Chapter 223 Flowers

"Thank you, Professor."

"Is it really nothing? You know, you can tell me if you encounter any trouble."

"No, Mr. Filch just bought a few crabs from me for cleaning, but everyone misunderstood."

Wade explained the whole story helplessly, and Professor Flitwick was relieved.

"I hope you won't be so reckless in the future." Professor Flitwick said to Padma and others: "Be calm and observe before doing anything."

"I'm sorry, professor."

Padma bowed her head and said embarrassedly.

After a farce, everyone moved their things back in a mess. The girls saw that the original crab that liked to spit bubbles was still there, and they felt a sense of joy of regaining what they had lost.

"Why sell the cleaning crabs to Filch?" Harry asked in confusion, "No one likes him, and you don't need these Galleons."

"Although it is refreshing to make things difficult for him, wouldn't it be better to have a good relationship with the administrator?"

Michael retorted, "Think about it, you are still hanging out outside after curfew, but Filch will turn a blind eye to you."

"Really?" Harry asked with longing.

"Not true!"

Hermione patted his head with the book of school rules.

"Even if Filch turns a blind eye, it's Wade, he will catch you when he sees you!"

Harry's eyebrows drooped in frustration.

Wade smiled and didn't explain further.

...

After that, when the students saw Filch again, they saw that there were always a few crabs following him - at least two, at most six, lined up in a neat queue, just like following their own leader.

When students got dirty things like mud on the ground, Filch no longer yelled at them hysterically.

On the contrary, he seemed very happy. With a wave of his hand, the crab soldiers rushed up with a click, and soon the floor was cleaned.

Sometimes students accidentally crushed slugs or exploded cauldrons, and the elderly administrator did not need to step on the ladder to clean.

For the cleaning crabs, the roof was no different from the floor, and it did not add extra workload.

In the past, Filch hated rainy days the most, because that might mean that he would have to clean all day long.

But now, he even looked forward to more rain, and then stood leisurely by the window, enjoying the feeling of being hit by the water vapor on his face.

The administrator's temper seemed to have suddenly become much better, and the students were a little uncomfortable.

When they accidentally made the hall muddy, they did not get roars and insults, but a smile from the administrator. The weird feeling was simply creepy.

Some sloppy ghosts' bad habits were suddenly corrected.

"I used to think that nothing was worse than Filch's roar, but now I find that I was wrong--"

A Gryffindor said to his companion in a deep tone: "What's worse is Filch's smile."

His companion nodded in agreement: "When he smiled at me, I got goose bumps."

...

Filch didn't take the students' comments to heart.

He showed off with his crabs to every corner of Hogwarts, and was satisfied to see that the places they walked by became clean and shiny.

However, although the cleaning crabs are easy to use, as semi-finished products, they sometimes have some minor faults, and Filch can only ask Wade for help to repair them.

After a few visits, the two really became familiar with each other. Filch also entertained Wade in his own cabin like a guest.

You know, even Dumbledore didn't get an active invitation from the administrator.

Filch's office was very dim, with only an oil lamp hanging under the ceiling, providing a dim light source for the room.

There were many filing cabinets standing by the wall. It was said that Filch had more than a thousand boxes of punishment records, but no student had ever had the chance to see them.

There was also a wall with hinges, handcuffs and other things hanging on it, shining with cold metal light under the light. Even if they couldn't be taken out and used, just standing there was enough to scare the timid students.

An orange crab flipped back and forth in Wade's hand.

"The magic pattern circuit is a little worn, but it's not a big problem."

Wade repaired the crab in a few minutes. He put it on the ground, and it immediately climbed up and wiped off the few drops of ink on the ground.

Crabs have the effect of cleaning spells. Even if they are cleaning all day, they are never stained with dirt.

Filch watched it work with love and said emotionally: "Thank you, Wade. Omar was hit by a student's spell before, and then he didn't move... I almost thought it was dead..."

He sniffed, as if he was still immersed in sadness.

Wade hesitated: "...Omar?"

"Yes, I named it."

Filch happily introduced the other crabs: "This is Rhett, Peg, Ruby, Stella and Thomas."

"Meow--" Mrs. Norris made a coquettish voice.

"Of course, of course, the most important thing to me is Mrs. Norris." Filch said hurriedly, and reached out to touch the cat's stretched back.

Wade was silent for a moment, decided not to comment on it, and asked: "Why is Mrs. Norris so thin? Is she sick or..."

"...just old." Filch picked up the cat and said sadly: "She is just like me, too old, and her appetite has become not very good."

"Meow--" Mrs. Norris called softly.

"Of course, even though she is old, Mrs. Norris is still as smart and capable as ever, better than many humans."

Filch touched the cat's ears and chin skillfully, and suddenly seemed to remember something, and looked up and asked: "By the way, Wade, do you want some flowers?"

"...Flowers?" Wade said.

"Yes."

Filch put the cat on the chair, got up and walked to the room inside. Wade guessed that it might be his bedroom.

After a while, Filch came out with a few pots of flowers. The colorful flowers were in full bloom, making the narrow house look like an oil painting.

"You have been helping me fix crabs a lot recently, and I have nothing to repay you...Recently, Professor Lockhart got a large number of flowers from somewhere. As a reward for my help in sorting them out, he agreed to let me keep a few pots."

Filch put the flower pots on the table in front of Wade and said, "Take them...You can use them to decorate the house."

"Thank you." Wade did not refuse him, and said with a smile: "I will put them in the umbrella house. Padma and Michael will definitely like them."

"Hmm..."

Hearing these two familiar names that had been reported by someone, Filch hesitated and said:

"Tell your friends not to run outside the school recently, especially those who are not yet in the third grade...There are rumors that a few guys who look like dark wizards appeared in Hogsmeade a few days ago."

Wade's expression became slightly serious: "When?"

"Just two days ago...Friday or Saturday, someone said that they saw two sneaky guys. There were also a few people wearing black cloaks and looked very dangerous."

Filch tried to recall the few words he heard in the pub. At that time, he felt that this kind of thing had nothing to do with him, and he didn't pay much attention to it.

Finally, he said, "If you want to know, I'll go ask around."

Wade looked at him for a while, smiled and shook his head.

"No need...it would be bad if you were in danger."

He paused, then said, "Even if there are dark wizards, they can't enter Hogwarts...I'll tell everyone not to run around."

Filch nodded in agreement, "That's right. If you follow the school rules, you won't make mistakes, and there won't be any danger. With Dumbledore in Hogwarts, even...even the person who can't be named can't hurt you."

Filch didn't like Dumbledore's overly lenient management style, but he never doubted the strength of the headmaster.