Chapter 52: The Professor's Arrival

“What a beautiful Levitation Charm.”

The stout Ernie stared intently at the hovering feather.

Coming from a pure-blood wizarding family, he naturally understood the skill required for such a feat, especially for a wizard who had never encountered magic before.

“If it were that Mr. Green... wait? Why is it Fen리?!”

Only after Hannah moved her braided head out of the way did Ernie recognize the little badger following Professor Flitwick's voice.

“Merlin's beard, last class... couldn't Fenli even levitate a feather, could he?”

This was not just his confusion, but the confusion of the surrounding young wizards as well.

Particularly for the Hufflepuffs who were familiar with Justin, it felt as though a poor friend had suddenly revealed himself to be a wealthy heir.

“It seems you haven't been wasting your time in that classroom, have you?”

Professor Flitwick stepped down from his stack of books, walked up to Justin, and put away his wand with a look of gratification.

“I think I'll have to take a look... but not right now—three points to Hufflepuff!”

...

As soon as class ended,

Justin was surrounded by enthusiastic little badgers.

“Oh, oh! How did you do it, Mr. Fenli?”

The speaker was Hannah, who was somewhat shy and had freckles on her face.

“Really... Fenli, to hide such great progress from us!”

Ernie crossed his arms, his chin held high.

“I think we must punish you, little wizard, for betraying the 'Never Hungry' club—unless you tell us how you did it.”

His words prompted a series of nods from the other badgers; at least six of them were staring "aggressively" at Justin.

Sean glanced at the noisy crowd, then left the classroom clutching a book. The tan-colored volume was *Standard Spells, Grade 1*.

If Professor Flitwick were to come to their classroom,

Sean thought,

then could he find an appropriate opportunity to suggest that he wanted to learn the Smoke Charm and the Banishing Charm?

At the same time, Sean knew

that professors were usually very busy, and individual tutoring or guidance was not a common occurrence.

Only for their star pupils—like Hermione later on—

could they often obtain first-hand information about exams, or even exclusive tips, from Professor Flitwick.

Right now, Sean was not sure if he was qualified.

The Charms classroom was packed with badgers, while outside the door, a lazy evening breeze began to blow once more.

The leisure of a Friday always felt like a warm spell enveloping the ancient castle.

In the corridor, several Hufflepuff students leaned against the windowsill, watching the Black Lake ripple with golden scales under the setting sun.

Their laughter became soft and light, like floating dandelions.

A suit of armor in the corner shuddered slightly, shedding dust and making a faint metallic scraping sound.

Beside the armor, in contrast to Justin's popularity, few people dared to approach Sean.

Except—

“That Levitation Charm was so cool! I guess it has something to do with you, right, Sean?”

Michael popped out from behind an unexpected portrait, revealing a deep secret passage behind it.

“Oh, but you don't have to tell me. I think this will be an interesting exploration! More interesting than the castle's secret passages or strange magical artifacts!”

With that, his eyes gleaming, he vanished in a flash of speed within seconds.

Leaving behind a bewildered Sean, who hadn't heard a word clearly.

Did someone... just speak?

Sean had just closed *Standard Spells, Grade 1*, only to silently reopen it.

Following the spiral staircase upward,

Sean used a rhythmic knock to awaken the sleeping Mr. Owl.

The owl seemed somewhat excited today

“Little wizard! Clever little wizard, answer my question!”

Sean waited silently.

“A simple question, a difficult question...

I observed a deceiver; to be worshipped, to be noticed, to be the center of attention was his inner desire, and his wisdom helped him achieve it;

I observed a rogue; to stir up storms and cause trouble through words was her inner desire, and her wisdom allowed her to do it;

Their wisdom has always only followed their own hearts...”

Mr. Owl, clutching a parchment in his talons, circled incessantly within his portrait.

“Oh, please tell me, is that wisdom, or madness?”

Sean thought for a few seconds

“It is a fool.”

Mr. Owl froze in place. He stubbornly flipped through the parchment, eventually becoming stiff, yet his mouth would not stop

“Little wizard, greedy little wizard! Ambitious little wizard! Truly a lady of Ravenclaw...”

His last sentence became unintelligible, and at the same time, a sky-blue door slowly materialized.

Sean opened the door while lost in thought.

Ambitious?

Not really.

Greedy?

Sean considered that a clear prejudice.

Inside the classroom,

three magical lanterns cast a warm glow, and three chairs had been fitted with soft, comfortable black and yellow cushions.

In the very center, a small, cream-colored soft sofa sat beside a small wooden table.

The wood was scattered with many gummies and biscuits, but most of all, various kinds 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 little witch took it instinctively, looking somewhat dazed.

All in all,

a single little badger had spent only a few days turning this place into a true secret base.

Well, that hardworking badger was Justin.

Justin?!

Sean was somewhat surprised; wasn't he surrounded by people?

“Oh, Sean, we need to discuss something...”

Just as Sean arrived at the sofa, Justin walked over quickly; Hermione hadn't even noticed anyone had left her side.

“Did you see? I mean, Hermione, she must be hiding something from us...”

Just then, a series of knocks sounded from behind the sky-blue door.

A paper airplane drifted through the crack in the door, then transformed into several glowing words

【Are you there, children?】

“Oh! It's Professor Flitwick!”

“—Professor Flitwick!”

Hermione's sudden reaction startled Justin.

Seeing Justin's hesitant expression, Sean silently walked over and opened the door.

Meanwhile, Justin sat down beside Hermione with a hint of concern

“If you want to talk, we are listening, whenever you're ready—

Mother says that is the very reason friends exist.”

Hermione slowly raised her head, meeting those sincere, light-gray eyes filled with appropriate concern for a few seconds

“Alright, I'm so silly, how could I forget about you all...”

Her voice regained its usual strength.

“Oh, children?”

Professor Flitwick's voice was heard, but he was not yet seen.

Justin, who had just been smiling, was once again bewildered.

Unable to speak, he could only look to Sean for help.

Suddenly, several books appeared out of thin air, landing on the floor and slowly growing in size. Only then did Professor Flitwick's figure emerge from behind the sofa

“Mr. Fenli, excellent progress. And Mr. Green, Miss Granger?”

(End of Chapter)