Chapter 45: Filch
"They all look down on Squibs!"
Filch's voice was hoarse and carried a torrent of unbridled venting.
"They all think people like me don't deserve to live in the wizarding world at all... Yeah! How can someone who can't even use a single spell and is not even qualified to hold a wand worthy of being called a wizard! Squib! Squib! Squibs are useless! Rubbish! That's what everyone thinks! Everyone!"
As if feeling sorry for Filch at this point right now, Neville spoke comfortingly.
"But the Professors at Hogwarts don't think so."
"That's just for the sake of Dumbledore's presence!" He yelled, "I know they all actually despise me! Lily Potter never initiated a conversation with me! McGonagall hasn't treated me well for twenty years! Slughorn even tried to degrade me the night Hogwarts was attacked for the first time this year, I was locked up all alone in my office and scared to death! And he did not take me out until very late! "
Jon listened to his "accusations" and felt that Lily and McGonagall were treating him this way because of his attitude towards the students, not because of him being a squib, as for Slughorn. He has always been like this towards people who don't excel, and he certainly won't take the initiative to dishonour others.
That is why Jon became more curious about the last thing he said.
"You were locked up that night? Who did that? The man who sneaked into the wagon? "
"Does anyone know that I can't use magic and can't cast an unlocking charm? If that person really thought I was in the way, he would not just lock the door secretly! It must be Slughorn! He knew I am a Squib, and have no way to open the locked room without keys, so he locked me in the office to embarrass me! "
Filch screamed as if he was certain of this and would not listen to any explanation offered by anyone else.
All Jon could do was appease him.
"Don't be upset, Filch, we're not looking down on you for being a squib, and we're not going to tell anyone about this, we only came over to ask you because we suspected there is something wrong with you for not using magic all this time."
"There is something wrong? "Filch's eyes bulged, just because he isn't a capable person doesn't mean he's a fool, "You guys thought that I would harm Hogwarts? Am I crazy? No, it's you guys who are crazy! "
Ron sheepishly turned his head, he also did not expect that Filch would expose being squib after Jon just said a couple of words, and now, of course, the matter of Filch being a spy is no longer sustainable.
"Now that we're sure you're really a squib, there's certainly no such suspicion, and I'm sorry to have bothered you today."
Jon said in a voice tinged with an apology, he really didn't have much prejudice against squibs personally, but he also felt that this caretaker had a terrible personality.
"Do you mean what you just said?" Filch stared at Jon, he obviously noticed that among these 4 people, this boy is the core of them, "Don't tell anyone else."
Jon shrugged, "It's your privacy, we'll keep it a secret if you feel we should."
"Ah, thanks. Thanks, boys." He thanked dryly, obviously not very skilled at saying such a word.
Jon and the three of them left the office, and on the long corridor, Ron hung his head and said.
"I never expected him to actually be a squib..." but as if he was still a bit unconvinced, he re-speculated to support his thoughts, "but these are his own words, maybe he actually tried to use the whole squib thing to cover up the suspicion?"
He was pushing this guess a little too hard, and this time even Justin thought Ron was baselessly making a wild guess, and just then a burly figure happened to be walking head-on toward them.
"Hey, Hagrid." Jon greeted Hagrid, who was looking for something in the corridor.
Seeing Jon and the group, Hagrid's face broke into a smile.
"Good morning, Jon."
"You're looking for Beech again?"
"Yes, he's not very obedient these days and likes to run around the wagon all the time, I'm afraid he'll steal something indiscriminately, so I came in to look for him." Hagrid said with a sad face, "Have you seen him?"
Jon shook his head.
"No, if I had seen him, I would have caught him and sent him to you. By the way, we happen to have one thing to ask you." To let Ron's suspicion completely die, Jon opened his mouth and asked, "Do you know why Filch has not been using magic? We're curious about that."
Beside him, Neville and the guys immediately perked up their ears, while Hagrid's face showed obvious surprise after hearing his question, obviously not expecting him to ask this.
After looking left and right first to make sure there was no one else around, Hagrid bent down and came up to Jon and the boys.
"You guys actually noticed this. Of course, I know the reason, but I can't tell you guys, after all, this is his personal matter, and he kinda cares about it very much, so even if all the professors in the school know about it, no one will mention it much."
This answer did not say anything, yet it is equal to saying everything, very in line with Hagrid's big mouth, he really wants to keep it under wraps, but it was not concealed enough due to his nature.
After separating from Hagrid, Ron now completely has nothing to say, but they have just cleared Filch's suspicions, and there is still no clue as to how the infiltrator hiding in the wagon.
"Don't think blindly, leave this matter to the professors to solve it, it is already the greatest help to them if we can take care of ourselves."
Neville agreed with Jon's words, and Ron and Justin both eventually went back to their dorm rooms honestly, and it looked like they would be able to settle down for a while after today's incident.
After returning to his dorm room, Jon once again picked up the parchment full of incantation pronunciation combinations, but this time he could not concentrate properly, a certain sentence that he heard in Filch's office lingered in his mind.
In the end, he simply did not try, and leaned back in his chair and looked out the window and stared at the constantly moving scenery.
Neville, who was working on his transfiguration class homework, raised his head and looked at him strangely.
"What's wrong?"
Jon shook his head silently and said softly.
"Nothing, just thinking about something, something less desirable."
***
Life after Christmas break hadn't changed much for the young wizards on the wagon, and as Jon had said, the best thing they could do for their professors was just to take care of themselves and not cause any trouble for the school.
Jon also finished trying all the combinations of levitation incantation pronunciations before February, and finally determined, that the one with the opposite pronunciation to the normal levitation incantation was the most appropriate one for him to use to cast a spell on himself with the ring.
After confirming it clearly, Jon found Slughorn once again, wanting to learn from him, how to improve the effectiveness of this levitation charm.
Obviously, compared to just reducing weight, faster bounce and speed, Jon wants more; he wants to be able to fly just by his own ability.
---------------
Thanks for all your love and support.
Read advance chapters on P@treon. If you have some extra pocket money, Support me at P@treon: [email protected]/Crazy_Cat.
Happy Reading!!!