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Chapter 721: Professor Babbling's Warning
Chapter 721: Professor Babbling's Warning
It had been over a week since Albus Dumbledore left the Headmaster's Office, and during that time, he had returned to teach Harry a lesson before disappearing again.
As for the content of their lesson, Kyle wasn't entirely sure, but he could make an educated guess... It was probably a heart-to-heart talk with Harry.
The topic could have been about the Phoenix Society or the Horcruxes. After all, Harry had been kept in the dark about many things when he failed to learn the Mind Closure Spell, and it had been weighing on his mind.
This lesson, in essence, was meant to help Harry unravel his inner conflicts, and the extent to which Dumbledore wanted to reveal certain things would determine how much Harry would learn.
But this was of no concern to Kyle.
On Wednesday afternoon, after the Ancient Runes class ended, Kyle approached Professor Babbling, who was preparing to leave, with a parchment filled with magical rune formulas.
Yes, Professor Babbling was about to make her escape.
Ever since the first class of the school year, when Kyle asked her several questions about the arrangement of rune symbols, she had not been keen on seeing this student again.
It wasn't that she was afraid of being stumped and losing face. Professor Babbling's knowledge of ancient runes might even surpass that of Dumbledore. Kyle's questions were trivial to her.
Professor Babbling simply didn't want to work overtime. Usually, she left promptly after class, not wasting a single minute.
However, if she answered Kyle's questions, it wouldn't be a matter of wasting a minute; half an hour would be considered a short time.
Unfortunately, Kyle was sitting right at the entrance, and since Apparition was not allowed within the castle, her plan to leave on time had already failed the moment she stepped out of the classroom.
Professor Babbling glanced down at the parchment Kyle held out, and her expression immediately fell.
"Ancient Runes..." she said almost subconsciously, "Why are you looking at this useless stuff, wasting time?"
"Huh?" Kyle blinked, thinking a lot, but he never expected Professor Babbling to say such words, and her tone didn't seem to be perfunctory. She genuinely believed Kyle was wasting time.
"It's like this," Professor Babbling explained, "In the eyes of Rowena Ravenclaw and the medieval scholars who followed her, ancient runes had significant drawbacks. I don't recommend wasting your time on them."
"What do you mean?" Kyle still didn't quite understand.
"It's like this..." Professor Babbling mustered a bit more patience and said, "The so-called ancient runes are merely an ancient form of magical writing devised by wizards of the past."
"But due to the limitations of the time, these writings were not uniformly standardized and organized. In other words, without understanding their correct meanings, even a tiny error could lead to the collapse of rune symbols."
"It was for this reason that the great Rowena Ravenclaw gathered all the scholars of her time to collectively standardize and organize the ancient runes, compiling them into the books we study today."
As she spoke, Professor Babbling gave Kyle a meaningful look. "I remember saying something to a student more than fifty years ago, and now I'll share those words with you..."
"Some things are eliminated for a reason, and it's not worth pursuing so-called power blindly. Because when you immerse yourself in the joy of invincibility, you often unknowingly bring about more terrifying things, dragging you into the abyss of magic."
As Kyle looked into Professor Babbling's light gray eyes, he instinctively took a step back, scratching his head.
"Sorry, Professor, I wanted to learn ancient runes because I read something written in them."
"Oh?" Professor Babbling raised an eyebrow. "Ancient literature from at least thirteen hundred years ago, that's quite rare... But there's still no need to specifically learn it."
She reached out, and a thick book appeared in her hand, which she then handed to Kyle.
"This is an ancient rune comparison chart. Just look it over, no need to waste time learning it."
"Let me be clear, even if you insist, I won't waste time teaching you... No one can take up my time, not even Dumbledore!"
Professor Babbling's patience had run out by this point. As Kyle looked through the comparison chart, she had already left the classroom without a backward glance.
By the time Kyle realized and chased after her, the corridor was empty.
Kyle sighed. Professor Babbling didn't have an office, or at least she never went to it. In this situation, no one could find her until the next class, except for one thing—she never held detention.
Kyle stood in the empty corridor, thinking about her previous words.
Fifty years ago, she had reminded a student. Who was that person? Tom Riddle?
The timing seemed to match, and more importantly, Riddle was also well-versed in ancient runes, something Kyle had firsthand knowledge of.
However, Professor Babbling wasn't willing to say more, and Kyle had no choice but to let it go.
He glanced at the book in his hand and casually stuffed it into his trunk.
At least this trip wasn't a waste; he now knew that there was no need to delve deeply into the seemingly mysterious but already obsolete ancient runes, saving him quite a bit of time.
After Kyle left the corridor, the previously disappeared Professor Babbling suddenly reappeared at the classroom entrance.
She looked in the direction Kyle had left, her usually calm eyes now filled with curiosity, as if she had witnessed an intriguing plot twist.
She had never imagined that a second student would notice the ancient runes during class, and she was curious about Kyle's choice, wondering if it was the same as that of the previous student.
