Chapter 314: The Prophecy
Chapter 314: The Prophecy
"Fred and George Weasley must have no idea that their noses would one day be displayed in public." Ron chuckled, his eyes fixed on the small patch of light above him. Harry, Hermione, and the dozen or so others around them were similarly entranced.
They stood on an empty floor, or rather, within the space of the stone basin. The light here was not very bright, resembling the dim twilight of dusk.
Above them was not a ceiling but a circular patch of light, very similar in shape to the edge of the stone basin. At the moment, part of that light was blocked by a straight nose, as if a giant outside the room was peering in.
Ron said with a satisfied look, "Guess whose nose this is? I think it’s George’s. Although it’s not obvious, his nose is a bit crooked."
Harry grinned. It was indeed an amusing perspective. They could also hear a buzzing murmur, distant and echoing—
"I see a bunch of little people. Ronnie is the easiest to spot, with our family’s red hair—ouch!"
Inside the stone basin, one of the Weasley brothers flailed and fell from the air, tumbling over a dozen times before landing solidly on the floor. George Weasley looked up to see his younger brother grinning and extending a hand with a teasing tone, "Your hair is pretty noticeable too."
George immediately got up, brushing off imaginary dirt, and said with a mock serious tone, "It’s all Fred’s fault. He was pushing my head down. Oh, here he comes."
Everyone looked up as another person fell from above, almost a carbon copy of George. Fred also landed with a loud thud.
"Perfect!" George said happily, "Harry, which one of us landed better?"
Harry tried to sound objective, suppressing his laughter as he said, "I think it was you, but Fred made a louder thud when he hit the ground..."
The students fell one by one like dumplings, and finally, Professor Hup landed lightly on the ground, smiling, "A little appetizer before the main course. I hope you enjoyed it."
"Next, I will demonstrate the true power of this magic."
As Felix spoke, he waved his hand, and just like in a fairy tale, "The sky darkened, and darkness enveloped the earth, so thick that you couldn’t see your hand in front of your face." Harry felt a bit anxious, his heart rate accelerating involuntarily. He called out tentatively, "Ron? Hermione? Professor?"
There was no response, not even the sound of his own voice. In his panic, he bumped into someone who seemed about to fall. He grabbed the person instinctively.
"Stay calm—"
Professor Hup’s voice echoed, "This is the magic mist, which can block out ordinary light and sound. Generally, experienced individuals would choose to leave this area because they don’t know what they might encounter. But if you’re already caught in it, you can use special magic to dispel the mist, like the Luminos spell I taught you."
He chanted the runic syllables, and light gathered in his hand. Beams of light pierced the darkness, bringing illumination, but the straight, bright rays and the darkness intertwined, neither overpowering the other. Harry thought of a scene where a flashlight beam cuts through the night.
Except, it was as if Professor Hup had countless tiny flashlights in his hand...
At the same time, Harry recognized the person next to him, the only second-year student, "Oh, Ginny, are you okay?"
Ginny’s face was as red as her hair, "N-no, I’m f-fine!"
Felix said, "This is the initial mastery of this magic, and it’s the minimum requirement I have for you—all of you can control it steadily, preventing it from draining your magic, and maintain a basic shape, like a large light bulb."
"Once you become proficient, meaning your control is sufficient, you can freely change the shape of the magic, such as a light ball—"
He extended his hand, holding a milky white light ball that emitted a warm, golden hue in the magic mist, making everyone feel a sense of comfort. The light grew brighter, and Harry could see the vague outlines of the others.
"Or in the form of an animal—"
A glowing owl flapped its wings, casting an uncertain light on their faces. Harry suddenly thought of his own Hedwig, but in the next second, it turned into an eagle, and then various other unknown birds of prey.
"Or, just a simple beam—"
Felix continued, and the Harpy eagle in his hand shot up into the sky, leaving a long, bright vertical trail. In the end, it truly became a beam of light.
"These variations can be used for your private practice to help you become more familiar with the magic. Later, you can freely inject magic to enhance its power and range."
The light beam, as thick as a wrist, seemed to break free from its constraints, rapidly expanding from one foot to two, ten, twenty feet... The light column extended, enveloping them, and the entire space’s magic mist was dispelled, making the sky bright and clear.
Felix released the magic, "So, next—I will provide one-on-one guidance."
