Chapter 215: Happiest [Two-in-One]
In the afternoon, at the Umbrella House, Wade briefly told everyone about Carlyle.
After hearing it, the others were fine, but Harry and Hermione were both terrified.
"It's a good thing Hagrid was the one who came to pick me up back then," Harry said. "I mean... if I had met Byrd first, I definitely would have fallen for it too."
"You wouldn't have! The entire Wizarding World was watching you!"
Hermione said with lingering fear, "But for someone from a completely Muggle background like me, there's no way to tell what's trustworthy."
"I don't know any more than you do, Hermione," Harry told her. "As long as I could leave the Dursley's, I would have gone with whoever came to pick me up."
Ever since he was little, he often dreamed of a sudden relative showing up to take him away, but that dream never came true. Just when he realized dreams were just dreams, the world of magic suddenly opened its doors to him.
Then, Remus and Wade took him from the Dursley's, and he even had a godfather…
Harry sometimes wondered if the reason his life before had been so miserable was because God or Merlin had saved all the best for after he turned eleven.
"Oh, Harry." Hermione bit her lip, saying apologetically, "I'm so sorry..."
She had only thought of Harry's immense fame just now, but had forgotten what Harry had lost because of it.
Harry shook his head, saying nothing.
The group discussed Carlyle's situation for a while, but being teenagers, no one could offer any useful suggestions, at most just reorganizing the limited information they currently had.
"The school professors must know which Muggle-born children haven't come to school," Padma finally said. "It would be great if we could get that list; maybe we could find something."
Neville shook his head. "But that kind of list would definitely be with Professor Dumbledore... or Professor McGonagall. There's no way they'd tell us."
Aside from Neville, the eyes of the other Gryffindors gleamed with eagerness.
"That's not necessarily true..." Fred blinked. "If we want information, we don't necessarily need the professors' permission..."
"As long as someone can distract Professor McGonagall, for example—"
George pretended to be holding a book. "—Professor, there's a question I don't quite understand..."
Everyone looked at Hermione.
"Uh... I do have some questions I need to ask..."
Hermione stopped mid-sentence, then cleared her throat.
"...I mean, stealing from a professor is against school rules! And who knows the new password to Professor McGonagall's office?"
Everyone looked at Wade again.
Wade shook his head.
"Sorry, I can't agree to this plan, nor will I help with your actions... Do you think the professors wouldn't have thought of what we've thought of? They must have already investigated what needed investigating."
"Exactly," Michael echoed. "The professors are much stronger than us, both in experience and magic. They can Apparate, and they could probably investigate all the Muggle-born students in one day. Even if we got the list, what could we do?"
Harry suddenly realized, "So what we should steal are the investigation results!"
"That's right!"
The Gryffindors all agreed, praising Michael, saying he truly was a Ravenclaw for thinking so thoroughly.
Michael was speechless. "...Why do your thoughts always revolve around stealing? We're saying that stealing is pointless, and investigating on our own is inefficient and a waste of time. The best strategy right now is to wait for the investigation results from the professors and the Ministry of Magic."
"We know that!" Harry said. "But now that you know about this, can you resist getting involved?"
"I can!" Michael said decisively.
"He can," Fred said at the same time. "He's a Ravenclaw!"
There was only teasing in that remark, no mockery, so everyone laughed, even Michael himself couldn't help but smile.
"Alright, do whatever you want..."
Michael shrugged. "If you get caught by the professors, I'll try to help you get a lighter punishment."
"Wade..."
The Gryffindors looked again at the person who held the access password.
Wade still shook his head.
"I can't tell others the password the professor told me without permission..."
As the young lions lowered their heads in disappointment, Wade shifted his gaze to the potted plant in the corner and said softly:
"But... if someone insists on accompanying me when I go to see Professor McGonagall... I can't exactly turn them away, can I?"
The others immediately rejoiced, and Michael winked at Wade.
Wade smiled sheepishly.
Adventure and taking the blame seemed to be a consensus between Ravenclaw and Slytherin, to be left to Gryffindor.
