After the Troll incident, Charlie felt like he had become a rare animal at Hogwarts.
Wherever he went, he always attracted a lot of attention.
In the corridors, whispering students would immediately fall silent as he passed, secretly observing him with looks of admiration and curiosity.
The source of this trend, naturally, was the two big-mouthed brothers from Gryffindor, Harry and Ron.
Thanks to their publicity, Charlie's heroic feat of fighting the Troll had spread throughout the four houses, spawning countless exaggerated versions.
During Charms Class in the afternoon, the moment Charlie stepped into the classroom, the previously noisy room instantly fell silent.
Everyone turned to look at him in unison.
Charlie walked to his seat expressionlessly, ignoring the surrounding gazes.
He sat down, and uncharacteristically, instead of dozing off, he straightened his back and opened his textbook.
Professor Flitwick stood on a stack of books so he could see over the podium.
When he saw Charlie sitting upright with clear eyes, he nearly fell off the stack of books.
Was this really Charlie? He wasn't even sleeping!
Had the sun risen in the west?
Professor Flitwick was moved to tears.
"Students, today we're going to learn the Lumos Spell!"
Professor Flitwick's voice was exceptionally loud and full of passion.
He felt invigorated; he had to perform exceptionally well in this class to match Charlie's attentiveness.
And Charlie was indeed very attentive, attentive in making sure he didn't fall asleep, after all, he was asking for a favor, and sleeping would be too much.
The bell rang, and students packed up and left.
Charlie, however, stayed behind and walked towards the podium.
"Professor."
Professor Flitwick was organizing his lesson plans when he heard Charlie's voice, and a brilliant smile immediately bloomed on his face.
"Mr. White! You listened very attentively in class today, I'm very pleased! Do you have any questions?"
"Professor, I have a question."
"Speak freely."
"Do you know Goblins?"
As soon as he spoke, the smile on Professor Flitwick's face instantly froze.
The enthusiasm in his large eyes quickly faded, replaced by a complex and wary expression.
The air in the office became somewhat heavy.
Although he was a respected Charms Class Professor at Hogwarts, that one-thousandth Goblin bloodline had always been a thorn deep in his heart.
Decades ago, pure-blood supremacy was still prevalent in the Wizarding World.
It was easy to imagine how much trouble his Goblin bloodline had caused him.
His biggest fear was that a student he admired would form a different opinion of him because of it.
"Why do you ask, Mr. White?" His voice became a little dry.
Charlie keenly noticed the change in atmosphere and immediately explained:
"Professor, you know, I want to make a set of armor from troll hide."
"I heard Goblins are the best craftsmen, so I thought..."
Professor Flitwick's tense body relaxed.
He let out a sigh of relief, the rigid atmosphere dissipated, and a smile returned to his face.
"Oh, I see."
"Yes, armor and weapons forged by Goblins are indeed the best. I happen to know a very skilled blacksmith, though he's a bit eccentric."
"That's great!" Charlie's eyes lit up.
"If you're in a hurry, I can take you there tonight."
Charlie felt a little awkward.
"Um, Professor, I'm afraid I can't tonight."
"Oh? Is there something urgent?"
"I have detention with Professor McGonagall."
Professor Flitwick paused, then shook his head helplessly.
"Alright, that's what you get for being mischievous. How about tomorrow night?"
Charlie's expression grew even more awkward.
"Tomorrow night I have detention with Professor Snape."
Professor Flitwick: "..."
He stood on the stack of books, his tiny frame filled with immense confusion.
"Mr. White." Professor Flitwick asked in his high-pitched voice, with immense sorrow.
"Can you tell me which day you *don't* have detention?"
Finally, the two could only set the time for Saturday.
On Saturday afternoon, Charlie knocked on Professor Flitwick's office door right on time.
The office was warm and comfortable, its walls covered with various medals and certificates, and bookshelves crammed with thick magic books.
Professor Flitwick was standing on a high stool, watering a dancing daffodil.
Seeing Charlie enter, he happily hopped off the stool and took out a delicious-looking honey cake from a drawer, offering it to Charlie.
"Here, have something to eat first, the journey is a bit long."
Charlie took the cake and thanked him.
The two went to the fireplace in the office, and Professor Flitwick grabbed a handful of sparkling powder.
"Have you used Floo powder before?"
Charlie shook his head.
"Hold on tight, don't let go, and then clearly shout out our destination." Professor Flitwick demonstrated.
"Into the fireplace."
Charlie stepped into the fireplace, grabbed a handful of Floo powder, and shouted, imitating the Professor.
"Leaky Cauldron."
A dizzying sensation, and green flames enveloped him.
The next second, he stumbled out of the Leaky Cauldron's fireplace.
Professor Flitwick followed closely behind, stepping out gracefully, not a speck of dust on him.
He didn't lead Charlie through the pub's main hall, but instead took him to the small courtyard in the back.
"Hold my arm, Mr. White," Professor Flitwick said seriously.
"The next sensation might be a bit... peculiar, like being squeezed into a very tight tube."
As soon as Charlie grabbed his arm, he felt the entire world around him violently compressed, the air sucked from his lungs, and his internal organs felt displaced.
This sensation lasted only for an instant.
When he could breathe again, he was standing in a dense forest.
The light here was dim, tall trees blocked out the sun, the air was thick with the smell of damp earth and rotting leaves, and it was so quiet he could only hear his own heartbeat.
"We've arrived."
Charlie was half-crouching; the previous sensation had made him extremely nauseous.
Professor Flitwick handed him a cup of honey water.
"Drinking this will make you feel better. The first time Apparating is always like this; you'll get used to it."
Charlie drank the honey water and said with difficulty.
"Is this Spell called Apparition, Professor?"
"Oh, yes, that's right."
Charlie called out to the little system in his mind.
"little system, blacklist this Spell for me! I will absolutely not draw it!"
"[...]"
Professor Flitwick pointed to a small path deeper into the forest.
"That blacksmith lives here; he doesn't like to be disturbed."
The two walked along the path, which was overgrown with weeds. The surrounding trees grew older and older, and the atmosphere became increasingly profound.
After about ten minutes, a small clearing appeared ahead.
In the center of the clearing stood a small log cabin, with smoke curling from its chimney.
In front of the cabin, a short but exceptionally sturdy figure was hammering metal on an anvil.
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