The unfinished book on the desk still had a bookmark next to it—one made from the feather of a Hippogriff. There were plush toys on the bed: a fluffy owl doll and a teddy bear. Even the wall poster that fluttered slightly in the breeze needed to be taken down and rolled up.
Mabel originally thought she hadn't lived here long, so there wouldn't be much to pack. But once she started, she realized how many traces of her life had quietly settled in.
Thankfully, the suitcase in her hand had been charmed by Wade with an Undetectable Extension Charm, tripling its capacity. That way, she could fit everything inside without it feeling heavy.
Mabel picked up the photo frame on the desk last.
It was taken on a Hogsmeade weekend afternoon. Wade, Harry, Michael, and the others had all come over to Lupin's house to hang out. Wade had brought his camera along and taken a bunch of pictures. This one was a group photo.
At the time, Mabel didn't know the others very well and had planned to stay behind the lens as the one taking the pictures. But Michael had pulled her to sit on the sofa.
So in the photo, the girl sitting in the center wore a surprised and shy smile, surrounded by a group of energetic young wizards.
Lupin was in the back with his arms stretched along the back of the sofa, as if trying to shield them all under his wings.
Looking at the photo, Mabel couldn't help but smile and carefully placed it into the hidden compartment of her suitcase.
She took one last look around the bedroom where she'd spent the past few months, feeling that every corner held fond memories.
There was a trace of reluctance in her eyes, but it was soon replaced by peace and joy. She put on her hat, picked up her suitcase, and walked lightly down the stairs.
The living room sofa was just like the one in the photo. Wade and Lupin were sitting there chatting.
"Heading to Privet Drive tomorrow?" Wade asked.
"Yeah," Lupin replied. "Sirius has been too busy to go lately, but Harry still has to stay with the Dursleys for two more weeks."
Lupin sighed. "They're supposedly putting him on some 'diet plan,' but I suspect they're just trying to starve him. If I don't go, he'd basically be living on grass."
It did sound miserable, but Wade couldn't help chuckling.
"Isn't Harry rich? Can't he just buy his own food? Why put up with it?"
"If Harry spent his own money, the Dursleys would go mad! They're the most unreasonable Muggles I've ever met. Their house rules are stricter than a cathedral's," Lupin said with a helpless shake of his head.
Just then, footsteps echoed from the stairs. Lupin turned and saw Mabel coming down, dressed in a ruffled shirt and a light green pleated skirt, looking fresh and charming.
Lupin immediately fell silent. He looked at the girl he had almost come to think of as a daughter, who was now finally ready to leave—and his eyes were full of reluctant affection.
"Mabel, have you packed everything?" Wade asked.
"Of course." Mabel smiled and turned to Lupin. "Remus, thank you for taking care of me all this time."
"It's nothing," Lupin said softly. "Take care of yourself over there… You know you're always welcome back. This place will always be your home."
"Mm."
Mabel nodded firmly, sniffled, and stepped forward to hug Lupin.
"Goodbye, Remus," she said in a choked voice.
Lupin gently stroked the girl's soft hair and reminded her, "Stay in touch… and if anyone bullies you, tell me immediately."
…
The carriage swayed gently as it left Hogsmeade. Mabel turned around and looked at the little spired cottage growing smaller and smaller in the distance—until, at last, she couldn't hold back her tears.
Wade handed her a handkerchief and said gently, "You know, you didn't really have to leave so soon."
"I was afraid the longer I stayed, the harder it would be to say goodbye."
Mabel wiped her tears, forced a smile, and added, "Besides, I have to learn to live a normal life someday!"
Wade sighed inwardly and stayed silent as his mind drifted back to two weeks earlier.
After the Obscurus separation procedure, Mabel's body was too weak to recover instantly. Madam Pomfrey had her take two bottles of potion every day, and Dumbledore even sent Fawkes once.
When the golden-red phoenix saw Mabel, it gracefully shed two tears to help restore her body.