……
……
"Well," Kyle hesitated.
"Fred and George were able to tame the Bludger by the third year, but Ron still gets hit in the sixth year," Harry explained.
"Perhaps it's because of their positions," Kyle suggested. "Ron's a Keeper, so he doesn't usually interact with the Bludger."
"So, you're starting training this early?" Kyle changed the subject.
"Because of the competition," Harry clarified. "There are five people who want to become Beaters, and Ron is quite nervous. He wanted to practice during breaks to get a head start. If I had known this would happen, I wouldn't have borrowed all the Quidditch balls."
"Speaking of which, what are you doing at the Hospital Wing?"
"To visit my roommate," Kyle said. "He had an accident during class and hit his head."
"Speaking of accidents," Harry said with a lingering unease. "I almost got hit by a cauldron the other day in Potions class. It exploded when I was late in setting up the materials."
"What happened?" Kyle asked curiously. "Is Neville's performance not good enough for Advanced Potions?"
"It's me," Harry admitted, his face slightly flushed. "I only found out recently that I was late in setting up the materials, and the cauldron exploded."
"Even though Professor Slughorn insists it was my negligence, I feel like he was a bit disappointed."
"Because of your Potions grade?"
"Yes," Harry nodded. "He believes I should be like my mother, a Potions genius, but I can't even cut a Dreamless Sleep Draught properly."
"Wait..." Kyle suddenly realized something. "Did Professor Slughorn reward you with Felix Felicis in Potions class?"
"Yes, and Hermione got it," Harry's mood improved slightly. "You know, no one in the sixth year can compare to Hermione."
"Well, I was just lucky," Hermione said, trying to appear calm.
In truth, after obtaining Felix Felicis, she had been so excited that she couldn't sleep for days.
"What about you? Did you get the reward?" Harry asked.
"No," Kyle shook his head. "It was Cona."
Harry understood, but he wasn't surprised. He knew that Cona had taken the Association of Exceptional Potion Masters' assessment during the holidays, and he was aware of the association's reputation as the most authoritative Potions organization in the magical world.
Mentioning this now, Harry couldn't help but feel a twinge of envy. Others had already joined the most prestigious Potion organization by the seventh year, while he, in the sixth year, struggled to complete even the in-class tasks.
"How about this..." Kyle suddenly said. "If you don't mind, I can lend you my notes from last year. They have some tips for brewing potions that might be helpful to you."
"Really?" Harry's eyes lit up.
"It's just a set of notes," Kyle smiled. "I'll go look for them later, and bring them to you during dinner."
"That's so kind of you," Harry said gratefully. "To be honest, after Snape left, I suddenly realized that Potions are actually quite interesting, but my previous grades were too poor."
"Can I take a look too?" Hermione asked.
"Of course," Kyle nodded. "You can copy it with the Copying Charm later, but some of the content might differ from the textbook. If that's okay with you."
"Different from the textbook?" Hermione frowned.
"They're personal tips from a Potion Master, which I noted down," Kyle explained. "But I can assure you, those tips are really useful... After all, the book Advanced Potion Making hasn't been updated for decades, and much of its content is outdated."
Hermione opened her mouth but didn't speak.
In her heart, she leaned more towards the textbook than these so-called tips, but since Kyle recommended them, she decided to give them a try first.
The three continued chatting as they walked, and soon arrived at the corridor where the Hospital Wing was located.
"Are you going to Hogsmeade this weekend?" Hermione suddenly asked. "The notice said that the first Hogsmeade visit day is coming up."
"I didn't know that yet," Kyle thought for a moment. "If I don't have other plans, I probably will..."
Before Kyle could finish his sentence, a burst of fire appeared before them, and Fawkes emerged in front of the trio.
The phoenix stared intently at Kyle and let out a soft cry.
"Sorry, Harry, Hermione," Kyle's expression turned serious. "Could you please pass on my regards to Ryan? I might have something to attend to, so I can't go to the Hospital Wing for now."
"Sure, no problem," Harry said.
"You..."
Before he could finish, Fawkes landed on Kyle's shoulder and then disappeared again.
The two looked at the empty corridor and glanced at each other.
"That was... a phoenix?" Hermione asked first.
"Yes, Professor Dumbledore's phoenix," Harry said. "I saw it when I visited the Headmaster's Office before."
"So, is Professor Dumbledore looking for you?" Hermione continued. "Do you know what it's about?"
"I'm not sure," Harry said. "It's probably related to the Phoenix Society. Remember the other day when Professor Dumbledore gave me a lesson? He mentioned that Kyle was involved in many Phoenix Society matters. He even said that if he wasn't at school, I could seek Kyle's help if I needed it."
Hermione glanced in the direction where the phoenix had disappeared. "It seems Professor Dumbledore trusts him a lot."
"Obviously," Harry said.
...
(End of Chapter)
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