"Filch, I think things are clear now." Professor McGonagall looked at Filch. "This was an accident; they just happened to be passing by."
Upon hearing Professor McGonagall's explanation, Fred winked at Vizette, as if to say, "See? I wasn't wrong, was I?"
Filch's expression changed instantly; the sneer he had when he first entered the hospital wing vanished, replaced by a look of utter frustration, as if he had swallowed a fly.
His voice became much shriller, like fingernails scraping against glass, "But I saw them... they used to team up with Peeves..."
"The patient needs rest!" Mrs. Pomfrey raised her eyebrows and said to everyone, "If you have anything to say, please talk outside!"
Filch's arguing was silenced. He limped out of the hospital wing, glared fiercely at Fred and George, and hurriedly left with Mrs. Norris.
Fred and George looked delighted, high-fived each other, and shouted "Yeah!"
Vizette watched the figure disappear at the end of the corridor and shook his head thoughtfully.
Filch is a Squib, and it wouldn't be difficult for most Hogwarts students to discover that.
This also puts him in an awkward position, as he is neither a professor nor a student, neither a wizard nor a Muggle;
Such a vague and marginalized identity naturally caused him to feel dissatisfied and struggle, which in turn fostered a sense of inferiority that he was unwilling to admit.
To alleviate this inferiority complex as much as possible, he transformed it into jealousy and dislike towards his students, which made him feel better.
Filch had almost no friends at Hogwarts; perhaps the only person who truly kept him company was his cat, Mrs. Norris.
Such a long period of loneliness would also cause him to develop a negative attitude, and would further intensify feelings of jealousy and hatred.
When dealing with energetic students, he would subconsciously form preconceived notions, judging them as "troublemakers" and treating them all with harsh words and attitudes.
Ultimately, it's because he can't use magic but has to watch his students perform it that he's become the person he is today.
...
Outside the hospital wing, Sprout reached out and said, "Vizette, let me take another good look at that mandrake."
She took the flowerpot from Vizette, hugged it to her chest, and examined it carefully from all angles.
"There's still some dragon dung... of very good quality... but it's all been scraped to the edges... just as I thought... the original fertilizer was very special, and this little guy really likes it..."
After checking, she handed the flowerpot to Vizette, saying, "It seems this little guy will have to be taken care of by you from now on."
"Can we take two pots of mandrakes with us too?" Fred and George asked almost simultaneously, as if on cue.
Fred looked at Sprout, and George looked at McGonagall, their eyes filled with anticipation.
McGonagall adjusted her glasses, a sharp glint in her eyes.
"The position of doorman is very important; Hogwarts needs Filch. Mrs. Norris is even less suitable; she's just a cat!"
As the head of Gryffindor House, she understood what Fred and George were up to.
As a witch, minor pranks were to be expected, but the unique properties of the mandrake itself required her to be cautious.
Although Fred and George were rather mischievous, they were both very talented children, and she didn't want them to go astray.
Therefore, she would tolerate some behaviors and regulate others.
"Why would we do that?" George clenched his fist and raised it above his head, looking very aggrieved. "We were just interested in flowers and plants!"
"That's right! We really want to improve our Herbology class." Fred nodded in agreement, letting out a long, comical sigh. "We desperately want to improve like Vizette!"
"If only it were true!" McGonagall coughed twice, trying to suppress the laughter in her throat. "I can give you more homework; that's one way to improve."
"How about I let you spend less time researching bag spiders, dead cockroaches, and vixen eggs, and more time studying Transfiguration? I can do it right now!"
"Ah!" Fred and George looked around and simultaneously clutched their stomachs. "It must be because we heard the mandrake's cry earlier that we feel unwell!"
They walked backwards with exaggerated expressions, staggering several times and almost falling to the ground.
Only after the two of them clutched their stomachs and retreated to the end of the corridor did they both make a funny face and quickly escape from McGonagall's sight.
"Sigh!" McGonagall sighed, rubbing her forehead.
Sprout couldn't help but chuckle, "It's not easy to keep them in line! Last time they even sneaked into the third greenhouse, seemingly very interested in the Venomous Tentacula."
"We can't let them touch it!" Professor McGonagall frowned. "The venom from the Venomous Tentacula is also very dangerous!"
Sprout nodded. "So they got stuck in the swamp; that was the protective magic I set up in the greenhouse."
"But they're still quite persistent... they seem to have grown fond of that swamp, and they'll occasionally come over for a dip."
Based on his understanding of Fred and George, Vizette figured their goal was probably the protective magic, and they wanted to figure out how to obtain such a swamp through this method.
Sprout turned to Vizette. "Vizette, what do you think? Are you confident you can take care of it alone?"
Mandrake is a magical plant, and its unique magical circuits were well worth the time and effort to study in detail.
If you could carry a potted plant with you, that would be ideal.
To make the mandrake obedient and avoid accidents, Vizette also had ancient magic to help, such as "Herbology Charm," which should be quite effective.
Thinking of this, he nodded. "Professor Sprout, I will do my best to take good care of it!"
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Ever since Fred and George blew up the big iron cage, the elves had been scattering all over the castle.
As beings who shared a penchant for mischief, Peeves and the pixies hit it off immediately and teamed up to wreak havoc on the students.
When the elves threw chalk at the students, Peeves would carry a big bag of chalk to provide reinforcements for the elves;
When Peeves tried to disrupt the corridor, the little pixies would let out a sharp laugh and help knock down those glittering armors.
When Filch and Peeves were outwitting each other, the little pixies would gather together and kidnap Mrs. Norris, leaving Filch in a dilemma.
Peeves was a poltergeist, and it was very difficult to deal with him.
But the little pixies were different. Their danger level was only XXXX. When all the students worked together to capture them, they had no choice but to submit.
After several days of capture, there were several small iron cages containing pixies in the common rooms of each house…
….
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