Chapter 559

Felix knocked on the door in the dungeon office, Snape was wearing the same black cloak as always, his curly black hair fell to the back of his neck, and his unwavering dark eyes always reminded Felix of the grilled fish he had eaten that day under the cold wind in the yard.

The person who had opened the door silently stepped aside, revealing Professor Burbage bent over the table, her hair dishevelled as if it were a pile of hay and her wide glasses looked like a pitchfork stuck in the hay. As Professor Burbage was carefully inspecting a flower pot.

“Did I miss something?” Felix asked pleasantly.

“You’re just in time, Felix.” Professor Burbage said with excitement, still not taking her face off the flowerpot, “I told Severus that we had to wait for you to come over and witness this …”

“There’s nothing to witness.” Snape said.

He slammed the door behind him and strutted over to the table, where he pulled a glass vial out of his top pocket. “Please.” He said coldly, and Professor Burbage hurriedly stepped aside, holding her breath as she watched Snape carefully screw open the stopper and drop a drop of liquid into the flower pot.

A miraculous sight occurred.

The brown dirt in the pot bulged up to reveal an inconspicuous hint of a tender green bud, and a few minutes later, as the three of them watched in silence, a palm-sized green shoot swayed gently in the pot.

“This is …,” Felix enquired.

“A rejuvenation potion, a magical potion that prompts seeds to sprout.” Snape said.

“Don’t you have to add a Growth Potion? I remember when these two potions used together it could even restore most of the wilted plants to health.” Felix asked curiously.

“There’s no need to waste it,” Snape said, “the seeds Burbage provided are plenty nutritious on their own.”

“Can I take it back with me?” Professor Burbage asked pleadingly, eyeing the seedling in its pot.

“Oh, no.” Felix immediately said, “We had a deal.”

He wanted to take the potted plant with him to get it tested in a lab, mainly to see the changes in nutrient content in the soil and the subsequent growth of the plant. Burbage knew this too, she just couldn’t bring herself to part with it. Right now she is looking at Snape with a pitiful look, “Severus …”

“I only brewed this one vial of potion.” Snape grunted, “With the most basic ingredients, as someone requested.”

Felix reassured Professor Burbage, “There’s no need to rush, Charity, there’s absolutely plenty of time to spare. From germination, growth, flowering, and fruiting of the seeds … We only need to figure out the first step for now, which will speed up the growth cycle by at least half a month compared to the normal process, no?” He asked Professor Burbage.

“Yes, absolutely possible.” She said with conviction.

“That’s enough.” Felix said, “Don’t think it’s insignificant, studying the process thoroughly is quite remarkable and fully worthy of an Order of Merlin …”

Professor Burbage left with a red face, she now wanted to ask Headmaster Dumbledore for a plot of land to build an experimental greenhouse.

“I am sure Sprout will help, and she would be more than happy to do so.” Snape said dryly from the doorway, hoping she would bother him less in the future. Turning his head, he found the culprit sitting leisurely on the sofa, flipping through a magazine.

“What have you come up this time, some new ‘Trump Card’?” He sarcastically asked.

“I was wondering if the Killing curse could kill the bacteria in the water … Okay, I’m just kidding, forget about it.” Felix hurriedly said when he saw the look on Snape’s face. ” I have one thing to tell you, Mr. Scamander has found a way to make the Blast-Ended Skrewt breed steadily, he said in his letter that they are now overflowing with larvae and asked if I needed some …”

Snape thought hard for a moment.

“The slime of the Blast-Ended Skrewt larvae is corrosive, but when handled well, it can remove the properties of certain potion ingredients without losing its excellent secondary component.”

“Then you’d better publish a few articles and help to spread the word.” Felix said.

Snape nodded, that is what he was hoping for. The office quieted down and Snape stared at the specimen jar on the shelf against the wall and said, “I was informed that you have the Ravenclaw diadem in your possession …”

“Dumbledore told you about this?” Felix asked.

“Not him.” Snape said.

