After Wade stepped off the stage, two exceptionally striking witches and wizards went up to demonstrate the Communication Pea's functions and how to use it.
There were still many segments planned for the launch event, but they no longer concerned Wade.
Originally, for the sake of sales, there would have been a reception afterward, and as a highly regarded Alchemist, Wade could have used the opportunity to network.
However, when Marchioni asked for his opinion, Professor Murray directly declined on his behalf.
"That's enough exposure. Those greedy merchants just get more and more demanding the closer you get to them!"
Professor Murray said this directly to Marchioni, who, oblivious to the fact that he was also a "greedy merchant," stroked his chin and nodded.
"Yeah... what if they find Wade so easy to deal with that they trick him into signing a few unbreakable contracts?"
He said in a joking tone, "If Wade gets abducted by some ill-intentioned adult, I'd have nowhere to cry!"
Wade, already disinclined to deal with such events, immediately nodded in agreement, secretly sighing in relief.
With his speech over, he now had free time to explore with his friends. As Wade stepped off the stage, his steps couldn't help but lighten. He pushed aside the curtain to enter the backstage area, then suddenly paused.
Professor Murray was looking at him with an exceptionally gratified expression, his eyes visibly moist.
"Oh my god, I'm so incredibly proud of you! This is truly amazing! I can't believe it! Watching you grow from such a tiny thing into the outstanding person you are today… your hard work and achievements fill me with immense joy and happiness. I feel like all the effort and sacrifice were worth it…"
Marchioni stood beside Professor Murray, speaking in an exaggerated tone, wiping his eyes with a small handkerchief as he spoke, then winking at Professor Murray:
"—Is that what you wanted to say, Professor? It's okay, don't be shy! Just tell Wade how moved you are… I've already shown you how it's done, come on, start!"
Professor Murray's lips trembled, and he bellowed, "Get out!"
"Yes, sir!"
Marchioni performed an awkward bow, and as he passed Wade, he patted his shoulder and said earnestly, "Today was truly excellent, Wade!"
Wade smiled softly. "Thank you."
Marchioni continued to host his launch event, leaving only Wade and Professor Murray backstage.
Looking at his most outstanding student, Professor Murray's brow relaxed, and the corners of his mouth subtly turned upward, joy inadvertently spilling from his eyes and expression.
He had indeed had a belly full of words he wanted to say, but they were stuck in his throat, unsure of what to say first. Marchioni's interruption had greatly calmed his emotions.
"Although Marchioni is a scoundrel, there's one thing he didn't say wrong—" Professor Murray paused, then said, "I'm truly proud of you, my boy."
"Thank you for your affirmation, Professor." Wade bowed his head slightly, saying sincerely, "I won't let you down."
Professor Murray looked at the boy, who was nearly as tall as his chin, and was filled with emotion, wanting to pat his head. But after raising his hand, he hesitated for a moment, finally resting it on Wade's shoulder.
"You've already achieved things that surpass me, but there's an even wider world ahead. You must maintain this enthusiasm, keep working hard, and don't let temptations along the way trip you up."
"Yes," Wade replied.
"By the way, why did you change the latter half of your speech?" Professor Murray asked. "I remember your original preparation was much more straightforward and easy to understand."
"Um… there were quite a few people, and I forgot my lines for a moment," Wade said sheepishly. "I was worried about an awkward silence, so I just talked about the design process instead."
Professor Murray chuckled, "There were many of your peers in the audience! I was ready to interrupt you, but thankfully the most crucial parts weren't revealed."
For a young man facing such a large event for the first time, Professor Murray was already very satisfied with his performance. As for this small oversight, he didn't dwell on it.
Moreover, although what Wade spoke about might have been a bit unfriendly to the audience, it proved that he had real substance. Considering the final audience reaction, Professor Murray still felt it was a successful speech.
"Alright, aren't your friends waiting for you?" Professor Murray said kindly, "Go on now! Before some annoying person latches onto you."
...
Wade felt a little guilty as he emerged from the back door of the venue.
Because when they parted ways, Professor Murray cast a spell to open the door lock, and Wade, seeing his Wand, suddenly remembered that Professor Murray's original Wand was still in his possession.