Everyone stared at the professor, confused by his words. One-on-one, did that mean they would go up one by one to receive guidance? Harry, Ron, and Hermione had a vague idea that perhaps the professor had prepared in advance, like the memory Professor Hup in the Unwritten Book.
They were half right.
Hermione suddenly covered her mouth, her eyes wide, and the others wore expressions of shock as a second head appeared on Professor Hup’s neck. Soon, his chest also split into two, as if two professors were overlapping.
In the midst of everyone's incredibly strange looks, a second complete "Professor Hup" emerged from Felix, and this Professor Hup called out a name: "Malfoy, come with me."
Draco walked mechanically to the two professors, looking from one to the other. He couldn't tell who was real and who was fake, but soon, something even more surprising happened—a third "Professor Hup" appeared, casually twirling a wand. "Hmm, you, Diggory."
Cedric's expression stiffened as he followed him, and when he couldn't help but look back after walking a short distance, he saw the fourth and fifth Professor Hup already selecting students. He finally understood what one-on-one guidance meant.
It was truly one-on-one!
"Jeffrey—"
"Percy Weasley—"
"Miss Greengrass—"
One by one, the members of the Rune Club were taken away by the Professor Hups, each with a bewildered look on their face. Harry could relate to them completely; even after the baptism of the Unwritten Book, he was still greatly shaken.
He realized that Professor Hup never hesitated to show them the wonders of magic and integrate it into every aspect of life and teaching. Magic had become an integral part of the professor.
"You seem to have something you want to say, Harry?"
Harry opened his mouth, thinking about Professor Trelawney's unusual state during the exam. In his opinion, either Trelawney had an unknown illness or she had truly made a prophecy.
He had always thought the Divination professor was a fraud, but after the Dementor attack on the bridge that night, he no longer believed that.
"The thing you are worried about will happen in April."
It matched! This statement wasn't directed at any one person but at the four people present at the time: Ron, Hermione, Professor Hup, and Harry himself!
Ron had always hoped his pet rat would return—not as a Dark Wizard or Peter Pettigrew, but as the unremarkable rat Scabbers who had been with him for over two years. But his fears undoubtedly came true;
Hermione had always worried about them being attacked, which was one of the reasons she actively organized the dueling study group. The attack did happen, and if Sirius hadn't suddenly appeared, they might have been kidnapped by Peter Pettigrew—no, only he himself, while Hermione and Ron's fates would have been unimaginable;
As for Professor Hup, a respected elder of his passed away that day, which Hermione had told him;
And as for himself, he had even more worries—worries about what Ron and Hermione were concerned about. After meeting Sirius, he began to worry that he didn't deserve such a wonderful family, and indeed, an accident did happen along the way...
When Harry shared these speculations with Ron and Hermione, they were equally astonished.
"Harry, it's just a coincidence!" Hermione said haughtily after the shock.
"Maybe, maybe it's real. Trelawney, that old dragonfly, has some talent, Hermione. Didn't you say her ancestors had genuine divination abilities?" Ron said, half-believing.
Privately, he had given nicknames to the professors he disliked. Snape was the greasy old bat, and Trelawney, because of her penchant for pretending to be mysterious and wearing bug-eyed glasses, was called the old dragonfly...
The reactions of his two best friends were completely different, leaving Harry's attitude wavering. It wasn't until the exam, when Harry was the last to leave the classroom and returned the fallen crystal ball to Trelawney, that she rolled her eyes, her body stiff as she clung to the armchair, uttering a string of nonsensical words. Her voice sounded as if she were ill, raspy and strange, as if being scraped by a file—
"A millennium of unprecedented change... the legend unfolds... ho—clowns step to the beat, warriors prepare, the lion grows old, the phoenix is reborn... time! time!"
Harry was dumbfounded at the time. As he was thinking about whether to call for help, Professor Trelawney's head drooped to her chest, and she let out a hum. Then, very suddenly, her head snapped up, and she stood as if nothing had happened.
"Sorry, dear child", she said dreamily, "it was too hot during the day, you know—I fell asleep for a while."
Harry still stood there, speechless.
Trelawney looked at Harry curiously, as if he had done something strange.
"What are you thinking, child?"
...
"What are you thinking, Harry?" Felix asked.
"Nothing, nothing", Harry was startled and snapped back to reality. "I was just wondering if the stone basin works on the same principle as the Unwritten Book."
"Something like that", Felix said. "But it's more of a combination of the Room of Requirement and the Pensieve." He blinked. "I received gifts from two elders."
(End of Chapter)
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