A Professor of Magic at Hogwarts

Chapter 342: Lantern Exhibition and Surprises

They followed the lantern-lit pathway back to the campsite, where everyone took out various magical lanterns from the large tent and stacked them into a small hill.

"Except for those two 'big guys,' everyone else is here," said Hermione.

Lupin smiled and said, "Felix, your plan still surprises me. I've been looking forward to today." He looked at Felix with anticipation.

Felix shrugged, using his wand to tap his forehead, causing faint silvery light to appear.

"Hiss~"

Felix clenched his teeth and couldn't help muttering, "The model is too intricate. It was a bit of a hassle to take out. That feeling, it's like scooping something out of my mind..."

Hermione gave him a disdainful look; the professor's description was quite peculiar.

Felix extracted a long strand of silvery memory from his mind, coiled it into a ball, and held it in his palm. Then he extended his hand, intertwining threads of gold and silver in the air. An open-air hexagonal snowflake-like corridor slowly took shape in his hand. At the center of this snowflake corridor was a swirling vortex about the size of a palm, into which Felix waved his wand. One by one, the magical lanterns poured into the vortex and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

Under the gaze of the two, the snowflake-shaped structure, about six to seven feet in size, gently floated up and flew into the air, gradually expanding until it occupied a significant portion of the campsite. Then, Felix pointed his wand downward, and the snowflake structure descended rapidly. Hermione let out a cry of surprise, and the next moment, she found herself standing in an exquisite corridor.

Within the corridor, various differently shaped magical lanterns flickered in and out of view.

Next, Felix cast a levitation charm on himself, lifting himself about thirty to forty feet high. In the darkness of the night, he looked like a gigantic kite, swaying in the wind.

Looking down from above, he pointed his wand, and a corner of the snowflake corridor extended outward, connecting to the pathway leading back from the stadium.

Descending from mid-air, Felix said, "Alright, that's about it. Let's take a bit more time to adjust"

"Professor Harp, what kind of magic is this?" Hermione asked from behind a railing across the corridor.

"Well, let's call it 'Room of Requests and Reflections'... or perhaps 'Chamber of Desires and Dreams'," Felix pondered the name, which sounded a bit odd, but as her hand passed through the railing of the corridor, she found some sense in it.

...

The Weasley family, Harry, Sirius, and Hermione were carried forward by the surging crowd, gradually relaxing as they moved away from the stadium. They walked and discussed the results of the match.

Little fairies flew overhead, holding golden or green lanterns, cackling happily in the air.

"The Irish Chasers were fantastic. Actually, everyone was fantastic; their teamwork was flawless. Bulgaria only had one star player, Krum, but their coordination had issues, quite significant ones," Charlie commented.

"Their sportsmanship isn't great either. Look at the number of fouls they committed," Ron added.

"Ron," Charlie said, "well-timed fouls can disrupt the opponent's rhythm, especially when they're on a roll."

Mr. Weasley disagreed, "Charlie, I believe... matches should be clean. Elbowing, fouling, none of that should be allowed. Referees blow their whistles for a reason."

"Dad, you said it yourself. It's just a whistle, not a red card. To win matches, I remember people using curses, I've seen it plenty during my time at school."

Mr. Weasley and Charlie debated fiercely. Finally, Charlie gave in, "I want matches to be clean too, but these things are hard to eliminate."

Hermione yawned widely, catching Mr. Weasley's attention. He gently said, "Back to the campsite, we can have some cocoa milk; it'll help with sleep... trust me, it's going to be noisy tonight."

Ginny, eyes barely open from exhaustion, pulled on Hermione's sleeve and said, "Are they planning to have a bonfire party?"

"Haha! Not entirely impossible," Mr. Weasley said. "This match ended too early, and most people are prepared to endure three to five days... just wait, the night won't be quiet."

The noise ahead suddenly disappeared, replaced by a chorus of astonishment. "Look over there!" Hermione exclaimed.

