Chapter 446: Sense of Smell
Chapter 446: Sense of Smell
In the evening, Harry knocked on the door of the Ancient Runes Office and saw Professor Hup engrossed in a book.
“Professor Hup?”
Felix looked up, and the book in his hand disappeared silently, making Harry's eyes widen.
But Harry was no longer surprised by this. He followed the professor to sit on the opposite sofa. With a flick of the professor's wrist, a magic book flew off the shelf and landed precisely in Harry's hands.
“Professor, I have a question,” Harry said without hurrying to open the book.
“About what?”
Harry recounted to Felix how, during the second project assessment, he had inadvertently shielded himself from the course information. He concluded with an expectant tone, “Is this a sign that I’ve started learning Occlumency?”
Felix thought for a moment, “This only indicates that we’re on the right path… Occlumency isn’t just about resisting external intrusions when you’re awake or prepared. It’s more about enhancing your sensitivity and self-protection awareness, allowing your brain to automatically block external influences, even in your sleep. Additionally, it can effectively train your mind…”
“I understand, Professor.”
Harry continued reading his book. Although the professor hadn’t explicitly acknowledged his Occlumency progress, Harry speculated that it might be due to the professor’s high standards. At least he had managed to fend off one intrusion… perhaps more than one. He hadn’t had a nightmare in a long time.
He turned to a new page, where a fluffy, orange ball was depicted, looking quite adorable. But the next second, he felt an intense itching sensation all over his body, even more unbearable than when he lost his feathers after eating Fred and George Weasley’s Canary Creams. Harry couldn’t resist reaching out to scratch—
“Cough!” Felix coughed, turning a page in his own book. Harry hadn’t noticed when Felix had started reading again.
Harry retracted his hand, blushing as he tried to fight the sensation. The “itching” was more terrifying than “torture” because at least he knew the latter was fake. He was safely sitting on the professor’s sofa, but he couldn’t help but suspect that Felix had secretly cast a tickling charm on him…
Fortunately, the remaining bit of rationality stopped Harry from asking. He tried to clear his mind, but it only worked intermittently. When he stood up to leave and walked through the castle corridors, he could still feel the “phantom itching.”
Perhaps it was a lingering effect of the magic book, he thought. A hot bath would be good tonight.
Harry took a deep breath, suppressing his irritation. This was a technique he had developed: when faced with negative emotions, he could try to use Occlumency to shield his feelings and then shift his focus.
However, he wasn’t quite proficient yet, and he often forgot to use it in stressful situations…
The weather in March became a bit clearer, but it was followed by strong winds. For the first week of March, at least five days were marked by gale-force winds. From his window, Felix could see the Beauxbatons carriage, the Ilvermorny school statue, and the Quidditch pitch flags flapping violently in the wind.
Felix and Waren lounged on the sofa, appearing idle.
Felix had been lethargic lately, lacking interest in anything except for reading books on Runic Script. Even his Duelling Class, which had become an elective, only drew him in when it was his turn to participate.
He often heard interesting news. Professor Moody enjoyed pairing students who disliked each other as opponents, proclaiming loudly, “This will bring out your courage and wisdom!”
The effects were obvious. After each Duelling Class, the students looked the worst.
The changes in his right index finger were slower than he had expected. After two weeks, only one finger had been covered. He had tried it out himself and found no impact, good or bad. It was as if everything was an illusion, and he hadn't noticed because he hadn't considered letting the Runic Script integrate into his skin before...
But such a possibility naturally didn't exist.
Felix was very certain that he was undergoing a positive, beneficial transformation. This was evident from his recent lazy demeanor—his mind and magic had not issued any warnings.
At that moment, a Talking Mirror on the shelf started to ring. Hearing this unique sound, he couldn't help but feel a headache. "Valen, help me get it", Felix yawned. Valen was examining a golden butterfly-shaped brooch (from Future World Store No. 7) and looked at him upon hearing the request. "Chirp?"
"I don't want to move... it's a good chance to train your sense of smell", Felix said capriciously.
"Chirp (What do you want)?"
"Andis's Talking Mirror, the disheveled uncle", Felix described casually. Niffler immediately thought of the fool who had performed coin magic in front of it and remembered his scent.
Niffler sniffed the air, moved its furry body off the sofa, and found Andis's Talking Mirror on the shelf. Then, it climbed back onto the sofa, found a comfortable spot, and lay in Felix's arm, continuing to examine the golden butterfly-shaped brooch.
Felix picked up the Talking Mirror and flipped through the messages. Most were sales statistics for "Mick the Little Wizard's Adventures." He had seen them a few times and didn't pay much attention. The later messages were all trying to pry into his plans for the new book.
Uh...
Felix scratched his head. He had indeed considered publishing a Runic Script booklet, but the style of the book was bound to differ from the comic strips. However, he could consider releasing a special comic strip issue alongside the booklet, telling the story of Mick the Little Wizard's school days.
Taking advantage of the free time, he roughly thought about it:
"The comic strip plot would be relatively simple, focusing on Mick's third year when he first encountered Ancient Runic Script and began learning from a professor. It would be a short story."
"As for the booklet, I want it to have more educational and promotional value. First, an introduction to the history of Runic Script, which wouldn't need to be too long, just a few hundred words... Then, on the next page, there would be a series of dynamic images of Ancient Magic... To be fair, I'll add a picture of an old scholar translating documents..."
"The second part would cover the development and evolution of Runic Script, which also needs to be simplified. No one wants to read long, detailed articles..."
"The main part would explain my classification of Runic Script and Ancient Magic... Uh, I should find a simple Ancient Magic to use as an example, something easy to practice", Felix's expression brightened a bit as he thought. "Let's use Lumos."
Felix lay on the sofa, pondering while checking the time. There was a Duelling Class tonight, and it had been about a month since he last saw these young wizards. He wondered what surprises they would bring?
There was one more page, which would be sent out later.
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(End of Chapter)
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