A Professor of Magic at Hogwarts

Chapter 119: Valentine's Day

Felix Harp gazed at the gleaming green snake skin before him, pondering the methods of its creation.

"Firstly, impurities need to be dealt with. This step could take inspiration from the process of handling the Bindweed, but the characteristics of the serpent and the Striking Willow's branches are entirely different..."

...

February 14th, Valentine's Day.

When the young wizards and witches rose early to the Great Hall for breakfast, they discovered that the walls were covered with large, dazzling pink flowers. Heart-shaped multicolored paper confetti continuously floated down from the pale blue ceiling.

Even the usually mundane corridors were adorned with holly and mistletoe garlands.

Many young wizards and witches chuckled foolishly as they dined.

On this day, the professors would turn a blind eye to minor misdeeds – though don't expect them to greet you with smiles either.

"I bet Percy would've been sour at the sight of this," Ron remarked, pointing towards a couple of pairs holding hands in the distance – he and Percy had reconciled, but he couldn't resist his habitual sarcasm.

But all of this was none of their concern. After Harry, Ron, and Hermione finished breakfast, they hurried off to their classes.

Evening arrived.

They entered the Great Hall with weary bodies, and the long tables were already filled with numerous young wizards.

As expected, they spotted little dwarves dressed as Cupids, but these dwarves stood solemnly on a makeshift platform, playing harps with a sullen expression – not too bad, at least not enough to make people flee.

Two of the smallest dwarves seemed to have yet to master this art; they stood about two or three meters from the entrance, reaching into their pockets to retrieve handfuls of colorful confetti. Any group of two or more young wizards passing by them would be met with a light shower of confetti.

Harry and his friends saw Dean and Lavender leading the way, showered in the rain of colored confetti. Lavender stood awkwardly in place, while Dean muttered something incomprehensible and quickly moved away.

Laughter erupted from the long tables.

Lavender scratched her head and joined in the laughter, her round face turning slightly rosy.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione promptly maneuvered along the walls to avoid the mischievous dwarves.

Soon enough, one unsuspecting pair after another fell prey to the confetti showers. If they were a young couple, they would smile generously, not feeling embarrassed. However, if they were just friends, the expressions on their faces were enough to make the nearby young wizards laugh for quite a while.

At the teachers' table.

Professor Binns looked at the lively scene and said, somewhat surprised, "I never thought Hogwarts would celebrate Valentine's Day now. You see, back in my time, we were quite secretive about such matters."

Felix Harp chimed in, "Perhaps it's to welcome you."

"Don't be absurd, Felix," the middle-aged wizard replied, glancing around, "Why haven't I seen Professor Snape?"

"He probably doesn't appreciate this scene. He might arrive a bit later."

"True, he does have quite the serious demeanor. Bellby," Professor Binns said, "our last encounter was rather brief, and we didn't get a chance to talk much. He has some insightful thoughts..."

"About the Wolfsbane Potion, perhaps?"

"Indeed, he seems to have ideas for improving the Wolfsbane Potion. I hope we can collaborate. I am willing to provide the initial research materials."

"Did you not consider inviting others before?" Felix Harp curiously asked.

"I did, but... there wasn't much interest," Bellby regretfully replied. "Professor Slughorn did offer some suggestions, but he declined to participate."

"Slughorn?" Felix Harp wasn't hearing this name for the first time.

"Yes, he used to be my Potions professor. But he's retired now, and his whereabouts are uncertain. It's hard to reach him."

After about fifteen minutes, the other professors arrived one by one.

Professor Flitwick took the empty seat next to Felix Harp, and Professor McGonagall sat right next to Flitwick.

Snape chose a spot from afar.

Just as Harry was getting quite bored listening to the dwarves play the same tune for the seventh time, the banquet finally commenced.

Dumbledore tapped his glass to quiet the young wizards. With a smile on his face, he introduced their new professor to everyone.

"It is with great pleasure that I introduce to you Damocles Bellby. He has kindly agreed to fill the vacancy for Defense Against the Dark Arts in the latter half of this school year."

The applause from the young wizards was sparse – the previous professors had already exhausted their enthusiasm.

Bellby stood up, bowed to the crowd, and spoke, "I am honored to return to Hogwarts after many years. Although I will only be here for the first half of the year, I will do my best to fulfill my duties..."

Bellby's words were sincere. His appearance and attire weren't as dazzling as Lockhart's, who seemed to want to catch everyone's eye. This directly earned him some limited goodwill from the young wizards.

The most evident sign of this was that as he sat down, the young wizards' applause was orderly and quite loud.

Seated next to Felix Harp, Professor Flitwick engaged in a hushed conversation with him.

"Felix, I heard you're using a new kind of teaching tool in your classes?"

"Yes, Philius, I call it the Answering Parchment."

Professor McGonagall, a seat away, subtly slowed her chewing.

"I don't mean to say this to offend you – I've seen it from the students. I found it quite useful even for spell theory."

"Are you thinking of using the Answering Parchment in your spell classes?"

Flitwick stumbled over his words, "With the Wizarding Level Exams only a few months away, the theoretical scores of some young wizards are worrisome."

He looked at Felix Harp, "If there's anything you need help with..."

Felix Harp chuckled lightly, "Philius, I have no objections to that. However, I've come across some challenges – if we were to add more subjects, we'd have to make improvements upon the existing setup. It's not something I can tackle alone. I'm thinking of inviting you to join me in this research."

"I would be delighted," Flitwick readily agreed.

McGonagall found her moment to interject, "I can also lend a hand."

"Filius, I've envisioned including all Hogwarts subjects. But it would require a respected professor to facilitate this."

McGonagall pondered for a moment, "I will look into others' thoughts on this. It's a good idea. But how would you consolidate so many subjects onto a single piece of parchment?"

"By utilizing Synchronous Magic," Felix Harp explained. "The parchment in the young wizards' hands merely acts as a simple magical receptacle for information, with relatively basic magical inscriptions and alchemical means. I also have a scroll made of dragonhide, storing the past few years' Wizarding Level Exam questions."

"But this would mean the young wizards can only use the Answering Parchment at Hogwarts."

"Well, teaching one-to-many...," Flitwick mused, "I believe I've heard someone mention this approach before."

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