bacchusnovels Chapter 241 Who Confiscated My Witchhood?
Chapter 241 Who Confiscated My Witchhood?
Chapter 241 Who Confiscated My Witchhood?
Sean spent almost half the night polishing his new novel.
While others polish their novels to make them better, he did the opposite.
There's no writing style, no structure, just plot and wild imagination.
After finishing writing, Sean read it through with satisfaction. He gave the novel, which he decided to serialize in *The Quibbler*, a title: ...
"The Witch Who Doesn't Know She's a Werewolf?" After finishing breakfast, Xenophilius leaned back in his chair, gently wiping his mouth with a napkin. He then adjusted his glasses, his gaze falling on the manuscript Sean had just handed him.
He murmured softly.
"Yes," Sean, sitting across from me, said somewhat nervously, "it has many other titles; you could also call it 'The Witch: Oh No, I've Become a Werewolf,' 'Who Confiscated My Witchhood,' 'Starting as a Witch from a Werewolf,'..."
When the manuscript was handed to Xenophilius, he was surprisingly nervous.
It felt like going back to when I was submitting my first book to Momo Publishing Company.
This feeling is probably unavoidable for every new author who has just started out.
It was a complex emotion that mixed expectation, ambition, and self-doubt—a desire for recognition of one's work, yet a fear of its ruthless rejection.
When facing an editor who holds the power of life and death over them, they are already at a disadvantage in terms of presence.
"It's fine, I think this name is just fine," Xenophilius casually agreed, then turned to the next page.
At first, he frowned and pondered to himself.
He believed it was merely a casual work by Mr. Hack, hardly worthy of serious consideration.
After all, most people in this world can read, have read books, and have even tried writing articles, but the difficulty of growing from an ordinary literature enthusiast to having one's work published is immense.
The vulgar language in Mr. Hack's novel further confirms his idea.
Out of politeness, he continued reading and decided to finish the story.
But as he read more, he changed his mind.
When he came to his senses again, he had unknowingly finished flipping through the few thin pages in front of him.
"Is there anything else?" he asked instinctively.
"That's all." Sean smiled. From Xenophilius's reading posture, he already knew the future of the novel. "I haven't had time to write the rest yet."
This is a qualified work.
Xenophilius was certain.
A good work doesn't need to have great writing skills or profound meaning; all it needs to do is keep the reader reading.
Countless people simply cannot keep the reader reading.
"This...you wrote this?" Xenophilius held the manuscript, looking at Sean with disbelief. Seemingly realizing the ambiguity in his words, he added, "Mr. Harker, aren't you...the cook?"
"Being a cook? That's just one of my many professions," Sean smiled brightly. "I have many, many more professions, like... author."
Xenophilius looked at Sean as if he were a monster.
For an individual, being able to master a skill and make a living from it is already an outstanding achievement.
It's extremely rare to find someone like Mr. Hack who can both cook excellent dishes and write great novels.
Moreover... he saw a kind of beauty in this novel.
A beauty that is unadorned.
If Mr. Hack can cultivate his writing skills further, given time, he may well surpass the two most popular writers of the past two years—Sean Phillips and Gilderoy Lockhart.
While Xenophilius was pondering, Luna, who had been unable to contain her curiosity any longer, darted forward and snatched the manuscript from her father's hands.
She blinked her bright, intelligent eyes, lay down on the sofa, and eagerly began to read.
Xenophilius originally intended to reprimand Luna.
After all, every author has their own quirks.
For example, some authors will never show their work to anyone other than the editor before publishing it.
Over the years, he has come into contact with many authors who have similar quirks.
These are all taboos in the industry.
But Sean stopped him.
"Never mind, Mr. Lovegood," Sean said softly, "Miss Lovegood might give me some unexpected feedback. After all, our story will eventually be presented to the readers, won't it?"
Looking at Sean's trusting eyes and then at Luna, who was completely absorbed in her manuscript and looking excited, Xenophilius shook his head helplessly, but a smile involuntarily crept onto his lips.
"Okay, just this once," he conceded, "but Luna, you have to promise me that after you finish reading it, you'll give us your honest feelings, just like you've always been a loyal reader of ours."
Luna looked up, nodded quickly, and assured him, "Don't worry, Dad! I definitely will! This story is amazing, I can't wait to know what happens next!"