On the path leading to the campsite, an open-air corridor had appeared from nowhere, adorned with various illuminated decorations, casting intricate patterns and designs.

"What is this?" Ginny's drowsiness vanished as she tried to get a better look by standing on her tiptoes.

"No idea..." Mr. Weasley looked puzzled. "Could it be a program arranged by the Ministry?"

As they approached, they realized the corridor was actually an illusion. A mischievous child was darting back and forth between the railings, giggling non-stop. Another older boy hid within the ornate columns of the corridor, thinking his family wouldn't find him.

His parents stared at him helplessly, playing along by searching around him, "Where are you hiding, Leo?"

The boy covered his mouth, his eyes crescent-shaped with a grin.

"Clearly related to Professor Harp," the Weasley twins, pointing at the magical lanterns hanging in the corridor, said. "These are products of the 'Future World' company, we've brought some to show you"

As one of the twins reached out, his fingertip passed through a palm-sized lion-shaped magical lantern. "Huh? Is this an illusion too?" But soon, they realized it was a game. Gold letters appeared in the air, forming a riddle.

'Which letter represents an animal?'

"Oh, this is too easy," Fred muttered. "It's the letter B, representing a bee." As his words fell, the lion-shaped lantern made a clicking sound, like a ripe fruit dropping from a vine, falling into his hand.

The little lion opened its eyes, arched its back, unfurled a pair of tiny wings from its back, and fluttered around Fred in circles, emitting a cute "Rawr~" as it playfully sprayed a white light ball.

The light ball projected an illusion of a castle, along with small text, 'Future Worldheadquartered in Diagon Alley, England.' The projection shimmered for a few seconds before disappearing, leaving only a milky-white light ball emitting a bright glow.

"Wow," Fred exclaimed in admiration, "it seems those guys have added new features again."

"Is it Professor Harp's 'Future World' company?" Mr. Weasley asked with keen interest, having heard the Weasley twins talking non-stop about it at the dinner table for days, gaining some knowledge about the company.

"Exactly," Fred confirmed.

Mr. Weasley blinked, "So, girls and boys, are you still tired now?"

"Oh, Dad, at least we have to get a little magic lantern for ourselves!" Ron yelled. His words were met with agreement, revealing that the riddles weren't too difficult, giving everyone hope.

Inside the 'Future World' tent, Felix held a small model of the corridor in his hand, his eyes glinting with silver light. He seemed to hear their words, and a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

The Weasley family searched for the lantern riddles. Ron boldly declared, "I'm going to solve ten!" But soon, they realized that the riddles became significantly more difficult after the first round, which was relatively simple.

Holding a miniature lion-shaped magical lantern in her hand, Hermione stood before a dragon-shaped lantern about the size of an owl. The dragon was merrily emitting 'breaths' all around, attracting seven or eight onlookers.

Harry leaned over, finding Hermione deep in thought as she pondered over a logic puzzle. There were over a dozen names on it, and they spun his head around. He read it twice but couldn't grasp the meaning of the puzzle.

"Do you know the answer?" he asked Hermione, who was engrossed in contemplation.

"Oh, don't disturb me, I'm about to figure it out," Hermione said, her wand constantly gesturing in the air, leaving strange symbols behind. Latin letters, perhaps? Harry wondered. He walked through the crowd, strolling along the corridor, and came face to face with Mr. Barty Crouch.

"Hello, Potter."

"Hello, Mr. Crouch," Harry said stiffly. Mr. Crouch had argued with Sirius just this afternoon.

Barty Crouch's eyes glinted oddly, as if he were appraising a precious gem. "Come with me, Potter, I have something to discuss with you."

"What?" Harry asked, surprised.

"It's about Sirius Black. Someone has filed a lawsuit regarding his attack on the wizard in Knockturn Alley during his escape," Crouch said coldly.