Wade hadn't seen the Obscurus again after that—it was sealed into Newt Scamander's suitcase that very day. Apparently, Dumbledore and Scamander had been studying it ever since.
On the third day, under pressure from Haley's adoptive parents, the two sisters had to part ways, and Lupin escorted the younger one back home.
On the seventh day, Scamander performed a final examination and confirmed that the dark power of the Obscurus had been completely purged from Mabel's body.
But at the same time, Mabel seemed to have lost her magical ability.
She had already learned several basic spells, but now, when she picked up her wand, it behaved like a dud—her magic no longer responded, and only occasionally would a tiny spark flicker from the wand tip.
Dumbledore contacted the Ministry of Magic. Officials came and went so frequently that the stone path in front of Lupin's house was practically worn down. Finally, after two days, Mabel's wanted status was officially lifted.
Soon after, The Daily Prophet was flooded with headlines like "A Historic Breakthrough" and "The First Healed Obscurial."
Many reporters wanted to interview the so-called "Miracle Girl" Mabel, but Wade, with help from SMC (Marchionne's Media Company) and Dumbledore, managed to block the media frenzy.
Thanks to SMC's guidance, the spotlight shifted instead to Scamander and Dumbledore—the ones credited with creating the miracle.
Those two had plenty of experience dealing with the media—so long as they didn't want to be found, reporters wouldn't even be able to catch their shadows. So, no one was particularly worried about being harassed.
However, when Wade caught a very familiar-looking beetle on the oak tree outside the house, everyone realized the media hadn't truly let go of Mabel, the hottest topic of the moment. At least not persistent reporters like Rita Skeeter.
Especially considering that Mabel now had no magical powers at all, staying in the wizarding village of Hogsmeade—at Lupin's house, whose location had already been exposed—would only bring more harm than good.
Lupin had originally planned to send Mabel to Privet Drive. Sirius had bought a house there, and the whole area was under tight protection by the Ministry of Magic, so her safety wouldn't be a concern.
But before that could happen, a letter arrived at Lupin's home.
It came from Haley's adoptive parents, who had managed to send it through Professor Sprout. In the letter, they expressed their hope and request to take Mabel in.
The kind-hearted couple had heard the whole story from Haley. Even though they hadn't met Mabel yet, they already felt deep affection and compassion for her.
After reading about Mabel's possible status as a Squib in The Daily Prophet, they carefully wrote this letter, listing their financial stability, housing situation, nearby schools and hospitals—all to prove that if Mabel came to live with them, she would be well cared for.
Of course, for Mabel, only one thing truly mattered—Haley was there.
….
The Thestral sneezed, shook its tail, and stretched its bat-like wings as it trotted along lightly.
Mabel could clearly see the creature's form and asked curiously, "Are all horses in the wizarding world like this?"
"This is a Thestral," Wade explained. "They're considered rather ugly among winged horses, but they're smart, very loyal, and have an excellent sense of direction."
"At Beauxbatons—that's another magic school—they raise a lot of Abraxans. Their coats are white or pale gold, very beautiful."
"Are there a lot of magic schools in the world?" Mabel asked, eyes wide with curiosity.
"There are eleven major schools like Hogwarts," Wade replied.
"And a number of smaller training institutes as well. After this school year starts, a lot of students from other schools might come to Hogwarts for a special event—it's going to be really exciting. Do you want to come? We could bring you back to visit."
Mabel's eyes lit up with longing, but after a moment of thought, she smiled and shook her head.
"It does sound really fun... but I'll pass. I've already decided to leave. If I keep coming back, I'm afraid I'll regret it."
She turned to Wade and added, "Besides, the Muggle world has plenty of exciting things too! I've been looking forward to it for a long time. I want to know what it's like to go to school... and if I stay in the wizarding world, I'll never get to experience that."
Wade nodded in agreement, feeling a deep respect for how clear-headed this girl was.
"Then you might want to do a little prep work ahead of time," Wade suggested. "You've never been to school before, so it might be hard at first... but if you go through the textbooks in advance, at least you'll be able to follow along in class."
