A Professor of Magic at Hogwarts

Chapter 127: Wands and Wizards

Chapter 127: Wands and Wizards

"Fir vine wood?" Felix Harp repeated, and the young witch noticed that Professor Harp's expression seemed to momentarily freeze.

"Not bad," he offered in a brief assessment.

Felix explained, "From my personal experience, a wand-carving knife is similar to a wand itself. So, aside from using chestnut wood for the knife, it's best to select a knife that matches the material of your own wand."

"Like me, I find ebony wood carving knife most comfortable."

Hermione's face lit up with realization. She quietly thought to herself, vine wood, the top choice for her personal carving knife.

However, this also piqued her curiosity. When purchasing a wand, Ollivander had said that the wand chooses the wizard, not the other way around. And now, Professor Harp was giving similar advice. Was there a secret behind all this?

She voiced her question to Professor Harp.

Felix pondered and replied, "There's truth in that statement. Ollivanders never makes custom wands, which means young wizards must adapt to the traits of their wands."

"So, the wands we have are only roughly matched to us?" Hermione grasped the essence of his message.

"You could interpret it that way, but don't worry. For the vast majority of wizards, there's no need to consider such subtle differences," Felix said. "It's an interesting question though. You can go to the library, research and see what your friends' wands are like and what traits they represent."

Hermione was genuinely intrigued. This blend of satisfying her thirst for knowledge and indulging in a bit of gossip was utterly irresistible.

"Professor, do you have any book recommendations?" the young witch inquired. She had grown accustomed to asking Professor Harp for reading lists; each time, she received precise suggestions.

As expected—

"Hmm… I remember the library has a book called 'Wands and Wizards.' It covers over a hundred renowned wizards and their wands," Felix said.

Hermione murmured to herself and jotted down the title.

"Alright, moving on to the seventh carving knife," Felix redirected the conversation back on track.

The young witch gazed at the final carving knife. It was thin, almost dagger-like, a chilling pale color that resembled the teeth of some creature. Astonished, she said, "This is… a snake creature's fang?"

"Correct, I stumbled upon the idea of using parts of magical creatures to craft wand-carving knives under unusual circumstances," Felix chuckled. "It was just an experiment."

Hermione felt that the material was rather sinister. Could the runic carvings carry snake venom or curses by themselves?

So, she asked Felix, "What are its effects?"

Felix made a thoughtful sound and offered vague remarks like "opening up new avenues" and "I might try a unicorn horn next time." Wisely, Hermione didn't press for more details.

After spending some time explaining the concept of 'wand-carving knives,' a concept Professor Harp had developed, the two of them finally returned to the initial topic—the distinction between individual runes and runic circuits.

Felix gathered the other knives and left only the ebony and chestnut wood carving knives. He handed the chestnut wood knife to Hermione.

Hermione carefully examined the knife in her hand, realizing that this carving knife would accompany her for a long time.

Its color resembled a light coffee shade, with an even and tight texture, adorned by straight, slender lines that looked much like the patterns on rainstone.

Then she turned her gaze to the knife in Felix's hand—

Professor Harp's ebony wood carving knife was meticulously selected, much like his wand, free from any impurities.

It was a pure, profound black, its surface gleaming with a subdued sheen, conveying an extremely weighty and unyielding texture.

Felix Harp picked up a thin slice of chestnut wood and said to Hermione, "Whether it's a wand-material carving knife or a piece of chestnut wood, they are both quite friendly to magic. So, engraving runes is more like writing an essay."

He delicately held the knife and smoothly inscribed a string of runes. A red glow radiated from the black blade's tip, and when Felix lifted the knife, the fiery runes had quietly extinguished, leaving behind black marks.

"There are two ways to write runic circuits: in one go, or step by step," he explained.

"This is the first way."

He then took another piece of chestnut wood, writing down individual runes one by one and showed it to Hermione. Carefully, he drew lines, connecting the runes together.

Hermione held both pieces of chestnut wood, comparing them.

To her, the former resembled cursive writing, elegant and flowing, though it sacrificed the distinctiveness of individual letters. The latter appeared more like orderly printed text, except mischievous children had connected the letters with crayons. Compared to the pleasing aesthetics of the former, it resembled subpar scribbles, causing her to furrow her brow involuntarily.

But Felix told her, "You need to master this one." He pointed to the combination he referred to as 'printed text + scribbles.'

"Your beaded bag requires three sets of runic circuits. I will explain how they are connected."

Felix snapped his fingers lightly, and their consciousness entered a mental space.

Since the beginning of term, he had grown increasingly adept at this magic.

This seemed to align with Snape's theory—that self-invented magic naturally becomes more powerful.

...

On Sunday morning, Harry yawned as he left the dormitory. He saw Ginny and Ron sitting next to Hermione, engrossed in something.

"Morning," he greeted. He had practiced Quidditch until late the previous night, so he was a bit sleep-deprived.

Harry pulled out his Potions homework from his bag, but his thoughts were scattered.

A few minutes later, he finally noticed the oddity of the three across from him. "What are you all up to?"

Hermione was intently writing on a thin wooden board—Harry had initially mistaken it for parchment and double-checked.

The tool in her hand was peculiar too, somewhat like a quill but resembled a miniature wand.

But Hermione clearly didn't have time to answer him. Harry looked to Ron.

Ron whispered to him, "It's magical looping."

Ginny contradicted him, "No, it's runic circuits."

Ron shrugged, "Close enough," he explained to Harry, "You know, for fixing her beaded bag."

He looked over to the other side of the table. Hermione was sketching an oddly-shaped pattern on the thin board; from his angle, it vaguely resembled a giant squid in the Black Lake.

A red light flowed continuously from the 'quill tip,' she was writing slowly, and the initial strokes had already cooled into black.

"Phew," Hermione exhaled deeply, wiping the sweat off her face.

"How's it going? Did you succeed?" Harry asked, very interested, although he still wasn't quite sure what she was working on.

But Harry figured he might end up taking Ancient Runes next year.

Hermione visibly relaxed, lazily saying, "I can never consistently infuse magic. The differences between individual runes are just too substantial."

"I remember you saying your success rate was around ninety percent?" Harry inquired.

"That's for individual runes. Runic circuits are much more challenging..." She sighed.

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