A certain Hogwarts professor of runes

Chapter 189 The Twins and Snape's Gossip

After the fifth-grade ancient runes class in the afternoon, Felix kept the twins behind by himself.

"Professor, are there really seven types of endoscopes?" Fred asked curiously.

In the previous class, Felix's schedule was the same as in seventh grade. He explained the learning plan for the entire school year and briefly reviewed the learning content of third and fourth grade. At the end of the class, he mentioned that in addition to magical puppets, this school year would also introduce a new type of magical artifact—the Mirror of Sight.

Felix nodded and said, "It does exist. You'll see in the next class."

The reason he was delaying was because he was still missing a type of endoscope, which was currently being adjusted.

The book "Exploring the Secrets of Ancient Alchemy" mentions seven methods for making viewing mirrors, but they all follow the alchemical route. What Felix did during this period was to replace some magic runes into them, so that their functions remained the same and could even be enhanced.

He tirelessly experimented, and if possible, he planned to spend most of the year on it—converting alchemical artifacts into runic artifacts.

With the alchemy master Nicolas Flamel by his side, he was full of confidence.

……

George asked, "Why are there seven types of endoscopes?"

Fred replied without hesitation, "Perhaps the spyglass is disguised? For example, it might normally look like a doorknob, but it will make a loud noise when touched."

George followed his train of thought and expanded on the analogy: "It's a bit like our fake wand, or maybe the other way around. It's normally shaped like a peephole, but if you try to do something to it, it shoots fireworks from the tail, which then fly all over the room..."

"That's a brilliant idea, George," Frey said with a grin. "What a charming little brain."

George bowed. "You too, Mr. Weasley."

"Ahem!" Felix coughed twice, stopping their mutual flattery. "Seeing how happy you all are, I can't bear to tell you the next piece of news."

The twins turned to look at him at the same time.

"Oh, no, Felix, we're in this together," Fred said without any hesitation.

Felix chuckled; he had only said that a short while ago, "Disrespectful to the professor, huh?"

Fred raised his hands in a gesture of begging for mercy.

But neither of them paid attention. Felix had long ago discovered that these two people were very suitable to be friends, provided that you had a certain amount of authority in front of them, otherwise their habitual pranks would be enough to give you a headache.

Being an assistant wasn't appropriate either. Felix had initially just wanted someone to share his workload, but he found it hard to imagine the twins would seriously grade papers. He even suspected they might cast a curse on some of the bad ones.

For example, applying a "Bump Charm" to unsatisfactory assignments to make the lazy wizard feel the malice from the spell assistant...

It's quite interesting when you think about it, but this is something you can only dream about.

Felix's expression turned serious: "Alright, let's get back to the point. This is your OWL year, how many exams are you confident you can pass?"

"Ancient runes are fine, if they change the exam to repairing magical golems," Fred said, panting.

Felix said sternly, "This is no joke. I don't object to you doing research in your spare time and I'll offer guidance, but your grades can't fall too far behind."

The twins sighed, and Fred, unusually, spoke the truth: "I reckon I'll only pass four or five OWLs, maybe even fewer. What about you, George?"

"We're about the same level, but I think you might be too optimistic. I believe three certificates is a more reasonable number," George said relatively fairly.

Fred immediately beamed with joy.

Felix shook his head, not wanting them to change the subject, and said directly, "To prevent you from becoming too engrossed in your studies, I've specifically asked your brother, Percy Weasley, to take some time to keep an eye on you—"

"What?!"

"No, Professor!"

Felix's lips curled up. "Is there something wrong? I told him he wouldn't interfere with your research, at least not in the short term. As far as I know, his results are excellent, and he can offer you some advice."

Fred hunched his shoulders, glanced sideways, and struck a haughty pose—he mimicked Percy's tone, saying, "Fred! Put your prank candy away. If I see you giving it to anyone else again, I'll put you in solitary confinement, and I mean it!"

Felix: "...To be honest, your gummies aren't poisonous, are they?"

"Of course not, Professor. We've done the tests. I was the first test subject," Fred said.

"I'm the second," George said.

The twins pleaded and begged Felix for ten minutes, and only when they realized they were about to be late for the next class did they hurriedly leave. As they left, they didn't forget to shout loudly—

"Professor, we will not give up!"

"That's right, unless you take back your decision!"

Felix watched their retreating figures with a slight headache. For a fleeting moment, a thought popped into his head: 'Did Professor Snape think of me the same way back then?'

"But I'm not that frivolous." He returned to his office and spent some time completing the final improvements to the seventh endoscope.

Looking at the various sizes of endoscopes on the worktable, his mood inexplicably improved.

"I currently possess over a thousand ancient magical runes. When will that number grow to ten thousand, or even twenty thousand?"

"By then, how far will my understanding of magic have reached?"

Felix imagined that during the battle, countless magical runes would swirl around him, automatically coalescing into powerful ancient magic under his will. While others' spells were at most beams of light, he had completely abandoned his wand, unleashing a continuous barrage of attacks with a mere wave of his hand.

There was nowhere to escape, nowhere to avoid.

"You're overthinking it. There aren't many people who can get me to go all out these days. I'd better think about what to discuss with Nicolas Lemaître next. His understanding of alchemy is far beyond my imagination."

"Through his perspective, I can examine alchemical and runic artifacts from a higher level."

"This will help me better understand the properties of runes."

In the evening, when Felix left his office to have dinner in the auditorium, he unexpectedly overheard two pieces of gossip.

The first incident was an accident during Hagrid's first class; a student was injured. Felix breathed a sigh of relief after carefully inquiring; the situation wasn't serious. The student's wound contained some foreign magic, and with Madam Pomfrey's skills, he would be back to his old self in three days at most.

He didn't take it to heart; the previous professor of this course had caused far more trouble, and Hagrid would at most receive a probationary period.

The second thing gave him a headache: in Defense Against the Dark Arts class, the new professor taught the third-year students how to fight Boggarts—magical creatures that could shapeshift according to their fears.

Boggarts are not inherently strong, but they are incredibly effective against wizards with fatal weaknesses or fragile minds, especially when faced with them unprepared.

In class, a student's object of fear turned out to be Snape. Encouraged by Professor Lupin, the student overcame his fear and recited the Boggart Exorcising Charm "Funny Funny." As a result, things really became very funny—Professor Snape, who symbolized his inner fear, changed into a woman's dress.

Felix sat at the long table in Hufflepuff, two seats away, where a little witch with two golden braids was vividly describing the scene—

"...Professor Snape strode over aggressively, and although his target was Longbottom, I felt a chill run down my spine, thinking, 'This is bad, he's definitely going to fail.' And guess what?"

Hannah Abbott, beaming, said, "Longbottom chanted the spell, and it was like a whip lashing out at Professor Snape. Instantly, his clothes transformed into an embroidered green grandmother's dress, he wore a tricorn hat, and a huge red handbag dangled in his hand..."

"Honestly, this is the first time I've realized that guy named Longbottom is so cool!"

Felix listened in astonishment; from what he knew, Snape must be furious.

(End of this chapter)