As the weeks went by, everyone gradually got used to the Dementors, although almost no one went out into the gardens without a teacher present.
Argus Filch was delighted. Never in all his years working at Hogwarts had he had so much free time. Almost no students went out at night, and Argus took full advantage of that time. Being a Squib had marginalized and deeply scarred him throughout his life. As he recalled, he had had a happy childhood. His parents had always shown him the beauty of magic, and he watched everything with a smile, waiting for the day when the GIFT would awaken in him.
Unfortunately, as the years passed, his lack of magic became more evident. When he turned eight, everyone accepted that he was a Squib. His parents did not treat him differently at first, but as the months passed, their indifference toward him became palpable.
Argus tried, he really tried. He searched for every possible way to perform magic, even if it was just to generate a small light. That would have shown his parents... and himself that he was not a failure, that maybe, just maybe... he could be someone famous... someone remembered and not just another face in the crowd that no one would remember when he died.
When he turned fifteen, his parents finally kicked him out of their home, sending him off with a simple "good luck," a trunk with his belongings, and a bag with five Galleons. During the first few months, he didn't know what to do. He survived by eating meat and stale bread that people threw away. He lived for a time in the woods and on the streets, moving from city to city, never staying in one place for more than three months.
During his time wandering through cities, he realized that the Muggles, whom his parents and other acquaintances called inferior, were anything but inferior. They had devices where they could hear voices, very fast carriages that smoked, and he also saw that they had a kind of... wand that they threw... balls that hurt their opponents without them being able to dodge or defend themselves.
He managed to reach the Leaky Cauldron by pure luck, sneaking in through the entrance when a group of drunken wizards were leaving through the door that led to the Muggle world. Coincidentally, Argus was sleeping that night in a nearby alleyway, and the lights and laughter woke him up, making him jump. He managed to get in, taking advantage of this oversight.
The place was just as he remembered it. He had visited it with his parents once when he was a child. That's when Tom, the bar owner, noticed him.
"Well, who do we have here?" he asked with a smile.
"Sorry for barging in like this... I have nowhere else to go," Argus muttered under his breath.
"Ohhh, I've never seen you around here before, kid," Tom said, shaking his hand.
"Come sit down... I'm Tom, by the way, the owner of this charming place," he said with a smile as they sat down at a table.
"Tell me, kid, how did you end up... like this?" Tom asked.
Argus was embarrassed; his clothes were old, dirty, and torn in many places.
"My parents kicked me out of the house for being... a Squib," he said, looking down.
Tom looked at him closely. He never understood why parents abandoned their children for not having magic. A child was a child, with or without magic.
"I'm sorry to hear that," he said, gently taking him by the shoulder. "I'm sure you must be hungry... give me a second." Tom got up and headed for the kitchen.
Argus could only blink in surprise. It had been a long time since anyone had treated him that way. He watched as Tom returned with a bowl of hot soup. "Here, on the house. Enjoy."
Argus did his best to hold back his tears before quickly starting to eat. Tom watched him with a sad smile. "Eat slowly, there's more if you want." Argus couldn't take it anymore and his tears began to flow uncontrollably. "Thank you... thank you so much," he stammered as he ate.
When he was able to calm down, he stood up and bowed. "THANK YOU, I don't know how... but I'll pay you back." Tom was taken aback before smiling again.
"Nonsense, kid, nonsense. You don't owe me anything." Tom paused for a second, narrowing his eyes. "Hmm, I know, why don't you work here? I can't pay you much, but you'll have a place to sleep."
Argus raised his head, his eyes wide open. "Thank you for this opportunity, I won't let you down," he said enthusiastically.
In the blink of an eye, Argus's life had taken a 360-degree turn. He quickly adapted to his job at the bar, learning everything from waiting tables to cleaning floors and keeping the rooms tidy in no time at all.
When he had free time, he would chat with Tom. Argus liked to ask him about his life as a student at Hogwarts. Thanks to his stories, Argus could imagine the castle, the classes, the teachers... something he deeply longed to experience.
That routine became his life. When he had saved up enough money, he would buy all kinds of books in the alley. He knew he didn't have the gift, but that didn't mean he couldn't use magic in some way. Something should help him. At first, it was difficult for him to understand the contents of the books. Everything they said had to do with feeling magic, something he clearly did not possess.
It bothered him how all the wizards and witches who came into the bar never really took advantage of magic, especially the younger ones. They saw magic as nothing more than a simple adornment, something that would always be there. The only ones who seemed enthusiastic were the Muggle-born... well, until they forgot about the novelty and normalized it.
He didn't know when he started hating children... he felt bad but couldn't help it. He wondered what they had that he didn't, why there were Muggles who suddenly showed the gift of magic, while he, born of two wizards, did not have it. Even after all these years, he couldn't forget his desire to practice and cast spells.
