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Chapter 264: The Room Behind the Curtain
Chapter 264: The Room Behind the Curtain
The seventh-year wizards filed out of the classroom, their faces still dazed and not fully back in the real world. As they reached the corner of the corridor, a brown-skinned Ravenclaw girl loudly announced, “I’m reserving an Outstanding in the N.E.W.T. Ancient Runes exam!”
Her words were like a switch that had been flipped, unleashing a flood of discussion—
“Ha~ I was thinking the same thing!”
“This class was incredible. I can’t even imagine what the next one will be like on Friday…”
“Yeah, compared to Professor Hip, my brain feels like it’s stuffed with weeds.”
“What do you think about what Professor Hip said?”
“Hmm, I was planning to join the Ministry of Magic, but now I’m having second thoughts. My parents work there, and their lives aren’t as great as people think.”
“Really? Would you mind elaborating…?”
Penelope leaned in next to Percy and whispered, “Is your goal still the Ministry of Magic?”
Percy hesitated for a moment, then resolved, “Yes, I also yearn for the future Professor Hip described, but I need to seize what’s within my reach.”
“But you won’t miss Professor Hip’s classes, right?”
“Are you kidding me?” Percy said. “I’ll give it my all!”
Over the next day, these seventh-year students appeared in other classes, their unusually excited and distracted states catching the attention of the other professors. Felix’s methods and words had also spread among the teaching staff.
Felix thought someone might want to talk to him, and he had even prepared his defense, but everything remained calm.
In the evening, he recorded his thoughts in his office—
‘Mind Chamber Magic is becoming increasingly powerful, even to the point where it feels unfamiliar to me. Without resistance or obvious defenses, I can instantly pull the surface consciousness of a dozen or twenty people into the Mind Chamber, which was the foundation of today’s class. From here, two paths can be explored—’
‘The first path is the offensive direction; however, the Mind Chamber cannot truly harm the opponent, as what is pulled in is only an external reflection of their true consciousness. If they resist, it will fail, and it’s unlikely to be practical in combat in the short term;’
He paused and heavily underlined ‘unlikely to be practical in combat in the short term.’ The vague but terrifying potential of this direction was too significant for him to abandon.
Imagine, in the future, a single glance knocking down a group of wizards…
‘The second path is the supportive direction, used for mind acceleration and Ancient Runes teaching. The former is incredibly useful in both combat and learning, while the latter—’
Felix paused, thinking, ‘Combining the Mind Chamber with Memory Magic yields equally astonishing results. I have a real chance to become the greatest teacher in history.’
He then pondered, ‘I’m not sure whether to be relieved or regretful that memories cannot be directly infused. A person’s memories are incredibly intricate, and hasty alterations can lead to unpredictable consequences. Even my memory charm only minimizes side effects, not eliminate them entirely.
Most memory erasure personnel at the Ministry of Magic only remove the last few hours of memory, but the affected individuals often experience forgetfulness and sluggishness for a day or two, or even a week or two… I’ve verified this myself from Dark Wizards.
Infusing knowledge, however, isn’t a minor alteration; it has a profound impact on a person…
For now, I’ve only managed to bypass this limitation to an extent, primarily to accelerate learning.’
Felix’s mind flashed with a series of names: Severus, Dumbledore, Lockhart, Rowena Ravenclaw, the Longbottoms… They, whether actively or passively, have all contributed to the improvement and enhancement of the Mind Chamber, which is why, in just a year and a half, this magic has evolved from barely usable to effortless and fluid.
Not to mention, he had also experienced a significant upgrade in Memory Magic, with the strong support of the Hogwarts Library’s Restricted Section…
Felix picked up a piece of parchment, watching it silently turn to ash in the Mind Chamber, where it reformed.
He rolled the parchment into a cylindrical shape and drew a silvery-green thread from the air, securing it tightly.
With nimble movements, he climbed over the stacks of books on the deep chestnut carpet and stood before the deep green curtain. The curtain moved on its own, curling up to reveal a tall, doorless portal.
