A certain Hogwarts professor of runes

Chapter 144 Practical Lesson?

The little elf swayed slightly uneasily, his tennis ball-sized green eyes bulging even more. "Dobby believes that now that Mr. Harry Potter is safe... Dobby has no reason to show up again, especially not for his own sake..."

Felix went along with him, saying, "We're just chatting. Who says elves can't have wizard friends?"

"Is it true? Dobby—Dobby can be friends with such a great wizard as you?" The little elf made a praying gesture, his body involuntarily leaning forward.

"Of course, Dobby."

"This, this is such an honor, Dobby! Dobby is Mr. Hyp's friend!" The little elf bowed deeply, his long, thin nose touching the floor.

"Alright, Dobby, let's get down to business. Please have a seat."

Dobby sat down against the edge of the sofa. "Is there anything you'd like to ask?"

"Dobby, Lucius Malfoy probably doesn't know yet that the diary has been destroyed, right?"

Seeing Dobby's expression rapidly deteriorate and he on the verge of banging his head against the wall, Felix quickly stopped him, saying, "Actually, I already knew. He had no idea the diary was destroyed."

"How did you know?" Dobby asked curiously.

Judging from your reaction… but Felix replied, “I have my own channels of communication.”

Dobby had no doubt about this and nodded in agreement.

Felix continued, "Does Malfoy have any travel plans in the near future? I'd like to speak with him alone."

He was about to intercept them.

All it takes is a confusion spell to make him think Dobby is not doing his job properly, thus directing the punishment towards "expelling Dobby"—simple and direct.

For other house-elves, being banished by their owners is a tragic event, and they would repeatedly beg for forgiveness. But Dobby is different; he yearns for freedom.

If Lucius does this, Dobby will be absolutely overjoyed to leave Malfoy Manor.

Of course, all of this had to be kept from Dobby, lest his ingrained instinct for obedience cause him to react strongly and steer things in an uncontrollable direction.

But Dobby said hastily, "Dobby, Dobby doesn't know where the master is, and Dobby shouldn't reveal it..."

Felix was having a bit of a headache. He couldn't exactly stalk or break into Malfoy Manor, could he?

He used the same trick again, saying with absolute certainty, "Dobby, I actually know that Malfoy will come to me without me even having to look for him..."

"How did Mr. Hyp know that Master would be coming to Hogwarts?" Dobby asked in surprise.

So, he'll come to Hogwarts? What for? To see Dumbledore?

"Of course I know, he has to come, on that day..." Felix said softly, slowing his voice.

"Yes, my master wrote that he will definitely win the Quidditch Cup and beat Potter, but Dobby thinks that's impossible," the elf said biasedly.

So it was on the day of Quidditch, Gryffindor versus Slytherin?

Having obtained the information he wanted, Felix subtly changed the subject: "I think so too. Potter has an extraordinary talent for Quidditch."

"That's right!" Dobby responded excitedly. "Mr. Potter is exceptional. If it weren't for Dobby casting a spell on the ball..."

He became depressed.

"But even so, I remember Potter still managed to catch the Golden Snitch," Felix said calmly.

"You were trying to protect Potter, so I suggest you find some time to apologize to Potter and explain things clearly."

……

A new week has begun.

Ancient magic script class.

Felix, beaming, said to the sixth-grade students, "Congratulations! You've completed this school year's curriculum ahead of schedule. That's an outstanding achievement!"

The male and female wizards in the audience applauded.

Their feelings were genuine, and their learning progress had indeed accelerated considerably that year. Professor Hyp provided a variety of novel and interesting learning methods—magical puppets, classroom competitions, answer parchments, magical essays, 'forged' magical journals, and the latest leaderboards...

Sixth grade is a special time. They have just gone through a whole year of rigorous study, have a wealth of knowledge, and do not have to worry about exams. This makes Felix very willing to try all sorts of new things in the advanced class.

His approach proved popular – most students who chose ancient spellbooks after taking the OWLs exams genuinely loved them, except for one or two who had no other options.

Felix looked at them and said, "There are about three and a half months left in this school year. We will be adding a new format to our classes: practical classes."

A practical lesson in ancient magic runes? That's a novel idea.

Before Professor Hyp arrived, this course had always been considered a theoretical one. After his arrival, everyone realized that runes also had many practical uses.

However, Professor Hyp himself has stated that practical runes are intended to "enhance student interest" and will not become the mainstream of the course.

"Professor, are you planning to add a section on making magical golems?" a witch with long curly hair asked, raising her hand.

"Miss Krivat, is your magical puppet fully repaired?" Felix raised an eyebrow.

"Not yet, Professor."

"That's it. The practice I'm referring to is extracting the most vivid and interesting parts from your potential future careers."

The thirty-odd students in the classroom looked at each other in bewilderment; Felix's words had touched upon a blind spot in their knowledge.

"Grab your wands and backpacks, and come with me."

Felix led them to a closed classroom. He touched the doorknob with his finger, and several rune patterns appeared in the air with sparks before quickly disappearing.

"Click!" The door opened a crack.

"By cleverly adding a few runes to the locking spell, you can effectively resist conventional breaking spells," Felix told them a little trick. "Of course, there's no way to break it by brute force."

He pushed open the door, and the students following closely behind him peered inside.

The room was pitch black, as if all light had been swallowed up. Just as they were about to take a closer look, a cold wind swept up from inside, making them shiver.

As the wind blew, the faint cawing of crows could be heard.

"Professor, this is..." a male wizard asked somewhat fearfully. This room... why is it so creepy?

Could that be some kind of dark wizard's lair?

Professor Hyp said in a calm voice, "In 1842, the Ministry of Magic discovered an ancient wizard's secret house in a swamp. Because of the passage of time, the magic had worn off, and the house revealed itself."

"At the time, the Ministry of Magic organized a group of people to explore the secret room and its surroundings, and they eventually brought back a lot of magical manuscripts."

The students listened quietly, and then they heard Professor Hep say with great pride, "I researched a lot of materials and recreated the scene through descriptions and photographs."

"Our practical lesson will be here. I hope you enjoy it."

(End of this chapter)