Capítulo 82: Chapter 82: The Secret Passage and Maggie
Wade paused for a moment. "Is it that obvious?"
"Others might not notice, but to us, it's very obvious!" Fred said with a grin.
"We saw you coming out from that corridor with the mirror just now, and then you went straight to Paracelsus' portrait. You're clearly looking for secret passages, aren't you?"
"But it's no use. Filch knows about the passage behind the portrait too. He's always on guard! Even if you sneak in, he'll definitely catch you when you try to come out," George added. "That guy has control over four of the castle's secret passages."
"But we know more! If you really want to sneak out of the school to do something—"
"—What we mean is—like going to Honeydukes for some candy, for example—"
"—Then go to the middle of the third-floor corridor and look for the statue of a one-eyed, hunchbacked witch—"
"The password is 'Dissendium'—"
"—The exit is right inside Honeydukes."
"So then—" Fred winked playfully. "We hope you enjoy a grand adventure!"
"Why are you telling me this?" Wade asked, puzzled. "You haven't told many people about this passage, right?"
"Of course not! Not even little Ron knows!"
"But you've already found two secret passages on your own—you've earned the right to become the next generation's rule-breaker!" Fred declared with exaggerated solemnity, as if passing on some sacred tradition.
"We were helped by our predecessors too—uh—very valuable help—" George added vaguely. "So, we figured we should help some like-minded individuals ourselves!"
"Keep it up, Wade!" Fred gave him a thumbs-up. "You've got talent."
Wade didn't want to know what exactly they meant by "talent"... he had a feeling the twins were misunderstanding him.
"Dissendium!"
Wade found the statue of the hunchbacked witch and said the password. The statue's hump immediately opened up, revealing a space just large enough for him to walk through.
But Wade stood at the entrance and looked into the dark passage. In the end, he decided to close the statue again.
—Why sneak out of the school by breaking the rules?
Wade suddenly had a thought.
Gryffindors would see this kind of thing as a great adventure, but to him, actions that increased one's own risk were not wise.
He did need to meet Remus Lupin and possibly Marchionne as well, but using a secret passage was only a backup plan. If the legitimate means of leaving the school didn't work, then he could consider using the passage.
Several professors quickly flashed through his mind, and finally, his thoughts settled on the kind smile of Professor Murray.
It wasn't just because Professor Murray appreciated and looked after him, but also because this professor wasn't one to care much about rules and regulations—
Officially, Hogwarts didn't allow connection to the Floo Network, but Professor Murray had connected his office fireplace anyway (even though Dumbledore surely knew about it).
Legally, it wasn't allowed to connect the fireplaces of non-magical households to the Floo Network, but Murray had secretly arranged it regardless.
Many people with Professor Murray's status and influence grew into paragons of morality and discipline as they aged (even if just outwardly), but Professor Murray would roll up his sleeves and personally haggle over prices with merchants.
So, Professor Murray was the most likely person to make an exception and allow him to leave the school.
...
Pop!
A familiar soft popping sound made Wade immediately turn his head, thinking it would be Zoe or others, but instead, it was a house-elf he wasn't very familiar with.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Wade Grey." The house-elf bowed deeply.
"You are—" Wade's fingers instinctively moved towards his wand, his gaze shifting to the top of the elf's head. "Maggie? Good afternoon, Maggie."
The house-elf's eyes widened in astonishment, making his already tennis-ball-sized eyes appear even larger, and tears quickly welled up.
"Mr. Wade Grey remembered Maggie's name? Even though Maggie is just a house-elf, more insignificant than dust, Mr. Wade Grey remembered Maggie's name?
And he even said good afternoon to Maggie? No wizard has ever said good afternoon to Maggie—no wizard has ever remembered Maggie's name—"
The house-elf burst into tears, wailing loudly.
Wade sighed and squatted down to speak to him, "Sorry, did I say something wrong?"
"No—no—how could Wade Grey be wrong? Just like Zoe said… you are a very, very great wizard… just as Zoe described…" Maggie cried as he spoke.
"That's a bit of an exaggeration, I'm far from being great." Wade pulled a tissue from his pocket and handed it to him, saying, "If you keep crying, you'll probably attract someone over here!"
"The best house-elves are those who aren't noticed by wizards"—this belief, imprinted like a moral code in the minds of house-elves, made Maggie's sobs quickly quiet down, and after a moment, he stopped crying all together.
"I remember Zoe saying you're working on how to make those candies?" Wade asked cautiously, "Did you come to find me because you've made some progress?"
"Y-yes—yes—that's right—Wade Grey will see the candies on the dinner table tonight—"
Maggie sniffled and said, "But—that's not—Maggie didn't come for that—Maggie came to warn Wade Grey—"
"Warn me?" Wade was taken aback. "Warn me about what?"
"Maggie was cleaning in Slytherin and overheard some students say—say they were going to take the chance while Wade Grey is practicing potions—to give him—a lesson—"
Maggie struggled to finish, then froze as if he couldn't believe what he had just done. He shuddered and suddenly dashed toward a nearby wall, yelling as he hit it, "Bad Maggie! Bad Maggie!"
"Wait, Maggie!" Wade quickly grabbed him, preventing him from hitting the wall. "What are you doing, Maggie?"
"Maggie is punishing himself—Maggie is terrible—for leaking the little wizards' secrets—" Maggie said tearfully. "But Wade Grey needed to know—someone wishes harm upon him—Maggie… Maggie wants to tell Wade Grey who it is, but Maggie can't reveal their names…"
As he spoke, he tried to hit the wall again, and Wade hurriedly stopped him, saying, "Wait! You're doing this to protect me, remember? You're not leaking any secrets, you're protecting a student from danger. That doesn't deserve punishment!"
"Is—is that true?" Maggie asked, confused.
"Of course." Wade nodded firmly and confidently.
Maggie hesitated, stopping his struggle, tilting his head as if trapped in some sort of confusion.
Wade spoke softly, "Listen to me, Maggie—thank you for being willing to punish yourself just to protect me from harm… Protecting others, even at the cost of yourself, is a noble, loving, and responsible act. It's the essence of life's meaning and value. There's no reason for punishment."
Maggie stared at him in a daze.
After a long pause, he bowed deeply, his nose nearly touching the ground.
"Wade Grey must take care and be safe—Maggie cannot bear to see Wade Grey hurt…"
With that, and holding the dirty tissue, he disappeared with a soft "pop."
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