"Aha, I've caught you, a little wizard who's not sleeping in the middle of the night. I'm going to put you in detention." Filch said viciously, his eyes and mouth crooked, holding a lamp.
"Oh, Mr. Filch, I just came from Professor Snape's office, with the Head of House's permission."
He casually took two steps, drawing Filch's gaze to himself.
As long as it didn't affect his own interests, he never minded doing things that would make others owe him a favor. This was an experience learned from wandering the lower rungs of society with the old wizard—you never know what effect something you've done will have later on.
Professor Snape's reputation was clearly very useful. Filch asked, somewhat reluctantly, "Did you just see Harry Potter? No, there must have been others with him."
Anton was amused, looking utterly baffled, "Who would wander around the castle in the middle of the night instead of sleeping? It's empty and there's nothing fun here."
"Who knows!" Filch waved his arms. "There are just some who are that bored, always some little wizards not sleeping at night, even throwing Dungbombs in the corridors. It takes me forever to clean up every time."
Muttering to himself, he was about to continue forward, scaring the four little kids under the suit of armor into shrinking further into the shadows.
A few more steps, and he would really catch them.
It was their own fault for being too curious, wanting to observe Ron's mysterious cousin. Otherwise, they should have already run back to the Gryffindor dormitory by now.
The most infuriating thing was that Anton made a funny face at the four of them from behind Filch's back.
This scared them into huddling tightly together.
One step, two steps, Filch tried hard to open his eyes wide, scanning every corner. He knew all too well where little wizards would hide.
Just as the lamp in his hand was about to shine on the suit of armor, Anton chuckled, "Mr. Filch."
Filch turned his head.
"Have you ever heard of 'Scourgify'?"
Filch froze completely. His face quickly darkened. He had a secret he didn't want to tell others, but it was a secret everyone actually knew—he was a Squib and couldn't cast any spells.
The newly enrolled first-year student clearly didn't seem to know, showing off his knowledge rather smugly, "The Scouring Charm, a very simple spell. A gentle wave of the wand, and no matter how many Dungbombs are thrown in the corridor, they all disappear."
Filch walked back angrily, looking coldly at Anton, "Don't be a smart-aleck, little wizard!"
Anton laughed, "It seems you do know about it."
He shrugged, "I know someone who can make a device that reinforces the 'Scourgify' spell, so even a little wizard who can't cast spells yet can easily use it."
The little wizard was showing off his knowledge again, but this time, Filch was tempted.
"Who?" Filch's voice became strangely hoarse. He looked at Anton, a little nervous and a little expectant, "Who can make such a device!"
Let alone Scourgify, even if it could only cast the simplest, most basic Wand-Lighting Charm, he would absolutely treasure it!
He'd hug it to sleep every day. No, he couldn't hug it to sleep, what if he crushed it!
How he longed to be able to cast a spell!
"Fred and George, my cousins." Anton smiled brightly.
He raised his eyebrows, "You know, they're very mischievous, and almost no one can order them to do anything, but you have enough authority to make them help you."
Filch got all excited, "Of course, maybe if I'm just not so strict with them, they'll be grateful."
Then he stared intently at Anton, "Can they really do it?"
"They just told me about this a few days ago. I sponsored them with a few Gold Galleons." Anton patted his shoulder lightly. "They're struggling because they don't have a place to properly research this kind of magical device. Maybe you could arrange a place for them, and supervise them while you're at it?"
Filch's breathing became rapid, "I... I'll talk to them tomorrow."
He walked back somewhat flustered. From a distance, the hand holding the lamp handle waved, as if casting the Scouring Charm. The gesture was as if he had secretly practiced it thousands of times, without the slightest mistake.
"Scourgify!"
"Scourgify!"
"Scourgify!"
The murmuring of the spell, accompanied by footsteps that seemed to have grown lighter, gradually faded away.
Anton watched his retreating back in silence, feeling a strange sense of emotion. Perhaps Filch's biggest mistake was coming to live in this castle full of wizards, watching little wizards casually squander the talent he yearned for but could never attain, without cherishing it at all.
Of course, that wasn't the most important thing.
The important thing was, he could finally have his own laboratory at Hogwarts and continue his research.
Hehe, Mr. Filch would surely burst with the greatest enthusiasm to help them find a good spot for it.
Nice!
Anton, in a cheerful mood, bid farewell to the four little kids, "Good night."
The four of them dazedly poked their heads out from under the armor and said in unison, "Good night."
As Anton also walked away, the four of them finally came out, looking at each other.
"Did you hear that? He came back from Snape's office in the middle of the night, and he was planning to cast a terrible spell in the castle!" Harry's focus was always rather peculiar.
Ron seemed a bit depressed, "George and the others never tell me about their inventions."
Neville looked at that calm and composed figure, "I wish I could be like him."
Looking at these three boring boys, Hermione rolled her eyes, "I'm going back!" She turned and left.
...
...
...
"What?" George and Fred looked at each other, their expressions odd.
Anton sliced open a piece of bread, stuffed cilantro, roasted meat, and a bit of mushroom sauce inside, planning to make a hamburger or a roujiamo.
"I convinced Filch to help us find a place for our research, and I placed an order with him. Although it's just a replica wand, it's at least a good start."
"Wow~" George looked amazed. "I still find it incredible."
Fred looked Anton up and down and laughed, "Maybe the Weasley family really does need a Slytherin. Anton, doing things with you is just too much fun."
"Right?" Anton smiled and took a big bite of the bread, savoring the fresh aroma of the mushrooms and the crispy-on-the-outside, tender-on-the-inside roasted meat. "I told you, we'll be great brothers."
He raised his eyebrows, "Remember that plan I told you about, the campus tuck shop? Maybe we can start from here."
"Hahaha." George's face lit up. "If that's the case, Filch is going to regret it."
Fred shrugged, "No, no, George, our Dungbombs will sell out, and Filch will definitely enjoy using 'Scourgify' to his heart's content."
A perfect closed loop!
The thought of that scene made Anton go tsk-tsk. He continued to eat his breakfast heartily and took a big gulp of juice.
In the distance.
At the Gryffindor long table.
Ron looked at them with some jealousy, "I'm starting to dislike Anton. He stole my brothers."
Hermione rolled her eyes, "May I ask what you're doing right now?"
Ron looked at the homework in front of him and Harry with a strange expression, "Alright, at least he lets us copy his homework. This is all your fault, Hermione. If you were willing to let us copy your homework, I wouldn't have to go to him."
"You should do it yourselves!" Hermione stood up angrily.
Harry and Ron looked at each other and nodded.
Then they went back to burying their heads in copying. When they finally stopped their nightly wanderings and had time to do their homework properly, they wouldn't have to copy this Slytherin villain's homework.
Yes, it was happily decided.