Chapter 54: The Working Headmaster
As the Headmaster of Hogwarts, Dumbledore pondered briefly before agreeing, although he stayed at the school year-round and rarely went out, he had been a regular at the Three Broomsticks in the past, and over these years he had often received honey mead sent by Madam Rosmerta.
However, Dumbledore only agreed verbally; he had no intention of working, wanting to take advantage of the good weather to return to his room for a nap, as he had stayed up too late last night, and planned to check the abandoned classroom in the evening, perhaps running into Harry…
While eating breakfast in the Great Hall, the Headmaster indirectly tried to get the Deputy Headmaster to attend in his place, so he could stay at the school to handle the Board of Governors’ liaison affairs.
Professor McGonagall was not surprised at all, slowly swallowing her fried egg and saying she was very happy for the Headmaster to handle those tedious paperwork tasks, although that was the Headmaster’s proper job.
The Headmaster asked a few detailed questions and learned that the paperwork involved auditing the finances of the first half of the school year and calculating the budget declaration for the second half, falling into thought again, but ultimately deciding to have the Deputy Headmaster stay at the school while he personally went to the Three Broomsticks to thank the tavern for its contributions to the school’s Quidditch.
“……”
Professor McGonagall’s expression remained calm as she continued enjoying her breakfast.
Snape had to look after the cold-stricken Quirinus Quirrell, Professor Sprout had to tend to the greenhouse, and Professor McGonagall had to handle the Headmaster’s proper duties; after careful discussion, Hogwarts ultimately decided to send Professors Melvin and Flitwick, led personally by the Headmaster, to help the villagers build houses.
Leaving the castle, the Hogwarts delegation each cast wind- and frost-resistant magic on themselves; Melvin was covered in an improved Bubble-Head Charm, a warm breeze swirled around Professor Flitwick, seemingly a derivative of the Cleaning Charm. Dumbledore showed no visible magic, his silver beard and hair tousled by the wind with snowflakes sticking to his beard, but he was completely unaffected by the cold.
“Your application of the Bubble-Head Charm is very clever, with a bit of an Iron Armor Charm feel; it can’t just be used for staying warm.”
“Professor Flitwick is indeed an expert in the field of charms; just as I was encountering some difficulties in my improvements, the Bubble-Head Charm is only an intermediate charm, and its structure seems unable to bear the Iron Armor Charm—forcefully increasing the magic power causes the bubble film to rupture.”
“There are two reasons for this: first, the underlying principles of the charms conflict; the Iron Armor Charm is a rigid enclosure that repels all spells, while the Bubble-Head Charm is a selective enclosure that repels while also admitting, requiring fine control of magic power, and there’s no good solution for now.”
“I see……”
Dumbledore listened quietly, only speaking when they encountered a problem: “The Iron Armor Charm can be set aside for now; have you tried making it impervious to water and fire? Add it into the Bubble-Head Charm.”
“The Headmaster’s experience is truly seasoned……”
The three chatted about magic as they walked side by side, when suddenly they saw a familiar figure standing at the edge of the Forbidden Forest.
That figure’s method of staying warm was simple and crude, wrapped entirely in a long mole skin coat, wearing rabbit fur gloves, and huge beaver fur boots on his feet. He stood by the roadside, appearing even taller than beechwood.
“Hagrid?” Melvin called out.
The three beside him turned to look; the half-giant standing by the grounds roadside in the cold wind looked over following the voice, his gaze first landing on Dumbledore, then on Melvin who had called him, somewhat surprised, and came trotting over.
“Dumbledore, and Professor Levent and Professor Flitwick, are you heading out for something?” The half-giant’s voice was deep, but his tone very honest.
“Madam Rosmerta is expanding the tavern today; I told her I’d go help out.”
“The Three Broomsticks.”
Hagrid’s eyes lit up: “Can I go with you? I can help carry things.”
“Let’s go; we can even mooch lunch at noon.”
“Let’s go, let’s go……”
With the half-giant’s joining, the topic was no longer limited to charms; Hagrid said whatever came to mind, starting with how the centaurs also celebrated Christmas, then moving to magical creatures in the Forbidden Forest, and inevitably to fire dragons:
“Speaking of fire dragons makes me think of Ron’s brother Charlie; Arthur and Molly went to Romania to visit him this year, the Weasley children all stayed at school, and with them keeping Harry company over the holiday, I actually wanted to chat with Harry too, but he always asks me about the Philosopher’s Stone and Fluffy, and I’m someone who can’t keep a secret……”
Hagrid was very melancholic: “Sir, you really shouldn’t have let me know about these matters.”
“I believe you can make the right choice.” Dumbledore saw his furrowed brow of worry and gave a smile.
“I don’t believe in myself……”
In this conversation, Melvin and Flitwick walked silently beside them, listening to their chat, occasionally exchanging glances with knowing looks; they too believed Hagrid could make the right choice.
Hogsmeade streets still had Christmas decorative ribbons, only Honeydukes was still doing mail-order business with owls constantly taking off carrying packages; many shops were closed for the holiday, and the Three Broomsticks had put up a sign saying under renovation.
“Madam Rosmerta, we’re here to help!”
“Oh, Dumbledore, you really came; I thought Professor Levent was joking!”
The tavern owner enthusiastically invited them in to sit.
The construction inside wasn’t messy, just tables and chairs stacked together, the counter’s liquor put away, the cleared open space piled with building materials, and they had already started dismantling the ceiling.
Wizards’ way of expanding houses was more efficient than Muggles’, requiring no tedious dismantling and building; just prepare the materials and leave the rest to magic. Other finer, trivial tasks were handled by house-elves.
There were four or five house-elves bustling in the tavern, all wearing cloth towels that weren’t shabby, in good physical condition and very spirited, cooperating and helping each other at work.
Madam Rosmerta had the Hogwarts delegation sit at the counter, poured them steaming hot butterbeer, then began reminiscing with Dumbledore about Hogsmeade from a dozen or even dozens of years ago, chatting about the celebrations at the end of the first Wizarding War, and the goblin rebellion gathered here.
In the corner, a professional was setting up the Undetectable Extension Charm.
After measuring the position and distance, the wand traced along the baseboard, instantly dividing the space; originally only a few feet from the corner, after the cut, a piece of space seemed to appear out of thin air in the middle—if someone carefully counted the floorboards piece by piece, they’d find the number of boards unchanged; this was called the Undetectable Extension Charm.
Melvin stood nearby watching, his gaze flickering.
Wright didn’t turn his head, only glancing at him from the corner of his eye: “This time it’s legal; we submitted a written application to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement in advance, and the expanded space has been reported.”
“……”
Monkstanley was a highly reputable artisan family in the wizarding world, having participated in many famous projects including the construction of the Ministry of Magic building, the expansion of St Mungo’s Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, and helping build the grounds for every Quidditch World Cup; one could say these were Wright’s main business, with the repair shop just a hobby; it wasn’t strange that Rosmerta had asked him to help.
There were many noteworthy aspects to his Undetectable Extension Charm; Melvin had his hands in his pockets, finding it very enlightening.
