Wade closed the thick ancient book in his hands—the dark red cover looked like congealed blood.
It was a book of ancient Greek myths, and today Wade had dug it out and read through it once again.
Icarus—a figure from Greek mythology. He and his father Daedaluswere imprisoned by a king. In order to gain their freedom, Daedalus crafted wings out of feathers and wax. With these wings, the two managed to escape the island where they were held captive.
Daedalus warned his son not to fly too high or too low, as both would be dangerous.
But Icarus, overcome with excitement and pride, forgot his father's warnings. He flew higher and higher, until the heat of the sun melted the wax. His wings disintegrated, and he plunged into the Aegean Sea to his death.
Wade wondered—what was Flamel really trying to convey with that final warning?
Not to ignore the lessons of those who came before? Not to be arrogant or overconfident? That the pursuit of extremes leads to destruction? Or that knowledge is like the sun—it must always be approached with reverence?
Or… perhaps it was Daedalus's lesson that mattered most? His invention had unintentionally caused the death of his beloved son—something he had never meant to happen.
Or… maybe it was all of the above.
"There's nothing wrong with exploration or the pursuit of freedom. The real problem was—Icarus didn't know how high he could safely fly."
He thought of more—about balance, restraint, the laws of nature, and the inescapable limits of a fatal fall.
But Wade never brought these thoughts up with Nicolas Flamel again.
Because after that day, Wade returned home, while Flamel and Perenelle set off to revisit the places where they had once met and fallen in love.
In their final days, Wade knew that burdening the couple with such questions would be inconsiderate.
He hadn't been home for long before he received several letters from friends—all urging him to come watch the tournament.
The wizarding world, being closed-off and conservative, lacked the endless forms of entertainment found in the Muggle world—no large-scale events or elaborate holiday festivals.
The Quidditch World Cup was the one global, sensational event that had all wizards whipped into a frenzy—and it only happened once every four years.
So naturally, all his friends felt Wade simply couldn't miss this rare occasion.
Even the owls delivering the letters seemed tasked with expressing their owners' impatience, often pecking relentlessly at the window with loud thuds.
Eventually, even Fiona couldn't help but urge him:
"You should go, Wade. They say it's a once-in-a-lifetime experience! You'll regret it if you miss it."
Wade: "…"
The truth was, he had little interest in the World Cup, and didn't particularly appreciate the charm of Quidditch. His plan was to only show up during the final two days.
After all, Quidditch basically involved players flying through the sky at nearly 180 miles per hour, chasing after balls that spectators could barely see.
To put it in perspective, the Quaffle—the largest ball—wasn't even half the size of a football, and the Golden Snitch was about as big as a walnut. Even with magical binoculars, tracking them was nearly impossible.
The athletes flying at high speed were no easier to follow. Their movements were harder to spot than summer mosquitoes, and the rapidly shifting momentum of the game could only be followed by gifted individuals like Lee Jordan, who could keep up with it all using nothing but his naked eyes.
So aside from his first year at school—when curiosity drove him to watch matches regularly—Wade rarely attended Quidditch games, not even when Ravenclaw was playing.
But this time, under the weight of so much persuasion, Wade finally, if somewhat grudgingly, put down his book and set off for the match.
The Greys, of course, couldn't possibly attend an event filled entirely with wizards, and since Wade didn't know the exact location of the Quidditch stadium, apparating there was out of the question.
In the end, it was Lupin who came to pick him up.
Wade took the opportunity to hand over the improved Daydream Quill to Lupin—the new version now came with an anti-addiction system.
"Marchionne's going to be over the moon," Lupin said with a smile. "He's actually been waiting for your next invention, but he didn't want to seem pushy."
"Wasn't the latest sales report looking pretty good?" Wade asked curiously. "From what I saw, everything's been steady. Sales of the Streaming Mirrors even increased thanks to the World Cup."
Lupin replied, "Well, from Marchionne's point of view, not earning money he could have earned is just as bad as losing a fortune. Usually, we have new product launches during the holidays. If there isn't one this time, he feels like we're suffering a huge loss."
Wade laughed. "He's been pestering you constantly, hasn't he?"
"Yeah, but I can handle it," Lupin said. "Most of the earlier products are already running smoothly now, so Marchionne just feels bored. And when he's bored, he starts looking for something to do."
"Then the Daydream Quill is perfect for him," Wade joked. "When he's got nothing better to do, he can dream about rain made of Galleons falling from the sky."
Lupin burst out laughing too, picturing Marchionne's eyes turning into Galleon symbols.
"So how are we getting to the stadium?" Wade asked. "Apparating straight there?"
Regardless of whether he had time to watch the whole thing or not, Sirius had gone all out and bought everyone box seat tickets for the Cup—supposedly in a great spot.
Lupin had already accompanied the godfather and godson duo to one of the earlier matches, so he was familiar with the area and could Apparate near the site.
But Lupin said, "No, Wade. The stadium is too far—I can't risk Apparating with you all that distance. First, we'll use the Floo Network to get to a nearby village. Then I'll Apparate us the rest of the way."
"Why not use a Portkey?" Wade asked. "I remember The Daily Prophet said the Ministry had set up a bunch of Portkeys to help wizards travel to the stadium."
"They did, but to keep the arrivals organized and hidden from Muggles, the Ministry imposed strict regulations on where and when Portkeys can be used," Lupin explained.
Wade packed his luggage, and the two of them headed to the Moody residence next door—Mad-Eye Moody, the old Auror, had no intention of going to the match. He detested large crowds.
When Lupin knocked on his door asking to borrow the fireplace, Moody gave them a warning:
"Be careful. You never know where an attack might come from! It could be a Death Eater disguised as one of the spectators—or it could be some idiot who sticks their wand in their back pocket and accidentally blows their own rear off!"
Wade couldn't help but laugh at that.
"I'm not being paranoid, kid!" Moody said sternly. "You'd be shocked at how stupid people can get!"
"Thanks, Alastor," Lupin replied calmly. "We'll be sure to steer clear of those kinds of idiots."
Moody grumbled about how their carelessness would get them in trouble someday, but he still lit the fireplace and brought out the jar of Floo Powder.
"Go on then, and stay safe." Moody tossed a handful of Floo Powder into the flames and said sincerely, "Come back alive."
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