75 ch 75 Valentine's Day... sucks.
February 14, 1992, Friday 6:54 am Great Hall
-Marshall's POV-
"I'm dreading this day..." I said, with a sigh and scrunched nose, as my group made our way to the Great Hall for breakfast.
Justin asked, "Why mate?"
While ruffling my red shimmering hair, I complained, "Too much red and pink."
As we enter the hall, we were assaulted with scents from bouquets of flowers, red curtains, red carpets with flower petals, red and pink heart banners…and other lovey-dovey stuffs that any naive teen girl would love.
Letting out giggles, Adeline giddily said, "Love is in the air…"
I quickly snorted, "That's just hormones."
'Luke and MeiMei would probably show a bit of PDA today. They might not yet label their relationship as such, but they don't hold back showing their affection to each other.'
Megan asked me, "What's your problem? Didn't you spent some time in the kitchen to adjust today's menu to fit the occasion?"
"Ugh! Don't get me started about that. I got sick with all the raspberries, strawberries, apples, cherries, chocolates, and other sweets we used. At some point, I'm tempted to use red chilli peppers." I said while rubbing my face out of frustration.
My friends gave a look to make sure that I'm just joking... or not.
Before we took our seat at the Hufflepuff table, an older male Hufflepuff bent his knee in front of a girl and presented her a bouquet of roses.
The girl was caught off guard by being placed on the spot in front of other students. She is obviously uncomfortable with all the attention. Instead of accepting the flowers, she yelled at the guy and ran toward the group of girls huddling around Cedric.
'Bad move, dude. Don't do that stuff in public.' I shook my head, seeing the embarrassed face of the guy.
Ernie recognized the guy, "Oh? Isn't that Timothy Hale? Our team's Quidditch captain and seeker?"
'Oh yeah!' Looking at Hale's angry expression while looking at Cedric's group, I thought, 'That's not good.'
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8:23 am, Hagrid's hut
"Hmmm… will the curtain wall be brick or stones?" Hagrid asked while reviewing the simple design of the greenhouse I'm planning to build over the vegetable patch.
I thought for a moment and said, "Bricks… I'll start making them this weekend. The columns, posts, ridges, ridge cap, rafters, and every skeletal structure will be made of wood…. Pressure treated wood, to be exact."
"Pressure treated wood? What's that?" asked the half-giant.
"Chemical infused wood to make it last far longer in any environment where it is exposed to the elements or consistent moisture, and make the wood insect and fungal resistant…" I simply explained.
"... I just need you to provide me with the lumber, and I'll take care of assembly next week."
There is a place with tar deep inside the Forbidden forest. I can just apply alchemy and extract creosote and infuse it to lumber.
The blueprint is simple to understand, but Hagrid is still skeptical about how I will create and assemble everything. He then asked, "How about the glass panels?"
Shrugging my shoulder, I said, "I'll also make them. There is a rich limestone and trona at the outlet of the lake, and I'll provide the silica sand…"
"Wait… wait… little fella…" Hagrid finally figured out why he was being skeptical with everything I said, "Yá said 'make'… how?!"
'How should I…' While thinking of ways to explain to Hagrid, I caught sight of the coals piled at the side of his fireplace.
Picking up a small piece of coal and clasping it in between my palms, my hand started to glow for a good 20 seconds.
I then, placed the thing in my hand over the blueprint and a piece of dull white pebble rolled over.
Hagrid picked the pebble and asked, "What's this?"
With a look of disgust, I said, "Ugh… That's basically a diamond, but a low-grade one. I haven't been doing alchemy lately and a bit out of practice. That thing can only be use as a glass cutter or put on drill bits."
He was shocked, "Yah know alchemy? Like turning metal to gold?"
Waving my hand, I quickly said, "Yah… but not at the level where I can turn metals to gold… yet. Jumping from one element to another is a different kind of skill all together. Making diamonds out of coals is easier as they're basically made of the same thing but were formed under different conditions."
"... My alchemy skill is not yet at a level of a master, but it is enough for what we need for treating wood and glassmaking."
Scratching the back of his head, Hagrid just surrender to my plans, "Uhm… It still sounds complicated to meh, kid. But… the Headmaster gave his approval…so I'll just follow your plan. I'll prepare the lumber and place them next to the patch tomorrow."