Hearing Luna's assurance, Xenophilius turned to Sean and asked again, "Mr. Harker, are you sure you want to serialize this novel in our 'Quirk' magazine?"
"Of course, apart from The Quibbler, I don't think there's any magazine more suitable for him to be published in," Sean said sincerely.
"But, our 'Dissenting Voices'..." Xenophilius said, gesturing somewhat sheepishly with his thick blond hair, looking a little embarrassed, "...may not be able to pay you a substantial fee..."
"As you know, our readership has always been very limited..."
"The Quibbler" survived for several years under Xenophilius's care, but that was all it was—survived.
All the proceeds from this magazine were used to subsidize the family's living expenses and Pandora's potion research experiments.
Sean waved his hand decisively. "It's alright, Mr. Lovegood. If it's convenient, I'd like to stay here for a few days until I finish writing this novel. Would that be convenient?"
Sean's behavior, however, caused Xenophilius to have a slight misunderstanding.
He thought Sean wanted to repay their life-saving kindness through this novel.
So he quickly waved his hand and said, "Mr. Huck, you're too kind. We certainly welcome you to stay here for a while. As for repaying your life-saving grace, you really don't need to. We helped you because we believe that everyone deserves help when they encounter difficulties."
"We will do our best to promote your novel, but please don't consider it a reward. If the magazine's business improves in the future, we will also give priority to increasing the payment standard."
Upon hearing this, Sean smiled slightly.
He understood Xenophilius's misunderstanding, but did not point it out directly. "Mr. Lovegood, I stayed here because I really like the environment here."
As he spoke, his eyes inadvertently glanced at Luna, who was sprawled on the sofa reading a novel.
"I feel I can find inspiration for my writing here. Also, I want to see for myself what kind of impact my novel will have on readers after it is published in 'Singing the Quibbles'."
He paused for a moment, then continued, "Of course, if you don't mind, I'd like to learn more about magical creatures here."
"Of course not, Mr. Huck. I'm very happy that you'd like to learn about magical creatures. Well then,"
"It's settled then. You can focus on your work here. We'll do our best to provide you with a comfortable environment," Xenophilius said warmly.
And so, Sean took the first step in returning to three years ago—settling down and staying at Luna's house.
By afternoon, the sunlight had become soft and warm.
Sean, sitting in his bedroom, put down his pen and paper and decided to give himself a short break.
He slowly walked to the open space in front of the RV, where there was a small patch of grass, which was bathed in the golden sunlight of the afternoon sun.
Sean stretched his slightly sore and numb body, took a deep breath of fresh air, and felt the gentle breeze caressing his cheeks.
He waved his wand, aimed it at a tree stump, and softly recited the Transfiguration Charm.
With a faint flash of light, a comfortable-looking recliner appeared out of thin air in front of him.
Sean smiled with satisfaction. Although he didn't know how many minutes he could keep the recliner alive with his current level of magic, something was better than nothing.
He lay down on the deck chair, feeling utterly bored, and sank into its softness, gazing at the boundless blue sky.
There wasn't a single cloud in the sky, only the azure color and the occasional bird flying by.
Sean's thoughts began to drift away, and he imagined himself soaring freely in the sky like those little birds.
He hadn't felt this relaxed in a long time.
Perhaps... the happiest days of his life were the days he spent studying at Hogwarts?
Sean thought to himself, somewhat uncertainly.
At that time, although time was tight and the task was heavy, it was... very easy.
With the comfortable environment provided by Hogwarts, studying and reading were easy for him.
As Sean reminisced about the glorious past, he felt the rocking chair beneath him swaying gently.
not good!
It's almost time for the rocking chair to start!
Sean frantically stretched out his hands, trying to grab onto something to steady himself, but only managed to grasp at thin air.
Then, he felt a dizzying sensation, and he fell backward, crashing heavily to the ground.
Oh no, this is so embarrassing.
It's a disgrace that someone so old would make such a basic mistake.
Just as Sean was secretly relieved that no one was around, he suddenly heard a silvery laugh behind him.
He twisted his stiff neck and slowly turned around, only to see Luna standing at the door of the RV, hands on her hips, laughing without any regard for her image.
"Uncle Hack is so stupid!" Luna commented without any politeness.
From that moment on, Sean made up his mind to never let Luna know his true identity.
