Remodeling a space was no easy feat.
The Wardrobe Space was built upon an Undetectable Extension Charm, with various other spells layered over and influencing one another.
Changing it wasn't as simple as tearing a poster off a wall; it was more akin to peeling back wallpaper and carefully extracting a specific wire from within.
It took Wade a full day just to clear out the excess clutter. Thankfully, the Room of Requirement, in its capacity to conceal things, accepted everything without question, able to accommodate any amount.
Wade temporarily sectioned off an area to categorize and store usable magical materials, building supplies, various ores, and plants.
If the magical creatures within the space were capable of surviving in the wild, Wade released them. However, a portion remained—
Orphaned young, injured or disabled animals, and magical creatures whose habitats were destroyed by human activity. Sending them out of the space would be tantamount to a death sentence.
Influenced by Scamander and Steven, Wade also had a great fondness for all kinds of magical creatures, so he still allocated half of the area for their survival.
In the other half, Wade planned to establish his own private magical research lab and a library. This was a significant undertaking, and he intended to complete it gradually over time.
For now, his main priority was mastering Apparition and Portkey magic.
However, after Wade returned to school, he waited several days, but Dumbledore didn't appear, nor did the island incident make it into the newspapers.
He did, however, occasionally overhear students whispering during their free time—
"Did you hear about it?" Ernie Macmillan of Hufflepuff whispered to Hannah Abbott next to him. "I never dreamed they'd be so bold."
Hannah Abbott frowned, annoyed. "My mom wants me to apply to stay at school this Christmas. I think they're overreacting a bit. Will it really be dangerous on the way home?"
"The Obscurus is missing; you know how serious that is," Blaise Zabini of Slytherin said gravely to his friend. "Only a very few wizards can fight that kind of monster."
"It's not going to attack the Hogwarts Express, is it?" Pansy Parkinson said dismissively. "Even—you know—even he never attacked the school train."
"An Obscurus is an irrational monster; who knows what it will do," Theodore Nott said with a gloomy expression.
Rumors quietly spread throughout the school. Most of those discussing it were Pure-blood, and they would become secretive, immediately ceasing their talk if Half-blood or Muggle-born students approached.
It seemed that, at times like these, blood status surpassed house rivalries.
On Friday, Wade used his Time-Turner to attend an Ancient Runes class, followed by Muggle Studies.
After class, as he and a tired Hermione packed their bags, ready to head to the Great Hall for dinner, Theo suddenly darted out from around the corner. His eyes lit up when he saw them.
"Finally found you two, Wade, Hermione," Theo said, pulling him along. "Come on, quickly, you two are the last ones."
"What?" Wade was confused.
He looked at Hermione, who also appeared bewildered.
"What's going on? Can it wait until after we eat? I'm starving!" Hermione asked.
"Don't worry, we've got food there!" Theo said. "This is quite important; everyone needs to know early—especially you two. Other than at meal times, you're so busy you're nowhere to be found all day. It's too hard to track you down."
As he spoke, he waved his wand, and a red fireworks display shot into the sky, exploding with a bang.
Theo explained, "This is to let everyone know I've found you, to signal everyone to gather."
Hermione felt even more baffled, but seeing Theo's serious expression, a sense of unease suddenly began to creep into her heart.
Wade vaguely guessed what was happening and told Hermione, "Let's go. Theo knows what he's doing. It must be something really important."
Hermione followed the two, full of questions. As they walked through the castle, they happened to run into a group of Slytherin students.
The group had been discussing something animatedly, but they suddenly fell silent upon seeing Wade and Hermione, staring at them with very strange looks.
This was somewhat unusual.
Although the two were known throughout the school as "Muggle-born," most Slytherins, with the exception of a few, showed great respect for Wade.
And Hermione, as an academic and also Harry and Wade's good friend, despite the frequent conflicts with Malfoy and his group, other students from different years wouldn't directly display hostility.
Hermione felt a slight prickling sensation on her scalp, but she immediately glared back bravely.
These Slytherins were younger students. Facing a Gryffindor lioness, most instinctively averted their gaze, though some defiantly stared back.
Theo looked a little unnatural; he tightened his expression and quickened his pace.
Wade always completely ignored these people. He didn't even notice how others looked at him, his mind completely absorbed in a Portkey-related essay he'd read in class earlier.
To Wade, unimportant people were like potted plants by the roadside; if they blocked his path, he'd just go around them and be done with it. He wouldn't even register their presence.
The two groups passed each other. After walking some distance, Hermione looked back and saw that a few younger Slytherins were still staring at their backs.
It was somewhat unsettling.
For some reason, their gazes made her feel more uncomfortable than Malfoy's taunts and insults.
They climbed all the way to the sixth floor, winding through corridors, finally arriving at a place they had never set foot in before.
It was an ordinary-looking wooden door, beside which stood a proud-looking wizard statue, posed as if giving a speech, with a large cloak draped over his shoulders.
"Where is this place?" Wade asked.
"The Head Boy and Girl's common room."
Theo finished speaking, then raised his hand and knocked three times. The door was pulled open, revealing a room full of people, all of whom turned to look at them.
The room was lavishly decorated. Twenty or thirty candles burned on the chandelier, casting a soft, bright glow.
The walls and floor were made of pristine white marble, and several large, gilded landscape paintings hung on the walls. The dark blue curtains were drawn shut; if opened, one would surely see the view of the Black Lake in the distance.
Under everyone's gaze, Theo quickly pulled Wade and Hermione inside. Harry and the others had already saved them seats—a few cushions on the floor, which looked like someone had conjured them with magic.
As for the soft sofas and armchairs, they had long been occupied by the older female students who had arrived earlier.