Come to think of it, when he returned from the island last time, it would have been a good time to return the Wand. But Mabel's sudden transformation into an Obscurus was too impactful, and Wade, busy with everything, simply forgot about it.
However, thinking of the group of people also seated in the venue, Wade's mind settled.
He'd run into them again eventually… he'd find a more reasonable time then…
...
In recent years, Aslan's Magic Workshop's business had grown significantly, bringing changes to many places, but Gringotts remained unchanged.
After Wade met up with Lupin and the others, they arrived at the Wizarding World's only bank. They all planned to withdraw some spending money, and Harry also needed to exchange some pounds.
Lupin now also rented a vault at Gringotts, and thanks to the generous share Wade gave him, his vault had accumulated a pile of Galleons and Silver Sickles.
While Wade and the others waited outside, they saw him pack almost all his money into a bag, leaving only a few inconspicuous copper Knuts in a corner of the vault.
"Remus, what are you withdrawing so much money for?"
Harry asked curiously.
"There's something I want to buy," Lupin said, his expression slightly unnatural.
"Do you have enough money?" Wade asked. "I can lend you some if you don't."
Lupin chuckled, "Don't worry, it's just enough."
As the speeding cart took them back to the surface, they saw a distressed-looking man being led out of the main hall by a Goblin and into a stone corridor.
The man climbed into the cart Wade and his companions had just ridden. The young Goblin also hopped in, standing in the driver's seat, and said, "Vault 716, is that right? Please sit tight, sir, we're off!"
Wade instinctively glanced back, seeing the cart clang and rattle as it sped up, rocketing along the winding tracks until it vanished from sight.
"What's wrong?" Michael asked. "Do you know that person?"
"No," Wade said, shaking his head. "It's just that I remember vaults starting with '7' are very expensive to rent. That person didn't look like they could afford the rent, so it seemed a bit odd."
At Gringotts, the vault numbers get larger and more expensive as you go down. Lower numbers are closer to the ground, cheaper to rent, and slightly less secure.
Perhaps Marchioni's rambling words were still having an effect, as Wade subconsciously observed others' attire.
He noticed the person's clothes were plain; their black Wizard Robes were barely presentable. But with a closer look, you could see the cuffs were frayed, and the pocket where they kept their Wand was shiny at the edges.
"Maybe they're a descendant of an ancient family?" Michael guessed. "Their ancestors might have rented it for hundreds of years at once, so even if they're broke now, they can still use it."
"Hmm, that makes sense," Wade nodded, figuring it was probably something like that.
...
Standing on the bustling street, Lupin checked the time and said, "You two go buy gifts first. I also want to... uh... buy something."
Lupin hurried off. Harry frowned and said, "Remus is acting strange... could he have been swindled?"
He remembered seeing news about people losing everything to gambling or scams when he used to live with the Dursleys.
The more he thought about it, the more uneasy Harry felt. He started to follow. "Come on, let's go see what's going on."
But he had only taken two steps when Michael grabbed him by the collar and pulled him back.
"Give it a rest. Lupin might be buying a Christmas present for his girlfriend! If we're there, he'd definitely be embarrassed," Michael said.
"Girlfriend?!" Harry exclaimed in surprise.
"Yeah, look at his hesitant expression and that uncontrollable smile. He's definitely thinking about some girl!" Michael affirmed, pointing to the person next to him. "See? Wade noticed it too!"
Wade: "..."
He hadn't actually noticed, but when Michael mentioned a girlfriend, he naturally thought of Tonks, whom Lupin had mentioned yesterday.
That was Lupin's future wife, the kind who would face life and death together, and they even had a son in the end.
Harry looked at Wade, and sure enough, he showed no surprise at all. He couldn't help but feel a bit annoyed—why was he so slow on the uptake?
...
Lupin, clutching a full money pouch, arrived at Aslan's Magic Workshop's shop. Seeing the light red Anti-Curse Vest still displayed in the glass cabinet, he breathed a sigh of relief.
He placed the money pouch on the counter and said, "I'll buy this vest."
"I'm sorry, this is a display item. It's not officially for sale yet..." The sales clerk hadn't finished speaking when they looked up and saw the customer's face, pausing in surprise. "Mr. Lupin?"
"Yes," Lupin pulled down his scarf slightly and said gently, "I know this item isn't officially for sale yet, but could you sell this one to me?"
