Chapter 52: Professor Arrives
"That was a beautiful Levitation Charm," Ernie said, his eyes fixed on the circling feather.
As a pure-blood wizard from an established family, he certainly understood the skill required, especially for a wizard who'd never touched magic before.
"If it were that Mr. Green... wait, that's not right. It's Finch-Fletchley?!"
When Hannah moved her braided head out of the way, Ernie finally recognized the small Hufflepuff following Professor Flitwick's voice.
"Merlin's beard, Finch-Fletchley's last class... wasn't he still unable to levitate the feather?"
This wasn't only his confusion. It was the confusion shared by all the young wizards around him.
Especially for the Hufflepuffs familiar with Justin, it was like watching their poor friend suddenly reveal himself to be a rich heir.
"It seems you haven't wasted that classroom, have you?" Professor Flitwick walked down from his book-stacked staircase and approached Justin, collecting his wand with some satisfaction.
"I think I should come take a look at it. But not now. Hufflepuff gains three points!"
As soon as class ended, Justin was surrounded by eager Hufflepuffs.
"Oh, how did you do it, Mr. Finch-Fletchley?" asked Hannah, a freckled girl who seemed somewhat shy.
"It's amazing, Finch-Fletchley. You made such progress and didn't tell us!" Ernie crossed his arms, his chin held high.
"I think we need to punish you for betraying the Never-Go-Hungry Club, unless you tell us how you did it."
His words prompted nods from the assembled Hufflepuffs. At least six of them stared at Justin with mock menace.
Shawn glanced at the noisy crowd once, then left the classroom carrying a book. It was a brown-gold copy of "The Standard Book of Spells: Beginner."
If Professor Flitwick was coming to their classroom, Shawn thought, perhaps he could find an opportunity to suggest learning Smokescreen and Knockback Jinx?
At the same time, Shawn knew that professors were usually busy. Individual tutoring and instruction weren't common occurrences. Only for their star students, like Hermione later, could they reliably get first-hand exam information from Professor Flitwick, and even exclusive tips.
Now, Shawn wasn't certain he qualified.
The Charms classroom was packed with Hufflepuffs. Outside the door, the lazy evening breeze blew softly once more.
Friday's leisure always felt like a warm charm, enveloping this ancient castle. In the corridor, several Hufflepuff students leaned against the windowsill, watching the Black Lake shimmer with golden scales in the setting sun.
Their laughter was light and soft, like drifting dandelion seeds.
A suit of armor in the corner trembled slightly, sending out faint metallic grinding sounds.
Near that armor, in contrast to Justin's popularity, Shawn kept his distance. Few dared approach him.
Except for one person.
"That Levitation Charm was really cool! I bet that has something to do with you, doesn't it, Shawn?" Michael popped out suddenly from behind an unexpected portrait, revealing the deep passage behind it.
"Oh, but you don't need to tell me. I think this will be an interesting exploration. More interesting than castle passages or strange magical artifacts!"
He finished speaking with his eyes gleaming and feet moving fast. He vanished within seconds.
Leaving Shawn, who hadn't heard a word clearly.
Had someone just been talking to him?
Shawn had just closed "The Standard Book of Spells: Beginner." Now he silently reopened it.
Following the spiral staircase upward, Shawn gave his usual knock to wake up Mr. Owl.
The portrait seemed particularly excited today: "Young wizard! Clever young wizard, answer my question!"
Shawn waited silently.
"Simple questions, difficult questions. I observed a liar once. To be admired, to gain attention, to become the center of focus was his inner desire, and his intelligence helped him achieve it. I observed a scoundrel once. To manipulate events with words and cause trouble was her inner desire, and her intelligence made her succeed. Their wisdom has always only obeyed their own hearts." Mr. Owl held a parchment in his claws, constantly spinning in the portrait.
"Tell me, is that wisdom or madness?"
Shawn thought for a few seconds: "Stupidity."
Mr. Owl went rigid in place. It refused to give up, flipping through the parchment frantically. Finally, it became stiff, its mouth never ceasing its movement: "Young wizard, greedy young wizard, ambitious young wizard! Truly Miss Ravenclaw's..."
Its final words became unintelligible. At the same time, the sky-blue door slowly appeared.
Shawn opened the door while thinking. Ambitious? Not really. Greedy? Shawn felt that was obvious bias.
In the classroom, three magical lanterns cast warm arcs of light. Three chairs had been placed with soft, comfortable black and yellow padding.
In the center, a small cream-colored sofa sat against a small wooden table. The table was scattered with many sweets and biscuits. Most plentiful were various types of puddings: Yorkshire pudding, strawberry mochi pudding, mint pudding, even spicy sauce pudding.
On the sofa, Justin was handing Hermione a cup of pumpkin juice. The young witch accepted it unconsciously, looking somewhat dazed.
In any case, a small Hufflepuff had managed, in just a few days, to turn this place into a genuine secret base.
That diligent badger was Justin.
Justin?!
Shawn was somewhat surprised. Wasn't he supposed to be surrounded?
"Oh, Shawn, we need to discuss something," Justin said, walking over quickly as Shawn approached the sofa. Hermione didn't even notice someone had left her side.
"Look, I think Hermione has been keeping something from us..."
Just then, a series of knocking sounds came from behind the sky-blue door.
A paper airplane drifted in from the gap, then transformed into glowing words: [Are you there, children?]
"Oh! It's Professor Flitwick!"
Hermione's sudden reaction startled Justin.
Seeing Justin hesitate, Shawn silently walked over and opened the door.
At the same time, Justin sat down beside Hermione with some concern: "If you want to talk, we're always listening, whenever you need. My mother says that's why friends exist."
Hermione slowly raised her head, meeting those sincere, thoughtfully attentive pale gray eyes for several seconds: "Well, I'm being silly. How could I forget you were here?"
Her voice regained its former clarity and confidence.
"Oh, children?" Professor Flitwick's voice came without his body being visible.
Justin, who'd just smiled, became puzzled again. He didn't dare speak, so he could only look to Shawn for help.
Suddenly, several books appeared from thin air and fell to the ground, growing larger as they landed. Only then did Professor Flitwick's figure emerge from behind the sofa.
"Mr. Finch-Fletchley, impressive progress," the professor said warmly. "And Mr. Green, Miss Granger?"