A Professor of Magic at Hogwarts

Chapter 157: Intriguing Studies

The courtyard was filled with young wizards, their eyes brimming with awe, watching from a distance as this group of examiners gathered.

A couple of seventh-year students caught sight of the wrinkled face of Marcius Brumbage and exclaimed directly,

"She's here again!"

"It's almost the same group as last time."

"To be honest, every time I come, I feel like I'm being observed like a giant creature." muttered Tofty.

Felix Harp smiled and said, "These people are eager to catch a glimpse of their Nornian goddess."

"I'm not a goddess of fate; we are wizards."

This was destined to be a long day, especially for the fifth and seventh-year students. But Felix had done what he could, and the rest was up to them.

At nine-thirty the next morning, the Wizarding Levels examination officially began.

The spacious hall had been transformed into an examination room for theoretical tests, while several smaller rooms adjacent to it had been prepared for practical assessments.

Theory in the morning, practical in the afternoon, the entire process lasted two weeks.

In between his classes for other years, Felix took a moment to glance. The entire hall was tranquil, the only sounds being the scratching of quills on parchment and the gentle hiss of sand trickling in the hourglasses. He turned to head for his class of sixth-year young wizards.

Carrying a stack of parchment, Felix strode into the classroom.

"Today, we shall reveal the end-of-term results."

The academic stars, led by Percy, Penelope, and Geoffrey, held their breaths as if awaiting the decree of fate.

"A total of 33 papers, 12 Outstanding, 17 Exceeds Expectations, 4 Acceptable." Felix announced the overall results, "Congratulations!" as he passed out the papers.

The male and female wizards below erupted into a hearty applause, whispering excitedly to each other, brimming with joy.

"Of course, I must add a little note—"

The students quieted down, gazing at Professor Harp on the podium.

"These scores exclude the practical bonus points. If we include those extra points... I believe I need to correct myself: 15 Outstanding, 18 Exceeds Expectations."

On their papers, a new line of handwriting appeared, the practical section's extra credit, assessing the application of 'Practical Magical Writing'. The grading on the papers accordingly changed.

The male and female wizards were overjoyed, and the classroom burst into a tremendous celebration.

"For this lesson, we'll go over the papers. Next lesson will continue with practical work."

...

With two year levels' classes off his schedule, Felix found himself with more leisure time. He dedicated this free time to the library.

It wasn't until a Saturday morning that he caught sight of his assistant.

She was diligently working on a paper.

"Is there any professor so cruel? Assigning homework after the end of term..." Felix observed the busy figure, pondering in his heart.

Less than two weeks remained until the end of the school year. For lower-year students, professors usually waived homework.

In the evening, he solved this puzzle.

The young witch looked at him with excitement, "Professor, didn't you suggest that I look into the connection between wands and wizards? You even recommended the book 'Wizards and Wands' to me?"

"Indeed," Felix Harp replied.

"I briefly skimmed through it before and found it quite interesting. In fact, I became fascinated by it. It wasn't until after the end-of-term exams that I finally had ample time."

Hermione told him, "I want to write a related paper, not for publication—just as a pastime."

Felix Harp asked with interest, "Have you finished it?"

"It's only a part; much of it is notes I've transcribed, not yet formed into complete thoughts." She pulled out a stack of parchment from her bag and handed it to Felix. "There are my scribbles and annotations on it, along with scattered ideas and such. It might be a bit messy..."

"That's alright."

Felix said, "You can do something else first, like watching a movie." He picked up this 'half-paper' to read.

Beside him, Hermione adeptly opened a small projector, rummaging through a little box, selecting the film she liked.

Hesitating between "Wuthering Heights" and "Tom and Jerry," Hermione ultimately decided on something light-hearted; the former was too heavy for her.

Felix cast a sonorus charm on himself and leisurely started reading. He quickly realized that this was indeed a paper for leisure, containing data about some friends' wands.

For instance, Harry Potter's wand—eleven inches, holly wood, phoenix feather core, supple and flexible.

The young witch's annotation read: 'Holly wood, a rare wand material. Commonly believed to possess defensive attributes, representing resilience and endurance. Also symbolizes death and rebirth, suitable for those who need to overcome irritability and impulsive emotions.'

'Phoenix feather core, extremely difficult to tame.'

She drew two lines under 'overcome irritability and impulsive emotions.';

'However, holly wood wands often choose wizards who jointly experience danger and possess strong spiritual pursuits. Their specific manifestations will align with the wand core.'

'Holly wood combined with phoenix feather creates an exceedingly challenging wand to craft; due to their differing natures, they can produce tremendous conflicts. But once this combination is established, nothing can stand in its way.'

Hermione underlined the last sentence and put a question mark, perhaps indicating disagreement or doubts.

Next, there was Ron Weasley's wand—fourteen inches, willow wood, unicorn hair core.

The young witch's notes stated: 'Willow wood, equally rare material, possesses healing powers (?), suitable for nonverbal spells.'

'Unicorn hair core: strongly repels dark magic, highly loyal, typically most compatible with the first owner.'

She underlined 'highly loyal' and 'typically most compatible with the first owner,' adding a small note on the side, 'Coincides with Ron and Neville's cases. Ron's old wand was Charlie's, and Neville's old wand came from his father; both wand cores are unicorn hair.'

Seeing this, Felix was somewhat surprised. Besides Ron Weasley, were there others using old wands these days?

Or did they come from two distinct and renowned wizarding families?

What did their parents think?

The surname Longbottom wasn't an ordinary one; though not representative of purebloods, they had produced quite a few outstanding wizards, and their reputation was consistently good.

The paper also had Hermione's own wand introduction: fourteen inches, vine wood, with a dragon heartstring core.

Beneath it were somewhat hasty annotations: 'Vine wood wands often choose wizards with lofty goals and foresight. They often do things that shock their friends who think they know them well.'

Felix chuckled softly. It seemed Miss Granger wasn't very calm when writing that part.

He flipped further down; there were examples of her classmates as well as excerpts transcribed from the book "Wizards and Wands."

Somewhat surprisingly, he also saw Hermione's speculation about her own wand: Professor Harp, between twelve to fourteen inches, ebony wood, core unknown, possibly phoenix feather or dragon heartstring.

Beside it were very small abbreviations. Felix deduced they meant dark magic. She had read a part of dark magic books in the Room of Requirement, so did she eliminate the unicorn hair option for that reason?

'Ebony wood wands have an impressive appearance. Ebony wands are excellent for offensive magic and transfiguration, typically choosing courageous individuals who are nonconformist, stand out from the crowd, or are immersed in an outsider's state. Their owners often disregard external pressures and have unwavering beliefs.'

She heavily marked 'disregard external pressures, have unwavering beliefs.'

This chapter cited some references, which in my personal opinion, were quite significant, given their prophetic and explanatory nature.

It also served as a bit of a primer for readers unfamiliar with the original work.

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