A Professor of Magic at Hogwarts

Chapter 198: Discussion

Felix Harp gazed at the golden magical runic sphere. It appeared that he had succeeded.

He had successfully restored an ancient magic – the Scale-Adjusting Charm. This was truly an extraordinary achievement, one deserving of recognition and celebration. He could even write an autobiography about it or be featured in the Famous Wizards and Witches Cards collection.

But the question was, was this really the Scale-Adjusting Charm?

Felix had never seen or heard of such a hollow spherical structure before. As far as he knew, neither had Flitwick. The earliest version of the Scale-Adjusting Charm they had restored together, in collaboration with the former Ancient Runes professor, was a twisted plane.

Until now, Felix had never doubted the authenticity, as the ancient magic he had studied consisted of runic patterns on a flat surface. He believed Flitwick felt the same way.josei

They had even discussed whether to put in effort to make the patterns smoother...

As for tonight, it was a stroke of luck that, in a special state, he had stripped away the traces of modern magic. He had let it self-adjust and self-evolve, and the result was that it became more and more askew, more and more distorted, and ultimately transformed into a sphere.

Perhaps his greatest discovery was the realization of a more stable runic structure?

Felix looked at the runic sphere in his hand, feeling an itch of curiosity. He really wanted to find a test subject and see what this thing was really capable of – whether it was indeed the Scale-Adjusting Charm. But the only being standing before him was Hermione. He dared not act recklessly.

The flobberworms with sores on their bodies reminded him how terrible the consequences could be if things went awry.

Moreover, even without these concerns, he couldn't guarantee what might happen to the young witch if she touched the golden runic sphere – whether she would grow into a fifty-meter-tall giant or shrink into a thumb-sized flower fairy.

It might even lead to more peculiar outcomes...

Though he was indeed curious, he successfully suppressed the urge. The Forbidden Forest had plenty of creatures to satisfy his testing needs.

Professor Flitwick's advice still held true.

"Professor? Can I touch it?" Hermione asked curiously, her eyes brimming with anticipation.

"I'm afraid not," Felix said with a stern face. Seeing the disappointment on the young witch's face, he explained, "Currently, I'm not certain about its effects. I'm worried there might be irreversible consequences."

After a moment's thought, Felix transmitted a dispersing intention to the golden runic sphere. The runic sphere quietly melted into a golden liquid and flowed into his body.

This greatly surprised him. Almost immediately, Felix took all means to examine his own physical state – everything was normal.

So, he tentatively invoked the magic. Heat emanated from his right hand, and he stared at his palm, where a shallow blue vortex-like halo appeared.

Felix infused a bit of magic, and a powerful suction surged out from the vortex, causing chaos in the office.

He quickly stopped, deciding to try it in a more suitable environment later.

But in any case, he realized the exceptional nature of this magic, likely surpassing his initial expectations.

Hermione was also taken aback. She felt as though she had almost been sucked into that shallow blue vortex, and she became a bit flustered.

Felix reassured her, "Don't worry, I can control it well."

He dispelled the magic, saying in a relaxed tone, "In any case, a pleasantly surprising accident occurred tonight. I coincidentally stumbled upon a magic. That's a good thing. But we've veered off track; now let me take a look at your work."

He waved his wand, causing the scattered parchment, quills, and the crooked table to return to their original positions. Amidst it all, Hermione saw three golden, walnut-sized Sneakoscopes.

Curiously enough, she had seen those same Sneakoscopes just this Tuesday.

“This is... that Sneakoscope that can target specific people?”

Felix Harp glanced at it. "Exactly, it's a request from someone. Perhaps you'll encounter it again in a few days."

"Encounter it again in a few days..." Hermione pondered the meaning of these words.

When it came to targeting specific individuals, the only one she could think of was...

"Sirius Black?" she asked in astonishment.

Felix feigned surprise and sighed. "Well, it's not like I volunteered this information. Headmaster Dumbledore doesn't want me to spread it around. Pretend you don't know, deal?"

Hermione smirked. "Deal." Then she inquired, "Can I tell Harry?"

"Oh, no. I have no idea how Dumbledore plans to use these Sneakoscopes. I'd rather not know. Is that settled?" Felix explained.

Perhaps Dumbledore would just hand the Sneakoscope to Harry and tell him to be cautious. Or maybe he'd secretly hang it in Harry's dormitory. Or, he might simply hang the three Sneakoscopes at different entrances of Hogwarts...

In any case, Felix was only responsible for crafting the Sneakoscopes, not their use, and he wasn't concerned about that. Dumbledore would handle everything.

Felix picked up Hermione's completed work on parchment. "Very impressive. It seems you've truly mastered the runic circuits on the bead bag."

"Can I learn new content?" Hermione asked.

"Of course, you're fully qualified now." Felix leaned against the edge of the table and scratched his chin.

"Well... Professor, do you have any suggestions?"

"While continuing to learn new runes or runic circuits isn't wrong, I believe it's best to start by harnessing the power of individual runes. This will help you better understand the entire runic system – that's been something I've been contemplating lately."

"The power of individual runes?"

Felix explained, "Yes, remember what I mentioned? When runes were first discovered, it was because they could temporarily store magic and convert it into magical effects."

"This means that individual runes also represent a part of magic, not just something you write on parchment and connect into runic circuits or craft into runic objects."

"If that's the case, what distinguishes runes from alchemical symbols?"

Hermione thought for a moment and said, "Professor, if I understand correctly, does each rune I've learned represent... a spell?"

She couldn't help but count on her fingers how many runes she had mastered; there were about a hundred of them combined. If this hypothesis was true, had she unknowingly mastered a hundred spells?

She hadn't even learned a hundred spells yet! If it weren't for her determination to repair the bead bag herself, she could have learned even more runes.

"It's not that exaggerated," Felix chuckled softly. "In my view, an individual rune is simply a pattern that carries magic. Most of the time, those so-called magical effects are just simple things like glowing or generating heat, without much practical use. But there are exceptions –"

He chanted an obscure incantation, and a gentle white light emanated from his palm.

"This is a rune you just learned, representing 'light.' It can temporarily replace Lumos, and it's quite useful if you don't have your wand at hand."

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