But even if the Gryffindors realized this, they would likely not mind, and would still enthusiastically charge ahead.
Because they weren't afraid of these things; courage and adventure were what they sought.
Still, Wade didn't really think Harry and the others would be able to find anything concrete.
Especially those from Wizarding families; they probably couldn't even tell if Oxford was west or south of London, nor did they know what activities Muggle-born children typically participated in. How could they possibly dig up the reason for a student's disappearance from a library?
So, anything they could investigate, the adults had surely already looked into. And what they couldn't think of, the adults probably already had an idea about.
However, Wade also hadn't forgotten that in the original story, Dumbledore had tacitly allowed Harry to confront and kill the Basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets alone during this very year.
That was a dangerous creature that even adult Wizards would shy away from.
But now, due to Wade's interference, the Basilisk hadn't had a chance to show itself. Perhaps Professor Dumbledore, to train Harry, would subtly guide clues into his hands?
This thought suddenly occurred to Wade when Harry suggested they try to steal the investigation results.
After finishing their homework, everyone went to practice spells. Theo winked at Wade, and the two sat in the lounge area, where a plate of small cakes sat on the table.
"Wade..." Theo leaned in, lowering his voice. "My focus might be a bit strange..."
"Any detail can be a clue," Wade said. "Did you find anything amiss?"
"In what you just said, after the Johnson family went to America, it was that Major Byrd and an old witch who took Carlyle Johnson, right?"
Theo continued, "All the focus is on Byrd, but why are there no clues about that old witch?"
"Because even in Mr. Johnson's memory, that witch only showed half of her wrinkled face. You could barely tell she was a woman and small in stature, but nothing more beyond that."
Wade said, "No special jewelry or facial features. There are countless elderly witches in just England and America alone; there's no way to investigate that."
Theo was silent for a moment before saying, "Maybe I'm overthinking it, but... do you remember when you saved my brother and me this summer?"
"There was an elderly witch that time too."
Theo explained, "After you left, my father and the others used... they used some methods to interrogate that Werewolf, Chad Brick."
"From him, we learned that the witch called herself Ursula. She usually worked in Knockturn Alley, selling Dark Magic materials like human eyes or fingernails, and she even sold children's spinal bones and sphenoid bones."
"You know, such practices are extremely evil even among Dark Wizards. My father and the others were furious, so they tracked her down. It just so happened that the witch splinched herself while Apparating, and they quickly found the upper half of her body."
"But by the time they found her, she was already dead."
"—Strangled to death by an enchanted scarf in a deserted alley in Knockturn Alley."
"...Strangled by a scarf?" Wade finally understood what Theo was trying to say.
"Yes," Theo said. "Maybe it's just a coincidence, but aren't these two deaths very similar?"
Wade nodded silently.
Both were women, both were strangled, and even the circumstances leading up to their deaths had some similarities.
But to conclude from this that their deaths must be connected would be too hasty.
Wade asked, "This incident, it didn't make the newspaper, did it?"
The Wizarding World was overly peaceful these days; even minor incidents would be sensationalized in the papers. Someone splinching themselves and then being strangled to death—such a bizarre murder case couldn't possibly fail to occupy a prominent spot in the newspaper.
Unless it was simply unknown to the public.
As expected, Theo then said awkwardly, "My father and the others... they disposed of the body. And the Werewolf too..."
Because of this reason, he couldn't share the information he knew when everyone was discussing it earlier.
"So that's how it is," Wade said, unsurprised.
When everyone had a Wand, it was like everyone carried a gun—lynchings were not uncommon in the Wizarding World.
Especially when a child's safety was threatened, angry parents were like man-eating beasts; it was no surprise what they might do.
"Did they get anything else valuable from the Werewolf?" Wade asked.
Theo thought for a moment and said, "I'll write a letter to my father and say that Mr. Werner, who saved us, wants to know. He'll definitely be willing to tell you everything."
"In that case, I'll write the letter myself."
Wade said, "If Mr. Mancini knew that 'Werner' had contacted you privately, he might be very worried."
