From Azkaban to Hogwarts.

The only advantage right now is that everyone can still trust their teammates, and there's no possibility of betrayal.

“Alright…” William sighed, “Let’s do it today then, but I need to buy some things, which may take a while.”

“It’s alright,” Adams said, looking quite excited. “Go pack your things first, and we’ll all go shopping together later!”

……

How can you say "it's okay" so easily? It's clearly you guys who arrived a day early and disrupted all the plans!

William gritted his teeth, turned to greet Old Tom, and said, "Old Tom, I'll lock that room with magic first!"

"Of course, while I guarantee the room is safe most of the time, some precautions are still necessary!"

Old Tom responded with a smile from behind the bar, then looked at Adams, "Professor Adams, would you like some liqueur?"

“Of course, thank you,” Adams replied politely. “William, remember to pack your things properly, we have plenty of time!”

Even if Adams hadn't said anything, William wouldn't have saved any time.

As a wizard who had infiltrated Professor Snape's office and had even left Azkaban, William knew all too well how many people in the wizarding world were keen on breaking into homes.

While he was staying at the bar, Adams's public declaration about going on an adventure was a direct test of the Azkaban reserves in the magical world—how many capable individuals could withstand such a test?

Even if I'm imprisoned in Azkaban, I can still boast—"Don't let my imprisonment fool you, my skills are still top-notch. You know the professor of magical self-defense in Azkaban, right? I broke into his hotel room with ease!"

William believed that if anyone were actually sent to jail for this, the boast could be bragged about until the thief was released…

To avoid becoming a laughingstock, in addition to setting up multiple traps in the room, he used all his knowledge to add defensive and alarm magic to the door lock. Unless Old Tom downstairs personally acts as a lookout, it won't be easy to open the door.

'Of course, to avoid losses or even complete disaster, some of the things inside also need to be cleared out…'

'Some of the books and scrolls can be kept... in case the door is really pried open, we can't let people say... no, what nonsense am I thinking?'

An hour later, Adams had already sobered up once while drunk.

"All done cleaning?"

"Okay, that's about it. We can go find Singed now."

William nodded and followed Adams—hopefully the door would still be locked when he returned.

"Have fun, little William," old Tom waved as he came out from behind the bar. "I'll keep an eye on your room!"

"Okay, I'll buy you a present!"

William waved goodbye to old Tom.

-

"Let's stay here. I'll sleep here tonight."

William surveyed the surroundings and decided on a campsite.

"That's good, but it's a little different from what's in the book—but I'll listen to you, you're the professional!"

Adams observed his surroundings with great interest and nodded in agreement.

As for Singid, he couldn't wait to unfold his newly purchased tent and prepare to install it.

"An alchemical product!"

He proudly unfolded the tent, "This is no miracle that self-defense magic and herbs can do—this is a giant space tent big enough for sixteen people to live in. You can only buy it with the association's recommendation, and if an alchemist like me buys it, I can even get a 30% discount!"

……

'That's why I knew those alchemical products were all high-profit items; they could still make a profit even at a 70% discount…'

William grumbled inwardly, but his hands didn't stop working. He and Adams set up the tent according to the instructions and then secured it, without even having the desire to take out their own tent.

The price was right there; the one he bought for sixty gallons was definitely not cheap. It was durable, convenient, easy to set up, and had a ton of advantages—but all of that was utterly crushed by Adams' tent, which was still seven hundred gallons even after a 30% discount…

"You get what you pay for—there's a reason why it's expensive..."

This was William's first reaction upon entering the tent.

This was no longer a tent, but a folded-down villa. William racked his brains for adjectives to describe it, but ultimately only one sentence came to mind—'The Alchemist's Galon is truly… quick to arrive and quick to depart…'

“These rooms over here are mine, Professor William over there are yours, and Adams, you stay here.”

Singed quickly assigned rooms and then showed William and the others the ingenuity of the tent.

"Quite an interesting tent..." he said as he walked, showing William and the others around. "Even the most basic amenities, like the toilet, are quite well-equipped. Look, the toilet here can even play various kinds of music..."

"The bathrooms here are also nice. Since there are many rooms, they've separated them out, which is a great design... Although they're not as good as the ones at school... many of the designs are much more innovative than those at school—" He shrugged. "After all, the renovation of the castle is a huge project, and the school's budget is often insufficient."

"And this place is also quite wonderful."

He pointed to the empty room, "This is a pre-designed laboratory, explosion-proof, leak-proof, and it will even automatically produce a healing foam and emit a distress signal firework in case of danger. As long as it's not a fatal injury, whoever finds you will quickly take you to St. Mungo's..."

"The problem is that magical fireworks aren't easily detected in this area..."

Adams added.

"Yes, it's not easy to spot, since the environment is very dark, making it difficult to be discovered under normal circumstances..."

