Chapter 61: The Train, Hyena

A sharp whistle blew, and all the train doors closed. The locomotive spewed steam as it clanked forward. Wade waved out of the window and watched his father's figure gradually recede into the distance.

He turned around and sat down, feeling a heavy weight in his heart.

His Book of Friends began to warm faintly. When he opened it, he saw several new messages on the first page—

[Fiona: Was the journey smooth? The train should have left by now, right?]

[Fiona: Eva seems a little unhappy. I think it's probably because you didn't bring her along.]

[Fiona: Is it cold on the train?]

Wade smiled and picked up his pen, and then replied to each message—

[Wade: Everything went smoothly, the train just left, and Dad is probably already on his way home.

If Eva is unhappy, maybe you can give her some dried fish? That's her favorite snack—I remember it's on the second shelf of the cabinet. 

You can also try some dried beetles or grasshoppers; she will be happy with those too—but not too much, or it will upset her stomach.

Of course, you already know all this.

Also, the train seems to have some kind of warming charm, so it's not cold, and the scarf is really cozy.

I'll remember to take plenty of pictures.]

"Hey, Wade!" Just as Wade finished writing, Michael poked his head in and said cheerfully, "I knew you'd be on this side—guys, over here!"

He waved in the other direction before dragging his suitcase into the compartment. He was visibly excited as he said, "Big news, isn't it, Wade?"

"—What?" Wade asked, slightly confused.

"The Book of Friends, of course!"

Michael pulled out his wand, levitated his suitcase onto the luggage rack, and sat down. 

"Right before the school year started, my parents were in a rush to get their hands on one! When they found out I had a whole book myself, they were stunned! 

But I always thought it was something exclusive to SSC members, and suddenly, I heard it's being sold in Diagon Alley—so the rumors are true, right?"

"—What rumors?" Wade realized that after just three weeks, he was struggling to keep up with Michael's conversations.

"Oh, we've all heard about it. Some people even came to ask me because they knew we're in the same year—" Theo entered the compartment, picking up where Michael left off. "—But I have to say, they didn't seem to believe it. They thought someone was making it up!"

"Hey, Wade. Long time no see—" Ryan followed closely behind. "I'm guessing you don't check the SSC chat pages much, do you?"

"Uh—well, I've been busy reading…" Wade replied.

"That's what I thought; otherwise, you wouldn't have stayed silent—" Ryan shrugged. "Let Theo explain; he knows more about it."

Theo Mancini, though his surname wasn't among the legendary Sacred Twenty-Eight, was still a pureblood and was well-informed.

"It's like this: Even before the Book of Friends was released, there were rumors—" Theo said while looking at Wade. 

"They said a brand new, cheap, and more convenient way of communication was coming, one that could potentially disrupt the current loose structure of the wizarding world, making connections between people much closer—"

Michael added, "Back then, I guessed—they might be talking about the Book of Friends—"

So even though Michael had a Book of Friends in his possession, he didn't dare share it with his parents or friends. 

Instead, he kept it buried at the bottom of his suitcase, making excuses about needing to study while secretly chatting with friends and cautioning them not to reveal the existence of the Book.

However, despite Michael's precautions, everyone else had already shared at least one page of their book with their parents. Realizing the potential leak, they quickly tried to patch things up, urging their families to keep it secret.

But within just two or three days, rumors seemed to spread across the entire world, and soon, everyone knew.

"Those few days, we went through the Floo network at home faster than usual," Ryan said. "A lot of people wanted to get involved. My dad mentioned knowing a pureblood noble who was desperately trying to secure the distribution rights in America—"

"But the owner of Aslan's Magic Workshop—Marchionne—is a sly and unpredictable character," Theo continued. "That's how my grandfather described him. He said Marchionne is like a hyena; if someone crosses him, he'll pull their guts out... from their rear end."

Theo softened his grandfather's much cruder words, feeling too embarrassed to repeat them verbatim.

"No one dares mess with Marchionne—no one's ever gotten the better of him. 

However, some say that even Marchionne obtained the Book of Friends' patent rights from someone else, and the inventor is actually just a first-year student at Hogwarts—" Theo glanced at Wade.

"Some people went crazy trying to find you. I was really worried I'd hear your name, Wade," Ryan said with a hint of concern.

Theo continued, "But the Grand Alchemist Terrence Murray publicly stated at a banquet that the inventor is his student, and he would not tolerate anyone causing trouble or distress to his student. 

If anyone tries to bypass him and contact his student directly, it will be seen as an insult and provocation to Terrence Murray."

Ryan added, "I only found out afterward that Professor Murray has a very high standing in certain fields—and of course, there's also Dumbledore at Hogwarts—"

Just then, the witch pushing the snack trolley passed by the door, and they paused their conversation to buy some snacks.

Once they had finished, the conversation resumed.

"Professor Dumbledore also said he hoped everyone would respect his students, or he would have no choice but to defend his students' rights—after that, everything suddenly calmed down."

As Theo unwrapped a Chocolate Frog, he said, "I heard that those with ideas are now going after Marchionne instead. Compared to the alternatives, they probably think the cost of provoking Marchionne is lower—oh no, my Chocolate Frog!"

The frog suddenly jumped away, and although Theo quickly tried to grab it, he missed. Just before it could leap out of the window, Wade caught it.

"Thanks, Wade."

Wade handed the Chocolate Frog back and asked, "So… my name hasn't been leaked?"

"Most people don't know. A lot of them still think it's a sixth or seventh-year student!" Ryan said. "But I suspect the pureblood families aren't fooled. Even with Dumbledore and Murray speaking up, Wade, you should try not to be alone at school—"

Michael threw his arm around Wade's shoulders and said with a smile:

"Don't worry; we'll stick to you like conjoined twins. By the way, there's a rumor that Marchionne paid a huge amount of Galleons for the rights—some people are saying you're as rich as the Malfoys now. Is it true?"

While the other two avoided the subject, Michael asked directly.

Wade tried to respond in a calm, non-boastful tone, "It's not that exaggerated, just fifty thousand Galleons."

Michael grimaced as if he had a toothache. "Fifty thousand Galleons! I've never seen that much money in my life!"

Theo relaxed and laughed. "Some people were saying it was a million Galleons! Total nonsense—"

Ryan suddenly put his hand on Theo's shoulder, and Theo immediately stopped talking.

There was a knock on the compartment door.

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