A Professor of Magic at Hogwarts

Chapter 180: Conclusion of Special Training

On the morning before the start of the school year, Felix Harp sat leisurely at a cozy table in the Leaky Cauldron, enjoying his breakfast and casually flipping through the day's newspaper.

"Tsk, Sirius Black, why has he been on the front page for so many days?"

Felix gazed at the man in the photograph. His face was gaunt, and his black hair was tangled together. He had waxen-like skin and a somewhat vampiric appearance.

The newspaper spared no ink detailing his crimes over and over again, including his support for the mysterious figure and, when cornered, his explosion that obliterated half a street, resulting in thirteen deaths. Currently, he was listed as a fugitive on the run.

Words like "extremely dangerous" and "most notorious prisoner" appeared repeatedly in bold red font.

"Escaping from Azkaban, is that really so difficult?" Felix sipped his coffee and took a couple of seconds to simulate the scenario.

First step, retrieve a spare wand, and then... hmm...

'Well, the premise doesn't hold up. Why was I locked up in the first place?'

'At least it explains why Moody was so jittery around Harry.'

Just then, Harry yawned his way down the stairs, with Dobby cautiously trailing behind him. Dobby watched Harry with a worried expression, as though fearing he might miss a step and tumble down the stairs.

"Harry, Dobby, over here," Felix tilted his head at them, "Good morning, Professor." Harry sat down on the opposite chair, and to his surprise, Dobby pulled up a chair right next to him.

"Dobby, don't you need to greet the guests?" Harry asked.

"Mr. Potter, Dobby has resigned from the Leaky Cauldron. Today is Dobby's last day here, and the boss approved that I don't have to do anything."

"Oh, uh..." Harry was clearly not fully awake yet, his mind took a moment to catch up, and after a while, he said, somewhat befuddled, "But, where are you going then?"

"Mr. Harp has offered Dobby a job. Dobby is honored to help a friend! Dobby feels very honored," the house-elf stared with wide eyes at Felix.

Harry also turned to Felix, who explained briefly, "I've hired Dobby as my spokesperson to deal with some book publishing matters."

"Congratulations, Dobby," Harry said genuinely.

After finishing his breakfast, Felix addressed Harry, "Harry, I won't schedule any more training tasks for your last day. Over these past two days, you've reviewed the Ironclad Charm, the Stupefy Charm, the Tongue-Tying Curse, and you've also learned the Impediment Jinx, which is more useful for your current level. It can give you an advantage in gaining initiative."

Harry listened in silence; he knew this special training was coming to an end.

The incantation for the Impediment Jinx was "Impedimenta," and its effect was to shoot a thick rope from the tip of the wand to bind the target. The advantage of this spell was that its casting range was very long, allowing him to attack from a distance as far as across a corridor.

He had only learned it last night and was just barely capable of casting it, but the attack range was now around twelve to thirteen meters, surpassing most spells he had mastered.

'Ron deserves credit for me learning this spell,' Harry thought. After multiple failures, he remembered how Ron had learned the Disarming Charm and decided to let Professor Harp use the Impediment Jinx on him, hoping to get a close-up 'feel' for its mysteries.

Professor Harp was also quite interested in this, "I've been wanting to try it out for a while, but never got the chance." As a result, Harry ended up repeatedly bound by the coarse rope that was akin to a devil's snare, bundled up like a cocoon, feeling as if he were an oversized Blast-Ended Skrewt.

Amid his desperate struggles, he finally mastered the spell, though the cost was a body covered in bruises, as if he had been hung up and whipped for half an hour.

Speaking of Blast-Ended Skrewts, he couldn't help but recall Mr. Weasley's car. Last year, when it was time to return to school, Dobby sealed off the platform. To make it to school on time, he and Ron had flown Mr. Weasley's illegally modified flying car halfway across Britain. Unfortunately, when passing over the Forbidden Forest, the car couldn't bear the load and crashed into a Blast-Ended Skrewt.

Mr. Weasley had faced scrutiny because of that incident, and he felt guilty about it for a long time.

Now, not only was the "culprit" having breakfast with him, but also becoming his friend, which made Harry marvel at the wonders of life.

