Wade also opened the newspaper he was holding.
The events on the island a few days ago finally made it into the news, but the newspaper portrayed them in a rather understated tone—
*MINISTRY OF MAGIC HEROICALLY RESCUES MUGGLE CHILDREN FROM DANGER!*
*Report by Special Correspondent Rita Skeeter: On December 12th, the British Ministry of Magic, in cooperation with civilian wizards, successfully rescued 82 abducted children from an unnamed island near Iceland. Seven of these children were from the UK. Four of the rescued children possessed magical abilities, but all were past school age.*
*It is understood that most of these children were from North America, Asia, and Africa, with over half from the Middle East. Due to the prolonged war in their home countries, orphaned children were forced into being commodities for trade.*
*Investigations show that some children suffered a certain degree of abuse, and most were malnourished due to insufficient food. After treatment at St. Mungo's Hospital, the health of these children has significantly improved.*
*A spokesperson for the Ministry of Magic revealed that the Ministry has contacted Muggle governments. These Muggle children will be sent to Muggle welfare institutions to find suitable adoptive families. Children with magical abilities will have their education funded by the Ministry of Magic, learning basic magic through correspondence courses.*
*Due to the frequent disappearances of children in Muggle society in recent years, Muggle governments worldwide will establish more comprehensive systems to prevent further child disappearances.*
*This reporter understands that there were rumors of a child who, due to abuse and harm suffered on the island, developed an Obscurus and escaped. However, this information has not yet been confirmed.*
*Scrimgeour, Head of the Auror Office, stated: "There are indeed such rumors, and we are still investigating the specific circumstances."*
*As is well known, an Obscurus is an extremely dangerous dark magical force, highly unstable and difficult to control. If an Obscurus truly runs rampant on British soil, how can we protect ourselves?*
*Here, Minister for Magic Fudge also calls upon all wizarding families to strengthen their supervision and education of children. We need to work together to create a safe, healthy environment for our children to grow.*
This report, right up to the end, made no mention of Dumbledore or the names of the Hogwarts professors, merely broadly summarizing them as "civilian wizards."
—As if this incident was discovered and heroically resolved by the Ministry of Magic.
The entire article didn't even mention the identities of the criminals, as if they had simply appeared out of nowhere.
However, most readers, after reading the report, would naturally assume that the criminals had been punished and the matter was closed.
Yes—just like Harry at that moment.
He quickly finished reading the newspaper while munching on bread, mumbling, "The Ministry of Magic is pretty amazing... I hope I can be an Auror after I graduate."
Michael's eyes widened as he looked at him carefully. Seeing that Harry seemed genuinely serious, he was greatly surprised.
—Even if he didn't know the deeper truth, had Harry forgotten what Percy Weasley said during the meeting that day?
Harry, however, didn't think that much. He had also received a copy of the newspaper but hadn't had time to read it carefully—but since it had taken so many days for the news to break, the Ministry of Magic must have handled all the follow-up issues, right?
At this point, Harry had not yet been slandered by fabricated newspaper reports. Like most ordinary people, he had complete trust in official institutions.
He didn't realize that the Ministry of Magic was also composed of individual wizards full of self-interest; instead, he viewed it as an authoritative, impartial whole.
Harry quickly finished breakfast, wiped his mouth, casually tucked the newspaper under his arm, and rushed out, saying, "I have to go... I need to tell Ron and Hermione not to sign the detention list..."
Harry hurried off. Michael pointed at his retreating back, then looked at Wade, asking incredulously, "Harry didn't suspect anything at all?"
Wade said without looking up, "He's not a Ravenclaw."
That wasn't much of a reason, but Michael was immediately convinced.
"...Alright," Michael said helplessly. "One day he'll realize that if you can believe half of what a news report says, you're doing well, especially when this article was written by that rumor-monger, Rita Skeeter."
He flipped through the newspaper and said, puzzled, "Strange, this article doesn't seem to be in Skeeter's usual style."
