Chapter 611: Confrontation at the Dining Table
The next day Felix was having breakfast in the great hall.
He finished his sandwich and mince pie and picked up another slice of bread. He snapped his fingers and the raspberry jam in the distance twitched slightly but it didn’t fly over, and Felix looked up to find Grindelwald staring at the jam saucer with the same intensity.
Compared to Felix, Grindelwald’s breakfast was much lighter, just porridge with bread and a glass of milk.
It was light but not simple, a sweet pumpkin porridge with freshly baked, crusty flatbread accompanied by a few scattered saucers of butter, jam, honey, cheese, thinly sliced sausages, and bacon.
Right now his bread is already coated with a layer of butter, probably because he has tasted the strawberry jam close by, so he has his eye on the raspberry jam, which happens to collide with Felix’s choice.
The two men secretly competed.
The tiny saucer was pulled and tugged around by magic, making a crisp, clear clink.
Professor McGonagall, who was sandwiched between them, and Professor Flitwick, who was sitting on Felix’s left side, also noticed this, and looked rather indifferent to the little show of entertainment that was happening at the table, because it was not the first time it had happened since a while back and was not worth making a fuss about at all. The last time these two had even gathered a ray of magic from the thin air on the campus, and this level of magical mastery alone had made the professors at Hogwarts gasp in appreciation.
They just couldn’t figure out why the new professor holding an exclusive wand, isn’t that wand a symbol of a Squib? But they did not delve deeper into it, both because they were still unfamiliar with the new professor and also because they all had their own suspicions: the wizarding world has never been short of strange individuals, and a single magic experiment could cause injuries that could not be cured, so they worried that they might touch on something difficult to say.
Dumbledore cleared his throat and leaned over, stretching his long arm out to disperse the tangled magic, then the saucer was pulled in front of him, he slowly spread a thick layer of jam on the slices of bread, and asked as if nothing had happened: “Old people love something sweet and sour, my personal favourite, would you like to give it a try?”
“It’s the same for me with strawberry jam.” Felix said.
“So it was raspberry,” Grindelwald whispered, “I thought it was cherry jam.”
Seeing that there was no more entertainment, each of the professors sulked and ate, and just then there was a rustling sound above them and several owls flew into the great hall through the open window. Several of those present – including Grindelwald – had received mails.
In terms of numbers alone, naturally, Felix had received the most, since he had just done something big yesterday. He counted out five coins quickly and put the Knuts in a small leather pouch that was tied to the leg of a brown owl, which dropped the Daily Prophet and expertly picked up a biscuit and flew away.
He casually put the newspaper aside and concentrated on the other restless owls.
“May I?”
Felix looked up, Grindelwald was staring at the newspaper and spoke, he smiled slightly, “Be my guest.” His eyes however swept over a large thick parcel in front of Grindelwald, inwardly surprised that someone would send something to Grindelwald, could it be Harry?
Grindelwald took the newspaper and read it, and it wasn’t long before he grinned silently.
“What a big deal.”
Several other professors were also reading the newspaper, their eyes went wide as if they had seen something novel, and several times they couldn’t help but look up from the newspaper to survey Felix, and Flitwick was oblivious to the fact that he had even dropped his fork in his hand. For a while, no one spoke at the table except for the sound of rapidly leafing through the newspaper and the fluttering of owls’ wings.
Even Dumbledore opened a tightly wrapped letter and looked at its contents with a serious expression.
Felix finally finished unwrapping the letter from the owls’ legs, then he had them line up, and stuffed a small biscuit into each owl’s beak as he watched them flap their wings and leave. It was then that Flitwick called out excitedly and read aloud.
“Felix, listen to this – just yesterday morning, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry Professor, Order of Merlin First Class recipient, St. Mungo’s Medical Badge recipient, member of Wizengamot, founder of ‘Future World’ company. Mr. Felix Hap, the master of memory and internationally renowned wizard who sparked the ancient rune learning craze, once again entered our sight. This time at the Headquarters of Future World, also known as the ‘Sword Castle’, he presented a brand new product, a wand named The ‘Exclusive Wand’ is a spellcasting aid that has amazed and shocked countless wizards, thereby creating heated debates … It’s amazing!”
Felix blinked and stored the pile of personal letters in his hands in his shirt pocket.
“Is this about yesterday’s product launch? I haven’t had a chance to read it yet, but I reckon it’s going to attract a huge amount of controversy-”
“More than just controversial, it’s just, just-” Flitwick said pointedly, standing in his own chair, one hand propped up on the table, the other turning the newspaper over with a rustle, “Just hurry up and read it. ”
“I’ve finished reading it, here you go, it’s quite interesting.” Grindelwald said, handing the newspaper over, and Felix glanced at the black lettering on the huge moving photograph, the front page news headline highlighted in bold: Exclusive wand, an Epoch-making invention.
