HP: A Sociopath Gamer In Magic World [ Chapter 123: Meeting! ] (Patreon)

His expression soon turned serious, "I've scheduled an appointment with an old friend of mine that should be able to help us get some answers."

I adopted a sober look, "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous."

"Are you having second thoughts?" he asked with a concerned voice.

I shook my head, "No, this is something I feel I have to do if I want to move forward."

On the way to the elevator we came to a door labeled Ludicrous Patent Office.

"Hold on a minute Professor," I said as I quickly dashed inside and came back out with different pamphlets and forms.

The small professor looked at the things in my hands and raised an eyebrow, "Oh?"

"A friend of mine recently gave me a book on spell creation and mentioned I could make some money by patenting any new spells?" I answered his unspoken question.

"A friend you say?" he said.

Seeing as he wouldn't let it go, I decided I might as well use this situation to my advantage.

"Daphne Greengrass actually," I explained. Despite trying to hide it I saw a flash of suspicion in his eyes the moment I said her family name. "I tutored her on the weekends in exchange for some spare coins. I was honestly surprised she approached me after knowing my Muggle-born status. I suppose some Slytherins are just more openminded than we give them credit for."

Flitwick stayed silent with a scrunched brow as if he were trying to make sense of something.

I decided to add another nail to the coffin, "Actually, she was the first person who suggested I could have mixed blood." I saw his eyes widen subconsciously in surprise.

It looked like he was going to say something before shaking his head and smiling, "It's good to have friends. If the exam results are anything to go by then she's a smart girl… very observant."

I'm curious to know what conclusion he must have come up with.

Coughing into his fist he motioned for the elevator, "We should really get going, don't want to be late after all."

Riding the elevator to the Fourth Level I called out Jinx and Hermes from their pocket dimension. There was no need to worry about them being spotted by Flitwick as spirits could choose to be seen or unseen by others.

Once we came to a stop only the professor and I exited the elevator. 'You know what to do,' I said over our telepathic connection.

As the doors closed behind us, I turned to my companion, "Ahem, so Professor, who exactly is it that we're meeting?"

The wizard started to say something before a grey-haired gentleman walked up to us, "That would be me."

Flitwick turned and smiled, something the mysterious man mimicked. "Filius, it's been too long," the man said, stepping forward to shake the smaller man's hand.

"Yes, it has an old friend," the smaller wizard agreed before turning in my direction, "Ahem, Charles this is Oswald Blackgate, Head of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures."

Stepping forward, I shook his hand, "A pleasure."

"Ah yes, Filius has told me a thing or two about you. Heard you're quite the Quidditch player. Never did care for the sport myself but to each his own," the man said before giving me a quick look over.

I took this time to use [Observe] on him and what I found made me raise a metaphoric eyebrow.

Looks like my latest quest would be completed ahead of time.

"Ahem, why don't we move this elsewhere," he finally said before leading us all the way to the end of a hallway toward a door that had a golden plaque with his name on it.

As expected, it was much bigger on the inside. It was a large oval two-story study, with a large number of bookcases covering every wall. A few magical instruments could be seen floating here and there, a huge aquarium with exotic looking fish took up most of the wall behind a large wooden desk. The room was filled with all types of oddities, but the strangest had to be the portrait of Darwin hanging on one of the walls, the last thing one would expect in a magical office.

Two black leather couches sat opposite of each other in front of the desk with a small glass coffee table in between them. With a wave of his wand, Oswald vanished them. He then called over two wooden stools and motioned for me to take a seat.

"I do apologize if this seems rushed, but I'm rather pressed for time at the moment. Apparently, someone has been breeding acromantulas with fire worms, with the results being as disastrous as one would expect," Oswald said, taking the opposite seat.

"We understand you must be busy, we're thankful that you're willing to see us at all," Flitwick told him.

The end of the wand sprayed me with a blue mist that caused me to lean back in surprise.

"Always time for a friend," the man replied without stopping his examination, "Oh, that reminds me, I heard a rumor that Vincent is entering this year's Dueling Tournament. He's been getting a big head after you retired. Don't suppose you feel up to knocking him down a peg."

The smaller man's face darkened briefly before letting out a breath, "No, my dueling days are over. I'm a teacher now."

"Hmm, if I'm not mistaken, Vincent's pupil is also entering the Junior Dueling Tournament," Oswald commented offhandedly before looking me in the eyes, "There's a chance you might end up fighting him."

I grinned, "I'll look forward to it."

"Ha, at least you aren't lacking confidence," the wizard laughed before taking out a handkerchief and wiping his wand clean. "Well there's one thing for certain, if you are part magical creature, there's no clear outward indicator. Though that could just be that your species doesn't have one or you aren't old enough to exhibit them, some traits might even be magical in nature rather than physical. Your sudden growth spurt and muscular physique could just be the result from a healthy diet and all the training you do. With that being said, Filius wouldn't have brought you all this way if there wasn't at least a possibility, so I'll ask now, what makes you so special?"