"What's her style?" Wade asked, turning to the next page.
"Oh, she'd probably write something like—"
Michael thought for a moment, then mimicked in a high-pitched voice, "We must deeply consider what truly caused this tragedy! Was the escape of the Obscurus due to the Ministry of Magic's inaction? I've heard some rumors, and a terrifying truth is hidden behind all this... something like that."
Wade couldn't help but laugh, because Michael's imitation was so accurate. He could almost picture Rita Skeeter fanning the flames with those very words.
Michael, at just thirteen, could discern Rita Skeeter's modus operandi from the newspaper. In contrast, Mrs. Weasley in the original story was often deceived by various pretentious words and consequently harbored deep misunderstandings about Hermione.
"Perhaps this time she really did uncover a terrifying truth... perhaps she really knows a lot of inside information, which is why she didn't dare to write it down?"
Wade said casually, then continued to flip through the pages.
The newspaper also extensively introduced the Obscurus, and Credence Barebone (Aurelius Dumbledore), who had been dead for decades, was brought up again, with exaggerated descriptions of the destruction he caused.
The reporter for this article clearly hadn't done their homework, using conspiracy theories to haphazardly attribute Grindelwald's burning of Paris to Credence. Honestly, if you read it as a regular novel, it wasn't bad.
After Wade put down the newspaper, he casually looked around.
Not many students were reading the newspaper, and even fewer would continue to pay attention after finishing it.
The students who had been tense because of Percy Weasley's meeting now, like Harry, all thought the matter was closed—except for the Obscurus, which might or might not still be on Great Britain.
Wade could actually understand.
It was like in his previous life; even if he heard about fires, earthquakes, floods, or extremely heinous incidents happening elsewhere in the news, as long as it wasn't happening near him, most people were indifferent.
—No involvement, no discussion, no concern. At most, they'd like the news when they scrolled past it, and that was it.
But at this moment, perhaps because there were so few people in the Wizarding World, or perhaps because Wade himself had been personally involved, he felt an inexpressible sense of helplessness at everyone's apathy.
"Let's go," Michael said, shouldering his backpack and urging, "It's time for class."
Wade: "..."
Monday mornings always began with three overlapping elective classes.
He rolled up the newspaper and stuffed it into his bag, then touched the Time-Turner hanging around his neck and stood up.
...
Even though the Christmas holidays were fast approaching, the difficulty of all classes only increased. After a morning of lessons, even Wade was too busy to think about anything else.
It wasn't until after lunch, when he turned his Time-Turner back another full turn, that he finally had time to contact the people he wanted to reach.
[Ferdinand: You'll be back for the holiday, right? Of course, if you want to stay at school and celebrate with your friends, that's fine too, but your mother saw the news and really wants to see you.]
[Fiona: Your dad misses you a lot too, he's just too shy to say it!]
A mischievous smiley face was drawn at the end.
Wade smiled, put away his Book of Friends, and put the Communication Pea in his ear.
—He had, of course, already sent Communication Peas, which also came with various functions, to his parents, friends, and several important contacts.
Wade leaned by the window and pressed the pea, saying, "Connect Fiona Gray, Ferdinand Gray."
"Beep—beep—"
After two rings, the call was immediately answered.
"Hi, Wade!" Fiona's cheerful voice rang out. "Are you done with classes?"
"Yep," Wade responded, a smile irrepressibly spreading across his face. "I don't have class right now."
Then came Ferdinand's voice: "Did you see today's newspaper, Wade?"
"I did."
"It's the hottest news today!" Fiona interjected. "It's all over the Streaming Mirror too! And the news… I mean, the Muggle news—Reuters, Associated Press, The Daily Telegraph, they're all talking about it."
Wade looked at the gloomy sky in the distance and said, "Actually, there are some rumors at school too—like there were more than just 82 children abducted."
