A Professor of Magic at Hogwarts

Chapter 263: The Seed of Miracles

Chapter 263: The Seed of Miracles

On the first day back from the holidays, the students appeared in the classroom with full spirits.

Felix stood at the podium, gazing at the seventh-year students below and uttered words that filled them with excitement, "Today's lesson is a bit different."

The students' attention swiftly focused on the professor. If there was something they cherished the most, it was the Ancient Runes class from last year. Back then, the professor had just arrived, the sky was still blue, and they were carefree sixth years.

Professor Harp's classroom was always filled with novel and intriguing experiments, especially when it came to practical runic magic. But when seventh year commenced, all of that had been swept aside like leaves in the wind, due to the looming NEWTs exams.

Yet today, the former Professor Harp had returned.

"Professor, are we going to the Practical Classroom?" an excited Hufflepuff student shouted. Privately, they referred to the Room of Ancient Runes as the Practical Classroom.

"No need for that. We only need..." he gently snapped his fingers.

The students were captivated; their gazes seemed momentarily distant, but in the next moment, all was normal again, making them wonder if they had imagined it.

They looked around, noticing perplexed expressions on others' faces as well. Clearly, they weren't the only ones who noticed the peculiar occurrence.

"Alright," Felix clapped his hands, "Next, we need to make a little improvement to the classroom—"

The students watched as the professor raised his arms, and the classroom's space expanded, the walls seemingly sprouting legs and stretching far away. Before they could fully comprehend, the classroom had grown a hundredfold larger, with distances between each person spanning several meters.

"Profes—Professor—"

The transformation wasn't over. Lush green grass sprouted from the ground, wand trees emerged from the earth, and golden sunlight spilled from an unknown source. The distant sound of melodious bird songs reached their ears.

The desks before the students twisted and transformed into square wooden platforms, resembling artist's easels.

A student tentatively plucked a handful of grass from the ground, watching as they gently drifted down before him. He sniffed them carefully, savoring the lingering aroma.

Felix's podium vanished, and he stood amidst the students, saying, "I've been researching the role of emotions lately. Although theoretically, each emotion is equal, positive emotions significantly contribute to one's mental and physical well-being. Unless, of course, you're quite content immersing yourself in a foul-smelling, black and decaying jar."

"That's also why people abhor Dark Magic. Though, in my opinion, learning a bit of it doesn't hurt much. Durmstrang Institute tends to have a more lenient approach toward Dark Magic..."

But I digress. I've been attempting to create a more relaxed and enjoyable learning atmosphere starting from the environment. Not only that—"

He looked at these students with a hidden sense of anticipation:

"I also thought, if you were to bypass the arduous stages of learning and briefly possess knowledge not originally yours, would things be different?"

Felix extended his hand and made a few movements in the air. Ancient-looking rune scrolls materialized from thin air, landing lightly in their hands.

As the witches' and wizards' fingers touched the runic scrolls, faint golden light emanated from the unfamiliar parchment. Suddenly, their minds were flooded with extensive knowledge about Ancient Runes. One student uttered a string of complex and obscure words.

Upon speaking, even he was surprised, for the words flowed smoothly in Ancient Runes. At that moment, he felt like a true ancient wizard.

The air stilled briefly before exploding into enthusiastic chatter, as they discussed excitedly.

"What just happened? Did I awaken some latent talent? Why does Ancient Runes feel as easy as breathing?"

"I think I could easily score an 'Outstanding' now. Who needs those N.E.W.T exams? They're no challenge at all!"

Felix waved his hand again, dampening the surrounding voices. Only his voice remained clear, "To the student who just said scoring 'Outstanding' was easy, try removing your hand from the runic scroll and give it another go..."

The obedient student followed his instruction. In the next moment, his eyes nearly popped out, "I—I..."

"What's wrong? Spit it out!" A neighboring student looked at him, anxious and eager for an answer.

Beside them, a trembling girl spoke, "The knowledge, it suddenly vanished... no, not vanished, but it never belonged to us in the first place." She looked at Felix, who remained calm. "This knowledge belongs to Professor Harp."

Felix nodded gently, his voice imbued with a magical charm, "I can't simply cram knowledge into your minds, but I wonder, if you can experience this kind of erudition at a young age, would you be content with mediocrity?"

"In my view, every wizard is a seed of miracles. If you're merely plucked and put in a vase as decoration when you've only grown a foot or two, you'll never become a towering tree. That would be a shame."

