Wade also unfolded the newspaper in his hands.
The incident that happened on the island a few days ago finally made it into the news, but the newspaper described it in a rather understated tone—
[Heroic Action by the Ministry of Magic: Rescuing Muggle Children from Danger!]
[Special Correspondent Rita Skeeter Reports: On December 12th, the British Ministry of Magic, in collaboration with independent wizards, successfully rescued 82 kidnapped children from a nameless island near Iceland.
Among them, seven were from the UK. Four of the rescued children were found to possess magical abilities, but all were beyond the age for school enrollment.]
[It is understood that the majority of these children came from North America, Asia, and Africa, with over half originating from the Middle East.
Due to prolonged war in their home countries, many of them had lost their parents and were consequently trafficked.]
[Investigations revealed that some children suffered varying degrees of abuse, and most were malnourished due to a lack of adequate food. However, after receiving treatment at St. Mungo's Hospital, their health has significantly improved.]
[A spokesperson for the Ministry of Magic stated that they have already contacted Muggle governments, and these Muggle children will be sent to welfare institutions to find reliable adoptive families.
Those with magical abilities will receive funding from the Ministry to study a basic correspondence course in magic.]
[Given the increasing number of missing children cases in Muggle society in recent years, Muggle governments across different nations are now working to establish better systems to prevent further abductions.]
[The reporter has also learned of a rumor claiming that one of the children, due to suffering extreme abuse on the island, awakened an Obscurus and subsequently escaped. However, this information has not been confirmed.]
[Auror Office Head Scrimgeour stated: "There are indeed such rumors, and we are currently investigating the matter."]
[As is well known, an Obscurus is an extremely dangerous dark magical entity—highly unstable and nearly impossible to control. If one were truly roaming free in Britain, how could we ensure our safety?]
[In response, Minister for Magic Fudge has called on all wizarding families to strengthen their supervision and education of their children. We must work together to create a safe and healthy environment for them to grow.]
Right until the end, the article did not mention Dumbledore or any of the Hogwarts professors by name and only referred to them vaguely as "independent wizards."
—As if the entire event had been a result of the Ministry of Magic's investigation and their heroic efforts in rescuing the children.
Not even once did the report mention the identities of the criminals, as if they had simply appeared out of thin air.
Most readers, upon finishing the article, would naturally assume that the criminals had been brought to justice and that the matter was now resolved.
Just like Harry at this very moment.
He quickly finished reading the newspaper while biting into his bread and mumbled, "The Ministry of Magic is pretty impressive… I hope I can become an Auror after I graduate."
Michael widened his eyes and studied him carefully. Seeing that Harry seemed to be speaking in earnest, he was utterly shocked.
—Even if he doesn't know all the deeper details, did he already forget what Percy Weasley had said during the meeting that day?
Harry didn't think too much about it. He also received a copy of the newspaper himself but hadn't had time to read it in detail.
—Since it has taken several days for the news to be published, that probably means the Ministry of Magic has already taken care of all the follow-up issues, right?
At this moment, Harry had yet to be slandered by fabricated newspaper reports. Like most ordinary people, he placed great trust in official institutions.
He hadn't yet realized that the Ministry of Magic is composed of individual wizards, each with their own personal agendas. Instead, he saw it as a single authoritative and impartial entity.
Harry quickly finished his breakfast, wiped his mouth, tucked the newspaper casually under his arm, and hurriedly said, "I have to go… I need to tell Ron and Hermione not to sign the stay-at-school list…"
He rushed off in a hurry.
Michael pointed at Harry's retreating figure, then turned to Wade and asked in disbelief, "Harry doesn't suspect anything at all?"
Without even looking up, Wade replied, "He's not a Ravenclaw."
That wasn't exactly a valid reason, but Michael was immediately convinced.
"…Alright," Michael said helplessly. "One day, he'll understand that if half of a news article is true, you're already lucky—especially when it's written by Rita Skeeter, the queen of sensationalism."
Flipping through the newspaper, he frowned. "That's odd. This article doesn't really match Skeeter's usual style."
