A Professor of Magic at Hogwarts

Chapter 72: Luna Lovegood

Felix Harp leisurely enjoyed his breakfast, and one by one, young wizards joined him in the Great Hall. Their faces were filled with cheerful smiles as they bantered and joked with each other.

The entire hall was brimming with a lively atmosphere.

Leaving the hall, Felix walked in the direction of the Forbidden Forest and ran into Hagrid on his way to the castle.

"Hello, Professor Harp!" Hagrid greeted warmly.

"Hello, Hagrid. I received your gift, and I quite like it," Felix said, particularly the material it was made of.

"Hah, glad you fancy it. By the way, that self-cleaning scrubber you gave me works like a charm. Cleans up the place real nice," Hagrid said in his booming voice. "I don't have to worry about a thing, and it even cleans itself up."

After the pleasantries, Felix reached the edge of the Forbidden Forest. He intended to gather some chestnut wood branches as his supply was running low.

However, halfway there, he furrowed his brow.

On the snowy ground lay a set of footprints leading straight toward the Forbidden Forest.

Felix measured the size of the footprints—it seemed to be a young wizard breaking the rules. He followed the footprints.

Walking through the snow, Felix heard nothing but the soft crunching of snow and rustling of leaves underfoot. Unbeknownst to him, he had reached the edge of the Forbidden Forest.

This area was quite secluded, situated in the northwest corner of the forest, and it was already quite close to the main entrance of Hogwarts—the path young wizards took to Hogsmeade village on weekends.

Felix halted his steps, and everything around him seemed to embrace a quiet atmosphere. Snowflakes fell gently from the sky, and he looked up as if countless ice crystals were coming towards him.

All was quiet, and the world felt as if it belonged to him alone.

"Hiss-ting~"

A creature that looked like a horse, but was entirely black, emerged from the Forbidden Forest. It glanced at Felix with silvery-white eyes, sneezed, then retreated back into the woods by flapping its large, bat-like wings.

"A Thestral," Felix exclaimed in surprise.

These were rare magical creatures, often associated with the category of magical creatures known as "Invisible Beasts." Only those who had seen death, experienced death, and understood death could see them.

This characteristic made them somewhat ill-reputed, as Thestrals were once thought to be omens of death, comparable to the Grim, the large black dog omen. However, they were actually quite gentle creatures.

Even more intrigued, Felix ventured deeper into the Forbidden Forest. After about two minutes of walking, he arrived at a clearing.

Amidst the falling snowflakes, a young girl stood surrounded by a dozen emaciated Thestrals. In her hands, she held a bunch of hay, feeding the Thestral closest to her.

He also heard her softly humming, appearing utterly content.

Felix waited until she had fed the last bit of hay, then approached. The sound of his footsteps roused the young witch.

The girl lifted her head. She had a mane of wildly tousled, waist-length golden hair, with both her eyebrows and eyes being a very light color.

As he got close enough, he noticed that the young witch had her wand tucked behind her left ear. She wore a pair of spectrespecs glasses and had a necklace made of butterbeer corks hanging around her neck.

At this moment, her eyes were fixed on the suddenly appearing figure.

Felix Harp felt a peculiar emotion welling up within him—this quirky little wizard... could it be a Ravenclaw?

"What's your name and which house are you from, young wizard?" Felix asked.

"Luna," she said with a voice that seemed like singing, "Luna Lovegood. That's my name. I've seen your lectures, you're a professor."

"Yes, quite evident. Miss Lovegood, which house are you in?"

"Ravenclaw once said that extraordinary wisdom is the greatest treasure of humankind."

Felix understood, as expected... he chastised, "Why are you wandering alone into the Forbidden Forest? Don't you know how dangerous it is?"

"They're not dangerous," Luna said dreamily, "Thestrals are very friendly. Would you like to feed them together?" She suddenly crouched down, brushed away the snow, and grabbed a handful of hay, half-green, half-yellow.

Turning her pale eyes to him, Felix noticed that her voice was almost devoid of ups and downs, but coupled with her ethereal tone, it felt as if she was singing.

"No, thank you," he replied.

So, Luna turned away and nonchalantly fed a handful of hay to a young Thestral. It seemed to have just learned to walk, its limbs a bit stiff as it crouched low, extending its tongue to lick Luna's fingers.

She hummed a strange tune softly, snowflakes landing on her clothes, forming a thin layer.

Felix's mood became calmer, and he didn't try to disrupt the atmosphere.

"Have your spirits improved?" Luna asked.

"What?"

"You were just bothered by a Wrackspurt."

"I—what did you say?"

"Wrackspurts... sometimes they float into your ears and befuddle your mind," she said. "I thought I heard one buzzing around here."

Felix didn't think such creatures existed, but he was interested and asked her, "Could you elaborate a bit about Wrackspurts?"

Luna looked surprised, one hand holding up her spectrespecs as she peered at Felix from behind them.

"Wrackspurts... well, they're usually invisible, but when they want to do something to your brain, they emit a pink light in excitement."

"So, you've seen them?"

"Yes," she said with utmost certainty, as if stating a truth.

For the first time, Felix felt a bit suspicious. He scanned the surroundings, but found nothing.

After a while, the two returned to the castle together.

As they walked, he asked Luna, "Didn't you go home for Christmas?"

She replied calmly, "Father's on deadline for the 'Christmas Special' issue. But we've made plans to search for the Crumple-Horned Snorkack during the summer break."

Another unfamiliar name, "And your father is—"

"Xenophilius Lovegood. He's the editor of 'The Quibbler.'"

Felix didn't say anything. He knew the reputation of that newspaper.

Standing at the castle entrance, Felix said to her, "I won't deduct any points this time. Go on, find your friends, and have a joyful Christmas."

"I'm already quite joyful," Luna said with a happy smile. Then she looked thoughtful, "You've reminded me. I've encountered a new Gryffindor student before. She seemed friendly. Maybe we can be friends."

"Really? You can give it a try," Felix encouraged nonchalantly.

"I remember she was carrying a rooster at the time," Luna said in a whimsical manner, "But then, who doesn't have some peculiar quirks?"

"What did you say?" Felix raised his voice, but quickly softened his tone, "Do you know her name?"

Shaking her head, Luna's two strands of hair above her forehead fluttered, "But her hair was very beautiful, like a bundle of dancing flames."

And there's one more chapter to go, probably later.

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