ch 83 Addressing some issues

March 29, 1992, 9:22 am Sunday, Under the waters of the Black Lake

-Marshall's POV-

*Bam🪨❗*Bam 🪨❗*Bam 🪨❗*Bam🪨❗

I'm moving rocks to cover a marble plate with intricate carvings that I created that will suck water in and transfer it inside the new greenhouse.

After two weeks, Professor Sprout and I had finalized the layout of the two hectare land.

There will be a small rock formation at the far end corner of the space and the water will come out at the top.

There will be several small ponds scattered throughout, and are connected by shallow streams.

The flow of water will end at the pond with the lowest elevation and deepest depth. Another marble plate will suck the water out of the greenhouse to a fourth plate I placed at another location in the Black Lake.

Through the constant insistence of others, some ornamental plants will also be added along with bridges, benches, tables, sculptures and a small gazebo at the center.

We had already allocated areas for root vegetables, leafy greens, cucurbits and commonly used herbs.

For trees, we did decide to have one or two sampling for each variety of frequently eaten fruits and nuts. But since there will only be a couple of each, I have decided to procure the most premium varieties during the summer break.

Sprout and Professor Kettleburn suggested adding a bit of fauna like fairies, butterflies, and hummingbirds to help pollinate the plants. For bees, I have adjusted the security to allow only the worker bees to pass through the front door. Though a honey farm was a nice suggestion, I deemed it a bit of a hazard if they start to build their hive inside or around the greenhouse where the students will be roaming around.

In our discussion, we also decided in add some kois and ducks to liven up the waters.

"MmmmmMmm?" The Giant Squid is asking if it should guard the marble plates.

I smiled and said, "No need, Big Guy. I've asked the merpeople to check up on the plates and clean up any blockage in exchange for some produce."

The house elves and the merpeople already agreed to the exchange. I did ask the centaurs if they also wanted to open up trade, but they politely declined, as they are mostly self-sufficient in the Forbidden Forest.

Now that I'm done setting up the marble plates, I bid farewell to the squid and swim back to the bank near the new greenhouse.

As I'm making my way back, I noticed a crowd waiting for me by the bank. 'Uhm… why are they waiting there?'

When I emerged from the water and started to walk up, the crowd all looked at me with mix expression. Some averting their gaze, some staring intensely, there were those that were whistling at me.....

?!…

I looked down and remembered that I'm just wearing my black boardshorts, shirtless and wet all over.

Though I'm confident and proud of my lean, athletic physique… being stared at by numerous students is very embarrassing. It makes me feel like an exhibitionist.

Immediately, I took out my pouch and took out my thick black bathrobe and covered myself.

"What's everyone doing here?" I asked my fellow Hufflepuffs.

Wayne and the guys were still laughing seeing me embarrassed, so Susan explained in a low voice, "Well... some students kept asking us where were you… and you did say you didn't mind us answering them honestly, so…"

Hearing her explanation, I finally got the whole picture.

There were only a handful of people who were looking for me…. but since they were scared or intimidated, they decided to bring a friend or two… and since there were safety in numbers… they invited others to come… and it snowballed into a mob.

From a quick count, there are well over one hundred students here, not including Susan's group of nine who got worried how I will react to the mob.

Other than Susan's group, the other first years from other houses are not here. Cedric, Cho, the older Weasleys are also not present.

Those who really are close to me, or at least acquainted with me, know that I don't like being disturbed for shallow reasons as 'forming connections'.

Even Draco's group were smart enough to shadow behind Tracy, Daphne, and Millicent when they're being chummy with me.

Scratching my head, I'm troubled with what to do with all of them. But then… I thought of a great idea, 'Lets TOM SAWYER the heck out of these as* kissers'.

There is still water dripping down my hair, so I combed it with my fingers before addressing the crowd, "Hello, everyone! Thank you for volunteering your weekends in helping out with the greenhouse for free…"

Immediately, the crowd reacted…

"Huh? What volunteer work?"

"Hey, did you trick us to come here? You were the only one looking for Witcherly. Why do we also have to work?"

"I remember that I have some homework to finish. Bye!"

"Sorry, I'm suddenly experiencing my period. And feel a cramp coming up…."

"I'm hearing my mom calling…."

".....?…."

The mob slowly dwindled to just eight students.

I look over them and ask Siri their names and motives for reaching out to me. As I have guessed, their parents work under Umbridge and were ordered to approach me.

With a sigh, I sternly said to them, "Look… I try to be friendly to anyone, but I'm not oblivious to why you guys are looking for me. You can tell your parents what I'm like in school… stuff that's obvious and true…"

".... If that pink toad faced lady, try to pressure your parents to make you do things against your will, just report it to me, and I'll deal with her after the school year-end."

The eight students were startled when they found out that I know everything. I can see their panicked expressions, and they started to back off and run back to the castle.

I kind of felt shitty knowing they were put in such a situation because of me. For now, the only thing I can console them is giving Umbridge a warning.

When I sensed another soul signature staying in Hagrid's hut, I figured that he got the dragon egg in advance. Which means that's Quirrell knows how to bypass Fluffy.

Without unicorns in the forest, the whole detention and Harry's encounter with Quirrell will not happen. Or fate, a.k.a. Dumbledore, will still ensure that Harry will meet Voldy in some way.

Though it might appear that my focus is on the greenhouse, I'm actually keeping my distance from the important characters and letting the story progress and watching out for any more deviation.

With the older students gone, I can go back to finishing the greenhouse's water works.

