A certain Hogwarts professor of runes

Chapter 145 Practical Lesson (Part 1)

An ordinary classroom door seems to separate two worlds.

On one side is a warm and peaceful school, and on the other is a dark and unknown world where a chilly draft sometimes blows through...

The students stared at Professor Hyp's face with slight hesitation, as if trying to read something, but Felix just looked at them encouragingly.

Penelope couldn't help but swallow hard, her voice clear as Percy, sitting two seats away, asked, "Professor? Is there any danger?"

"What? Oh, of course not... Why do you think that?" Felix looked at him in surprise, his gaze sweeping over the faces of the others.

"...I understand. Don't worry. Well, I did add some fun and surprising elements, but our lessons are still in ancient runes, not defense against the dark magic."

"Go ahead, I'll be the last one."

The wizards and witches went inside one after another, with Felix following behind, and closed the classroom door.

"Bang!"

……

The light in this mysterious space was very dim, making it impossible for them to determine its exact size.

Some faint sounds entered their ears: the sound of wind, the cawing of crows, the chirping of insects, and some strange rustling syllables.

More than thirty students huddled together like quails, standing there helplessly, seemingly waiting for the professor's instructions. Only seven or eight raised their wands, chanted "Flash," and used the magical light to survey their surroundings.

Felix shook his head, and the next second his voice came from above the ceiling—

"Young wizards, you are now Ministry of Magic staff from 150 years ago, proficient in runes. Your orders are to survey the surrounding area, eliminate dangers, and retrieve valuable manuscripts."

"You must act like professionals, careful and cautious, but also leaving no stone unturned. Magic manuscripts don't just sit idly by the door, and knowledge isn't confined to a single medium. Trust me, there's much here for you to explore."

"Now, take out your wands, and if necessary, take out the parchment to make a record. I will be watching you."

Then the sound disappeared.

After a brief silence...

"Ahem!" Percy cleared his throat, raised his wand to attract the attention of the others, and said, "I think this is the professor's test for us, and we should give it a satisfactory answer. As the prefect, I am willing to lead everyone..."

"There's more than one prefect here!" a Slytherin student chimed in, and amidst the cacophony of voices, the students quickly divided themselves into four factions based on their house.

The Ravenclaws number twelve, the Gryffindors seven, the Slytherins five, and the Hufflepuffs nine.

The other three houses each had a prefect, and Hufflepuff also selected a highly respected wizard. They gathered around a rock and discussed what to do.

"We should explore the boundaries of this place. It's obvious the professor cast a Stretch-Without-Screening Charm, so this place can't be too big."

"Excuse my bluntness, but I think we should find the safe house the professor mentioned and get the manuscript as soon as possible. I don't want to stay here for another second!"

"Are you going to split up?"

"Is that not allowed?"

"Everyone, whatever we do, we'd better act together."

……

Percy advocated exploring the surrounding area first and assigning clear roles and responsibilities, but the Slytherin prefect objected, insisting on finding the safe house as quickly as possible, arguing that "this is the key information the professor provided!"

Of the other two houses, Penelope supports Percy, while Hufflepuff advises that they should not split up.

Ten minutes passed quietly.

However, opinions remained divided, and in the end, everyone decided to act as a unit of the academy, with one person staying behind to release a cluster of red sparks into the sky every ten breaths. After doing this ten times, they would release green sparks, and everyone would quickly return to share their information.

Gryffindor and Ravenclaw teamed up, while Slytherin and Hufflepuff acted together to maintain a balance in numbers.

"Everyone, repeat after me: Fireflies!" Percy said.

Beams of light emerged from the darkness, and a patch of starlight also lit up not far away, bringing a sense of relief to both sides.

They randomly chose a direction and marched forward cautiously, taking each step carefully. However, every now and then a flock of crows would fly up around them, making a "cawing" sound, which made them feel uneasy.

They unconsciously sped up.

Percy's slightly trembling voice came through: "We're still students, we definitely won't encounter any extraordinary dangers, at most some small traps or something..."

Penelope said calmly, "We are just having a special practical lesson, which will not last more than two hours."

The wizards and witches relaxed slightly.

"Wait! What's that over there?" Quidditch captain Wood said, pointing ahead.

"Is it a pile of stones?" Percy squinted and looked into the distance.

"No, it's...it's a tombstone!" Wood stammered.

In the shadows, rows of tombstones stood, darker than the night itself.

After a brief moment of panic, they gathered five people and prepared to go and take a look.

"Don't worry, there's no danger," Percy said in a very unconvincing tone.

The group of five cautiously explored the cluster of tombstones, their footsteps crunching on the soft soil, occasionally punctuated by the sound of snapping branches. In the silence, Percy suddenly spoke up: "Penelope, you should stay."

"I'm the prefect!" Penelope retorted.

"But……"

"Oh, come on, you two," the burly Wood turned around, "even couples have to pick their time to argue. We're busy right now."

"Who, who said we're a couple?" The two stared at him, dumbfounded.

"I'm not stupid..." Wood muttered.

Percy and Penelope fell silent instantly, and even the sudden croaking of frogs no longer seemed so frightening.

In a slightly awkward atmosphere, they entered the group of tombstones.

"Look here!" Wood said, pointing to a tombstone. "There are some magical runes on it, it seems to be—" His voice trembled.

"What is it?" Percy asked, holding up his wand.

"We...we're waiting for you here..." Wood swallowed hard.

"Gulp!"

Just then, they heard a strange noise, and something emerged from the soil in front of Wood's tombstone.

Percy's eyes widened. It was a hand!

"Run, Wood!" He raised his hand and cast a shattering spell.

Wood nimbly leaped away, and a crisp cracking sound came from behind him. When he turned around, he saw a skeletal arm shattered into pieces.

"Ahhh!" Penelope screamed as something grabbed her ankle. She struggled to break free, only to find a pale white hand dangling from her ankle.

"Penelope!"

Percy shouted, then stared in disbelief as Penelope ran a few steps away and, gritting her teeth, unleashed a series of "Shattered Bones" and "Blazing Flames" in one direction. The intense flames illuminated a corner of the tombstones, and under the influence of the spell, a large crater was blasted into the ground.

About thirty seconds later—

A group of people came running up, panting. They looked at the scene in confusion: Percy and Penelope were kissing, two other wizards were looking awkwardly into the distance, and Wood kicked away a skeleton with a missing arm with a look of disgust.

The skeleton was also strangely shaped, about half the height of a person, with short limbs, but a particularly large head that took up almost half of its body.

The giant skull's mouth was stretched wide open, and it made a very human-like "ooh~ ooh~" sound as it clumsily tried to get up from the ground.

There should be more updates, but I'll wait for the author to have a meal.

By the way, I'm asking for votes~ Bombard me with your votes!

(End of this chapter)