Otherwise, he couldn't imagine how he would face Luna in the future.
He tried to remain calm, then slowly stood up, trying to appear composed.
"Oh dear, Luna, you're the first person to see me fall," Sean said, trying to turn the awkward situation into a lighthearted joke.
Luna blinked, seemingly surprised by Sean's reaction. She paused, then laughed again, but this time the laughter was more friendly and warm.
"Okay, Uncle Huck, I'll remember to get you a cushion next time!" she said playfully, then turned and walked into the RV.
Oblivion Spell?
Sean was already thinking about the Oblivion Curse.
No wonder Lockhart used the Oblivion Charm so skillfully; in some ways, it was more effective than other spells.
However... he doesn't seem to have the magic to use the Oblivion Spell right now.
It's time to go to St. Mungo's Hospital for a physical exam.
If you have a health problem, are you going to church instead of going to the hospital?
"Doctor, can you take a look at my feet?"
This was the third day after Sean returned to three years ago. In the morning, he borrowed some of his royalties from Xenophilius and went to St. Mungo's Hospital in Diagon Alley.
There was another person standing in front of him in line to register.
"Let me take a look at your feet." The doctor in the white coat looked up, helped the patient place his feet on the table, and then began to examine them carefully.
"It looks a bit swollen. Have you been injured? Please tell me first, how long has this been going on? Do you have any particular symptoms, such as pain or numbness?"
The patient replied somewhat embarrassedly, "It always happens when I'm walking and accidentally step on an uneven surface, like I suddenly missed a step. The first time it just hurt a little, and I thought it would be fine after a few days of rest, but I didn't expect it to happen twice more."
"After this, my foot started to swell and felt numb, especially after walking or standing for a long time, the pain became more obvious."
After listening, the doctor gently pressed on several points on the patient's foot, carefully observing the patient's reaction. "Hmm, I noticed you frowned slightly when I pressed here. Does it hurt here?"
"Yes, right there, it hurts a lot." The patient pointed to the spot where the doctor had just pressed.
"Good ant, I think I can cure ant." The doctor said, taking out a bottle of magic potion from the shelf behind him and gently applying some to the patient's foot. The red and swollen area on the patient's foot immediately disappeared, and the foot was restored to its original state.
"Thank you so much, doctor." The patient said, quickly thanking the doctor and getting up to take the bill to pay.
Just as he was about to leave, Dr. F called out to him.
"Wait, I mean, do you need me to take a look at your eyes, or do you want to try something? Maybe that would be more helpful."
"What does this mean?" the patient asked, looking puzzled.
The doctor tried to explain, but the words that were about to come out changed to something else: "I mean... have a good life."
Finally, after the patients ahead of him finished seeing the ants, it was Shaun the Ant's turn.
"Doctor, could you please take a look at me?"
"Of course, Mr. Huck, please sit down." The doctor gestured for him to relax, then glanced at the sheets on the table.
Then they began to question him carefully, "You mean your magic has suddenly increased to the level of ants recently?"
"Yes, Doctor." Sean made up a reason for himself, "A few days ago, when I woke up, I suddenly felt a long-lost surge of magic, and then my magic disappeared."
The doctor nodded, his expression turning serious. "This is indeed unusual. A sudden change in magic could mean your body is undergoing some kind of transformation, or it could be a sign of an underlying illness. We need to examine you carefully."
As he spoke, the doctor began to gently touch Sean's body with a specially made wand. The tip of the wand emitted a faint glow, which was to test the flow of magic within his body.
"You seem perfectly normal." The doctor looked somewhat puzzled, then looked up at Sean. "Besides that, is there anything else bothering you?"
Sean thought and thought, then shook his head.
"It sounds like a curse," the doctor muttered to himself. "But usually, curses of this level have more obvious symptoms, such as persistent pain, abnormal fluctuations in magical energy, or drastic changes in mental state."
He looked up at Sean again. "Mr. Harker, why don't you go to the Curse Damage Department on the fifth floor for a thorough examination? Our department isn't very knowledgeable about curses."
"Okay, thank you," Sean replied politely to Cheng.
For now, it seems that this is the only way.
However, just as he reached the fifth floor via the stairs and was looking for the corresponding examination room, an unexpected woman suddenly appeared in his field of vision.
What is she doing here?