Become a Director

Chapter 43: Go Be the Director

Unknowingly, Charles found that a "node" in his "memory" had arrived, and it was the pumpkins on the dining table that reminded him of this node's arrival.

He looked at Ron, who was wolfing down his food, and then at Hermione, who was reading while eating breakfast. He thought these two children shouldn't be causing trouble anymore.

In Charms class, Professor Flitwick began teaching everyone the Levitation Charm.

After a brief chaotic flight by Leefur in the classroom, Professor Flitwick divided the students into pairs to practice. He handed out a feather to each pair and said as he walked around, "Alright, make sure you don't forget that subtle wrist movement we've been practicing! A flick and a wiggle, remember, a flick and a wiggle. Pronouncing the spell correctly is also very important—don't forget the wizard Baruffio, who said 'f' as 's' and found himself lying on the floor with a... standing on his chest."

"Bang!"

The first student in the class to make the feather leave the desk was a classmate who seemed to be from Africa. He just made quite a bit of noise.

Professor Flitwick saw it was Seamus and shook his head helplessly, continuing, "A buffalo."

Charles watched the half feather slowly float down from the ceiling, also shaking his head and saying, "I don't think that's a Levitation Charm."

Seamus asked him smugly, "Did the feather fly or not?"

Hermione, sitting in front, was startled. She turned around and said sternly to Seamus, "This isn't the right attitude for learning spells. If you don't take it seriously, you won't learn it properly."

Seamus responded uninterestingly, "Yes, yes, yes. It's not like the fire was any smaller than mine when we burned the lawn that day. Do you have to be so petty? Everyone makes mistakes."

Hermione was angered, let out a "hmph," and turned back around.

"Wonderful!" Professor Flitwick's delighted voice suddenly rang out. "Lumbardon, you did it perfectly! Your grandmother will be proud of you. Gryffindor gets three points!"

In front of Neville, a feather was steadily floating a meter above the desk, motionless, as if an invisible hand were holding it up.

Professor Flitwick asked Neville to demonstrate at the front of the class, and he did it perfectly.

It was the first time he had ever been asked to demonstrate in class, and he was so excited that his face turned a little red. He felt like he was floating a bit on his way back to his seat.

Charles said to Seamus, "Later, I'll set up a game like Quidditch to practice the Levitation Charm. Don't cry if you lose to Neville then."

Upon hearing that there would be a game, Seamus became serious.

Charles corrected some of the details of his movements, telling him to use less force and reduce the power output so that his magical power could be controlled.

"Bang..."

This time, although the feather was blasted up, it managed to hover a palm's height above the desk, looking quite presentable.

In front of them, Ron weakly waved his wand: "Wingardium Leviosa..."

The feather lay quietly on the desk, not moving at all.

"Your hand gesture is wrong!" Hermione immediately told him. "You're swinging too slowly, and the wiggle is too small."

Ron's arms were still sore from the physical training Harry had put him through in the dormitory these past few days, so his wand movements were a bit clumsy. He retorted irritably when she said that, muttering things like "you can you do."

Hermione felt like her good intentions were unappreciated. Angrily, she cast the spell with her wand, and the feather slowly rose, floating in the air.

However, Hermione did not receive praise from Professor Flitwick for this. The professor was attentively watching Charles explain the movements and incantation of the Levitation Charm to Seamus step by step, emphasizing at which point to retract his magical power to avoid an explosion.

Seamus felt like he understood. He cast the spell at the small piece of feather.

This time, there was no explosion. The feather slowly floated up about two fingers' height and then stopped.

"Very good, very good!" Professor Flitwick said to Charles. "You have a deep understanding of the Levitation Charm. If you keep trying, you'll soon be able to cast it silently."

He paused and continued, "The Levitation Charm has a wide range of applications. In magical combat, there's an ancient school of thought that begins by casting the Levitation Charm on the enemy, immobilizing them in the air, and then attacking at leisure."

The boys were clearly more interested in this. Neville and Harry, sitting behind them, both leaned forward to listen to the discussion about combat.

At this moment, Dumbledore suddenly appeared and called Charles away.

"I wouldn't want to disturb your class," Dumbledore said to Charles on the way back to his office. "But our Minister of Magic, Mr. Fudge, and the Director of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, Mr. Scamander, are insistent on seeing you now. We need to get this done so we can have a pleasant Christmas."

Charles understood the situation immediately. The Ministry looking for him could only mean one thing besides being thrown into Azkaban: the matter of the Centaur Liaison Office.

Fudge had brought the Director of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures with him. The Centaur Liaison Office fell under the jurisdiction of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. Since no Aurors were present, it wasn't about arresting him.

"Are you Charles Smith?" Fudge asked, looking Charles up and down as Dumbledore had described him. "Are you really on good terms with the Centaurs?"

Mr. Scamander also said to Charles, "Mr. Smith, please recount your interactions with the Centaurs in detail so that the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures can make a judgment."

Charles immediately replied, "Certainly, Your Excellency, Minister, Your Excellency, Director. I've known my Centaur friends for some time..."

He recounted the excuse he used for meeting the Centaurs, mentioned some details of their trade, and also brought up the threat of the Acromantulas.

Technical issues were the responsibility of Director Scamander, who was one of Newt Scamander's sons and had extensive research on magical creatures.

Charles "remembered" that he was also Luna's father-in-law.

Mr. Scamander was always able to catch some details Charles was hiding, such as whether the Centaur maidens wore clothes.

"It's not appropriate for a gentleman to ask such questions," Charles said, feigning anger. "Centaurs have different customs, and we should treat them with a normal mindset, not with lewd eyes!"

Mr. Scamander replied somewhat awkwardly, "I just wanted to confirm if you had indeed met them."

Charles said to him, "If Your Excellency still has any doubts, I can arrange for the Great Elder to meet you."

Mr. Scamander immediately shook his head, seeming a bit afraid of meeting the Great Elder, and secretly glanced at Dumbledore.

Dumbledore just looked at him with a half-smile. Charles understood; it was likely that this leader had not been a model student during his time at Hogwarts.

Mr. Scamander said to Fudge, "Your Excellency, Minister, I believe Mr. Smith is capable of serving as the Director of the Centaur Liaison Office. He may be able to help the Ministry communicate better with the Centaurs."

Fudge glanced at Dumbledore and said dismissively, "Alright, alright, it's settled then."

He then said to Charles, "Once the Ministry makes the official decision, Mr. Scamander will inform you. You can recruit three assistants. Report the chosen candidates to the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures."

"The salary... it won't be low."

In Fudge's opinion, this was Dumbledore using the Ministry of Magic to curry favor, so just going through the motions was fine. After all, the Centaur Liaison Office hadn't done anything serious in all these years.

However, Mr. Scamander didn't see it that way. He believed that Charles's ability to build good relationships with Centaurs at such a young age indicated he was a promising talent. With some cultivation, he might become an expert in the field of magical creatures.

Fudge left, but Mr. Scamander stayed behind. He discussed many topics about magical creatures with Charles until it was almost time for dinner.