He placed his hand on the door, which had no handle, and pushed it gently. The door opened silently.
Behind the door lay his true inner world, hiding his deepest secrets and memories.
This was a long room, with a straight aisle running through the center, seemingly without end. On either side of the aisle stood tall bookshelves, filled with books of various shapes and sizes. Each cover depicted a different version of oneself at different stages of life.
At the edges of the shelves, there were also displayed notebooks, photographs, memory orbs, and other miscellaneous items.
Felix strode forward, and the room gradually brightened. He stood before a bookshelf, counting the numbers under the soft light: "Memory Magic—Mind Chamber—theoretical derivation—there it is!"
He placed the Xiao Yuan tube on the shelf, muttering to himself, "Hmm, the room always changes. I have to search for a while every time I come here..."
Felix emerged from the room behind the curtain, watching the deep green curtain fall again, covering the heavy door. He turned and returned to the real world.
In the Ancient Runes Office, he looked at the time and waited quietly—
"Knock, knock!"
"Come in—"
The office door opened, and Hermione sneaked in like a thief.
"Nobody saw you, Hermione Granger?"
"No, Professor. You told me to keep it secret", Hermione said lightly. Two hours earlier, during dinner, Professor Hup's Patronus suddenly appeared, holding a blank card in its mouth.
When her magic covered the card, a line of small text appeared: Time-Turner, 8 PM tonight, keep it secret.
Hermione had anxiously waited until past nine o'clock, then used the Time-Turner to go back two hours and appeared here.
Felix nodded and asked, "What do you think about Sirius Black's attack yesterday?"
He planned to use this question as a starting point to introduce his suspicion about Scabbers, but Hermione surprised, or rather, startled him.
"Professor, we suspect—Ron's rat, there might be something wrong!" Hermione whispered, her voice trembling with excitement.
"Wh-what makes you think that?"
"It was Harry", Hermione said. "On the night before the start of the third year, he overheard Mr. Weasley and Mrs. Weasley talking. Mr. Weasley said—"
She held her breath, her eyes wide open.
"After Black escaped from Azkaban, the Ministry of Magic investigated, and the guards mentioned that Black had been repeating in his sleep—'I'm at Hogwarts, I'm at Hogwarts...'"
Hermione's voice became sharper, "We thought Black's target was Harry, but yesterday's attack proved otherwise, or at least not the primary target. Plus, Black's unusual behavior started after Fudge gave him a newspaper—oh, Fudge said this himself when talking to the professors at the Three Broomsticks—combined with Black's attack on Ron, we speculate it was the Daily Prophet that published the news of the Weasleys' award..."
Hermione continued explaining her thoughts, but Felix couldn't help but admire their keen insights and criticize Fudge's negligence. It turned out that the root of all this was Fudge.
However, Harry and the others had actually obtained this information much earlier, but it wasn't until yesterday that they pieced it all together. Felix, on the other hand, wasn't as lucky. He had connected the dots based on Black's Animagus form and the unusual attack on Ron.
The key clue was the Animagus. Following this lead, many things could be deduced.
"…Harry and I haven't told Ron yet. Oh, we can't be sure, but if it's true, he'll be devastated."
"Hermione Granger", Felix sighed, "there is a possibility, and that's why I called you here. I initially thought—"
He shook his head lightly, "I need to adjust my strategy."
"Since you've investigated this far, I hope you realize the potential danger. Your safety comes first."
Felix summoned three coins that could transform into an Ouroboros Ring, placing them in Hermione's hand. "These are for the Rune Club, but it's fine to give them to you a few days early."
"You can use them to contact me in case Harry forgets to bring the Marauder's Map… three people are more reliable than one.
Additionally, keep your Beaded Bag with you at all times. It can briefly resist a Basilisk, and in a sudden attack, an ordinary Dark Wizard won't be able to match you.
If you find Scabbers, stun him immediately without hesitation, then alert the nearest professor or contact me directly."
(End of Chapter)
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