Penelope explained the origins and dangers of Obscurus, and the students in the room fell silent.
Perhaps because their lives had always been relatively peaceful and they hadn't experienced much danger, the Young Wizards' thoughts differed greatly from those of adults.
While many adult Wizards worried that an uncontrolled Obscurus could cause massive casualties and expose the magical world, the Young Wizards were thinking about what the child who became an Obscurus must have gone through.
"How pathetic," Wade heard someone whisper. "She must have been in so much pain."
"What if she gets caught? Will she be killed?"
"Probably... I heard she killed a lot of Muggles."
"But those Muggles were bad. They deserved it!"
"The Wizengamot might not see it that way..."
Everyone was discussing animatedly when Percy cleared his throat twice loudly. Seeing that everyone was looking at him, he put on an authoritative air and said,
"So, by now you should all know that there are certain people among Muggles who target Young Wizards. Those they take can be said to live a life worse than death."
Someone raised a hand and asked, "How do those people choose their targets?"
Percy explained, "It's said that almost all the Young Wizards who are taken have Muggle ancestry — because they exposed their Magical Power before entering school, were noticed by certain people in Muggle society, and then were taken away."
Another person asked, "Don't they resist? They have Magic!"
"Yeah," another girl said, puzzled, "Even if they haven't learned any Spells yet, if their Magical Power goes wild when they're forcibly taken, it would definitely attract the Ministry of Magic's attention, right?"
"Of course, they're not taken by force!"
Percy was happy to show off his superior knowledge. He told everyone:
"Those people might say — 'this child is possessed by a demon,' or 'they're sick,' or 'they've awakened special abilities' — they use all sorts of absurd reasons to take children away from their parents."
"Muggles have no judgment; they're easily deceived by lies. Then those people use the Obliviation Charm to make the parents forget their existence too, and from then on, they become tragic experimental subjects."
"Obliviation Charm?" A Ravenclaw student frowned and asked, "You just said it was a Muggle organization. They know the Obliviation Charm too?"
"That's right. It's certain that a small number of Wizards are working for them."
Percy voiced his speculation:
"Perhaps some Young Wizards grew up under the control of those people from a young age, and even after learning Magic, they became puppets manipulated by them."
Seeing everyone's pale and somewhat frightened faces, Percy quickly added:
"Of course, those of you who are already in school don't need to worry about encountering something like this. In fact, very, very few children have been harmed in all of Britain, probably only a handful."
Percy puffed out his chest and said proudly:
"Even He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named fears Dumbledore, let alone a Muggle criminal organization."
A low sigh of relief went through the room, and some of the frightened children's complexions improved slightly.
—That's right... we're protected, unlike those children who were tricked...
In reality, Percy didn't feel much sense of crisis. He hadn't personally witnessed the horrors on that island, nor had he experienced anything overly complex. To him, it was just a distant story, a string of numbers, without much real impact.
He was about to emphasize his concern and contribution to everyone again when he suddenly met Penelope's gaze and abruptly remembered his girlfriend's earlier warning.
Right, this was the main point they had gathered the students for.
"But remember, to ensure the safety of all of us, you must strictly abide by the Statute of Secrecy! Only by completely hiding the magical world can we avoid persecution from Muggles."
"Most people here have Muggle relatives or Muggle friends, and some people like to show off Magic in front of Muggles—"
As Percy spoke, he glared at his twin brothers.
Although students were not allowed to perform Magic outside of school, the twins sometimes showed off in front of Muggles by pretending to perform magic tricks with the aid of small props.
Even though their original intention was just to make more friends and gain praise and applause, Percy deeply detested this rule-breaking behavior.
Under his gaze, the twins, uncharacteristically, didn't cause trouble, but instead showed thoughtful expressions.
Percy continued:
"—This is a very, very, very dangerous act. Perhaps your trusted aunt or distant cousin will gossip about your Magic, leading to you being noticed by certain dangerous individuals."
"You're certainly safe while you're at school, but what about when you go home for the holidays? When you travel? When you visit relatives? If someone is determined to do harm, danger could strike at any time!"
"So, adhering to the Statute of Secrecy is not a lack of freedom, but rather a way to protect ourselves!"
...
Lunch break was actually very short. Percy felt his first speech hadn't gone very well, and the meeting had to end.
The Young Wizards walked out of the Head Boy and Girl's common room in twos and threes, inevitably discussing the news they had just heard along the way.
"I just feel like it's a bit unreal," someone whispered to their friend. "Look, the newspaper says nothing, the professors say nothing. We don't even know if this news is true or false!"
"It's true, Susan's aunt is at the Ministry of Magic, and she heard a bit of it too," his friend said. "But to say that so many people were harmed, I think that's a bit exaggerated."
"Yeah. Like the fairy tale Grandma tells — disobedient Little Red Riding Hood gets eaten by the big bad wolf."
The two laughed dismissively.
"They'll know what's what when they encounter those people!" Ron glared angrily at the backs of the two, saying furiously, "My dad wouldn't lie!"
"Just keep it to yourself, little Ronnie, but it's best if no one ever meets them."
Fred came up from behind and ruffled Ron's hair.
"But that guy really is annoying!" George affirmed, nodding at his younger brother. "You're absolutely right."
Ron swatted Fred's hand away. Before he could decide whether to be angry or happy about what his brothers said, he saw them quickly catch up to Wade ahead.
"Hey, Wade, we have an idea…"
"We might need your support…"
"Meet after dinner? Do you have time?"
"Yes," Wade readily agreed. "Same place."
"Alright."
The two brothers walked off, shoulders touching, conversing in low voices.
