A Professor of Magic at Hogwarts

On Christmas morning, Felix heard a knock at the door—it was Dobby.

"Merry Christmas, generous and great Mr. Harp!" the house-elf greeted enthusiastically, dressed in a brown vest with a hint of yellow socks peeking from its pocket, holding a purple knitted sweater.

Felix jolted awake. "This isn't your Christmas present to me, is it, Dobby? You really don't have to…"

"Oh no, Mr. Harp," Dobby replied nervously. "This is a gift from Mr. Harry Potter and his friends. I was there first... You mentioned not to disturb you too early or too late."

"I did say that," Felix blinked, gauging the time from the dim light outside. It was barely six or seven in the morning—Dobby must have been even earlier in Harry's dormitory.

"Alright then... um, come in."

He stepped aside, and Dobby momentarily vanished against the wall, reappearing with a large brown bag in hand.

"These are gifts from Dobby and the house-elves, all for Mr. Harp!"

In the living room, Dobby announced, sorting through the bag and handing Felix a small blue-wrapped box.

"What's this? Oh, a pair of socks, quite nice," Felix observed the socks inside the package. Dobby seemed to have guessed his preference for a blue base, with black lightning bolts and silver orbs embroidered, representing his two highly renowned ancient magics.

"Dobby knitted them himself," the house-elf with wide, round eyes said. "Dobby went to several stores, but nothing felt right, so after discussing with the companions, we decided on this."

"So, all these are... socks?" Felix asked, somewhat distractedly.

"Yes!" Dobby exclaimed joyously. "All sorts of socks! Each one picked by us with our favorite colors. Dobby got lucky, knowing Mr. Harp likes blue!"

"Yes, you got that right. I do like blue. Thank you, Dobby," Felix said. "Have you planned how to spend this year? I remember Limes mentioned giving you all a week off—"

"Yes! Mr. Lupin is a good man; he gave the house-elves the same holiday," Dobby excitedly teared up. "I plan to celebrate with friends, inviting everyone!"

"Good idea. I recall there's a magical camera in the office; remember to take a few pictures. Merry Christmas, Dobby."

***

Felix spent the entire day in his office, overwhelmed by gifts and an astonishing workload of replies.

During the rare breaks, he stood by the window, gazing at the snow-covered Forbidden Forest in the distance.

Beauxbatons' carriages and Hagrid's hut resembled various-sized pastries, glistening with frosting. The Ilvermorny residence peeked out with a pointed top, while Durmstrang's black sails remained undisturbed by the fierce winds, firmly locked on the frozen Black Lake. The delegation from Uagadou, with their affinity for nature, chose a spot closest to the forest, setting up cabins in a style reminiscent of Hagrid's hut.

Felix, from his vantage point, could just about see the tracks left by students from other schools traversing to and from Hogwarts Castle, amidst vast white expanses.

As the afternoon crept in, the crowd grew significantly, much larger than the past two years.

Felix remembered last year's rather quiet Christmas, with all the professors and students remaining at the school—it barely filled a single table. This year, however, the Christmas atmosphere felt almost as bustling as regular school days, thanks to the Yule Ball, drawing nearly all fourth-year and above students to remain at Hogwarts, crowding the castle.

But Felix knew, it was merely a psychological effect. frёeωebɳovel.com

He watched the students play in the snow for a while, the sky gradually darkening. Felix changed into his robe, estimating the time, and left his office.

At the entrance to the Great Hall, he saw Harry and Ron, eagerly waiting at the oak doors.

"Are you waiting for Miss Granger?" he asked.

"What? Um, not exactly... We haven't seen her either," Harry replied. "We're waiting for Ron's brother."

"Percy Weasley? Or Charlie?" Felix inquired, surprised.

"Percy," Harry said, pointing at Ron's disheveled robe. "Mrs. Weasley bought Ron a new robe and asked Percy to bring it because she heard Percy is representing his superior, Mr. Barty Crouch, at the ball."

Ron muttered to himself, "Mum should've packed it in the Christmas package instead of letting Percy bring it. If she thought Pig wouldn't carry so much, she could've left the purple sweater at home, I mean, what if Percy forgets! His big brain never remembers anything other than work..."

At that moment, a loud voice from outside the oak door resonated clearly in their ears. "Is this your brother, Percy? He's quite interesting," said Ludo Bagman, dressed in a vibrant purple robe adorned with large yellow stars.

Accompanying him was Percy Weasley, donning a brand-new navy blue robe, beaming broadly. Spotting the three at the door, he hurried over, shaking Felix's hand vigorously.

"I never expected you'd be the first person I'd meet on campus, Professor Harp. Thank you for taking care of Penelope; I've been meaning to visit. But I've been so busy lately, you might not know, I've been promoted, from one of the assistants to the foremost one. Today, I'm here on behalf of Mr. Crouch..."

As he spoke, he seemed to overlook Ron entirely.

Harry smirked; he wanted to ask Percy if Mr. Crouch stopped calling him "Weatherby," but he resisted the temptation.

Ron remained silent, eyeing Percy's body for a place to hide a robe. A few seconds later, he angrily shouted at Percy, "Where's my robe?"

"What?" Percy looked stunned.

"My robe! Mum got me a robe!" Ron exclaimed. Judging by his demeanor, if Harry hadn't held him back, he might have lunged at Percy.

Percy's expression froze for a few seconds before he magically produced a robe identical to the one he was wearing, leaving Ron, who Harry restrained, dumbfounded.

"Is this mine?" Ron said incredulously.

"Thank Penelope; I did forget when I came here. She reminded me," Percy said sternly.

Ron stared in disbelief at the new robe, gently caressing the navy satin surface, muttering under his breath, "Are you living with her?"

"Um, not yet," Percy replied awkwardly.

"How did she remind you before you left?" Ron eyed him suspiciously.

"You shouldn't pry!" Percy snapped quietly, his face turning red. "If you want your clothes."

"Are you asking me to speak well of her? No need for that; Mum and Dad both like her," Ron retorted.

Percy's face seemed to be trending towards a deep crimson shade. Ludo Bagman and Felix watched the scene unfold silently, relieved when Harry tugged Ron away. "Padma and Parvati are waiting for us," so they hurried towards the washroom.

"I remember you took out a heart-shaped mirror before leaving, some kind of

communicating mirror? Then hurried back to the office. Why didn't you tell your brother? He seems to have misunderstood," Ludo Bagman said.

Percy froze, his expression wooden as he said, "Penelope said I lack a sense of humor."

Bagman widened his eyes. "This is your way of demonstrating humor?"

"What's wrong with that?" Percy glanced at him strangely.

"Ahem!" Felix interrupted their conversation. "We better head in. About the sense of humor, Percy, I recall a book title; I'll tell you later."

"Really?" Percy's eyes lit up. "That'd be wonderful." As they walked into the Great Hall, he continued justifying himself endlessly, "I don't think I lack humor. In fact, each one of us has a different definition of humor..."

Felix and Bagman unconsciously quickened their pace.

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