A Professor of Magic at Hogwarts

Chapter 542: The Value of Ancient Magical Runes

At nine in the morning, Felix stood before the mirror, dressed immaculately and ready to leave.

"Hmm?"

Valen, his Niffler pet, eagerly wore a tiny scarf, looking up at him expectantly.

"Oh, sorry, can't take you," Felix said, lowering his head. "Not sure if it might be dangerous. Best to stay home."

He retrieved a memory disk from a ring, the disk creating an arc in the air and landing steadily on the small square table in his office.

The intricate runic circuits on the disk's edge lit up, with swirling smoke at the center.

"Besides replaying memories, the employees at the company have found new applications for it. Hmm, it's getting more like my envisioned future," Felix waved again, conjuring a plate of snacks and a jug of juice. "You can see live scenes through it, more or less..."

"Snort!"

Valen huffed and headed towards the sofa, annoyed that the big boss wasn't taking it along!

"Why won't they let us go? We're right at Hogwarts! What are they thinking?" a student grumbled.

"I heard it's for our safety..."

"You're kidding! With Dumbledore and Professor Hagrid around, what danger could there be? Even if it's a mysterious person..." Their voice lowered.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione stood in a corner of the hall, Ron hopeful. "Can't Sirius take us?"

"He's been held back himself," Harry said gloomily.

Ron gazed jealously at Percy, glowing in conversation with Dumbledore. "More people than expected! I mean—they're all experts in their fields."

As Felix descended the spiral staircase, the hall quieted briefly before chatter resumed.

"Professor, we're behind you!" a student cheered fervently.

Felix smiled at them. "Three points to Slytherin." The student blinked, then cheers echoed louder in the hall. Felix finally maneuvered through the crowd, addressing Dumbledore and Percy. "Shall we? Are we all set?"

"We're prepared," Percy hurriedly said. "Two hundred staff from the department, including fifty Aurors and combat specialists, took a day off just for this."

Felix nodded, then subtly glanced at Dumbledore.

"Alastor's watching there," he stated succinctly.

"The school's end—"

"We have other professors, and Fawkes will call me in critical moments."

Percy seemed puzzled by their conversation, but he could answer Felix's next question.

"Where's Madam Bones?"

"At Hogwarts too. She's hosting ministers from various European countries and school heads from around the world," Percy said eagerly. "Some arrived early, hanging around Diagon Alley for days, probably loaded with questions."

They descended the white stone steps towards the school's main entrance, leaving a crowd of eager students behind.

Harry and Hermione watched Professor Hagrid's departing figure with complex emotions. Harry muttered softly, "Being around the professor every day, I've almost forgotten how vast the gap is between us. No matter how much I try to catch up, it's like seeing only a silhouette."

"The professor will become a legend, like those famous wizards in history," Hermione bit her lip, her expression filled with reluctance.

"In his legendary story, will our names be there?" Ron asked with interest.

Neither Harry nor Hermione responded.

"Definitely," a confident voice said.

The trio turned to Neville, startling him with their gaze. He stammered, "Like a storybook, there's bound to be more than one character, right?"

"You mean supporting roles?" Ron was unenthusiastic. "Sounds like Mafalda's narrative. Speaking of which, Harry, how's she portraying you lately?"

"Her serialized story?" Harry said darkly. "She's got me depicted as a stable hand, shoveling horse manure every day."

...

Felix stood in the center of the Hogwarts courtyard, surrounded by wizards from all over, each with their own purpose, all focusing their attention on the young man in the middle.

"As we all know, the perfection of any field of study cannot be achieved by one or two individuals alone. It requires continuous contribution upon the foundation laid by predecessors. That's why I'm standing here—"

"Isn't it because of the old wand?" a wizard asked in a raspy voice.

"Not discounting that aspect," Felix replied, meeting their gaze. "But the misunderstandings brought about by my personal wand are a private matter, which I'll address during my speech. Of course, if anyone wishes to experience ancient magic firsthand... that can be arranged, with prior registration." He gestured toward a table in the corner, where two Aurors were stationed.

"Continuing on—any advancement in magical studies brings tangible benefits. Take the Wolfsbane Potion, for instance... for centuries, we've been powerless against lycanthropy, an infection with no known cure. But now, we've finally laid the groundwork. I can almost envision the future: more refined and affordable potion formulas will be developed; analyses and papers on relevant potions will abound; new theories will emerge; and some might even invent more targeted spells based on potion principles..."

"This isn't just a fantasy; it's a recurring theme over thousands of years, like an invisible hand pushing the entire wizarding community toward progress."

Lupin stood beneath the towering projection screen, fists clenched in excitement. If Felix's words were true, he'd invest his entire savings in support.

The wizards became more interested in Felix's speech. They watched him pace at the center, recounting his experiences researching ancient magical runes:

"...hence, every magical discipline holds significance," Felix smiled. "They offer different perspectives on our inherent ability—magic—slowly and steadily expanding our understanding of it."

Over a hundred Billywig-shaped magical devices scanned the gathering, capturing excited faces. Flashes of white light and purple mists from magical cameras shimmered in the corner, while hundreds of quills quivered with excitement.

Furthermore, Felix's words were transmitted via magical radios to thousands of wizarding households.

Felix held his wand's ends between his fingers, though now it wasn't as alluring as it was initially. Over two thousand wizards from across the globe were fixated on his face, noticing his slight excitement lifting him onto his tiptoes.

"A new field of study clearly holds more value, such as Ancient Runes. Why did I dig it up from history? Because it holds immense untapped potential, and under the modern magical system, it can integrate with numerous magical disciplines, like contemporary spells—"

He waved his wand. 'Flowing' runes intertwined with the Ironclad Hex, creating a light-green watery magical barrier; 'Lumos' runes combined with the Incendio spell, bright, white flames dancing around him. More runes appeared in the air, merging with modern spells, forming colorful magical ripples.

"Or Alchemy—"

He pointed towards the massive projection screen behind the crowd.

"We have scant knowledge of ancient wizards, only bits and pieces from fragmented manuscripts and abandoned relics. This gap not only hinders our inheritance of ancient wizardry butn/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

also leads to misconceptions about that era."

"For instance: the power of ancient wizards came with severe compromises in other abilities. From ancient scrolls, I've discovered that an ancient wizard—even though they mastered several potent ancient magics at a young age—still had more worldly concerns than modern wizards. Moving homes required organizing dozens of boxes; the most advanced mode of long-distance travel was a flying broomstick... and they might have had to clean their own homes, cook their own meals, because not everyone knew household magic."

The wizards present pondered deeply. With Felix Haarp's appearance, a question arose continuously: were ancient magical runes—and by extension, ancient wizards—as powerful as the legends claimed?

Wizards also had their myths, or rather, stories of legend. But many automatically classified them alongside works like 'Tales of Beedle the Bard,' hardly believing that the magical miracles depicted in those stories had happened in reality—mountains being split, seas being parted, magic capable of catastrophic destruction...

Some believed, some doubted, some remained skeptical. But today, Felix offered a new perspective: what truly defines strength? Is it individual prowess or collective might? Is it the power of magic or its convenience that serves as the measure?

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