Theo paused, then realized, "Good point."
He had almost forgotten that in his parents' eyes, Werner was not a trustworthy classmate, but a stranger Wizard with unclear motives.
'Werner' asking Theo at school to get things from his parents—it was hard to say whether the Mancinis would see that as a request or a threat.
...
Wade quickly finished the short letter, then mailed it through the Hogsmeade Village owl post on the weekend.
Next was study time.
Wrapped in a thick cloak, Wade returned to Lupin's house to find that everyone else who had been gathered there had already gone shopping or out to play. Only Harry remained in the living room.
"I think you two can learn this spell together."
Lupin said, "Although it's a very advanced magic that many experienced Wizards can't cast successfully, I believe you two have reached the appropriate level and have a strong chance of learning it."
Harry, holding his Wand, was a bit excited. "What kind of magic is it, Remus?"
"It's called the Patronus Charm," Lupin explained. "This spell summons a Patronus, which can defend against most Dark Magic creatures, including Dementors, preventing them from eroding your inner self."
"What does a Patronus look like?" Harry asked curiously.
"Wade, why don't you tell us?" Lupin said. "I know you must have done your homework."
"Hmm." Wade looked at Harry and said, "A Patronus is a positive force, a symbol of one's inner self, usually taking the form of an animal, almost like a corporeal ghost. The trick to casting it is to concentrate on a happy memory, because the Patronus itself is a symbol of joy and hope."
"Absolutely correct," Lupin chuckled. "By the way, James's Patronus was a stag, and Lily's was a doe, because they were in love."
"What about your Patronus?" Harry asked.
"…It's a wolf."
Lupin hesitated for a moment, then smiled as he spoke.
After a long period of resentment and resistance, he was once again trying to come to terms with his identity as a Werewolf and no longer shied away from discussing it.
He cleared his throat, raised his wand, and motioned for the two Young Wizards to watch carefully. Then he said, "*Expecto Patronum!*"
A silvery-white wolf suddenly emerged from the tip of his wand. It trod on air, swiftly circling the room, its silvery fur flowing as if weightless.
"—That's amazing!" Harry exclaimed, genuinely impressed.
Wade nodded, thinking the same thing.
After two laps, the silver wolf dissolved into a silvery mist and vanished. Lupin smiled and said, "Ready? We'll start practicing now."
He reiterated the Spell and the wand movement, then gave them a few minutes to focus on happy memories from their past.
Wade's expression was calm, but his mind was swirling with emotions that gradually settled into tranquility.
With the help of the Pensieve, many things he thought he had forgotten were brought back to him.
He realized that his happiest moments weren't when he learned advanced magic or scored high on exams;
Nor when he destroyed the Dark Lord's Horcruxes or saved people who were doomed to die;
Nor when he received his acceptance letter, confirming his identity as a Wizard;
Not even in his past life, when his parents first took him to the amusement park.
Instead, it was long ago, one evening he couldn't quite place, when his father pulled a soaking wet watermelon from the well, sliced it in half with one stroke, and handed one half to him, then a young child, with a single hand.
He hugged the watermelon, plunging a spoon into it, and the air filled with a sweet, fresh scent.
His father cut the remaining half into wedges, offering one to his mother. They ate the watermelon while talking about the pine tree in their old yard, the sparrows on the telephone pole, the rain that had fallen for half the night, and the annoying mosquitoes in the evening.
The young Wade ate his watermelon, listening to his parents' hushed voices, his heart completely free of worry, filled only with an indescribable sense of ease and contentment.
"*Expecto Patronum—Expecto Patronum—Expecto Patronum!*"
Harry, who had been trying repeatedly, suddenly saw a wisp of silver mist shoot from the tip of his wand and excitedly cried out, "Remus, did you see that! There's—"
A streak of silver suddenly flashed across his eyes like light!
Harry froze, stunned for a moment, then spun around!
An awe-inspiring eagle, with powerful wings spread, trailing silver mist, gracefully circled the small room!
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