Argus Filch, the caretaker of Hogwarts Castle, always enjoyed catching students breaking rules and was disliked by most students for it.
For the first time, his perpetually grim and stern face broke into a smile. His sunken cheeks lifted, and the wrinkles around his eyes crisscrossed, making his smile look quite peculiar.
The scrawny Mrs. Norris squatted at his feet, her slender tail hooked around Filch's trousers, her bulbous eyes fixed unblinkingly on Wade.
Wade showed no unusual expression. He nodded and said,
"You mean Cleaning Crabs? They can certainly help with cleaning, but they're not as diligent and thorough as House-elves. They might not get everything perfectly clean and sometimes miss some hidden dirty spots."
"No problem, no problem," Filch said happily. "As long as they can work... How much do they cost?"
He asked, holding a heavy money bag.
Hogwarts provided food and lodging year-round, and Filch stayed at the school all the time. Aside from occasionally going out to buy alcohol, he didn't have many expenses.
So, even though the school's salary wasn't high, Filch had a considerable sum saved up, and he asked the question with full confidence.
"Cleaning Crabs aren't a finished product yet. If you need them, I can give you a cost price... Fifteen Silver Sickles each," Wade said.
This was a very fair price, much better than Filch had expected. He immediately said boastfully, "Then I'll buy ten... no, twenty!"
Wade couldn't help but chuckle. "I don't have that many. These crabs haven't been mass-produced yet. I've only made seven myself in total. Hmm... I'll keep one, and I can sell you the remaining six."
"Uh... alright."
Filch said, slightly disappointed. But when he thought that most of the troublesome cleaning work could be handed over to those crabs, he still felt happy.
"Follow me," Wade said. "I've put all the Cleaning Crabs in the common room."
As they walked up the stairs, Filch's mood improved, and he became more talkative.
"I'm really fed up... Frog brains, rat guts, and slug slime... Those little devils always get that stuff everywhere..."
Filch couldn't help but complain, then added to Wade,
"Of course, you're an exception, my boy. I know you never make a mess... And those Quidditch players, tracking mud everywhere..."
Students passing in the corridor saw someone actually walking with Filch and thought he had been caught by the caretaker. They quickly dodged aside and then looked at Wade with sympathetic eyes.
Several enthusiastic younger students hurried off to warn the rest of the SSC.
"Oh no, oh no!"
A little girl, grabbing Padma's hand, said in a panic, "Filch caught Wade Gray, and he's coming for you too!"
"What?!"
Padma was greatly startled. She first ran back to the Umbrella Room, and seeing that most people were there, she quickly told them the news.
Everyone exclaimed in shock, "By what right is he catching people?!"
"Has the fight from last time been exposed?" Theo asked anxiously.
"It must be Malfoy and his cronies tattling!" Harry said with certainty.
"He can't just catch people!" Padma stomped her foot. "I'm going to find Professor Flitwick!"
She flung open the door and rushed out. Hermione, grabbing her face, shrieked, "Our club doesn't violate school rules! I've memorized all the school rules!"
"Oh, come on, Hermione, we've broken so many school rules we can't even count them ourselves!"
Fred clapped his hands loudly and exclaimed, "What are you waiting for?! Pack up and run!"
Everyone jumped up as if waking from a dream, hastily gathered what they thought might be incriminating items, and rushed out of the Umbrella Room clutching their bags.
The corridor was quiet, with no sign of an ambush.
They breathlessly hid their things in a nearby empty classroom, then, still uneasy, turned and slipped back like ordinary students.
"—Did you hear? Wade Gray was caught."
"By whom?"
"Filch."
"I wonder what school rule he broke..."
Rumors spread among the students faster than an epidemic.
It wasn't surprising for the Weasley Twins to be caught, and it was commonplace for Gryffindors like Harry and Hermione to be caught. But for an honor student, and a Ravenclaw at that, Wade Gray, to be caught, and seemingly to be a "snitch," was truly strange.
So Wade noticed that there seemed to be an unusually large number of students in the corridor today, all secretly observing him. But when he looked their way, they all averted their gaze.
There were also some familiar classmates who looked at him with complex expressions.
Some gave him a knowing look—What's going on? Need help?
Others secretly pulled out various prank items, seemingly ready to get Filch, who was nearby, to create an escape opportunity for him.
Wade quickly understood the reason and couldn't help but feel a little amused and exasperated. He shook his head at some of them, signaling them not to cause trouble.
But Filch didn't understand why there were more and more students in his line of sight, as if the entire school had come out into the corridor. He glared fiercely at some of them, ready to catch them red-handed at any moment.
The two soon arrived at the Umbrella Room. Students watched from a distance at the end of the corridor. They saw Wade successfully open the door, but Filch stood at the entrance and did not go inside.
Even Mrs. Norris squatted obediently beside him, without her usual arrogance.
A string of question marks appeared above the students' heads.
It wasn't until they saw Wade bring out several Cleaning Crabs and hand them to Filch, who then counted out a few Galleons and Silver Sickles for Wade before happily carrying the crabs away.
Everyone suddenly understood, then felt a mix of resentment and disappointment.
The sound of hurried footsteps approached, and Professor Flitwick, practically being dragged along by Padma, kept shouting:
"Slow down, slow down... Oh, Merlin, don't run so fast... What in the world happened?"
The first girl who had spread the rumor shrank back and quietly slipped away.
One more chapter later
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