Wade, who was busy brewing another potion, tapped the bottle with his wand.
The potion inside immediately cooled.
Seeing this, Tom the cat tilted his head back with joy and gulped it down in one go. Then he ran back to his bed and sprawled out on his back, snoring loudly within seconds.
"..."
Anne had watched the whole thing unfold… then turned to look at Tom, who was calmly reading his book nearby.
"Tom… this… do you think this is normal?"
Tom shrugged. "A lot of bizarre things, once you associate them with Wade, somehow don't seem all that bizarre anymore…"
By now, he was completely used to all the strange goings-on around Wade.
Besides, having grown up in an orphanage and only recently come into contact with the magical world, his reaction to such strange, even downright illogical magical occurrences was far more subdued than Anne's—who had grown up in a wizarding family.
"Well… as long as you're happy…" Anne was now beginning to understand exactly why Grindelwald found these two so fascinating.
"So, why'd you suddenly show up? Is there something you needed? Or did you just come to practice magic with us?" Tom asked.
"Oh! Right! I almost forgot why I came!" Only then did Anne remember her actual reason for seeking them out. "I really did come for something important!"
Wade and Tom exchanged a glance, then quietly turned to Anne, waiting for her to continue.
"It's about that magical power! Grindelwald didn't take all of it! There's still a lot of magic hidden in places he hasn't discovered yet!" Anne said excitedly.
Wade and Tom, in perfect sync, put on very interested and enthusiastic expressions.
"You mean… there's still a lot of magical power that Grindelwald hasn't found? But how is that possible? There's barely anything left in the Forbidden Forest!" Wade asked urgently.
"I've been investigating that very thing lately!" Anne said. "You both gave up hope, but… I just couldn't let it go. Then it hit me—if all that magical power is hidden in ruins inside the Forbidden Forest, then what about the largest structure near the forest… Hogwarts Castle? Why wouldn't there be some here too? Maybe that Professor Morganach left a portion hidden in the castle as well!"
"So you started investigating Hogwarts Castle?" Wade asked. "If you had that idea, why didn't you tell us before?"
"I… I was afraid you'd laugh at me," Anne admitted. "What if there wasn't anything in the castle? Wouldn't it have been a complete waste of effort?"
"Fair enough… ahem, I never said I'd laugh at you," Tom said.
"Since you've come to us now, does that mean there is something in the castle, and you've already found it?" Wade asked.
"Yes!" Anne said excitedly. "I searched a ton of places and still found nothing. Just when I was about to give up, I saw Peeves toss a dung bomb at a group of students and then fly through a wall to escape… and that's when it hit me—these ghosts, who float around the castle all day, must know a lot of places we don't!"
Wade: Pfft~ Gotta get that Oscar!
"Oh wow! You're right! We could ask the ghosts! Why didn't I think of that? Anne, you're amazing! How did you even come up with that?" Wade said, looking full of admiration.
"That really is a great idea, Anne! You're so clever!" Tom added, smoothly joining in to butter her up.
Tom: Must not laugh!
Anne was starting to feel a little light-headed from all the praise.
In truth, she had racked her brain to find that location, and her sense of accomplishment was already sky-high. Now, being praised by the two boys even Grindelwald paid close attention to—she nearly floated into orbit.
"Then I talked to a bunch of ghosts. I didn't dare ask them directly where the magical power was, so I asked if the castle had any hidden chambers or secret passages…" Anne said as she pulled a large piece of parchment from her pocket and spread it out.
Wade and Tom leaned in and saw that it was a detailed floor plan of Hogwarts Castle.
Along many corridor walls, spots had been marked with the words "secret passage."
Even the location of the Room of Requirement was labeled.
Clearly, Anne had made some impressive progress over the past few months.
Even if she hadn't found the location of the magical power yet, she had uncovered many useful hidden passages and secret rooms within the castle.
Wade looked at the map with delight. Most of his knowledge about Hogwarts' hidden passages came from memories before he transmigrated.
He had always wanted a map like this—unfortunately, the Marauder's Map hadn't been invented yet…
And now… Anne had just laid out in front of him a map detailing all kinds of secret passages!
This was what you'd call a happy accident bearing unexpected fruit.
With that thought, Wade's eyes wandered—perhaps unintentionally—to the 2nd-floor girls' bathroom on the map.
However, it hadn't been marked as a secret passage.
Wade wasn't surprised.
Though that was the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets, it first led through a long pipe.
Most male ghosts typically avoided places like girls' bathrooms.
And the few female ghosts who occasionally passed through likely thought it was just a filthy old sewer pipe.
Naturally, they wouldn't investigate it closely. So it made sense they had no idea what secrets lay below.
But thinking about it now… how had fifth-year Tom discovered it?
Could it be… this guy had some sort of weird obsession with sneaking into girls' bathrooms?
The thought made Wade glance at Tom, unable to help himself.
"..."
Tom was thoroughly confused by the strange look Wade had just given him.
"It's right here!" Anne pointed to a blank space beneath the castle on the map. "The Bloody Baron said this used to be a large chamber. A powerful force was once stored there, and a battle broke out inside… I think it sounds a lot like the place mentioned in the manuscript—where Professor Morganach first started collecting this power!"
"Then how do you know that power is still there?" Wade asked. "What if it's already gone? Taken during the battle? That wouldn't be surprising at all!"
Anne replied, "I don't know. But now that we know such a place exists, aren't you even a little curious? Would you really be okay not going to check?"
In truth, Anne had read about all this in the portion of the manuscript she'd gotten from Grindelwald. Naturally, she couldn't tell Wade that directly.
Of course, that section of the manuscript had already been altered by Wade—tricking Grindelwald into believing that after Morganach was killed, the magical power had been re-sealed by the headmaster and professors of the time…
Anne, however, knew none of that. She still thought it was all real.
"Alright… we'll find some time to go check it out," Wade said with a smile. "Anne, when do you plan to make your move?"
"I'm going to scout the area one more time! You two should get ready too. Once I'm sure, I'll come find you." With that, Anne packed up the map and left the Room of Requirement.
As the door closed behind her, Tom couldn't help but ask, "What's her deal? Why tell us about that place? Isn't that totally outside your plan?"
"Heh~ Plans aren't always set in stone, Tom…" Wade said with a smile. "In fact, I'd say the way things are unfolding now works in our favor."
"In our favor?" Tom asked. "Wasn't your original plan for Anne to find the location, then report it to Grindelwald and lead him there? So why is she telling us about it now?"
Tom suddenly widened his eyes. "Wait a minute… could it be that she's planning to steal the magical power for herself? Team up with us, cut Grindelwald out, and keep it all?"
Wade shook his head. "If she found the location and tried to keep it from Grindelwald, he'd notice the change in her power almost instantly. She wouldn't dare. Which means… the most likely explanation is that Grindelwald told her to share the location with us."
"But why would Grindelwald want us to know about it?" Tom asked, confused.
"I don't know… but what I can be sure of is that he wants us to be there when everything goes down," Wade said with a grin. "And having a legitimate reason to be present at that moment is very important to me. That's why I said this turn of events benefits us."
"You really aren't afraid Grindelwald's going to kill you, huh?" Tom was starting to panic. "Where do you get this confidence from?"
"I admit I'm gambling, Tom… but fortune favors the bold," Wade replied with a calm smile.
Seeing his expression, Tom let out a sigh.
There's no way Wade would gamble with his life unless he was absolutely prepared… right?
Still, what worried Tom most was whether those carefully laid preparations… actually included him.
__________
(≧∇≦)ﾉRead 12 ahead: P^treon: Captain69