Chapter 453
Chapter 453
Professor Marchbanks extremely stiffly changed the subject to her friend Gilbert Wimple of the Committee on Experimental Charms, and she said in a loud voice: ” Wimple wants to come over! But I’ve persuaded him to fix those horns on his head first for some time, and I happened to know that Dorothea was at St. Mungo’s yesterday, so I told him to hurry over there … Then He asked me to bring you this file.”
Felix took the file. When Marchbanks casually said: ” There are some questionnaires inside, to evaluate the danger of the spell, the learning difficulties, and the potential risks and whatnot, just give it to those students and have them fill it out and send it back to the Ministry of Magic’s Committee on Experimental Charms. The ministry will send someone to verify it when the time comes.”
Before leaving, she asked tentatively, “Are you sure you don’t want to write your name? It’s possible that those new spells will be named after you!”
“Oh, no, I have a problem with naming.” Felix replied.
Old Vera stopped as he walked to the door and asked casually in a careless tone, “By the way, those ancient rune books in the library–”
“Still in the usual place, the second-to-last row of bookshelves.” Felix immediately replied.
Old Vera froze for a moment, and waved his hand, mumbling a “thank you” under his breath.
…
Felix walked out of the ancient rune classroom, thinking about what had just happened, and the corners of his mouth curled up: ” Today I stimulated that stubborn old man, tomorrow I’ll stimulate him again, and then I will just sit back and watch what happens, after all, I have to consider his relationship with Clammy. … I’m really a nice guy! ”
“Profes-ssor?” From the corridor, a head poked out and stuttered.
It is Neville.
“What did you hear?” Felix asked him with a smile.
“You, you are a nice person …,” Neville replied dumbly, and the next second he showed a horrified expression as he desperately tried to cover his mouth.
Felix: “… don’t tell anyone.”
Neville looked at the stern face of the professor and nodded his head like a chicken pecking rice.
“Is there something wrong? By the way, how’s your parents’ situation? I heard from the St. Mungo’s staff that they have been discharged from the hospital.”
“Yes, they’ve healed.” Neville replied quickly, “The head of the Auror office came over to visit them a while back, hoping that they would rejoin the Auror squad, still as squad captains.”
“Scrimgeour?” Felix frowned slightly.
“It’s him,” Neville said, “but Mom and Dad decided to take a break for a while, they went on a trip abroad and would be doing some rehabilitation training on the way … They’ll be deciding when they get back.”
Felix nodded slightly, “That sounds good. Well, Neville, what did you want to ask me when you were specifically lurking in the hallway?”
“I, uh,” Neville suddenly stammered again, his face turning red as he swallowed frantically and said, “I was–gulp! I wanted to ask, is there any magic that can make a person brave?”
“To brave?” Felix looked at him strangely, “What do you want to do?”
“I, I found that my talent got better and my grades improved a lot, but my guts are still so small that I don’t even dare to speak up in front of people for fear of being ridiculed …” Neville cried, “I … And the Tournament-”
“You also want to participate in the Tournament? Only the selected teams are in the position to do so.”
“No, I mean, the last two tasks, no matter which one, I do not have the courage to challenge, not an ounce of courage … whether it is the dragon, or swimming under the deep lake, just the very thought of that, makes me shiver uncontrollably,” Neville said with teardrops in his eyes.
“So I want to ask, is there any magic that allows me to block these negative emotions, including the judgment of others about me?”
Neville looked at Felix with hope.
Of course, there is, Felix thought to himself, Occlumency is practically what you asked for. But if your whole purpose is to rely on blocking emotions to gain courage, then you’re putting the cart before the horse.
“You got me there.” Felix looked Neville up and down, looking at him for a moment and making him feel uncomfortable: “Your idea is unique … Is curse okay?”
“Curs-se?” Neville looked taken aback.
“Yes,” Felix scratched his chin carelessly and said gloomily, “If I curse you, after this moment in every second of your life, the insults, slanders, ridicule, complaints, and grumblings you hear will change into the most beautiful praise in the world… …”
“You can’t hear any advice that is contrary to your heart …”
“You can’t hear any half-baked counselling …”
“You can’t hear any well-intentioned criticism …”
Neville’s body went cold as if something dirty coiled around him, and he couldn’t help but wince.
“Professor?” Neville cried and said desperately, “You really cursed me? Well, at least asked me about …”
Felix’s face looked serious as he said, “You are dull.”
Neville froze. His first eyes widened until he could not resist the dry and sharp blink, “I, I’m fine? I heard you call me a dull … so I’m not cursed?”
Felix laughed.
Neville’s round face couldn’t help but tense up as Felix patted his shoulder comfortingly, “Remember what happened when you got your invitation card at the selection of the champions?”
“I saw … Hogwarts … England … Ocean … world and the … bright starry sky.” Neville said. He recalled his shock when he wandered in the vast universe of stars, it was a wordless comparison, without any words, to feel their own smallness.
