Chapter 560: Changes After the Club
Chapter 560: Changes After the Club
The club recruitment activities in the Great Hall came to an end.
December brought more snow and cold air. One morning, Felix discovered that the Black Lake had frozen over with a thick layer of ice, thick enough to support hundreds of young wizards ice skating and sledding. Not far from the lake, students were having snowball fights around the rocks and willow trees on the shore.
Someone had gone all out and used magic to create a ten-foot-tall snowman. The snowman chased students around, and Felix watched for a while before realizing that it was an unfortunate student who had been hit by a Sticky Snow Charm.
"Chirp?"
Walen sat on Felix's shoulder, gazing at the bustling scene on the Black Lake with great curiosity. It turned its head to look at the Dark Lord, feeling an itch to join in.
"Alright, don't forget to eat. I'll be with Severus all day today", Felix said. Walen jumped down happily, rummaging through its pocket for its equipment. As a Battle Niffler, Walen had been influenced by Felix and, with the Dark Lord's strong support—or perhaps perverse interest—Walen's reputation in this area had gradually spread.
At that moment, Walen draped a small cloak over itself and picked out a wand embedded with seven tiny gemstones from a row of specialized wands. It slid down through the window on the balcony. The small cloak spread out behind it, radiating a layer of light, carrying Walen off into the distance.
Walen waved its wand excitedly in the air. Under the oscillation of magic at a specific frequency, two blue and green gemstones lit up. One by one, Snowman Nifflers rapidly took shape under the influence of the gemstone magic. They followed Walen, who was flying in mid-air, crashing and charging toward the Black Lake.
In the distance, the sounds of students' exclamations and laughter could be heard. Felix felt elated. He packed up his things and descended the spiral staircase, passing through the entrance hall and heading toward the Potions Classroom in the dungeons. Suddenly, he heard a familiar voice—
"Can you imagine? I kind of miss Professor Grubbly-Plank. Hagrid actually bought the latest Magic Projector. I'm really worried that future classes will turn into lessons on how to adjust the projector's buttons." Ron trudged in from outside, stumbling and covered in snow.
"I tried to talk him out of it, but he thinks he has everything under control", Hermione's voice was slightly strained. She was holding a Snowman Niffler in her arms.
"Miss Granger?"
Felix called out to them, and Harry, Ron, and Hermione stopped. Hermione was startled, and the Snowman Niffler in her hands fell to the ground, bouncing up and hitting her a few times— "Ouch!" Hermione cried out, watching helplessly as the Snowman Niffler darted out of the entrance hall and chased after the others.
Felix couldn't help but chuckle.
Hermione's face turned red. "We saw Walen flying overhead, and there were so many of them on the ground... everyone picked them up..." she stammered.
Felix blinked. So Walen hadn't flown far before the Niffler army it had been so eager to create was intercepted by Hogwarts' young wizards? He regretted not seeing it for himself. Harry and Ron turned their heads, trying to stifle their laughter—they had wanted to laugh for a while.
Hermione glared at them fiercely and stammered, "Professor, is there something you need?"
"Ah, yes", Felix put away his smile and took out a small bag of gold coins and a piece of parchment from his ring. "The royalties for the new interpretations of Runic Script have arrived. Help me distribute them to the students according to the list..."
"Still five Galleons each?" Ron asked eagerly.
"That's right, Weasley", Felix said. "I remember you published several articles under the name 'Frontline Lookout'?"
"Yes", Ron said happily.
"Then you can enjoy a pleasant Hogsmeade weekend", Felix said, turning to Harry, who had been silent. "I read your article. Integrating the Runic Script 'Sun Wheel' into the Patronus Charm to make it more resilient... brilliant idea."
Harry grinned. "I was just experimenting. You suggested I spend more time studying the Patronus Charm, right? I used to focus most of my energy on Occlumency, but now that's not necessary, so I've been using my time to research the Patronus."
"Has your scar not hurt in the past two months?" Felix asked.
Harry nodded. He suddenly thought of something. "Professor, I've tried many Ancient Runes, but only this one worked. I've never understood why..."
Felix thought for a moment and said uncertainly, "I suggest you try more Runic Scripts that focus on the spirit and will. After all, the Patronus is a product of positive emotions."
