Chapter 608: Welcome
Chapter 608: Welcome (Requesting Monthly Votes)
After parting ways with Harry, Felix and Winnie stood at the crossroads waiting for a taxi.
“Is the wand working well for you?”
“It’s great,” Winnie nodded, “though there are a lot of restrictions—when I registered, the people at the Office for the Misuse of Magic gave me a long lecture, made me fill out my home address, and warned me not to break any laws. They also mentioned that the Trace on the wand will last for a while…”
“But overall,” she took a deep breath and bounced on her toes, “it feels amazing.”
“Those people aren’t targeting you,” Felix reassured her, “well, you do objectively increase their workload, so some complaints are inevitable…” He chuckled. “But to be fair, you’re still new to the wizarding world, like first-year wizards. You need some attention and guidance. Once you’re more familiar, all these restrictions will disappear.”
He waved, and a taxi turned on its signal and drove toward them.
“Oh, by the way, I think I saw this before. Is it a band’s logo?” Felix glanced at Winnie, noticing a black and white piano key-shaped badge pinned to her chest.
“You mean this?” Winnie excitedly held up the badge to show him.
She said proudly, “It’s a memento from a concert. Francois Clutoi, have you heard of him? He’s very famous among Muggles! They call him the Poet of the Piano after Chopin, known for his delicate and beautiful music that is melancholic yet not sorrowful, and incredibly imaginative. His most legendary story is how his hand injury, which was supposedly incurable, mysteriously healed overnight…”
Felix stood there, stunned.
“…Although people talk about it a lot, Francois has never directly responded. Many speculate that his injury might have been related to mental stress, and once he figured it out, it naturally healed. After his low point, his inspiration surged, and he composed pieces like ‘Angel of Sorrow’ and ‘Goddess of Magic.’ He’s performing soon at the Royal Opera House at Covent Garden, and I’ve bought tickets with my friends.”
“Sounds great,” Felix said thoughtfully, “maybe I can find time to see it…”
A cold courtyard flashed through his mind, where Felix, as the only audience, had witnessed a unique piano performance. He hadn’t expected that the clumsy young man would have such fame… Felix hoped that when they met again, the purity in his music would remain unchanged.
After seeing Winnie off in the taxi, Felix spent some time at Sword Castle.
With the Weasley twins graduating from school, they reclaimed their dividends from the past few years and the ownership of the Communication Mirrors and Anti-Curse Products, and immediately began expanding their business. From Penelope, Felix learned that they had already opened three branches. However, due to a lack of manpower, they hadn’t completely separated from ‘Future World,’ and the two companies still collaborated on multiple projects.
“What kind of collaboration do you mean?”
“Besides upgrading the existing products, there’s also—well—outsourcing. They can’t produce two thousand sets of the Dark Lord Scare Box Set in a week on their own,” Penelope said, half complaining and half proud. “We’re the only ones in the entire magical world who can do it!”
“Oh, oh,” Felix exclaimed, “after hearing what you said, I realize I might have overlooked some details. Can you give me a hint, Miss Clearwater? Should I consider giving Dobby a raise?”
Penelope had a strange look on her face.
“I can’t find any reason to object, sir. He’s done an outstanding job—actually, the number of House-elves in our company has already surpassed that of the Hogwarts kitchen. Mr. Lupin was once very troubled about how to accommodate them, you know, their work enthusiasm is frighteningly high.”
Felix imagined Remus scratching his head and chuckled, “So how did you solve it? Oh, outsourcing—”
“That’s just part of it. We held several meetings to discuss how to accommodate them. Mr. Lupin remembered the assembly line concept you mentioned, so we spent two days breaking down the production steps of our existing products and assigned the simpler enchantments to the House-elves.”
Felix was quite pleased and spun in his chair.
“What about their treatment?”
“Strictly following the Ministry of Magic’s House-Elf Rights Guidelines.”
“Uh—Is that some kind of law? I’ve never heard of it before?”
