"Actually, I was thinking before..." Wade sighed and said, "One of the conditions for me to come back was that I can't disrupt the Alliance's propaganda plan."
"I figured as much," Marchionne said. "To be honest, that's actually a good thing for me. If the only voice the wizarding world could hear was from the SMC, I'd be worried I wouldn't live long."
"Then why are you still blocking the Ministry of Magic of other countries from airing their own programs?"
Sirius asked grumpily, "I heard lots of people tried to negotiate with you, but the talks have been very difficult. Do you know how many people bombard Remus with messages every day, begging him to lobby you?"
"Listen to yourself!" Marchionne said seriously. "How could I pass up a chance to make big money just because of a little safety concern?"
Sirius: "…"
He rolled his eyes and stopped paying attention to this guy who would risk his life just to make money.
But Remus, who had been the one getting bombarded with messages, seemed more understanding of Marchionne's approach. He said, "If you give in too easily, they'll definitely keep pushing. Still, don't hold on too tight either..."
Remus turned around and looked at Marchionne, advising him, "At least leave a gap and let them tear it open themselves... Otherwise, I'm really worried I'll see news one day that you've been found dead in the street."
"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing." Marchionne put down his wine glass and put on his soft felt hat. As he passed by Wade, he paused and reminded him, "Stay at Hogwarts for now. Don't leave school."
"I understand," Wade said softly.
Marchionne nodded to everyone and quickly left, as if the only reason he came was to see Wade and make sure he was safe.
"This guy..." Sirius slouched on the sofa and frowned. "He's already filthy rich. Why is he still so greedy? It's not like you can take Galleons into the grave."
"To him, money is the ultimate pursuit. Making money is the greatest joy," Wade said. "Just like for me—no matter how much magic I learn, I never feel like I've learned enough."
Sirius narrowed his eyes at him and said with a teasing tone in his voice. "How old are you again? I bet by the time you hit fifty, you won't still be this foolishly obsessed with studying."
Wade just smiled and didn't argue.
"I'm going to check on Mabel," he said. "My mom made some snacks and asked me to bring them to her."
Even though Fiona had read about the Obscurial in the newspaper, she believed that anyone who would cross thousands of kilometers to save Wade couldn't possibly be a bad person.
Wade went upstairs and knocked on the door. Mabel's voice came from inside: "Come in."
He pushed open the door and saw Mabel standing in the middle of the room. She didn't turn around, completely focused on practicing her spells.
On the table in front of her were five or six candles. The girl was holding her wand and pointing at each candle one by one as she softly chanted, "Incendio!" (Fire-Making Spell)
There were no blazing flames.
A thin stream of fire puffed out from the tip of the wand, lighting one of the candles.
Then the second, the third... until all the candles were lit, and the room was instantly filled with warm candlelight.
"Remus, I've learned the Fire-Making Spell!" Mabel said.
"Mhm, very precise control," Wade's voice came from the doorway. He asked, "But aren't you worried about setting the table on fire?"
Hearing his voice, Mabel turned around abruptly, surprised and delighted. "Wade!"
After a brief pause, she added a bit more formally, "…Mr. Grey."
"Just call me Wade," he said, walking over and glancing at her right hand. "You've got a wand now?"
"Yes, Mr. Lupin took me to Diagon Alley to buy it," Mabel replied softly with gratitude in her eyes. "I used the money you gave me... and the Polyjuice Potion."
"The pronunciation and wand movement for the Fire-Making Spell were both spot-on," Wade said with a smile and a hint of praise in his gaze. "You're learning fast, Mabel."
After a short pause, he added, "I'm heading back to school today. Seeing that you're settling in well puts my mind at ease."
"Mr. Lupin and Mr. Black are both very kind. They take good care of me."
Mabel smiled and was about to say more, but then hesitated and held her words back.
Wade noticed her expression and asked, "Is something troubling you? Oh..."
He suddenly realized that although Mabel looked young, she was actually around 13 or 14—right at the age of adolescence. She might be facing... certain personal concerns that those two adult wizards wouldn't easily notice or know how to help with.
"Madam Rosmerta from the Three Broomsticks is warm and kind," Wade said. "If anything comes up, you can talk to her—she's someone you can trust, and I'm sure she'll give you good advice."