Felix frowned, it is something that only Dumbledore knew about, he never brought it out to show it personally, mainly because he felt too ashamed to use it covertly all the time. On the contrary, Valen had worn it for a while at the very beginning of her studies, but Valen had no idea what it was, other than that-

“Did someone from the Ministry of Magic tell you that?” Felix murmured as he mulled it over, “But only a few people in the Ministry of Magic might have a clue about it, and these kinds of important files on record usually wouldn’t be noticed by the general staff of the Ministry unless someone deliberately went looking for … Oh, I see.”

Voldemort still had his hand in the Ministry of Magic.

“What’s that?” Snape asked softly, as he had long wanted to enquire about these. “It can’t simply be a relic of Rowena Ravenclaw. Although legend has it that her diadem can increase one’s wisdom, but the Dark Lord attaches far more importance to the diadem itself than the legend.”

Felix fell into silence. The fewer people knew about the secret of the Horcrux, the better it would be, but since Sirius knew about it … he seemed hesitant, his biggest concern still being the fear that Severus would be able to deduce the secret of Harry being a half Horcrux himself. In fact, Sirius’s side is also a hidden problem, but Sirius doesn’t really know much about Horcruxes, especially not the fact that they can be made out of living beings, while Severus has the chance to know about the existence of the snake.

“Something to do with the secret of his immortality?” Snape asked in a low voice.

He watched the expression on Felix’s face carefully, and although he found nothing, a moment of silence was enough to allow him to surmise part of the truth.

Instead of pressing the issue, Snape changed the subject and added, “The Dark Lord found out about it through a spy from the Ministry of Magic, and he asked me to sidetrack it, but I thought – it would be better to ask you directly. I already have enough trouble to deal with and don’t want to waste any more time …”

Felix smiled, ” It really is the least time-consuming way to go. Perhaps Voldemort will praise you for your efficiency.”

“I have no intention of reporting back immediately,” Snape said, “The Dark Lord takes this matter very seriously, even more than his desire for the item in the Department of Mysteries at the Ministry of Magic, and he revealed to me that he would find an opportunity to arrange a spy to work with me.”

“Send a spy to the school?” Felix felt amused.

It would have been a good plan, but with Snape around, it seemed a bit ridiculous. He didn’t take it too seriously, if he captured the spy now, it would probably reveal Snape’s undercover identity, and Felix guessed that Dumbledore might push the boat along the tide and wait for the spy to present himself at the school, and then it would depend on who would show up at the school.

He was somehow looking forward to it.

Voldemort only had one Horcrux with him now, and presumably, his insecurity was at an all-time high; he just didn’t know if the golden cup was on him, or Bellatrix Lestrange. By all accounts, Voldemort is not the man to entrust his only lifeblood to his men. So …

Felix tries to simulate what Voldemort is thinking at this moment: if I were him – in Voldemort’s situation – what would I do?

The first thing that must be done is to make sure that the Horcruxes are secure.

There are three Horcruxes that ‘I’ clearly know that have been destroyed, the diary, the snake, and the ring; the Horcruxes whose status cannot be determined consist of the diadem and the locket. The diadem may be in the school, well, ‘I’ currently don’t know that it’s on Felix Hap. And the locket – “Where do you plan to spend your Christmas break, Severus?” Felix asked, looking up. Snape looked at him in confusion, and replied, rather reluctantly, “Need to do some errands at the Order of the Phoenix base…” Felix withdrew his gaze, good, got it – so ‘I’ suspected that the locket had been stolen by a former servant. Regulus had died over a decade ago, and if the Horcrux hadn’t been destroyed, the best chance of it being in the old Black ancestral house would be high, a place where he couldn’t possibly enter for now.

And in addition to that?

‘I’ also knew that I had some sort of connection to Harry Potter at school. For the past two months, I had to protect my mind with Occlumency a little tighter… It was quite frustrating but at the moment it seemed to be the best thing to do … because ‘I’ am not sure if this connection will extend to other Horcruxes, damn, the half-told prophecy! Damn Harry Potter! Now ‘I’ must ensure that the only Horcrux is under my nose and I must never be separated from the Golden Goblet unless there is a compelling reason to do so …

Felix thought hard, and he was going to find out that reason now. He continued to contemplate.

