When talking about where to buy potions, he even shot a helpless look in Ian's direction. Ian didn't care; he was too busy staring at Mr. Roger Skelant, whose embarrassment had his face flushed red.
No, but seriously.
Even Ian had failed to figure out what Daphne Greengrass was up to. He'd thought she was going to steal the test papers, but instead she'd pulled off this absolute god-tier scheme of selling grades behind the scenes.
All he could say was, as expected from the young lady of a pure-blood clan—even her ways of making money were out of the ordinary. It left even a moneymaking expert like Ian feeling genuinely impressed.
"That damn Professor Flitwick!"
"Why didn't he bust us when we were cheating?!"
"Now I finally get why the little devil went to Ravenclaw College—Ravenclaw wizards are all schemers. I bet Professor Flitwick just loves seeing us flounder around like idiots."
"Ugh, this was an unforgettable lesson if there ever was one."
...
After the written exams.
A lot of little wizards were just about as frustrated as Daphne Greengrass. After all, it was their first year's final exams, and there were plenty hoping to cheat their way to a good grade.
Upper-year students watching these little wizards just couldn't stop laughing—they'd been through it themselves and, clearly, seeing the new kids get caught out brought them that twisted happiness of "I've suffered, so seeing others suffer too puts my mind at ease." Of course, even that kind of twisted happiness carried a certain purpose.
"This is just so… magical." Ian, shuffling between exam rooms, saw with his own eyes an upperclassman who, fueled by that exact brand of schadenfreude, actually managed to cast the Patronus Charm.
That's the thing about subjective magic—it really is that wild sometimes.
It must have been fate too; when Ian stepped into Professor Flitwick's one-on-one practical magic exam room, Professor Flitwick assigned him the advanced Patronus Charm for his exam question.
It was pretty clear not every little wizard, maybe not even every student in the grade, would get this as their exam. Professor Flitwick had prepared this particular question just for Ian.
"Come on, let me see, let me see!" Professor Flitwick was rubbing his hands together with excitement—honestly, it was hard not to suspect the man was using his authority to satisfy his own curiosity.
Everyone from Ravenclaw College was insatiably curious, and since Professor Flitwick had spent a good chunk of time researching Ian's Patronus Charm, it was only natural for him to be eager beyond belief.
"Is this really the question?"
Ian let out a helpless sigh.
"Well, you know, strictly speaking, a wizard should keep their Patronus a secret, but... I'm your Head of House, so obviously I'd never betray you!"
Professor Flitwick let out a wheezy chuckle, rubbing his hands together again.
Ian had a strong feeling this Head of House was not-so-subtly suggesting he'd happily throw his "principles" to the wind.
"Expecto Patronum."
Anyway, it wasn't like it was some grand trump card he needed to keep hidden, and Ian truly didn't believe Professor Flitwick would ever use this against him—so he fired off his Patronus Charm without a hint of hesitation.
Countless silver threads, glittering like the brightest meteors in the night sky, blasted out from his wand. They spiraled and wove through the air, shining with a gentle yet unwavering light.
It lit up everything around the main character.
As the silver threads tangled and looped together, an image appeared that left Professor Flitwick absolutely gobsmacked. The threads slowly condensed and took the shape of a young girl.
The girl had flowing, silvery hair and eyes as bright as stars against the dark sky. Her skin gleamed like crystal, as if sculpted from moonlight and morning dew both.
"Merlin's underpants! A human-shaped Patronus! Now I get why you dodged my question every time I asked before! This is just—this is a miracle too wild to believe!"
Professor Flitwick stared, slack-jawed, at the figure hovering in mid-air. He'd suspected something strange, but never in his wildest guesses had he imagined Ian's Patronus would be so ridiculously, absurdly, off-the-charts unusual—maybe even enough to upend a whole lot of wizarding world common sense!
"Can she talk? Is she a real person from somewhere? No—she sort of feels like a ghost! Unbelievable! Absolutely unbelievable!"
"Maybe you could use your Patronus to help all wizards get a better understanding of all sorts of things!" Professor Flitwick, for all his excitement, still had a keen eye. He circled around Ariana more than ten times before finally stopping, dizzy and disoriented.
"I think she can talk... Her name's Ariana, she's, um..." Ian, a bit tongue-tied, introduced his Patronus as best he could.
He still hadn't made up his mind about how to present Ariana.
"Oh! My goodness! A dwarf from a fairy tale!" The newly-awakened Ariana instantly shattered all of Ian's carefully rehearsed words with her exclamation. She wore a dress woven from silver threads, its hem fluttering gently like a feather in the wind, both light and solemn at once.
The contrast between her fussiness and her ethereal appearance was a little jarring.
"I'm not a dwarf, I just happen to have a bit of goblin blood, that's all." Professor Flitwick corrected Ariana, but showed not even a shred of annoyance at being mistaken.
"Sorry, sir, I was mistaken." Ariana bowed hastily and apologized, a bit sheepish—mostly due to never having seen much of the world while she was alive.