https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-522-The-Long-Awaited-School-Song/13461437/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-524-The-Elder-Wand-and-the-New-Wand/13461439/
Chapter 523: A Few School Matters
Chapter 523: A Few School Matters (Requesting Monthly Votes)
The next morning, Valen lay in the velvet blankets, unwilling to get up. Felix stuffed the chirping alarm clock into Valen's small blanket.
Valen grumpily turned off the alarm clock, pushed it away, and then mumbled, turning over to sleep more soundly.
Felix arrived at the Great Hall, where the weather was gloomy and humid, and the owls' feathers were damp from the mist in the air. A brown owl circled him twice and dropped a copy of the Daily Prophet.
He spread out the newspaper, but it made no mention of the Minister of Magic's attack the previous day. Instead, the front page featured a photo of Madam Bones standing in front of the Thieves' Waterfall. In the photo, she gazed calmly at the camera, her expression reassuring. Behind her, several Aurors stood solemnly, and Sirius leaned against the wall, poking the waterfall with his wand.
When Felix appeared at the Ancient Runes classroom, a student was already waiting at the door.
"Good morning, Professor Hup", Colin Creevey said enthusiastically.
"Good morning, Mr. Creevey. Come in", Felix said. It had been two months since he last opened the classroom door. The room was filled with a mix of accumulated dust and damp, decaying air, and the walls were covered with dark brown mold.
"Tsk", Felix muttered, waving his wand. The windows in the classroom opened simultaneously, and a whirlwind suddenly swept through the room. The chairs and tables rattled, and Creevey's face lit up with excitement. After a few seconds, a gray cloud of air flew out the window, and the air in the classroom became fresh and comfortable again.
"Next, the mold spots—this is delicate work", Felix mumbled, pointing his wand at the stubborn dark brown stains. The tip of his wand emitted bright lights, and the marks on the wall disappeared instantly.
"Is that the Scourgify spell, Professor? Can I help?" Creevey volunteered. Felix had no objection, and Creevey drew his wand, trying to cast the spell silently like Felix. After a few failed attempts, he had to recite the spell aloud: "Scouring charm! Scouring charm!"
After ten minutes, they scanned the classroom with keen eyes, searching for any remaining stains. "That's about it. Let me think—ten points for your enthusiasm", Felix said, walking to the window. Outside, a light drizzle was falling, carried by the wind into the classroom, making his face feel cool.
Creevey found a seat at the front, took out the book Practical Runes (Beginner), and asked with great interest, "Professor, what new teaching tools do you have in store for this year? Can you give us a hint?"
"Why do you ask?" Felix asked, looking at him from the window.
"Because Professor always prepares something new each year", Creevey said, counting on his fingers. "First year—oh, I was in first year then—was the Magical Automaton. Second year was various Scrying Mirrors. Third year was Runic Script cards... I just wanted to know what the new teaching tool would be this year, so I came early."
"Ah, if you put it that way... what you have in your hands is it."
Creevey blinked and looked down at the Practical Runes (Beginner) book in his hands. His face fell in disappointment. "But—" he stammered, "it's just a collection of practical runes."
"Alright", Felix said, wiggling his left hand. A ring on his finger flashed, and with a loud "bang", a large box landed on the table.
Creevey's eyes widened. He leaned forward to examine the contents of the box—various small sticks that resembled quills but also looked a bit like wands, with one end sharpened to a point. The surfaces of these sticks were adorned with strange patterns that looked like letters or Runic symbols, but not quite.
"Rune Carving Knives", Felix explained. "They've been around for two years, but I haven't promoted them much because wands work well enough. However, as Ancient Runes becomes more refined, it's necessary to make more detailed distinctions, just like Potions cauldrons, which have evolved over centuries into various models: standard, self-stirring, foldable, special materials, and so on."
This was also a suggestion from Hedstrang Vila.
Creevey looked at the box and asked, "Professor, how do I choose a suitable Rune Carving Knife?"
"Oh, the materials are all the same—often from the same chestnut wood, with only the patterns differing, but that doesn't affect their use. You can pick one you like, first come, first served", Felix said, relieved to see Creevey's enthusiasm as he began to choose.
