A Professor of Magic at Hogwarts

Chapter 104: New Teaching Tools

Chapter 104: New Teaching Tools

"It's temporary," Snape stared into his eyes, "Felix, it's January now, and there are a full five months left until the end of this school year. Do you know what that means?"

Felix fell silent. It meant young wizards would go nearly half a year without Professor Harp's Defense Against the Dark Arts classes.

But then again, did it really matter?

Even if the young wizards were left to self-study, it was probably better than when Lockhart was around. At least they would save time on dull assignments.

"Professor, I've always been curious, why do you keep holding onto this class? Aren't you afraid of the Dark Lord's curse?" Felix was genuinely puzzled.

However, Snape didn't answer in the way Felix expected.

Felix thought for a moment and said, "I can ask Dumbledore about it."

He wasn't skilled with curses, and combined with the terrifying track record of this class, he had never thought about taking over Defense Against the Dark Arts.

However, he was genuinely curious about the "Dark Lord's curse." Maybe he could learn something from Dumbledore.

"Oh, Severus," Felix winked at Snape, "Don't forget about tonight's dueling class."

Snape gave him a disdainful look. "And how do you plan to arrange it?"

"One person speaks for a section, with demonstrations as the focus. After all, the professors are all gathering together, and I'll invite them separately for the follow-up sessions," Felix explained somewhat helplessly.

Professor McGonagall, Professor Flitwick, himself, and Snape made up the four.

Snape nodded and turned to leave.

In that day's seventh-year class, Felix presented the new teaching tools for Ancient Runes to the young wizards.

They watched as Professor Harp spoke confidently from the podium, "Do you see the parchment in front of you? It will play a significant role in your NEWT exams."

A young wizard raised their hand. "Professor Harp, is this the legendary tool that Flitwick participated in creating?"

The young wizards present turned their gaze to the tall and muscular Marcus Flint.

There were less than twenty students in the seventh-year Ancient Runes class, and they all knew each other well. At this moment, they all wore looks of skepticism.

Marcus felt somewhat at a loss. He had just bragged a bit; why was he being called out on it?

Felix glanced at her and said, "Miss Vane, Flint did indeed participate in the testing of the new teaching tools. Not just him, there were ten young wizards in total, each contributing valuable suggestions. What you see is the result of their collective effort."

"Now, let's have a practical demonstration."

Following the earlier explanation, the young wizards placed their wands on the parchment for answering questions and whispered, "Secrets of the Runes."

The parchment emitted a soft light, and a line of text appeared:

"Welcome to the answer space. Please complete the following tasks."

After a ripple-like wave, the symbols of the four houses appeared on the parchment: serpent, badger, lion, and eagle.

Their bodies were composed of simple ink lines, vivid and lifelike. The Slytherin serpent swam sinuously in place, the Hufflepuff badger stood up on its hind legs and looked around, the Gryffindor lion let out a silent roar, and the Ravenclaw eagle spread its wings as if about to take flight.

Exclamations of amazement echoed from the male and female wizards.

Vane's eyes lit up as she touched the eagle, and in an instant, the other three animals disappeared. The Ravenclaw eagle occupied the center of the parchment, beating its wings as if ascending, surrounded by ink lines forming clouds.

Finally, the eagle stopped and fixed its sharp gaze forward. A line of elegant handwriting emerged, "The wisdom that surpasses is humanity's greatest treasure."

In almost an instant, Vane fell in love with this thing. Her brown eyes sparkled beneath her thick glasses.

"Is this Professor Harp's creation? Is this the application of Ancient Runes?"

"This is Ancient Runes!"

Unbeknownst to herself, her understanding of Ancient Runes had subtly shifted toward Felix's perspective.

A few seconds later, the eagle's image shrank again. It landed on the pattern in the upper left corner of the parchment, preening its feathers with an air of authority, while in the center of the parchment, new text appeared: "Use your wand to infuse magic and write your name."

Vane neatly wrote her name with her wand: Clemency Vane.

Having completed this step, the parchment finally displayed the formal interface.

In the upper left corner was the Ravenclaw eagle, below that was the name Clemency Vane, and the central position was divided into three sections: the OWLs module, the NEWTs module, and the Mistakes collection.

Felix Harp nodded in satisfaction. In the final version, he had made some adjustments.

For instance, the activation command changed from the initial "I like Ancient Runes" to the more formal 'Secrets of the Runes'. He also added a section for information binding, which involved combining names, houses, and magical recognition.

The originally planned "leaderboard" function, he temporarily put aside. Firstly, the number of these parchment questionnaires was currently too few, and secondly, he had intentions of involving other professors.

To achieve all this, time was needed for refinement.

After about three to four minutes, the young wizards enthusiastically followed the instructions on the parchment and completed this step.

Moreover, many of them had begun to compare.

"Look at my lion, so majestic!"

"The eagle looks even more beautiful."

...

"Alright, young wizards," Felix clapped his hands to capture their attention.

Felix explained, "Currently, the parchment questionnaires are only used in fifth and seventh years. You need to select the NEWTs module. It contains past test questions for you to practice and study."

"Of course, I've broken these down so that each test remains around twenty minutes. And in your free time, you can practice."

"As for the Mistakes collection module, you can find the questions you got wrong there."

The young wizards, experiencing this novelty for the first time, couldn't resist wanting to try it out. Clemency Vane, suppressing her excitement, asked, "Professor Harp, can we try it now?"

Felix, understanding their eagerness, said with a smile, "Certainly, the next twenty minutes are reserved for you."

"Oh, by the way," he emphasized, "if you don't like the feedback effects, you can tap on it with your wand and say 'Silence.'"

Vane was a bit puzzled, but she tapped on the 'NEWTs module' with her wand. Rapidly, a series of Rune questions appeared on the parchment.

When she completed the first question, golden text appeared on the parchment—

"Wise Choice."

She began to understand Professor Harp's words. Next, she witnessed a variety of effusive compliments.

"Your answer scratched at my heart."

"You're the next Rune prodigy!"

"A choice of genius!"

These words left Vane with a mixed feeling, somewhat embarrassed but unable to resist the desire to see more praise. Time slipped away unnoticed.

However, not everyone's experience was as wonderful as hers. For most, the compliments were mixed with acerbic remarks, and Marcus Flint mostly faced elaborate taunts.

He couldn't help muttering two names, "Fred Weasley, George Weasley."

They were the culprits behind this!

In less than ten minutes, Clemency Vane became the first to finish the test.

A large 'O' appeared on the parchment. The Ravenclaw eagle in the upper left corner kept circling, against a backdrop of sprawling fireworks.

She excitedly raised her fist in the air.

"Very well, Miss Vane, ten points to Ravenclaw!"

As the class ended, Felix assigned the latest homework: "Complete the test three times and, based on the questions you got wrong, write an essay analyzing your areas of weakness."

...

As evening fell, the Great Hall transformed once again. A gilded dueling platform emerged from the ground, and the young wizards chatted in pairs and trios.

The third dueling class was about to begin.

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