side, and then stood up. 

No one noticed his presence. The Disillusionment Charm worked just like the Invisibility Cloak, if not better. 

A cloak could be stepped on and removed, but a spell couldn't. 

Honeydukes was packed with Hogwarts students. The shop had shelf after shelf filled with the most enticing candies imaginable. 

Large chunks of peanut brittle, glowing pink coconut ice, neatly arranged rows of hundreds of different chocolates, a barrel of Every Flavor Beans, a barrel of Fizzing Whizbees, and bottles of fizzy drinks. 

People were picking out goods, laughing from time to time. 

Hofa, in stealth mode, moved along the edges, looking around and being careful not to bump into the older students. 

Then he saw a very beautiful senior girl standing at the door, chatting and laughing with a few boys. 

Feeling mischievous, Hofa ran his fingers along the girl's waist and hips, then slipped out of Honeydukes with an opening door. 

The girl was furious and slapped a passing boy. 

The boy was shocked, both wronged and confused. 

A small commotion ensued. 

Hofa silently laughed to himself, his brain immediately imagining a thousand ways to use this spell. 

Like sneaking into the girls' bathroom, dormitory, or showers… 

This was what it truly meant to be a wizard… 

Suddenly, a slight headache interrupted Hofa's fantasies. 

He began to feel strange, as if something was wrong with his body. 

But the feeling quickly disappeared. 

Hofa turned his attention to increasing his exploration progress. 

The system in his mindscape rapidly updated the exploration percentage. Although it wasn't as fast as King's Cross Station, compared to the snail's pace at Hogwarts, it was quite quick. 

After just walking down two streets, the system's exploration percentage had reached 5%. 

Zonko's Joke Shop—it existed this early? 

The post office—wizards actually had a post office? 

Hofa really wanted to see the Shrieking Shack, a famous Hogsmeade landmark. 

But then he remembered that the Shrieking Shack became famous during Harry Potter's father's era because of the werewolf howls inside. 

But now, Remus Lupin hadn't even been born yet, so naturally, the Shrieking Shack didn't exist. 

... 

When Hofa turned onto the street behind the post office, he understood its purpose. 

The wizarding post office also used owls to deliver mail—public owls. 

As he looked, a row of wanted posters caught his attention beneath the owl cages. 

[The conflict among wizards never ends. Kill all German dark wizards.] 

There were rows of moving photos, each showing a snarling head with a line of text below. 

(500 Galleons for each German dark wizard's head.) 

Another slight dizziness hit Hofa, and he stood frozen in front of the posters. 

The conflict among wizards never ends. 500 Galleons per head. 

The posters bore the official stamp of the British Ministry of Magic. Hofa seemed to smell the blood hidden beneath the village's peaceful surface. 

He thought of the World War II recruitment posters he had seen on the streets of London. 

And here, he saw the same thing. 

These posters were very new, probably put up just a couple of days ago. 

Had the shadow of war already reached the wizarding world, or had the conflicts between wizards of different countries never ceased? 

After reading the posters, Hofa's lighthearted mood sobered somewhat. 

He remembered that Indor had called him here for something very important. 

He didn't know what it was yet. 

Crossing the street, a few minutes later, Hofa followed a tall wizard into the Two Broomsticks Inn. 

Notably, in the future, this place would be called the Three Broomsticks. 

But that was after Madam Rosmerta became the owner. 

The inn was crowded and noisy, but the atmosphere was better than the Leaky Cauldron. 

It was warm and smoky, with the mist from patrons' pipes wrapping around the candles on the walls, casting a hazy yellow glow. 

The walls were adorned with a few portraits of people loudly arguing, most of them stained with alcohol, their colors slightly altered. 

A burly man with a thick beard was tending to a group of rowdy wizards at the bar. 

A large sign behind the bar displayed various drinks. 

Forgetfulness Potion, Gillywater, nettle wine, sherry, mead, elderflower wine, cherry syrup, butterbeer… 

Of course, the butterbeer Hofa was most familiar with was also listed. 

But now, in his invisible state, he couldn't stop for a drink. 

Hofa carefully tiptoed around the crowd. 

Suddenly, the dizziness returned. 

Hofa felt something was wrong and quickened his pace to find Indor. 

Amid the crowd's laughter, which was loud enough to lift the roof, a familiar voice said, "Ha, two Forgetfulness Potions, please. Put it on my tab." 

"You're the most generous goblin I've ever met." 

"Goblins aren't short on money. Hurry up, let's play another round." 

Hofa turned and saw a group of people gathered around a table, the sound of cards being dealt coming from the center. 

Hofa found an empty chair and stood on it. 

Sure enough, it was that guy, and he was gambling again. 

Indor was sitting casually at the table, wearing his familiar suit. 

The table was scattered with coins. 

A few burly men were gulping down butterbeer, their cheeks red and foam on their lips. 

Hofa was displeased. Was this the so-called important matter? 

Calling him out of Hogwarts while he gambled recklessly here? 

What was going on in this guy's head? 

He jumped off the chair and squeezed through the robes of the wizards who were leaning forward to watch the game. 

But when Hofa entered the center of the gambling circle, the dizziness worsened. He had to hold onto a chair to steady himself. 

Taking a deep breath to stabilize his inexplicably poor condition, Hofa quickly stepped forward and grabbed Indor's ear, whispering, "You'd better give me a good explanation, or I'll test the new curse I learned at Hogwarts on you."