https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-613-The-Clash-at-the-Dining-Table/13462864/
Chapter 612: Rolling Flood
Chapter 612: Rolling Flood
The next day, Sirius, Lupin, and the others stayed at the Burrow to celebrate Harry's birthday before turning to their own busy schedules. As Lupin left, he mysteriously told Harry that something big was about to happen the next day. Harry immediately thought of what Hermione had told him.
"‘Future World’ has a big event coming up... Professor will definitely be there..."
On the first day of August, the Daily Prophet released a major announcement.
‘Future World’ had successfully solved the casting problem for Squibs!
In just two days, the concepts of personalized wands and magic frequencies spread like wildfire. The newspaper announced that ‘Future World’ headquarters would be open to the public for a week, with a new product highlighted each day. However, the personalized wand was undoubtedly the star, drawing all the attention.
By the weekend, the first-floor exhibition hall of Sword Castle was packed to the brim.
The central area of the hall had been transformed into a grand stage, surrounded by layers of people. Crowds pressed in, amazed to see the young businessman who had boldly released a series of Dark Lord-related prank products now standing on stage, acting as the commentator.
Felix and Lupin stood in a corner, whispering to each other.
"Are you sure you can trust them with something so important?" Felix asked, his expression strange.
"I taught them for a year, and we’ve worked together, so they know what they’re doing", Lupin said with a smile, though he hesitated as he saw the twins clearing their throats theatrically. "I hope so..."
"They’re good at livening things up", Felix said honestly. They both looked at the stage.
"Good morning, everyone!"
"—And the ladies."
"Yes, exactly, and the ladies."
Fred and George Weasley, dressed in formal attire, looked out at the crowd, which averaged over forty years old. Many had gray hair, weathered faces, and wrinkles.
The crowd stared, unsure if they had come to the wrong place. Perhaps at any moment, two burly men would come and take them away, informing them that everything that had just happened was a mistake?
Fred pointed to the ceiling, "Don't think we’re being tedious. Today's speech is being broadcast live on the radio. And see those cute little bugs up there? They’ve seen it all, capturing the charming and embarrassing moments of the champions during the Triwizard Tournament..."
The crowd looked up, seeing the blue Billywigs with transparent wings and their long, pointed stingers, which made some people uneasy.
"Someone might ask, what's the difference between a personalized wand and a regular wand? Good question!"
"Let's answer that together."
"I've always admired their spirit", Ron said.
"Oh, don't interrupt", Molly said, her eyes fixed on the stage. She whispered, "Look how handsome they are."
The entire Weasley family was there, even Percy had taken a day off. Harry and Sirius stood with them. Nearby were the Grangers, their position slightly offset to allow Hermione to explain things to her parents.
"To avoid confusion", Fred continued, "we need to clarify one point: a personalized wand doesn’t contain a unicorn hair, dragon heartstring, or any other core material. It doesn’t have a core at all—"
"But that doesn’t mean it lacks sophistication. I assure you, see those little gems? They’re not just for decoration or to show off personal taste. These little guys play a big role."
"A single gem, no bigger than a fingernail, combines a protective spell, runic script, and internal functional charms. You can imagine their value."
"The gems on a personalized wand are divided into three types—"
"First, they capture specific, weak magic frequencies and amplify them. The exact mechanism has been discussed a lot in the papers over the past two days, so we won’t go into detail here."
"Second, they store magic, replacing the energy Wizards expend during casting. Think of them like batteries that Muggles use to store energy—something I read in a comic book. I’m not sure if the analogy is perfect, but I think it’s similar. These gems can only be activated by specific magic frequencies."
"That ties into the first point", George said.
"Exactly. The third type of gem contains functional charms. These little gadgets might store a cleaning spell, or even a killing curse—just kidding..."
"Those two are really bold", Harry said, stunned, looking around. Many in the crowd were shocked, and even Hermione stopped talking, staring at Fred and George Weasley as if they had silently cast a silencing charm.
"Is this the first day you met them?" Ron muttered under his breath.
"The personalized wands currently released by ‘Future World’ range from ten to fourteen inches in length. Like regular wands, they have a handle and a shaft, but they also have a row of gems. These gems are connected to the wand material using alchemical techniques, with a maximum of nine gems embedded."
