A Professor of Magic at Hogwarts

Chapter 406: More Precious

In the third-year classroom sat a jeweled wooden box atop the desk.

"Seems familiar, doesn't it?" Ginny whispered. She sat next to a witch with wild, unkempt hair who looked like she hadn't slept.

Felix tapped the box's lid with his wand, causing it to creak open, revealing a roughly crafted wooden goblet inside. As it appeared, the young wizards widened their eyes, feathers from their quills dropping.

"The Goblet of Fire!?"

A collective gasp. A student exclaimed in astonishment, staring at the serene blue flames burning quietly atop the goblet.

Felix grinned, "Well... not exactly," he said with a deep breath.

"The flames have extinguished. This is a replica. I stumbled upon a piece of wood while wandering on the edge of the Forbidden Forest, pondering how to pique your interests..." He chuckled, "So, I thought, why not craft a keepsake for the Triwizard Tournament?"

All the students sat up straight, fixated on him.

"This is today's prize for the test. I must emphasize, the flames here pose no danger."

"Professor Harp, is this the eternal fire of Gubraithian?"

"No, it's a perpetual flame, also known as the Eternal Flame," Felix explained. "Though I can conjure it, the process is quite time-consuming..."

The students observed the professor, a tinge of disappointment evident as he seemed reluctant.

"Though not the Gubraithian fire, it does have its advantages," Felix added.

He dipped his finger into the flames, extracting a cluster of blue flames. They burned quietly in his hand, gradually fading after a moment.

As he looked up, he met a sea of starry-eyed gazes.

He smiled faintly, pleased with the effect of the five-minute creation. The only quandary was what guise to use next. "So, let's begin today's test. Bring out your 'parchments,' I've updated the latest assessment information..."

The young wizards swiftly acted, unfurling their parchments, tapping their wands and chanting, discovering a new emblem in the ancient runic section—a depiction of the Goblet of Fire drawn with simple ink lines.

Ginny quickly touched it. She yearned for the model of the Goblet of Fire, feeling jittery with excitement. She tapped her wand twice, almost piercing through the thin parchment.

But no student managed that, for the professors themselves had cast a firm bonding charm on them.

The emblem of the Goblet of Fire on the parchment was slowly lit up, with vivid blue flames leaping from its rim, producing a gift box adorned with a blue bow. The box expanded on the parchment, generating a blue light from above, forming a swirling vortex, and the box emerged into reality.

She recognized it was magic at work, as the box's surface didn't appear quite real, shimmering with blue ripples.

Glancing around quickly, everyone, including the absent-minded Luna, stared as the box ascended from the swirling vortex, amazed. Though Ginny wasn't sure if her friend had snapped out of her usual state, Luna did retrieve her wand from behind her left ear.

Ginny lightly nudged Luna with her shoulder. "Let's race to see who's faster!"

"Sure," Luna said, looking at her dreamily, then lowered her head, revealing a tiny braid amid her tousled hair.

The box opened silently, revealing a bronze book locked within. She attempted an unlocking charm, to no avail. "I'm being daft," she muttered, tapping her forehead and then using her wand to inscribe a few runic symbols on the blank cover of the bronze book, where the lock disappeared silently.

Opening the first page, a question was written: "Your motto?"

She quickly wrote, "Strike proactively like a lion." It wasn't until she finished that she realized something was off, staring at the slightly turquoise-hued page, noticing no change. She realized her mistake and swiftly translated the phrase into ancient runes.

Thankfully, she had asked Luna the same question before.

The bronze book flipped to the next page. She stole a glance at Luna while manipulating the deeply embedded ancient runes, seeing her friend's answer was entirely different, yet both had smoothly cleared the challenge, making Ginny realize the answers weren't singular.

She composed herself, focusing on the second page, filled with scattered runic characters. At the top was a sentence: "I've been disrupted in order." She quickly recalled the runes above; there was one she didn't recognize, but she knew the answer was from the lesson about 'Narl and the Clay Doll.'

When she finally managed to extract the deeply concealed ancient runes from the patterns on the book's pages, she breathed a sigh of relief, catching sight of Luna already on the third page, causing her a twinge of anxiety.

Time trickled by, Felix leisurely sat in a chair near the lectern, organizing his book of runes, occasionally standing up, pacing around the classroom, observing the students' progress.

Currently, Luna was leading the pack, followed by Ginny and Colin Creevey, the latter known for his 'Harry Potter Enthusiasts Club,' which had gained some notoriety. After the first Triwizard Tournament event, the club had started attracting younger students, now spreading towards the upper grades.

The trio had different approaches.

Luna swayed her head gently, answering calmly, occasionally rearranging sentences for tidiness. Ginny and Colin were sweating profusely; the youngest Weasley's fiery red hair stuck to her forehead.

"Ten minutes left, overtime won't count," Felix reminded.

Ginny was sweating bullets; there were only a few pages left in her bronze book, but the questions were getting tougher. Annoyed, she shook her hair, resembling a bundle of equally vibrant, leaping red flames, mirroring the Goblet of Fire on the lectern.

There wasn't enough time...

Ginny thought, Luna seemed stuck for ages. Had she finished? Why hadn't she heard her announce it? Forcing herself to forget all that, to concentrate, she finally completed her answers after five more minutes.

In an instant, the bronze book cascaded open with a clatter, closing definitively, and the 'parchment' reappeared with the swirling blue vortex, emitting a plethora of colorful fireworks and crackling noises.

The sudden noise made the young wizards look bewilderedly toward Ginny's spot.

"Oh, looks like the first one to finish has emerged," unknowingly, Felix stood before her, cradling the rough wooden replica of the Goblet of Fire, its vibrant blue flames flickering. "Here you go, Miss Weasley."

...

After class, the others gathered around Ginny, envious, asking for permission to touch the blue flames.

"It's so beautiful... I was so close," Colin lamented. "I got to the very last question. What about you, Luna? You're usually good at this. I thought you'd win!"

"I stopped at the last question too," Luna sang.

"Oh really? That question was quite tough. Maybe with five more minutes..." Colin regretted. "You're lucky, Ginny... Ginny?"

Ginny was scrutinizing Luna, biting her lip softly. "Luna, you 'stopped' at the last question?"

"Oh, um, yes," Luna flicked her hair, "quite challenging, wasn't it? I pondered for a while... It's truly beautiful," she stared at the Goblet of Fire.

"Do you want it? I can give it to you," Ginny offered.

"Oh, what?" Luna waved her hands nervously. "I don't need it... because, because..."

"Because she already has something more precious," Felix gently interjected, "Is that what you're trying to convey, Miss Lovegood?"

"Exactly," Luna nodded eagerly.

>

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