Chapter 450
School
Chapter 450 Back to school
"Actually, I was thinking before..." Wade sighed and said, "How should I explain to you that one of the conditions for me to come back is that I cannot disrupt the propaganda plan of the Wushu Party."
"I guessed it." Marchionne said, "This is actually a good thing for me. If the voices heard by the entire wizarding world came from the FMC, I would be worried that I would not live long."
"Then you are still holding back on allowing the Ministries of Magic of various countries to broadcast their own programmes?"
Sirius asked unhappily, "I heard that many people came to you for negotiation, but the negotiations were very difficult. Do you know how many people bombarded Remus with messages every day, asking him to help lobby?"
"Look at what you said!" Marchionne said seriously, "How can you miss the opportunity to make a lot of money because of a small safety issue?"
Sirius:"……"
He rolled his eyes and ignored this guy who was willing to sacrifice his life for money.
Lupin, who was being harassed by the messages, could understand Marchionne's approach better. He said, "If you give in easily, the other party will definitely push for more. But don't hold back too much..."
Lupin turned around, his eyes fell on Marchionne, and advised: "At least leave a slit so they can tear it apart themselves... Otherwise I'm really worried that one day I'll see you dead on the street in the news."
"Don't worry, I know what's going on." Marchionne put down his glass and put on his fedora. When he passed by Wade, he stopped and reminded him, "Stay in Hogwarts recently and don't leave the school."
"I see." Vader said softly.
Marchionne nodded to everyone and left in a hurry, as if he came here just to take a look at Wade and make sure he was safe.
"This guy..." Sirius leaned crookedly on the sofa and frowned, "He is already very rich, why is he still so greedy? Can Galleons be brought into the coffin?"
"For him, money is the greatest pursuit, and making money is the supreme happiness, right?" Wade said, "Just like me, no matter how much magic I learn, I never feel that I have learned enough."
Sirius looked at him with a hint of teasing in his tone: "How old are you? When you are fifty years old, I don't believe that you will still only know how to study foolishly."
Vader just smiled and didn't argue.
"I'm going to go see Maybelle," he said. "My mother made some pastries for me to bring to her."
Although Fiona also read about Obscurus in the newspaper, to her, anyone who could travel thousands of kilometers to save Wade could not be a bad person in any way.
Wade went upstairs and knocked on the door, and Mabel's voice came from inside: "Come in."
Pushing the door open, Mabel was standing in the middle of the room. She didn't look back and was concentrating on practicing the spell.
There were five or six candles on the table in front of her. The girl was holding a magic wand, pointing at each candle and whispering, "Burning flames!"
There was no blazing flame.
A thin flame was "puffed" out by the magic wand and lit one of the candles.
Then the second, the third... until all the candles were lit, and the room was instantly filled with warm candlelight.
"Remus, I've learned the Ignition Charm!" said Mabel.
"Well, it's very well controlled." Wade's voice came from the door. He asked, "But aren't you worried about setting the table on fire?"
Hearing his voice, Mabel turned around suddenly and said in surprise: "Weid!"
After a pause, she added a little reservedly: "...Mr. Gray."
"Just call me Wade." Wade walked over, his eyes fell on her right hand, and asked, "Do you have a wand?"
"Yes, Mr. Lupin took me to Diagon Alley to buy it." Mabel said softly with gratitude in her eyes, "I used the money you gave me and the Polyjuice Potion."
"The pronunciation and gestures of the Ignition Charm are very standard." Wade said with a smile, with a hint of approval in his eyes: "You learn very quickly, Mabel."
After a pause, he continued, "I'm going back to school today. I'm relieved to see that you've adapted well."
"Mr. Lupin and Mr. Black are both good people. They take good care of me."
Mabel smiled and was about to say something else, but she stopped herself.
Wade noticed her expression and asked, "Did you encounter any difficulties? Oh..."
He suddenly realized that although Mabel looked young, she was actually thirteen or fourteen years old, in the midst of puberty, and might have some... special troubles that would be difficult for the two adult wizards to detect and help.
