Rhys and Neville walked into Helga's office side by side.
Seated behind her desk and in the middle of crafting puppet components, Helga looked up. When she saw who had come in, a trace of surprise inevitably appeared on her face.
Salazar showing up here was nothing unusual, but Neville Longbottom coming along was quite rare.
After Neville explained, Helga finally understood. It turned out the boy was here to return the wooden box she used to test students' aptitude.
As for that wooden box, Helga no longer cared about it as much as she had when she first invented it. She had created it in order to find herself an apprentice. Now that she had already found one, the box was no longer that important.
If Salazar or Rowena needed it, she could simply lend it to them.
"Thank you." After thanking Neville, Helga prepared to put the box away.
Watching Neville place the wooden box neatly on Helga's desk and then get ready to turn and leave, Rhys sighed inwardly. This child was really far too honest.
Fine then. Since you're willing to help me, how could I, Salazar, remain indifferent?
"Professor White, what is that box used for?" Rhys asked in an innocent tone, as if he were truly just an ordinary student who knew nothing about the box's purpose.
Helga: ???
No, Salazar, act normal for once! His behavior was genuinely starting to make her uncomfortable.
Helga, feeling her scalp go numb, explained the purpose of the wooden box to Rhys.
Standing beside Rhys, Neville looked utterly confused. Hadn't he already explained the box's function to Rhys outside the office just now? Why was he asking Professor White again?
"So that's how it is!" Rhys put on an expression of sudden realization, then asked with an earnest look, "Professor White, may I try it?"
"Of course." Helga's expression was extremely complicated. She still couldn't figure out what Salazar was up to, so she simply handed the wooden box over.
Rhys held the box, and with two dull thuds, the small beads inside immediately shot off in all directions.
Clearly, his "first" attempt had failed.
Helga: ???
Salazar Slytherin failing her talent aptitude test? What kind of joke was this? It was as absurd as a marathon champion failing a basic fitness test.
Why is he acting this out in front of me?
Helga's gaze swept over Neville standing to the side, and she instantly formed a few guesses in her mind.
Neville was even more shocked than Helga. Hadn't Rhys just been able to put the beads back into place? How was it that the moment he stepped into the office, he suddenly knew nothing and couldn't do anything? For a moment, Neville seriously suspected that he had lost a segment of his memory.
"Huh?" A look of extremely convincing surprise appeared on Rhys's face. He immediately shoved the wooden box into Neville's hands, letting him try as well.
Neville didn't even have time to react. He took the wooden box instinctively and, in one smooth, flowing motion, guided all four beads into their corresponding holes.
Helga: !!!
The surprise came so suddenly that it almost felt unreal to her. Two students with top-tier talent had emerged in her House? Was this real?
"Child, were you perhaps too nervous that day and didn't perform well?" Helga asked joyfully.
She remembered it now. That day, the boy had indeed seemed rather shy. Underperforming due to nerves was perfectly normal.
Helga couldn't help but feel secretly delighted. Could it be that Hufflepuff was finally having its turn, that this generation was brimming with talent?
It wasn't impossible. After all, Hufflepuff had endured hundreds of years of hardship. Wasn't it about time their fortunes turned?
But Neville's next words hit her like a bucket of cold water.
"Ah, no. After I got the box, I kept practicing with it, and gradually I just got the hang of it," Neville said honestly, laying out the truth without reservation. He even made himself sound a bit worse than he needed to.
Beside him, Rhys couldn't help pressing a hand to his forehead. This child was far too honest. If he had put it a bit more vaguely, Helga might really have taken him on as a student. Even if you didn't want to lie, you could have told the truth more tactfully. What was with this overwhelming "slow bird flies first" energy?
Neville really had missed out on a very precious opportunity.
After learning that Neville had only managed to guide the beads back into place through relentless practice, Helga couldn't help but feel a trace of disappointment brought on by the gap between expectation and reality.
However, that disappointment was quickly replaced by a deep admiration for the round-faced boy before her.
Helga Hufflepuff would never judge people by talent alone.
She greatly appreciated students like Neville, who made up for a lack of natural talent through diligence. Perhaps such students would never, in their entire lives, touch the threshold of a domain. But so what?
The magical world was built upon countless wizards just like this. Geniuses were precious, but such foundations were equally indispensable.
Yes, Rhys's judgment had been correct. Helga truly lacked the energy to take Neville on as a personal disciple and guide him herself, but that did not mean she would do nothing.
"Diligence is a fine tradition of Hufflepuff. Neville Longbottom, for upholding the virtues of your House, you earn Hufflepuff ten points."
Standing to the side, Rhys felt a strong urge to complain internally. Awarding points for upholding House virtues? That reason was really a bit too perfunctory…
Then should Gryffindor students earn points for daring to sneak out of the dormitory after curfew?
Helga's main purpose was obviously not to award House points. Her real move came next.
She took the wooden box, fiddled with it for a moment, then handed it back to Neville.
Neville looked down and discovered that the wooden box no longer contained just four small holes and four beads. Instead, many wooden partitions that moved on their own had appeared, and from time to time, small holes would suddenly open up along the paths.
"Take it. Consider it my Christmas present to you. I've made a few small modifications to it. Give it a try. This time, the difficulty is quite a bit higher," Helga said in a tone as if she were simply giving a student another educational toy. In reality, she was using the box to quietly train Neville's control over magic.
"Thank you, Professor," Neville said, not noticing Professor White's deeper intention and offering only a polite thanks.
"Oh, and this as well." Helga took a notebook out of her desk drawer and handed it to Neville.
"These are some notes and reflections I wrote while reading modern magical texts. They're not very systematic, but they are organized by subject. They might be of some help to you."
Helga did not attempt to directly teach Neville the principles of magical flow. In her view, Neville was not someone who could grasp magical flow through just a few words of guidance.
Instead, she chose to give him a set of notes. How much he could gain from them would depend entirely on his own effort. These notes were like fertile soil. For every bit of cultivation put in, there would be a corresponding harvest.
"Thank you, Professor!" This time, Neville's voice carried genuine emotion. He was so overwhelmed that he didn't know what to do with himself, and in the end, he actually bowed to Professor White.
____
12 Chaps ahead at Patreon.com/HornyFBI