In the middle of the corridor outside Filch's Prefects' bathroom, he hunched over as he carefully wiped the glass cabinet doors. Hearing Loren's question, his body stiffened slightly, and he bent even lower.
Before him stood neatly arranged crystal display cases, clear and gleaming in the candlelight. Inside were honors earned by students of past years: shields representing the best players on Quidditch teams, Golden Cups denoting each year's House Cup winners, as well as Silver Cups, badges, framed moving photographs...
In the dim light, he was polishing a Special Contribution Award. It bore the inscription: "Gaspard Singleton, Hufflepuff, 1970–1977."
A prefect from that year's Hufflepuff class, outstanding in Potions Master and Herbology, poor at Transfiguration. He had earned seven certificates in his N.E.W.T. examinations and invented the Self-Stirring Cauldron after graduation. As a result, he had been included in A History of Magic while still alive and had recently appeared in "Wizard of the Month."
As caretaker Filch looked at the name engraved on the base, this information flashed through his mind.
He had spent nearly thirty years in this Castle. Over those three decades, he had wiped these prizes countless times. In truth, he knew the awards they represented and the names engraved on their bases better than some professors did.
During the first few years after coming to Hogwarts to take up the post of caretaker, whenever he was alone, he could not help imagining: if he had inherited his parents' Magic Power too, if he had received a Hogwarts acceptance letter at eleven, if he had possessed a wand of his own and studied magic like those students... might Argus Filch's name have appeared here as well?
But he was a genuine Muggle-born.
Since the last century, the Ministry of Magic had placed great importance on