There was no sign of stress about their O.W.L.s; instead, their eyes gleamed, making it obvious they'd cooked up another brilliant scheme.
Michael asked Wade, "Do you think Percy was telling the truth? Were that many people really killed?"
Wade was silent for a moment, then said, "The actual number of victims might be even higher… That legendary island might just be a small part of the darkness."
Several images flashed through his mind.
Wade had initially thought the island was hidden from maps, but in the archives, he discovered that wasn't the case.
The place belonged to a private company, ostensibly processing various fish and meats. It was registered with the Muggle government and had normal tax records.
Fishing boats were regularly dispatched from the island to fish in nearby waters, making the constant coming and going of vessels seem completely normal.
The records they could find were only a small fraction; the bones they could find were also only a small fraction.
The ocean is a natural graveyard, easily burying anything that can't bear the light of day.
Hearing this, Michael gave Wade a serious look, nudged him with his elbow, and said,
"I knew you must know something — tell me, what were you doing during the Quidditch match that day? And where did that strange cloak of yours come from?"
"Sorry, I can't say."
Wade said it plainly and frankly, not feeling awkward about keeping secrets from his friend.
Dumbledore and Snape were both concerned for his safety and wanted to completely hide the fact that he had been on the island that day. Snape had even brought him back to school despite his own injuries.
Of course, Wade wouldn't thoughtlessly blurt out what happened and ruin their good intentions.
"Alright… I understand… I guess I had a pretty good idea anyway," Michael said, nodding.
Wade smiled. Michael was very intelligent; he never had to worry about Michael misunderstanding him.
Perhaps that was why Michael had so many friends.
The afternoon consisted of two back-to-back Herbology classes, so they quickened their pace and headed down the stairs to Professor Sprout's greenhouses.
Behind them, watching their figures disappear down the staircase, Ron couldn't help but slow his steps.
"Back to the common room, or the Library?" Harry asked.
They also had Herbology class that afternoon, but not for another two hours. These two hours were a rare period of relaxation during the week.
As for Hermione, she had sprinted off to class as soon as she left.
Ron hesitated for a moment, then said, "Let's find an empty space… and practice spells."
Harry was a bit surprised by this.
Among their group, Ron had always been the more laid-back one. For a while, he had studied spells with Harry, but soon his attention was diverted by other things.
Although Ron approached homework and studying with a "just getting by" attitude, not taking it seriously or putting in much effort, often rushing to finish essays on the last night, his grades were still decent. This made Ron even more content to coast along, doing the bare minimum.
In fact, Harry also wanted to coast and choose a more relaxed lifestyle. But every time he went to the Umbrella Room, the atmosphere among the SSC members pushed him to work harder.
Even so, he often felt inadequate. For instance, his notes always seemed messy, and he frequently felt he had misunderstood key points.
Thankfully, Defense Against the Dark Arts always helped him regain his confidence.
Seeing Ron rekindle his interest in working hard, Harry was naturally delighted. The two found an empty classroom to practice spells.
But learning spells isn't something you can master overnight.
Take the Levitation Charm, for example. They learned it in their first year, and now in their third year, they sometimes still had to review it and write essays about it.
By the time they graduate, some people can use the Levitation Charm to lift a car, while others can only use it to move a table.
Most of the school's courses were like this. Sometimes, to learn one spell, they needed two or three classes, or even half a month.
However, during SSC gatherings, Harry felt that learning spells was incredibly simple. Most of the time, he only needed about ten minutes to successfully cast a spell. For particularly difficult ones, a day or two was enough.
Most of their practice time was spent on familiarizing themselves with spells and increasing their power.
At this moment, Ron, just like the last time he studied with Harry, was displaying the speed of a normal student learning normally—
They spent over an hour learning the Impediment Jinx, but Ron's "Impedimenta" was broken by Harry with just a simple Banishing Charm.
"That's good practice!" He tried his best not to show disappointment, saying, "That's impressive! Your spell blocked me for a moment!"
But after spending so much time together, Ron naturally saw through his insincerity, and he couldn't help but feel a strong sense of frustration.
"Don't try to make me feel better, I know I'm still miles off," Ron said, looking down at his Wand, a bit dejected.
"No, you actually did really well!" Harry tried to console him. "It's probably my fault... I'm not good at teaching like Wade is. He can always see what's wrong with someone at a glance..."
"Wade Gray, huh..."
Ron hesitated, on the verge of saying something but holding back.
Harry didn't notice. He checked the time and urged, "It's time for Herbology. Let's go!"
...
Wade's Herbology class had just finished.
The students put away their Dragonhide Gloves and shovels, leaving tired and smelling of dragon dung, while Wade stayed behind.
"Hold on a moment," he told Michael. "I have something I want to ask Professor Sprout."
"I'll wait for you by the door then," Michael said, dusting himself off. "I need some sweet, fresh air."
Wade walked to the other end of the greenhouse, where Professor Sprout was inspecting the transplanted plants.
The weather was getting colder, and even inside the greenhouse, some of the plants weren't doing well.
Professor Sprout was gently tending to these Magic plants, as if they were her own children.
"Professor," Wade said, approaching her.
"Oh, Wade," Professor Sprout said, wiping her hands on her apron and smiling broadly. "Is something wrong?"
"I wanted to ask, has Professor Dumbledore not returned yet?" Wade asked. "I haven't seen him at all."
Professor Sprout sighed. "Dumbledore has been very busy lately, for the sake of..."
She hesitated, then remembering that Wade was involved in the matter, she continued, "For the sake of settling those children."
"Those children?" Wade paused. "I heard Mabel... I mean, Obscurus escaped?"
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