"But the Ministry has already cleared him! Sirius is innocent!" Harry exclaimed in frustration.

"That was in the absence of further investigation," Crouch said impatiently. He reached out his hand

"Let go of Harry!"

A roar resounded, and Sirius rushed over from behind, pushing Barty Crouch aside and pointing his wand at him. "Old man, what do you want with Harry?"

Their confrontation drew the attention of a group of foreign fans. Crouch nodded at the two and left without looking back.

"What's going on?" Sirius asked.

"I'm not sure. He said someone's suing you, and he wanted me to go with him," Harry said.

"Howhow could this happen!" Sirius said incredulously. "I'm going to find out from him!"

"Don't go," Harry held onto Sirius. "Don't go, Sirius, he's a high-ranking official at the Ministry"

"I'm not afraid of him, let go, Harry!" Sirius said angrily.

"Sirius, I don't want to lose you again," Harry said.

Sirius suddenly lost all his strength. His fingers trembled. "Alright, let's go back to the tent first. We can talk there. There's definitely something wrong with Barty Crouch!"

Seeing that he had persuaded Sirius, Harry nodded in agreement. "I think so too. I have a theory..."

...

Felix stared at the corridor that had suddenly appeared before him, unable to help asking the staff beside him, "Whose idea was this, and why wasn't I informed?"

A Ministry employee answered, "It's from the 'Future World' company. They applied to host a lantern exhibition, and we approved it. However, we didn't expect it to be this grand."

"Felix Harp's company?" Felix asked. He didn't bring up the issue of confidentiality. The commotion caused by the hundred thousand people this afternoon was much greater than what was happening now, and it was late at night in the wilderness, so the risk was minimal.

The Muggle family that lived nearby should be sleeping, and even if they weren't, the Ministry staff would ensure that they did.

Felix was more concerned about who owned the company.

The employee nodded.

"When did they set up... this? It wasn't here when we were watching the match?" Felix pointed with his thick finger, encircling the massive structure in his line of sight.

The employee said, "I asked my colleagues who were on duty. They said" his voice became hesitant, puzzled, "They said it appeared out of nowhere. They were on duty, and suddenly, a building descended from the sky..."

Felix didn't say anything. After watching for a while, he waved his hand. "You can leave me now. I want to explore alone." He walked forward along the corridor and quickly realized that fans were guessing lantern riddles everywhere. Hidden corners would suddenly burst open, revealing boxes of candy with the name of the Future World company on them, or various small souvenirs. Among them, the most eye-catching were the things called "animations."

It was evident that whenever a certain number of children gathered, the corridor would surge and project a series of images. It was a bit like connected comic strips, but with much greater appealcontinuous plots and interesting storylines. Even he couldn't help but watch for six or seven minutes until the animation ended.

At the end of the animation, a line of small text appeared, "This product is under development and will be completed in the next three to five years. Please stay tuned." This was followed by the company name and address.

With complex feelings, Felix continued walking forward and finally reached the end of the corridor. There was a hexagonal open space, and he realized that the place he had come from was just one of the angles. There were five similar corridors extending outwards.

People from different corridors converged in the open space, chatting and laughing, holding various magical lanterns in their hands.

"Uriah, can we meet Mr. Harp?" a lively voice said. She was a young witch with bright golden hair.

The young wizard known as 'Uriah' smiled and said, "I'm not sure, but he'll definitely be at Hogwarts this year. Bernice, where's your brother?"

The young witch sighed, "Bertie's on the riddle stage. He insists on getting a second magical lantern, but he doesn't realize that there are a hundred thousand people here. It's impossible for everyone to get one, so how could he easily get a second?"

Uriah smiled and said, "I hope he succeeds. Then I can exchange one of his Thunderbird-shaped magical lanterns."

Bernice pointed to the open space, and suddenly, a massive Hungarian Horntail appeared. It was a black one, with menacing brass scales and a raised black spine.

