The security checkpoint wasn't manned by Hansen alone; there were a few other wizards nearby. Upon hearing Hansen's words, they all rushed over to shake hands with Harry.
"Being at school for so long, I almost forgot Harry's fans are spread throughout the British Magic World."
Vid sighed and said to Lupin, "We won't be late, will we?"
Lupin shared the same concern. He squeezed into the crowd, exerting much effort, and finally managed to rescue Harry.
"Please make way, gentlemen! We have official business, please step aside..."
Harry adjusted his crooked glasses and asked, "Mr. Hansen, can you conduct a security check for us?"
"Of course, of course."
Hansen used a thin golden rod to scan everyone's front and back from top to bottom, much like a metal detector at the airport.
Then he had Harry place his magic wand on a brass machine that resembled a scale. A moment later, the machine spat out a narrow slip of paper.
"Eleven inches, holly wood, phoenix feather, used for one year, correct?" Hansen asked.
"Yes." Harry looked at the surrounding onlookers, feeling like a monkey at the zoo.
The wizards gave him friendly and kind smiles.
Hansen smiled too and said, "Kept in great condition, Mr. Olivander would be very pleased to see this."
He returned the magic wand to Harry and then stuck the slip of paper onto a small brass peg.
When it was Lupin and Vid's turn, Hansen's attitude turned businesslike.
"Cypress wood, unicorn hair, ten and a quarter inches, used for 21 years?"
"That's correct," Lupin said.
"White poplar wood, unicorn hair, twelve inches, used for one year..." Hansen glanced at Vid and asked: "Are you from Hufflepuff? I'm from Hufflepuff College too."
"No," Vid said, "I'm from Ravenclaw."
"Oh..."
Hansen's friendly smile vanished instantly, but when he turned to see Harry, he regained his enthusiastic attitude.
"Mr. Potter, where are you headed? I can help guide you."
"No need, Hansen. They're with me!"
Arthur Weasley suddenly pushed through the crowd, wrapping an arm around Harry's shoulder, leading the trio toward a wide-open golden gate.
"You're a bit late, Lupin," Mr. Weasley said.
"Sorry, Arthur, the Ministry of Magic folks were a bit overly enthusiastic," Lupin said, smoothing out his rumpled clothes from the crowd, guiding Vid forward.
A flock of colorful paper planes whizzed by, like flocks of birds.
They passed through the golden gate to the elevator hall, where there were at least twenty elevators, with some people waiting there.
"Hi, Arthur." Someone greeted Mr. Weasley: "Has work been going smoothly lately?"
Mr. Weasley nodded: "Except for a Muggle nearly getting his nose bitten off by his own cup, everything else is fine."
The group reached an elevator, and Mr. Weasley pressed the down button.
"Dumbledore's already there," Mr. Weasley whispered to Lupin, "There are also plenty of foreign reporters… Fudge originally wanted the trial in Courtroom Ten, but because of those people, he had to change it to Courtroom Three..."
Lupin seemed familiar with both places. He sighed in relief and said: "That's good..."
"Everyone asked me to remind you... stay calm, okay? No matter what happens in the courtroom, the one who loses their mind will always lose..." Mr. Weasley said.
"I understand." Lupin clenched his hands twice, his tone remaining calm: "Disrupting court order will get us kicked out; I won't let that happen."
"That's good." Mr. Weasley felt a bit relieved.
Vid and Harry both looked at Lupin.
Ever since they met, Lupin always appeared calm and rational; even Professor McGonagall lost her temper with students, but Lupin remained remarkably emotionally stable.
Yet in others' eyes, Lupin seemed like someone who'd flip a table at the drop of a hat.
Harry believed it was because their bond was very deep.
Vid's thought was that... he once thought Lupin, among the four back then, was the one led into mischief by his friends, but in others' eyes, it wasn't so...
The elevator quickly arrived.
They took the elevator to the underground level, heading down the stairs, along stone walls lined with numerous torches, with the air feeling cold and damp.
"Here we are, Courtroom Three."
Mr. Weasley said, pushing open a large black door.
It was apparent that the courtroom had temporarily added many torches and floating magic candles, illuminating the entire hall brightly.
On either side, rows of seats rose in tiers, almost filled. Nearly everyone was talking, making the courtroom noisy.
In the front row, there were a dozen reporters wearing heavy cameras around their necks, some vigorously writing.
Among them was a woman with jewel-encrusted glasses and golden curls, looking striking in her fluorescent pink dress, clashing with the dim courtroom.
The other reporters instinctively kept their distance from her, unclear whether out of fear or dislike.
Vid's group entrance barely attracted any attention. Mr. Weasley led them along a narrow staircase to the top row, found some empty seats, and sat down.
Soon, someone sat beside them. As he sat, the wooden chair creaked.
Vid glanced up; the person next to him had a frightful appearance, with gray, disheveled long hair, a face full of scars, and a mouth resembling a crooked hole.
The eye on the side close to Vid was quite odd, spinning around like a nimble needle, suddenly swiveling towards Vid's side.
Startled by the sudden move, Vid jumped.
The wizard chuckled and asked in a raspy voice, "Mind if I sit next to you, kid?"
Even in the politest tone, he seemed threatening.
Harry was startled, widening his eyes and stiffening, probably thinking this was some dangerous Dark Wizard.
He had heard Theo's story at Umbrella House about him and his brother almost getting kidnapped, later saved by a stranger.
Vid looked at the wizard and said, "Of course not, please sit."
"Quite brave," the wizard muttered, his blue eye swiveling around, sizing up Harry beside him, staring at his forehead scar for a while, plunging into silence.
"Good morning, Moody." Lupin greeted proactively: "I didn't expect you to come."
"Even retired, can't just be deaf and mute, right?"
Moody took out a curved bottle, took a swig, and said, "Besides, Sirius was once my comrade."
"I really want to see if he's truly innocent or using some trick to fool you simple lot!"