Chapter 81: Secret Passages

[Wade: Dad, if you determine he's trustworthy during the interview, please tell him I'll meet him at the Three Broomsticks in Hogsmeade Village this Saturday morning.]

[Ferdinand: You can leave school?]

[Wade: I have a way.]

[Ferdinand: Is it safe?]

[Wade: Don't worry, Hogsmeade is always under Mr. Dumbledore's watchful eye.]

The open pages of the Friendship Ledger held a moving magical photograph—the love in his parents' eyes, the happy smile on their child's face, all permanently captured by the lens.

Ferdinand gazed at it for a long time before closing the Friendship Ledger.

Though the words vanished from the paper, they were etched into his mind.

At the train station farewell, father and son had subtly pulled back a veil of "feigned peace." From then on, Wade gradually began to write some previously concealed truths in the Friendship Ledger.

For instance, that Slytherin still upheld pure-blood supremacy and often clashed with Gryffindor; or that he was preparing to practice more difficult spells with a few classmates to prepare for the future.

Wade also asked Ferdinand for a favor, to place a job advertisement in the Daily Prophet. The return address was a room at the Leaky Cauldron—Ferdinand had rented the room for a month, checking the received letters after work each day. Tom, the pub owner, seemed gruff on the surface but was actually a warm-hearted man, diligently organizing all the job applications for him daily.

The conditions listed in the advertisement were harsh, and the salary was only average. Even so, many letters poured in from all directions every day. Wade specifically warned him that some wizards might include curses or harmful potions in their letters and advised him not to open them himself.

In fact, Wade didn't need to remind him; Ferdinand was inherently very wary of magic. He had specifically spent money to ask Tom, the pub owner, to help check if the letters were safe—Ferdinand believed that for a pub to thrive in a crucial thoroughfare like Diagon Alley, and to continue operating despite its notoriously poor hygiene, Tom's own magical skill must be considerable.

Among the letters, some included their Hogwarts graduation grades and demanded higher salaries; others exaggerated their abilities to no end but offered no valid proof beyond their own boasts.

But none of that mattered. From the start, Ferdinand knew this job advertisement was actually meant for one person only—Wade had heard the wizard's name from somewhere and insisted on hiring only this individual. No matter how impressive other résumés were, they wouldn't be hired.

And now, that person had finally arrived.

Ferdinand was determined to vet this person thoroughly for his son. If this man named Remus Lupin was all show, or his character was questionable, Ferdinand would never let him near his son.

"Knock, knock-knock!"

A knock sounded on the guest room door, and Tom the landlord's voice came from outside: "Mr. Gray, Mr. Lupin is already in the pub."

"Right, I'm coming." Ferdinand took a deep breath, adjusted his collar, and walked out.

Upon reaching the pub on the ground floor, Ferdinand, guided by Tom, saw the man—brown hair streaked with white, and an extremely worn wizard's robe with several patches. He looked quite young, yet his face was haggard and aged, like those middle-aged unemployed men holding signs looking for work in Canary Wharf.

Ferdinand frowned.

A wizard who seemed to struggle even with basic livelihood—that was his first impression of Remus Lupin.

According to Ferdinand's understanding of magic, it should be much easier for wizards to earn money legitimately than for Muggles... How incompetent must one be to not even afford new clothes?

Or... did he think that dressing shabbily would evoke more sympathy from an employer?

But this was the person Wade wanted to find.

Ferdinand still walked over.

The wizard noticed the movement from afar and sharply looked up. Though he appeared exhausted, his eyes revealed a sense of calm and peace, and his swift, concealed movement of grasping his wand appeared extremely vigilant.

Ferdinand suddenly understood—this was indeed the person Wade had been waiting for.

"Huh, that's odd."

During breakfast, Padma, flipping through the newspaper, mumbled.

"What's odd?" Michael, who was eating a pie, mumbled back.

"A job advertisement I used to see every day in the newspaper has disappeared," Padma tilted her head, as if trying to find the vanished ad in the newspaper's folds.

"They must have found someone!" Michael said indifferently.

"No way!" Padma said, puzzled. "We even discussed it in the dorm. 10 Galleons a week, by rights, shouldn't be enough to attract a wizard of that caliber—"

Wade said nothing, quietly finishing his breakfast.

After classes, Wade walked up the stairs alone. The ever-changing staircase took him to the fifth floor. Wade searched for a while and finally found the mirror, taller than a person, that Marchioni had mentioned in his letter.

Wade tapped the mirror with his wand and softly said, "mostrar la verdad (reveal the truth)!"

The mirror suddenly flipped, revealing a pitch-black passage behind it. Wade lit his wand with a Lumos charm and walked in, immediately freezing.

Before him was only a few steps of open space. Further ahead, the passage had completely collapsed, shattered rocks, bricks, and earth completely blocking the once-wide passage. Traces of dark magic were even visible on the walls.

Someone had used a very dangerous blasting curse here, completely destroying this secret passage.

Wade silently backed out, restored the mirror, and then took out his Friendship Ledger.

[Wade: The passage has collapsed.]

[Marchioni: What?! It was still usable when I was at school! Even the castle's magic couldn't prevent it from collapsing?]

[Marchioni: Never mind, I know another secret passage. It's behind the portrait of Paracelsus on the sixth floor. It's easy to find; he wears a fluffy red hat, is plump, and loves it when people chat with him. If you talk to him about alchemy or divination, he'll tell you anything you want to know...]

Wade: ...

He had a feeling Marchioni's school life must have been quite colorful too.

He climbed a flight of stairs and easily found the portrait, which was so bored it was picking at its fingers. Wade was about to speak to it when he suddenly felt a hidden gaze. He turned his head and saw Mrs. Norris crouching on the floor, licking her paws, her eyes eerily watching him from the corner.

Mrs. Norris was the pet cat of the castle caretaker, Filch. Like her owner, she was old and scrawny, her fur having lost its luster, but she was still keenly perceptive and quick to react. As soon as she spotted a rule-breaking student, she would sprint off to fetch her owner, ensuring the student was punished. Like Filch, she was deeply detested by most students in the school.

One person, one cat, stared at each other.

A student walking around the school in broad daylight certainly wasn't breaking any rules. But as soon as he opened the secret passage, Mrs. Norris would definitely summon Filch.

Most importantly—Filch probably also knew about this secret passage, making entering and exiting it no longer safe.

Wade prepared to leave.

"Yo, Wade!" Fred and George appeared from somewhere. They greeted him enthusiastically and swept Wade away with them.

Fred draped an arm over Wade's shoulder and whispered:

"Are you looking for secret passages in the castle?"