Chapter 83: Badge, Approval

Wade took note of Maggie's warning, but he didn't need to worry about it right away. He used to practice potions in the classroom during his free time, and it's likely that some Slytherin students had seen him there a few times. But they didn't know that ever since he discovered the Room of Requirement, he rarely went back to the potion classroom. As for who exactly those students were, Wade had a pretty good idea. He decided to leave them alone for a few days, but not for too long—if too much time passed, the Slytherins might decide to give up on their own. After class on Thursday, Wade made his usual trip to the Astronomy Tower to meet Professor Murray, but on the way, he unexpectedly ran into a few seventh-year students. They were much taller than him, but each of them looked dejected, which made them seem smaller somehow. A girl was complaining to her friends, "I'm going to kill Jennifer! She told me that Alchemy was interesting and that Professor Murray's standards weren't that high—how is this considered 'not high'?" "Professor Murray was easygoing! Remember? Back in our sixth year," another student sighed. "But this year, he's taken on a new student, and now he seems annoyed with us. He used to like me a lot." The first girl grumbled, "Self-studying Ancient Runes in first year? That's insane! If we weren't all here at school, I'd swear that was a lie!" Another student lamented, "Ugh... why can't he focus more on Quidditch?" "Has anyone here tried to study the Book of Friends?" one of the boys suddenly asked. "I've tried." "It's difficult." "Impossible to crack." "Using a Transmutation Spell to heat it up or display characters is simple, but making it show complex text or even drawings on fragile parchment, while also ignoring spatial distance, that's where it gets complicated..." The boy was rambling on when someone jabbed his arm, abruptly cutting him off. As they turned the corner, they came face to face with Wade. Both sides stood frozen. Seeing Wade Grey, who still looked like a kid, and thinking about what they'd just been discussing, the older students felt incredibly awkward. After a brief moment of stillness, they stiffly nodded and passed by him in silence. After walking for quite a while, the voices behind Wade resumed. "—Was that Wade Grey?" "Yes." "—He's... quite good-looking." "Mm." "...He probably didn't hear that, right?" "—He heard it, I'd guess." "Ahhh! Why did you have to say that! Couldn't you have just lied to me?" "Stop shaking... I kind of want to die right now too... seriously." ... "Hmm?" Professor Murray looked at Wade, puzzled. "You... seem a little different today, don't you?" Wade smiled and asked, "Professor, what do you think is different about me?" "It looks like there is something different about you... hmm..." Professor Murray stroked his chin and scrutinized Wade for a long moment before hesitantly saying, "It seems... you look better than before? But it's not from using a Beautification Potion..." Wade chuckled and took off a badge pinned to his chest. Instantly, the visual effect of his flawless, glowing skin vanished. Though his features remained handsome and refined, the radiant glow that naturally drew all eyes to him was gone. "Oh?" Professor Murray was intrigued and took the badge in his hand for closer inspection—naturally, Wade hadn't placed any anti-detection spells on the work he showed the professor. "A Lumos charm... reflection charm... and solidification..." Professor Murray looked at Wade with a smile in his eyes. "You used light?" "Yes," Wade replied. "As you know, I've been taking a lot of photos lately. Through that process, I realized that the key to photography is lighting. Proper use of light can hide imperfections, make someone appear slimmer, and emphasize the contours of their face, making them look more attractive. So I made this Soft Light Badge, which casts just the right kind of light onto the wearer, making them seem... more radiant." In short, it's the wizarding equivalent of a beauty filter. "You never fail to impress me with your brilliant ideas," Professor Murray praised. "Many people need to drink Beautification Potions just to maintain a twenty-minute effect, and yet you've achieved the same result with a small badge—how long does it last?" "Around ten days," Wade replied. "Not bad." Professor Murray didn't give too much weight to such small gadgets and casually remarked, "Some silly young girls might like it—are you planning to have Marchionne's Magic Workshop produce and sell it again?" "Yes," Wade said as he pulled out an application for Hogsmeade from his pocket, candidly admitting. "Actually, I came today to ask for your approval to visit Hogsmeade this Saturday. I need to discuss modifications to the Book of Friends and the production of the Soft Light Badge with Mr. Marchionne." "Just for that?" Professor Murray seemed skeptical. He had come to understand Wade's personality over time—Wade wouldn't usually apply for a special trip to resolve matters that could be handled by correspondence. "Uh... I actually want to meet someone as well," Wade admitted, feeling a bit embarrassed. "As you know, it's inconvenient to do many things while at school. My father isn't well-suited to dealing with wizards frequently either, and I worry it might put him in danger. So I found an agent—a proxy to handle these matters for me. I plan to meet him this Saturday." "A proxy?" Professor Murray frowned, clearly disapproving. "An unreliable agent is more dangerous than not having one. Who is this person? Someone you've known before? Or someone connected to your family?" "No, I don't know him," Wade answered honestly. "I had my father place an advertisement in the newspaper, and this person responded with a job application. After meeting him, my father thought he seemed kind and trustworthy, so we chose him as the agent. His name is Remus Lupin." Wade knew he didn't need to explain to his parents why he trusted a stranger—they would believe him without question, as they always had. But with Professor Murray, Dumbledore, and others in the wizarding world, he needed a more suitable explanation for the arrangement. So Wade adjusted the story a little—rather than targeting a specific person, he made it sound as if someone had responded to the advertisement and applied for the job. "Remus Lupin?" Professor Murray furrowed his brow, his expression tinged with a mix of nostalgia and melancholy. "You know him?" Wade asked curiously. "Yes," Professor Murray lowered his gaze and his voice was somber. "He and his three friends were once some of the most famous students at Hogwarts. They stirred up a lot of headlines back then—nearly everyone knew them. Unfortunately..." "—Unfortunately?" Wade prompted. "Two of them died, another became a traitor. That's all. During wartime, things like that happened often—it's not worth dwelling on," Professor Murray quickly changed the subject. "You said you've arranged to meet him this Saturday?" "Yes." "I can approve that," Professor Murray said, his fingers interlacing as he spoke gravely. "But I'll be there too." -------------------------------- ????????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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