"What's her usual style?" Wade asked as he turned another page.
"Oh, something like this…"
Michael thought for a moment, then pinched his voice and mimicked dramatically:
"We must ask ourselves—what truly led to this tragedy? Did the Obscurial's escape happen because of the Ministry's negligence? According to my secret sources, a terrifying truth lies behind all of this…"
Wade couldn't help but laugh. Michael's impression was so spot-on that he could almost picture Rita Skeeter fanning the flames as she spoke.
Michael was only thirteen, yet he could already recognize Skeeter's tactics in the newspaper.
In contrast, Mrs. Weasley in the original story was constantly deceived by her manipulative writing and even developed deep misunderstandings about Hermione because of it.
"Maybe it's because this time she really does know a terrifying truth…" Wade remarked absentmindedly. "Maybe she actually has inside information and doesn't dare write about it."
Then he continued flipping through the paper.
The newspaper contained long-winded descriptions of Obscurus, and it even brought up Credence Barebone (Aurelius Dumbledore), who had been dead for decades. His destructive power was exaggerated in dramatic detail.
The journalist clearly hadn't done their homework and was mixing conspiracy theories with facts, and they even attributed Grindelwald's fiery destruction of Paris to Credence. As a piece of fiction, it was actually quite an entertaining read.
After setting the newspaper down, Wade glanced around.
Not many students were reading the paper, and even fewer cared about what they had read once they finished.
The students who had been tense after Percy Weasley's meeting—just like Harry—now believed the matter had been settled.
Except, of course, for the Obscurus, whose whereabouts remained unknown somewhere in the British Isles.
Wade could understand why.
It was just like in his past life. Even if people saw news about wildfires, earthquakes, floods, or horrifying incidents, as long as it didn't happen near them, most people remained indifferent.
—They didn't get involved, didn't discuss it, didn't care. At most, they'd give the news a casual like when they scrolled past it. And that was it.
At this moment, perhaps because the wizarding world is too small, or perhaps because he was personally involved in the events, Wade felt an indescribable helplessness at everyone's indifference.
"Let's go." Michael slung his backpack over his shoulder and urged, "It's time for class."
Wade: "..."
Monday mornings always began with three overlapping elective classes.
He rolled up the newspaper and stuffed it into his bag, touched the Time-Turner hanging around his neck, and stood up.
…
Even though Christmas break was approaching, the difficulty of the coursework had only increased instead of easing up. After a full morning of lessons, even Wade was too busy to think about anything else.
It wasn't until after lunch, when he turned the Time-Turner back an hour, that he finally had time to contact the people he wanted to reach.
[Fred: You'll be coming home for the holidays, right? Of course, if you'd rather stay at school and celebrate with your friends, that's fine too—but your mother saw the news and really wants to see you.]
[Fiona: Your dad misses you too! He just won't admit it!]
At the end of the message, she had drawn a playful little ghost face.
Wade chuckled, put away his Book of Friends, and inserted the enchanted communication bean into his ear.
—Naturally, he had already sent similar multi-functional communication beans to his parents, friends, and a few other key contacts.
Leaning against the window, Wade pressed the bean and said, "Connect to Fiona Grey and Fred Grey."
Beep—beep—
After two rings, the call was immediately answered.
"Hi, Wade!" Fiona's cheerful voice came through. "Are you done with classes?"
"Yeah," Wade replied, a smile tugging at his lips. "I'm free now."
Then Fred's voice followed. "You saw today's newspaper, didn't you, Wade?"
"I did."
"It's the biggest news today!" Fiona chimed in. "It's all over the streaming mirror! And even the Muggle news—Reuters, the Associated Press, The Daily Telegraph—they're all reporting on it."
Wade gazed at the gloomy sky in the distance and said, "There are some rumors going around at school too—like how the number of kidnapped children wasn't actually just 82."
"That's not hard to believe," Fred said. "Those were only the ones who got rescued this time… I was just thinking, back then… maybe the Johnson family was also taken…"
"Dad." Wade paused before finally saying, "Caryll has appeared. He's here at school… at Hogwarts."
