"I spent a lot of effort digging these manuscripts out of the Restricted Section..."
Inside the Room of Requirement, Wade handed the manuscripts to Tom and Anne to read.
Since the founding of their club, the group had rarely come to this place anymore.
So aside from the three of them, there was no one else here.
Tom looked at the manuscripts in surprise.
In just half a month, Wade had actually managed to find so many clues!
He had originally thought Wade would simply rely on the instruments seized from the goblins and slowly search for the magical force.
But thinking it over, if Wade intended to pass information to Nurmengard through Anne, he couldn't mention the seized instruments—that would expose too much.
Choosing another explanation—like claiming the information came from manuscripts found in the Restricted Section—would be much more convincing.
So... the scheme Wade had been plotting lately was aimed at Nurmengard?
Tom glanced down at the manuscripts in his hands again... his eyes filled with doubt.
This stuff didn't look fake at all...
Could it be that Wade, in order to deal with Nurmengard, had really gone into the Restricted Section and dug out all the information related to that magical power?
"Although these manuscripts are incomplete, I can still roughly infer some locations," Wade added. "However, since I haven't found more detailed information about Professor Morganach, I can't be sure whether those magical forces still remain after so many years... whether she took them away herself, or if some remnants are still left behind."
Anne looked at the manuscripts, managing to maintain a calm appearance, but deep inside she was filled with shock and suspicion.
Because the locations recorded in the manuscripts matched many of the ones listed in the notebook she had previously stolen from the Restricted Section!
Moreover, she had personally explored most of those places!
It was just unfortunate that nothing had been found there.
But at least now she had an explanation from Wade.
The reason those places she had explored were empty was probably because Professor Morganach herself—or someone else who had discovered the power—had already taken it away.
After all... Professor Morganach lived many years ago, and after so much time, it wasn't strange that things would change.
Anne couldn't help but feel anxious. What if... all of that magical power was already gone?!
"Wade, can you infer all the possible locations where that magical power might still exist?" Anne asked urgently.
Wade said with some difficulty, "It's not easy, Anne. Even though I've collected quite a few manuscripts... the clues are still too limited."
"That's true..." Anne realized she had been a little too impatient.
No matter how capable Wade was, it would be impossible for him to locate all those places based only on these incomplete manuscripts.
Moreover, judging from the few locations Wade had inferred, it was very likely that the notebook she had taken away earlier also came from this Professor Morganach!
In other words, the places recorded in that notebook were probably all sites of that mysterious magical power!
Therefore, she might not even need to get any more locations from Wade!
Thinking of this, Anne's mood brightened again.
She was already a bit eager to report all this information back to Nurmengard!
"Even though we only have a few locations for now, we can start exploring them. Maybe besides finding some magical power, we'll also discover new clues!" Wade said, then turned to Tom.
"Tom, are you coming?"
Tom immediately understood and nodded. "Of course! Only a fool wouldn't want something that could strengthen them!"
Wade smiled as he looked at Anne. "And you?"
"I... of course I'm coming too! I'm not a fool!" Anne quickly replied.
In truth, Anne didn't really want to go, because she had already visited most of the locations Wade had listed.
And there had been absolutely nothing there!
Which meant that if Wade went, he would almost certainly come back empty-handed.
However, she had no way to refuse.
She had shown so much interest just now—if she suddenly said she didn't want to go, it would be far too suspicious!
"Good! No time like the present! Tonight... Tom and I are scheduled for another detention in the Forbidden Forest. After going so many times, we're fairly familiar with the outer areas now."
"So this time, we can pick a new path halfway and check out this spot! Even if it delays us a bit, we can just tell Mr. Ogg Den we got lost," Wade said, pointing to a location on the parchment.
This location was, among all the ones listed, the one closest to Hogwarts.
Anne instantly recognized the location.
She remembered that the first place she had explored back then was exactly this one…
Anne asked, "Um... you two have legitimate reasons to go into the Forbidden Forest, but what about me?"
She thought this would be a good excuse to refuse to go along for this location.
"Don't worry, I'll go talk to Professor Slughorn. I'll just tell him that you're curious about the Forbidden Forest too and want to take a look. I'll ask him to find a reason to give you detention there as well!" Wade said with a smile.
Anne's smile froze. "Well... I really must thank you..." she said, gritting her teeth.
You devil! Who would voluntarily ask for detention?! And you even offered to arrange it for me!
The weather's freezing—wouldn't it be better to stay warm in bed at night?! Why would I go freeze in the Forbidden Forest?!
Anne was filled with sorrow and indignation. She had just been granted permission to stop freezing in the forest at night, and now…
She regretted it bitterly.
If she had known, she wouldn't have handed in that notebook! At least then, she would have earned more credit!
"Then it's happily decided! Anne, you should head back and get ready for the Forbidden Forest. After all, you've never been inside before," Wade said considerately.
"Alright... see you tonight," Anne said, forcing a smile.
"By the way, the fewer people who know about this, the better... Something that can significantly increase power is far too tempting for anyone to resist," Wade reminded her.
"Got it..."
After Anne left the Room of Requirement, Wade stood up and silently thought to himself, 'I need a passage leading temporarily to the 3rd-floor secret corridor.'
The Room of Requirement immediately began to change.
Then, under Tom's astonished gaze, a new entrance appeared in the wall...
…
Click!
Inside the secret passage, Tom quietly watched as the entrance behind them sealed shut again.
Instantly, they were plunged into complete darkness and dead silence.
Suddenly, a soft yellow light lit up the passage.
Wade held a lit candle in his hand, illuminating the surrounding darkness.
"If you have any questions, now's the time to ask," Wade said, holding up the candle.
Tom asked, "Why are you using a candle for light instead of your wand?"
Wade was taken aback for a moment. "I gave you a chance to ask questions... and that's what you choose to ask?"
"Of course not! What I mean is... alright, I want to ask why you told Rosier the locations of that magical power. You know that once she knows, Nurmengard will know too!"
"I get that you might have had no choice... but still, I hope your reason is convincing. Of course... if you don't want to explain, that's fine too... it's not like I can beat you anyway."
Clearly, Wade's actions had made Tom very dissatisfied.
When it came to this kind of power that could enhance strength, Tom was determined to claim it for himself.
That was why, back when Wade had killed those goblins to keep the secret, Tom hadn't objected at all.
If it had been him, he would have done the same.
Because only by doing that could he quietly intercept the power and secretly grow stronger…
_______
o(*￣▽￣*)ブSupport and read two weeks ahead of WN at-
Patreon.com/Captain69