A Professor of Magic at Hogwarts

Chapter 202: The Time Turner

Chapter 202: The Time Turner

"What's the matter? You seemed a bit angry when you came in just now," Felix Harp said. He appeared almost the same as yesterday, except for the large, deep brown hat perched on his head.

"Professor, I already know what that 'very intriguing' magical text is," Hermione emphasized heavily. This morbidly fascinating vocabulary was mentioned last night by Professor Harp himself when he suggested she explore the power of individual magical texts.

"Tell me, let's hear if your guess is correct," Felix's mouth curved into a smile.

"It represents the strength of aurochs, URUZ," she uttered a strange sound, her hand glowing with a faint white light as she looked at him with suspicion.

"Just as I thought... cough cough! You must have had an interesting experience," Felix remarked.

"Indeed, it was quite fascinating! I woke up early today to avoid everyone, trying out magical texts in a corner of the common room—some failures, some successes..." Her face wrinkled with puzzlement and confusion. "I don't know why, but Fred and George also sneaked out early, tiptoeing like they were avoiding someone."

"Uh..."

"I was using this magical text at the time, heard them walking, lost control for a moment, and I just, I just—" Hermione expressed with frustration, "I broke the armrest of a chair right in front of them."

Felix struggled to hold back a laugh and consoled her, "It's not a big deal, only the two of them saw it."

"That's no longer the case," Hermione said mournfully, "They told Lee Jordan."

Lee Jordan was the commentator for the school Quidditch matches, known for his big mouth around the school. Felix had watched a few Quidditch matches last year and was quite impressed by him.

"Everything will pass, well, maybe," Felix changed the subject, "Let's get to today's main topic—uh, today we won't be teaching in the Thought Chamber. It's under renovation, too noisy."

Hermione looked at him with a puzzled expression. What was the professor talking about?

"...Exploring the power of individual magical texts can help you become more familiar with the texts themselves. Otherwise, having a large number of them won't be of much use. This has been my recent insight," Felix said, conjuring a bright red magical symbol on the tip of his index finger. The symbol bounced and hopped in front of the young witch.

As the magical symbol returned to his palm, Felix closed his hand around it. Hermione half suspected that Professor Harp had squashed the little thing, but he slowly opened his palm, revealing a cluster of small flames burning quietly.

"To achieve this level is quite sufficient."

Hermione, who had been slightly discontented before, was now completely captivated by the new knowledge. Soon, she started asking one question after another under his guidance.

With his guidance, in less than half an hour, Hermione mastered the magical text symbolizing 'illumination.' A pure and gentle light emerged from her hand, albeit thin and faint.

"Your foundation is solid, Miss Granger. You could certainly play a greater role in the Magical Texts Club."

Hermione was taken aback by his words, then excitedly asked, "Professor, is the Magical Texts Club starting?"

"Yes, it is. The announcement will be made next Monday."

Hermione was eagerly looking forward to the Magical Texts Club. According to the professor's previous statements, he would focus on practical knowledge of ancient magical texts.

For the remaining time, Hermione practiced on her own while Felix flipped through a hefty tome, his fingertips constantly tracing various magical symbols.

However, Hermione seemed unusually tired, yawning incessantly. She heard the professor's voice—

"Did you use the Time Turner today?"

Startled, Hermione looked over. Professor Harp was peering at her through the pages of the heavy book, his gaze scrutinizing her.

"What? Um, oh..." She took a while to calm down. "There's never enough time. I have so many assignments to write, extra magical text practice, and reading some reference books... I've already used up six hours just this morning."

Felix Harp shook his head. "I can imagine how busy you usually are. Are you planning to make one day into two, or perhaps three?"

Hermione didn't say anything.

"Actually, I suggest you drop one or two subjects..."

"No, I don't want to give up," Hermione interrupted him, her tone firm.

"If that's the case, you might consult Percy Weasley. As far as I know, he obtained twelve certificates in his OWLs exams."

Hermione nodded, acknowledging the suggestion.

She was indeed curious about how Percy managed to use the Time Turner. It had only been a week, and she was already feeling exhausted.

"Can you tell me what it feels like to use the Time Turner?" Hermione noticed Professor Harp hiding his face behind the heavy book and asked calmly. After thinking for a moment, she described her experience, "I felt like I was rapidly moving backward, like flying, but in reality, I hadn't moved at all..."

"Do you think the surroundings were moving?"

"Yes."

"Besides that, what else did you feel?"

"I heard some strange sounds, as if there was a drum pounding in my ears. I tried to speak, but I couldn't hear anything, just saw some blurry patterns, a bit like clouds."

"Thank you, Miss Granger. Your answers have satisfied my curiosity," Professor Harp said after a short exchange.

After the brief conversation, the office fell silent. It remained so until Hermione left. After she was gone, Felix Harp set down his book. "The mysteries of time..."

The next day marked the start of a new week.

After his first class, Felix Harp took the opportunity to visit the headmaster's office and handed over the three Sneakoscopes to Dumbledore.

"Clever design. I suspect some Trace Charms are involved. Oh, not just that, I can also see elements of Nick's techniques. It seems like you've been in frequent communication lately," Dumbledore said. His silver-white beard was twisted up as he peered through the half-moon lenses at the pocket-sized Sneakoscopes.

"You can tell?" Felix Harp asked, surprised.

"I was quite the alchemist in my younger days, and Nick offered me some pointers. Unfortunately, I didn't continue down that path," Dumbledore said regretfully.

Suddenly, Felix Harp remembered the introduction to this old man he had read on a Chocolate Frog card a long time ago. One line echoed in his mind:

"---Effective collaboration with partner Nicolas Flamel in alchemy."

So, the headmaster was skilled in alchemy as well? Felix thought about the glimpses he had caught of the Put-Outer.

He realized he only had a superficial understanding of Dumbledore's past. Yes, he knew about defeating the dark wizard Grindelwald, containing Voldemort, and a series of papers he published in his youth.

But what else was there? He knew the headmaster liked sweets, enjoyed chamber music and Gobstones.

Felix couldn't help but let his imagination run wild.

"No problem, Felix. You've done excellently," Dumbledore said once he was satisfied. After confirming everything, Felix took his leave.

"If there's nothing else, I'll be on my way, Headmaster Dumbledore."

"Other than expressing my gratitude, nothing else, Felix," Dumbledore said, "Oh, by the way, your hat is quite charming."

Felix left with a stern face, refusing to respond to the comment. As he departed, he caught a glimpse of the portrait of Headmaster Phineas Nigellus Black gesturing at him, seemingly subtly reminding him not to forget their conversation from a week ago.

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