"Mrs. Rosmerta of the Three Broomsticks is warm and kind. You can ask her for advice on anything. She is a trustworthy person and will definitely be able to give you some useful advice."
Wade said, "Hogwarts is nearby, so there's basically no need to worry about the safety of this village. You... um... you don't have to hide in the house all the time. You can go out for a walk occasionally, buy something you like, and relax... This is an interesting place, you'll like it."
"Mr. Lupin said the same thing, I just..." Mabel's voice gradually trailed off, and a hint of hesitation and uneasiness appeared in her eyes.
She was silent for a long time, and finally said softly: "I want to know how Hailey is doing. If possible, I want to see her."
There was a slight tremor in the girl's voice, and she sounded particularly cautious.
"Of course!" Before Wade could speak, she added anxiously, "I know there may be people in the Ministry of Magic watching her. I won't meet her, but I just want to... take a look at her from a distance. If I can make sure she's safe, I'll feel relieved."
When Wade heard this, his eyes softened. He thought of the pale little girl who was like a sister to Mabel, and a warm feeling welled up in his heart. He could understand Mabel's feelings at the moment.
He nodded and said gently, "I will ask Dumbledore for you and arrange a time for you two to meet... I think it shouldn't be difficult."
When Mabel heard this, her slightly tense body relaxed instantly. A relieved smile appeared on her face, and she said gratefully, "Thank you, Wade."
……
It was already late at night when Wade returned to school.
Filch was holding a dim lamp and guarding the gate. When he saw Wade, a rare smile appeared on his usually harsh face.
"Finally you're back." The key manager turned slightly and walked towards the castle with heavy steps, asking, "Have you dealt with all the things at home?"
Wade was stunned, then said vaguely: "Well, everything is done... By the way, why is Mrs. Loris not here?"
"Oh, she's with the little ones!" Filch smiled even more. He said lovingly, "When the little crabs are cleaning, they sometimes get stuck in the corners by accident. At this time, someone has to rescue them."
In his mouth, both Mrs. Norris and the cleaning crab seemed like cute children.
"Has there been no more malfunctions recently?" Wade asked.
"No... oh, actually they did," said Filch. "But they fixed it themselves. These little guys are really getting smarter."
Vader nodded.
Cleaner crabs are his early works. At first, they are like low-level AI, only able to execute orders rigidly. But they also have simple learning ability, and their intelligence will naturally increase over time.
Arriving at the castle gate, Wade saw several figures swaying in the corridor from a distance. He turned to ask Filch, "It should be curfew time now, right?"
"Of course." Filch also saw those figures, his face suddenly darkened, and he said angrily: "There are always some brats who try their best to break the rules. When I catch them, I'll show you how I'll deal with them!" Remembering that Wade was still around, he added: "Oh... you just came back, so it doesn't count. Hurry back to the lounge!"
The key keeper quickened his pace and rushed into the castle, ready to catch the students who violated the rules. At this moment, he ran so fast that he didn't look like a man in his seventies.
Vader shook his head, raised his wand, and chanted the spell: "Broom fly!"
Although there may be hundreds of brooms at Hogwarts, when Vader cast the spell, he had only one clear image in his mind, and only summoned that specific broom.
"call out--"
Accompanied by the sound of breaking wind, a slightly old but well-maintained broom flew over and jumped twice as it hovered beside Vader, as if it was also very happy.
“It feels like a long time, man.”
Vader chuckled, patted the broom handle gently, and then mounted the broom lightly.
He flew around the castle and the Black Lake before climbing into his bedroom through the window.
The house-elves had taken care of everything. The room was warm and tidy, and everything remained the same as when he left last semester, as if time had stopped in this place.
Wade exhaled comfortably, and the moment his feet stepped on the ground, he couldn't help but compare this place with Grindelwald's gray castle.
The room there was not as warm, the bed was a little hard, the bare walls lacked decoration, the view outside the window was too monotonous, and most importantly, the house elves there were not as considerate and would not make everything just right.
