A certain Hogwarts professor of runes

Chapter 237 The Spellbook Club Gathering

By the end of November, the weather had turned very cold, the castle windows were covered with thick frost, and several snowfalls had blanketed the mountains surrounding Hogwarts in snow.

The small classroom was warm and cozy, with the firewood crackling and burning in the fireplace.

Felix sat relaxed on a sofa, smiling as he looked at the young wizards of different grades and schools sitting around a dozen sofas, their eyes filled with curiosity and longing.

"Today is the first gathering of the Magic Rune Club. Great, everyone is here."

"I've been quite busy lately, but I've finally found some time to think about the club." Felix toyed with a dark green coin with a unique, heavy sheen in his hand, which the young wizards examined with curiosity.

The coin does not belong to any known coinage; it is neither a copper naphtha, a silver sieco, nor a gold galleon.

Felix flicked the coin with his fingers.

Under the watchful eyes of the young wizards, the coin was tossed into the air and suddenly transformed into a slender snake covered in scales. It then expanded rapidly, twisting its dark green body and writhing. In a moment, it swallowed its own tail, forming a perfect circle.

The young wizards stared wide-eyed at the strange little snake that kept circling in mid-air—many of them had never encountered this pattern before.

But Jeffrey, the Slytherin prefect and a seventh-year student, said in a deep, fervent voice, "Ouroboros."

"That's right, the ouroboros. If you've ever dabbled in magical symbols, you'll naturally recognize this ancient symbol. It represents many things and is widely used in alchemy, ancient runes, and ancient signification. Even outside of the magical world, the ouroboros is quite famous, though people tend to call it a mystical symbol."

Many people see the ouroboros as a symbol of cycles, infinity, and rebirth...

Felix recounted the history of the ouroboros symbol, and when he stopped, sixth-grader Pete Selton asked a question.

"Professor, what were your considerations?"

Pete Selton had a long braid, and Felix remembered her as someone who, before the OWLs exams last year, blindly bought an onion-smelling amulet.

Felix explained: "I used to think of it as a symbol in alchemy. At that time, I thought it represented the prototype of all things and the principle of cycles, the back and forth of construction and destruction... In a way, it expressed the alchemist's pursuit of perfect alchemy."

Later, as I delved deeper into the theory of magic, I came to believe that it contained a vibrant life force, symbolizing the alternation of death and rebirth. In ancient times, many ancient wizards would inscribe it on their tombstones;

When I came into contact with ancient runes and used them as a yardstick to measure magic, I also came to believe that they represented infinity and self-growth.

Felix said leisurely, "Miss Seldon, do you understand what I mean? People's thoughts are always changing, and their perspectives on things are different at different stages."

He looked up at the small, circular snake and said with emotion, "Everyone's opinions will be different. I hope that one day, you will also have your own opinions, not just blindly following others, but thoughtful consideration after you have learned a lot."

The young wizards listened with a mixture of understanding and confusion. The Spellbook Club housed students from third to seventh grade, and not everyone could comprehend the meaning behind Felix's words.

After waiting quietly for a while, with the firewood still burning in the fireplace, Felix smiled and said, "Alright, little wizards. I didn't gather you here for idle chatter. To be frank, I have plenty of things to do, but that doesn't include discussing trivial matters."

"The Sorting Hat sorts you into different houses based on your most prominent traits, such as Ravenclaw—" His gaze swept over Cho Chang, Penelope, Walton Pardis, Eddie Camille, Marietta Eckmore, Michael Corner, Padma Petit...

"Slytherin—" He then looked at Jeffrey, Draco Malfoy, Daphne Greengrass, Pansy Parkinson…

"Hufflepuff—" He gestured with his eyes to Cedric, Justin Finley, Susan Bornes, Pete Selton…

"And Gryffindor." His gaze swept over Harry, his two children, the Weasley twins, Percy, Arya Spinnet...

Felix smiled and said, "Your traits collectively create the distinct atmospheres of the four houses. But in fact, the atmospheres of the four houses, in turn, influence you and amplify these traits—sometimes I only need to chat with someone for a few minutes to roughly determine which house they came from."

Felix smiled. "On a side note, there was a period of time when I would consciously play this game, and the success rate was very high."

"Getting back to the main point. This approach has its advantages and disadvantages. The advantage is that each college has its own set of admirable virtues that it values, and once this becomes a prevailing trend, it is easy to be driven to move forward. The disadvantage is that some people do not learn the good qualities, but instead acquire various shortcomings without realizing it."

Penelope said thoughtfully, "Professor, it's like Ravenclaw's emphasis on knowledge and individuality. The students are intelligent, insightful, and curious... but sometimes they can be too self-centered, causing them to clash with the outside world and even hurt some people?"

Felix nodded approvingly. "Insightful and courageous, Miss Crevat."

"The headmasters of Hogwarts recognized this a long time ago. Some of you may have had this question: many of your classes are taken with other houses, and not just one. For example—Miss Granger?"

Hermione looked up and said in a slightly nervous whisper, "We're with Hufflepuff for Herbology, with Slytherin for Potions, and with Ravenclaw for Astronomy."

"And after fifth grade?" Felix asked Jeffrey.

Jeffrey replied, "Most of the time, classes are held together by all four houses."

The other young wizards also started thinking about this question.

Felix said, "This approach is designed to allow you to see another group of different types of people and learn from each other's strengths."

"The club amplifies this advantage, which is something I like. So in the future, when collaboration is needed, I will let you choose students from different colleges as partners."

Harry looked almost immediately at Ravenclaw's Cho Chang, but to his heartbreak, her gaze was fixed on someone else. He turned and saw the tall, handsome Cedric.

His heart was instantly filled with a feeling of frustration and loss, and his long-held expectations were like a soap bubble that had been popped.

Malfoy glanced at Harry, then looked at the others, seemingly lost in thought.

Percy and Penelope exchanged a smile.

"Next, I'll talk about the Spellbook Club itself—" Felix tapped the armrest of the sofa, calming the somewhat restless young wizards down.

"First, the club's instruction focuses on practical runes; you will learn a lot of practical rune knowledge."

"Secondly, you will participate in some of my research, responsible for providing data or forming research groups to complete some experimental projects;"

"Sometimes, we might just sit down and chat, discussing topics that have nothing to do with spells but are interesting enough, like—why we could cast spells unconsciously when we were kids, but not after we started school, or rather… why it's so difficult?"

Harry suddenly remembered some of his magical experiences before entering school, such as his hair always growing wildly, and in the few minutes between leaving the barbershop and returning home, his hair would be back to normal, as if it had never been cut.

Or when Aunt Penny tried to put an ugly sweater with orange balls on him, he resisted so much that the sweater shrank smaller and smaller until it could only be worn by a puppet.

When he was in Muggle school, his cousin Dudley and his gang were chasing him. He tried to jump over a dumpster but ended up sitting on a chimney for no apparent reason.

He even conjured up the protective glass at the zoo and released a large python...

(End of this chapter)