A certain Hogwarts professor of runes

Chapter 193 Buckbeak

Felix leaned closer to examine the black hair on the red cloth. "Is that all?"

"Unfortunately, that's all we found in Azkaban," Dumbledore said.

"Hmm," Felix nodded, then thought for a moment and said, "I can't guarantee the number of endoscopes... One, no problem! Two, a bit of a stretch, three, that's just luck."

Dumbledore smiled and said, "This has exceeded my expectations. I originally thought I could only make a spyglass."

After leaving his office, Felix glanced at the sky; it wasn't too late. He walked out of the castle and headed straight for Hagrid's cottage along a path.

He smelled the fragrance of trees, and the grass was damp from the earlier rain. Soon, the outline of the house became clear.

"Yaya, stop fooling around."

Felix said to the black hound that pounced on him. It seemed to want to cling to him, but he couldn't reach it because of the air between them. He didn't want it to leave muddy paws on him.

Felix took a warm beef pie from a special compartment in the ring and tossed it to Tooth.

Ya Ya caught it in her mouth and wagged her tail happily at him.

Felix knocked on the door. "Hagrid, it's me, Felix."

A sound that seemed like a sob came from inside—

"Come in, the door's unlocked!"

He pushed open the door and was startled by what he saw inside: the small room was crammed full, and Hagrid was sitting on the soft bed, desperately chugging a large barrel of liquor, his eyes red and swollen, blurry with tears.

At his feet lay a hippogriff, with a bronze basin in front of it filled with raw, bloody flesh. Juice dripped from its mouth onto the floor. Hearing Felix's movement, it jerked its head up and stared at him warily.

"Hagrid?"

Hagrid stared at him, muttering, "Felix, you've heard too..." He patted the hippogriff's head. "Be good, Buckbeak, you can't make another mistake."

Buckbeak lowered his head, which had been raised, and continued to eat the raw meat in the bowl.

"Want some?" Hagrid shook the barrel.

"No, thank you."

Felix chose a seat not far from him and said, "I have heard some rumors, but I didn't expect them to affect you so much."

Hagrid took another swig of liquor, a few drops clinging to his beard. "What can I do? Probably the shortest-lived professor in history..."

"They fired you?" Felix asked, somewhat surprised.

"Well, Harry and the others asked the same question... not yet, but it's only a matter of time. Yesterday, a representative from the school board came to see me, dressed impeccably, and to be honest, somewhat like you. He told me my course scheduling was too aggressive and I should be more conservative..."

"I don't think it's a big problem," Felix said. "As far as I know, hippogriffs are quite intelligent; something must have happened to them?"

"An accident? You could say that... You be the judge!" Hagrid suddenly shouted angrily, startling the giant beast beside him. "That student named Malfoy completely ignored me. I told him to bow, to bow! He acted like an idiot!"

Felix looked at Hagrid with a strange expression and asked softly, "You let it have close contact with the students?"

"Yes, I know them. There's no danger. As long as it returns your greeting, it's a bow... hiccup!" Hagrid hiccuped, shook the barrel, and poured the rest of the wine into the copper basin. "That means it acknowledges you. Very polite creatures, aren't they?"

Felix has reservations about this. It's true that bowing can gain approval, but not out of politeness. Rather, it's because you expose your vulnerabilities first, gaining their trust, and they will bow in return to earn your trust.

This is a unique habit.

"Hagrid, my advice is, against creatures capable of harming young wizards, like it—"

"Buckbeak, its name is Buckbeak," Hagrid introduced in a gruff voice.

"—For example, with Buckbeak, it's best to observe it from a distance during the first lesson. Once you're familiar with it, you can select one or two obedient students to interact with it."

"Good suggestion, but unfortunately it's not applicable right now," Hagrid said sadly. "I haven't had much energy all day, feeding the students Floppy caterpillars, looking up at the sky... Maybe an owl will tell me I've been fired any second now."

Felix said directly, "Hagrid, you don't need to worry about your position. I checked the records of your predecessor—that is, Kettleburn. He had 62 probationary periods, some of which were much more serious than yours, but he still retired unscathed."

"Really? I didn't expect that. The school board representative looked at me like I was going to be sent to Azkaban," Hagrid said expectantly.

"They can't fire a full-time professor; that's the president's prerogative. At most, they can give you a disciplinary action, but who cares?" Felix said. He had thoroughly studied these rules, so he never considered paying them any attention.

Hagrid perked up and looked at Felix: "So, I'm alright?"

"You were fine to begin with."

"That's great!" Hagrid cheered, splashing liquor from his beard everywhere, and Buckbeak sneezed.

"Oh, go on, Buckbeak, back to your territory!" Hagrid laughed, pulling it up and pushing it out of the hut amidst its reluctant gaze.

"I was worried I'd be fired, or even lose my job as a forest ranger, and I wanted to feed it one last time. Now it seems I was overthinking it..."

Felix said, "Hagrid, let's discuss your next lesson. I think the little unicorn is quite nice; it's fluffy and looks very endearing. I'm also curious about the characteristics of a unicorn's golden fur in its early stages..."

"Wouldn't that be imposing enough?" Hagrid asked.

Felix looked at him calmly, which made Hagrid uneasy. He waved his hand. "Okay, you're right, I shouldn't have taken the risk."

He counted on his fingers: "Unicorn, Bowtruckle, Niffler, Fire Crab, Flower Fairy, and the Dipladebird... Isn't its call a bit dangerous too?" He asked Felix for his opinion.

The vulture is a small, dark green bird with a shy personality. It looks somewhat like a malnourished young vulture and is known for its heartbreaking call.

Felix thought for a moment: "I remember its calls were rhythmic?"

"They usually only call before a heavy rain. For a while, people used them to predict the weather, but later they couldn't stand their calls anymore; they were too awful... Some harbingers will howl incessantly in winter, which means they're about to die." Hagrid said thoughtfully, "I can find a sunny day when they look listless."

Felix encouraged him, saying, "That's it, Hagrid. You need to eliminate potential risks based on the characteristics of magical creatures."

"Ha, I think I've figured it out."

……

Felix returned to his office; it was already completely dark. He looked at Nick Lemaître's photo on his desk and asked, "Is Nick in?"

"I'm already asleep." The person in the photo winks.

"He's been going to bed really early lately," Felix said.

In the photo, Nicolas Flamel smiles and says, "Old people, you know, can't stay up all night."

An elderly person over six hundred years old...

Felix pondered the meaning of those words, "When he wakes up, please tell Nick that I've prepared his Christmas present, the kind with special meaning, that he'll definitely like."

(End of this chapter)