He took the newspaper and read it carefully, while Grindelwald slowly and carefully unwrapped his huge package, which was already unwrapped on the surface of one corner and seemed to contain various magazines.
At this point, Felix had read what Flitwick had just read out, and he continued on down the page.
The exclusive wand is undoubtedly a revolutionary invention with extraordinary potential in many different fields of application, and the writer travelled non-stop to interview the professional who was most qualified to comment on this matter, the famous wand maker Ollivander. He expressed a strong interest in Mr. Hap’s willingness to collaborate, and he also had his own take on the heated (and even controversial) debate this has generated. “I had long known he would accomplish something great – before everyone else, from the day he first entered my little shop … Yes, I was aware of this when he got the wand, as he was favoured by Ebony Wand, and he himself similarly showed certain outstanding qualities early on, being a unique person, not a stranger to the muggle world, always being aware of what he wanted. I could cite many examples …”
Felix skipped over some of the touting remarks.
… But the advent of exclusive wands has also worried some insightful people. One Ministry of Magic official, who wished to remain anonymous, openly stated that it would put a heavy, if not overwhelming, strain on the magical community’s secrecy. “It’s a good thing”, he repeatedly stressed, but then he complained to the journalist.
“Many people underestimate the number of squibs, they are very inconspicuous, and their existence is usually difficult to identify, almost like an invisible person. This is because of the sparse number of squibs who choose to remain in the magical world, most of them basically live scattered in Muggle communities, occasionally appearing in Diagon Alley to purchase daily necessities. But after the news of the exclusive wand was made public, in just two or three days, more than three hundred squibs showed up to inquire and register. And the news has not even spread.”
The writer’s in-depth investigation yielded even more shocking news.
Since the Ministry of Magic does not keep records of the births of squibs, most of them and their descendants are living as muggles, which makes what we know only the tip of the iceberg. The real number of squibs could exceed the number of wizards in existence, and if they managed to obtain an exclusive wand, it would have a huge impact on our society, and likewise – the risk of exposing the magical community to the eyes of the muggle world would dramatically increase. The writer hopes that the authorities will give careful consideration to the vetting and distribution of exclusive wands …
It is believed that the concept of magical frequency was first discovered and named by Miss Hermione Granger, a current Hogwarts student, and the public may still remember her name from when she took the ultimate trophy for Britain during the Tournament of champions of the Five major schools. As a matter of fact, she is also from a Muggle family herself and earned straight O’s in this year’s O.W.Ls. She was also awarded the 2nd Class Order of Merlin along with her friends due to her outstanding contribution in the cause of fighting against the Dark Lord.
Miss Granger and her Muggle parents were also present at the product launch, and it is now reasonable to speculate that this ‘Muggle identity’ may have to be put under a question mark.
It is worth noting that she became Mr. Hap’s assistant in her second year and became one of the earliest members of the Magic Rune Club (known to outsiders as the Ouroboros Club) and has published an extremely impressive number of articles on her own, with a total of 42 …
“She’s a follower of yours? That Granger?”
Grindelwald asked with interest as he held an open magazine in his hand. Professor McGonagall gave him a side-eye, clearly not too happy with his wording, and these days of interaction had allowed her to come to a vague conclusion:
This old man is probably an admirer of Grindelwald or even one of the Acolytes back in the day. Professor McGonagall grunted, and at this point, his words did little more than lend validity to that conclusion. She made up her mind that she must be on close guard in the new school year and never let any evil thoughts poison the young wizards.
“Depending on how you interpret the definition of a follower, I personally would call her my partner.” Felix casually said.
He quickly skimmed through the remaining pages: ‘Exclusive wands bring us dignity: an interview with the head of the Squib Support Society’, page two; ‘Forgotten second-class citizens of the magical world’, page three; ‘The Solutions to Ancient Rune Magazine Almanac on the horizon ‘, page four; ‘Productive Magic Rune Club members’, pages five to six; ‘The Wand Regulations face new challenges: goblins demand open access to exclusive wands’, page seven; ‘House Elves and the assembly line’, page seven; ‘Home-grown Herbs…’
He puts the newspaper down and murmured, “It’s both trouble and opportunity.”
Good or bad it all depends on how this is implemented. One thing the newspaper pointed out coincided with him, that this whole thing had to be taken slowly, with ‘careful consideration given to the vetting and distribution of exclusive wands’ without blindly trying to increase the volume of wands.