William suddenly froze as he was speaking…

Why choose a location that is not easily discovered?

He paused for a moment, then immediately realized his mistake.

For some rather peculiar reasons, he subconsciously chose a location that was not easily discovered, and where any signs of activity would be concealed.

To be precise, there's less sunlight here than in other places, and it's also more prone to insects—so he spent a long time sprinkling pesticide powder before putting the tent down…

'Oh no, this is incredibly embarrassing—I instinctively led these two to a camp that's perfect for smuggling operations…'

However, Adams and Singed were completely unaware that they were still excitedly discussing, "Although the tent is quite luxurious, it still feels like something is missing—to be honest, Adams, the living conditions here are just too good, it completely lacks the feeling of adventure."

“That makes sense. We can set up another small tent and then not use the kitchen inside—what do you think?”

"Great job, Singed!"

"William, what do you think?"

After Adams finished his discussion, he called out to William, "Let's go outside and bake something. Using the kitchen is so boring!"

"Of course! It was all for you to experience the atmosphere of adventure!"

"We'll travel for a few days, then fly over the next wizard town on our flying brooms and fly straight to the border to apply for the necessary paperwork. That way, we can cross the border into the Far East!"

William quickly revised his original plan—because he realized that if they continued on that path, and the strikers or Aurors blocked their way, the three professors would have to explain why they had ended up on the same road as the smugglers…

"That's it, great, William!"

Adams cheered and ran out of the tent. "I'll go get something to eat. You guys set up my tent too!"

"This guy..."

Singed shook his head. "Then let's see how Adams's pick is."

-

'Why is everyone here richer than me...'

William watched as Adams' tent was erected, his heart filled with sorrow...

Compared to Singed, Adams' tent was slightly inferior, but only slightly.

Herbalism and alchemy are incredibly profitable…

He complained…

Although his potions skills weren't bad, his signature potions were far inferior—just like Adams often teased him about, 'You don't even know how to make Felix Felicis…'

'One grows Galleons from the ground, the other turns materials directly into glittering Galleons... Compared to that, Hogwarts' salary is actually low...'

'It's just that the former headmaster of Slytherin spent too much money, and he was also very proud and unwilling to sell potions...'

He recalled the private accounts he had checked, and he still remembered the huge trouble that dean had caused him—those were the academy's private accounts, so why would there be such a low-level record as XXXX sending him a bag of pineapple preserves?

'A person who is hard to describe...'

Chapter Twenty-Three: Heading to the Border

"Still mushroom soup?"

Singed glanced at Adams, expressing his dissatisfaction with his eyes.

"Weren't we here on an adventure? Why is it mushroom soup every day—do you think we're rabbits?"

"Rabbits don't eat mushrooms, Professor Singed."

William happily made himself a bowl of mushroom soup. It had only been three days since he started making it, and he also had his own food. The mushroom soup was just a side dish, and he was happy to have something new to drink.

To be honest, after spending time in Azkaban, he could easily accept normal rations. Not to mention that he had carefully selected a lot of things to eat while camping this time, which made the meals even more anticipated.

As for the mushroom soup—he wouldn't speak ill of a herbalism professor so easily; it's just that he couldn't even catch a rabbit, nothing to be ashamed of… nothing to be ashamed of…

"It's not that I don't want to get anything else, it's just that this is all I have—you can't expect me to find any edible fruit in the summer! Those things are all unripe, it would be a waste to pick them now!"

Adams' ears turned slightly red. "Besides, for some reason there are no rabbits here! If there were, I could have caught them easily. You've all seen the rabbits I caught in the Forbidden Forest!"

His explanation was so earnest that William hesitated for a moment, unsure whether to tell him that the rabbits in the Forbidden Forest were practically free-range, roaming freely with Hagrid and his centaurs, and were practically non-disciplined. Moreover, the route they were traveling on had been frequently traversed by smugglers, resulting in the destruction of most of the fruit trees and plants of harvestable value, and the rabbits had been caught much more cleverly than in other places…

There's no way around it, there are capable people involved in smuggling too...

"Just make do with what we have. Our reserves are quite sufficient, enough for us to eat our way back. A little wild game will be nice."

William tried to smooth things over, saying, "If we change locations in a few days, our luck might improve."

In a few days, once their curiosity subsided a bit, William planned to let them leave through the official channels. They couldn't really go out via smuggling, could they?

"That makes sense. We've just been unlucky these past few days. Maybe we'll catch a wild dragon!"

Adams became interested and started daydreaming.

-

While William and his companions were wandering aimlessly through the woods, Percy had already been working for the caravan for a week.

"The new redhead!"

A wizard in charge of transportation cheerfully called out to Percy, "Come here for a second!"

Although the form of address wasn't very polite, Percy immediately stood up and jogged over. "What is it, supervisor?"