Magical Studies at Hogwarts...

Chapter 20 Stuart's Goodwill

After leaving the auditorium, Ike went alone to the shore of the Black Lake.

It was very cold at Hogwarts in January. There had been several snowfalls a few days ago, and some of the snow hadn't melted yet. When the wind blew, it felt like ice shards hitting my face.

Ike cast a warming spell on himself, but he still felt cold, even though the magic made it impossible for his body to feel cold.

"Bang!"

A snowball flew from behind. Ike flicked his finger and the snowball stopped half a meter behind him. Then it flew back to the direction from which it came at an even faster speed. A dozen more snowballs rose from the ground and followed closely behind.

"Ike! Stop it!" Stewart dodged to the side the moment the snowball stopped, but it was coming too fast, and he was hit by five or six in a row before he managed to dodge the follow-up attacks. Seeing more snowballs coming up, he quickly begged for mercy.

Ike chuckled and let Stuart off the hook. Stuart, shaking the snow off his clothes, complained, "This snow's been melting for days, it's all black now! I'll have to do laundry when I get back, and you know I hate doing laundry."

"It's the house-elves who do the laundry, why are you bothered? Besides, you started it, I was just retaliating."

Ike cast a Cleanse Charm on Stuart: "There's still magic, isn't there?"

"Clothes cleaned with magic have no soul." Stuart straightened his clothes and rubbed his hands together. "I really don't know why you came here in this freezing weather."

"Come out and get some fresh air. Don't you think Black Lake is beautiful right now?" Ike said, pointing to the frozen lake surface in front of them. "Don't you want to go ice skating?"

“I don’t want to.” Stuart shook his head rapidly. “Roger said the giant squid in the Black Lake loves to pound the ice from below when the young wizards are skating. You know, such a big creature doesn’t know its own strength and often breaks the ice.”

"Is that so? Then forget it. I don't want to drink Madam Pomfrey's special cold potion. It looks awful to see my ears smoking."

"That's the right way to think," Stewart replied, then hesitated for a moment before carefully saying, "Ike, actually, when I came over, I was thinking... well, I feel like you've been acting a little strange lately..."

"If possible, why not tell me? We're friends, aren't we?"

Ike turned around, looked at the cautious Stuart, and couldn't help but smile.

"It's just some minor trouble while learning spells, nothing insurmountable. I'll just relax a bit, and the problem will be solved quickly."

"Okay." Stuart nodded. "But I think you don't need to push yourself so hard, and you don't need to make things so tense with Morag and the others."

"Actually, everyone knows that you've shut yourself off..."

"Many times, I feel you push yourself too hard. No first-year student at Hogwarts has ever mastered silent and wandless spellcasting like you..."

"I think it's a good thing if you try to communicate more with everyone, isn't it?"

"People don't actually dislike you, it's just..."

"You're just afraid of me, aren't you?" Ike's lips still held a smile, but Stewart felt a chill run down his spine for no reason.

"That's it! That's it!" Stuart shouted. "Sometimes your expression really is a bit scary, especially when you look at me like that..."

"It was really terrifying; several times I felt like I was going to suffocate!"

Ike chuckled and patted Stuart on the shoulder, saying, "Okay, I got it. I'll be careful."

"You better do it!" Stuart's expression turned fierce. "Otherwise, even if I can't beat you, I'll make you pay!"

"Alright, alright, I got it." Ike moved his fingers, and a whirlwind swept up the snow within a three-meter radius in front of him and carried it toward Black Lake. The snowflakes scattered in the air and looked beautiful in the sunlight.

"There's just something I haven't figured out."

"And now?"

"I've figured it out."

Looking at Ike's smiling face, Stuart still had some doubts, but Ike's face clearly said "Trust me," so he decided to believe him for the time being.

Ike understood that this advice was a favor, and he was only grateful to Stuart for saying those words.

"Perhaps we should really try to make contact with them?"

On the way back, Ike listened to Stuart recount some recent amusing anecdotes, his mind racing. He knew, in truth, that his current isolation was of his own making. Like Morag, who, though always greeting him with an eye roll, wasn't he also using Snape's gaze to intimidate people?

One part playfulness, three parts deliberate intent, and the remaining six parts of vigilance can be let down.

At least for them...

Over the next period of time, Stuart and the others noticed that Ike was becoming more cheerful. Although he would still occasionally disappear by himself, he would slowly join their conversations and attend events in the common room.

The habit of occasionally using a glare to intimidate people is still there, but after so long, we've gotten used to it.

Even Morag only rolled his eyes when Ike gave him a Snape-like look; otherwise, they were chatting and laughing together.

This is good enough; at least it looks much more harmonious.

"...Professor Flitwick, that's it. Ike is much better now. I think he's really integrating in." Stuart said, sitting across from Professor Flitwick's desk, holding a cup of warm chocolate.

"That's good." Professor Flitwick took a small cake from his drawer and handed it to Stewart. "It's definitely better for you two to communicate; Mr. Strand is more receptive to your advice."

"Well then, Mr. Akley, would you like another small cake? I've always thought it's the best dessert in all of Hogwarts." Professor Flitwick took another small cake from his drawer and handed it to Stewart.

"No, Professor Flitwick," Stewart waved his hand.

"Alright." Professor Flitwick pulled another handful of candy from the drawer. "Here's some candy. Actually, I don't really like these candies, but I get a ton of them every Christmas, especially piles of cockroaches! Good heavens! I really don't know why there are such horrible candies!"

"Professor Flitwick..." Stewart said somewhat reluctantly, looking at the pile of cockroaches crawling around on the table, "If possible, I'd like some cockroach piles. Ike loves to eat them, even though I find them horrible."

"Really? Mr. Stewart's taste is quite similar to Dumbledore's." Professor Flitwick wrapped up the pile of cockroaches in the drawer and handed it to Stewart. "They are the only two people I know who like this stuff, and perhaps they are the only two in the entire wizarding world who do?"

As he spoke, Professor Flitwick winked.

"I think so too." Stuart took the paper bag, stood up, and said, "Professor Flitwick, may I go now? I need to get these to Ike right away."

"Of course, Mr. Akley." Professor Flitwick nodded, watching Stewart leave the office. His fingers tapped rhythmically on the table, then he picked up a quill and wrote something on a piece of parchment. He folded the paper into a paper crane, tossed it into the air, and the crane flapped its wings and flew away.

"Maybe I don't need to be so nervous..."

I worked overtime until 10 PM, I'm completely exhausted, and there's still one more chapter to write around 1 AM.

(End of this chapter)