"Indeed, it’s not easy to cram all these things together. But we can look forward to future products. You Muggles have those button-operated communication devices, imagine pressing a button to trigger a spell..."
"Next, I will demonstrate several products, one by one. Please welcome my assistant—Lee Jordan." Fred extended his hand in a dramatic gesture. A black-haired boy with a head full of tiny braids stepped onto the stage.
"Thank you, you can also call me by my codename—Old Jiang", Lee Jordan said excitedly.
"Are we in some secret underground organization?" Fred asked with interest. "What should I call myself?"
"How about Rat?" Lee Jordan asked.
"Absolutely not—I hope for Old Sword."
George picked up the thread—
"Lee is holding a lifestyle wand. It can handle most daily needs, from laundry and cooking to moving objects and driving away garden goblins—speaking of which, we strongly insisted on including this feature. If you think outside the box, you’ll realize it can drive away more than just goblins."
Lee Jordan waved the wand, and the gems began to glow. He waved it again, directing a row of magical automatons to march past in a spirited tap dance. Then he made a heavy wooden chest follow him around the stage.
"It’s a bit tricky, this is the result of two days of practice", Lee Jordan said.
...
"Specialized wands for Aurors and enforcers of the Ministry of Magic, designed for combat and medical purposes. They are not yet available to the public."
"General-purpose wands, versatile and equipped with a built-in Disarming Charm. Personally, I think they are a bit too versatile and not specialized enough... Ah, I see someone waving at me. I hope they’re not coming up to hit me... Alright, let’s give a warm welcome to Felix Heap, the owner of Future World!"
Felix walked onto the stage with a gentle smile.
"I’m not here because of Fred and George Weasley’s brilliant speech. As their professor at school, I never had the habit of detaining them, deducting house points, assigning extra homework, or making them copy the sentence ‘We will defend the school rules to the death’—oh, that became their new motto and was quite popular at school..." He shrugged, somewhat regretfully. "But they’ve already graduated."
The audience burst into laughter.
"Really? He seems quite skilled at it..." Mr. Granger asked his daughter.
"Oh, Professor is just lazy. He just talks about it", Hermione said casually.
"I have a more pressing reason for being up here."
"This idea struck me while I was standing down there, inspired by one of our specialized wand testers. From that perspective alone, my goal has been achieved, and the efforts of the entire Future World team have paid off. We hope to harness the wisdom of more people, not just in a simple transaction where we provide products and you choose them."
"I mentioned inspiration—so next, I will share a new idea that just came to me, one I believe is significant." Felix said, "Um—this is sudden, I need a specialized wand for demonstration and modification."
"Here, Professor!" Fred called out, tossing a wand.
Felix watched it spin through the air and come to a stop in front of him, suspended motionless.
The audience held their breath in anticipation.
Reporters raised their cameras to capture the important moment. Lupin waved his wand, and the Billywig-like alchemical device above the audience lowered slightly.
Felix waited for two seconds, then reached out and swept his hand over the specialized wand in front of him. A gemstone, like a shattered star, burst into brilliant light. He watched it intently, and then the deep red ruby detached from the wand, followed by a second, a third... After a couple of minutes, he showed the audience the wand in his hand, which now had only two gems left.
The other six gems, each a different color, twinkled playfully as Felix gathered them in his palm and pocketed them.
He straightened up and addressed the audience with a steady voice.
"Ladies and gentlemen, magic is wondrous and diverse, and it should not be constrained."
"What I am doing now is adding an amplification circuit and a magic storage circuit to a traditional wand—of course, the one I have is missing a suitable core, so what you see is only a prototype. But for me, it’s more than enough for the demonstration."
"If there are those among you who face obstacles in casting spells and dream of casting freely, and are willing to put in extra effort... then the wand I am about to introduce will undoubtedly meet your expectations."
"Mr. Heap, could you elaborate?" a reporter, sensing a major story, bravely asked.
Indeed, it took some courage. In fact, even Felix himself wasn’t entirely sure, but one thing was clear: everyone was adapting to how to coexist with Felix Heap. British wizards, in particular, felt this deeply: a wizard as powerful as Dumbledore or Voldemort, and possibly not inferior to either, was impossible to ignore. Moreover, this powerful wizard seemed to follow the path of the former Headmaster Dumbledore, showing no interest in politics.
