"They used to be friends?" Michael asked.
"Best friends." Theo paused, adding, "...allegedly."
"Where is that person now?" Ryan asked.
"Azkaban, of course."
Wade looked up at the empty space where a photo should have been, remaining silent.
After lunch, everyone went to Hogsmeade.
Theo had visited a few times with his parents, but Michael and Ryan were seeing the famous village for the first time. They eagerly rushed into the shops, thrilled to buy everything they could.
Wade and Lupin lagged behind. The middle-aged wizard looked at the children's joyful expressions, his own mixed with contentment and a subtle melancholy.
"Next Hogsmeade trip, I'll bring Harry along,"Wadesaid considerately.
"That would be wonderful," Lupin said, a somewhat foolish fatherly smile on his face. "Before, when I was alone, I didn't feel anything, but now... with one person missing from home, the whole house feels empty."
"Please keep today's events a secret from Harry,"Wadesaid. "He's living a carefree life right now; there's no need for him to get involved with Tom's affairs."
Lupin naturally agreed.
He recalled a question that had been bothering him and said, "Wade, remember that shadow in the cave?"
"Of course,"Wadereplied.
"Simply injecting a thought wouldn't form such a physical shape, as if it had an independent soul."
Lupin said worriedly, "With Voldem—with Tom's magical prowess, he must have mastered many Dark Arts that we cannot comprehend. The diadem's danger level also exceeded my expectations."
"Thankfully, you were extremely cautious and never came into direct contact with it."
"Of course, it's been destroyed now... but if you encounter similar things in the future, you must be extremely careful."
He didn't suspectWadewas hiding anything from him; he merely thought that Wade, with his current knowledge, had misjudged the true horror of Voldemort's weapon.
Wade said earnestly, "Of course, I will."
"Just to be safe, let me confirm again," Lupin asked. "You haven't encountered any other 'Tom's weapons,' have you? You haven't, right?"
Wade averted his gaze and said, "Even Tom wouldn't have many of those things, would he?"
Lupin looked at him and sighed. "I'll teach you Fiendfyre."
"Great!"Wadesmiled, stating frankly, "I've been waiting for that."
"Promise me, you won't use it until you can fully control it!"
"Of course, I promise."
"Consult with me first on anything that comes up, don't just act on your own."
"I know."
Wade agreed to everything, but Lupin still looked somewhat worried.
As they returned to school via the Vanishing Cabinet,Wadewas still the last one to enter.
"Thank you, Remus."
Before closing the cabinet door,Wadesmiled and said, "But don't take me for a reckless lion. I'm an eagle who values his life."
Lupin was momentarily stunned.
The black cabinet door had already closed, and the person inside had already reached Hogwarts.
Lupin gave a wry smile, muttering to himself, "Lions aren't all reckless either."
He picked up the overturned photo, and with a swipe of his finger, the small piece of paper stuck to it floated down.
The black-haired boy in the photo wore a happy and unrestrained smile, looking very dashing and full of vitality.
Lupin, however, felt a sharp pang in his heart.
"...Isn't there still... a venomous snake hidden here that no one saw?"
Back at school, the group, now sharing a common secret, seemed even closer. They went to the Umbrella Hut, found only Padma there, and then learned Harry was in the Hospital Wing.
"What happened?" Ryan asked.
"Did they get into another fight with Malfoy?" Theo made a reasonable guess.
"No. Harry fell off his broom during Quidditch practice," Padma said.
Wade frowned slightly. "Did his broom lose control? Or was he hit by a Bludger?"
—Did Dobby start causing trouble at school this early?
"No," Padma said. "He wasn't injured from the fall; he just fainted."
In the Hospital Wing, Harry lay in bed, having just regained consciousness. Around him were several Gryffindor students and Quidditch team members.
A small boy (Colin Creevey) stood nearby, holding a camera, capturing the moment Harry woke up.
"I'm fine," Harry said, pushing the lens out of his face with exasperation. "Thanks, Colin. But I don't want to take pictures right now."
"Was it scary when you fell?" Colin asked loudly, sounding strangely excited.
"Falling suddenly is pretty terrifying," team captain Wood said, patting Harry's shoulder. "Get some good rest today; we'll continue practice tomorrow morning."
"Are you a devil?" Ron blurted out in shock.
Fred clapped him on the shoulder, saying grimly, "What did you expect, Ronny? The team is brutal."
George said seriously, "Wood certainly isn't a devil... he's far scarier than a devil."
Wood rapped each of the twins on the head, then began explaining how important their new tactics were, how terrible the team's coordination was, but how the match was already imminent (it was actually two months away).
The Weasley twins wore expressions of agony.
Angelina (another team member) watched them with glee, silently scoffing.
When Wood wasn't looking, Fred made a face at her.
Harry tried to explain, "I wasn't knocked out by the fall; my head suddenly started hurting at that time..."
Wood's voice echoed throughout the ward, and no one paid attention to what Harry was saying.
However, Ryan, who had just entered, heard him.
"Headache?" He walked over, asking in confusion, "Roughly when was that?"
Finally, someone was listening to him explain. Harry sighed in relief and quickly said, "Around half past ten... or close to eleven."
"Ten forty-five," Wood, somehow, shifted his attention back over. He said regretfully, "We had only practiced for an hour and twenty-five minutes."
Ryan exchanged a look with Theo.
Ten forty-five...
If he remembered correctly, the shadow in the diadem was being destroyed at that time.
Could Harry Potter sense it even from such a distance?
Michael felt a faint unease. He looked at the person next to him, butWadeseemed not to have noticed the subtle timing; instead, he was looking at Ron Weasley beside him.
"That's because you spent an hour talking about tactics..." Fred told Wood.
Wood frowned, just about to speak.
George suddenly clapped his hand over Fred's mouth and giggled, "I just remembered, we have a detention today. If we don't go, Hagrid will definitely be furious..."
"You got detention again?" Wood asked.
"Yeah, we just took a stroll in the Forbidden Forest, and our gamekeeper caught us..."
Fred pulled George's hand away and shrugged.
"He thought he should give us a memorable lesson..."
"Cleaning out the pigsty, no magic allowed..."
"Since Harry's awake, we'll take our leave..."
The twins retreated as they spoke, disappearing from Wood's sight in a blink.
Clearly, to them, Wood's nagging was scarier than cleaning a pigsty.
Angelina let out a giggle.