"With Hogwarts nearby, this village is quite safe. You don't always have to stay cooped up indoors. Go outside sometimes, buy something you like, relax a little... This is an interesting place. I think you'll come to like it."
"Mr. Lupin said the same thing, I just..." Mabel's voice grew quieter, and her eyes revealed a trace of hesitation and unease.
She was silent for a long while before finally speaking in a soft voice, "I want to know how Haley is doing. If it's possible... I'd like to see her."
There was a slight tremble in her voice, as though she was treading very carefully.
"Of course!" But before Wade could respond, she quickly added, anxiously, "I know the Ministry might still be watching her. I won't talk to her. I just want to... see her from a distance, to make sure she's safe. That's all."
Hearing this, Wade's expression softened. He thought of that pale-faced little girl who was like a sister to Mabel, and warmth rose in his heart. He completely understood how Mabel felt.
He nodded gently and said, "I'll ask Dumbledore. We'll find a time to arrange a meeting for you two... I don't think that will be difficult."
Upon hearing this, Mabel visibly relaxed, her slightly tense body softened, and a relieved smile appeared on her face. "Thank you, Wade," she said gratefully.
…
By the time Wade returned to school, it was already late at night.
Filch was standing by the main gate, holding a dim lantern. When he saw Wade, an unusually rare smile appeared on his normally sour face.
"You're finally back," the caretaker said, stepping slightly aside and dragging his heavy footsteps toward the castle. As he walked, he asked, "Did you get everything settled at home?"
Wade paused for a moment, then vaguely replied, "Yeah, all taken care of... By the way, where's Mrs. Norris?"
"Oh, she's with the little ones!" Filch's smile deepened. With affection in his voice, he said, "Sometimes when the little crabs are cleaning, they get stuck in the corners. Someone has to be there to rescue them."
The way he spoke, both Mrs. Norris and the cleaning crabs sounded like beloved children.
"No more malfunctions lately?" Wade asked.
"None... well, actually there was one," Filch admitted. "But they fixed it themselves. These little guys are getting smarter and smarter."
Wade nodded.
The cleaning crabs were one of his early creations. At first, they were like basic AIs, only capable of rigidly following instructions. But they had some basic learning abilities, and naturally, their intelligence had improved over time.
As they reached the castle entrance, Wade saw a few figures moving down the corridor and turned to ask Filch, "Isn't it past curfew by now?"
"Of course it is," Filch snapped. He also saw the figures and his face darkened immediately. He growled, "There are always some little brats trying to break the rules. Just wait till I catch them!"
Then, remembering Wade was beside him, he added, "Oh... You just got back, so you're not in trouble. Go on, head to your common room and get some rest!"
The caretaker quickened his pace and rushed into the castle, intent on catching the students breaking curfew. In that moment, he sprinted with surprising speed—nothing like a man in his seventies.
Wade shook his head, raised his wand, and cast a spell: "Accio Broom!"
Even though there were likely hundreds of brooms at Hogwarts, when Wade cast the spell, only one image was clear in his mind—and only that one, specific flying broom would respond.
Whoosh—
With a rush of wind, a slightly worn but well-maintained broom flew toward him. As it hovered beside him, it gave two eager little bounces, almost as if it were happy to see him.
"Feels like it's been a while, buddy."
Wade chuckled softly and patted the broom handle, then mounted it with ease.
He flew a lap around the castle and Black Lake before gliding in through a window and into his bedroom.
The house-elves had already tidied everything perfectly. The room was warm, clean, and just as he'd left it at the end of last term—like time had stood still here.
Wade let out a contented breath. The moment his feet touched the ground, he couldn't help but compare this place to Grindelwald's grey stone fortress.
That room over there wasn't nearly as warm. The bed was a bit hard, the bare walls lacked any decoration, and the view outside the window was overly monotonous.
Most importantly, the house-elves there weren't nearly as thoughtful—they didn't have the knack for making everything just right.
—It's so good to be back at Hogwarts.
Wade genuinely felt this from the bottom of his heart. He opened the wardrobe space and began putting everything back in its proper place. While he was organizing the bookshelf, he suddenly heard a knock at the door.
