Chapter 66: The House-Elves and the Portrait
Although Wade had enough Galleons in his Gringotts vault to buy tens of the latest model brooms, he still showed great delight at the gifts from the house-elves and shared with them some of the candies he had brought from home—he had grabbed a pack and stuffed it into his pocket while changing clothes before heading out.
"These are made by Muggles, no magic involved, but they're very aromatic and taste great," Wade explained to them.
The house-elves looked overwhelmed with surprise, hesitating for a moment. But since it wasn't the first time they exchanged gifts with Wade, the house-elves quickly calmed down, accepted the candies, and thanked him profusely.
"Does Wade Grey want to have breakfast?" Phil asked respectfully. "Most of the breakfast in the kitchen should be ready by now."
"Sure!" Wade responded decisively.
Phil found a somewhat clean old cushion from the pile of clutter, while Zoe and Happy left the Room of Requirement. They soon returned, one holding a large tray filled with food and the other carrying a big jug of Wade's favorite orange juice.
Happy and the others knelt on the floor, spread out a tablecloth, and set the food and drink in place. Wade sat down and then noticed that the house-elves stood nearby, still holding the candies, and smiling at him.
A thought flashed through Wade's mind. He looked up and said in surprise, "Why are you all standing? Come on, sit down—this is our breakfast meeting."
"Sit—sit down!" Zoe stuttered. "Us?"
"Of—of course!" Wade mimicked her tone and then laughed. "Who else would it be?"
The three house-elves exchanged glances, looking even more excited than when they first received a gift from Wade, as if sitting down was an unimaginable honor.
But they seemed frozen, as if bound by invisible ropes, and their large eyes were filled with a bit of fear.
Wade slightly raised his voice, inviting them again, "Please, have a seat—don't you want to join me for breakfast?"
"Of course—we do!"
Zoe, as if struggling to breathe, took a deep breath and carefully sat beside Wade.
Next was Happy, who was a bit braver, clumsily taking a seat opposite Wade.
Finally, it was Phil's turn. He wobbled and, with the encouragement of his companions, timidly sat at the corner, his long fingers unconsciously fiddling with the tablecloth.
"Alright then—" Wade looked at the three house-elves and announced, "Let the breakfast meeting begin!"
He took the lead by picking up a meat pie, and then casually handed one to each of the house-elves. Moments later, the faint sound of sobbing filled the air.
Large tears rolled down from the tennis ball-sized eyes of the house-elves.
"So strange—so strange—" Happy said, wiping his tears while choking on his words. "Happy is so happy—why is Happy crying—"
Wade didn't say anything; he gently patted its small head with affection.
Phil and Zoe, mixed with bitter tears, devoured their pies in big bites.
Amidst the shadows of old furniture, in a space of flickering light and darkness, a wizard and three house-elves sat together for the first time and finished their breakfast.
…
Monday in Ravenclaw still began with the unpopular Potions class.
The Room of Requirement was on the seventh floor of the castle, while the Potions classroom was in the dungeons. Not wanting to climb the stairs, Wade simply flew down on his broomstick, circling the castle twice before landing in the central courtyard.
By the time he touched the ground, Wade's fingers were nearly numb from the cold, and his ears and nose were flushed red from the chill.
It turned out that winter was not a good season for flying; even with warming charms, the biting winds made it cold regardless.
"Pop!"
Happy suddenly appeared, handing Wade his backpack before eagerly taking the broomstick. With an adoring gaze fixed on Wade, he excitedly said, "Happy will help Wade Grey put the broomstick in the dormitory!"
"Thanks for your help, Happy," Wade said with a smile.
Happy bowed deeply, his long nose nearly touching the ground, and then disappeared with the broomstick.
Having already eaten breakfast, Wade had planned to head straight to the Potions classroom. But shivering from the cold, the damp and chilly dungeons suddenly felt uninviting, and the roaring fire of the Great Hall became irresistibly appealing.
Wade walked up the steps, crossed the entrance hall, and sat in the Great Hall for a while.
At this time, a few fifth-year students were already sitting at the long tables. Most of them had messy hair, looking both frustrated and resigned. They were eating breakfast while reading books… or perhaps reading breakfast while eating books, looking as if they were about to fall apart.
Wade didn't dare disturb these overworked upperclassmen. He sat quietly for a while, read a chapter of Potions content, and left the Great Hall once he had warmed up.
"Hey, Wade, long time no see!"
As he crossed the entrance hall, a familiar voice called out.
"Griffiths?" Wade looked over in surprise.
"Yeah, it's me." A red-haired wizard was leaning on a tall picture frame. The portrait's original occupant was squeezed into the corner, looking furious but helpless, glaring resentfully at Griffiths from behind.
"Haven't seen each other all holiday. Did you miss me?" Griffiths' voice was as lively as ever. "Hmm? Looks like you had a pleasant holiday! Your face seems a bit rounder... Not like me—"
He rolled up his sleeve, pointing to a bruise on his arm. "See this? I even got beaten up! Just a few years without seeing people, and everyone's become distant, with such bad tempers—"
—Are you sure it's not because of you that they're getting bad-tempered?
Wade thought to himself and then glanced at the poor wizard whose space had been taken over by the bully. He asked Griffiths, "Weren't you in the corridor? How did you end up in the entrance hall?"
"No, no, my painting is still in the corridor!" Griffiths wiggled his fingers and laughed. "They only said the entrance hall has no space, but they didn't say I can't pop by! I'm visiting old friends I haven't seen in a while; Dumbledore wouldn't mind!"
"Hey, kid!" A voice suddenly boomed from a nearby painting, where an old man in a top hat was glaring at Wade. "You're the one who brought this guy out of the Astronomy Tower, right? Do us a favor and send him back already!"
"Yes, yes!" The old men and women who seemed asleep in the surrounding portraits all chimed in. "Send him back, send him back!"
"We finally got him up to the Astronomy Tower, why'd you have to bring him back down?"
"Do you know how annoying he is? My hair's falling out in clumps!"
"—You're a painting, you don't have hair to lose."
"It's a figure of speech! A figure of speech! Understand? Don't nitpick my words."
"I'm just stating the truth... Why are you so mad? Can't we just communicate peacefully?"
"Ahhhh—someone, get this guy out of here!!!"
The usually quiet portraits suddenly started arguing among themselves. The students who were up early for breakfast were shocked and eagerly gathered around to watch.
Wade quietly left the entrance hall. Griffiths paid no attention to the chaos he had caused, shamelessly weaving through painting after painting, waking up a few that were genuinely asleep, and followed Wade out of the hall.
"Loud bunch, aren't they?" Griffiths said with a sly grin. "House-elves are way quieter than them."
Wade stopped in his tracks and glanced at Griffiths.
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