“Squib saviour, huh? How will they thank you? By casting a statue in your honour?” Grindelwald said in an uncertain manner, “Then you must be careful, lest they rebel afterward…”
He shoved a bite of bread into his mouth, chewed, and swallowed it slowly before wiping his mouth nonchalantly and turning the page of the magazine in his hand.
Felix obviously felt a few glances coming his way, he wasn’t going to answer that, he said cryptically, “Professor Bagshot, I’m glad to see your appetite is better than it was a while ago, I was worried earlier, I heard eating with dentures didn’t taste very good … I didn’t expect new teeth to grow in after only a few short days, Madam Pomfrey’s skill is getting better and better.” He said with a look of admiration.
“Has anyone ever said you were rude?” Grindelwald asked.
“A fair number … but they all found out in the end that it was actually a misunderstanding.” Felix said, gently brushing off the question, his eyes lingered on the cover of the magazine in Grindelwald’s hand with some surprise, and he couldn’t help but glance at Dumbledore, who was putting the letter away, in deep thought.
“Jane’s Defence Weekly?” Felix asked curiously.
“For class preparation.” Grindelwald briefly said.
“Oh.” Felix said as he smiled slightly in his mind, “I read this magazine when I was working in Muggle society, and it is doing an okay job of being observant, accurate, and unbiased in the areas it covers-”
“You know a lot about the muggle military?” Grindelwald asked with a knowing look.
“I have only heard a little about it …”
Grindelwald sat up straight, “Then what do you think of those large-scale thermal weapons?”
“Well, they have quite a decent power.”
“Have you ever thought about them falling on your head?”
“Thought about it.” Felix said frankly, “But they couldn’t hit me.”
“Ah, yes, even the most powerful one-” Grindelwald smacked his lips, his eyes brightening as he pursued the question, “But what about your friends? And your fellow countrymen?”
“We have defensive spells.”
Grindelwald smiled sagely and pointed at the newspaper.
Felix hesitated, knowing he was pointing at the Squibs, who might not necessarily be on the same side as the traditional wizards, and if the Squibs turned against them in large numbers…
“Mr. Bagshot, why are you insisting on confrontation? That’s the worst possible scenario, and in case you’re not aware, the Ministry of Magic has been in contact with the Muggle Prime Minister-”
“So what?” Grindelwald’s tone was aggressive, and he said nonchalantly, “A mere puppet. What if things go in the worst possible direction? Hmm? After all your preparations have failed …”
Felix’s expression fell as he spoke slowly.
“I’d still insist on peaceful means, negotiation, and deterrence. War is a lose-lose situation, and besides, if things really turn out the way you describe … Britain has three islands, and there are many countries beyond them. They can never be united in their views and that is the greatest leverage.”
“We represent order, we fight against the threat that arises from the Dark Wizards.”
Professors McGonagall and Flitwick were completely stunned, what were they discussing? How did the topic move on to the magical world being exposed and wizard muggle wars?
Grindelwald, however, wore an expression of appreciation.
“It seems we have some common ground after all, speaking of that -”
“Leonhard.” Dumbledore snapped back as he said sternly, “You have given me your word.”
Felix immediately realized that this name belonged to Grindelwald, he had previously only known that Grindelwald had borrowed his aunt’s surname and had not been aware of his first name; now it seemed that Leonhard Bagshot was the full name he had forged.
Dumbledore stood up and said in a deep voice.
“Leonhard, they have insisted on coming over here in person to do a full physical examination of your body.” Grindelwald looked over his shoulder blankly, his eyes suddenly filled with violence and perverseness, as he hoarsely said, “They dare?” “I have agreed. You must do as you are told.” Dumbledore calmly said, not bothering to look at Grindelwald as he turned his head and spoke in an even tone.
“There is something that might require your help, Felix, and I couldn’t possibly find a better person to do it than you.”
Felix’s head was still whirling with thoughts, a full inspection? Who? St Mungo’s healer? But the tone of voice of both of them suggested otherwise.
“What is it?”
“Hand back Ilvermorny’s snakewood wand.” A slightly thicker than normal-sized wand appeared in Dumbledore’s hand, and he said softly, “I have already resigned my position as Head of the International Confederation of Wizards, and it is no longer appropriate for me to keep it. I need you to return it to its rightful owner.”
“Well, you should probably check with the Ministry of Magic first, their delegation is already waiting impatiently.”
The snakewood wand fell in Felix’s hand, its surface immediately rippled with a pale halo of light, and in a flash, hundreds of snakes’ hissing sound echoed through the great hall.
“Silence.”
Felix ordered in a Parseltongue.
The Snakewood wand fell into dead silence.
————
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