A clamor came from outside the bar, and a large group of people suddenly surged into the establishment. Most of them had red hair and were lugging all sizes of suitcases and cages.

"Dad, is Harry here?" a girl with fiery red hair asked, tugging on her father's arm.

"This is my seventh time telling you, yes, Ginny," her father replied.

Harry's face broke into a surprised expression—it was the Weasley family. Next to them stood a couple dressed rather "Muggle-like," whom Harry recognized as Hermione's parents.

But everything paled in comparison to the sight of his two good friends that captured Harry's attention, and he was eager to share his own experiences—

"Here! Ron, Hermione!" Harry waved enthusiastically, leaping up from his seat and running over to them.

Ron was dressed in peculiar attire, exuding an exotic aura, and Hermione's skin had turned a sun-kissed brown. They both wore radiant smiles.

Ron playfully pounded Harry's chest and grinned, "Hey, Harry, did you actually inflate your aunt?"

"I didn't mean to." Harry replied, noticing that Hermione's parents were giving him quite peculiar looks. He instinctively explained, "I lost control, you know, accidental magic..."

But things seemed to be getting worse, and he turned to Professor Harp, seeking help with his eyes.

Ron also realized he misspoke and got a kick from Ginny across Percy.

Felix nodded at them and looked at Harry, saying, "Accidental magic is a product of extreme emotions. The fact that you managed to maintain a bit of composure while out of control is quite surprising, I must say."

He turned to Hermione's parents, "Hello, I'm Felix Harp, the Ancient Runes professor at Hogwarts. I also have a reasonable understanding of the Muggle world."

Mrs. Granger smiled at him; she had heard about this professor from her daughter. However, Mr. Granger looked at him with surprise, "I've seen you before, earlier. A strange guest, eh? Didn't expect you to be a professor at the school... quite young, aren't you?"

Felix brushed over the topic, "Indeed, the wizarding world, you know."

Hermione greeted in a low voice, "Hello, Professor Harp."

Felix nodded at her, "Hello, Miss Granger." He then turned to Arthur Weasley, "Mr. Weasley, we should have corresponded earlier."

Arthur Weasley tapped his forehead, "Absolutely right, I asked you some questions about Muggle technology... ah, Molly, calm down, just simple research."

Mrs. Weasley shot her husband a glare and warmly said to Felix, "Professor Harp, thank you for the Christmas present you gave to Ron. To be honest, it was quite precious... but Ron absolutely loves his new wand."

"Mom!" Ron said, a bit annoyed; she always used his nickname regardless of the context.

But Mrs. Weasley didn't pay attention to him, "Ron looks up to you quite a bit. He chose your course this year, and of course, also—" she looked at Harry and Hermione, and they nodded in unison, "these two little rascals, always keeping us on our toes."

She went on, chattering, "We got news from Dumbledore quite early. Arthur and I were utterly flabbergasted, trembling in fear, worried all along, but we didn't dare send a howler, fearing it would disturb Ginny. After all, it's Dark Magic..." She trailed off vaguely, "and it involves the Chamber of Secrets. Her brothers set a bad example for her."

"Mom, how does that even involve us?"

"Yeah, we haven't caused any trouble this summer."

The twins beside her were protesting vigorously; Mrs. Weasley pursed her lips, looking sternly at them. "And you, don't think I don't know what you've been up to..."

Percy stepped forward, his chest puffed out, a shiny silver badge pinned on it—it was the emblem of the Head Boy, "Mom, Ginny has me as an example."

The twins wore sour expressions and muttered, heads lowered.

'Head Boy, huh?'

'How about Chief Bighead?'

The two of them soon exchanged knowing smiles.

Felix looked on with interest at the interaction in this large family. When they settled down, he said, "Don't worry, Mrs. Weasley, I have some understanding of them..."

Old Tom, stooped and with most of his teeth missing, approached them. He gestured with his hands, and three tables in the bar were pushed together, with over a dozen small stools settling around them.

"And, do you need anything to eat?"

"Don't bother about me, Tom," Felix said. "I'll be leaving now."

He nodded slightly at the group and said, "Please excuse me." Then, he turned to Dobby, "Let's go, I need to get you some new clothes."

Dobby bid farewell to Harry and, after waving, bounced alongside Felix.

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