Hogwarts: Don't call me the Staff Maker

Chapter 54 Cooperation

Fred and George certainly had a wealth of experience in breaking school rules, and Professor Sprout hadn't actually seen them.

Although she and Hagrid later patrolled the area, it wasn't to the point of going so far as to inspect the student dormitories.

The only thing that bothered Celen was that Professor Sprout was paying more attention to Liu, who had hit him.

For a long time afterward, Xilun secretly came outside through the secret passage more than once, hoping to repeat his old trick and collect more branches of the Man-beating Willow, but these actions all failed.

Every time he got close to the Whomping Willow, he would receive a screaming warning from Scout Tom.

This means there are people around, possibly Professor Sprout, or Filch or someone else; in any case, it's not safe.

Then Siren will return to the castle as quickly as possible.

Fortunately, no one suspected anything... Cats are allowed among the pets at Hogwarts, so it's perfectly normal to hear cats meowing at night.

Even so, Xilun was still quite angry.

It's all Fred and George's fault, those two reckless guys! Otherwise, he could have gotten at least two or three more branches!

So every time he saw these two, Celen never gave them a kind look. Fred and George didn't complain at all, because it was indeed the two brothers who had dragged him down.

After all, Xilen was able to obtain such a long branch unscathed, while they not only returned empty-handed but also aroused Professor Sprout's suspicion.

Ultimately, it comes down to their lack of professional skills.

However, after this incident, their relationship with Xilun did indeed take a step further, as if they had met too late in life.

In Fred's own words: "The Sorting Hat is absolutely right. Sherren is a natural Gryffindor."

This naturally made Siron even angrier, and he then blamed the Sorting Hat. For a while, he even considered whether to give the Sorting Hat the willow cane that had already been made.

Originally, according to Xilun's plan, this staff was to be used to match another eight-eyed giant spider leg, but after the staff was completed, he suddenly felt a little reluctant to part with it.

I don't know if it's because Xilun has been looking forward to it for so long, but he has shown unprecedented enthusiasm during the making process... This staff is simply too perfect. Not only are the necessary conditions such as elasticity and hardness impeccable, but it can even resonate with the engraved runes.

To achieve magical resonance without adding a core... to put it another way, even if his grandfather, Garrick Ollivander, made such a fine staff, he would still need to exchange it for the best quality unicorn tail hair.

In comparison, a single leg of an eight-eyed giant spider is a bit too much to ask for; perhaps a brain or heart would be more worth considering.

Xilun decided to wait a little longer.

As for the leg of the eight-eyed giant spider, if Xilun could get a second willow branch to hit people, he could make another one, but now... let's not think about unrealistic things, the grapevine is fine.

However, this means that the completed staff will have to be put on hold for a while.

With the school year nearing its end, professors are assigning homework like crazy in preparation for the upcoming exams.

Even the first-year students, who had the lightest academic workload, were overwhelmed and dizzy.

Perhaps it was because she was too tired, Xilun felt like she had forgotten something, but every time she thought about it, she couldn't figure it out.

After several attempts, he had no choice but to give up and continue immersing himself in various magic books, night after night, striving to complete the professors' tasks.

Until the weekend before the exam.

"What, go cut down the Man-beating Willow together?" Xiren looked at the twins in front of him in disbelief, not understanding why they would have such an idea.

"Are you complaining that your injuries weren't severe enough last time, and want to get beaten up again? Also, don't forget that Professor Sprout has never given up on finding the culprit from that day."

"Keep your voice down!" Fred looked around and pulled Siren to a secluded spot.

"That's why we came to you for cooperation." He continued, "We've thought about it. You must have some special method to get that branch unscathed, a method that won't be targeted by the 'Hit-Man Willow'."

Xilun pursed his lips but didn't say anything.

"Don't worry, it's your secret, we won't ask," George said.

"Yes," Fred nodded, "just like you don't ask us why we know so many secret passages."

"However, we can cooperate."

"What do you mean?" Xilun asked.

Fred didn't answer directly, but instead asked mysteriously, "You've been outside several times before, but you've all returned empty-handed, haven't you?"

"Hmm?" Xilun raised an eyebrow.

"No need to deny it, we all know," George said with a smile.

"I saw it with my own eyes," Fred said.

"And we also know you're very lucky."

"Professor Sprout was watching over you those times. If you didn't go back the way you came, you would have been caught red-handed."

"But you were lucky enough to avoid them all."

Xilun remained silent.

He knew that Fred and George had a magical map that could show the movements of everyone in the castle, but he didn't expect that the map could even show the area outside the castle.

Fred and George were also surprised. The fact that Xiren always retreated without hesitation at crucial moments made them wonder if Xiren also had a live map.

But upon closer inspection, that doesn't make sense. If there were a Marauder's Map for Xilun, it would have been impossible to go there in the first place.

They thought about it for a long time but couldn't come up with a solution, so they could only conclude that Xilun was lucky.

"Let's get straight to the point: how do we want to cooperate?" Xiren asked bluntly.

"Professor Sprout can't stay here forever; we know there will be a gap in his schedule." Fred and George didn't beat around the bush any further.

"We guarantee that no one will be near the Willow Tree during that time."

"You will be alerted immediately if anyone approaches."

"You don't need to worry about anything during this time; just focus on collecting branches."

"But we should split the profits fifty-fifty."

"No way." Xilun shook his head immediately after hearing this. "It's a 30/70 split. After all, I need to face the Man-Beating Willow directly, and the mission is more dangerous."

"46 is our bottom line," George said. "Intelligence is equally important. Without knowing the exact time, you have no chance to get close to the Beating Willow."

Both men were adamant, and after a moment's hesitation, Xilun nodded.

"Okay, it's a deal."

"Is it a pleasure to work with you?" Fred and George extended their hands simultaneously.

"Perhaps," Xiren said, looking at them. "But there are some things I must make clear beforehand. If the professor catches me, I will definitely implicate you."

"Oh my god, you really should have been sorted into Slytherin." George's mouth was wide open, his expression exaggerated, but he was smiling very happily.

"It's a pity you don't have that chance."

"I hope so," Siren said, extending his hand to shake hands with the two men.