[Hey, Michael,
Thanks to Dumbledore, I'm safely back, and everything's fine. I'll be back at school this Sunday evening.
I don't have the Book of Friends with me right now, so I could only write you a letter. We can discuss the other details when we meet.
Please let everyone know I'm safe. I hope you're all doing well.
Best, Wade]
Wade signed his name, folded the letter once the ink dried, slipped it into an envelope, and watched as the Owl carried it out the window.
He actually wanted to go to his old apartment to sort out the things he'd left there, especially the Christmas gifts that were all piled up. But the moment Wade showed any inclination to go out, Fiona grabbed his wrist tightly, her fingers exceptionally cold.
"Not now," Wade said, patting her arm reassuringly. "Tomorrow morning, I can ask Mr. Moody to come with me. He used to be the Ministry of Magic's best Auror. With him accompanying me, you can rest assured."
"But Moody hasn't been home recently," Ferdinand frowned.
Then he remembered that Wade was back. If Moody had gone out to rescue Wade, he should be returning soon.
Ferdinand changed his mind and said, "How about this: tomorrow morning, I'll go with you to visit Moody. If he's not home… we can still contact Lupin."
Ferdinand also had Lupin's contact information.
After this kidnapping incident, the couple didn't dare let Wade go out alone for the time being. They even felt uneasy about the house in London.
Even though it wouldn't take Wade long to fly there as a Peregrine Falcon, and he could also Apparate, he still smiled and nodded, agreeing.
Wade sent the letter to Michael and sat at the desk by the window, organizing his Magic Books—books on Dark Magic, even copies, were not suitable for ordinary people to see.
Not only were their contents dark and dangerous, but these books, due to the Magic recorded within them, inherently possessed the ability to harm others. Some would entice people to read them, some would attract disaster, and others would cause auditory and visual hallucinations.
Therefore, these books usually had to be sealed with appropriate Magic, and there were specific techniques for reading them.
Similar to Hagrid's beloved The Monster Book of Monsters, if you didn't stroke its spine, it would be no different from a rabid dog, even capable of biting off a person's fingers.
Halfway through his organizing, Wade vaguely heard the loud bang of firecrackers exploding. He alertly looked up out the window, thinking perhaps Moody had returned, but the next second, he saw two familiar figures walking towards the main entrance.
"Sirius! Remus!"
Wade leaned out the window, waving excitedly. The two adult Wizards looked up at him and waved back with smiles.
Both looked travel-worn, and had been conversing in low voices with somewhat serious expressions, but upon seeing Wade, their faces immediately relaxed.
Wade quickly went downstairs. As he passed the study, Ferdinand opened the door and asked, "Wade, what's wrong?"
"Sirius and Remus are here!" Wade said.
By the time they reached downstairs, Fiona had already opened the door and greeted the two guests.
"Good afternoon, Mrs. Gray."
"Long time no see, Mr. Gray."
They said with smiles, then eagerly walked up to Wade. Seeing him safe and sound, they finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"It's great you're okay!" Lupin opened his arms and gave him a strong hug, his voice trembling slightly as he said, "I'm so sorry, Wade."
"It's not your fault, Remus." Wade patted his back reassuringly. "You know, that was Grindelwald."
"Don't always be so gloomy, Moony."
Sirius put his hands on their shoulders, winked, and said, "Quite an adventure, wasn't it? Wade, I wish I were you—facing the Dark Lord who ruled Europe fifty years ago, that must have been thrilling!"
Lupin: "…"
He rolled his eyes at Sirius in exasperation—what nonsense was he spouting in front of someone's parents?
Wade couldn't help but laugh.
…
Mr. and Mrs. Gray knew they had things to discuss. After preparing desserts and black tea, the two returned to the study upstairs, leaving the space to Wade and the other two.
After some conversation, Sirius and Lupin learned about Wade's general experiences, and Wade also learned about their tracking of the Alliance and even fighting their way into that castle.
"We thought those guys must have held you in the Alliance's stronghold. We never expected Grindelwald to take you to the battlefield," Sirius frowned, his eyes sharpening slightly.
