Chapter 207

When he returned to his office, Hogwarts looked extraordinarily quiet at night, the forbidden forest in the distance looked darker than the night, and Felix carefully examined the Acromantula in the large glass enclosure, recording the latest data.

“Wizard, when do you plan to release me back?” The Acromantula said in a gruff voice.

“Soon, when the experiment is done,” Felix said perfunctorily.

…

After spending another Friday in teaching routine, it came to the second weekend after school began, Felix dressed urrived at Hogsmeade village at the right time.

He made a deliberate path to the main entrance of the school and saw some dementors on both sides of the castle iron gate.

This thing is more sinister than he imagined, it seems to be wearing a tumbling cold mist, the moment you get close to it, you can’t help but feel your body stiffen and your mood rapidly deteriorates.

When Felix consciously operated Occlumency, the dementor’s influence on him plummeted, and these cloaked creatures draped in rags also seemed to have lost interest in him.

But his feelings of disgust towards this creature multiplied, with a strong urge to destroy them.

Pushing open the door of Madam Puddifoot’s Tea Shop, the place referred to as the ‘dating paradise’ by Hogwarts students, and Felix came here for the first time, in a way, it did have a murky beauty.

The interior is foggy, the layout is twisted and cramped, and everything inside is decorated with slightly tacky lace.

Felix is not very fond of this style of decoration, but it must be admitted that the owner has done a good job in creating the atmosphere.

In addition to a couple of young male and female wizards, he is relieved to find a few solo customers enjoying their refreshments. He came to the counter and saw a smiling, short, chubby, middle-aged witch.

“Mrs. Puddifoot?”

“It’s me, dear, what would you like?” Mrs. Puddifoot said, with her black hair combed together like a bun.

“Check the appointment with Mrs. Augusta Longbottom for me, at ten o’clock.”

Madame Puddifoot bowed her head and looked over the records that only she could read, “Indeed, she mentioned it to me, ten o’clock in the morning, at the card table by the window, and you are a quarter of an hour early.”

“I know, give me a coffee first. Which seat is it exactly?” Felix asked.

“Just to your left, along the aisle, there’s a lace bow menu near that little round table.”

Felix took his seat and looked out of the gray window, his index finger tapped on it, and the glass glowed over a palm-sized area, allowing a clear view outside.

He silently thought about what was on his mind, during his conversation with Lupin on Thursday night, he accidentally spotted the trio, which is why he intentionally guided Lupin to tell the story of the intimate days.

‘And I don’t know if Harry can bear it, but the brutal truth is better than false peace of mind. Whether it’s decadence or uprising, it’s your own choice, you can’t blame anyone else a bit.’

After about seven or eight minutes, he saw an elderly woman holding a large red handbag appear on the street corner.

As soon as she entered, she loudly asked Puddifoot whether anyone had come, and Mrs. Puddifoot pointed to his position and said a couple of words, after which the elderly woman came striding over.

Felix stood up and shook her hand, “Hello, Mrs. Longbottom.”

“Hello to you too, Professor Hap, we met during the summer.” Mrs. Longbottom extended her dry, hawk-like hand, then she took off her tall, old engraved hat, put it together with her red handbag, and sat down opposite him.

Lady Puddifoot brought over a cup of black tea, “As is your habit, Mrs. Longbottom.”

“Oh, Puddifoot, you are still so thoughtful.” Mrs. Longbottom said, she looked at the coffee in front of Felix and suggested to him, “The black tea here is good, I like it very much, you can try it.”

“There will be a chance, madam,” Felix said.

After a few pleasantries, the two got down to business. Felix said, “Madam, you should have received my letter, Neville’s wand seems to have been inherited from his father, and it doesn’t really work well with him.”

Lady Longbottom stirred her black tea with a small spoon, “You are right, my son.”

Felix paused and said tentatively, “It may be that I don’t know the Longbottom family tradition, perhaps …”

“No such thing at all, son,” Lady Longbottom pursed her lips tightly, “It was Neville boy who insisted.”

The slightly sluggish, introverted, timid little round face? Felix looked a little puzzled.

He looked at her calmly in silence.

Mrs. Longbottom thought for a moment, “It’s no disgrace, my son and daughter-in-law were tortured and driven mad by That MAN’s goons, and they were hospitalized in St. Mungo’s for years. Neville grew up with me, and before he went to school, I took him to St. Mungo’s every other week to visit his parents …”

“Wait, you mean, his parents are still alive?”

“Of course!” Mrs. Longbottom said proudly, “They were tortured by four Death Eater scum with a Cruciatus Curse … very few of them made it through alive, Frank and Alice, I must say, they are both fine!”

Her voice boomed, provoking a number of stares.

“The Cruciatus Curse …,” Felix repeated softly.

“That’s the curse, one of the unforgivable curses that can make you feel worse than dead.” Mrs. Longbottom said, “Frank and Alice are the most courageous people I have ever seen, and they didn’t spill a bean. I’m proud of them, I’m just a little sorry … obviously HE is dead, and I remember Frank saying he wanted to celebrate after the victory.”

She held up her cup of black tea to hide her face.

After two or three minutes, she calmed down, except her eyes were somewhat red, and her face looked even prouder, “We got off-topic and wasted your time, Professor Hap.”

“It’s nothing, I admire those who are strong-willed,” Felix said.

“Thank you. Where were we, Wand? Oh yes, the wand.”

“When Neville was about four or five, I think, he came back from the hospital, went through the closet, and brought out his father’s wand, which I had hidden away, with a core of unicorn hair, and it is exceptionally loyal.”

“I thought he acted on a whim and went along with him. But he wouldn’t let go of it from then on. When school started, I wanted to take him to buy a wand, and he refused with all his might, saying he wanted to take his father’s wand with him.”

“Did you not persuade him, madam?”

“I tried, the boy is usually quite cowardly, but he was particularly persistent in this matter. And, before school started, he managed to cast a simple spell with that wand, which, given his previous performance, was nothing short of a miracle … and I agreed.”

Felix thought about it and suggested to her, “Maybe we can buy another wand, and as for the one from Neville’s father, just let it be a spare wand.”

Mrs. Longbottom said with a stern expression, “I don’t think another wand would help him much, and I’m ashamed of his report card he got back this summer! He didn’t inherit his parents’ talents at all, and I suspected at one time that he was a Squib, then because of an accident, he showed a talent for magic.”

Felix said mildly, “But like you said, he wasn’t really a genius in the first place, and the slightest influence can make a huge difference, let alone a wand.”

He took out a stack of parchment from the ring, “This is Neville’s performance in learning the spell in dueling class, recorded by himself. The data on it is surprisingly honest, and gives me a clearer picture of his situation.”

“From the data, it looks like Neville learns a spell three to five times slower than the average person, and it’s hard to tell if there’s a wand factor …”

Mrs. Longbottom looked carefully, turning it over one by one, in addition to Neville’s handwriting, there is another person’s markings and summary words, she looked up halfway down the list, “You’ve convinced me, Professor Hap, it’s really Neville’s greatest good fortune to have met you.”

Felix shrugged his shoulders, “I’m also curious about how he’ll perform once he gets his new wand, and besides, Mrs. Longbottom, I have an unpleasant request …”