The students stared at the professor, their thoughts thrown into disarray like never before.

Seventh-year students had received career counseling in fifth year, and some exceptional ones already possessed recommendations from professors. However, in this moment, they felt bewildered.

Gringotts, the Ministry of Magic—these were top career choices in the wizarding world. But was that all they should aim for? Was it truly what they desired? They had never doubted before, but Professor Harp presented another path.

He told them that they were seeds of miracles, with boundless potential.

Each of them was moved, not only by his words themselves but also because Felix had allowed them to experience what it felt like to be an "Ancient Runes expert" ahead of time. Coupled with his speech, the impact was profound. It was akin to planting a magical bomb in their minds.

Felix clapped his hands. This time, paper exams descended from the sky. He wore a pleased smile, "Twelve papers, the questions are quite astonishing... but for you now, they should be straightforward."

He addressed the students, "Memory can't be forced, that's an ironclad rule. But we can attempt to sidestep it. In this realm of thought, you can briefly use my knowledge of theoretical runic magic—just the knowledge itself. In essence, it merely saves you the effort of flipping through books. But consider, between struggling to find answers through tedious research and instantly having the answers, which one gives a greater sense of accomplishment?"

"But Professor," Percy raised his hand, "if the knowledge isn't truly ours, what's the purpose of this? Does it merely broaden our horizons?"

Felix skillfully persuaded, "Think about it. When do we learn the fastest?"

Percy adopted a thoughtful expression, and other students strained their brains as well.

"When we use it!"

"Exactly. Although you're borrowing my knowledge, your learning speed has also significantly increased. According to my estimate... let's say, hypothetically, if you don't slack off and maintain focus, after half a year, you'll likely grasp about thirty to forty percent. Theoretical Ancient Runes tend to be simpler because they don't involve practical practice."

"In the end, it all depends on your effort. The more you use it, the more familiar it becomes, and the more knowledge you retain."

The students were already eager to dive in. While they would still need to put in the effort themselves, the professor's message was clear: this could accelerate their learning speed. Could anything be better?

Among them, quite a few had bought Baruffio's Brain Elixir and consumed dragon claw powder!

Felix was pleased with their change in attitude. He reminded them, "This kind of class won't happen every time. I'll maintain a certain ratio. But at least I can promise that every few lessons, you'll experience this magical sensation..."

Eagerly, they spread out their exam papers. In this realm of thought, writing became effortless. Quills appeared before them, moving quickly.

"The seven types of transformations in Ancient Runes are quite simple. Let me think, the first one..."

"The evolution and development of runic magic symbolizing 'thought'... Huh? There are actually eleven variations? I wouldn't have known in my normal state! Haha, this is so intriguing. I'm a genius now."

"This question's repetitive, I just did it. Even without the runic scrolls, I can remember... Oh, another repeated question?"

Percy didn't rush to answer. He placed his hand on the runic scroll, attempting various sentences in Ancient Runes. A string of unfamiliar and complex pronunciations flowed from his mouth. Minutes later, he astonishingly said, "I've translated the entire Magical Creatures Protection textbook. Only a few words don't correspond. Could it be because they're missing?"

The crisp sound of bird song became even more melodious. Flowers of various hues emitted fragrant scents.

Felix watched them eagerly tackle the questions, a smile playing on his lips. He couldn't help but wonder: how many of them would dive into the study of Ancient Runes later on?

Even if they were learning theoretical runic magic, his influence ensured they wouldn't disregard the existence of practical runic magic.

He didn't expect all of them to contribute to the field of Ancient Runes, that was unrealistic. But in a decade or so, when they spanned various professions, who could hinder the rise of practical runic magic research?

As the class concluded, Felix dispelled the Thought Chamber magic. The students wore expressions of wistfulness; they seemed to have suddenly become less capable. Feeling the 'loss' of knowledge was discomforting, but many students were invigorated, eagerly anticipating the next lesson.

Felix smiled as he looked at them, "You have two assignments for today. Hand them in next week. First, write a two-foot-long essay discussing how you might appropriately utilize today's lesson; Second, using what you've learned in the past five years, create a comprehensive map of Ancient Runes knowledge. In the next lesson, I'll guide you to view this knowledge from a 'different perspective.'"

"Trust me, your comprehension will be completely transformed. Class dismissed!"

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