A Professor of Magic at Hogwarts

Through a somewhat verbose message left by a certain loquacious Chagus Gant, Felix Harp confirmed that this ancient book came from a family named "Gant," or at least they had long held possession of it.

For behind-the-scenes notes, there was no shortage of praises for this great-grandfather.

Not just one person either.

This provided Felix with the pleasure of reading comments.

The magical inscription artifact Felix was preparing also came from this ancient book. The reason it was called a "magical inscription artifact" instead of "alchemy artifact" was because its internal circuitry was entirely constructed from individual magical inscriptions, devoid of any traces of later alchemical techniques.

Many people couldn't discern this distinction, but Felix was an exception—magical inscriptions could be used in ancient magic and inscribed onto objects, as they were a language imbued with magical power.

Their essence lay in the ancient wizards' exploration and summarization of magic.

Alchemy, on the other hand, was different. It partially inherited ancient magical inscriptions while developing its own methods, its purpose being "to imbue objects with magical power and grant them special magical abilities."

Thus, the symbols used in alchemy couldn't truly be called a language, merely magical symbols.

But it had its merits too. To infuse various objects with magical power, many great wizards had experimented with different methods, resulting in a multitude of enchanting techniques that bordered on the unimaginable.

A pinnacle of this was achieved by the French alchemist Nicolas Flamel.

Compared to alchemy, magical inscription craftsmanship was quite antiquated. That's also why he thought the notes were quite ancient in origin.

...

The magical inscription artifact Felix aimed to complete was called the "Binding Vine," utilizing the inherent growth extension of magical vine plants to launch surprise attacks. The advantage was that it required no incantations and could be activated stably without interference.

However, when it came to assessing its power, opinions varied. At least Felix had his doubts.

Yet he didn't prioritize power; he valued the ideas contained within it. First, the thought process behind crafting magical inscription artifacts, and second, the technique of deeply integrating opposing magical properties.

The unicorn represented purity and goodness;

The Devil's Web, on the other hand, was an aggressively magical plant, always launching attacks on various small animals and unfortunate humans—hunting was in their nature.

Under normal circumstances, combining the magical properties of these two was a challenging task. Following the approach in the ancient book, Felix used the Beating Willow to neutralize this opposition—the Beating Willow, despite its violent behavior, was genuinely a neutral plant.

Felix waved his wand, unraveling the cushion woven from unicorn hair and placed it in clear water. In an almost instant, the clear water turned pitch black.

Felix: "..."

He changed the water a few more times before finally cleaning the unicorn hair and then magically drying it.

Only by now did the unicorn hair reveal its true appearance: soft and smooth white strands extended luxuriously, radiating a warm light that flowed constantly, as if it were solidified liquid mercury.

The other two main materials needed time to mature. The Devil's Web needed to grow larger, and the Beating Willow branches required soaking in magic to increase their flexibility for easier transformation.

Felix estimated that the preparations would likely extend to the end of November.

Nevertheless, he could start considering how to optimize the magical inscription circuits ahead of time...

As days passed by, Felix completed the first extensive examination for fifth-years—a promise he had made at the beginning of the school year.

On the weekend before Halloween, he was still busy grading papers.

Fortunately, he wasn't alone; another assistant was working late with him.

It was ten o'clock at night.

Hermione stifled a yawn, stealing a glance at Professor Harp.

"Professor, I've finished grading."

Felix Harp looked up, "I still have some left here, you can head back. Enjoy the Halloween feast."

Hermione bid him goodnight and left the office. As she walked along the corridor, she also had something to look forward to in three days. However, what she was preparing for wasn't the school-organized party, but the 500th Deathday celebration of Nearly Headless Nick, the ghost of Gryffindor House.

Back in the common room, many young Gryffindor wizards were still working on their assignments.

Ron let out a groan. His potion essay was missing eight inches, and his magical history essay was lacking a foot.

"Why on earth do we have so much homework before Halloween!"

Ron vocalized what many young wizards were thinking, and they all shared a look of agreement before resuming their work.

Hermione sat next to Harry and Ron, and she didn't hold back, saying, "If you had finished your homework earlier, you wouldn't have this much trouble."

She was busier than most, not only completing her duties as an Ancient Runes assistant but also practicing the magical inscriptions taught by Professor Harp. Up to now, she had mastered 19 magical inscriptions.

Professor Harp said she had the opportunity to independently create an alchemical product this year.

Ron grumbled, "Enough of the lecture, just lend me your magical history essay."

"You should finish your own work!"

"I'm just using it as a reference, right, Harry?"

Harry quickly nodded.

In the end, Hermione lent them her essays.

Over the next two days, the festive atmosphere on campus grew stronger. Despite the heavy rain pouring outside, turning the sky as dark as ink, inside the rooms were bright and cheerful.

Professor Flitwick adorned the Great Hall with live bats, Professor McGonagall conjured massive colorful decorations, and Hagrid's enormous pumpkins finally found their purpose as they were carved into hollowed-out lanterns large enough to fit three or four people inside.

Whispers circulated around the campus that Dumbledore had booked a skeleton dance troupe to entertain during the festivities.

Everyone was eagerly looking forward to the Halloween feast.

Only Harry and Ron were gloomy. The reason was that Harry, unable to turn down a request, had agreed to attend the 500th Deathday celebration of Nearly Headless Nick, and Ron, ever loyal, was accompanying his friend.

However, the more they looked at the festively decorated Great Hall, the more bittersweet their smiles became.

This bitterness reached its peak on Halloween day.

At seven o'clock, the trio walked through the doorway, ready to join the feast. Passing by the Great Hall, which was adorned with lights and candles, the enormous pumpkin lanterns were as big as carriages. Some young wizards had already chosen their seats and were chatting animatedly.

As Harry squeezed through the crowd, he even spotted one of the Weasley twins directing ghostly dolls to chase after one young wizard after another, spraying them with black smoke, while the magical puppets emitted eerie "creak creak" ghostly sounds.

Just the day before, Felix had distributed the grades and fulfilled his promise, awarding a custom-made magical puppet to the top student of each year. These puppets had even more power and a wider array of internal "moves."

The first place for the fourth year wasn't claimed by one of the twins, but rather by Hufflepuff's Cedric. He had been consistently at the top. However, when it came time for him to choose his prize, he was swayed by the twins and opted for a ghostly doll.

Now he was sitting with his friends, his gaze straying to a third-year Ravenclaw girl. He suddenly felt a pang of regret; if he had chosen a pretty girl instead and presented her with the doll...

Cedric's thoughts spun in circles, and as for Harry and his companions, the path beneath their feet grew winding and convoluted. Descending further, they reached the dungeons. The cheerful sounds from above grew distant and subdued, mirroring their feelings.

They passed through a corridor lit with black candles and saw Nearly Headless Nick standing at the entrance of a room, welcoming the guests. He was dressed up today, draped in a black velvet curtain.

"Welcome, my dear friends. It's so wonderful to have you here..."

Almost simultaneously, Dumbledore announced the official beginning of the Halloween feast, and the cheers of the young wizards resounded throughout the Great Hall.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione exchanged glances. Bathed in the shimmering candlelight, their faces held a shadowy aura, and as they walked inside, they felt a sense of resignation, akin to facing the inevitable.

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