A Professor of Magic at Hogwarts

Chapter 382: Exchange

"Alright, students, please exit in an orderly manner," Professor McGonagall stood up to maintain order. After a burst of bustling commotion, young wizards and witches streamed out of the Great Hall, engaged in animated debates.

At the professors' table, Felix Harp pulled out a chair for Madame Maxime. "Oh, thank you," she gracefully rose and spoke softly, "Don't forget that you're a member of the Beauxbatons' Board of Governors... You're welcome to visit the carriage anytime."

"I shall heed your wishes, Madame," Felix said with a smile.

He watched as Madame Maxime left with her students, the crowd automatically parting to create a path. At that moment, Hagrid approached.

"Mind if I come along?"

"What?"

"When you go for a visit, could... could you take me as well?" Hagrid asked nervously. He watched the tall figure disappear through the doors of the Great Hall, his expression enraptured. "I mean, those magical horses, they seem to be a bit off, and I need to inquire about them."

Felix looked at him strangely.

Hagrid immediately straightened his hair and collar. "What's wrong? Is something amiss?"

"No," Felix said quietly, "I'm just concerned about those horses." Who knew if Hagrid might actually put those horses in some 'condition' to make his lame excuses more believable.

Just then, an angry voice sounded from the entrance —

"Yes, that's Harry Potter. Have you seen enough?"

Felix followed the voice and saw a confrontation between Moody and Headmaster Dymphnastroud. Moody's false eye seemed excessively ominous, causing Karkaroff, along with a few students beside him, to turn pale.

But Karkaroff's reaction was clearly beyond normal — a mixture of anger and bone-deep fear. Felix was familiar with such an expression; many had looked at him with the same eyes before. So, Karkaroff would...

"Back down, would you?" Felix said playfully.

Indeed, Karkaroff didn't linger. Like he was avoiding the plague, he waved and led his students away.

Students blocked behind them craned their necks to look over shoulders, trying to catch a glimpse of the departing Durmstrang delegation.

"This night won't stay peaceful," Felix remarked.

"Yeah, I bet some students will choose to sign up at night..." Hagrid absentmindedly agreed, as if in a dream. "By the way, do you have any good perfume recommendations?"

...

"Do you think Karkaroff and Professor Moody know each other?" Harry asked, climbing the spiral staircase along with the crowd.

"Absolutely," Ron affirmed, "Just look at their expressions, it's so obvious. I reckon those two have some old grudge."

They returned to the common room. Dean stood by the entrance, seemingly holding back laughter. "Harry, I think you need to come over, there's a guest waiting for you..."

Curious, Harry approached. Snuffles was sitting on his bedside table, surrounded by a pile of delicate items — Galleons, a gold necklace, a temperature-regulating pendant case, a dull hourglass...

Ron gazed at the stack of shiny Galleons, his eyes glued.

"Merlin's beard..."

Harry seemed to realize something. Crouching before Snuffles, he cautiously asked, "You want to trade with me? Is it for that Muggle coin?"

Snuffles vigorously nodded.

Ron laughed almost uncontrollably. "Oh dear!" He gripped the bedposts, nearly pulling the curtains down, "It, it's got quite the memory! Since the start of term till now, it's been two whole months and it hasn't given up..."

Harry hesitated for a moment. That Muggle coin bore witness to countless occasions of his Disapparition practice. It was a keepsake, but now that he had learned magic, its significance was lessened. Plus, it was a gift from the Dursleys.

He retrieved the coin from his trunk and handed it to Snuffles. "It's yours."

Snuffles immediately took the coin. Its two shiny black eyes sparkled, and its little hand incessantly caressed the sharply edged coin. After a while, it seemed to gather determination, diverted its gaze, and pointed to the small trinkets before Harry, indicating he should pick one.

"No need," Harry declined.

But Snuffles persisted, insisting that he pick something, or else it would be grumbled at by the Dark Lord.

"Squeak!"

It patted its chest, showing it was here for a trade.

Harry pondered for a while, his fingers moving uncertainly, unable to make up his mind. Snuffles watched anxiously, his eyes fixed on Harry's hand, and finally, that hand picked up an inconspicuous hourglass. "Phew," Snuffles visibly breathed a sigh of relief, relaxing.

As Snuffles gathered his treasures and disappeared from their sight with agility, Ron couldn't help but defend Harry, "Even if you didn't take the Galleons, that pendant box is nice too. I've heard Fred and George talk about it – that little box can keep the temperature constant in the most comfortable range, so you wouldn't need a cloak in winter."

Harry shook his head, "That's true." He played with the slightly dusty hourglass for a moment and then set it on the cabinet.

"Is that so," Ron muttered, "I wonder if it's worth two Cauldron Cakes, unless it's an antique..."

The next morning.

Students gathered in an excited hubbub, circling around the central floor of the entrance hall. A circle of fine gold threads appeared on the floor, and the Goblet of Fire was placed on a pedestal in the middle of the circle.

"They're really audacious," Hermione exclaimed in shock. In front of her, the Weasley twins and Lee Jordan were eager, each holding a small bottle containing a shallow layer of transparent liquid.

She looked beyond the crowd – Professor Harp was standing not far away, leaning against the wall, arms crossed, smiling ambiguously as he observed them.

"Just a drop is enough," Fred exclaimed with excitement, downing the Aging Potion, "We're only a few months short."

"Right, let us be an example for you," George quickly followed suit, downing the potion, and addressed Harry and Ron.

Hermione immediately glared at Harry and Ron.

The two exchanged guilty glances. In their pockets were small bottles of Aging Potion. Ron stammered, "We've prepared yours, Hermione. Do you need it...?"

Hermione's anger intensified, and she turned her head away from them.

Harry remained silent. As the moment approached, he found himself hesitating. He couldn't help but ask himself: If Fred and George succeeded, did he really want to put his name in?

The twins walked into the age line and waved to Felix, who was smiling enigmatically by the wall.

"We love you, Professor," Fred said.

For a brief moment, Hermione thought they succeeded, but then she heard a sizzling sound. The twins were thrown out of the golden circle, and Lee Jordan quickly retracted his leg that he had stepped forward.

The twins crawled up from the ground, and the surrounding people burst into laughter – long white beards had grown on their chins. Even the twins themselves couldn't help but laugh.

Felix walked over from the wall, carefully examining them, and teased, "I heard this morning that Miss Fawcett from Ravenclaw and Mr. Summers from Hufflepuff were sent to the infirmary. I thought to myself, there must be some persistent young wizards. So, I decided to wait and see..."

Fred and George looked at him with a touch of reproach, their beards swaying amusingly.

"I did warn you," Dumbledore appeared in the entrance hall, speaking in a deep, amused tone. He approached, inspecting the twins' shiny white beards, and asked Felix, "Any discoveries, Felix?"

"No one succeeded. A second-year student threw a piece of paper in, and the Goblet expelled it..." Felix responded.

Perhaps due to the conspicuous success of the Weasley twins' demonstration in the morning, after that incident, there were no more underage wizards attempting to cross the age line.

Hogwarts students looked expectantly at the representatives of the other four schools as they queued up to put their names into the Goblet of Fire. The cup's blue-white flames licked their fingers and blazed intensely, turning into red flames, sparking tiny sparks. "What about our people?" a young wizard asked eagerly.

"They're here!"

Another young wizard exclaimed excitedly. Cedric, Roger Davies, Collins, and Angelina walked over, accompanied by the students selected from each school.

One by one, they placed slips of paper into the Goblet of Fire. Their faces were filled with anticipation.

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