There are two other people on his level in the wizarding world, and if they set up a trap, all hell will break loose, so ‘I’ must be very cautious now, but ‘I’ know that one of them will not live long, so I just have to wait in peace… …but I wouldn’t mind giving him a kick when he’s at his weakest if possible, it would be a wonderful feeling. That’s if he’s holding the Horcruxes that are crucial to ‘me’ …

Felix was instantly enlightened.

Was this Dumbledore’s plan? To use the Horcrux to bait Voldemort? But there seemed to be no place for him in this fight, it would be entirely a one-on-one affair between Dumbledore and Voldemort …

“What can I do?” Felix asked himself, “Yeah, it’s so easy, I should have known.” He said with glee.

Of course, it would be a good opportunity to get the last Horcrux while they were at it.

Well, now for that ‘last minute’ scenario – Voldemort and the Golden Cup Horcrux have to be separated, and no one would be stupid enough to bring their second lifeline to a duel to the death, even if the opposite party is a dying man, and the only person Voldemort could trust with it would be Bellatrix Lestrange.

Snape stared at Felix, who was mumbling to himself, oblivious to his complex mental activities.

“Care to have a game of Exploding Snap, Severus?” A moody Felix asked.

…

Well, they certainly didn’t play the cards.

Felix emerged from the Potions class office with the student club list that was also posted on the notice board in the entrance hall, albeit that had been dated three weeks ago.

Christmas is just around the corner.

Felix is planning to make a trip to Newt’s house over the holidays – to update his ‘material library’ – and he’s also going to travel around the world and collect some rare magical creatures while he’s at it. As he passed a huge suit of armour in the corridor, he suddenly stopped to take a closer look at it, as it seemed to have some kind of hidden magic in it…

The helmet of the armour also rattled as it slowly lowered its head and locked eyes with Felix.

Felix: “…”

“Clang, clang, clang …”

“Huff, huff, huff …”

Felix stopped banging on the armour and turned his head to look into Keeper Filch’s light-coloured, furious eyes and asked, somewhat awkwardly, “Mr. Filch?”

” Oh it’s Professor Hap, I thought …” Filch mumbled, “I was just chasing Peeves who had somehow got a bubble gun and there were colourful bubbles all over the ceiling … It could be Zonko’s new product, I must report it …”

Felix waited in silence for Filch to leave. “Clang! Clang!” He knocked twice more and the armour finally seemed to have had enough and opened the mask on his helmet and began to dry heave.

“By the way, Professor Hap, I wanted to ask-” Filch, who had walked away, came back with an embarrassed and curt expression on his face but then froze when he saw Felix’s movements, and Felix had a bit of a headache, he simply wanted to examine the strange armour.

It was at this point that the armour exaggeratedly cupped its belly and opened its mouth to spit out a red envelope, which slowly floated through the air as the two watched.

“Oh.” Felix whispered, recognizing what it is. The Howler began to smoke and then burn, and he took a few steps back and reached out, detaining the sound within the confines of the entrance hall. After a few seconds, a cheerful voice that belonged to the Weasley twins, which had been amplified hundreds of times, rang out.

“It doesn’t matter if you’re Peeves – or a Filch – or a brat who failed an exam – or – -”

Fred’s and George’s voices interchanged with each other.

“You’re great -”

“And certainly mischievous -”

“adventurous -”

“Got caught numerous times -”

” Indomitable – ”

“The persistent -”

“The number one delinquent!” Voices began to converge here and there, and Filch’s face turned purple. The Howler continued to thrash through the air with glee, ” Hurry up! We’ve made plenty of help accessible to you, provided you and I have our hearts in the right place!”

“Bang!” The Howler exploded into a ball of flame, from which colourful fireworks flew out and finally disappeared in unison.

An embarrassing silence followed.

