Chapter 562: Hawthorn Wand
Chapter 562: Hawthorn Wand (Thank You for the Monthly Votes)
Over the next two days, Felix found himself encountering Filch in various settings.
From the staff lounge and the Ancient Runes classroom to the entrance of the Great Hall and behind a column in the corridor, he would frequently see that fawning and obsequious face of Filch's. Felix had been waiting for news of the Weasley Twins being given detention, but nothing happened. He guessed Filch was spending all his time figuring out how to ‘accidentally’ run into him.
On the morning of the third day, Filch was crouched outside the Ancient Runes office with a bucket, mop, and other cleaning tools, huffing and puffing as he worked.
"Hey..." Filch flashed a big, yellow-toothed grin, "Professor Hup, I noticed the entrance was a bit dirty..."
"Come in and have a seat, Mr. Filch."
As he protested, Filch nimbly slipped inside, displaying an agility that belied his age. When he saw Valen on the sofa, entertaining himself by controlling a bunch of colorful figurines dancing with a special wand, his eyes seemed to light up.
"Mr. Filch?" Felix called twice before he snapped back to reality.
Filch rubbed his hands together, flattery evident in his voice, "Your Niffler is so clever, I hear it can even write."
"Thank you." Felix responded briefly, "Bang." He closed the door.
...
"I am a Squib, Mr. Heap." Filch whispered, "A Squib is—"
"I know what a Squib is." Felix said, "Let's get to the point, as I can tell you've been hesitating for a while."
"Oh, right, right." Filch said pitifully, "Squib... um, we are never taken seriously, we are second-class citizens, even worse off than House-elves, who at least can use magic... You don't know, I have to carry a lantern and outsmart those mischievous, nocturnal students every day..."
"I remember the school purchased a batch of small magical lamps." Felix reminded him.
"Y-yes, but the light is too bright, making it hard to catch anyone", Filch said slyly.
Felix remained silent, not wanting to comment on Filch's ongoing battle with the students. He knew Hogwarts needed someone to maintain order, lock the doors at night, and clean the castle during free time, which is why Filch was there.
Filch did a good job, but he also expanded his authority, often suggesting the school reinstate corporal punishment, naturally out of jealousy for the students.
At the same time, Felix understood why Filch had come to see him.
"... We don't even have birth records! To prove our identity, we can only check our parents' names... When I was ten and showed no magical ability, my family was very disappointed. At eleven, I naturally didn't receive a Hogwarts letter, and they started discussing sending me away, to a Muggle school, but they couldn't, because there was a war going on!" The elderly Filch said angrily, "People were dying everywhere, they were scared, so they kept me... and pretended I didn't exist, because I made them feel ashamed. None of the other relatives visited..."
"Professor Hup—Mr. Heap—you can imagine how much I was mocked. As an adult, I wandered around the magical world alone, if it weren't for Madam Oakwhite encouraging me..."
"Idris Oakwhite?" Felix asked.
"Yes, she was a good person, better than anyone. Sadly, she died ten years ago, a good person doesn't live long..." Filch said emotionally.
Felix blinked. He had heard similar sentiments in the Headmaster's Office, where the plump Slughorn, munching on a pineapple pasty, lamented the unfortunate fate of one of his favorite students, Lily. Felix believed Slughorn's words were genuine, as he had paid the cost of a small vial of Felix Felicis.
Idris Oakwhite, as Filch called her, was known for founding the Squib Support Association, which aimed to help Squibs living in the magical world to the best of its ability...
Oakwhite died ten years ago at the age of 113. In Filch's mouth, it became "a good person doesn't live long"...
"More than twenty years ago, I was still doing odd jobs for people, too poor to buy a newspaper, living off others' leftovers, until one day", Filch's face suddenly lit up, his eyes wide open, "Do you know what I saw?"
"A job advertisement?"
Felix imagined a stubborn, cynical, and idle middle-aged man: doing menial work, his heart filled with jealousy. He had better options, but his entire childhood was spent in the magical world. Forcing Filch to leave would be like killing him. He just drifted through life until one day, this middle-aged man found a newspaper that would change his fate, either from a trash can or from a Wizard on the street.
Seeing the job advertisement, he became the caretaker of Hogwarts Castle.
"Exactly! I finally came to Hogwarts! Even though it was thirty years late, I came. When I see the young students, sir, you can't imagine how jealous I am..." Filch's face twisted and trembled as if he was finally venting deep, dark secrets.
Valen, playing with the colorful figurines, was stunned, staring at the emotionally unstable Filch. It looked at the Dark Lord, then at Filch, unsure whether to slip out and call his cat, as Filch's snot was about to drip into the bucket.
