Chương 82: 82
Chapter 82: Secret Passage, McGee
Wade paused. "Is it that obvious?"
"Maybe others wouldn't notice, but it's glaringly obvious to us!" Fred grinned. "We saw you coming out of the corridor with the mirror just now, and now you've found Paracelsus' portrait looking for a secret passage."
"But it's pointless. Filch knows about the secret passage behind the portrait too. He's on high alert! Even if you sneak in, you'll definitely get caught coming out," George chimed in. "That guy's got the four castles' secret passages down pat."
"But we know better! If you really want to sneak out of school for something—"
"What we mean is—go to Honeydukes and grab some sweets or something—"
"Then head to the middle of the corridor on the fourth floor and look for the statue of a one-eyed hunchbacked witch—"
"The password is 'dissendium'—"
"The exit leads to Honeydukes."
"And then—" Fred winked mischievously. "We'll be waiting for an epic adventure from you!"
"Why are you telling me all this?" Wade asked, perplexed. "Aren't secret passages supposed to be, well, secret?"
"Of course! Not even little Ronnie knows about these!" George replied.
"But you've found two secret passages on your own—you're becoming quite the rule-breaker!" Fred said solemnly, as if passing on some profound legacy.
"We also got some help from our older friends—very valuable help," George added vaguely. "So it's only fair we help out like-minded individuals!"
"Do us proud, Wade!" Fred gave him a thumbs-up. "You've got talent."
Wade wasn't sure what "talent" they were referring to... He always felt the twins had some misconceptions about him.
"Dissendium!'"
Wade found the statue of the hunchbacked witch and cast the spell. The statue's hunchback shifted aside, creating enough space for him to enter.
But standing at the entrance, Wade gazed into the dark passage and decided to restore the statue again.
—Why did he need to break the rules and sneak out of school?
That thought suddenly struck Wade.
Gryffindor might view such actions as daring, but he found such risk-increasing behavior undesirable.
He needed to meet Remus Lupin and possibly Marchionne, but the secret passage was only a fallback. If legitimate means failed, he could always resort to it later.
Several professors flashed through his mind before settling on Professor Murray's warm smile.
It wasn't just because Professor Murray had shown care and appreciation towards him, but also because the professor didn't take rules and discipline overly seriously—
Hogwarts didn't officially permit use of the Floo Network, yet he had connected his office fireplace (though Dumbledore must have been aware);
The law forbade linking a non-magical household's fireplace to the Floo Network, but he'd secretly arranged for it to be done;
As individuals like Professor Murray gained status and prestige, they often became paragons of moral conduct and rule-following, albeit superficially. But Professor Murray would roll up his sleeves and negotiate personally with businessmen for every Knut.
So, Professor Murray was most likely to make an exception and allow him to leave school.
...
"Snap!"
The familiar sound made Wade turn immediately. He expected it to be one of the Weasley twins or someone else, but instead, it was an unfamiliar house-elf.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Wade Gray," the elf greeted with a deep bow.
"Are you—" Wade's hand loosely gripped his wand, eyes flicking to the elf's head. "McGee? Good afternoon, McGee."
The elf's eyes widened in surprise, already as large as tennis balls, filling with tears.
"Wade Gray remembered McGee's name? Even though McGee is less noticeable than dust, Wade Gray remembered McGee's name? And he even said good afternoon to McGee? No wizard has ever said good afternoon to McGee—no wizard has remembered McGee's name—"
The elf burst into tears.
Wade sighed, kneeling down. "I'm sorry, did I say something wrong?"
"No—no—how could Mr. Wade Gray be wrong? He's just as Zoe described—a great, great wizard—just as Zoe said—" McGee sobbed.
"That's a bit exaggerated. I'm not great at all." Wade took out a tissue from his pocket and handed it over. "If you keep crying, you might attract attention!"
In the elf's mind, the idea that a house-elf unnoticed by wizards was a good house-elf was akin to a moral law. McGee's crying gradually subsided after a while.
"I remember Zoe said you were working on creating those sweets," Wade ventured. "Did you come to me because you've made some progress?"
"Yes—yes—there'll be sweets on the table tonight that Mr. Wade Gray will see," McGee sobbed. "But—not—McGee didn't come for that—McGee came to warn Mr. Wade Gray—"
"Warn?" Wade was taken aback. "What are you warning me about?"
"McGee was cleaning Slytherin House and overheard several students plotting to teach Mr. Wade Gray a lesson while he's in the Potions classroom," McGee struggled to say, then froze, unable to believe what he'd just done. Trembling, McGee began hitting the wall beside him, chanting, "Bad McGee! Bad McGee!"
"Wait, McGee!" Wade grabbed the elf, stopping the self-inflicted punishment. "What are you doing, McGee?"
"McGee is punishing herself—McGee is so bad—she leaked the little wizard's secret—"
"You didn't leak anything, McGee—you protected a student in danger. You don't deserve punishment!" Wade reassured him.
"Is that true?" McGee asked, confused.
"Absolutely." Wade nodded firmly.
McGee hesitated, stopping her self-punishment and tilting her head as if in confusion.
Wade whispered, "Listen, McGee—thank you for sacrificing yourself to protect me from harm. Protecting others and putting yourself at risk is noble, loving, and responsible. It's the true meaning and value of life. There's no reason for you to punish yourself for it."
McGee stared at him blankly.
After a long moment, the elf bowed deeply, touching her nose to the ground.
"Please take care of yourself, Wade Gray. McGee will never stand for any harm coming to you..."
With that, she vanished with a pop, leaving behind a crumpled tissue.
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