Harry clutched the bag that contained the shattered remains of his beloved Nimbus 2000, feeling a surge of anxiety and regret. He sat down on a wooden chair in the small office, where two other men greeted him with friendly smiles.
Surprisingly, Professor Watson, the director of the office, remained silent, but just gazed at him with a gleam in his eyes. He did not say anything else, as if he was waiting for Harry to speak first.
"Today, Minerva came over and told me about your situation, and mentioned your flying broomstick–"
Meanwhile, Professor Lupin warmed his hands on the blazing flames in the fireplace, and strolled over to Harry with a sympathetic expression.
"It seems that she is very worried about the prospects of the Gryffindor team this year," he said softly.
Harry's face fell into a gloomy frown, reflecting his bad mood. He had fallen victim to the power of the Dementors again, and the Gryffindor team was now only one step away from being eliminated from the Quidditch Cup. He suddenly wondered if he should apologize to Professor McGonagall, who had given him this broomstick in his first year as a gift for making the team as a Seeker. Now, because of his weakness, this broomstick ended up in pieces.
"Of course," Professor Lupin added quickly, noticing his bad mood, "Compared to the game, Minerva obviously cares more about you. She was very relieved that you were not seriously injured."
"That's true–" However, Professor Watson interrupted him, sounding a bit sheepish. "I was also scolded by Professor McGonagall."
"But what does that have to do with you?" Harry asked in surprise.
"Uh, Professor McGonagall thinks–" Bryan scratched his head, grinning awkwardly. "She probably meant that if I had been on the pitch at the time, I might have noticed the signs before those Dementors stormed into the school.
Uh, It's a fair point. So, I'm planning to consult with the heads of each house, from now on, any activities that involve a certain number of teachers and students, they have to register with me in advance, so that I can free up time to escort them."
"That's a good idea, Bryan," Lupin nodded approvingly. "Even if nothing else happens, having you on the scene to supervise can also prevent conflicts between the young wizards of each house. To be honest, this kind of thing was not uncommon when I was at Hogwarts."
Professor Watson and Professor Lupin discussed the reporting process for a while, Harry was also interested in this topic. He listened quietly, without any displeasure at their neglect of him.
"So–" Suddenly, Professor Watson turned his gaze to him, and said bluntly, "Your purpose of coming here is to ask me to help you look at your broom, right, Potter?"
"That's right, professor," Harry admitted, still holding the bag tightly. He knew that Professor Watson, a wizard of his caliber, could not have missed the shape of the bag, or the sound of the broken wood inside. Harry immediately jumped to his feet, his throat dry and tight. He coughed several times, trying to clear his voice.
"It's badly damaged. I'm not sure–" Then, under the urging of Professor Watson and Professor Lupin, Harry clumsily poured out the debris from the bag onto the desk.
"Oh, my God–" Professor Lupin gasped softly, but there was not much surprise in his voice. He looked at the debris on the desk, and sighed deeply. "That Whomping Willow was planted the year I came to Hogwarts. At first, many young wizards were curious. They tried to touch the trunk, then a boy named David Guetta almost lost an eye, and the school banned us from going near it. To be honest, no broomstick can withstand its fury."
'It almost killed Ron and me.' Harry thought so, but then, he noticed that Professor Watson stood up from his seat, bent down and pinched a piece of broomstick handle with two fingers. He looked at it carefully, Harry held his breath, his green eyes shining with anticipation.
The office was silent, except for the crackling of the fire.
Bryan picked up another piece with his empty hand and compared them. He studied the magic coils inside the broomstick, which looked normal to Harry. He frowned, and muttered something under his breath.
After a long time, Bryan placed the two pieces of diamond-shaped wood that fit together in front of him. He flicked his wand out of his sleeve, muttered something, and then, to Harry's astonishment, the two pieces of wood glowed faintly at the joint, and fused together seamlessly.
"Success!" Harry cried out joyfully, feeling a huge relief. He thought that his broomstick was saved, and that he could fly with it again.
"Incredible–" Lupin, who was watching the two pieces of wood that were joined together, expressed his surprise, "You really can fix Harry's broom, Bryan. As far as I know, flying brooms are very delicate alchemical artifacts, especially the Nimbus series, which should have at least a thousand complex magic coils distributed in them. They are very sensitive to any damage or interference, and require a lot of skill and precision to repair."
"It's not that simple-" Bryan said, cutting him off, and dampening Harry's joy. He looked at Harry with a serious expression, and said, "This is just a temporary solution, Harry. I haven't fixed your broom yet."
"Restituo" Bryan, who seemed to have an idea in his mind, pointed his wand tip at the small pile of wood chips on the table, and shouted.
A misty air stream sprayed out from the ebony wand tip, sweeping the wood chips into the air. In the occasional sparks, the messy wood chips found their positions and stuck together. Soon, a complete Nimbus 2000 appeared in front of everyone! It looked as good as new, and Harry felt a surge of hope.
'Success!' Harry's heart was filled with a huge joy again, as he looked at the Nimbus 2000 that was wrapped in a faint air stream and floating in the air. He thought that his broomstick was restored, and that he could play Quidditch with it again.
"Your alchemy skills are amazing, Bryan." Remus also gasped, admiring Bryan's work. He knew that alchemy was a very advanced and difficult branch of magic, and that only a few wizards could master it. He had never seen anyone repair a broomstick so quickly and easily.
Bryan didn't say anything. He reached out and took down the Nimbus, his focused eyes following the thumb that rubbed the broomstick handle. He seemed to be observing something, and he shook his head slightly.
"That's probably all we can do –" After a moment, Bryan muttered regretfully. He saw Harry's happy face, and calmly said, "Don't be too happy, Harry. I didn't fix your broom. I only restored its outer appearance, but not its internal function."
Bryan waved his hand, signaling Harry to calm down. "As Remus said, most alchemical artifacts have very complex internal structures. They usually have hundreds of interlocking and crisscrossing magic coils and runes, that create a delicate balance of forces and energies. I barely welded most of the magic paths inside this broomstick, but without the design drawings, I can't repair the parts that were damaged beyond recognition. Some of the magic coils are broken, some are missing, and some are misaligned. I don't know how to fix them, and I don't want to risk making things worse."
Lupin nodded, understanding Bryan's explanation. but Harry was still puzzled.
This was actually the reason why the same spell had different effects in different people's hands. In the wizarding world, it could be said that more than 90% of the wizards were ignorant of the principal reasons behind the standard spells they used daily. Many wizards only knew that magic was amazing, but they didn't know that magic wasn't 'unprincipled'. Like muggle science, magic also followed a set of strict logical rules.
"That means," Bryan explained patiently, "if you want to ride this broomstick on the lawn to relax, chase butterflies or something, it might work fine. It might just be a bit stiff to steer. But if you want to play a high-intensity Quidditch match, Harry, I suggest you wear a parachute when you go on the field."
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Author's Note: The Restituo spell is an upgraded variation of the reparo spell that I created or the MC created, which can not only fix any broken object, but also restore part of its original magic and performance based on the caster's alchemy knowledge and magic power. Restituo spell can also work on objects that are severely damaged and are made of complex materials.
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