After double-checking the material list, I said, "Well, we don't need to be rushing, Hagrid. There are still some veggies that need to ripen and pluck. And besides, it's not as if I'm getting additional credit, or we're earning money from this. It just my whim."
Hagrid laughed, "But it's bet'er to start early than finish late. Let me know if you need anything else, Marshall."
"Sure! See you later, Hagrid..." I passed out the door and walk back towards the castle.
Coincidentally, I saw another older Hufflepuff boy handing a flower to Cho Chang. It was obvious that she doesn't like the boy and shakes her head then run back toward the castle.
The boy was shocked. When Cho was out of site, he tossed the flower to the ground and yelled out, "It is that Diggory again!!!"
The boy stormed back to the castle, fuming with rage.
'Eh? Isn't that guy one of the beaters of our team?' I just shake my head, seeing another one who got angry at Cedric because of a girl.
Rubbing my chin, I mumbled to myself, "Cedric really gives us handsome folks a bad rep…"
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12:23 pm Great Hall
🤧Achoo!🤧Achoo!🤧Achoo!
"Man... I'm with Marshall. Valentine's Day really sucks!?" Kevin kept sneezing because of all the flowers.
Justin joked, "Kev, you have asthma and allergies? What else do you have?"
After blowing his nose, Kevin said, "Well, I thought I had outgrown all of them, but I guess I just haven't been exposed to too much smoke and pollen until this month..."
I remember something and turned to Kev and advised him, "Kev, visit Madam Pomfey later after our flying lesson. Say that you've been having allergies lately. Naomi and Justin … you two, go with him and ask Madam Pomfey about being vaccinated against common wizard illnesses and maladies."
"Eh? Shots?" asked Naomi, "I think I already got mine back in the US."
With a stern tone, I explained, "That's for normal, or what we call muggle, illnesses. You guys are now in a magical environment, which has some very gnarly variants. So you better get a check-up...."
"... If you're not worried about it, keep in mind that you might expose your family back home to such diseases… and since they are normal folks, asking for help for them might be troublesome."
The three of them took my warning to heart and gave me a nod.
Our conversation was interrupted by a crying Hufflepuff girl running toward her female housemates and starting complaining.
Her words were incoherent, and I can only make out a few words like confessed, Cedric, No, etc...
Recognizing the girl, Hannah said, "Oh! I guess Diggory turned down Heidi's confession. She thought she had a chance since they are in the same team."
Raising an eyebrow, I asked for clarification, "Team? You mean Quidditch team?"
Adeline said, "Really? You didn't recognize her? She's one of our chasers. Remember? The one who got hit by a bludger before Cedric caught the Snitch."
'Eh? So another Hufflepuff Quidditch team member that got mad at Cedric…'
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3:46 pm , Flying Class Lawn
"Everyone… that's it for today. Ravenclaws, put the brooms back to the shed" instructed Madam Hooch.
While we hand our brooms to Terry's group, Naomi asked me, "Marshall, where are your pets? They haven't been around lately."
"Oh… They are spending time inside the forest with the unicorns. I just let them be." I said.
My pets didn't want to leave Uno behind, so they spent their time in Grace's territory. Since Voldy is in the castle, the foal can't show himself.
"Even at night?" asked Ernie.
With a prepared excuse, I explained, "There are centaurs in the forest which keep a lookout so they are safe."
Wayne mumbled, "The merpeople, the house elves and now the centaurs... You certainly get friendly with other magical beings, Marshall."
'That just sounds wrong… Should I tell them that I'm friends with the goblins and some vampires?'
I shrugged, "Well I don't know what to say… It just comes naturally to me."
As we entered the West tower, the ghost of Fat Fryer came through the ground and greeted us, "Good afternoon, young Puffs. Mr. Witcherly, do you have a moment for a chat?"
'Ah, so, they finally wanted to talk…'
I gave a nod to the ghost and turned to my friends, "Guys, I'll meet you at the Great Hall for dinner later. Kev, Naomi and Justin, Don't forget to visit the hospital wing."
My friends were puzzled but just agreed and continued walking back to the Hogwarts Castle.
Fat Fryer tucked his arm inside his sleeves, "Please follow me, Mr.Witcherly."
