Chapter 131: The Secret Passage

Words : 1393 Updated : Oct 6th, 2025

For the first Defense Against the Dark Arts class of the new term, it seemed that Lockhart had learned a lesson from his previous day's disaster. This time, he didn't bring in any creatures he couldn't handle himself. He had the students spend half an hour working on a quiz, and then used the rest of the time reviewing it, occasionally asking them to open his books and read "exciting" excerpts. These were, of course, the parts that highlighted his supposed strength, bravery, and indomitable spirit. And just like that, He easily wasted a whole class without much effort. Even so, by the end of the lesson, a few students still gathered around Lockhart and asked for his autograph. "If the next class is like this, I might have to find a way to fake being sick," Michael complained to Wade, then added, "By the way, I thought you weren't going to take that quiz seriously?" "I've got a few books I want to borrow from the Restricted Section," Wade replied. "Oh, that's easy! I've never met anyone more vain than this guy," Michael said as he pulled out a few pieces of parchment. He used a duplication spell to copy Lockhart's photograph from the textbook cover, then called out to Padma. "Padma, Wade needs a few of Lockhart's autographs. Can you help him get them?" Michael asked. Padma flipped her braid behind her and confidently replied, "Leave it to me!" Today, she was also wearing a phoenix-shaped badge on her collar, and her skin looked flawless, glowing and radiant. Just like the other girls, Padma joined the group swarming around Lockhart. In no time, she returned with several "autographed photos." "Let me know whenever you need more," she said coolly and handed the parchment to Wade. "All I had to do was smile. He doesn't even bother checking, he could sign a hundred without noticing!" Michael gave her a thumbs-up. "We're lucky to have you! If it were up to us, we wouldn't have had it so easy." Wade tapped the photos with his wand, making the copied images disappear, leaving only Lockhart's flamboyant signature behind. He couldn't help but smile. He was in a good mood, but not just because he now had several blank autographed permission slips. As they left the room, Michael nudged Wade with his shoulder and whispered, "It's easier than you thought, right?" "Wade, don't feel like you always have to handle everything on your own. You can rely on us sometimes." "Something that's difficult for one person might be easy for someone else, don't you think?" ... Wade awoke from a vivid, surreal dream. He pushed open the window, letting in the fresh, damp air, which cleared out the stale atmosphere inside. It seemed to have rained last night, as the windowsill was damp. Wade thought about the indistinct figures from his dream... He recalled how, in his previous life, his father had gone bankrupt trying to cover for a close friend. He remembered the "friend" from university who had stolen his research, published it first, and then deleted Wade's files and accused him of plagiarism. That person even posted the accusation online, inciting a wave of cyberbullying from mindless internet users. There were things Wade thought he had forgotten long ago, but they had always been etched deep in his heart. Yet, Michael and Theo's words also echoed in his mind. Friends... As children, trust is given easily, but as we grow older, it becomes much harder. But distrusting everything is as wrong as trusting everything blindly. Without trust, loyalty and friendship will eventually drift away. He took a deep breath, exhaling the heavy weight that had been sitting on his chest for a long time. ... After classes in the afternoon, Wade and Michael arrived near the hunchbacked one-eyed witch on the third floor. Leaning against the window, they waited for a few students to leave the corridor. Once it was clear, Wade said, "I'm going." Michael nodded, "If anyone looks for you, I'll cover for you." Pretending to admire the view, Michael kept an eye out for anyone approaching, while Wade tapped the stone witch with his wand and whispered, "Dissendium." The witch's hunchback immediately opened up, revealing a narrow passage. Waving to Michael, Wade quickly slipped inside. Michael watched as the passage closed behind him, then leisurely headed downstairs with his hands in his pockets. He passed by Filch, the caretaker, whose gloomy eyes lingered on him. Michael nodded at him politely, and out of the corner of his eye, spotted a group of Slytherin students. His eyes lit up, and he promptly walked toward them. ... Wade slid down a long, slanted stone chute before making his way along a cold, damp passage. The ground was uneven and rough, seemingly not man-made. The surrounding darkness was thick and silent, broken only by the bright light at the tip of his wand. The secret passage was incredibly long. Wade had been walking for over an hour before finally seeing a long staircase stretching upward, seemingly with hundreds of steps. Thankfully, he only had to climb it once. Grumbling to himself, Wade resignedly started climbing the stairs. After what felt like an eternity, he finally saw a trapdoor above him. Wade pushed open the trapdoor, and a hand reached down from above, grabbed Wade's arm and pulled him out. Lupin cast a cleaning charm to remove the dirt from Wade's clothes, and asked with a smile: "That journey wasn't easy, was it?" Wade calmed his breath, and replied after a while, "It was much longer than I expected." He felt like his legs no longer belonged to him. Luckily, he was still young... or maybe it was the wizard's physique that helped. After resting for a moment, Wade felt much better. "That passage is indeed long and difficult to traverse," Lupin remarked. "There's also another secret passage under the Whomping Willow that leads to the Shrieking Shack. If you press the knot on the tree, it will stop attacking." "If I can fix the Vanishing Cabinet, I won't need to use the secret passage anymore," Wade said. "Why are you so set on fixing the Vanishing Cabinet?" Lupin asked. "You know, compared to the passage, the Vanishing Cabinet can be dangerous." "But the secret passage only gets me to places around Hogwarts. If I want to go somewhere farther, there's just not enough time," Wade explained. "And even during regular school days, I don't want to waste too much time traveling." Lupin didn't ask Wade where he intended to go. He was respectful of boundaries. "Hold still," Lupin said, "I'll cast the Disillusionment Charm on you." With a tap of his wand on Wade's head, a cold sensation flowed from Wade's head down through his body. Wade looked at his hand. No matter how he moved, his body's colors shifted to perfectly blend with his surroundings. It was as if he had become invisible. Only someone with very sharp eyesight would notice the subtle distortion. "Let's go," Wade said. "After repairing the vanishing cabinet, I hope to learn this spell before returning to school on Sunday." "It's not easy—it involves advanced applications of Transfiguration. But if it's you... maybe you can do it," Lupin said kindly and closed the trapdoor as he followed behind Wade. The two of them climbed the stairs and arrived behind the counter at Honeydukes. Lupin flicked his wand, causing a bottle on the shelf to topple over. The bald, middle-aged shopkeeper bent down to pick it up, and Lupin and Wade took the opportunity to slip out unnoticed. -------------------------------- ????????Please consider supporting this translation project by becoming a P@treon member!!! Your support is greatly appreciated! Available on my P@treon page for just $4!! 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Chapter 131: The Secret Passage

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