A Professor of Magic at Hogwarts

Chapter 454: Between Lessons

"In magical script, the 'Sun' describes a dynamic process of ascent, transition... it can depict the rising sun, changes in willpower, especially under magical influence... and also denotes the path to success, the honor achieved through personal resilience..."

Felix stood at the lectern, discussing animatedly, while at the back, Professor Griselda Marchbanks widened her eyes.

She was quite elderly and a bit hard of hearing. She was about to use a charm to enhance her hearing—using it often left her feeling irritable, as if a thousand bees buzzed around her ears. So, she only used it on important occasions, like the annual wizarding level examinations. Yet, before she could draw her wand, Felix's voice had already reached her ears clearly.

The key was—she glanced around—no one else felt discomfort, which meant Felix had subtly influenced only her.

Moreover, as she observed the bright symbol held in Felix's palm, she unraveled a puzzle. Why would this young lad dare to assert in front of her, the chief examiner, that 'this knowledge might appear on the O.W.Ls exams'...

Because this was practical ancient magical script. Apart from this young professor and his students, there weren't many with authority in this field.

At most, a few alchemists, but they only had a shallow understanding, focusing on the script's application in alchemy.

Apart from them, those from the Wizarding Examinations Authority couldn't match up, nor could the members of the Ancient Runes Society—she glanced at the old man with wide eyes beside her, quite certain—they wouldn't cut it either.

A student raised their hand.

"Yeah, so is this a dual-use magical script? Both translational and practical?" asked Daphne.

"Exactly," Felix nodded at her, "you can understand it that way."

At that moment, Heidestrand Vira, seated at the back, stared at the magical script in Felix's hand, astonished. He rubbed his eyes in disbelief, his face breaking into an ecstatic expression. Mimicking Daphne, he too raised his hand, eagerly looking at Felix.

"Well... Mr. Vira?" Felix held back a chuckle.

"It's like this," Heidestrand Vira's eyes widened, speaking proudly, "I've studied this magical script too, only the way I learned to write it is quite different from yours." He pointed at the symbol with his chubby fingers, "And I'm pretty sure yours differs from the markings in 'The Codex of Magic Symbols' too, the correct way seems to be... uh..."

At the lectern, Felix, matching his speech's pace, slightly tilted the symbol in mid-air, adding a bit more curvature on both sides. "Like this?"

Strangely, when he did this, the magical script immediately dimmed, losing its brilliance.

"...Right," the old man looked puzzled.

Felix glanced at the people below the lectern.

"Thanks for your reminder, Mr. Vira," he said cheerfully, seemingly genuinely grateful, "this is something I need you all to pay attention to."

The students stared at him wide-eyed.

"Recently, I made a new discovery: many supposedly translational magical scripts are actually variations or misinterpretations of some practical scripts, probably due to the passage of time... So, I plan to review all the knowledge you've learned."

"For example, in this case, translational magical script appears like a slightly curved lightning bolt or a flattened slanted letter 'S'; while practical magical script," Felix readjusted the script in his hand, letting the students see the complete change, the curved line gradually straightening, resembling—"

"An upside-down capital 'N' with protrusions at the top and bottom," he said. The symbol in his hand lit up again, shimmering faintly.

Heidestrand Vira's face flushed, struggling for words.

"Evidence can be found in the magical notes of two medieval wizards, 'The Will of Magic' and 'Derek Prudlin's Notes'. They came from a highly skilled wizard and an apprentice wizard, judging by the depth of their recorded content... When they used the same magical script, their writing styles were significantly different. A reasonable guess is, the former knew the true appearance of this script, while the latter merely copied or took shortcuts..."

Heidestrand Vira looked around while the students busily took notes, only he had nothing in front of him... Then he thought of a solution.

Crabbe felt a forceful poke on his back, then heard a hushed voice say, "Chubby!"

Chubby?

He turned around, glaring at the similarly not-so-lean Heidestrand Vira, and after a few seconds realized the person behind was an onlooker, staring at the vice-president of the Ancient Runes Society, looking like they'd been hit with a dumbfounding spell.

"Chubby! Hey!" Old Vira waved his wand in front of Crabbe, "Lend me your parchment and quill to copy."

Crabbe made a bewildered expression, as if he didn't understand at all.

Old Vira stared at him, then, after a few moments of standoff, his wand deftly pointed, "Parchment flies in, quill flies in... Good, copy it twice! Copy it twice!"

Old Vira looked at the copies in his hand, nodding in satisfaction. "There you go, your stuff." He returned Crabbe's things and immediately started taking notes.

He absolutely had to go through every bit of data that lad mentioned. Who knew if it was a bluff? He couldn't let that boy slip through!

As he recorded, he felt irked at being a few minutes behind every time. Frustrating.

Finally, the bell rang, and the students filed out, leaving only three adults in the classroom. Felix was about to say something when the diminutive Griselda Marchbanks leaped forward, grabbing his hand in a rush:

"What spell did you just use?"

"Just a simple application of the Sonorus Charm," Felix answered, puzzled.

"Simple application!" Professor Marchbanks looked astonished, "It seems you haven't neglected your research on charms... But do you have any good methods for the elderly's hearing?"

"Of course, I know a spell: 'Aures Luminis,' Professor Flibbertigibbet studied it extensively..."

Felix smiled, engaging in conversation with Professor Marchbanks, somewhat alleviating another person's embarrassment.

Heidestrand Vira quietly breathed a sigh of relief. He suddenly feared facing this young man alone. Felix Harp had shaken his steadfast career in just one class.

He looked somewhat dazed, scenes from the 'Future World' company his granddaughter always chattered about were vivid in his mind.

"Mr. Vira... Mr. Vira?" a voice seemed to come from afar.

"What's up?" Old Vira responded absentmindedly.

"...Nothing," Felix subtly sized him up, "just that Professor Marchbanks inquired about your opinion. She isn't quite familiar with ancient magical scripts, and it seems you volunteered to assist—"

"Oh, uh," Old Vira straightened up, putting on a face as if he were preparing for a duel, speaking earnestly, "Ahem! Conclusions shouldn't be rushed at the moment... There are many vague areas

, I need to, um, organize everything."

"Of course, no problem," Felix said with a smile, "that settles it. I'll be waiting for your report." He pretended to sigh, "Professor Marchbanks, Mr. Vira, you might not know, but I've been under tremendous pressure these past two years..."

"Pressure?" Professor Marchbanks looked at him skeptically.

Old Vira also stood there dumbfounded, while every student who graduated last year except one got an 'Outstanding'. He clenched the parchment in his hand; there were still a pile of questions waiting for his confirmation.

For the next few minutes, the three acted as if their previous conversation had never happened.

Ah, just missing those few minutes always feels stifling.

>

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