The ghost led me to the empty classroom where our H of M class was held.
The door closed and the other three house ghosts appeared through the ceiling.
Though I'm curious about their purpose, I still greeted them, "Good afternoon, Sir Nick, Bloody Baron, and Lady Ravenclaw. I get a feeling that this is about Uncle Merlin, but I'm not sure what or why exactly."
Helena came forward, "Let me start first. As you know, Merlin is an alumnus of the school under Uncle Salazar. After he graduated, he tried to learn from other powerful wizards and witches during that period..."
"... At that time, Merlin had already made a name for himself but kept a low profile. The Hogwarts Four had already agreed, long before they had a falling out with each other, that Merlin was to be named as the first Headmaster, but…"
"... Some old families of wizards and witches at that time started to plot against the muggles to settle the old grudges before the building of the school…"
"... But before they could act out their plan, a prophecy was made by The Witch of Endor, an immortal seer, about the rightful king of England…"
'Woah! I didn't expect Nana to be mentioned'
"... It was Merlin who searched and found Arthur Pendragon. With Merlin as his mentor, the plan of the wizard families was stopped."
Throughout her story, I just kept quiet. I'm pretty sure what she said is just a summary of what happened. I then asked them, "Okaayy… So. What is it that you want?"
The Baron brazenly said, "Can that bookworm take over the Headmaster's position?!"
'Eh?!' I frown and ask them, "Why?"
"To put it simply, we are dissatisfied with Dumbledore..."said Sir Nick sighing, "We won't go into details, but Albus involves himself in politics too much and the school, especially the students, are being dragged into what conflict he is involved in."
"... He denied that he craves power but uses his name to lead political movements behind the scenes."
Fat Fryer explains further, "Unfortunately, no wizard can measure up to Dumbledore's qualification and prestige..."
"Except for that bookworm, Merlin." finished the Baron.
I agree to what they said about no other wizard can hold a candle against Dumbledore in terms of strength and prestige , and also that Uncle Merlin can easily take the Headmaster position, but…
"I'm sorry… but Uncle Merlin already said to me that he doesn't want to involve himself with the wizarding world. He even turned down being my legal council if ever I get myself in trouble with the Ministry." I said, while excluding the part that I'm going to be Merlin's heir.
The ghosts' looked defeated, hearing me, I just said, "I'll still tell him what you said, but don't get your hopes up for a favorable reply."
They gave me a hopeful look and nodded.
Leaving the ghost, I walked out of the classroom and made my way to the Great Hall.
On the way, I frowned when Dumbledore 'coincidentally' appeared and greeted me, "Good 'day, Mr. Witcherly. Funny running into you-"
"Oh Merlin! I thought you'll say Happy Valentine's Day!…" I panicked.
Dumbledore quickly cough, "*Cough… Lad, your sense of humor is not amusing."
With a snort, I playfully said, "You might tattle on me to the Flamels, but note that they also told me stories about you and your past… 'relationship', Headmaster."
*Cough* The Headmaster rubbed his beard with a frown and quickly changed the topic, "Marshall, regarding what the four ghosts said…--"
I continue walking alongside him, rolled my eyes and just said, "They were not wrong, Headmaster. You involve yourself in politics too much that I started to wonder why you keep declining to being the Minister of Magic."
Dumbledore was going to say something but I cut him off, "Don't deny it. Even to this day, you keep answering to Fudge's letters and giving him advice. Fudge has no qualms letting everyone know that he's receiving advice from you. Now, those opposed to him think that they are battling with you."
"... Instead of exposing Fudge as an incompetent buffoon that he is, people can't call him out fearing you."
Dumbledore stopped walking, and so did I.
After a moment of silence, he said, "I made mistakes in the past, Marshall, and know myself too well. I don't trust myself wielding great political power."
I yelled at him, "If you don't trust yourself to being in such a position, then what makes you think you're fit to be the Headmaster of a school that shapes the lives of young wizards and witches… Why? Because it's easier to manipulate kids than adults?"
"You are self-aware of your follies, Headmaster, but… you don't have the desire to change and improve."
Turning around and leaving the dumbfounded old man, I continued walking back.
~end chapter ~
Next chapter is on April 1st.
