[Wade: Dad, if during the interview you confirm he's someone trustworthy, please let him know—I'll meet him this Saturday morning at the Three Broomsticks Inn in Hogsmeade Village.]
[Fred(dad): You can leave the school?]
[Wade: I have my ways.]
[Fred(dad): Is it safe?]
[Wade: Don't worry, Hogsmeade has always been under Professor Dumbledore's watchful eye.]
...
A moving magical photograph was tucked into the open pages of the book—capturing forever the love in the parents' eyes and the happiness on the child's face.
Fred gazed at it for a long time before closing the Book of friends.
Although the words had disappeared from the page, they were already etched into his mind.
At the station, during their farewell, father and son had vaguely peeled away a layer of pretense, known as "keeping up appearances." Since then, Wade had begun to write about things in the Book of friends that he had previously hidden from them.
For example, that Slytherin still upheld pure-blood supremacy and frequently clashed with Gryffindor; or that he was preparing to practice more advanced spells with a few classmates to get ready for the future.
Wade also asked Fred for help in posting a job advertisement in the Daily Prophet, with the address for responses being a guest room at the Leaky Cauldron—Fred had rented the room for a month and would check the mail after work every day.
The pub's owner, Tom, though appearing hard to get along with, was actually quite kind and helped organize the job applications daily.
The requirements listed in the advertisement were stringent, yet the salary was only average. Even so, many letters poured in from all directions.
Wade had specifically warned him that some wizards might include curses or harmful potions in the letters, so he shouldn't open them himself.
Wade's warning wasn't really necessary, as Fred was already highly cautious about magic. He had spent a sum of money to hire Tom to check whether the letters were safe—Fred believed that someone who could run a pub in a busy area like Diagon Alley, and with such poor hygiene, must possess a decent level of magical skill.
Some of the applicants attached their grades from when they graduated from Hogwarts, while also requesting a higher salary; others exaggerated their abilities without offering any substantial proof apart from their own boasting.
But none of that mattered. From the very beginning, Fred knew that the job ad had been placed for one specific person. Wade had somehow come across the name of this wizard and insisted on hiring only him. No matter how impressive other resumes were, they would not be considered.
And now, that person has finally arrived.
Fred was determined to carefully vet this man for his son's sake. If this Remus Lupin character turned out to be all surface and no substance, or if his character was questionable in any way, Fred would never allow him near his son.
Knock, knock knock!
There was a knock on the door, followed by Tom the innkeeper's voice from outside: "Mr. Grey, Mr. Lupin has arrived at the bar."
"Alright, I'll be right there." Fred took a deep breath, adjusted his collar, and headed out.
Arriving at the pub on the ground floor, Fred, under Tom's guidance, spotted the man—brown hair streaked with gray, wearing an extremely worn wizard's robe patched in several places.
He looked young, yet his face was haggard and prematurely aged, much like those middle-aged, unemployed men who stand around Canary Wharf with signs looking for work.
Fred frowned.
A wizard who seems to struggle even with basic survival—that was his first impression of Remus Lupin.
From what Fred knew about magic, wizards should find it easier than Muggles to make an honest living. Just how incompetent can one be to not even afford a new set of clothes?
Or… did he think dressing shabbily would evoke more sympathy from potential employers?
But this was the person Wade had been waiting to find.
So, Fred walked over.
From a distance, the wizard noticed the movement and quickly looked up. Though exhausted, there was a calmness and serenity in his gaze. His swift but subtle grip on his wand revealed a sharp vigilance.
At that moment, Fred understood—this is indeed the man Wade had been waiting for all this time.
...
"Huh, that's strange."
At breakfast, Padma flipped through the newspaper and muttered to herself.
"What's strange?" Michael mumbled through a mouthful of pie.
"The job ad I've been seeing in the newspaper every day has disappeared," Padma tilted her head, as if trying to find the missing ad hidden somewhere between the pages.
"Probably found someone!" Michael replied casually.
"That can't be!" Padma said, puzzled. "We even discussed it in the dorm. Ten Galleons a week? That kind of salary shouldn't attract a wizard of that level—"
Wade stayed silent, quietly finishing his breakfast.
After class, Wade walked alone up the stairs. The shifting staircases led him to the fifth floor. After searching for a while, he finally found the person-high mirror that Marchionne had mentioned in his letter.
Wade tapped the mirror with his wand and whispered, "mostrar la verdad (reveal the truth)!"
The mirror suddenly flipped, revealing a pitch-black passage behind it. Wade lit his wand with the Lumos charm and stepped inside, only to stop in shock.
There was only a small clearing a few steps ahead. Beyond that, the passage had completely collapsed, with rubble, bricks, and dirt blocking what was once a spacious corridor. Traces of dark magic could even be seen on the walls.
Someone had used a very dangerous explosion spell here, completely destroying the secret passage.
Wade silently backed out, restored the mirror to its original state, and took out his journal.
[Wade: The passage has collapsed.]
[Marchionne: What? I could still use it when I was in school! The castle's magic didn't prevent it from collapsing?]
[Marchionne: Never mind, I know another secret passage. It's behind Paracelsus's portrait on the sixth floor.
Easy to find—he wears a fluffy red hat, is chubby, and loves when people chat with him. Talk to him about alchemy or divination, and he'll be willing to tell you anything…]
Wade: …
It seems like Marchionne had quite an eventful school life.
Wade climbed another flight of stairs and easily found the portrait of Paracelsus, who was so bored he was picking at his fingernails.
Just as Wade was about to strike up a conversation, he suddenly felt a subtle gaze on him. Turning around, he saw Mrs. Norris crouched on the floor, licking her paws, her eerie gaze fixed on him.
Mrs. Norris is the pet cat of Argus Filch, the castle's caretaker. Just like her owner, she was old and scrawny, with a dull coat of fur, but she was still sharp and quick to react.
Whenever she caught a student breaking the rules, she would dash off to fetch Filch, ensuring the offender would be punished. Much like Filch, she was deeply disliked by most of the students at the school.
Wade and the cat locked eyes.
A student walking through the school in broad daylight certainly wasn't breaking any rules. But if Wade opened the secret passage, Mrs. Norris would surely call Filch over, and then he'd be in trouble.
More importantly, Filch likely knew about this secret passage, which meant it wouldn't be safe to use it anymore.
Wade decided to leave.
"Hey, Wade!" Fred and George appeared out of nowhere, greeting him enthusiastically before pulling him along with them.
Fred draped his arm over Wade's shoulder and quietly asked:
"Are you looking for the castle's secret passages?"
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