A Professor of Magic at Hogwarts

Chapter 244: Trials and Warnings

In the center of the common room, a cleared space had been made, surrounded by chairs and sofas that the young wizards had moved into an irregular circle.

In the midst of this circle, two enchanted puppets were engaged in a fierce duel.

From one puppet's fist, crackling arcs of electricity and sparks shot out. It landed a punch on its opponent's face, freezing it in place.

"Four enter the semifinals! The first to advance to the finals is Angelina Johnson! Let's give her a round of applause!" Fred, acting as the referee, announced. "At the same time, she will receive a coupon for the Pairing Spectacles and participate in the raffle for guessing the outcome of the matches..."

"It's a lottery," George reminded him. Fred corrected himself, "Right, a lottery."

"Now then—next match! Professor... Professor Harp?" Fred spotted Felix and gestured somewhat nervously toward George, who discreetly collected the parchment in front of him.

"You're placing bets?" Felix looked at him.

"No, no," Fred explained, "we're promoting the Pairing Spectacles, just having a bit of fun."

Felix regarded him skeptically. Fred swore under his breath, "Absolutely not. Don't believe me? Ask them." Other young wizards nodded in agreement.

"Very well, and Percy?" Felix didn't press further.

"He's not here, Professor. I suspect he's with Penelope," Fred replied without hesitation. "I could give you a few of their favorite date spots."

"Cough, that won't be necessary," Felix said, feeling a headache coming on for Percy. He raised his voice and addressed the surrounding students, "I'm here this time to collect the list of students staying over the Christmas holidays on behalf of Professor McGonagall. Come over and check the corresponding options..."

"Um, the forms are temporarily here. I'll come to collect them this afternoon—if Professor McGonagall hasn't yet gotten rid of her little troubles."

The young wizards gathered around one by one.

Felix stood aside, surveying the Gryffindor common room. It was his first visit, and the layout here was different from Slytherin or Ravenclaw, primarily using gold and red as its main colors, forming a circular grand living room.

In this room, there were plush armchairs and sofas as well as sturdy wooden chairs and tables. Noticeboards were covered in various announcements, posters, and information written by the students themselves.

Currently catching the eye were advertisements for the Pairing Spectacles by the Weasley twins and news of Ravenclaw defeating Hufflepuff on the Quidditch pitch at the end of November.

Beneath this news was a line of handwritten, uplifting flashing text: "We still have a chance!"

The common room had both expansive open areas and smaller divided spaces with partitions in the corners.

Except for a massive fireplace that occupied one entire wall, the other three walls were adorned with scarlet tapestries featuring portraits of numerous famous witches and wizards, as well as some creatures.

Felix thought he recognized the majestic flame lion he saw there, very much resembling the one Professor McGonagall had demonstrated in her Dueling class.

"Professor," Hermione, having just finished filling out the form, approached along with Harry and Ron.

Felix smiled as he looked at them. "I heard your Dueling Practice Group is doing well?"

Harry couldn't help scratching his head. "It's mainly the three of us practicing. Dean and Seamus occasionally join in."

Felix said, "Harry, I've read your paper on Dueling Techniques. It suits you very well. When you can seamlessly incorporate its principles into every fight, then you'll have truly mastered what's in the paper."

Ron began, "I think Harry is—"

Harry quickly cut him off.

Felix looked at Ron and smiled as he asked, "Are you trying to say that Harry has already achieved the dueling system outlined in the paper?" Seeing that the professor wasn't angry, Ron nodded with newfound courage.

This was Ron's firsthand experience. Excluding Disarming Charms, he could still hold his own against Harry for a few rounds, having somewhat mastered spells like Impervius and Stunning Spell.

But when faced with the full force of Harry's Disarming Charm, all his resistance became futile. His Impervius Charm shattered like a comical biscuit, his wand flew out, and he was sent flying, without a second chance.

Or perhaps Harry altered the trajectory of the Disarming Charm into a magical arc, in combination with the footwork learned in Dueling class, always easily bypassing Ron's defenses.

This made Ron secretly anxious. Even the meals in the Great Hall weren't as appetizing—he didn't want to fall too far behind.

Felix considered for a moment and decided to test something. "Look at me, Harry." His eyes turned silver-white, and Harry met his gaze. He stared for a dozen seconds, then suddenly stumbled and nearly fell.

"Professor?" Ron caught Harry, looking at Felix in astonishment. He almost thought the professor before him was an impersonation by Black.

This thought crossed his mind because they had done something similar last school year. They had slipped into the Slytherin common room with the help of the Polyjuice Potion, trying to gather information about the Heir of Slytherin from Malfoy.

They had discussed before that if Black wanted to infiltrate Hogwarts, the Polyjuice Potion was a good option. However, their final consensus was that it was unlikely, as it would be hard for Black to breach the mirrors at the castle entrance.

"I'm fine," Harry said, panting. "Professor Harp, what... what was that..."

"It's a unique magic of mine. While not entirely accurate, it serves to test your progress," Felix explained.

Harry was greatly impressed. "I can't believe I was able to engage in a mental battle with you..."

Ron looked at him with shock. What did Harry say? A mental battle? Was it really what he thought?

"Is it like the Room of Requirement, Professor?" Hermione guessed. She had practiced Ancient Runes in the Room of Requirement before, but she had never fought in there.

"Um, something like that. To be honest, I've been making rapid progress in the field of memory magic lately, discovering many novel techniques without giving them names yet," Felix said.

He moved on from the topic, looking at Harry, Ron, and Hermione. "From the recent test, it's clear that Harry hasn't fully mastered the dueling system he devised himself, especially in various details; there are still many issues... In fact, Harry's issues are your issues.

Moving from theory to practice requires crossing not just one threshold, and turning it into an instinctive reaction that doesn't require thought takes even more time."

He said solemnly, "For some, this time might be a lifetime."

"Of course, you three are all talented wizards. Your only enemy to defeat is complacency, as it will hold you back."

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