Chapter 53: The Impossible Demand

"High risk? Interesting." Roger opened the drawer, which was filled with all sorts of bizarre magical objects: biting teacups, spoons with feet, dungbombs, Gobstones... and even a massive bunch of keys of unknown purpose.

Some of these were pranks, but the vast majority were normal magical items, and there were even a few wands.

"Filch is a Squib, so where did all these wands come from?" Roger curiously picked one up, waved it twice, and tossed it back.

"So many wizard cards?" He opened the adjacent drawer, which was stuffed to the brim with chocolate frog collector cards.

Like a little mouse that had fallen into a wheel of cheese, Roger excitedly inspected the caretaker's office's collection accumulated over many years. The items were numerous and miscellaneous, some of the magical objects showing great age, seemingly left behind by previous caretakers.

The cards alone filled several drawers; a quick rummaging would easily yield a complete set. If the young wizards knew Filch's office held these treasures, they would undoubtedly swarm in, racking their brains to get their hands on them.

"Thank you, Filch. Mrs. Norris, you don't mind if I take these, do you?" Seeing that the cat had no objections, Roger unceremoniously stuffed the cards he had never seen before into the deep pockets of his oversized school robes.

Mrs. Norris lay lazily on the desk, her belly stuffed so round that it made her only want to sleep a sweet, lazy nap.

"Huh, a Golden Snitch?" Deep within a faded drawer, Roger dug out a crystal box, inside of which sat a genuine Golden Snitch used in Quidich matches.

The Snitch was exquisitely crafted and looked immensely valuable. Inscribed in gold lettering on the front of the box were the words: Bowman Wright, No. 101.

"A commemorative edition, no less." Roger carefully opened the crystal box, terrified that the Snitch might fly away. However, it seemed to have lost its magic, lying quietly inside.

He breathed a sigh of relief and examined it closely. This Golden Snitch was only the size of a walnut, its two tiny wings tucked into the recessed hollows of its sphere. The surface bore mysterious and intricate patterns, seeming to conceal some kind of information, which greatly piqued Roger's interest.

As magic power was slowly channeled into it, the interior of the sphere suddenly began to vibrate. Fortunately, Roger held onto it tightly, preventing it from flying away. Once the magic power was exhausted, it grew quiet again.

"A fine piece of alchemy; the internal mechanisms must be quite delicate." A gleam of excitement flashed in Roger's eyes, and he could hardly wait to take it apart into pieces and study it thoroughly.

Yet, considering the collectible value of the thing, it would be much more cost-effective to buy an ordinary Golden Snitch to take apart. He put the crystal box away and checked his pocket watch; it was already past one o'clock in the morning, and Mr. Filch had not yet returned. He blew out the oil lamp, slumped over the desk, and fell asleep.

"Bang, bang, bang!"

Early in the morning, Filch's hand slapped heavily down on the desk, waking him up. Snape stood at the doorway without a word, leading his student away.

"Professor, you should sign a pass for me."

"A pass?" Snape suddenly stopped, and Roger almost walked right into him.

It was time for classes, and the corridors were crowded with students rushing to their classrooms. Snape stood there like a harbinger of plague, and everyone shrank back, slipping past him with extreme caution.

He sneered, "Spending until dawn dealing with a few trifles—even Hagrid's dog could have handled it faster than you."

Roger curled his lip. If dogs were that useful, how did you even invent *Sectumsempra*?

Snape then launched into a blistering tongue-lashing: "Caught red-handed blocking the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets, and not even knowing the password—did you simply have to wait there?"

"Are you the only young wizard in all of Hogwarts who goes night-walking?" Snape's dead-eyed gaze swept over Harry and his friends, who were hurrying past on their way to Professor Flitwick's Charms class.

"Slytherin loses 5 points because you violated the curfew, and you will also serve detention."

Snape did not care much about the deducted points. His primary reason for anger was Roger's stupidity; even wandering the castle for the entire night would have been better than getting caught stuck at the House entrance.

Harry and Ron perked up their ears, brimming with joy when they heard that Slytherin had lost points. They broke into a joyful little skip as they hurried toward the Charms classroom.

"Don't worry, Head of House, I'll definitely earn them back," Roger quickly promised. Points were nothing, just a matter of minutes.

"Three days, fifty points. If you can't win them back, you can look forward to harvesting grindylows at the bottom of the Black Lake."

"Professor, tomorrow is Saturday."

Hearing the reminder from behind, Snape paused for a moment, then walked away without looking back.

"Roger, are you alright?" Daphne only dared to approach after the Head of House had left, and Hermione stood beside her, looking at him with concern.

"Just going for a swim. If today wasn't Friday, mere fifty points would be yours for the taking," Roger smiled, signaling them not to worry; his Head of House always had a sharp tongue and a soft heart.

In Charms class, Roger made a rare display of actively answering questions, leaving Flitwick to rub his head in confusion: "Could this lad have taken the wrong medicine today?"

"Alright, Roger, you may sit down first." Flitwick drew his wand and began explaining the charm they were to learn today: *Wingardium Leviosa*.

"This is one of the foundational charms a wizard must master, allowing objects to levitate," Professor Flitwick stood atop a tall stack of books, demonstrating to the young wizards below.

"Remember the movements we practiced earlier?" Flitwick directed everyone to watch his wand and practice along with him: "Swish and flick."

"Swish and flick!"

Ordinarily, Roger would have waved his wand lazily, but today he was a completely different person, responding to the professor's instruction with tenfold enthusiasm. Daphne, sitting next to him, was amused by his serious expression, and Roger quickly signaled with his eyes for her not to mess around.

"Very good!" Flitwick looked around the room; everyone had mastered the wand movement. Especially Roger—graceful and concise, it was practically a textbook example.

"When casting the incantation, you must make sure the pronunciation is correct: *Wingardium Leviosa*." At this, Flitwick, as he did every year, used Baruffio as a negative example.

"If you don't want your ribcages crushed by wild oxen, do not pronounce the 'f' as a 't'!" After issuing his warning, Professor Flitwick told everyone to try it for themselves.

Hermione did not immediately wave her wand like she usually did to show off her success to everyone. She sat there motionless, as if waiting for something.

Ron found it extremely strange; had Hermione changed her personality? If it were true, that would be wonderful—she wouldn't be so annoying anymore.

"*Wingardium Leviosa*." To make up for the five points he had lost, Roger quickly chanted the spell, and the feather in front of him obediently lifted into the air.

"Well done!" Professor Flitwick cried out excitedly, seeing a young wizard master the Levitation Charm so quickly for the very first time.

"Professor, I can make it levitate without using a wand." Roger looked at Professor Flitwick; the esteemed Charms teacher did not yet have any thoughts of awarding points.

"Oh?" Professor Flitwick's eyes widened as he asked in astonishment, "Roger, are you speaking of wandless magic?"

"Of course."

Hearing this, the young wizards began to murmur among themselves: "Isn't that something only upper-year students learn?"

"Ron, what is wandless magic?" Harry adjusted his glasses and asked curiously.

"Wandless magic is focusing and channeling magical energy without relying on a wand as a medium," Hermione chimed in, popularizing the concept of wandless magic for them. "It's an advanced and complex technique that only a tiny fraction of the magical world can master."

"Though if you disregard the precision of the spellcasting, many wizards on the African continent can do it."

"Hmph, show-off. He's definitely just bragging," Ron curled his lip disdainfully, refusing to believe that Roger could master wandless magic.