A Professor of Magic at Hogwarts

Chapter 257: The Reply from Catterburn

As the banquet came to an end, Felix Harp rose from his seat, holding his own cracker hat, preparing to leave. He noticed Hermione hadn't departed with her companions but stayed behind alone.

"Is there something on your mind, Miss Granger?" He thought Hermione had come to talk to him.

"Oh, Professor," she hesitated for a moment, "I have something to discuss with Professor McGonagall."

"Is that so..." Felix nodded, "Well then, I'll be on my way. By the way, I enjoyed the music box you gave me. It seems it's more than just a simple alchemical creation?"

Hermione's worried expression softened, and she happily explained, "That was something I brought from home. I used the original mechanical structure and applied magic to it. For the music part, I referenced Parseltongue scrolls. The magical script loops storing sound on them were quite useful..."

Felix understood. After the Chamber of Secrets incident last year, Harry spent several days refining his Parseltongue pronunciation, and Felix later organized the corresponding syllables into a book, stored in his Pensieve.

For a while, he did see Hermione working on a scroll by herself and even asked him for some crafting techniques...

Back in his office, he managed to respond to a few more letters. One official letter in particular caught his attention.

"It's from the Ministry of Magic."

Felix looked at the emblem on the letter and speculated on its content. Could it be about his Memory Healing thesis? But he had only sent it out yesterday. When did the Ministry react so quickly?

Opening the letter, he first glanced at the signature at the bottom, Waldric Sidric of the Office of the Minister for Magic, before reading the contents.

"Dear Mr. Harp, it has come to my colleagues' attention that your new book, 'Magic in the Muggle World,' has been recommended reading by the magical ministries of twelve countries. Coupled with your previous two publications on Muggle studies, it is evident that you possess a profound understanding of the Muggle world. We cordially invite you to deliver an internal lecture for the Ministry of Magic's members...

...

The proposed time is the first Thursday afternoon after the Christmas break, at 2 o'clock, in Reception Room 2. If you have any objections or scheduling conflicts, please contact me promptly.

Yours faithfully,

Waldric Sidric, Office of the Minister's Advisor, Ministry of Magic."

Below were several departments listed. If he accepted, these would be his audience, including the Muggle Relations Mediation Committee, Muggle Liaison Office, Prohibition of Muggle Artifacts Office, Reversal of Accidental Magic Incidents Unit, Memory Modification Command, and other interested parties.

"Reasonable enough, all dealing frequently with the Muggle world."

Felix pondered for a moment. He was quite eager to propagate his ideas and also wished to learn more about the Ministry of Magic's actual situation. Among the people he had interacted with, Fudge was a standard politician, Umbridge was equally divisive, even more nauseating, and Kingsley Shacklebolt was composed and capable.

As for the rest, either he didn't know them or they had only corresponded through letters, making it hard to judge accurately.

He took out a piece of parchment, dipped his quill, and wrote: "Dear Mr. Sidric, I am delighted to accept your invitation. However, regarding the timing, I propose shifting it to Friday. I have no classes in the afternoon that day..."

Once the letter was sent, all he could do was wait. In the last few days of the holiday, he didn't immerse himself in the library or study magical texts in his office. Instead, he developed a new habit.

Several runic symbols were always by his side, about the size of his pinky, and he would pick them up and play with them from time to time. He maintained this even during meals and sleep.

At this stage, simply increasing the quantity of runic symbols had limited effect. Many ancient runes he learned from various texts and alchemical items were not deeply understood.

He decided to set aside time to organize his knowledge. Creating a magical rune book would be far more beneficial than acquiring a few hundred new practical rune effects.

He also visited several ancient runic experts—his friends in this field were few and far between. Even his most amicable companion, Tofodi, had a quite limited understanding in this area.

In Felix Harp's view, he might as well impersonate an alchemist and blend into the alchemical circle. Previously, Nearly Headless Nick had introduced him to a few people, and they exchanged some letters expressing their interest in communication. However, gradually it faded away because their focuses were completely different, making the exchange feel awkward.

Alchemists paid more attention to the selection and proportion of alchemical materials, as well as the fusion of different properties. A rare formula could fetch a high price or remain a closely guarded secret. They also focused on so-called alchemical formulas, particularly unique ways of achieving specific functionalities.

Felix exchanged some knowledge with them but then maintained a lower frequency of communication.

He wasn't in a hurry either. If he couldn't find a suitable circle, he would create his own. There were eight or nine students who had graduated last year and kept in touch with him through letters. Among them, a girl named Clemi Virella was the most enthusiastic.

She had become a curse breaker at Gringotts. Curse breakers had a fairly dangerous and serious profession. They could be killed by ancient curses, dark hexes, or curses during their work. However, the rewards were also substantial.

Clemi Virella wrote to him, informing him that she was currently working in Egypt, where there were vast numbers of ancient tombs and historical sites, and her colleagues were friendly.

She even discovered a practical application of runic magic. Many ancient defenses and traps were inseparable from alchemy, and practical runic magic outperformed other alchemical symbols due to its superior magical properties and greater capacity to store magic. As a result, ancient wizards often selected it as the core of their defense and counterattack systems.

In one recent operation, Clemi discovered a practical runic inscription hidden in decorative patterns within a pit, and she used it to bypass a perilous curse, successfully becoming a full-fledged curse breaker.

Felix was generous with his guidance. In his reply, he pointed out that for some alchemical entity traps that weren't highly aggressive but were temporarily difficult to crack, one could attempt to overlay a runic circuit, drawing out the magical energy and rapidly depleting its power.

...

On the other side, Harry, Ron, and Hermione were far from idle. Since Hagrid had written to Professor Catterburn asking for assistance, they had been visiting Hagrid's hut every day to see how things were progressing.

Having something to do somewhat lessened Harry's resentment towards Hermione. He knew she meant well, but his newly acquired crossbow bolts had been confiscated by Professor McGonagall to be examined for potential dark magic or curses. And now he had to endure the old Comet series broom, which left him feeling quite aggrieved.

It was nearing the start of the term when Hagrid finally received a reply.

"Read it, Hagrid, read it!" Harry couldn't contain his excitement.

Hagrid tore open the letter and cleared his throat. "Hagrid, delighted to receive your letter and sympathize with what happened to Buckbeak. But I'm powerless in this regard. I don't have much influence at the Ministry, can't expect a wretched old man who was kept on the school's staff for 62 years before receiving honorary tenure upon retirement to have much sway, unless you want to meet one or two giant friends—"

The expressions of Harry and his friends were quite peculiar. They felt both regretful that Professor Catterburn couldn't help and amused by his witty self-deprecation. They were struggling to suppress their laughter, and Ron's eyebrows were about to fly off his forehead.

"What do we do then—"

"Wait, there's more." Hagrid said, "Let me continue—though I recommend one person to you. He holds enough prestige in the field of magical creatures, and coincidentally, he's very interested in Hippogriffs. It's said that he inherited this fascination from his mother. I'm including his address. You can write to him soon, and I'll also send a letter explaining the situation. Yours faithfully, Silvanus Catterburn." Hagrid finished reading the letter and looked up at them.

"Who? Who's the person he's recommending?" Hermione asked hoarsely, as she had caught a cold recently.

Hagrid lowered his head again and looked at the bottom of the letter, staring at the name as he read it out, "Newt Scamander."

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