Thinking about it, his thoughts suddenly deviated, and incidentally, he remembered the previous hurdle he had to break through – the scene when he stood on stage and sang to the row of ‘Professor Snape’ below the stage. It was a nightmare: Snape smiling and tapping the beat; Snape clenching his fists and glaring at him; Snape with a black cloak and a cold look in his eyes; and Snape striding up to the stage and trying to grab him …
That scene was so impactful that he was in a strange mood when he saw the real potions professor after that, and he was afraid that Seamus or Dean next to him would suddenly turn their heads and reveal an expressionless face with a long hawk nose.
But in any case, he really is not afraid of the potion class now.
He heard a snap of fingers and looked up to see Professor Hap looking at him. “Sorry, Professor, I was lost in thought …,” Neville said nervously.
Felix gave an understanding expression.
He didn’t need Legilimency to understand that Neville was lost in the memories associated with the magic that was attached to the invitation card.
“Do you have any plans for the future?” He asked casually.
It was just a lead-in to the next topic. But surprisingly, Neville nodded and answered it, “I’ve thought about it. I want to become a professor of herbology class or an Auror.”
“And the reason?” Felix asked with some surprise; it is rare for a student to consider this so early in life, usually, the realization dawns on them only when they are in fifth-year career counselling.
“I like Herbology!” Neville said aloud, then glanced at Felix with embarrassment and muttered in a small voice, “And I want to capture Crouch Jr.”
Felix nodded lightly, fully understanding his thoughts – of the four Death Eaters who used the Cruciatus Curse on the Longbottoms, only Crouch Jr. is on the loose, while the other three are still holed up in Azkaban.
Speaking of Azkaban, he seems to have thought of something. Azkaban … Death Eaters … what exactly is it? He tried to grasp this ray of thought, and information about Azkaban quickly flashed through his mind –
North Sea island … Unplottable… Built in the fifteenth century … Lair of the dark wizard Ekrizdis… Tortured Passing sailors to create Dementors … Dementors?
Felix blinked, as far as he knew, because of what he had done last year, the wizard prison is severely underguarded. New dementors need quite a bit of time to breed and grow, and it is estimated that many Hit Wizards will be sent there to be stationed on a rotating basis over the next few years.
Is this the reason why the Ministry of Magic intends to recruit more Auror and Hit Wizards? Felix speculated offhandedly, well, there was at least a good chance that Fudge had agreed to that reason, to guard the wizard prison …
He pondered for a few seconds, and for a while, it became difficult to find anything of value or cause for alarm. He could only make a secret note of this information and ponder it when he is alone.
Felix looked up and said to Neville, “The Herbology class professor, Auror, are all good choices, but they all have one trait in common.”
“What characteristic?” Neville asked. He suddenly thought of Roger Davies’ magnificent feat of subduing a dragon by spawning blackthorn seeds during the first task. Professor Sprout was excited about it.
Did the professor mean to arm himself with the things he’d learned in his Herbology class?
“They all need to guide others.” Felix gave a very different answer.
Neville looked at him hesitantly. He could understand a professor needs to guide students, just like right now, but Auror …
“Think about it,” Felix said seriously: “If you are a professor, you must have to deal with a group of various lively students, or if you are an Auror, look at the long term perspective, becoming a squad captain is not excessive, right? Then you must always pay attention to the emotions of the team under you, otherwise, a slight mistake may cost a human life.”
Neville’s expression turned serious and he nodded along. He had heard his mom and dad talk about similar things, and some of the points did coincide with the professor’s statement …
The professor knows a lot. He thought enviously.
“… So you should have the ability to do the same.” Felix concluded.
“Uh …” Neville’s face started to redden again, he really isn’t good at this task, at this moment there is only one thought: finished, he can’t Neither become a professor of Herbology class nor an Auror, but he quickly pulled himself together and whispered, “I will try?”
Felix nodded approvingly while fiddling through the ring, and then pulling out a small booklet. “I happen to have recorded a special magic here, you can take it back to read … It is the magic that was attached to the invitation card.”
Neville impatiently took it, and then, somewhat dumbfounded. It appeared to be a manuscript, except that the edges were glued together with a spell, and from a distance, it looked like a book, but in reality, it simply isn’t. He stared at the handwritten cover, on which the name had been altered twice –
The Thinking Room Magic Lite Edition (St. Mungo’s Special Edition) (crossed out).
A Study of Magic That Sends People Into Intended Visions (Horror? Mystery? Spiritual Intrusion?) (crossed out).
And finally, the name that survived: “Daydream Spell (Cosmic Starry Night)”.
“Oh, I almost forgot!” Felix snatched the booklet from the dazed Neville’s hands, and withdrew a few pages, as he explained, “These aren’t for you.”
Then he handed the rest of the booklet back to Neville, patted him on the shoulder, and said, “When you encounter similar problems in the future, you can try this spell. Also tell yourself: you are going to guide others in the future, how can you guide others if you can’t even guide yourself?”
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