Wade also saw Penelope Clearwater, the Ravenclaw prefect, who smiled and waved at him, looking very relaxed.
Hermione, meanwhile, breathed a sigh of relief.
The students here behaved like the classmates she was used to, unlike those odd Slytherins from earlier.
The two sat on the cushions and immediately noticed that most of the students gathered in the room were Muggle-born or Half-blood, with only a very few Pure-bloods.
Like the Weasley siblings, for instance.
"What happened?" Hermione whispered to Harry.
Harry's face was equally bewildered. "I don't know either."
Ron leaned over and said, "Percy got a letter from my dad. He didn't tell me what was in it, but I bet it has something to do with you two."
He pointed to Wade and Hermione, adding, "Fred and George had a big fight with him about it. I overheard him mention your names."
Hermione: "...Mr. Weasley's letter? Mentioned us?"
She looked back at Wade, seemingly hoping to find an explanation on his face.
Then she looked at Theo, realizing he was the true insider.
"I have heard some things, but Percy Weasley definitely knows more," Theo said. "After all, Mr. Weasley is the Head of the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office at the Ministry of Magic."
"Anyway, let's eat something first." Michael, on the other side, handed over a plate full of sandwiches and asked, "Want some carrot juice?"
"Yes, please, thank you." Hermione immediately took a sandwich, and Wade did the same.
Food and drinks were distributed. Everyone sat loosely, casually eating something. After a while, Percy Weasley walked in, holding a long piece of parchment.
"Excuse me, everyone. Before I officially explain the seriousness of the matter, I need to confirm that everyone is present."
He divided the parchment into several pieces and handed them to the people sitting in the front.
Penelope also received a piece. She took the parchment, stood up, and checked the Ravenclaw students.
"Wait," Mandy Brocklehurst whispered. "Lisa doesn't seem to be here yet?"
"She's a Pure-blood," Penelope said. "She should have already received the news."
"Oh... oh," Mandy said, looking a bit confused.
Soon, after the prefects had confirmed the lists and returned them, Percy cleared his throat and said:
"You must all be curious why I've gathered you here today."
"Why not the Great Hall, not a classroom, not the lawn, but my Head Boy's common room!"
As he spoke, Percy subtly puffed out his chest, his Head Boy badge shining even brighter under the light.
"—Because this matter concerns the safety of all of you!"
Everyone naturally became serious; some students even looked a little scared.
The change in attitude of the Pure-blood students certainly did not go unnoticed by the others.
At this moment, Percy saw many students looking up at his face, saw Penelope listening intently, and saw that even Fred and George weren't causing trouble. A huge, swelling joy surged within Percy's chest.
—He hadn't originally wanted to gather so many students, as he thought causing such a stir might affect his future prospects at the Ministry of Magic, making him seem like a troublemaker;
But when the twins said they weren't afraid to offend anyone and were willing to take the lead, Percy didn't want to give up this opportunity.
Because it was both a responsibility and an honor, and it would earn him the goodwill and support of many students with Muggle heritage.
Which interests were more important, which harms greater—Percy had hesitated and deliberated before stepping forward.
But at this moment, all doubts had vanished, and Percy's face was slightly flushed with excitement.
"Everyone, just this morning, I received a letter from my father, learning a very shocking piece of news, some of you may have already heard—"
"Not long ago, the Ministry of Magic raided an island hiding countless evils and corpses, and you, my friends, you almost became one of them..."
Percy Weasley sighed for a moment. Only when everyone began to look impatient did he take out a stack of folded letters from his pocket, open them, and read the key points.
The Ministry of Magic had gathered many wizards to clean up the island, so there was no way to keep everyone silent. In comparison, Arthur Weasley received the news quite late.
However, he usually handled many Muggle-related matters. After most Ministry officials had left the island, Arthur Weasley was still responsible for organizing various equipment and documents on the island, so he understood the situation in more detail than most people.
He wrote a long letter to Percy, subtly mentioning his discoveries on the island and explaining that he would be busy throughout the Christmas holidays, asking all the siblings to remain at school.
Mr. Weasley also instructed Percy to look after his younger siblings at school, especially the twins, to prevent them from sneaking out of school. And to give Harry Potter a heads-up, lest he suffer any harm when he returned to his Muggle relatives' home.
Of course, when Percy read it aloud, he naturally skipped over his parents' instructions to them, only recounting what Mr. Weasley had discovered on the island.
"A Muggle crime organization did some very cruel things on the island... very cruel... I can't describe in detail everything they did, but what I can tell you is that as of now, we've found nearly a hundred bodies on the island, the oldest not exceeding twenty-five years old..."
"Most were Muggles, but young wizards were more popular targets... living experimental subjects were tortured beyond endurance... they called it experiments, but in my opinion, it was undoubtedly a crime..."
After Percy, others added news they had heard.
"I heard an underage wizard turned into an Obscurus and escaped. She fled towards Britain," Penelope said. "You know what that means. Hogwarts is safe for now, but other places might not be."
In the crowd, several children shivered unexpectedly, and a slender arm shot up high.
"I'm sorry," Colin Creevey said blankly. "I don't know what an Obscurus is... Is it a magical creature that can't speak?"
Harry nodded silently.
Colin Creevey had voiced the same question Harry had, though Harry had planned to ask Ron about it later in private.
Under the dumbfounded gazes of the others, Colin Creevey seemed a bit uneasy and sheepishly lowered his arm.
Penelope didn't mock him; she patiently explained, "An Obscurus is indeed a magical creature, but unlike a Hippogriff, it's something that brews within a wizard from pain and hatred..."
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