Holiday Magic Prohibition Notice

The house-elf looked at him with a childlike, clear gaze.

"Wade Grey is upset?"

"Uh..." Wade paused, sighed, and turned the Magic Bean in his hand. "I wouldn't say I'm upset. I just suddenly realized that my thoughts were a little too—"

Dark.

He swallowed the word and said, "—Maybe it's more like paranoia? I judged a professor who was full of goodwill toward me with some very ugly assumptions..."

"Wade Grey did nothing wrong!" Zoe suddenly said loudly.

"—Zoe?"

"Professor Murray is a good person, but Wade Grey is right to stay vigilant." Zoe nodded hard. "Zoe knows of one Defense Against the Dark Arts professor who tried to have an inappropriate relationship with a third-year girl and ended up in Azkaban. Zoe also knows of a Defense Against the Dark Arts professor who used Dark Magic on students and also went to Azkaban. There was another Defense Against the Dark Arts professor who used his students' trust to invite them to a party, then contacted Dark Wizards to kidnap them for ransom."

Wade laughed. "Did he go to Azkaban too?"

Zoe shook her head. "The wrong Spell made his Wand explode. He died."

"All Defense Against the Dark Arts professors... That position is seriously cursed." Wade complained.

"Defense Against the Dark Arts professors change very quickly. Many bad people. Quirrell was bad too. Wade Grey must always stay vigilant," Zoe said earnestly.

Wade sighed. "I will."

When Wade woke up in the morning, he first waved his Wand and checked the time.

Golden words appeared: 07:00am.

It was Friday, and they had no classes that morning. Most students would not get up early. When Wade passed through the Common Room, only two fifth-year students were sitting in front of the fireplace reading.

—Poor seniors.

Wade felt a moment of sympathy for them.

He used his Wand to conjure a ball of blue flame and put it into a bottle. Carrying it with him like this meant he would not be too cold even outdoors.

Wade would be taking the train home tomorrow, so he decided to go to the library after breakfast and borrow as many books as possible, so he would not waste his time at home.

After spending the whole morning in the library, Wade returned to the Great Hall and found Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick there, busy putting up Christmas decorations. He immediately went over to help.

"Ah, Wade, thank you." Professor Flitwick said happily. "We need to hang all those garlands on the walls."

They worked together with their Wands. Bright flowered garlands were hung along the walls, twelve towering Christmas trees stood on either side, and hundreds of candles lined up under Professor Flitwick's direction, winding around the trees and burning quietly. Golden Bubbles also sprayed from the tip of his Wand and hung from the branches.

Professor McGonagall lightly tapped the ice crystals hanging from the branches with her Wand, transforming some of them into glittering little animals or tiny bells. The effortless Transfiguration left the students in the Great Hall clicking their tongues in admiration.

More students came to help, giving full play to their creativity. Some conjured golden stars, some made proud, upright stags, while others had several sleighs race through the air above the Great Hall. Their impressive magical skill earned their Houses quite a few points from the two professors.

Of course, some transformations failed. A Slytherin boy had only wanted to make a few candles, but something went wrong with his Spell. The tip of his Wand suddenly exploded, blackening his entire face and making everyone burst into laughter.

Before long, the Great Hall had taken on a completely new look. Michael, who had come downstairs for lunch, said conflictedly, "You know, Wade, I miss my family. But—"

He poked a branch with his finger, and the ice hamster hanging from it immediately began to squeak.

"Christmas at Hogwarts seems pretty fun too..."

He looked like he very much wanted to stay.

"Wade, Michael, perfect, you're both here." West, a sixth-year Prefect, strode over and pulled out two sheets of paper, handing one to each of them. "Here, sign these."

Michael took his. "A 'Holiday Magic Prohibition Notice'? Why do I have to sign this? I'm a wizard!"

"Yes—an underage wizard." West nodded perfunctorily and urged, "Hurry up. I still need to find Anthony and the others."

Wade lowered his head to read the notice—

According to the "Reasonable Restraints on Underage Wizards Act," underage wizards must observe the following prohibitions during holidays:

First, wizards under the age of seventeen are minors and are forbidden from using magic outside school;

Second, underage wizards must consciously observe and uphold the "International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy." Underage wizards must understand that any magical activity that might attract the attention of members of the non-magical world (Muggles) constitutes a serious violation of the law;

Third, knowingly using magic in front of Muggles is a criminal act and will result in a warning from the Ministry of Magic. Severe cases will result in expulsion...

There were seven or eight more prohibitions after that, but they all essentially said the same thing—no using magic, and no revealing any information about the Wizarding World to Muggles.

Wade had read in books on A History of Magic that Muggles began hunting wizards on a large scale in the fifteenth century. Although individual wizards were often more powerful, their social structure was completely scattered. Apart from travel, wizards depended on the Muggle world for food, clothing, shelter, and daily necessities, which often led to their identities being exposed.

Over more than two hundred years, many wizards had been persecuted to death by Muggles. Wizard children in particular were easily noticed because they could not control their magic, which led to them being captured, imprisoned, and even burned to death. To protect the wizarding community, the Statute of Secrecy was established in 1692. It had continued to this day and was still strictly observed, an iron law of the Wizarding World.

Of course, wizarding books recorded only the persecution wizards had suffered at the hands of Muggles. They did not record why the relationship between the two sides had suddenly deteriorated, nor did they record the wizards' counterattacks and reprisals against Muggles.

Perhaps to ease the hatred between Muggles and wizards and avoid escalating the conflict, their textbook A History of Magic was vague about this period of history. Instead, it focused on the deeds of the eccentric Wendelin—a remarkably strange and powerful Female Witch who enjoyed the feeling of being burned at the stake. She deliberately took on different appearances and let herself be captured forty-seven times.

A History of Magic used this unusual case to prove that burning Female Witches at the stake was utter nonsense. But in reality, many Female Witches truly had been tied to stakes and burned to death.

Of course, even more ordinary women had been mistakenly burned as Female Witches—or rather, the overwhelming majority had been.

Wade looked at the notice. Complex Magic Rune Circuits emerged across the seemingly ordinary parchment. With West urging him on, he did not have much time to study it and could only pick up a pen and sign his name.

The moment he signed, Wade felt something invisible, like a contract, coil around him.

"Don't think you can secretly use magic at home." West gave one final warning. "Every underage wizard has a Trace. The moment you use magic, the Ministry of Magic will find out. Every year, two or three idiots receive warning letters from the Ministry of Magic. I hope you won't become one of them."