It was the first time he'd tried to use his identity to ask for a special favor, and he felt his face flush, but he forced himself to speak calmly.
The sales clerk hesitated, then walked out from behind the counter and said:
"If it's for you, of course, there's no problem... But wouldn't it be simpler to just ask Mr. Gray? This vest was originally an invention by Mr. Gray and the two Mr. Weasleys."
—And you wouldn't have to spend so much unnecessary money.
"This is a gift I'm giving to someone, so naturally, I want to acquire it myself," Lupin explained.
Currently, Aslan's Magic Workshop's entire sales focus was on the Communication Pea. Only a few samples of the Anti-Curse Vest had been produced.
Marchioni foresaw this would also become a huge hit. To prevent the two products from cannibalizing each other's profit margins, and to prepare sufficient stock, the Anti-Curse Vest currently hadn't even had its name revealed. Only one was displayed in the shop, marked with a very high price.
If anyone inquired, the sales clerk would mysteriously state it was not for sale and wouldn't be sold even if an offer was made.
But Remus Lupin was naturally different. In a way, he represented Wade, and he had even helped sign the contract between the Weasley brothers and the Magic Workshop.
Therefore, although the sales clerk was very surprised to see Lupin insist, they still took the vest out of the cabinet and packed it into a gift box.
Lupin emptied his pockets to pay, then used his last few Sickles to hire two owls at the post office. Watching them fly off with the unsigned gift box, he felt only a faint joy.
She doesn't need to know who the gift is from... The Auror job is very dangerous. I just hope this vest can keep her safe...
Lupin thought, feeling both joy and a pang of sadness.
...
Wade and the others spent over an hour in Diagon Alley, buying everything they wanted. During this time, Wade and Harry kept half their faces covered with scarves to avoid being recognized.
The weather was cold, so their attire wasn't unusual at all. Blending in with the students who were buying Christmas gifts during the holidays, they didn't attract any attention.
However, there was a downside to this: their vision was inevitably limited. Harry had just picked out a book for Hermione, paid for it, and was turning to leave when he accidentally bumped into a passerby behind him.
The person was on tiptoes reaching for a book on a high shelf. With the bump, they fell, crashing into the bookshelf. With a *CRASH*, three or four bookshelves fell like dominoes, clattering down until the last one hit the wall.
Hundreds of books tumbled to the ground, piling up in a messy heap. Fortunately, these were all ordinary books, which prevented a bigger disaster.
The bookstore clerk was checking out another customer and froze mid-action, holding a few Sickles motionless, completely forgetting to react, as if turned into a stone statue.
Michael instinctively took a step back and whispered, "I... let's run..."
Harry gape-mouthed looked at him, then at the chaotic state of the bookstore. After a moment of bewilderment, he heard the person sprawled on the bookshelf groaning, "Ouch, ouch."
Harry snapped to attention, quickly stepped forward, helped the person up, then looked at the books scattered everywhere and froze again.
"Don't be afraid, child."
The person who had been bumped into held their waist, good-naturedly taking all the blame themselves.
"My fault—I wasn't standing steady. But fixing this is simple, you see—"
He pulled out his Wand and waved it. Several bookshelves righted themselves, and the books scattered across the floor floated back onto the shelves as if time had reversed.
The clerk dropped the Sickle, and in the few steps it took him to jog over, the bookshelves were already back to normal. He stared, mouth agape, looking quite foolish.
"Lucky nothing seems to be damaged," the stranger said slowly. "In that case, you won't hold us responsible, right? Is that okay?"
"Ah... of course, of course..." the clerk stammered.
"That was amazing!" Harry said admiringly, genuinely. "Thank you, sir, I thought I was in big trouble."
"No need to be so polite. You're a Hogwarts student, aren't you?" The stranger looked at their heights and asked.
"Yes," Harry nodded.
The stranger smiled. "Then I'll soon be your professor. I hope we get along well for the next six months... Oh, by the way, my name is Ryan Trocar."
"A new professor?"
They exchanged glances, perplexed. "But none of our classes are missing a professor?"
"Hmm?" Ryan Trocar scratched his head. "I heard the last Defense Against the Dark Arts professor resigned?"
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