Chapter 245: Christmas Holiday Approaching
Chapter 245: Christmas Holiday Approaching
Felix was relieved to see that Harry, Ron, and Hermione had become more serious.
As he thought about this, a vague idea began to form in his mind. It was not yet clear, but it definitely involved the broken Pensieve he had spent the entire night researching without finding any way to repair it.
Pensieve, Memory Magic, and a gladiatorial arena similar to a Mind Chamber... what would happen if he combined them?
A vision flashed before Felix's eyes:
In the Ancient Runes class, young wizards lined up one by one to jump into the Pensieve. A constructed 'Felix' would methodically teach the class, and the students could pause, rewind, and fast-forward the process at will, while the real Felix enjoyed reading and drinking tea outside...
Or perhaps—
He could design a complex maze or a Forbidden Forest, a swamp... the location didn't matter. The key was that he could have the young wizards team up in groups of three or two and practice dueling in realistic scenarios without any restraint.
The three students noticed Professor Hup had fallen into deep thought. After a while, he muttered, "I have to make sure the young wizards don't tease the teacher. They're too mischievous and would definitely do it..."
Hermione blinked. What did the professor just say?
Felix decided to ask Nicolas Flamel about it when he returned. Apart from Flamel, he couldn't think of any other alchemist currently alive who might have cracked the secrets of the Pensieve.
It would be best to borrow Headmaster Dumbledore's Pensieve temporarily. Yes... he could swear he had no intention of peeking into Dumbledore's memories.
'If my idea can be realized, this might become a magical item with even more potential than the magic phone, profoundly changing the entire wizarding world.' The thought flashed through his mind and quickly took root, growing rapidly.
Felix hurriedly left, but before he went, he asked Hermione to keep an eye on the Christmas holiday stay list. The young witch nodded responsibly; she was already very accustomed to helping the professor with various tasks.
After he left, Harry muttered, "Thanks—staying behind to keep me company." Ron and Hermione had both signed up to stay at the school.
Ron said he didn't want to see Percy's face, "He's already got three internship recommendations. I can imagine what the Christmas dinner at home will be like—Percy boasting with his big badge, Dad handing him a glass of brandy, and Mom kissing his face until it swells. Maybe I'll even see Penelope..."
Hermione also had plenty of tasks to complete, "I'm only on the third volume of 'Chadwick's Magic,' and there's never enough time."
But Harry still felt warm inside, knowing these were just excuses. "Let's go practice dueling", he said. Ron's expression immediately turned grim, but Harry and Hermione laughed and dragged him out of the common room.
"Can I add an extra cushion? I mean, maybe more than one..."
...
Nicolas Flamel seemed preoccupied with other matters. Through the mouth of the 'young Nicolas Flamel' in the photo, he told Felix that he would ask Dumbledore to bring some past research materials.
Felix had initially wanted to visit Nearly Headless Nick during the Christmas holiday, but since Nick was busy with other things, he had to abandon the idea. However, he still planned to send a Christmas gift. Felix completed a Scrying Mirror with a sufficiently magical function, which he could ask Dumbledore to bring over.
He was confident that Nicolas Flamel would be 'overjoyed' with this Christmas gift.
Besides Flamel, Felix also prepared a long list of people to whom he needed to send Christmas gifts. These names included professors and students at Hogwarts, as well as some wizard pen pals he knew, of course, not to mention his enthusiastic fans.
Since Felix had publicly debated with a group of wizards in the Daily Prophet, his identity as a Hogwarts professor had become widely known, and fans naturally started sending letters here.
When the number of people increased, all sorts of strange letters started pouring in, including bold and fiery declarations of love. Felix couldn't help but scratch his head. I've never even held a signing event, let alone shown my face in public. What if I turn out to be a messy old man? He imagined himself with Andis's appearance and shuddered at the thought.
To his surprise, among the fan letters were quite a few from young wizards who hadn't started school yet. They were all loyal readers of Young Wizard Mick's Adventures, and the letters were sent directly to the L.C.A comic book publisher, delivered to him one day by Dobby.
At the time, Felix's Warmnut started to heat up, and then a few House-elves carrying large packages appeared in his office. Apart from Dobby, the other House-elves were dressed in tattered clothes.
Opening the packages, he found various letters and gifts. It took him quite a while to handle the replies.
Felix also carefully examined each of the five House-elves Dobby brought over. After confirming they were truly unbound, he gave them the green light, encouraged them, and had Dobby take them away.
Their status would be similar to the House-elves in the Hogwarts kitchen, perhaps a bit higher. At the very least, they would have holidays and wages, though the amounts would be modest.
Felix had also considered arranging for seventh-year Hogwarts students to intern at the L.C.A publisher, but he ultimately decided against it because drawing magic couldn't be mastered in a short period.
Hogwarts students knew nothing about this branch of magic, so a short internship would be of little use. However, he could facilitate a collaboration between Professor Mcgonagall and Andis to train a group of people skilled in drawing magic.
All fifth-year Hogwarts students must attend a brief meeting during the summer term to discuss their future career options with their Head of House.
During this period, various brochures and flyers about magical careers would flood in. Large enterprises like Little Red Book Publishing, the Daily Prophet, Gringotts Wizard Bank, and the Ministry of Magic would send representatives every few years to promote their organizations.
When Felix was a student, he even saw Gringotts goblins, which was a rare occurrence. Generally, such tasks were handled by Gringotts Wizard employees because the goblins were dissatisfied with their treatment and harbored strong distrust and resentment towards wizards.
Leaving aside the historical rebellions and uprisings initiated by the goblins, they would always demand at the International Confederation of Wizards meetings that wizards relinquish their monopoly on wands, despite the goblins consistently hiding their magical secrets and the techniques for crafting enchanted weapons.
Felix speculated that their appearance on campus might have been related to the recent end of the war. At the time, some had proposed revoking the goblins' operational rights at Gringotts and treating them merely as currency minters.
The then Minister of Magic, Millicent Bagnold, had a strong and decisive leadership style. She took office during the most intense phase of the Wizarding War and approved the use of Unforgivable Curses by Aurors against Death Eaters.
As a hardline minister, it was hard to predict whether she would have agreed to the proposal. After much deliberation, the goblins had to make some statements, including permanent neutrality and a promise not to initiate rebellions. Their visit to Hogwarts was one of their public relations efforts.
...
In the following days, as the Christmas holidays approached, it was clear that the young wizards' minds were no longer on their studies. Many were already planning to make the most of their last Hogsmeade trip before the holiday for some festive shopping.
Felix also had some free time. In the previous treatment, the Longbottoms had all entered a deep sleep, during which their brains were undergoing an important self-repair and transformation. It could take a day or a month, but they would eventually wake up.
However, even the day before the holiday, when the young wizards boarded the train home, Felix still hadn't received any good news from St. Mungo's. He felt a bit disappointed but still wrote a note to Madam Longbottom—
"The plan can begin."
(End of Chapter)
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