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Chapter 81: The Secret Passage
Chapter 81: The Secret Passage
"Father, if you determine that he is trustworthy during the interview, please tell him that I will meet him at the Three Broomsticks pub in Hogsmeade Village this Saturday morning," read the message from Ved to Ferdinand.
"Can you leave school?" Ferdinand asked.
"I have a way," Ved replied.
"Is it safe?" Ferdinand inquired, concerned.
"Don't worry, Hogsmeade has always been under Dumbledore's watchful eye," Ved assured him.
...
Within the open pages of the book, a moving magical photograph was tucked away—capturing the loving gaze of parents and the happy smile on a child's face, forever preserved by the camera's lens.
Ferdinand stared at it for a long while before finally closing the photo album.
Although the words had disappeared from the paper, they were now etched into his mind.
During the farewell at the station, the father and son had subtly lifted a veil of "painting a rosy picture." From then on, Ved gradually began to record some facts that he had once concealed from them in the photo album.
For instance, Slytherin still advocated pure-blood supremacy and often clashed with Gryffindor; or how he intended to practice more advanced spells with a few classmates to prepare for the future.
Ved had also asked Ferdinand for help in placing a job advertisement in the Daily Prophet, with the reply address being a room in the Leaky Cauldron—a room that Ferdinand had rented for a month, checking the received letters after work every day. The pub owner, Tom, seemed unapproachable at first glance, but he was actually a helpful person, sorting out the various job applications for him every day.
The conditions listed in the advertisement were harsh, and the salary offered was modest. Yet, they still received numerous letters from all over the place. Ved specifically warned that some wizards might include curses or harmful potions with their letters, so Ferdinand should be careful when opening them.
In fact, Ferdinand was already cautious about magic without Ved's reminder. He intentionally spent some money to ask the pub owner, Tom, to help check if the letters were safe. Ferdinand believed that being able to own a pub on a transportation hub like Diagon Alley and running it with terrible hygiene yet remaining in business all this time, Tom's magic skills must be quite formidable.
Among the applicants, some attached their graduation grades from Hogwarts and requested higher salaries, while others boasted about their abilities but had little to no effective proof to back up their claims.
However, none of that mattered, as Ferdinand had known from the start that this job advertisement was meant for just one person—Ved had insisted on hiring only this particular wizard whose name he had heard from somewhere. No matter how impressive the other applicants' resumes were, they would not be considered.
And now, that person had finally arrived.
Ferdinand decided that he must guard his son against this potential threat. If this wizard named Remus Lupin turned out to be all show or of questionable character, Ferdinand would never allow him to get close to his son.
"Knock, knock, knock!"
The door to the room was knocked on, and Tom's voice called from outside, "Mr. Gray, Mr. Lupin is already in the pub."
"Alright, I'll be right there," Ferdinand replied, taking a deep breath and straightening his collar before heading out.
As he reached the pub on the first floor, Ferdinand spotted the man under Tom's guidance—brown hair mixed with strands of white, and a very old wizard's robe patched with a few repairs. He looked young, but his face was haggard and aged, resembling those middle-aged unemployed wizards holding signs and looking for work at Canary Wharf.
Ferdinand frowned.
His first impression of Remus Lupin was of a wizard who seemed to lack even the most basic ability to make a living.
According to Ferdinand's understanding of magic, wizards should find it much easier to earn money legally and legitimately than Muggles... Just how incompetent must one be to not even afford a new set of clothes?
Or perhaps... he thought that dressing a little shabbily would evoke more sympathy from potential employers?"
But this was the person Ved wanted to find.
Ferdinand approached nonetheless.
The wizard sensed the movement from afar, his weary appearance belying the alertness in his eyes. He quickly and discreetly gripped his wand, his actions speaking of a cautious nature.
Ferdinand suddenly understood—this was indeed the person Ved had been waiting for all this time.
...
"Hmm, that's odd."
Padma flipped through the newspaper during breakfast, a confused expression on her face.
"What's odd?" Michael mumbled through a mouthful of pie.
"That job advertisement I saw in the paper every day has suddenly disappeared," Padma said, tilting her head as if expecting to find the missing ad between the pages.
"They probably found someone," Michael said nonchalantly.
"No way!" Padma exclaimed. "We were just discussing it in the dorm the other day. With the salary offered, they shouldn't have been able to find someone of that caliber so quickly—"
Ved remained silent, finishing his breakfast quietly.
After classes, Ved climbed the ever-shifting stairs alone, reaching the fifth floor. He searched for a while before finally locating the mirror that Macioni had mentioned in his letter, standing at over a person's height.
Ved tapped the mirror with his wand and whispered, "Mostrar la verdad (reveal the truth)!"
The mirror flipped around, revealing a dark passage behind it. Ved illuminated his wand with Lumos and stepped inside, only to freeze in his tracks.
Before him lay only a small clearing a few steps away, beyond which the passage was completely collapsed. Rubble, bricks, and dirt blocked the once spacious corridor, and even traces of Dark Magic marred the walls.
Someone had used an extremely dangerous explosion curse to destroy this secret passage.
Ved silently backed out, restored the mirror to its original state, and then took out his friend's account.
[Ved: The passage has collapsed.]
[Macioni: What?! It was still usable when I was in school! Didn't the magic of the castle stop it from collapsing?]
[Macioni: Never mind, I know of another secret passage. It's behind the portrait of Paracelsus on the sixth floor. It's easy to find; he's wearing a fluffy red hat and is quite chubby. He loves it when people come to chat with him... Just talk to him about alchemy or divination, and he'll tell you anything you want to know...]
Ved: ...
He couldn't shake the feeling that Macioni had led a colorful life during his student days.
Climbing another flight of stairs, Ved easily located the portrait that was so boring it made people want to bite their fingers. Just as Ved was about to strike up a conversation, he felt a concealed gaze upon him and turned to see Mrs. Norris crouching on the ground, licking her paws, her sidelong glance fixed on him.
Mrs. Norris was the pet cat of Filch, the castle's caretaker. Like her owner, she was old and frail, her fur having lost its luster. However, her senses remained sharp, and she was quick to react. Whenever she spotted students breaking the rules, she would rush off to fetch Filch, ensuring that the offenders received their due punishment. She was just as despised by most of the students as her owner.
Man and cat stared at each other.
A student walking around the school during the day was not against the rules. But if he opened the secret passage, Mrs. Norris would surely fetch Filch.
Most importantly—Filch was likely aware of this secret passage, which meant that using it was no longer safe.
Ved prepared to leave.
"Yo, Ved!" Fred and George appeared from nowhere, greeting him enthusiastically before leading him away.
Fred draped an arm around Ved's shoulders and whispered, "Are you looking for the castle's secret passages?"
(End of Chapter)
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