"You're right," Mabel instantly forgot all about the sadness of leaving the wizarding world and asked nervously, "At my age, I can't start from first grade, right? Won't the material be really difficult?"
Wade: "…"
By Mabel's age, she should be entering middle school. That level of difficulty was barely a warm-up for Wade—but Mabel had spent her whole life, as far back as she could remember, being experimented on in the organization's lab…
The two exchanged a look. Since there were still about ten minutes left before the carriage arrived at its destination, Wade began giving Mabel a quick math lesson.
Other subjects could wait, but math needed a solid foundation. Wade still remembered how, back in primary school, his classmates had struggled terribly with it.
So for the next stretch of time, Mabel was reciting the addition table, followed by the multiplication table, muttering under her breath as if chanting a spell.
After a few minutes, Wade started to wonder if he was rushing things too much—because Mabel had entered some sort of confused loop, muttering things like "Five times… what's six again?" and randomly mixing up addition and multiplication.
By the time they got off the carriage, the girl's eyes were practically spinning in circles.
They hailed a cab, and even when they reached the nearby Muggle train station, Mabel was still mumbling, "Five times six is thirty-five? No, wait… sixty-one? Hang on… maybe twenty-seven?"
"Mabel," Wade said, patting her shoulder and motioning with his chin. "Look ahead."
Mabel snapped out of her math-induced daze and saw Haley up ahead, bouncing excitedly and waving at her.
Next to Haley stood a chubby middle-aged man in a gray suit, his face was beaming with a kind and gentle smile as he looked at Mabel.
Mabel froze for a moment, then turned to look at Wade.
"Go on," Wade said encouragingly. "Keep in touch."
Mabel nodded, took a deep breath, and pulled her suitcase toward the two waiting figures.
Wade watched her walk over, watched as she hugged Haley, and then shyly greeted her soon-to-be adoptive father.
The man bent down to lift her suitcase, still smiling warmly as he listened to the girls chatter and laugh while boarding the train.
Right before getting on, Mabel turned and waved at Wade with all her strength. Wade smiled and waved back, watching their figures disappear through the train car door.
Then he sighed, looked to the side, and asked wryly, "If you didn't want to let her go, why not just show yourself? Mabel definitely would've wanted to see you just now."
"It's not good for her… She has a new family now," came Lupin's muffled voice from thin air. "If she keeps holding on to her old family, she'll never fully settle into her new life."
"So your solution is to turn invisible and stand nearby crying in secret? Seriously, Mother Lupin?" Wade teased. "It's not like she's gone forever. If you miss her, just go visit her."
"It's different," Lupin said quietly. From the sound of his voice, he was clearly very emotional.
Wade found the whole thing rather amusing.
The original Lupin in the books seemed like a far more repressed and reserved person emotionally.
Bearing the burden of being a werewolf and facing Snape's constant suspicion, he never once revealed that he had been Harry's father's closest friend while teaching at Hogwarts. Even up until his death, he rarely visited Harry and almost never showed vulnerability in front of the kids.
He was a dependable but low-key elder—with his whereabouts often unknown—he only appeared when Harry truly needed him.
But the Lupin Wade knew was different. He wasn't weighed down by poverty, and only a small number of people knew about his werewolf status—none of whom thought it was a big deal.
This version of Lupin could express his care for those around him more naturally and openly. Because he overthought things, he could even come across as a bit fussy and overly maternal at times.
The train had already left, and the people on the platform were gradually dispersing. Wade turned around and headed for the exit.
"Let's go."
"Alright," Lupin replied. "I'll walk you home first."
"Nah, let's go check on Harry," Wade said with a teasing tone. "See if eating grass every day has turned him into a rabbit yet."
…
On a desolate hillside, a black dog slowly rose to its feet and its figure blended almost perfectly with the darkness as it hid among the bushes—with only a pair of piercing eyes glinting in the shadows.
After watching those two for so long, it was the first time he had seen that rat appear beside them.
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