"Alright, wait for me here--"
After Sirius Black had roughly described the process of the animagus map being confiscated, as well as its appearance, Amortus dropped this statement and immediately walked to the fireplace. He grabbed a handful of Floo powder from the shelf and threw it into the fireplace. There was a loud bang, and the jumping flames turned emerald green. Amortus took one step into the fireplace and disappeared from Sirius Black's view.
The room was dark and dirty, without windows, illuminated only by a solitary oil lamp hanging from the low ceiling.
There was a faint smell of fried fish in the air, surrounded by many wooden filing cabinets. Judging from the labels, these cabinets likely contained detailed records of each student who had been punished by Filch.
A set of shiny chains and shackles hung on the wall behind the desk, these things have been there since Amortus started studying here. Filch day and night hoped these things could work, but unfortunately, after all these years, they are still just an ornament.
Clunk!
"Oh, bloody hell, what is it?"
Suddenly, a ghostish figure appeared from the narrow fireplace. Due to his miscalculation of the disorderliness in the room, Amortus kicked over Loris Jane's dinner bowl.
While scolding the young wizard, Filch cursed involuntarily. But when he realized who the visitor was, his goldfish-like eyes bulged out of their sockets, and his reddened, sagging cheeks paled.
"I didn't know it was you, Mr. Brine!"
Filch glared at the casual standing Weasley brothers, but stood up straight on instinct when he recognized the visitors. He spoke in a frightened tone, "
"I was interrogating these rascals and didn't notice it was you, sir!"
"That's all right, Argus, I was rude to drop by and disturb your work."
Amortus waved his hand and smiled. Then, he turned his gaze to Fred and George, who seemed a bit uneasy.
"What's wrong, the two of you? Have you managed to get yourselves into another scrape?"
"Oh, it's not our professor who's causing trouble!"
Fred closed his eyes and made a face, as if Professor Brine's words deeply wounded him, "Explain it, George."
"It's like this, Professor. You know we're about to take the O.W.L. exams next year, and everyone around us is anxious. We can't afford to be idle--"
"So what?"
Amortus waved his hand at Filch, indicating that he didn't need to rush, and then he folded his arms and listened to the Weasleys' chatter with interest.
"We made up our minds to study hard and make up for the lost youth of our ignorance..." Fred blinked his eyes innocently and said, "We found a quiet classroom to concentrate on magical research, but this Mr. Filch, along with his cat, burst in and made trouble for us without reason--"
"Nonsense!"
Filch's sagging face twitched furiously, as he spit foam towards Amortus' face angrily.
"Mr. Brine, don't believe a word these two brats are saying!"
Before Amortus could speak, Filch's excitement caused his hands to spread open, revealing a small, thin rope that was the color of flesh in his palm.
"Take a look, Professor Brine. I grabbed this from them, it can be shortened or lengthened. I haven't figured out what it does yet, but at least, I can bet it has nothing to do with studying. It must be some idiotic prank!"
"You just don't understand," Fred retorted, "So you're framing us."
"Let me see, Filch."
Amortus waved his hand, and the ball of pink cord automatically flew into his hand. He picked up a small section with his thumb and forefinger, placing it in front of him. His violet eyes shone with flashes of sparks, much like meteors streaking across the sky. The reading chamber.
Fred sent George a look: What should we do, brother? Can't we expect Professor Brine to be as foolish as Filch?
George: Cheer up, brother. Maybe he's just having a bad day today!
Time passed one second after another. About a minute later, Amortus finished his observation and looked at the stern Weasley brothers. He threw something over and looked at them with appreciation in his eyes.
"This rope is rather superfluous, hasn't Professor Flitwick taught you the 'Echobox Charm'?"
Fred and George looked at each other, both seeing the excitement in each other's eyes.
"Can you give us some guidance, Professor Brine!"
Amortus didn't hesitate to impart knowledge just because he wasn't the substitute teacher, and he asked for a quill pen, scribbling down the names of several books on a form for recording 'crimes'. He then handed the paper to the twins, who were excited beyond measure.
"Your talent is undeniable, but merely relying on talent won't be enough to support your boundless imagination. Knowledge accumulation is important."
"You're absolutely right, Professor Brine!" Fred nodded earnestly, "We'll go and loot the library right away!"
Filch watched this scene from the side, looking dejected. However, when he heard his superior's words, he immediately became pleased again.
"After all, Argus is not unjustly punishing you two. Now, I have something to consult Argus about, so this week you two find some spare time and come here again to receive your punishment."
Fred and George trudged dejectedly up the room, closing the door behind them with a swing.
"What can I do for you, Professor Brine?"
Filch, who had got what he wanted, said happily.
"This is it, Argus--"
Amortus dare not claim to have been a well-behaved student during his time at Hogwarts, but being modest, humble, and extremely cautious was certainly correct. Apart from being placed in detention by Snape's office, Filch never caught him out, so he had only heard of this fearsome office through conversations with fellow housemates. He had never been there himself.
Glancing around, Amortus's gaze landed on the cabinets labeled with tags.
"I came here to find something. It's an old, blank parchment... it should be very old, and when spread out, it would be about this size--"
Amortus pointed a path to Filch with his hand,
"This thing has been collected from several students by you over the past decade or so. It's been a long time, and I don't know if you'll remember it."
This was followed by a rummage through the drawers, with Filch almost opening all the drawers in the room. Some of these things were even collected by Filch's most revered predecessor, Pollyvern Pringer, during his time as the Prefect. They had been lying in an unnoticed corner waiting to decay into dust.
Throughout the entire process, Amortus didn't show any impatience. However, Filch clearly was under great pressure. He was rummaging through the drawers, muttering to himself in a crazy way.
"Damn, damn, did a thief get in here?"
An hour later, Filch finally gave up his search. Straightening his aching back, he looked at Amortus with a forlorn expression and said,
"Please give me a little more time, I swear I will definitely find the thing you're looking for."
This situation didn't surprise Amortus much. After all, it had been more than a decade since the parchment was collected, and by this time, a piece of paper with no special appearance might have already been used as rough paper and thrown into the fireplace to burn. To Filch's apology, he only sighed regretfully and consoled him.
"Try your best, Argus. It's fine if you really can't find it."
His generosity, however, made Filch even more uneasy. After all, Professor Brine rarely gave him any instructions. This was a rare opportunity to distinguish himself, and he had messed it up.
"I'll go through my house today and check, Professor Brine. I'll report to you as soon as I find it!"
Before Amortas stepped into the fireplace, Filch called out anxiously.
"Then it's up to you, Argus--"
Amortus turned his back on Filch and waved his hand, his form once again becoming a phantom, disappearing into the emerald flames.
Behind a tapestry on the side of the grand staircase on the first floor, Fred and George looked at each other, both seeing unease in each other's eyes.
"This is not good--" Fred tried to pull the pink thin rope back as hard as he could, "Professor Brine, how did he know about that thing? It couldn't have been Harry who said it, right?"
"We'll never be able to figure it out,"
George, peeking out to observe the outside, said urgently,
"But we have to give Harry a hint!"