Penelope sighed, “The Ministry of Magic established a series of regulations about House-elf treatment a long time ago, but they’ve never been strictly enforced…”
So it’s just a formality.
Felix understood. Many Wizard families, like the Malfoys and Sirius’s former Black family, would abuse their House-elves. Due to the House-elves’ absolute obedience, the Ministry of Magic couldn’t investigate much, or—whether they ever did investigate was questionable.
"By the way, there's one more thing!" Penelope suddenly said. "The house-elves have been hoping to swear their loyalty to you—"
"What do you mean?" Felix stood up.
"It's the kind of loyalty a servant has for their master", Penelope glanced at him cautiously. "Many house-elves have been cast out by their owners or their predecessors, and they've had a tough time. Dobby found them and told them about your generosity and kindness... They've been looking forward to this day."
"Hmm."
Felix lowered his head, deep in thought.
After a moment, he looked up. "Sign a contract with them—but not in my name. Use the Future World company's name. Also, I need you to start doing something from now on—" Penelope listened intently, taking out a small notebook to take notes. "—recruit some humanoid creatures as employees, like werewolves, vampires, centaurs, mermaids, veelas, giants, and goblins. You know what I mean, the intelligent ones who can communicate with humans... We don't have to do it all at once. We can start with some half-bloods as a trial."
"Is this for...?" Penelope held her breath and asked.
"Don't you think it would be interesting to have them all together?"
Felix smiled, but Penelope didn't find it amusing. She sighed inwardly: Oh, poor Percy... They won't just talk about work, will they?
"Alright, I do have a good reason—our company is growing, and we need to expand our product sales channels. These half-bloods, especially those with wizard heritage, can serve as guides."
His real intentions went beyond that, such as laying the groundwork for the Pan-Magical Alliance... From today's perspective, it might not seem very useful or even a bit thankless, but if the wizarding world is ever forced to go public, Felix wanted the entire magical community to have a unified voice.
He didn't elaborate, but the reasons he gave were enough to convince Penelope. She nodded.
"This will be complicated. Many of them have deep-seated grudges against each other, and worse, most of them don't have a good opinion of wizards. So there's no need to rush. Treat it as a long-term project... I'll discuss it with Madam Bones and see if we can borrow some people from the Department of Magical Creatures."
Felix spoke, organizing his thoughts. With Voldemort's downfall, it was time to find a way for the Ministry of Magic to take on the responsibilities that were rightfully theirs.
What are the duties of the Ministry of Magic?
To create laws and manage the entire wizarding world, with the primary task being to keep the magical world hidden from the Muggle world. If exposure is inevitable, they are responsible for researching contingency plans and risks, and being fully prepared.
With the Dark Wizard capture operations winding down, the next steps for the Ministry of Magic would be trials and awards. After that? Without Felix, they would likely just return to peace, each living their own little lives.
From this perspective, the entire wizarding community is a group of laid-back, complacent citizens with little sense of crisis.
This shouldn't be surprising.
Limited by their numbers and the great convenience of magic, wizards can't build the vast and intricate political, economic, cultural, and legal systems that exist in the real world—such systems require a massive workforce to maintain.
The pace of life in the wizarding world has always been slow, so slow that many institutions and customs have remained unchanged for centuries. At its core, the wizarding world is shaped by the actions of visionary and exceptional wizards who drive societal progress.
If viewed from a higher perspective:
Every few decades, a handful of outstanding wizards emerge, shining in their respective fields, holding positions of great respect. They can easily push the wizarding society forward in significant ways, not just in terms of systems, but also in potions, spells, and new theories...
Chocolate Frog Cards are a prime example of this phenomenon.
"Let's go see the house-elf army", Felix said lightly.
They went to the third floor, where nearly a third of the space belonged to the house-elves. Opening a slightly smaller door, they were met with a bustling scene of labor. Over a hundred house-elves were seated around a large, low table, which looked like a raised platform or a rectangular arena.