Many people secretly rejoiced.
Especially over the past year, several high-stakes duels had made it clear to the public just how unparalleled the pressure and dominance a Wizard at the pinnacle of the world could exert. With someone like this, the British magical community could rest easy for a couple of centuries, free from any domestic or foreign threats.
In reality, Felix didn’t need to do much; just being alive was enough.
Following this trend, Mr. Heap would likely enjoy all the honors and privileges that Dumbledore once did. For example, if Ms. Bones ever decided to retire (though it was unlikely in the short term), her top choice to succeed her wouldn’t be someone within the Ministry of Magic but rather a professor from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
The same was true internationally.
Dumbledore’s voluntary resignation as the President of the International Confederation of Wizards was a significant loss, causing many to sigh in disappointment. However, they also firmly believed that it wouldn’t take more than a couple of decades for this position to land squarely on Felix Heap’s head.
Of course, there was the possibility that he might refuse...
Many Wizards prayed that this young Archmage wouldn’t be too capricious.
In response to a reporter’s question, Felix thought for a moment and said, “Compared to the specialized wands previously released, this one lacks the built-in magical components. This can be inconvenient for the user, but on the other hand, it frees the product from its initial constraints. It will be like the first wand a young Wizard carefully selects, possessing unlimited potential.”
“...This product is a major undertaking that Future World plans to develop and refine.”
Felix left some room for maneuver. In fact, he had already overcome all the technical challenges and even produced the final product—though it wasn’t his doing; it was the work of the old Grindelwald.
With the old man’s pride, he would never allow himself to use an inferior, restricted wand.
“Moving forward, Future World will consider collaborating with the best in the wand-making world, such as Mr. Ollivander, to explore a new frontier. I firmly believe this will bring about another revolution in wand history. If successful, Squibs will be able to learn magic independently, just like first-year Wizards, with no casting restrictions!”
People murmured and chattered, the noise drowning out the scene. Several Future World employees rushed out to check the situation, especially on the third floor, where a row of House-elves’ heads poked out from the railing. Dressed in clean, uniform clothes, they looked especially lively and energetic.
Some sharp-eyed reporters secretly took a few photos and were already considering applying to stay at the company for a tour and interview after the exhibition.
The noise gradually subsided as a frail old Wizard stood up, trembling and struggling to hold his cane steady. Felix seriously doubted that even with a specialized wand, the old man would be able to use it for many more years.
“Sir, do you have a question?”
“I... I do,” the old Wizard strained to open his eyes, full of hope. “If what you say is true, and Squibs can learn magic independently, does that mean... does that mean Squib children will have the opportunity to attend Hogwarts?”
Everyone held their breath, some with serious and solemn expressions, others filled with longing and hope.
Felix hesitated.
He didn’t like making promises he couldn’t keep and had plenty of excuses to dodge the question. For example, the wand wasn’t fully developed yet, or such issues weren’t within the scope of discussion and didn’t concern him. He could also explain the practical problems of Squib enrollment, such as potential discrimination and ridicule, the significant decision-making involved, and the magical consumption issues that would arise with a large influx of Squibs... There were many factors to consider.
“There is a chance,” he finally said.
Felix optimistically estimated that there wouldn’t be too many people in the first few years. As for the future... he could always set up another magic school. Yes, he would appoint Remus as the Headmaster.
As the press conference concluded, Felix looked up at the large, crystal-like chandelier, a thought suddenly crossing his mind: Would he become the uncrowned king of the magical world in another couple of decades? He could already sense the flood of challenges and endless troubles that would come his way, threatening to engulf him entirely.
He was determined not to let that happen!
Felix resolved to discover more useful allies at Hogwarts... cough, fellow visionaries. With this in mind, Grindelwald was his direct competitor—Felix had always suspected that, beyond just wanting to observe the changes he spoke of during his breaks from prison, Grindelwald had a deeper, hidden motive: to find a successor.
He couldn’t let the old man have it all. Felix rubbed his hands together in anticipation.
It was clear that the new school year at Hogwarts would not be peaceful.
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