After Valen learned to write, he enjoyed painting with a brush. Felix had a whole chestnut tree cut into thick boards of the same height as Valen, making it easy to write and draw on them. Besides a few decent "works" that Felix kept, the rest of the material was transformed and stored in the box.
He caught a glimpse of Creevey picking up a rune carving knife, examining the patterns on it with a look of reverence. Felix decided to keep this secret, no, to preserve this tradition, and in the future, he would add some decorative patterns to the knives that had no practical use...
At that moment, two more students, Ginny and Luna, walked into the classroom. They looked at Creevey, who was almost lying inside the box, with curious eyes.
...
Felix stood at the lectern. Below, each student held a rune carving knife, chattering away. They even seriously speculated about the meaning of the patterns, and the discussion veered towards "some mysterious script from Africa." Seeing this, Felix hurriedly announced the start of the class.
"You already know that this course has a practical component, which means that practical runes have been recognized by the Wizarding Examination Authority and are included in the exams. According to the first edition of the assessment standards, the O.W.Ls exam will only cover common Runic Symbols and runic circuits, while the N.E.W.Ts exam will include Runic Script spells, such as the Blazing Light Spell..."
Runic Script spells were not as easy to learn as one might imagine. The minimum requirement was to understand the magical symbolism of a practical rune. Not many students in the class could do this. To be precise, excluding Ginny and Luna, who were members of the Rune Club, the number was currently zero.
At the end of the class, Felix collected the summer homework and dismissed the students. The rain outside was getting heavier, with occasional dull thunderclaps. At noon, Felix had lunch in the Great Hall and noticed the staff room door was slightly ajar. He pushed it open and walked in.
"Oh, whoever it is, please close the door, thank you—there's a bit of noise outside", Professor Mcgonagall's voice said.
Felix closed the door and looked towards a desk—where the voice was coming from. But he only saw a pile of parchment, completely obscuring Professor Mcgonagall. Felix waved his wand, and the fire in the fireplace roared to life, dispelling some of the dampness in the room.
"Summer homework?"
"Yes", Professor Mcgonagall looked up, pushing her glasses up, "The first week of the term is the busiest, with a lot to handle—summer homework, Quidditch tryouts, course adjustments... We also need to update the Order of the Phoenix's information, not to mention finding time to comfort Kettleburn—"
She suddenly stopped speaking.
"Muggle Studies Professor? What happened to her?" Felix asked curiously.
Professor Mcgonagall pressed her lips together.
"Well, you'll find out eventually... She got caught up in a troublesome situation."
Felix's impression of the professor was from two years ago, when they had attended an international conference together, which was not very successful. The professor had mentioned that she was researching a popular science book on genetics and inheritance.
Thinking about this, a suspicion formed in his mind—"Could it be that Death Eaters are after her?"
But that didn't make sense; Rita Skeeter was still alive and well.
"Of course not, she—she was caught by Muggle police", Professor Mcgonagall snorted, her tone ambiguous, "According to her, she was consulting a scholar and accidentally made her wand spark, leading to suspicions of possessing a dangerous weapon."
This situation...
Felix clicked his tongue and, after a moment, said dryly, "She wasn't punished, right?"
"The Ministry of Magic, considering her status as a professor, gave a relatively light punishment—just a warning and a fine. At least she didn't go to Azkaban. She might feel ashamed; after returning, she submitted a resignation letter to Dumbledore, but the Headmaster didn't accept it. These days, she's been holed up in her office, claiming to be working on her new book."
Felix raised an eyebrow, thinking of the essay Professor Burbage planned to publish. He believed this new book would cause a stir, but it wasn't that it couldn't be published; it was just that the timing was sensitive. In less than ten seconds, he had a solution—send her a complete set of biology books.
If she was determined to research, it would be better for her to spend more time on it. By the time she figured everything out, the war might already be over.
At that moment, the door opened again.
The scratching sound of a quill on parchment was immediately drowned out by the noise outside, followed by a rush of damp, cold air into the room. The fire in the fireplace roared louder, sending sparks flying from the red-hot logs.
With a loud bang, the door was slammed shut, and Snape, dragging his usual black robes, walked in, a thick stack of parchment floating behind him.
(End of Chapter)
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