They sat on small chairs, with various half-finished materials neatly arranged in front of them.
The house-elves moved in unison, extending their slender fingers to point at a neatly cut piece of wrapping paper. The paper folded itself with dazzling speed, transforming into an elegant gift box in mere seconds. Felix swore he wasn’t mistaken; he saw a cartoon version of a bald, noseless wizard...
"Mr. Heap!"
With an exaggerated scream, a house-elf leaped from his spot, scampering over on his short legs to stand before Felix.
"Hello, Dobby", Felix said.
"Hello, Mr. Heap", Dobby said excitedly, his large, round eyes studying Felix. Then, all the house-elves paused their work, timidly gathering around, looking at Felix with the same cautious eyes as Dobby.
"Hello, everyone—uh—house-elves."
"Sir, this is Bax", Dobby said, pointing to the nearest house-elf. "Hello, Bax", Felix nodded. "This is Kiki, Beck, Holly, Barton, Qiqi", he continued, introducing them one by one. Then he smacked his forehead, "Oh, right!" Dobby pulled another house-elf from the crowd as if by magic, "And this is Sparkle."
Sparkle, dressed in a clean little dress, shrank back behind the group.
"Sparkle?" Dobby said, beaming at her.
"H-hello, Mr. Heap—" Sparkle said shyly.
"How are you settling in here?" Felix asked.
"V-very well..." she whispered.
"Not well, Sparkle isn’t well!" Dobby exclaimed loudly. "Sparkle still thinks about her former master, Mr. Crouch. I told her we have a new—um, employer, but she’s not happy. She even refuses to accept any pay!"
"Bax doesn’t want an employer, Bax wants a master!" the first house-elf introduced by Dobby said eagerly, staring intently at Felix.
"Kiki too. Kiki doesn’t want to be a nobody’s house-elf!" another house-elf with a slightly shrill voice chimed in. Her words were met with a chorus of agreement, and a group of bat-eared heads nodded up and down.
"I’m here to discuss that very matter", Felix said gently. "To be honest, when I learned there were so many house-elves in the company, I was quite surprised. Personally, I don’t need house-elves serving me, so I’ve come up with a good idea—have you heard of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry?"
The house-elves nodded nervously.
"In the Hogwarts kitchen, there are about the same number of house-elves as you. They don’t belong to any individual but are nominally part of the ancient castle. Of course, if any house-elf wants to leave, I’m sure Dumbledore wouldn’t stop them—"
"They won’t leave; their lives are too happy!" a house-elf shouted, his tone tinged with envy and defiance.
"Qiqi?" Felix blinked and asked.
"Yes, Qiqi, Mr. Heap", Qiqi replied excitedly, clearly honored that Felix remembered his name.
"Since you know that, things become simpler. I plan to adopt a similar model, signing a magical contract. There won’t be a set time limit; you can stay as long as you like. The main terms will focus on confidentiality. If you want to leave, you can’t reveal any product information... There will also be some rules regarding benefits, which Dobby and Miss Clearwater will explain to you."
"We don’t need benefits or pay!" another house-elf shouted.
"Oh", Felix said, looking troubled, "but the Ministry of Magic has made it a requirement. It’s what you deserve, and I don’t want the Ministry to cause trouble... Moreover", his expression grew serious, "working here is different from serving a particular wizard family. The tasks you handle are more professional and challenging—" The house-elves puffed out their little chests. "—to facilitate management, it’s necessary to have uniform rules."
The house-elves nodded, still a bit confused.
"As for Sparkle—" Felix thought for a moment and squatted down to speak to her.
"Since you have nowhere else to go, why don’t you stay here for a while and save some money—listen, don’t you want to buy a gift for Mr. Crouch? Sparkle, Azkaban no longer has Dementors, which means Mr. Crouch will be released soon. Three years will pass quickly. If you want to return to him, I won’t stop you, but I think he would be very happy to receive a gift from you."
Felix finished speaking and held out his hand, palm up, revealing a Galleon.
