To avoid being overheard, the group followed Wade up the stairs in complete silence.
It was currently the end of class, and most of the hungry students were heading straight to the Great Hall.
By the time Wade and his group reached the 7th floor of the castle, the corridor was already empty.
The 7th floor of the castle had many different passageways.
Wade spent quite some time before finally finding the distinctive tapestry.
The tapestry was hung in a secluded corridor.
"This tapestry is really funny... is this guy teaching a troll to dance ballet?" Anne curiously studied the hanging fabric.
When Tom saw the troll, he couldn't help but recall the events of the previous night and subconsciously glanced at Wade again.
However, Wade wasn't paying attention to the tapestry like the others. Instead, he turned to look at the wall opposite the tapestry.
Wade reached out and touched the blank stretch of wall.
"Wade, where is this place you were talking about?" Anne asked again.
"Hold on a moment," Wade said, then began pacing back and forth in front of the wall, testing things out.
'I need a room where I can practice spells...'
'I need a room where I can practice spells...'
'I need a room where I can practice spells...'
As Wade paced, he silently repeated this thought in his mind.
Anne and the others watched him in confusion, having no idea what Wade was doing.
Just as they were about to speak up and ask, Wade had already completed pacing three times.
Click!
A faint sound came from the wall.
To everyone's astonishment, a smooth wooden door appeared on what had been a blank wall!
Wade turned and opened the door, stepping inside.
It was an enormous room.
On one side of the spacious room were many humanoid dummies, and the floor was piled with plenty of mats.
On the other side of the room stood a bookshelf, crammed full of various spell books.
There were also some tables and chairs in front of the bookshelf, where people could rest.
Without a doubt, this place was perfect as a base for his small team.
"Everyone, come in," Wade said, glancing around the room before beckoning the others over.
The group immediately stepped inside.
As the wooden door closed behind them, it vanished from the corridor, blending seamlessly back into an unmarked wall.
"Wooaah! This place is incredible! We can study spells from the books first, and then immediately try them out right here!" Alphard exclaimed.
"Exactly, it feels like this place was tailor-made for us!" Henry was equally amazed.
Charlie asked, "Wade, how did you find this place?"
"I just happened to find out about it by chance," Wade replied simply.
Seeing that Wade didn't want to say more, Charlie wisely chose not to press the matter.
Wade continued, "From today on, this will be our meeting place. Here, we'll hone our skills… only by becoming stronger ourselves will we ensure that no one can bully us."
Everyone nodded in agreement, even the usually critical Tom was satisfied with this place.
"This place is called the Room of Requirement, or the Come and Go Room. It appears and disappears at will, and only reveals itself when someone truly needs it. In other words, it can change into whatever you need at the moment..."
Wade continued explaining, "Next time you want to come here, you'll need to think to yourself, 'I need a room to practice spells,' and walk past this wall three times. Then, the room will appear again."
Everyone was amazed by the magic of this room.
Tom asked curiously, "So, how do you know so much about this place?"
"Found out by accident," Wade replied briefly once again.
Tom fell silent. He knew this guy definitely wouldn't tell him anything more.
Hmph, this bastard really has too many secrets!
Wade glanced at the time and said, "Everyone, take a break here for now and have something to eat."
As he spoke, Wade silently thought to himself, I need to add a dining area here, with plenty of food...
As Wade formed the thought, the Room of Requirement shifted and changed once more!
A door opened up again on one of the walls, and everyone looked inside.
They saw a long dining table set in the room, and the table was already laden with food. Upon closer inspection, they realized that the amount of food was just enough for all of them!
"Heh~ As expected, it works..." Wade looked at the changes in the Room of Requirement with delight.
He remembered from playing games before that the protagonist could expand the Room of Requirement anytime as needed. He hadn't expected that, beyond just creating new spaces, the room could even bring food directly here!
As expected of the Room of Requirement...
"Wade, what did you do this time?" Anne asked in surprise.
"You just need to silently think to yourself that you need food, and the Room of Requirement will respond. But remember, you can only make wishes when you truly need something!" Wade added that final note specifically because he worried they might make random wishes and mess up the room.
"Oh, got it…" The others misunderstood Wade's meaning, thinking they simply weren't allowed to make casual wishes.
"Let's eat first. After lunch, we still have classes this afternoon… In the future, whenever we have free time, we can gather here. Henry, Alphard, you two really need to work hard," Wade said.
"Understood!" Henry and Alphard quickly replied.
If they didn't work harder, they'd be letting down Wade for finding them such a good place!
…
The two classes in the afternoon were Defense Against the Dark Arts.
To be honest, Defense Against the Dark Arts was the class Wade and Tom looked forward to the most.
Not only because the subject itself was closely related to dueling, but also because the current Defense Against the Dark Arts professor was none other than Albus Dumbledore!
In fact, at Hogwarts, there wasn't a single student who didn't eagerly anticipate this class.
Albus Dumbledore was the only wizard in the world who could stand on equal footing with that fearsome man whose name sent shudders through the wizarding world!
His strength was beyond any doubt.
Who wouldn't want to learn a few things from him?
When Wade and the others arrived at the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, Dumbledore was already there, leaning against the lectern with a warm smile as he watched the students file in.
When his gaze fell on Wade and Tom, his smile deepened.
"Professor."
"Mm, go find your seats," Dumbledore said.
Wade nodded, then picked a seat at the front of the Slytherin section.
Tom, Anne, and the others followed him and sat down as well.
As soon as their little group settled in, the other Slytherin students instinctively left several seats of distance between themselves and Wade's group.
Dumbledore observed all of this clearly from the podium.
He took a glance at the members of Wade's small group. Though they weren't many, it was obvious they all centered around Wade.
However, when Dumbledore's gaze swept over Anne, he couldn't help but pause for a moment.
It was simply because Anne looked so much like Vinda.
In fact, Grindelwald had sent Anne to Hogwarts because he didn't know Wade was aware of Vinda Rosier's surname.
In Grindelwald's mind, Wade couldn't possibly know Vinda Rosier, so naturally, he wouldn't grow suspicious over Anne's surname, Rosier.
Otherwise, Grindelwald never would have let Anne come as an undercover agent.
Of course, Grindelwald had long anticipated that Dumbledore would recognize Anne.
But he understood his "old friend's" nature very well. Even if Dumbledore guessed Anne's origins, without concrete evidence, he wouldn't take any action against her.
After all, given Dumbledore's character, even if he knew one Rosier had joined the Purist Alliance, he wouldn't trouble another Rosier just because of that.
At most, he would only keep a closer watch on Anne.
However, Anne's main task was to win Wade and Tom's trust; everything about the notebook was secondary.
So, Grindelwald wasn't at all afraid of Dumbledore keeping an eye on Anne.
In fact, Grindelwald would have been more than happy if Dumbledore lost his patience and made things difficult for Anne.
Because now, Anne was Wade and Tom's friend!
If Dumbledore did anything to Anne, it would very likely drive Wade and Tom away from him.
That would be Grindelwald's opportunity.
Either way, Grindelwald stood to gain something.
Unfortunately, what he hadn't accounted for was that Wade had already recognized Anne as Vinda Rosier's family member.
As expected, Dumbledore did not make things difficult for Anne just because her surname was Rozier, even though he deeply suspected the purpose behind this girl's presence.
The method Dumbledore intended to use was still the same as how he had dealt with Tom in the original story: keeping a close watch on her.
"Alright… class is starting."
As the last student entered the classroom, Dumbledore glanced at his pocket watch and then announced the start of the lesson.
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