A Professor of Magic at Hogwarts

Chapter 18: The Second Public Lesson

Upon hearing Felix Harp's words, young wizards were filled with excitement, their curiosity long awakened.

Even the few professors present were quite intrigued.

Professor Snape stood in a corner, wondering what this lad had managed to conjure and dared to interrupt his class time!

Professor Flitwick was positively thrilled. He adored charms, true enough, but his expertise in ancient runes was not deep. As for Felix's view on ancient magic, he agreed wholeheartedly. He possessed a few potent ancient spells himself, though rarely employed.

Lockhart, on the other hand, envied Felix standing at the center of the auditorium. Wouldn't he garner more attention if he hosted a public class?

If he included this scene in his new book...

But what should he do? Perform a theatrical act?

As each person in the room entertained their own thoughts, Felix Harp swiftly waved his wand, causing all the candles in the auditorium to extinguish instantly. The sky on the ceiling vanished too, cloaking everything in darkness.

The entire hall was plunged into pitch black.

"Flicker Luminos." Felix's voice resounded clearly in the ears of everyone present, quieting even the restive young wizards. "This is a commonly used spell that illuminates the surroundings—quite simple, even young wizards not yet enrolled can master it through self-study."

Bathed in the shimmering light of Flicker Luminos, the outlines of Felix's figure became vaguely visible.

"After you've mastered this incantation fully, you can make alterations to it—"

"Such as intensifying the brightness," with Felix's words, the glow from the tip of his wand expanded to encompass the entire platform;

"Changing the color," the sphere of light shifted from white to red, green, yellow, cyan...

"Or, casting it outward." Felix swung his wand, and the light ball shot far away from the wand's tip, tracing an arc in mid-air.

The hall descended into darkness again, "And the corresponding ancient magic for it—"

Following that, people heard the pronunciation of an odd word. In the next moment, a massive burst of light emanated from the center of the platform. Milky-white radiance enveloped the entire auditorium. Strangely, the light seemed to come from all directions, leaving no trace of shadows.

"This is the Illuminative Charm," Felix murmured softly.

Each young wizard in the audience erupted into thunderous applause.

Felix Harp's lips curved into a smile. "This is just a simple example, but even so, we can perceive the difference." Once more, he swung his wand, reigniting the candles, and the ceiling reverted to its initial state.

"Modern magic is bounded by limits of power and intensity, fluctuating within certain ranges—yet we can still clearly perceive this."

"Ancient magic, however, is different. It's straightforward, crude even, with its potency often determined by the size of your magical power."

"For instance, if I wished, I could use this magic to illuminate all of Hogwarts."

A student in the crowd shouted, "Professor, I want to learn this!"

Felix Harp found himself inexplicably amused, his voice tinged with a humor he could hardly suppress, "Give up that idea. If you manage to learn this spell, it would drain your magical power in an instant."

"Who remembers what I said just now? Ancient magic is renowned for its immense power and difficulty to control. Most of you probably recall only the first half."

"But the second half is what matters!"

Underneath the platform, the students buzzed with conversation, their faces lit up with intense excitement, as if they were on the cusp of mastering powerful ancient magic.

However, it was a shame that books documenting ancient magic were located within the restricted section of the library.

Ron's face lit up with a peculiar gleam. "I want to learn this! I must master this spell! It's just too cool!"

Harry, too, was lost in reverie. A simple Flicker Luminos, replaced with ancient magic, and it held such power. What if it were another spell? Like Hermione's previously used Petrificus Totalus – could it truly petrify a person, turning them into stone?

Professor Snape maintained his usual expression, but that power...

So, Dumbledore and the Dark Lord, did they indeed wield potent ancient magic?

Felix Harp waved his wand, shooting out streams of red sparks from its tip, recapturing the students' attention.

"Next, we proceed with the next demonstration, the crux of this public class, and certainly a part of this year's Ancient Runes course assessment—"

"One of them," he deliberately paused.

The students' somewhat calmed hearts flared with excitement once again.

Are they really doing an open-book exam?

At that moment, Felix Harp jumped down from the platform. "Bring forth the toy box!" With his incantation, a suitcase swiftly flew over, landing on the ground and then "pop!" it snapped open. Over a dozen figures flew out, settling on the platform and freezing in place.

Only now did everyone realize that those standing on the platform were actually miniature figures, around half a foot tall (about 15cm). These figurines each had unique appearances—men and women, old and young, every one brimming with distinctiveness.

"This is... hey! I've played this game!" Justin, a Muggle-born wizard, suddenly exclaimed, his face turning red. He hadn't expected to see action figures at Hogwarts, and ones that moved, at that!

Harry also felt a sense of familiarity, as if his cousin Dudley had mentioned something about it.

"What's this?" Ron, beside them, inquired. Being pure-blood, he had no idea what these things were. Just moving dolls, what was so astonishing about that?

"These are characters from a Muggle world's fighting game," Harry pondered, searching his memory to provide more information, but unfortunately, he hadn't played it either.

"A fighting game?" Ron's curiosity was piqued by this term, clearly more interested.

Felix Harp chuckled. "It seems some have recognized them. Indeed, the inspiration for these figurines' appearance comes from a Muggle game. However, that's not our focus today."

Felix waved his wand again, causing two of the figures to leap high onto the platform and stand at its center. The other figurines stepped back to the edges.

"Does anyone know their names?"

"Fire Boy and Ice Girl!" Justin shouted, this was his domain!

Felix Harp continued, "And do you know their abilities?"

"Fire and ice!" Justin rushed to answer again, his enthusiasm evident.

Felix repeated, "Fire and ice... Well then!" He waved his wand once more.

The figures on the platform immediately sprang to life. Fire Boy's right index finger burst into bright yellow flames. As he swung his hand forcefully, the flames expanded into a fireball the size of a Quaffle and shot far away... half a meter, then exploded with a resounding boom.

Wizards closer to the platform instinctively took a step back. Seeing the fireball not leave the platform, they relaxed, their gazes now hotly fixated on the figurines.

They wanted to play, and they wanted their own.

On the other side, Ice Girl kicked, displaying a graceful and fierce posture. A row of ice-blue icicles shot forth, causing some young witches' eyes to shine.

Awww, they're so cute!!! I really want to hold them!

Felix Harp wore a smile that seemed to control the entire room—

"Next, we need a battle!"

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