Chapter 33: Hidden Talents at Hogwarts (Part 2)
Seeing the twins hesitate, Douglas sneered.
"The self-answering quills from the Hogsmeade Quill Shop always write their notes in a very particular style…"
He paused and leaned forward slightly.
"Shall I continue?"
Douglas had used automatic quills for years and knew the strengths and weaknesses of nearly every brand sold in the wizarding world. The moment he glanced at their notebooks, he recognized the distinctive handwriting produced by that particular shop.
Besides, he had no reason to believe the Weasley twins were suddenly capable of memorizing an entire textbook in one night.
If that were possible, what would Hogwarts' famous know-it-all—Miss Granger—have to say about it?
Of course, Fred and George didn't know any of this.
They looked utterly miserable.
Their expressions suggested the end of the world had arrived.
Was it the homework they were worried about?
Not at all.
They were worried about something far worse.
If the quills were confiscated, they would have to pay for them.
And those things were expensive. That was precisely why they had gone to the trouble of borrowing them from classmates.
Douglas seemed to read their thoughts.
He handed the notebooks back to them.
"Today, no matter how late it gets, you will memorize everything you just wrote."
"I won't confiscate the quills."
The twins' faces brightened slightly.
"But," Douglas continued calmly, "if you decide you can't memorize it…"
"The quills will be confiscated."
"And I'll ask Percy to write a letter to your mother."
Fred and George froze.
Then they nodded frantically.
"We'll memorize it! Absolutely memorize it!"
"Yes, Professor! Please don't tell our mother!"
George added quickly,
"Professor… could you also ask Percy not to write home so often?"
Defense Against the Dark Arts Office — 2:00 a.m.
Douglas sat reading, stifling a yawn.
Across from him, the Weasley twins looked utterly exhausted.
They gestured weakly.
Douglas lifted the muffling charm he had placed over his ears.
"Finished memorizing?"
Fred and George nodded tiredly.
Douglas picked up the automatic quills they had brought.
With a flick of his wand, he added a spell.
"Begin reciting."
"I've enchanted these quills. They'll record every word you say."
"If you make a mistake, the quill will underline it automatically."
The twins stared at him in silence.
How was that even possible?
In truth, automatic dictation was already a basic function of those quills. Since the quills had been loaded with the textbook content, Douglas merely added a temporary marking feature.
He chuckled inwardly.
Everyone had once been a student.
Back in his own school days, he and Bill had played far more elaborate tricks with automatic quills.
Compared to that, Fred and George were still amateurs.
An hour later, the twins stumbled through the final lines of the text.
Douglas reviewed the recorded dictation.
Not bad.
Their error rate was below twenty percent—quite impressive considering they had only studied for six or seven hours.
He checked the time.
Then he transfigured two chairs in his office into a makeshift bed.
"Don't bother going back to the Gryffindor common room tonight."
"It'll save me the trouble of escorting you."
After all, if two notorious night wanderers were caught roaming Hogwarts at three in the morning, they would undoubtedly claim that the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor had ordered them to do it.
Douglas's biological clock was already fixed.
Even though it was Saturday, he woke only an hour later than usual.
When he stepped out of the bedroom, he found the twins sitting there with dark circles under their eyes.
They looked like they hadn't slept at all.
Douglas blinked in surprise.
Had these two actually changed their ways?
Were they staying up late to study now?
Then he noticed the books in their hands.
The corners of his mouth curled slightly.
Fred and George noticed him immediately.
"Good morning, Professor!"
"Good morning, Professor!"
They waved the books eagerly.
"Professor, could we borrow these?"
George added quickly,
"Professor, these books have the same titles as the ones Percy has… but the content seems completely different."
"The author is the same, but yours are far more interesting."
Fred grinned.
"Maybe Percy bought a pirated copy."
The twins groaned dramatically.
"Poor Percy!"
Douglas yawned.
"There are two editions of those books."
"One for the Muggle world and one for the wizarding world."
"The version Percy has is the wizarding edition."
"I gave it to him myself. It's not pirated."
The twins' eyes lit up.
"Professor… does that mean—"
Douglas flicked his hand.
The books flew back to the shelf.
"No."
"When your Defense Against the Dark Arts grade reaches Outstanding, I'll give you a set."
"Now go back to your house."
Fred tried one more time.
"One set each?"
Douglas laughed coldly.
"Ask again and I'll give Percy the entire set."
"If you want to read them, you can borrow them from him."
The twins instantly backed down.
Smiling nervously, they hurried out of the office.
After they left, Douglas stood quietly for a moment.
Something felt… unfinished.
He looked around the room.
Then slapped his forehead.
"The Marauder's Map!"
Last night, with the twins loudly reciting in his office, he had completely forgotten his plan to check the map before bed.
The important question remained:
Had Lucius Malfoy already sent the diary to Hogwarts?
If it had arrived, Douglas would need to stop events at the most critical moment—and inform Dumbledore immediately.
Clearly, this would require careful monitoring.
After tidying up, Douglas headed outside.
As usual, he jogged several laps around the castle lawn.
Then he began practicing his crane-style martial routine.
This morning, however, something unusual happened.
He spotted Hagrid approaching, yawning loudly.
As soon as the giant came close, he spoke in a tone completely mismatched with his enormous size.
"Morning, Douglas!"
"You haven't come to see me all week!"
Douglas smiled helplessly.
"Good morning, Hagrid."
"You know how it is—I teach seven classes a day. I've been incredibly busy."
"I was planning to visit this weekend."
"And check on the orchard and vegetable garden I planted before."
At the mention of the garden, Hagrid's eyes lit up.
He clapped Douglas on the shoulder twice with enormous hands.
Douglas had to grit his teeth to hide the pain.
"Perfect timing!" Hagrid boomed happily.
"Are you free this afternoon?"
"I just finished making this year's batch of potato vermicelli."
"And at noon I'm slaughtering a pig."
"Come over later—we'll have pork stewed with vermicelli."
Douglas swallowed unconsciously.
He had been the one to teach Hagrid how to make potato vermicelli in the first place.
Behind Hagrid's hut, they had even planted a special field of potatoes specifically for producing it.
Douglas nodded eagerly.
"I'll definitely come."
"Don't worry—I'll be there early."
Hagrid yawned again.
"Great. I've invited a few young wizards too. We'll all eat together."
"Yawn… I'm heading back for a nap."
"The centaurs in the Forbidden Forest caused quite a stir last night, and I had to deal with it myself."
"You know how it is—Professor Dumbledore and the centaurs both trust me."
"Well then, I'll head back now."
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