Filch's Request

Halloween hadn't even arrived, but the festive atmosphere had already settled in early, with the castle lit up bright and cheerful.

If they could just clear their minds and forget about the homework assigned by the Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts, the students of Hogwarts should have been able to relax and enjoy a few pleasant days with a lighter mood.

It was just a pity that reality was often cruel.

There were countless students who hadn't finished their assignments even on the eve of the festival.

They couldn't forget their homework, but they also couldn't bring themselves to diligently cram it during the holiday.

And so, they decided—to spend the festival with a sense of urgency!

Yes, the homework was endless.

But Halloween only came once a year.

Except for a few Ravenclaw students, no one would give it up.

Li Wei, as usual, helped Filch decorate the Great Hall, quickly completing his task.

During this time, Filch struck up a conversation with him again.

"Professor Li Wei—"

His expression showed some hesitation as he took out a handgun with a rather familiar design from his pocket.

"I heard this is an alchemical weapon you made?"

"Yes," Li Wei's expression was even colder than usual. "And I don't think it belongs to you."

A flicker of disdain crossed Filch's face, but facing Li Wei, his attitude immediately became respectful again.

"I know, I confiscated it from a mischievous young wizard—don't worry, I'm only holding onto it for a while. Once he reflects on his actions, I'll naturally return it to him."

A male wizard, caught by Filch? Was it that fourth-year student who played Rienne?

Li Wei stared at Filch expressionlessly.

"Y-yes, that's right."

Under Li Wei's gaze, Filch seemed a bit nervous.

He saw a glimmer of hope in Li Wei and was afraid of being rejected.

He carefully chose his words, trying his best not to displease Li Wei.

"This alchemical weapon of yours seems to be able to directly guide students to cast a specific spell? I—I think this kind of guidance might be useful to me too, but it requires too much magic, which I can't do."

Filch stared at Li Wei hopefully.

Li Wei understood what he meant but didn't rush to respond.

Seeing that Li Wei wasn't replying, Filch looked disappointed but continued:

"I hope you can make a simpler alchemical item for me—preferably one that guides the simplest spells, like Lumos, for example, is that possible?"

He looked at Li Wei with an almost pleading expression.

"If there's anything I can do, you can command me freely. As long as you can help me, I'm willing to be your servant!"

"We're colleagues, you don't have to be like this."

Looking at the old squib before him, who had longed to learn magic for many years, Li Wei shook his head and stopped him from bowing.

"I can design an alchemical item that meets your requirements. You just need to promise me one thing—before the end of today, this alchemical toy in your hand must be returned to its owner. Can you do that?"

"Yes! Absolutely! Thank you so much, Professor Li Wei—you don't know—I—I've dreamed of learning magic—"

Filch was already stammering, his lips trembling violently, his teeth chattering, unable to form a complete sentence.

But after confirming that Li Wei had agreed, he became anxious again. Before leaving, he couldn't help but confirm once more:

"Is it really okay? I've hardly done anything for you."

"You don't need to, Filch. If one day you can truly help me, I believe you will."

Facing Filch's uneasy feelings, Li Wei gave him a mysterious smile.

If Filch could truly gain the ability to cast spells through this method, it would mean that Filch had officially become a wizard.

And Li Wei's help would be equivalent to giving him a new life.

Legend has it that in the wizarding world, when one wizard saves another's life, a certain connection forms between them.

Li Wei was quite curious to see whether this connection was a coincidence or truly destined.

However, if possible, Li Wei hoped this connection would never be needed.

Watching the pathetic and detestable middle-aged man leave, another thought crossed his mind.

If his alchemical weapon could truly enable Filch, a squib, to gain the ability to cast spells, it would likely spark a revolution in the wizarding world.

In the field of alchemy, it could also earn him considerable fame—perhaps a good way to get acquainted with Nicolas Flamel.

Hmm—in the past, to avoid war, he had lived incognito and kept a low profile, thus his reputation in the wizarding world was not well-known.

Now that it was unavoidable, should he consider changing his approach?

However, once he chose to do so, he feared that his only free time for dedicated magical research on weekends would be completely occupied.

Moreover, Li Wei was still hesitant about whether to promote this alchemical weapon.

If this alchemical weapon were confined to the school, it would merely be a student's toy.

He couldn't even predict the consequences if it were to become widespread in society.

Never mind, thinking too much is useless. Everything still depends on whether Filch's squib symptoms can truly be cured through this intervention.

On the day of the Halloween party.

Jiamer reluctantly left with Qiao Weili, with Cedric trailing beside them, his expression a little strained.

As for Li Wei, he had no interest in Halloween.

On Halloween, he locked himself in the basement, quietly studying Fiendfyre.

Following previous research, they had already confirmed the emotional hypothesis of Fiendfyre.

Satisfyingly, the emotion of Fiendfyre did not depend on the user; rather, the spell itself possessed a spreading characteristic.

In other words, to use this magic freely required control ability more than strong emotions.

Rather than using Fiendfyre for large-scale attacks, Li Wei wanted to explore the spell's potential in close combat.

Their main focus over the past month had been on how to use Fiendfyre's inextinguishable and adhesive properties to achieve the effect of a small tracking projectile.

Instead of igniting large areas, they attempted to instantly generate a "rice-sized" Fiendfyre seed at the fingertip or wand tip.

If Transfiguration could also be incorporated to transform the Fiendfyre seed into a miniature creature, it should significantly increase the flame's power and flight speed.

However, this was still far from achievable.

For some reason, transforming large-scale Fiendfyre was easy, but small-scale Fiendfyre was not—similarly, the power and spreading speed of miniature Fiendfyre decreased.

The result of a month of studying in his spare time was a small flame seed quietly burning in Li Wei's hand at that moment.

The test results did not meet Li Wei's expectations at all.

Although the flame possessed spreading characteristics, it was likely due to its weak start; both its spreading speed and power were unsatisfactory.

This month of research, apart from allowing them to better understand Fiendfyre's characteristics, seemed to have yielded nothing.

However, this was the norm.

Li Wei was already accustomed to it.

If the effect of a small tracking projectile was not ideal, then he would change his approach.