—It’s great to be back at Hogwarts.
Wade sighed from the bottom of his heart, expanding the closet space and putting his things in their places. When he was tidying up the bookshelf, he suddenly heard a knock on the door.
"Come in," Wade said, looking up.
"Hey, Vader!"
After Michael entered the room, he first used his eyes to find where Wade was, and then excitement slowly rose to his eyes.
"I just heard the sound of a broomstick flying through the window, and I thought it might be you who came back... and it turned out to be true!"
Michael walked over quickly and said with a look of relief.
"Long time no see, Michael." Wade put down the book in his hand, walked over and said with a smile: "It hasn't been long actually... should be less than a month?"
"You've been gone twenty-three days, man!"
Michael grabbed Wade's arm and looked him up and down, his eyes showing concern, but he didn't dare to ask directly, so he asked vaguely:
"You over there...uh, what's going on with you? Is there anything you want to talk about? I promise to be a good listener."
"It's not as bad as you think. I just went to deal with a little... technical problem."
Wade closed the door, then sat down and briefly recounted his previous experiences.
"Weird... so weird..."
Michael rested his chin on one hand, a thoughtful expression on his face.
"Honestly, if you got beaten up, I would think it would be normal. But...from what I've seen in the news before, Grindelwald is not a kind and reasonable person."
"Ever since the mysterious man called himself the Dark Lord, most wizards in Europe think that he is only the second generation, and the first generation Dark Lord should be Grindelwald."
"Such a person is polite to you..."
As he was thinking, Michael shivered suddenly, as if a cold wind was blowing behind him.
"Vade..."
He shouted faintly.
"What's wrong?" Wade, who was making tea, asked curiously.
"Death Eaters all have Dark Marks on their arms." Michael said slowly, "Didn't the Witch Party leave you a weird symbol like...a triangle in a circle?"
He stared at Wade, as if trying to see some strange expression on his face.
However, Wade was only slightly stunned, then he put down the kettle and said frankly: "If I really join the Witch Party, I will never go back to school - you don't think that with my alchemy skills, the Witch Party will send me to Hogwarts to be a mere spy, right?"
"Ah...it seems so."
Michael scratched his head awkwardly and said sheepishly: "Sorry, I think I got distracted."
"Actually, your idea isn't completely wrong."
Wade pushed the fragrant teacup over and said calmly, "Someone did want me to join the Witch Party, but Grindelwald did not use any coercive means. It can even be said that he took the initiative to let Professor Dumbledore and I leave."
"Would he be so kind?" Michael asked doubtfully.
"Kindness? No, it should be called grace, right? As a leader, he still has the breadth of mind and tolerance—"
Thinking of the time in the supermarket when Grindelwald disguised himself as an ordinary old man passing by and attacked him, Wade added: "--Although sometimes he does not follow martial ethics."
Michael couldn't help laughing when he saw this.
Ten thousand explanations could not prove one thing better than Wade's spontaneous complaint - he was indeed not abused or controlled by the Witch Party.
Michael felt as if a huge stone in his heart slowly fell to the ground.
Lupin was not the only one who was tormented day and night by a sense of responsibility, guilt and disappointment in himself after his friend was taken away from him. Michael and Harry also found it difficult to forgive themselves.
At this time, Wade finally returned safely, and he felt that he was freed from the cage.
"Michael, does anyone besides you know why I didn't come to school on time?" Wade asked.
"No, Professor Flitwick told everyone that you took a few days off due to some family matters... By the way, here is your class schedule."
Michael suddenly remembered that he still had a task to do. He took out a piece of paper from his pocket, looked at the densely packed course list on it, and said with lingering fear:
"I have five classes tomorrow morning alone... I wrote down all the homework from last week, but will you be able to finish it in time?"
"Oh, I'm sorry to disappoint you." Wade said calmly, "Before coming to school, I talked to the professors. They said that since I have mastered the basic knowledge, I don't have to do last week's homework."
Wade dusted off the parchment and smiled: "And now... the thing I have the most is time."
(End of this chapter)