Luckily, Filch managed to pull out a dirty handkerchief from his pocket just in time. He blew his nose violently, the corners of the handkerchief flailing wildly. Filch looked up, his nose red, and smiled ingratiatingly, "Mr. Heap, I apologize for the inconvenience. You are one of the few people at the school who have helped me, so I don't think there's any need to hide it—"
His eyes met a pair of silver ones, the silver glow covering both the pupils and the whites. He had never seen anything like it before and was too frightened to speak.
"Filch, do you know the definition of a Squib?" Felix asked.
Filch felt bewildered. He had wanted to explain at the beginning of their conversation but was interrupted by Felix. Now, Felix was bringing up the topic again, and Filch thought it was a form of mockery, making his face turn sour.
"Like many concepts in the magical world, the term 'Squib' is quite broad and can be defined from various angles", Felix said calmly. "The generally accepted definition in the magical world is that a Squib is someone born into a Wizard family who cannot demonstrate any magical ability."
Filch looked at him blankly.
"Mr. Hup?"
"I hope you can notice the subtle difference here; it's key to continuing this conversation—" Filch's face showed clear confusion, but he obediently closed his mouth. Professor Hup's expression was rather intimidating at the moment. "—Many parents can't be certain if their child is a Squib. It's not something that can be quantified... What truly makes them give up is the lack of a Hogwarts acceptance letter. If they receive one, they're not a Squib. Even if their casting is initially poor... You must have had some experience with casting, right?" Felix suddenly asked.
Filch was taken aback. He stammered, "I, I haven't—"
"No, you misunderstand me..." Felix's silver eyes fixed on him, penetrating the meager, stubborn magic within him, a metaphor that, from any perspective, was an exaggeration. Magic and stone were fundamentally different. They couldn't be the same.
Felix murmured, "Not a complete spell, but those tiny, occasional, and even illusory experiences: manipulating a small piece of paper, reducing the force just before a cup breaks... Have you had such experiences?"
"I..." Filch thought hard, adopting a thoughtful expression, "I think so... Yes!" He suddenly exclaimed, startling Valen, who raised its small wand in front of itself. Filch strained his eyes, his gaze reflecting a flood of memories, "I remember a few years ago, there was a particularly stubborn stain. I used an entire bottle of detergent on it, but it didn't work. I just stared at it, staring and staring... I got a bit dazed, and then it disappeared... Does that count?"
He looked at Felix expectantly.
"We can try", Felix said with keen interest, jumping up from his armchair as if observing an intriguing experiment.
Half an hour later, Filch left, excited.
"Mr. Filch", Felix called from behind him, "your magical response is very weak. If you don't mind, I'd like to ask—"
"Oh, no, this is more than enough for me", Filch laughed happily, holding a small wooden stick with embedded gems, "Even if it only works once in ten tries, it's a huge improvement for me!"
But it's not enough for me, Felix thought.
After careful study, he discovered that Filch's magical fluctuation was much weaker than Valen's. Comparing Filch to Valen was almost unfair, as Valen, though a Niffler, was a normal one, not a Squib Niffler.
In terms of talent, it outshone Filch by a significant margin.
Felix put in a lot of effort, adding five 'amplification circuits' to finally see some effect. The result was the small wooden stick in Filch's hand, embedded with seven gems: one for storing magic, five with amplification circuits, and the last one containing the actual spell—the scouring charm.
That was the best he could achieve for now.
Felix pulled his thoughts back, speaking calmly, "You misunderstood, Argus. I meant that your case is quite typical, and I plan to study more similar cases in the future—of course, not right now. You must know some friends who share the same concerns, right?"
Filch blinked, tentatively asking, "You want to meet them?"
Felix shrugged, "As you said, the Ministry of Magic doesn't have their names. It won't be easy to find them..."
Closing the door, Felix sat on the sofa and played Exploding Snap with Valen.
But his thoughts were elsewhere.
Squibs had always played the role of invisible people. In contrast, the Ministry of Magic's recent efforts to attract werewolves to register voluntarily through various incentives clearly showed their stance.
One Filch was not significant, but the Squib community naturally linked the magical world to the ordinary world. If the Wizarding World were ever forced to go public, Felix believed Squibs would be the best candidates to navigate between the two worlds.
Felix saw the second ace waving at him... Well, he decided to ignore it for now. Voldemort was still very much alive. He planned to delegate the initial work to the employees of 'Future World' Company.
He had to give them something to do, after all.
"Chirp! (You lost!)"
Felix snapped back to reality, finding Valen quickly writing in a small notebook, "On a certain day, the Dark Lord lost to the genius Niffler Valen for the first time..." Felix, who had been peeking, snatched the notebook in anger.
"This game doesn't count. Let's play a hundred more!"
...
In the last Ancient Runes class before Christmas, Felix looked at the students below, who had no interest in the lesson.
