Secret Passage
"Dad, if you decide he's trustworthy during the interview, please tell him I'll meet him this Saturday morning at the Three Broomsticks in Hogsmeade Village," Wade said.
"You can leave school?" Ferdinand asked.
"I have my ways," Wade replied.
"Is it safe?" Ferdinand pressed.
"Don't worry, Hogsmeade is always under Mr. Dumbledore's watchful eye," Wade assured him.
...
Tucked inside the open pages of the Book of Friends was a moving magical photograph—the parents' loving gazes and the child's happy smile were permanently captured by the lens.
Ferdinand gazed at it for a long time before closing the Book of Friends.
Though the words had vanished from the paper, they were etched into his mind.
At their farewell at the station, father and son had subtly pulled back a veil of "feigned peace." From then on, Wade gradually began to write about facts he had previously hidden from them in the Book of Friends.
For instance, Slytherin still championed Pure-blood supremacy and often clashed with Gryffindor. He also mentioned that he and a few classmates were preparing to practice more advanced spells to prepare for the future.
Wade also asked Ferdinand for help to place a job advertisement in the Daily Prophet, with the return address being a guest room at The Leaky Cauldron. Ferdinand had rented the room for a month, checking the mail every day after work. Tom, the pub owner, seemed unapproachable at first glance but was actually a warm-hearted person, tidying all the job applications for him daily.
The conditions listed in the advertisement were stringent, yet the salary was only average. Even so, many letters arrived daily from all directions. Wade specifically warned him that some Wizards might include curses or harmful potions in their letters and advised him not to open them himself.
Actually, Ferdinand was already very wary of magic, even without Wade's reminder. He spent a considerable sum to ask Tom, the pub owner, to check if the letters were safe. Ferdinand believed that for Tom to operate a pub in a crucial thoroughfare like Diagon Alley, and to run it steadily despite its abysmal hygiene, his own magical ability must be considerable.
Among the letters, some included their Hogwarts graduation scores and demanded higher salaries; others exaggerated their abilities to no end but couldn't provide any effective proof besides their own boasts.
But none of that mattered. From the start, Ferdinand knew this job advertisement was specifically for one person. Wade had heard the Wizard's name from somewhere and insisted on hiring only this individual. Even if other resumes were impressive, they wouldn't be considered.
And now, that person had finally arrived.
Ferdinand decided he absolutely had to vet this person for his son. If this man named Remus Lupin was all show or had questionable character, Ferdinand would never let him near his son.
"Knock, knock, knock!"
The guest room door was knocked, and Tom, the owner, called from outside, "Mr. Gray, Mr. Lupin is already in the bar."
"All right, I'll be right there." Ferdinand took a deep breath, straightened his collar, and walked out.
Upon reaching the bar on the first floor, Ferdinand, guided by Tom, saw the man—brown hair streaked with white, and several patches on his extremely worn Wizard robes. He looked young, yet his face was haggard and aged, like those middle-aged, unemployed individuals holding signs seeking 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 legally and legitimately than for Muggles… How incompetent must one be to not even afford new clothes?
Or was it that… he thought looking shabby would elicit more sympathy from the employer?
But this was the person Wade wanted to find.
Ferdinand still walked over.
The Wizard, sensing movement from afar, sharply looked up. Though he appeared utterly exhausted, his eyes showed composure and peace, and his swift, concealed movement to grip his Wand made him seem very alert.
Ferdinand suddenly understood—this was indeed the person Wade had waited for so long.
...
"Hmm, that's odd," Padma mumbled during breakfast, flipping through the newspaper.
"What's odd?" Michael asked with a mouthful of pie.
"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 creases.
"They probably hired someone!" Michael said dismissively.
"No way!" Padma replied, puzzled. "We even discussed it in the dorm. Ten Galleons a week, by all accounts, shouldn't be enough to attract a Wizard of that caliber—"
Wade remained silent, quietly finishing his breakfast.
After classes, Wade walked alone up the stairs. The shifting staircases carried 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 dark, hidden passage behind it. Wade lit his Wand with a Lumos Charm, walked in, and was instantly stunned.
Before him was only a few steps of open space, and beyond that, the passage had completely collapsed. Rubble, bricks, and dirt thoroughly blocked the once-spacious passage, and traces of Dark Magic could even be seen on the walls.
Someone had used a very dangerous Explosion Charm here, completely destroying this Secret Passage.
Wade silently retreated, restored the mirror, and then took out the Book of Friends.
"The passage collapsed," Wade wrote.
"What? I could definitely use it when I was at school! Didn't the castle's magic stop it from collapsing?" Marchioni replied.
"Never mind, I know another Secret Passage. It's on the sixth floor, behind Paracelsus's portrait. It's easy to find; he wears a fluffy red hat, he's plump, and he loves it when people talk to him. If you talk to him about Alchemy or divination, he'll tell you anything…" Marchioni continued.
Wade: …
He had a feeling Marchioni's school life must have been quite colorful too.
He ascended one flight of stairs and easily found the portrait of the bored man picking at his fingers. Just as Wade was about to speak to him, he suddenly felt a hidden gaze. He turned his head and saw Mrs. Norris squatting on the ground, licking her paws, her eyes eerily watching him from the corner.
Mrs. Norris, the castle caretaker Filch's pet cat, was just like her owner — old and skinny, with dull fur. Yet, she remained sharp and quick to react. As soon as she spotted a student breaking rules, she would rush off to fetch her owner, ensuring the rule-breaker was punished. Like Filch, she was deeply disliked by most students in the school.
The person and the cat stared at each other.
A student walking around the school in broad daylight certainly wasn't breaking any rules. However, if he were to open a Secret Passage, Mrs. Norris would undoubtedly summon Filch.
More importantly, Filch likely knew about this Secret Passage too, which meant entering or exiting it would no longer be safe.
Wade prepared to leave.
"Yo, Wade!" Fred and George appeared out of nowhere, greeting him warmly before whisking him away.
Fred slung an arm over Wade's shoulder and whispered,
"Are you looking for a Secret Passage in the castle?"
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