Harry thought about it, and Hermione exclaimed, "So Harry succeeded because the Runic Script 'Sun Wheel' symbolizes a dynamic upward process and represents the change in will influenced by magic..."
Felix nodded approvingly.
"From this perspective, the ‘Calm,’ ‘Enthusiasm,’ and even the ‘Light’ Runic Script you've learned can be tried out. Hmm, once the Christmas break is over, I can come to your club and take a look..."
After Felix left, Harry let out a sigh of relief. Fortunately, the professor hadn’t brought up any other topics. He had been avoiding Professor Hup recently, almost to the point of obsession. The professor's review in early December had been so harrowing that Harry never wanted to think about it again.
If there were a spell that could cast awkwardness, Harry felt it would have taken everyone by surprise.
He didn’t know who—Harry strongly suspected Snape—had placed the ‘Harry Potter Admiration Club’ in front of the ‘Frontline Lookout.’ As a result, he had to stand expressionless in a corner of the Great Hall, listening to the Creevey brothers extol the significance of the Harry Potter Admiration Club in front of all the professors. “Harry·Potter is the bravest person I’ve ever seen. He fought the Basilisk and outsmarted the Dark Lord…” The Creevey brothers spoke in a high-pitched, continuous voice, like a duet. Harry leaned against the cold wall, praying to sink into it and be found by no one.
At least he didn’t have the courage to determine which of Snape, Sirius, and Professor Hup had the most expressive face… Not to mention, all of Harry’s professors had come to join the fun that day. He didn’t know how he had made it through the past two weeks.
“Harry, your face could fry eggs,” Ron had said at the time.
Even though the memory was unbearable, Harry had secured 120 Galleons for the ‘Frontline Lookout.’ Hermione was envious, as her carefully prepared S.P.E.W. speech had only earned her 10 Galleons in funding. Snape had rudely interrupted her, saying, “This isn’t a Minister of Magic election campaign, Miss Granger. If you want to achieve even a tenth of your ideas, you’ll have to wait until after graduation.”
Hermione had been storming around, once fantasizing about using a Permanent Adhesion Charm to print S.P.E.W.’s new slogan on Snape’s office door. Even Harry and Ron, who were usually critical of Snape, were taken aback and had to spend days reasoning with her to calm her down.
In addition to a substantial amount of Galleons, the ‘Frontline Lookout’ had over fifty members. The school had even assigned them a spacious abandoned classroom as their activity area. Harry led the entire group in cleaning for two days, and they all agreed that the Room of Requirement was more suitable for the Frontline Lookout’s mission—until Harry later learned from Professor Mcgonagall that House-elves would help clean the room, but they hadn’t gotten around to it yet due to a lack of manpower.
Hermione insisted that House-elves shouldn’t help, saying proudly, “I can clean it myself.” Ron teased, “Who says no, it’s just a broom cupboard…” He paid the price, spending most of the afternoon dealing with thick dust and stubborn paint.
But I’m innocent; I didn’t say anything to make it worse, Harry couldn’t help but complain.
Another change.
Mafalda appeared in the ‘Frontline Lookout.’ In fact, there were a few new faces in the club that Harry hadn’t expected, such as the Greengrass sisters. He almost thought he might see Draco Malfoy.
Later, Mafalda told him that Malfoy hadn’t joined any club.
"He’s observing, a Malfoy family tradition not to commit easily…" Ron pointed out the truth succinctly.
For Harry, Mafalda’s change in attitude toward him was a pleasant surprise.
He privately speculated that it might be because he had defended her that day. Mafalda had finally given up on writing essays to criticize him, saying that she had “matured and wanted to do more meaningful things.”
"Basically, she started a school gossip newsletter", Fred, who had a wide social circle, said. "She fills it with information she gets from the thirty-seven clubs she’s in. It’s said to be selling well."
Harry, Ron, and Hermione exchanged glances.
"Is it really that popular?" Hermione asked with mixed feelings.
"Plenty of people are submitting articles", George said. "There are ads and anonymous love letters too."
"Aren’t you one of them?" Ron asked with a sidelong glance.
"We paid for it, two sickles each", Fred said, first sounding a bit resentful, then admiringly, "Honestly, I kind of like her. She’s really good at business…"
"We all feel a bit out of touch", George added, giving a thumbs-up.
(End of Chapter)
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