Filch was rather lenient with him, perhaps because he had said a few nice words to Filch, or maybe because Filch knew he was a good student who wouldn't easily break school rules.
Not this time.
Even though Ian was seen.
Filch just paused.
Then he turned his head away as if he hadn't seen anything at all.
"I have to lock you up first."
Filch continued to sinisterly threaten the Weasley brothers.
"Huh?"
George, who had poked his head out of the clutter, was confused. He couldn't understand why such a large little wizard wasn't far away, yet the always "righteous" Filch chose to ignore it.
"Didn't you see! Over there! There's someone!" George didn't care about the fire that protected the night expedition team; he only felt he'd seen some dirt disguised as a little wizard.
"Who are you talking about! Still talking nonsense! This is relentless!" Filch had no intention of turning back again; Snape's warning still echoed in his ears.
"You should be grateful you didn't go catch him, otherwise, if he turned you into some weird creature and threw you in the sewer, Dumbledore definitely wouldn't mourn for you."
Filch's nature was to bully the weak and fear the strong; he actually noticed Ian's nighttime wanderings and reported it to Snape. However, Snape's words left him deeply unsettled.
Especially after checking various rumors and learning from Madam Pince about the books Ian normally borrowed, Filch had a rare moment of cleverness.
He let himself be infected with the strange disease of selective blindness.
No choice.
After all.
For a seemingly harmless little wizard who could get Dumbledore's approval to treat the Forbidden Book Area like home and even borrow a pile of Dark Arts books.
How dare a small administrator provoke him?
Even though he appeared to be a student.
Someone powerful backed him up above!
The most powerful person in Hogwarts was protecting him!
"Fred! Fred! You must have seen it just now! Over by the stairs... standing there was that guy!" George panicked after noticing Filch's strange behavior.
He was obviously still somewhat naive.
"Who are you talking about?"
Fred finally poked his head out, "I didn't see anything, all I saw was my broken magic wand; Mom must want to shove me back into her belly!"
Without validation from his brother, George's face grew paler.
"Peeves! You must have seen it!"
George grasped his last straw, looking to the long-silent Peeves. This shout made Peeves, who was self-punishing in the corner, furious.
"I didn't see anything! You evil little wizard! Don't try to harm the great Peeves!" Peeves immediately sat on George's face.
"You're too wicked! I'll shut your mouth!"
Peeves pressed hard on George's head, and George, somewhat breathless, didn't cry out for help or shout, because the impact on his heart was indescribable.
Even Peeves feared the dirt!
How dirty must it be?
They might have inadvertently discovered another hidden creature in Hogwarts!
...
After watching two good shows in a row.
Ian arrived at the basement, wanting to explore where the Gryffindor portrait might be hidden. However, he clearly didn't expect Hogwarts' nightlife to be far more exciting than he imagined.
Previously witnessing the abandoned classroom where Quirrell contacted Voldemort with Aurora, Ian was really just passing by. He hadn't expected to see the fully-garliced Quirrell's figure again inside.
Nothing evil was being conducted, but as the threatened party, he was directly pinned against the wall. The man in the black robe holding Quirrell's collar was a powerful Dark Wizard.
Ian immediately cast the Illusionary Body Spell on himself once more.
The third great show of the night was playing out.
"Don't treat me as your enemy, I think you wouldn't want to be against me either?" Ian's good uncle, Severus Snape, coldly stared at the shivering Quirrell.
"I... I don't understand what you're saying, Professor Snape, really..." Quirrell seemed utterly scared, his stuttering voice full of tension.
"No, quite the contrary, you know exactly what I mean." Snape pinched Quirrell's neck hard, seemingly about to lift him up.
Such familiar dialogue.
Made Ian feel as though he had become Harry Potter - of course, the difference being he wouldn't report Snape, nor feel Snape was doing anything evil.
"I really... really don't know what happened in the Forbidden Forest, I beg you, Snape... spare me." Quirrell seemed like a bullied wretch pleading with Snape.
Snape showed no mercy.
"I know you've left the school; huh, I have ways to find out anyone's whereabouts at any time." Snape spoke with a cold smirk.
"When traveling, I caught... caught some disease, only to explode after returning to the school, so I went to Hogwarts Village to buy medicine. I just didn't want to bother you."
Quirrell seemed to have already found a reasonable excuse.
Snape's cold smile persisted.
"You keep your secrets tight, very good, soon enough, when you have time to think it over, after deciding whom you will be loyal to, we will talk again."