"Professor, Professor Flitwick allows us to move around freely in class", a student boldly suggested. His words were met with a low murmur of agreement. "Yes, Professor, you just need to set the homework in the last two minutes", another student ventured, emboldened.
Felix gave them a half-smile, "It's not impossible. I'll set the homework first. If you feel the remaining time should be free, I completely agree..."
A hushed cheer erupted from the students, and the two who had spoken were regarded with hero-like admiration.
"Considering some of you can't cast spells during the holidays, I won't assign practical homework. All the content is on the 'Answer Parchment.' You'll find a new gift symbol on it... the one hanging on the Christmas tree, yes, that's your holiday homework."
The students eagerly opened their parchments.
Harry stared at the 'Christmas tree' in confusion: at the base of the tree, there was a Gryffindor lion that looked rather silly. It kept jumping up, trying to pull down the gift box hanging from the branches with its paws, but to no avail.
Next to the gift box was a glowing wand symbol.
He turned to see Hermione gleefully tapping the parchment with her wand. The gift box on the tree immediately fell, and the Gryffindor lion, which had been eagerly waiting, pounced on it. "Bang!" The lion was buried under a pile of parchment.
"Quite novel, isn't it?" she said with a delighted smile.
"Yeah, it looks festive", Harry muttered, but there was no trace of joy on his face.
"You know, O.W.L. year", Felix said cheerfully from the podium. After a moment, he pretended to just notice the gloomy atmosphere in the classroom, "Oh, don't be like that. I've always hoped you could enjoy your studies... How about this, I'll give you a chance."
All the students looked up.
"If you can prove to me that you've truly mastered this material, and that my homework is just meaningless repetition... I might consider reducing it", Felix said with a devious smile. "I've prepared a test, though it's not mandatory. Having another test before Christmas isn't ideal..."
The students who had been clamoring for free time were now at a loss, staring at each other blankly. They finally turned to Felix.
"Hand out the tests, Professor!" a student shouted.
This marked the end of the overt and covert battle between the professor and the students, with the students suffering a crushing defeat.
Of course, they also felt it was a good deal.
Harry spread out the thick test paper and was about to start when Hermione made a rustling noise with her parchment. He couldn't help but glance over and saw her quickly scanning the entire test, looking pleased. Harry, inspired, followed suit and soon discovered a secret.
The test was divided into ten sections, including translations, inference questions, and an examination of the twelve steps in creating protective charms. Recalling the professor's instructions, Harry started with the sections he was most proficient in. Ron, on the other hand, was silently working on the test, and despite Harry's two attempts to get his attention, he didn't notice, so Harry gave up with a sigh.
Time slowly passed, and the only sound in the classroom was the gentle scratching of quills on parchment, which was quite soothing.
Finally, the bell rang.
Harry looked up and surveyed the classroom. Only a few students had finished, and Hermione was still checking her answers, muttering to herself.
"Stop writing", Felix announced. All the test papers flew to him and neatly stacked themselves on the podium. "I'll mark them before the holiday... All right, you can leave."
The students exchanged excited looks, packed up their things, and filed out of the classroom.
"Go on ahead", Draco Malfoy said to his two cronies. Crabbe and Goyle looked puzzled but shrugged and left.
Draco stood in front of Felix, a fine sheen of sweat on his nose.
"Professor Hup", he stammered.
Felix raised a hand to stop him and turned to glare at Harry, Ron, and Hermione, who were still lingering at the door. "Bang!" The door slammed shut in their faces. "You can speak now."
Draco hesitated, then whispered, "Professor, I wanted to ask if you're free at Christmas. I'd like to invite you to my home..."
"Lucius sent you to ask?" Felix asked calmly.
Draco looked up at him, his expression unreadable. He stammered, "No, no, it's my own idea... I feel... well, you've always been kind to me, teaching me the Disillusionment Charm, apparition, and even the advanced magic of Occlumency. Even my father would want me to express my gratitude."
Felix studied him, noting how his light blond hair and pointed chin were almost identical to his father's. He remained silent for a long time.
"Don't overthink it. Many things are beyond your control. Your job is to enjoy a pleasant Christmas holiday."
"But Potter and the others—" Draco's pale face flushed with indignation.
"They are different from you", Felix said firmly. "Merry Christmas in advance, Mr. Malfoy."
Draco stiffly turned and walked away, pushing open the door. "Draco?" he heard the professor's voice. Draco turned back eagerly. Professor Hup stood by a large window, the clear, bright sunlight streaming into the classroom and casting a glow behind him. Draco squinted, unable to see his face clearly.
"Your wand is made of hawthorn wood?" the professor asked.
"Yes, Professor", Draco replied.
"Hawthorn wands are particularly suited for healing magic. You might want to consider it."
(End of Chapter)
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