A Professor of Magic at Hogwarts

Chapter 269: Avery

Recalling the palm-sized Snidget he had just seen, Felix Harp understood that the adult Snidgets were at least a foot in size.

Newt glanced at him, then peered back into the office where Amos's voice sounded rather exasperated, "Where are those forms placed, anyway?"

"Can I be of assistance?" Newt asked.

"What?" Felix looked at him somewhat bewildered.

"I need to administer some potion to them... These three are a bit frail, not as strong as their fellow siblings."

"Of course," Felix thought for a moment and said, discovering a unique quality about the old man. It was a mixture of seriousness and innocence, a feeling he had only seen in underage children.

"What should I do?"

"Just hold on for a moment—yes," Newt shifted his body, taking out a silver pocket watch from his pocket, then retrieving a thumb-sized glass bottle from another side. He unscrewed the lid, and Felix noticed that the cap was combined with a dropper.

"Just three drops..." Newt focused on the watch, "I'm about to open it, Mr. Harp."

Click.

The front cover of the watch popped open, and a small black creature immediately sprung out, agilely leaping in Newt's palm—

"Here comes Snidget!" Felix whispered, watching Snidget's flat palm flapping continuously, but it futilely flew back, caught in Newt's hand.

"Thank you—once again, you, Valen, you should be feeling better now." Newt looked at the little creature and said, while Snidget in Felix's hand turned away, murmuring a few words.

"Hey, you can't talk like that," Newt said, then he looked up, "You're holding her a bit uncomfortably, Mr. Harp. Not gripping, I know you're not using force—but it's better to cradle her."

Felix adjusted his grip.

"Excellent, now open up, Valen. You wouldn't want to fall ill, would you?" Newt addressed Snidget Valen, who reluctantly opened its mouth, and Newt dripped three drops of transparent potion into it.

Subsequently, he placed the little creature back into the watch, but Valen immediately stuck out half its head, "Oh, no no!" Newt pointed his finger at its pink snout, locking eyes with its shiny black ones, "Summon your two brothers."

Snidget remained unresponsive, Newt tilted his head, "I insist, Valen."

With reluctant hums, it retreated its pink snout and vanished inside the watch. A cacophony of noises emerged from within the watch, as if Newt was explaining to Felix, "Their sibling relationships are complicated."

Soon, another half of a Snidget's body peeked out—although Felix couldn't discern their differences.

"Sar, here you go—" Newt dripped three drops of potion into its mouth, "Now, it's Sop's turn."

As he completed the task, he finally let out a sigh of relief. Newt noticed Felix's gaze and said to him, "Snidgets are lively creatures, quite lively indeed. They're friendly with humans, of course, I don't recommend personal ownership, they might wreck your house—"

"They're interested in coins as well?"

"Yes, if you're not careful, they can cause a mess. You always manage to shake out a bunch of shiny things from them," Newt said, "However, being around them is joyful, you can compete with them in finding coins, see who's faster... Their sense of smell is also extremely sensitive, they can help you find people or some old items."

Newt suddenly stashed the watch back into his pocket, adopting an appearance of tidying his clothing corners. After a couple of seconds, a young man walked out of the office, dressed in an exquisite and vibrant green wizard's robe, a round badge adorning his chest.

"Mr. Scamander, I heard from Diggory that you're here."

"I feel like I've seen you somewhere before," Newt said.

"Indeed, because I've been working here... for quite a few years," he looked up, indicating the sign on the office door, "I'm Mr. MacNair's assistant."

Newt furrowed his brows, "Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures?"

"We're often misunderstood, but someone has to do this job," the young man suppressed the arrogance in his eyes, "Mr. Scamander, the Hippogriff herd in Islay, Anterim County, is getting restless. It's best you go take a look."

The Islay Hippogriff was a type of flying horse with chestnut mane, and along with Thestral, Granian, and Nightmares, it was recognized as one of the four most common breeds of flying horses.