Sparkle blinked her large brown eyes, her big, tomato-shaped nose twitching. Clearly, she was in a very conflicted state, her small brain struggling to process these complex issues.
Just as Dobby was urging her for the twelfth time, Shanshan trembled and extended her hands, cupping the golden Galleon, tears welling up in her eyes.
"Thank you, Mr. Heap."
She lifted her little dress and bowed deeply to Felix.
...
In the evening, after returning to school, Felix and Warren were both a bit hungry. The boy and the Niffler descended the spiral staircase, intending to find something to eat in the kitchen.
No one knew who started it, but they soon began playing a game of stepping on each other's shadows. Warren nimbly darted around Felix, running back and forth while excitedly counting points.
Felix suddenly felt at a disadvantage; his shadow was much larger.
"Chirp!"
Warren suddenly shivered and dashed to Felix's shoulder, chattering away, complaining about how terrifying someone's gaze was!
Felix turned his head and saw Professor Mcgonagall and Mr. Baxtor walking side by side. Professor Mcgonagall was speaking rapidly, not noticing Felix and Warren. However, Mr. Baxtor's gaze was fixed on Warren, his eyes narrowing and his face darkening.
"Since Dumbledore has agreed... I can't say much more, but Mr. Baxtor, please be prepared. Managing young wizards is a very challenging task. I'll tell you everything I know, including the curriculum, teaching responsibilities, school rules... Oh, Felix?"
Professor Mcgonagall looked up in surprise, seeing Felix and Warren on his shoulder.
"Minerva", Felix nodded slightly, but his gaze remained fixed on Mr. Baxtor, scrutinizing him intently. "This is—"
"The new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor for the upcoming school year", Professor Mcgonagall said.
"Ah, of course..."
Felix looked at Mr. Baxtor. Just as Professor Mcgonagall thought he would introduce himself, which he usually did, Felix's eyes suddenly lit up, staring intently at the new professor.
Mr. Baxtor displayed an agility that belied his age, his wand instantly appearing in his hand. A powerful magical vortex erupted, blocking Felix's view, but Felix had already caught a glimpse, getting the information he needed.
He had miscalculated...
Felix usually didn't use his magical vision to scrutinize strangers, as it was too provocative. However, someone seemed to have exploited this, disguising themselves as a Squib. But that didn't quite fit. Felix remembered Dumbledore's words; in many ways, he was no different from a Squib.
But what magic did he use to remain alive and even secure a teaching position after meeting Dumbledore?
Felix was certain he hadn't misunderstood.
Just as he had provided shelter for the remnants of the Pureblood Families, Dumbledore had done the same.
"Felix... Mr. Baxtor... you two..."
Professor Mcgonagall, caught in the middle, found it hard to breathe. She stared at the two serious faces, unable to understand why the tension had suddenly risen, and was amazed that a Squib could unleash such powerful magic.
She wasn't sure whether to be relieved that Dumbledore hadn't made a mistake and that the new professor wouldn't be bullied by students.
"Mr. Baxtor?" Felix said in a near whisper, the pressure around them gradually dissipating. "Since our earlier encounter, I've had a question. Bathilda Bagshot, the author of A History of Magic, is your—"
"...aunt", Grindelwald replied in the same gentle tone.
"She lives in seclusion in Godric's Hollow. It's a wonderful place, with clear skies and fresh air. Godric Gryffindor, the founder of Hogwarts, was born there, as was Bowman Wright, the inventor of the Golden Snitch... Nearby, the Dumbledore and Potter families also hail from there."
Of course, Godric's Hollow had produced more than just these notable figures.
Both men thought of the same name: Ignotus Peverell, the third owner of the Deathly Hallows, the Cloak of Invisibility.
Felix and Grindelwald stared at each other for a moment, then both smiled. They extended their hands—one young and slender, the other old and wrinkled—and shook firmly, as if in a contest of strength.
"Welcome to Hogwarts, Mr. Baxtor."
(End of Chapter)
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