Chapter 10: Chapter 10
"Dear child, I heard about your situation," Professor Flitwick looked at Mike sympathetically. "I assure you, at Hogwarts, no one dares to discriminate against your blood status."
Mike was briefly caught off guard, then quickly mustered a convincingly tearful expression.
He immediately realized that Professor Flitwick was referring to the incident at the Leaky Cauldron. He hadn't expected the news to reach the professor so quickly. The wizarding world was indeed small.
Mike had almost forgotten about the incident, considering himself not one to hold grudges, usually settling scores on the spot.
However, it was still necessary to play the part, and decades of life experience had gifted him with perfect acting skills.
Seeing Mike's aggrieved appearance broke Flitwick's heart and reminded him of his past discrimination due to his goblin bloodline.
But back then, Flitwick had a fiery temper, ready to confront anyone he felt insulted by with his wand and a blasting curse.
It wasn't until he became a dueling champion that his temper mellowed, as no one dared to offend him anymore.
"There, there, no need to worry anymore; everything's going to be okay," Professor Flitwick comforted, softly patting Mike's golden locks.
"I'm truly grateful, Professor Flitwick. You've shown me kindness when no one else has," Mike articulated, feigning to dab away tears that weren't there.
Following a brief exchange of friendly words, Mike took his leave from Professor Flitwick.
"Thank you so much, Professor Flitwick!" Mike expressed, with a gesture that seemed to radiate genuine warmth." May I come back for more of your advice in the future?"
"Of course, my boy. My office door is always open to you. Hurry now, or you'll miss lunch," Flitwick smiled and nodded at Mike, then winked mischievously, "And remember Mike, don't try out spells in the common room; it'll make a mess. You might want to explore the seventh floor; you could find something useful there."
"Thank you, Head."
After parting with Flitwick, Mike walked alone to the dining hall, feeling that his performance had been very worthwhile.
Not only did he find a solution to his weak spell power, but he also secured Flitwick's support.
Most importantly, Flitwick had given him a hint.
The 7th floor houses the Room of Requirement, and Flitwick's final comment was unmistakably a suggestion that Mike was welcome to use it. This meant Mike need not fear Dumbledore's suspicion upon entering the Room of Requirement should he be discovered.
This wasn't Mike being overly cautious. According to the original books, Hogwarts Castle was a magical object, and it was highly likely that the headmaster had surveillance rights over many of the school's facilities.
Lost in thought, Mike arrived at the dining hall.
The hall was filled with young wizards having their meals. Mike found a table and sat down. Immediately, a steaming plate of food appeared before him: beef stew with potatoes and bread.
"Mike! What have you been up to these past few days? We've been looking for you."
Mike turned towards the voice to see the trio of heroes standing before him.
"Sorry, Hogwarts is just so fascinating. I've been exploring it these days, and I haven't even finished exploring the Ravenclaw common room," Mike spread his hands and shrugged jokingly.
Hermione clearly didn't believe it and retorted, "I think someone has been busy flirting with the senior girls!"
"I'm not don't talk nonsense," Mike quickly refuted.
"You're lying. I saw you in the library, all cozy with those older students!"
Mike hadn't expected Hermione to care about such things and teased, "Oh? Why are you paying so much attention to me? Could it be that you like me?"
"No way! I just happened to... you... don't talk nonsense!" Hermione's face instantly turned red, and she made a move to run away.
But a platinum-haired boy blocked her path.
"Wow! Everyone, come and see, Miss Know-It-All from Gryffindor and the golden-haired boy from Ravenclaw are getting together!"
"What are you doing here, Malfoy!" Harry shouted angrily at Draco.
"Get out of the way! Is this how your parents taught you to treat a lady?" Mike stood up, glaring fiercely at Draco.
The look Mike gave Draco seemed to remind him of his embarrassing moment on the train, and his face turned ashen.
"A lady? A big-toothed one like her can also be called a lady?" Draco's spit flew as he spoke. "But she does go well with you, Mike. You two filthy mudbloods!"
Hearing the last word made Mike smile; it was an opportunity to assert his authority just as he had set up his protective stance.
He drew his wand and pointed it at Draco, saying, "I'll give you a chance to rephrase that."
Draco, unfazed, didn't believe Mike, a Muggle-born, could have learned much magic in these few days. He, a pure-blood, had been studying magic since he was young.
"Mud! Blood!!" Draco enunciated each syllable.
"Petrificus Totalus!"
An almost invisible beam of light struck Draco, immobilizing him with a distorted expression as he turned a shade of stone grey under the effect of Mike's Full Body-Bind Curse.
Mike had channeled his emotions into the curse, an easy task after six months of training his emotions, and the technique had significantly enhanced the spell's power.
The spell's potency had markedly increased, exhibiting a luminosity that hadn't been present before. This newfound brilliance was a clear indicator that the petrification spell had reached a higher level of mastery.
Seeing Draco petrified, everyone around gasped.
"You'll be expelled! There is no spellcasting in the hall. We should tell the professors!" Hermione was in a panic, tears welling up. The poor child didn't understand how malicious the term "mudblood" was.
Mike wasn't concerned; in a place like Hogwarts, blood prejudice was politically incorrect. His primary interest lay in the technique of casting spells with emotion, which significantly enhanced spell effectiveness. This supported his theory on the essence of magic: akin to chakra, magic is an amalgamation of physical and spiritual energies. Thus, heightened emotions amplify the strength of spells, and a young wizard's magical capacity grows with age.
Moreover, he now had a backer.
"I want to see who dares to make a fool of me! Ah, Draco Malfoy! Just like your father!" Flitwick was furious, having just assured Mike of his support, only for someone to challenge that.
Regarding Mike's use of the Full Body-Bind Curse on Draco, he opted to overlook it. In his own youth, he would have likely taken even more drastic measures in Mike's situation.
"How dare you! How dare you so blatantly break the school rules!" Professors McGonagall and Snape arrived at this moment. Professor McGonagall was clearly furious. She hadn't expected a new student to break the rules so soon after the start of the school year, especially in front of everyone.
Snape, silent beside McGonagall, had witnessed the entire event, which explained Draco's boldness.
But Draco had miscalculated this time.
The term "mudblood" was like a raw nerve for Snape. It was because of these words that he lost Lily.
"Mr. Tully, you will lose 50 points and serve ten days in detention!" Professor McGonagall made her ruling.
"I must protest! I cannot abide by your decision this time, McGonagall!" Professor Flitwick found the punishment to be unjust. "Malfoy had the audacity to call Mike a mudblood! The petrification was well deserved!"
Hearing the word "mudblood," McGonagall's expression changed dramatically.
"Slytherin loses 100 points. Draco Malfoy is assigned to 15 days of detention, which I will personally supervise. Mike Tully is to serve a one-day detention under the supervision of Professor Flitwick."
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Delvogen
Delvogen It's the hardest translation yet. So, SO many Chinese terms. Also, I had to change the dialogue around quite a bit because no native English speaker talks like that. Please leave a review, thanks.
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