"Oh... this shouldn't be... the mating season," Newt said puzzled.

"Who knows what those beasts are thinking?"

"Has their leader changed?"josei

"Probably not... so I suggest you pay a visit and investigate."

"What about their environment?"

"Nothing there either."

Newt earnestly posed one question after another, the young man struggling to respond. His words became increasingly concise, and sweat formed on his forehead. By the end, even Felix, who wasn't that familiar with these Hippogriffs, could sense the contradictions in his words.

Newt looked into the young man's eyes for the first time, "Perhaps... my knowledge tells me that you're lying... you want me to stay away from here."

The young man averted his gaze unnaturally, but he immediately realized it and forced himself to meet Newt's eyes. "That's a serious accusation, Mr. Scamander, as a pureblood—"

"Forgive me," Felix couldn't help but interrupt him, "I've always felt that your way of speaking is familiar. Are you Chesterton?"

Chesterton turned to look at Felix, a hint of impatience in his expression, "And who are you? Can't you see us, we—Felix Harp?"

His tone twisted with excitement.

"Yes, it's me, Chesterton." Felix greeted.

The young man appeared a bit flustered, "Oh... hello, I didn't know..." After a dozen seconds, he finally calmed down, "Long time no see, Mr. Harp."

Felix nodded, "Indeed, it's been a while. You were a Prefect when I started at Hogwarts, and your words left quite an impression."

"Is that so... I, I don't quite remember." Chesterton said.

"By the way, what family are you from?" Felix asked bluntly.

Chesterton muttered something.

"I didn't catch that..." Felix fixed his gaze on his eyes.

"It's... cough, Ever... Ever—Chesterton stammered, "Everard."

"The head of the Everard family is your..."

"Maternal uncle."

This wasn't a particularly pleasant conversation, at least not for Chesterton. After exchanging a few words, he attempted to leave, "Mr. MacNair might need me..."

Felix watched his departing figure, while Newt stood silently at the side, occasionally casting a curious glance.

At this moment, Amos finally emerged, sweat dripping from his flushed face, "These forms haven't been used in years, found them in the previous member's cabinet, infested with bugs—Who are you?"

"Felix Harp, I work at Hogwarts," Felix said.

"Goodness," Amos's eyes widened, "You're the Professor of Ancient Runes and the head of the Dueling Club?"

Felix curiously glanced at him, was this someone's parent? He said, "That's me—"

"Over the holidays, Cedric mentioned you, Cedric Diggory, my son." Amos excitedly said, "That boy's a bit shy, but he really admires you. He told me you've given him a lot of extra pointers in the Dueling classes... and about the power of spells, it's remarkable..."

"Cedric, indeed, he's quite outstanding and excelled in Ancient Runes as well."

"He's also the captain of the Hufflepuff Quidditch team! I was talking to his mother recently, whether he should join the Ministry or the national team after graduation... she told me to ask for the child's opinion—haha..." Amos continued to chatter away like all parents in the world until a tall man hurriedly walked over from the other end of the corridor.

"Mr. Harp?" the tall man said, "I'm Walsh, the one who's been corresponding with you. You finally made it—"

"What happened? I arrived an hour early."

"Minister Fudge is waiting for you," Walsh Siddlewick said, grabbing Felix's arm, "Sorry, Diggory, but I have to take your friend with me."

"No, no problem, urgent matters take precedence," Mr. Amos said.

Felix halted his steps, causing Walsh to stumble a bit, "Oh, wait a moment—I need to say something," he looked at Newt, "Mr. Scamander, regarding Hagrid's case, I've also been keeping an eye on it. We'll have a chance to talk later."

Newt hadn't spoken yet, but Amos beat him to it, "The lecture at two o'clock today? They said the Muggle expert is you? I'll definitely go to see that, Mr. Harp."

Felix smiled at him and then left with Walsh.

Newt spoke thoughtfully, "Muggle expert? His attire is indeed quite comfortable."

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