"I can imagine," Ferdinand said. "Those are just the ones who were rescued this time… I was just thinking, back then… the Johnson family might have been…"
"Dad." Wade paused before saying, "Carlyle appeared. He's at the school right now… at Hogwarts."
He hadn't intended to bring it up, but Wade worried that if Carlyle somehow "accidentally" encountered Mr. and Mrs. Gray on the street one day, he might use their past family connections to gain their trust.
If his parents weren't aware of the inside story, it would be difficult for them to guard against such a scheme.
He didn't want his efforts to protect his family to end up pushing them into danger instead.
"—What?"
Ferdinand gasped, and Fiona also inhaled sharply.
After a long period of silence from the Communication Pea, Wade finally heard Ferdinand's strained voice: "How… how is he now?"
"He's doing well," Wade said. "He's lively and cheerful, and he's learning magic quite well."
"Then… does he know… does he know that Mrs. Johnson is already…" Fiona was too upset to finish her sentence.
"I don't know."
Wade lowered his eyes and said, "Since we reunited, he's never mentioned his parents. I suspect he might have forgotten them—you know, magic can easily do that."
"And Carlyle… I'm certain he was badly influenced during the time he was missing. I just want to tell you—if you ever run into him… don't trust him."
"...I understand," Ferdinand said.
Wade thought he heard a very faint sigh, or perhaps it was just his imagination.
"Poor Annie…" Fiona murmured.
Annie Johnson, Carlyle's mother, was first hit by an Obliviation Charm and later strangled to death by a Magical Necklace at a sanatorium.
Fiona hadn't particularly liked the woman before, but now that she was gone, all Fiona could remember were her good qualities.
"Do you remember, Wade? Annie made such delicious cookies. She'd bring us a box every time she visited… no matter how busy she was, she never forgot…"
Fiona's voice choked as she spoke.
Wade remained silent, waiting for her to compose herself, or rather, for his father to comfort his mother, before changing the subject—
"When the holidays start in a couple of days, I'd like to invite some friends over. Is that okay?"
"Of course it is," Fiona quickly said. "I'll get the rooms ready for you all."
"This house is too small, and with us around, the kids won't have as much fun," Ferdinand said. "Wade, you can take your friends to the Westminster house; it'll also be convenient for participating in Christmas activities."
"Okay," Wade readily agreed.
He understood that his father was simply worried that a group of boys would be too destructive and didn't want his mother to work too hard.
"We can't eat Christmas dinner out, can we?" Fiona said. "I need to buy the best turkey in advance… Who all is coming, Wade?"
"Harry and Michael… I'll ask the others later," Wade said.
"Harry? Harry Potter, the Star of Salvation?" Fiona exclaimed in surprise. "The kid who fought the Basilisk in the Streaming Mirror?"
"...Yes, that's him," Wade said.
"Oh my goodness! Oh my goodness! Harry Potter is coming to our house…" Fiona said excitedly. "I never would have thought… to save the world as a baby, he must possess incredibly powerful magic…"
Wade: "...Have you been watching superhero movies lately?"
"What?" Fiona didn't hear him clearly.
Wade: "Nothing…"
...
Wade chatted with his parents for a while, only ending the call when almost an hour had passed.
One of the benefits of the Communication Pea was that it never got hot, no matter how long you used it.
Wade pressed the pea and said, "Connect me to Rita Skeeter."
"Beep—"
"Oh, I knew you'd call me eventually."
Rita's voice sounded rushed, with a lot of messy background noise.
She hurried to a spot with a clatter, and with a "bang," the surroundings finally quieted down.
"The newspaper's been crazy busy these past few days... Let me just say, writing that awful article wasn't my intention. But if I hadn't written it that way, they would have given the story to someone else, so I had no choice."
Rita Skeeter explained rapidly.
"I understand," Wade said. "I wanted to ask you, does the Ministry of Magic have any plans after this? And any news on Mabel?"
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