One day, while he was clearing away items left behind by customers at the bar, he heard a small meow coming from a box. When he finished his task, he approached the box curiously. When he lifted it, he found a small dark gray kitten with bright yellow eyes.
Argus watched the little animal moving around inside the box. "How are you, little one?" he whispered with a small smile. "Looks like you've been abandoned, eh?" He stroked its head with his fingers, making the cat purr at his touch.
"You must be hungry... no one should go hungry," he murmured, still stroking the little cat before going back into the Leaky Cauldron and heading to his room.
Argus took her out of the box and placed her in front of a bowl of milk. The cat slowly approached, sniffing it before starting to drink. Argus watched everything with a smile; the cat reminded him of someone somehow.
"There, eat..." he whispered. "I think you look like Norris," he said, lifting the cat up. She looked at him and meowed as if accepting her new name.
"It's decided, nice to meet you Mrs. Norris," Argus smiled as he hugged the little cat. He had found a companion.
After so long, he and Tom became great friends. Argus would tell him his ideas about how he could use magic, and Tom would listen quietly. Most of the time, he didn't know what Argus was talking about when he told him about his experiments, but even so, it was good that he was distracted by it.
"I don't know how to help you, Argus... I was never the smartest kid in school," Tom said, scratching his head one day when Argus showed him some scrolls with circles, numbers, and formulas.
"Come on, Tom... tell me something. Do you think my idea would work?" he asked, taking the scrolls away from him.
"It might, Argus, although I don't recommend showing your idea to other wizards... they might steal it," he warned in a low voice.
"I know that... but I'll keep working on it anyway. I'm sure that's the key to my being able to do magic," he said with hope and conviction in his ideas.
Tom stood up and handed Argus a card. "Argus... I think you can find what you're looking for here." When he turned the card over, it had the name Albus Dumbledore on it.
"I heard they need a caretaker at Hogwarts... and what better place than Hogwarts to learn and test your ideas," he said as he cleaned some glasses on the counter.
That was how he got his job at the school. Like everything else, it had its good points and bad points... but in the end, he liked his life at the castle. He had grown fond of being the authority figure at Hogwarts at night. "Tonight really took me back to the past," he murmured as he walked to his bedroom.
His years at Hogwarts had helped him improve and perfect his experiments... he knew that it wouldn't be long before what he called "arcane patterns" worked, he just needed that something he couldn't understand due to his lack of magic.
"Come on, Mrs. Norris... our rounds are over for today," he whispered to his faithful companion, who meowed in acknowledgment.
As they walked, a loud laugh interrupted them. "Peeves," Argus said venomously. "I don't have time for your games today, Peeves."
"Come on, Filch... the night is still young. If you keep grumbling, you'll end up like a raisin," he said with a laugh, levitating around him. "Ohhh, what have you got there, Argus... let me SEE it," he lunged, snatching it from Argus.
"Give them back!" Filch shouted, running after the ghost. "I told everyone we should get rid of you," he yelled as he tried unsuccessfully to catch up with him.
"Wow... you've never been like this before... Argus... what are these papers?" he asked, smiling. "Mehh, I'm sure it's rubbish," he muttered, watching as Filch approached angrily. "Faster, Argus... be careful, you'll slip," the ghost increased his speed.
When they turned a corner, Peeves bumped into someone, scattering every single note on the floor. "Hey, watch where you're goin-" Peeves couldn't finish when he saw that he had bumped into Aurelian. Peeves had a certain respect for that boy and preferred not to mess with him. "I'M SORRY," he said quickly before disappearing through a wall.
Aurelian was stunned for a moment on the floor. When he turned his head, he saw scrolls scattered everywhere. "Tch... damn ghost," he muttered as he got up.
He picked up one of the papers with interest. As he read it, he was amazed by the accuracy of the calculations. by the hypotheses... if what it said was true, it would be revolutionary. He couldn't continue reading because Filch arrived, shouting and ranting about how he would eliminate an annoying ghost.
"Gaunt... what are you doing here?" he asked, narrowing his eyes. "No one out of bed... you know the rules." Argus noticed what the boy had in his hand. "Give it back to me," he snatched it away in one swift movement. "How much did you read?" he asked, now calmer, as he gathered up the papers with trembling hands.
"Did you write all that, Mr. Filch?" he said incredulously. "It's incredible... who would have thought... Mr. Filch is a true Ravenclaw."
Filch just grunted under his breath. "It's nothing special... just an old man and his things," he whispered, finishing putting away all his scrolls.
"Of course it's something," Aurelian said with a smile. "This could revolutionize... the way we interact with magic." He approached the caretaker. "Mr. Filch, you might be interested in doing business."
Argus raised an eyebrow. "Business, Gaunt... you think this," he pointed to his scrolls, "is worth it?" he asked, his voice trembling slightly.
"Believe me, sir... if we succeed... you'll go down in history," he replied seriously.
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