Ruffling my wet hair, I sighed and turned to my friends and said, "Well… I think they'll stop snooping around after today. Do you want to check the updates in the greenhouse?"

Wayne quickly asked, "You're not planning to make us work for free, are you?"

"Pfft!... No. The house elves are more than enough to do the job." I quickly said. But I then I suggested, "But we have some saplings that are perfect for practicing the Herbivicus Charm that we learn last month."

Their eyes lit up when hearing about practicing spells. They pretty much trust me when it comes to 'tips' about spell casting, so they quickly agreed and accompanied me in the greenhouse.

Justin scratched his head and mumbled, "Wait, did we just agree to work here for free?"

I quickly dismissed him, " No, I'm providing you guys with valuable practice and experience. We can even have our lunch in here."

Everyone rolled their eyes at me, thinking, 'Yeah. We got tricked!'

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9:34 am

In a room inside Hogwarts, the four house ghosts are having a meeting…

"This is unfair. Why don't I have a right to enter the new greenhouse?" complained the Bloody Baron.

Sir Nicholas stretched his mustache and said, "It's not like it's a big deal. I, too, don't have access to it, and you don't see me complaining."

Baron frowned, "I saw you talking to that half-giant about the 'zoo' they are planning to build next school year. You're aiming for that, ain't you?"

"Oh my… Haha… Guilty. Do you want to behead me? Please. By all means..." The Gryffindor house ghosts playfully pulled his head up and exposed the inside of his neck that is barely connected to his body my a small stretch of skin.

Fat Fryer tried to reason with the Baron, "Baron, you don't have any interest regarding plants or magical beast. Why are you complaining?"

The Baron looked over at the ghosts of Helena Ravenclaw and just remained silent.

Sir Nicholas and Fryer saw this and understood what the Slytherin house ghosts wants. He wants to have something to be under him and Helena's name, like how the new greenhouse became under Helena and Fryer's control.

"I'm sorry, old chap. I'm truly interested in that zoo they are planning…" Nicholas said. But he then suggested, "You can look for Marshall if you want to have a place of your own. Something more in line with your interests."

The Baron became quiet and thought hard about Sir Nick's suggestion. He asked, "Does it have to be outside the Castle wall?"

Surprisingly, Helena was the one who answered. She raised her right palm slightly and a wisp of white flame appeared and explained, "Yes, Marshall explained to me and Fryer that any new facility will be outside the castle walls. He doesn't want to connect the security measure he installed in 'his' greenhouse to the castle's wards that are under the direct control of the Headmaster."

The wisp of white flame on her hand is directly connected to the security defenses in Marshall's greenhouse, giving Helena absolute control of the facility.

In fact, Helena really should be in control of the whole school. But as a ghost, she can't use magic and a wand, which is a necessity to command the castle wards.

In Marshall's greenhouse, he used his soul magic and bind the core wards to Helena's ghost and gave a duplicate 'key' to Fryer.

Looking at the wisp of white flame on her hand, Helena plays with the idea of asking Marshall to tamper with the castle's ward and bind it to her.

She also remembered that wretched soul that latched itself to her mother's diadem. 'Would Young Witcherly be able to do something about it? Why not ask? It could also remove the curse plaguing the DADA professor position.'

~end chapter ~

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Hi guys! Author here.

Sorry for the slow update. I really shot myself in the foot with following the pacing of the books rather than the movies, and I'm having a hard time getting through some key scenes without losing sense and logic.

I'm always getting stuck in the plot holes in the original Harry Potter story.

Also.... it's SOOO f*cking hot here where I live. Climate change and El Niño is sooo real. I can't think and concentrate to write properly. 🥵🥵🥵🥵

So for now, I want to answer some of the questions that some of you are asking about this novel…

Regarding the references…

Most of you might have already guessed, apart from the Harry Potter story line, I'm inserting stuff from other Novels for the world build up. Mainly… The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel by Michael Scott... There are also elements and cameos from characters from Twilight Saga and Narnia.

The name Merriman Lyon, a.k.a Merlin, is from Susan Cooper's work titled The Dark is Rising. And Ayden, the silver winged falcon, is from Quest for Camelot's version of Merlin. I also intend to add something from The Pagemaster to my version of Merlin.

If you aren't familiar with them, I do recommend reading Michael Scott and Susan Cooper's works. They are worth the read.

Adding time, day, location for each scene is something I thought from when I'm binge-watching Law & Order. 🎵Dung -🎵Dung…

Basically, I'm referencing every book I read and movies and TV series I watched.😛🤗

Do I research?

Yes, i do research first the things I write. From the Harry Potter franchise to the stuff I put in from other work so that it can at least look presentable.

I even watched some of the YouTube videos explaining the lores and theories... guys.. I think I'm in too deep. I even stumbled upon the videos of demonflyingfox which are full of laughs.. try watching the one where Harry Potter as Italian... 🤪🤪🤪

Will there be story arcs outside Harry Potter?

Yes, there are and the first one will be during their summer break when Marshall and friends visit Paris, France.

Marshall's love interest?

Actually, I initially planned to include Marshall's love interest during the Christmas break when the Flemings and Lovegoods returned from France. Other than the Scamanders, there was supposed to be another family that came with them, but I scratched the idea and opted to introduce them later.

SHE is American with Italian heritage.

Will I also include Grindelwald?

For this one, I actually want to ask the readers' opinion. Should I include him?

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These are just some that readers had asked through the comments more than once.

Again sorry for the slow update. Nxt chapter will be next week.

Stay safe and stay hydrated to those , like me, who are suffering due to the summer heat...