Lupin patted Wade's shoulder and said, "I guess that wasn't a pleasant memory. Wade, if… I mean… if they forced you to harm someone, don't feel burdened. We all know you had no choice."
"Don't worry, I just did some technician work," Wade said with a smile. "Even when they were fighting, Grindelwald just kept me by his side…"
He paused, then continued, "Actually, I feel… he must have known about your rescue plan long ago and was already intending for me to leave with Dumbledore."
While he was speaking, Lupin kept watching his expression. Seeing that Wade's eyes were still clear and open, and his demeanor wasn't clouded, he knew Wade was telling the truth and finally truly relaxed.
Sirius snorted, "That scoundrel definitely had ill intentions. Wade, you need to be wary of those guys. Dark Wizards are no good!"
He paused, thinking of Regulus, and corrected himself, "…Most Dark Wizards are no good! Their kindness is more terrifying than their mischief, because those guys definitely want to get more from you!"
Wade thought about it and felt that this wasn't wrong, so he nodded.
"Be careful and hold fast to your beliefs," Lupin said, looking at Wade. "Whether it's goodwill or malice, as long as we know what's truly important, we won't be led astray."
"I understand," Wade said seriously. "Dumbledore said the same thing."
"Speaking of which, that Obscurial abducted your Magic Golem to the Alliance's territory—though it was also to save you—Wade, did you know about this?" Sirius asked.
"Mabel?"
Wade recalled the girl who was so determined to save her friends, then thought about the personalities of the Magic Cube, Cloak, and the other Magic Golems. He fell silent for a moment.
He had a feeling it was highly unlikely the Magic Golems would be led astray by Mabel, but the possibility of them leading an Obscurial astray was ridiculously high.
However, the Wizarding World avoided discussing the thoughts and personalities of intelligent beings like House-elves. If people found out that Magic Golems also had their own thoughts and had organized a highly effective rescue operation…
At that point, the history of Muggles hunting witches might repeat itself, turning into wizards hunting Magic Golems.
"Mabel is a friend of mine. I helped her once on that island."
Wade subtly pushed the blame for the Magic Golems' unauthorized actions onto Mabel, furrowing his brow slightly as if in thought. After a moment, he said, "She was probably looking for my help, and somehow, she found out I'd been kidnapped, which is why she brought the Magic Golems to rescue me."
Thinking of the Obscurus's black mist overturning the truck and the girl's later decision to leave all the Muggle soldiers to the Alliance, Sirius nodded, feeling that while the child was young, she possessed remarkable decisiveness.
Just like Wade, who was also young, yet it was impossible to treat him as a mere child.
But he still had a question: "How did she get the information? Even we weren't sure who was behind it at first."
Meanwhile, Lupin secretly thought to himself: Hmm… Wade seems to be hiding something? What's there to hide… It looks like he wasn't aware of it either previously…
Lupin's mind raced through a few thoughts, then he turned to Sirius and said, "It must be because of us. Remember? We discussed this when we followed the Owl delivering the gifts to House Gray's apartment."
Sirius raised an eyebrow: "You mean… the Obscurial was hiding in the house then?"
"Yes." Lupin nodded, sighing. "Thinking about it now, I actually saw that colorful cube-shaped Magic Golem at the time, but I thought it was just some decoration and didn't pay attention."
Sirius also remembered and couldn't help but fall silent.
The Obscurial, which the Wizarding World had been tracking for so long, had actually been just a few meters away from them, yet neither of them had noticed.
However, they had only heard about the Obscurus's power and danger, and hadn't witnessed its methods… Perhaps an Obscurus had some unique hiding techniques?
"Actually, I want to go back to the apartment," Wade said. "To see if the Magic Golems are back, if Mabel is still there, and my Christmas presents are there too."
Lupin immediately understood his meaning and said, "We'll go with you."
…
Wade didn't plan to be away from home for long. They left right after dinner, and he had promised his parents he'd be back before bedtime.
"I couldn't help it, they were too worried about me."
Outside, Wade explained somewhat sheepishly to the two of them.
