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Chapter 275: Confiscated Items
Chapter 275: Confiscated Items
Chapter 275: Confiscated Items
Felix descended the spiral staircase, his hands empty as usual. Unlike other professors, he never carried books or parchment with him.
Passing the office of the castle's administrator on the first floor, he heard Lupin's voice.
"...I'm really sorry to bother you. If you find it, please let me know."
Lupin's thin figure emerged from the office, brushing past Felix. "Hello, Professor Harp," he said with a brief pause and a smile.
"Hello, Professor Lupin. You look well," Felix replied.
After Lupin left, Felix knocked on Flich's office door. "Mr. Filch, are you there?" The door swung open, revealing Filch's face from the shadows, his eyes fixated like those of a pair of goldfish.
"It's Professor Harp. I thought..." he mumbled, then stepped aside to let Felix in. It was a rather cramped room, adjacent to the castle's entrance hall.
The room had no windows, appearing dim and confined even in daylight. The sole source of light was a greenish hanging lamp from the ceiling. Wooden filing cabinets lined the walls, some of them packed so full that yellowed and worn corners of parchment peeked out from the crevices.
Several chairs occupied the office, but Felix had no intention of sitting. He discreetly cast a Fresh Air Charm and finally dispelled the pervasive fishy odor.
Felix locked eyes with a cat, extremely emaciated, on the desk. Its eyes were large and bulging, gleaming brightly.
"She seems quite personable," Felix remarked.
Filch was pleased that Felix used the term "she." His chin trembled as he said, "You won't find a smarter cat than her anymore. In my opinion, she's more human, even better than humans... At least she won't break school rules and she'll lend you a hand."
Felix patiently listened as Filch recounted how Mrs. Norris patrolled the corridors. When Filch wheezed to a pause, Felix interjected, "Although she does seem a bit malnourished."
Filch cleared his throat, seemingly surprised by the question. He stammered, "She's a picky eater. I've advised her, but she only eats the fried fish I make..."
"I have some nutritional supplements here, a very clever formula, and importantly, no side effects." Felix said, brushing his right hand over his left, and a small wooden box appeared.
He opened the box, glanced at its contents with some regret, and said, "Only half remains..."
Filch hesitated, "Liz might not like..." He retrieved a small glass bottle from the box, uncorked it, and a strange aroma wafted, overpowering the room's fishy smell.
Mrs. Norris immediately raised her head, staring at the glass bottle with a longing expression.
But instead of drinking, she gazed up at Filch. He reassured her, "It's alright, Liz. Go ahead."
The cat emitted a contented, eerie purr, leaping off the desk and hurrying to her owner. She extended her tongue to lap up the bright red liquid in the bottle, not stopping until she had savored the last drop. With a satisfied stretch and a series of "purr" sounds, she curled up.
Filch's eyes shimmered oddly. He couldn't help saying, "Liz has never done this. She wouldn't touch the remedies from the pet store."
Felix explained with a smile, "The formula comes from a Potion Master who earned the Order of Merlin, Second Class. It's a creation of Professor Burbage's, and though it was made casually, its effects surely surpass anything on the market."
"The formula"
"I can give it to you. The preparation is quite simple, and you won't even need a wand, although you might need some dragon blood."
"That's not a problem," Filch quickly responded.
"Do you have any parchment?"
"There" Filch swiftly opened a drawer, revealing a stack of blank parchment. Felix beckoned a piece of parchment to float in front of him with a flick of his finger, and as he stared at it, a smooth string of letters appeared on its surface.
During this process, Filch's eyes remained fixed on the parchment suspended in the air, his knobbly hands clenched together. Felix casually inquired, "By the way, I just saw Professor Lupin."
"Yeah," Filch absentmindedly replied.
"He came over"
"To retrieve confiscated items," Filch said, his gaze still on the parchment. "Professor Harp, don't blame me for stirring things up... He can hardly be considered a good person."
"Why do you say that?"
Filch realized, and he glanced cautiously towards the door before lowering his voice, "He wasn't honest during his student years, always breaking school rules... Of course, he wasn't as bad as his two friends, but I recognized him well; he was the one behind all the mischief."
He looked at Felix and praised, "Unlike you. You were an upstanding student"
Felix chuckled slightly, "I caused my fair share of trouble during school."
Filch cunningly said, "Differentsir, it's different. You never brought trouble to others unless trouble sought you out first," he pointed at the wall of cabinets, "There's a drawer for themLupin and his interesting friends. If it weren't for Hogwarts abolishing corporal punishment..."
He grumbled discontentedly, "Mr. Pringle timed his retirement well. Unlike me. Oh, Pringle was the former caretaker. He left behind a lot of tools; I've kept them."
Felix looked at the polished iron chains hanging on the wall, shaking his head. It was understandable why young wizards disliked Filch. He had known for a long time that Filch enjoyed punishing students, and even though physical punishment had been abolished, the psychological punishment lingered.
And Filch was constantly finding new ways to reinvent this craft and carry it forward.
"Mr. Filch, you mentioned that Professor Lupin came to reclaim his belongings"
"That's right. Over a decade ago, he and his friends were wandering around. I searched them and found a suspicious piece of parchment, layered upon layers. I suspected it concealed a secret, so I confiscated it."
As Filch spoke, his facial tic twitched. "You don't know how despicable they were. After I confiscated the parchment, they acted as if it didn't matter at all," he said with a fierce tone, "They must have thought I couldn't decipher the secret within and would just toss it away, allowing them to sneak it back. ButI didn't. Instead, I kept it all these years, locked in the drawer labeled 'Highly Dangerous.'"
"And now, that piece of parchment... did you give it back to Professor Lupin?" Felix inquired curiously.
"...It's lost," Filch sighed in frustration. "I can't remember when I lost it. Maybe they took it back themselves."
"But you said Professor Lupin came to retrieve"
"Who knows? Maybe his friends didn't tell him, or other young wizards stole it from me over the years." Filch said regretfully.
The parchment in mid-air descended, and Felix handed the formula to Filch. "Please keep this safe."
"Thank you, thank you"
"You're welcome, Mr. Filch. I also got what I wanted."
Filch stared at him in astonishment, and Felix grinned, "You see, Mrs. Norris seems quite satisfied, doesn't she?" He gestured to the cat at his feet, lazily rubbing against his trousers.
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