"Come in," Wade called, looking up.
"Hey, Wade!"
Michael walked in and his eyes quickly scanned the room until they landed on Wade. Only then did the excitement slowly rise in his expression.
"I heard a broomstick fly in through the window and figured it had to be you… and I was right!"
He strode over, visibly relieved.
"Long time no see, Michael." Wade set down the book he was holding and greeted him with a smile. "Though really, it hasn't been that long… not even a full month, right?"
"You've been gone for 23 days, man!"
Michael grabbed Wade's arm and gave him a once-over with concern flashing in his eyes. But instead of asking directly, he hesitated, then vaguely asked:
"So… over there… uh, what did you go through? Anything you want to talk about? I swear, I'm a great listener."
"It wasn't as bad as you think. I just went to deal with a… minor technical issue."
Wade closed the door and sat down, briefly recounting what had happened during his time away.
"That's weird… way too weird…"
Michael propped his chin on one hand with a thoughtful expression on his face.
"Honestly, if you told me you got beaten up, I'd find that more believable. But… judging from everything we've read in the news, Grindelwald isn't exactly the kind of guy who talks things out."
"Ever since You-know-who started calling himself the Dark Lord, most of Europe's wizards have seen him as the second generation. They say the original Dark Lord was Grindelwald."
"And yet that guy… treated you politely…"
Michael trailed off, then suddenly shivered as if a cold breeze had passed over him.
"Wade…"
He called his name in a hushed tone.
"What?" Wade asked curiously as he brewed some tea.
"Death Eaters have the Dark Mark on their arms," Michael said slowly. "The Alliance didn't give you some weird triangle-inside-a-circle symbol or anything… did they?"
He stared intently at Wade, as though trying to spot any trace of guilt or secrecy on his face.
But Wade merely paused for a second, then calmly set down the kettle and replied evenly:
"If I really had joined the Alliance, I wouldn't have come back to school—surely you don't think, with my level of alchemy, they'd send me to Hogwarts just to be a lowly spy, do you?"
"Ah… I guess that makes sense."
Michael scratched his head awkwardly and said apologetically, "Sorry, I guess I let my imagination run wild."
"Well, your thinking wasn't entirely wrong either."
Wade pushed a steaming cup of fragrant tea toward him and said calmly:
"Someone did try to get me to join the Alliance. But Grindelwald didn't use any coercion—on the contrary, he actually let me and Professor Dumbledore leave voluntarily."
"He was that nice?" Michael asked skeptically.
"Nice? No… I'd call it graceful. As a leader, he does at least have a certain level of composure and dignity—"
Then, remembering how Grindelwald had disguised himself as a random old man and ambushed him at the supermarket, Wade added, "—though I'll admit, he's not always the most honorable opponent."
Michael couldn't help but laugh at that.
No matter how many words of explanation Wade could offer, nothing proved his point better than that natural, slightly sarcastic comment—it clearly showed he hadn't been mistreated or controlled by the Alliance.
Michael felt as if a heavy stone in his heart had finally dropped.
It wasn't just Lupin who had been tormented day and night by guilt, a sense of responsibility, and self-reproach after Wade was taken. Michael and Harry had also found it hard to forgive themselves.
Now that Wade was finally back safe and sound, it felt like Michael had been freed from his own cage too.
"Michael, aside from you guys, does anyone else know why I didn't return to school on time?" Wade asked.
"No. Professor Flitwick told everyone that you took a few days off for some family matters… Oh, right—this is your class schedule."
Michael suddenly remembered his errand, pulled a piece of paper from his pocket, and glanced at the densely packed list of classes. He spoke with lingering anxiety:
"You've got five classes just tomorrow morning… I wrote down last week's homework too, but… will you have time to catch up?"
"Oh, I'm afraid you'll be disappointed," Wade said with a composed smile. "Before I came back, I already spoke with the professors. They said that since I've already mastered the core material, I don't have to do last week's homework."
Wade tapped the parchment lightly, grinning. "Besides… the one thing I don't lack now—is time."
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⭐Harry Potter: Becoming a Study God (HP:BSG)- +235 Chapters
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