"Understood," Lupin said gently. "If I were your parents, I wouldn't feel comfortable letting you stay out overnight either."
"Having good parents is an incredibly precious experience," Sirius said nostalgically. "Fleamont and Euphemia—oh, Harry's grandparents—treated me the same way. They were like a second set of parents to me."
The streets of London were very quiet at night, with brick buildings standing silently on either side, occasionally a faint light shining from a window.
The three stood by the roadside, first observing their surroundings to ensure there were no hidden dangers or Muggles wandering about, before heading toward the apartment.
Entering the room, by the light of the moon outside the window, they found the room quite chilly. Wade turned on the electric light, and bright illumination instantly filled the entire room.
Many gift boxes were piled on the bed, on the floor, and on the shelves. The Wardrobe Space was still there, and the bell connecting the inside and outside was sound asleep with its head down.
"Wake up."
Wade flicked the bell with his finger. It startled awake, then joyfully exclaimed, "Master, you're back!"
Then it wobbled and asked, "Huh? Where are the Magic Cube and the others?"
"That's what I wanted to ask you," Wade said. "How long have they been gone? Have they been back these past two days?"
"Hmm…"
The bell fell into deep thought, unable to answer for a long time.
It couldn't help it; it was just a doorkeeper bell and had no concept of time. And when no one was around, the bell usually went into a deep sleep to conserve energy.
Wade saw it "hmming" for a while without speaking, realizing he had asked a silly question. He entered the Wardrobe Space and didn't see any sign of them, so he first used a Levitation Charm to send all the gifts inside, planning to open them slowly after returning home.
Wade also put away all the Magic Books from his pocket, filling an entire bookshelf. He kept them in a different room from his old books to avoid any negative interactions between them.
Stepping out of the Wardrobe Space, he saw Sirius and Lupin helping him pack his luggage—clothes flew out of the wardrobe one by one, folded themselves, and dropped into the suitcase, while other items bounced in line, diving into the suitcase and settling into their positions.
When they left, Fiona had told him to pack his important belongings, as she felt the house was unlucky and she would never live there again.
For wizards, moving was a simple matter; no matter how many things, they could all be stuffed into a small handbag.
Sirius and Lupin also took the opportunity to tour the Wardrobe Space. They had both heard of this place, but they were still surprised to see the enormous space inside with their own eyes.
"Remus is quite adept at the Undetectable Extension Charm, but I've never seen him make a space this large!"
Sirius exclaimed in amazement, "I've only heard that Mr. Newt Scamander has a magical suitcase that seems like another world inside!"
"Professor Murray took me to visit Mr. Scamander, and I truly learned a lot from him."
Wade looked up at the magical runes in the space, then turned and smiled, "However, his space is for rescuing endangered magical creatures. My place is mainly for studying Alchemy, so the scenery isn't as rich or interesting."
"Just make sure the Ministry of Magic doesn't find out you have such a large space," Sirius chuckled. "Otherwise, you'll have trouble traveling abroad in the future."
Lupin looked at the space, lost in thought, and didn't speak.
Newt Scamander, who had made outstanding contributions to resisting Grindelwald and protecting numerous magical creatures, was a very respectable person, and Lupin felt the same way.
However, Scamander also established a Werewolf Registry at the Ministry of Magic, overseen by the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, to record all known Werewolves in Britain.
Perhaps Newt's original intention was to foster harmony between Werewolves and humans, but the Ministry of Magic's methods were always crude, simplistic, and arrogant.
Werewolves who refused to register were considered dangerous individuals needing to be eliminated, but what about those who willingly registered? Their lives and work would be monitored and managed, and Lupin had witnessed and personally experienced many of the inconveniences and discrimination that came with it.
Wade transformed the Wardrobe Space into a Pencil Case, slipped it into his pocket, and took one last look around the room. "I'll leave a note for Mabel and the others," he said. "That way, they'll know where to find me when they get back."
He pulled out a piece of parchment and had just started writing when he heard Lupin suddenly say, "Look up at the sky, do you see something flying this way?"
Wade looked up towards the window and saw a small ball of fire rapidly approaching in the night sky.
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