Felix patted the dust from his body and, despite his inner grudge, on the surface, he pretended to be calm and asked, “Mr. Filch, did you forget any tools?”

“Oh, er, yes.” Filch muttered vaguely, the loosely hanging flesh of his face twitching unnaturally. As he brushed past Felix, Felix heard him curse the Weasley twins’ names over and over again.

As Filch headed towards the office, Felix hurried out of the castle as well. After stepping on the stone steps and taking a few breaths of the dry, cold air, he relaxed.

Felix could see that Filch had something to say to him, and might even have been preparing for it for a long time, but the timing was indeed a little awkward just now. Let’s wait until we have another chance. If he heard the news of the Weasley twins’ detention, he would certainly be able to reminisce about today’s event happily.

Felix made his way down the steps. Seeing Valen having fun from a distance, made him grin widely before changing his direction and making his way through the greenhouse and vegetable patch to the edge of the forbidden forest. A few shifts later, he is standing at the edge of the cave where the giant Grawp stayed over for this winter.

There was a loud “thump, thump” sound came from inside, and tiny stones tumbled down through the cracks in the rocks above his head. Felix caught the smell of a mixture of mould and straw.

“Grawp – wrill brte (will bite) – Ahe lan (the lion) -” the voice sounded deafening.

“Shut up! You stupid bastard!” Hagrid yelled, “Be a good boy and go brush your teeth.”

There was another smashing sound, which sounded like an outburst of discontent.

“Ouch-” Hagrid ran out, panting as he covered his face in pain, his moleskin coat ripped open in several places.

“Are you all right, Hagrid?”

“Felix?” Hagrid looked surprised as he grinned and pulled the bits of stone out of his beard, “It’s all right, little Grawp was messing with me, he’s improving fast, even when he loses his temper he holds back from hitting people …” then his tone turned low, ” Though there’s still a possibility of an accident.”

“Are you showing him a film?” Felix glanced towards the cave, from this angle all he could see was a huge, dirty foot

“Yeah,” Hagrid said cheerfully, “Little Grawp loves little animals, just like me! I’m going to take him to meet some friends in the Forbidden Forest when the time is right, without him being on a leash … but not now, I’ll just have to show him the film. He’s never seen a lion before and is curious about it, and I planned to give him the book you gave me.”

Felix zoned out for a moment, remembering the set of books he had given Hagrid when he first visited his door, with the various muggle animals drawn on them.

At that moment, there was another smashing sound heard from the cave and Felix saw the big foot “thumping” on the ground, like a drum.

“Quiet! I’m talking to Fili!” Hagrid yelled at the cave.

” Fili? Fill – Hermy- Hagger- Ciri- Hari- Rong-” Grawp yelled down from inside.

Hagar said helplessly, “His English is still substandard and fixated; he thinks Hari sounds better …”

“Is there something wrong at school?” He asked gruffly.

“Oh, no. It’s a personal matter.” Felix said, “I want to know the location of the giant tribe – I know they’ve gone deep into the mountains… I mean, I wanted to know which direction they’ve run off in.” He saw Hagrid trying to speak and quickly added.

“You aren’t thinking of dealing with them, right?” Hagrid muttered uneasily, “They … are kinda miserable, with not much left of them.”

” Well, I have no need to do that, but I think it’s necessary to check on their status, considering that they have disappeared from the wizard’s sight for a long time.”

Hagrid froze for a moment, “Well, I can only tell you the general direction, do you have a map?”

“I’ve collected a bunch …”

…

When Felix reappeared, he was at the edge of the Black Lake.

Valen was skating on the ice while he stood at the edge. One of the students must have transfigured a pair of ice skates for her, and judging by the movement alone, her skating skills were much better than most of the Hogwarts students.

“Valen, do it again!” A student shouted excitedly.

Valen happily pulled out her exclusive wand and waved it casually, a stormy wind swept up the snowflakes on the ice like a tumbling snow dragon, and Valen rushed straight into the whirlwind, as her small yellow hat and scarf fluttered high in the snowflakes.

————-

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