Chapter 82: Secret Passages, McKie

Wade paused. "Is it that obvious?"

"Others might not see it, but to us, it's crystal clear!" Fred said with a grin. "We saw you come out of the corridor with the mirror just now, and now you've found Paracelsus's portrait. You're obviously looking for secret passages, aren't you?"

"But it's no use. Filch knows about the secret passage behind that portrait; he's always on alert! Even if you sneak in, he'll definitely catch you when you come out." George added, "That guy knows four of the castle's secret passages."

"But we know more! If you really want to sneak out of school to do something—"

"We mean—to Honeydukes to buy some sweets or something—"

"Then go to the middle of the fourth-floor corridor, find the statue of a one-eyed, humpbacked witch—"

"The password is 'Separation Left and Right'—"

"The exit is in Honeydukes."

"So—" Fred winked mischievously. "We look forward to your grand adventure!"

"Why are you telling me?" Wade asked, surprised. "You haven't told many people about this secret passage, have you?"

"Of course not! Even little Ronnie doesn't know!"

"But you've already found two secret passages on your own—you're qualified to become the new generation of rule-breakers!" Fred declared solemnly, as if performing some serious ritual of succession.

"We also received some help from our predecessors—hmm—very valuable help—" George said vaguely. "So we should also help like-minded people!"

"Keep up the good work, Wade!" Fred gave a thumbs-up. "You have talent."

Wade didn't want to know what he meant by "talent"... He just felt the twins had some kind of misunderstanding about him.

"Separation Left and Right!"

Wade found the humpbacked witch statue and recited the password. The statue's hump immediately opened, creating enough space for him to walk through.

But Wade stood at the entrance, looking at the dark tunnel, and finally chose to restore the statue to its original state.

—Why must I sneak out of school in violation of the rules?

Wade suddenly had this thought.

Gryffindors would consider such a thing a grand adventure, but in his opinion, such actions that increased one's own risk were actually inadvisable.

He did need to see Remus Lupin, and he could also see Marchioni while he was at it, but the secret passage was just a backup option. It wouldn't be too late to use the secret passage to leave school if legitimate means failed to achieve his goal.

Several professors' faces flashed quickly through his mind, finally settling on Professor Morrie's benevolent smile.

This wasn't just because of Professor Morrie's care and admiration for him, but also because this professor didn't take rules and discipline too seriously.

Ostensibly, Hogwarts didn't allow connection to the Floo Network, yet he had connected his office fireplace (though Dumbledore certainly knew);

Legally, non-magical family fireplaces weren't allowed to connect to the Floo Network, yet he had secretly found someone to open one;

Many people with Professor Morrie's status and prestige would gradually become moral paragons, embodiments of rules as they aged (even if only on the surface), but Professor Morrie would roll up his sleeves and personally haggle over every penny with merchants.

Therefore, Professor Morrie was the most likely person to make an exception and approve his leaving school.

"Pop!"

The familiar soft sound made Wade immediately turn his head. He expected it to be one of Phil or the others, but instead, it was an unfamiliar house-elf.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Wade Grey." The house-elf bowed deeply.

"You are—" Wade's fingers subtly tightened around his wand, glancing at the house-elf's head. "McKie? Good afternoon, McKie."

The house-elf's eyes widened in surprise, its already large, tennis-ball-like eyes protruding even more, and tears quickly welled up.

"Wade Grey remembered McKie's name? Even though McKie is just a house-elf more insignificant than dust, Wade Grey remembered his name? He even said good afternoon to McKie? No wizard has ever said good afternoon to McKie—no wizard has ever remembered McKie's name—"

The house-elf began to wail.

Wade sighed, kneeling down to say to him, "I'm sorry, did I say something wrong?"

"No—no—how could Wade Grey be wrong? He's just as Zoe said... a very, very great wizard... just as good as Zoe said—" McKie sobbed.

"That's quite an exaggeration; I'm not great at all." Wade pulled out a tissue from his pocket and offered it to him, saying, "If you keep crying, you might attract others!"

"A house-elf not discovered by wizards is a good house-elf"—such a thought was like a moral code imprinted in the house-elf's mind. McKie's crying immediately subsided and gradually stopped after a moment.

"I remember Zoe saying you were researching how to make those sweets?" Wade tentatively asked, "Are you here because your research yielded results?"

"Yes—yes—Wade Grey will see the sweets on the dinner table tonight—"

McKie sniffled and said, "But—no—McKie is not here for that—McKie is here to warn Wade Grey—"

"Warn?" Wade was startled. "Warn me about what?"

"McKie was cleaning in Slytherin and heard some students say—say they would give him—give him a lesson—when Wade Grey goes to practice potions—"

McKie finished with great difficulty, then froze completely, as if unable to believe what he had just done. He then shivered and violently slammed himself against the nearby wall, shouting as he hit it, "Bad McKie! Bad McKie!"

"Wait, McKie!" Wade grabbed him, stopping him from hitting the wall. "What are you doing, McKie?"

"McKie is punishing himself—McKie is so bad—he revealed a young wizard's secret—" McKie said tearfully. "But Wade Grey needs to know—someone means him ill—McKie... McKie wants to tell Wade Grey who it is, but McKie cannot say their names..."

As he spoke, he tried to hit the wall again. Wade quickly stopped him and said, "Wait! You're trying to protect me, remember? You haven't revealed any secret; you're protecting a student who's about to be in danger, and that doesn't need to be punished!"

"Is—is that so?" McKie asked, confused.

"Of course." Wade nodded affirmatively and emphatically.

McKie hesitated, stopping his struggles, tilting his head as if in some kind of confusion.

Wade gently said, "Listen to me, McKie—thank you for protecting me from misfortune, even at the cost of punishing yourself... Protecting others, sacrificing oneself, that is a very noble act, full of love and responsibility, and it is the meaning and value of life itself. There is absolutely no reason for you to be punished for it."

McKie stared at him blankly.

After a long time, he bowed deeply, his nose touching the ground.

"Please, Mr. Wade Grey, you must be careful for your safety—McKie cannot bear for Wade Grey to be harmed..."

After saying this, he vanished from the spot with a "pop," taking the used tissue with him.