A young witch stood beneath the Horntail, excitedly waving her wand to make the Hungarian Horntail move. It was radiating light all over, which was the reason why people didn't immediately run away. They recognized that it was fake, most likely a massive magical lantern.

The Horntail flapped its wings and took off from the ground, soaring in the low sky. People from various locations in the campsite looked up. The Horntail resembled a giant light bulb, emitting milky white light all over its body.

"Welcome to the Magical Lantern Exhibition hosted by Future World," Clementine said excitedly.

The Hungarian Horntail spewed out a fan-shaped burst of light into the sky, resembling a dazzling firework. The crowd erupted into applause.

"This is an adult Horntail?" Harry asked outside the tent. He was stunned. He had seen dragons before. When he was in first year, he had encountered Norbert, Hagrid's dragon, and along with Ron and Hermione, they took it to the Astronomy Tower and had Charlie's friends take it away.

"Yes," Sirius said. "If you encounter one, make sure to stay far away."

"How dangerous are they? I know Ron's brother Charlie is working with dragons in Romania," Harry asked.

"Dangerous?" Sirius repeated, then said seriously, "They can stomp you to death without a second thought, or burn you to death with their fire. Remember, their flames are magical. Without enough knowledge and specialized training, don't attempt to challenge them."

"Are spells ineffective against them?" Harry widened his eyes.

"Well, let's put it this way. If your spell hits their scales, it probably won't do much. Even if it's their skin, you need to hit the right spot, and casting spells continuously at one place might work. Of course, you can also use tricks... like deception, or attacking their weak points. The most convenient is the Conjunctivitis Curse, but it requires a bit of luck."

After that, they watched the dragon performance. Soon, the second dragon entered the scene. It was slightly smaller, a Peruvian Vipertooth with brass scales and a raised black spine.

The two dragons fought, biting each other, coiling, and soaring into the air. Then, various magical creatures appeared one by one: phoenixes, Kelpies, unicorns, Flower Fairies, Erumpents, Hippogriffs, and Horned Serpents. However, the audience didn't realize that these creatures were actually constructed illusions.

Inside the tent of the 'Future World' company.

Felix stayed inside, continuously controlling the unique performance. Loo Pin sat aside and asked curiously, "Why aren't you on-site? Why did you leave it to Vera?"

Felix rolled his eyes. "I signed a confidentiality agreement. I can't reveal anything about the championship event. I can't let people associate me with the dragons, and I need to manage the on-site situation."

He flicked his fingers, and five or six Mooncalves quietly appeared in the sand table.

Loo Pin was momentarily stunned by his answer. "But the dragon-shaped magical lanterns have sold quite a few. Are you pretending that you're not related to them?"

Felix explained seriously, "I only agreed to a magical lantern design that you guys came up with."

The performance lasted for two hours, longer than the Quidditch World Cup final. Finally, Felix felt a bit tired. He informed Vera, and after she announced the end of the performance, the myriad of magical creatures and the snowflake-shaped corridor occupying half of the campsite gradually disappeared.

Clementine and Alec ran back, unable to contain their excitement.

"Professor, Alec's flyers are all handed out. We prepared five thousand of them, but it's not enough. Many people could only remember the company's name."

"Well, it looks like the company won't be short of orders for a year or two," Felix said. "Remember to include a small booklet with the company's product when you ship. You can also include some products that are still under development. It's a form of advertising."

Clementine sighed, "I can imagine how busy we'll be then."

"Have you decided to stay, Vera?"

"Of course." Clementine smiled. "I'm actually looking forward to what the company will be like in five or ten years."

...

As the lantern exhibition concluded, the campsite quieted down. Sporadic celebrators sang songs boisterously, occasionally leading to minor conflicts, but for a campsite with a hundred thousand people, it wasn't a big deal. The Ministry staff quickly handled it.

Around three or four in the morning, a slight commotion arose.

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