He hadn't originally planned to bring this up, but Wade was worried—what if one day Caryll "coincidentally" ran into the Greys on the street and used the past relationship between their families to deceive them and gain their trust?
If his parents didn't know the full story, they would have no way to guard against such manipulation.
He didn't want his efforts to protect his family to end up being the very thing that put them in danger.
"—What?!"
Fred exclaimed in shock, and Fiona gasped.
A long silence followed over the communication bean before Fred finally spoke again, his voice strained. "He… how is he now?"
"He's doing well," Wade replied. "Cheerful, lively, and making good progress with his magic."
"Then… does he know… does he know that Mrs. Johnson has already…" Fiona's voice trailed off, choked with sorrow.
"I don't know."
Wade lowered his gaze and said, "Since we reunited, he's never mentioned his parents. I suspect he may have already forgotten them—you know that magic can easily make that happen."
"And Caryll… I'm certain that during the time he was missing, he was influenced by something very bad. I just wanted to tell you—if you ever run into him… don't trust him."
"…I understand," Fred said.
Wade thought he heard a faint sigh, though he wasn't sure if it was real or just his imagination.
"Poor Annie…" Fiona murmured.
Annie Johnson—Caryll's mother—had first been hit with a Memory Charm, and later, she was strangled to death in a care facility by a cursed magical necklace.
Fiona had never particularly liked Mrs. Johnson, but now that she was gone, all she could remember were the good things about her.
"Do you remember, Wade? Annie used to bake such delicious cookies. Every time she visited, she'd bring us a box… No matter how busy she was, she never once forgot…"
As she spoke, Fiona's voice became thick with emotion, and soon, she was choking back tears.
Wade remained silent and waited patiently—either for her to compose herself or for his father to comfort her.
Once the moment had passed, he changed the subject.
"When the holidays start in a couple of days, I'd like to invite a few friends over. Is that okay?"
"Of course," Fiona said quickly. "I'll get the rooms ready for you."
"The house here is too small, and with us around, the kids won't be able to have as much fun," Fred said. "Wade, you and your friends can stay at the house in Westminster. It'll also be more convenient for attending Christmas events."
"Alright." Wade readily agreed.
In truth, he understood that his father was mostly worried about a group of boys being too destructive and didn't want his mother to be overwhelmed.
"But we can't have Christmas dinner outside as well," Fiona said. "I'll have to buy the best turkey in advance… Who's coming, Wade?"
"Harry and Michael… I'll check with a few others later," Wade replied.
"Harry? The Savior, Harry Potter?" Fiona said in surprise. "The kid from the Streaming Mirror who fought the basilisk?"
"…Yeah, that's him," Wade confirmed.
"Oh my! Oh my! Harry Potter is coming to our house…" Fiona said excitedly. "I never would have thought… A baby who saved the world—he must have some kind of incredibly powerful hidden strength…"
Wade: "…Have you been watching superhero movies lately?"
"What?" Fiona didn't catch that.
Wade: "Nothing…"
…
He chatted idly with his parents for a while. When the hour was nearly up, he finally ended the call.
One of the great things about the communication bean is that no matter how long it is used, it never gets hot.
Pressing on the bean again, Wade said, "Connect to Rita Skeeter."
Beep—
"Ah, I knew you'd reach out to me sooner or later."
Rita's voice sounded rushed, and there were all kinds of chaotic noises in the background.
She quickly walked somewhere—her heels were clicking rapidly on the floor. Then, with a loud Bang!, the surroundings finally fell silent.
"The newsroom has been insanely busy these past few days… Let's get one thing straight—I never wanted the article to turn out like that. But if I hadn't written it that way, someone else would've taken over the report. I had no choice."
Rita Skeeter explained at a breakneck pace.
"I understand," Wade said. "I wanted to ask—does the Ministry have any further plans? Any news about Mabel?"
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⭐Harry Potter: Becoming a Study God (HP:BSG)- +235 Chapters
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