A Professor of Magic at Hogwarts

Chapter 173: The Miniaturized Wand Tree

The July breeze brushed through the Forbidden Forest of Hogwarts, and the green leaves swayed, forming a gentle lullaby. Felix Harp felt as though his mind was being caressed by a pair of hands, and his entire being relaxed.

Passing by the Whomping Willow, he briskly made his way to Hagrid's hut. "Fang," he called out, and the black hound happily wagged his tail, barking enthusiastically at him.

Hagrid swung open the door, his large hand propped on the doorframe, a smear of red sauce on his lips. "Felix? Er, I'm having a bite... come on in, it's a bit of a mess..."

He hurriedly wiped his mouth, his face turning a shade redder.

...

In the evening, in his office, the blank photograph on the worktable flickered. Felix looked at the sudden appearance of an elderly man in the photo and gently greeted, "Hello, Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington."

...

Late July.

Felix gazed at his reflection in the mirror. Beneath his blue casual suit, he wore a light checkered waistcoat, covered by a dark double-breasted overcoat, left loosely unbuttoned.

He lightly touched his chest, and the overcoat shimmered with sparkling magical light.

"The coat made from dragon-hide mixed with serpent-skin is quite comfortable, and the snake-skin waistcoat as well." Sunlight streamed through the window, illuminating his raven-black hair, enhancing the brilliance of his attire.

...

End of July.

Felix reviewed the data on young wizards' magical studies, attempting to derive some useful conclusions.

"Knock knock!"

Professor McGonagall brought the course enrollment list over, and when he saw the densely packed names, he froze in place.

"Milliwa, is there some mistake?"

Professor McGonagall chuckled as she handed him the list. "You should be pleased, Felix. The students are fond of you."

...

On a day in August.

Felix counted the magical symbols in the Room of Thought, not once, not twice, but thrice. Finally, he confirmed an accurate number.

"One thousand three hundred."

In the span of a year, with the help of Hogwarts' vast library, he had increased the count of ancient magical symbols by nearly a thousand. And in the foreseeable years, this rate of progress would only accelerate.

As he mastered more magical symbols, his understanding of ancient magic was no longer at a distance. Often, he experienced flashes of insight.

The most striking example was when he made significant progress while studying the fragmentary ancient magic gifted to him by Flitwick. Hagrid could attest to this—

Under Hagrid's astonished gaze, the branches of a wand tree vigorously shook, rapidly shrinking from a height of seventeen to eighteen meters. Ten meters, seven meters, three meters... It left behind a brown crater on the ground, and over a hundred Bowtruckles fell to the earth, showing their teeth and grimacing at the two.

Without a hero charging ahead, these little beings hopped and climbed onto the adjacent wand tree, gesturing their displeasure.

"Where's the tree? Such a big tree, where is it?" Hagrid reached out, outlining the shape of a tree in mid-air.

Felix extended his hand, "The wand tree's here." A one-foot-tall sapling flew out from the unsightly pit, caught in his grasp.

Hagrid took it, the thing was no bigger than his palm. "This, this is the same tree from before?"

"Yeah, one of my spells has improved. It can do things it couldn't before." Felix was rather satisfied with the spell's result.

The wand tree possessed magic, but it still couldn't withstand his magic.

"In the next exchange, Philius will surely be amazed."

Hagrid glanced at Felix Harp, then back at the sapling in his hand, speechless. After a while, he suddenly had a magical idea, "Felix, if you were to use this spell on Fluffy, would it also shrink? Could I keep it in the yard?"

"Cough cough!" Felix cleared his throat awkwardly and said, "Hagrid, this spell hasn't been tested on magical creatures yet. We don't know the exact effects, especially on creatures as large as a three-headed dog. If something goes wrong..." He didn't finish, but he was concerned that the spell might have irreversible consequences.

Hagrid said somewhat regretfully, "No go, then? Fluffy's been so lonely, and I was hoping it could keep Fang company."

"There will be opportunities in the future, Hagrid. Let me refine it further."

Hagrid sounded interested, "Do you need my help? I could provide some less important magical creatures like Billywig, Chameleon Gnat, Knarl, Fwooper, Grindylow, and the like. They might be useful to you?"

Felix's eyes lit up.

"That would be fantastic. I believe what this spell needs most now is practical data."

"But, Hagrid, I must remind you, magic has a duration. Even if I try to extend the effect as much as possible, the expected duration is only a few hours."

Hagrid pouted, "That's fine. At least I can still hold it. Poor Fluffy, ever since it grew bigger than my house, I haven't been able to let it put its paws on my shoulders."

The two crouched down, carefully observing the small wand tree. It was covered in flowing green magical lines. After about half an hour, it grew from one foot to two feet. But in just another ten minutes, it had grown to two meters.

And its rate of growth was getting faster and faster.

"Hagrid, step back. I'm going to put it back in the pit."

Hagrid stepped back two paces, and Felix tossed it back into the hole, adjusting its position with magic. Then, he saw the wand tree rapidly expand. It was a magical sight—

Just like Felix had read in books: when an inexperienced wizard performed the Animagus Reversion Charm, the process often proceeded painfully slowly, with some body parts reappearing before others, creating a bizarre scene.

This wand tree was no different. The reversion process was far from graceful. A branch awkwardly extended, and then the trunk bulged outward, like one of Hagrid's enormous pumpkins. Then it contracted again, but overall it grew by a foot...

After half a minute, this unfortunate wand tree had finally returned to its original state. However, it looked rather woeful. The branches drooped, and more than half of its roots were exposed. Felix used magic to carefully bury them back into the soil, one by one.

Finally, he poured a bucket of nutrient solution, and the wand tree's condition seemed to improve slightly.

Felix examined it closely. After a while, he turned to Hagrid, "Do you think it's a bit crooked?"

"Is it?" Hagrid couldn't tell.

"Look here, I remember it being straight, but after reverting, there's a bulge."

"Er," Hagrid thought of how his Fluffy had a big lump on its back after reversion, and shook his head repeatedly.

Felix gave him a sidelong glance, "You didn't notice? From my angle, it's quite obvious..."

...

In the evening, Felix received a copy of the Daily Prophet. The headline for the night was—

"The Closure of the Bussres Hotel Conference Marks the Beginning of a New Era"

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