A Professor of Magic at Hogwarts

Chapter 365: After the Lights Out

Ron stormed off angrily, leaving them behind. "Ron" Harry reached out towards his retreating figure, not knowing what to say.

On the first day back at school while packing their luggage, he saw the dress Mrs. Weasley had prepared for Ron. To his eyes, it looked more like a lavender velvet gown with a collar trimmed in what appeared to be moldy ruffles and matching lace on the sleeves.

Harry didn't have the heart to wear it, and judging by Ron's expression, he would rather bury the dress at the bottom of his trunk and never use it in his lifetime.

Ten seconds later, Ron reappeared, twirling through the air.

Harry and Hermione caught him, and Ron plopped onto the ground, his face pale. In a low voice, he said, "I've had enough of being broke. Harry, can you lend me some money? I promise I'll pay you back!"

Harry hesitated for two seconds. He knew what Ron wanted to do buy some Aging Potion. "Sure," he said.

"Ron! You shouldn'tDumbledore must have considered," Hermione advised.

"Don't bother," Ron mumbled into his hands. "Don't you have a way to get invitation cards? Or was that just empty talk?"

Hermione stared at him in disbelief, but Ron simply gave her the back of his head. She shot him a haughty glance and ascended the steps with heavy strides.

Her figure disappeared in front of the cold black gateway. Just over a dozen seconds later, intense black mist began to ripple.

Ron looked at the black gravestone in disbelief. A golden name, swirling and soaring, appeared Hermione Granger. The black gates opened soundlessly, releasing a wave of scorching heat, and the golden flames behind her gradually vanished.

...

8 o'clock in the evening.

Felix, along with Justin Finch-Fletchley in his illusion form, appeared in a London alley. They then boarded a taxi and arrived at a suburban area following an address provided by Justin.

"Mom, it's me, Justin." Justin pressed the doorbell outside the front yard and spoke into the intercom, "I'm with a professor from school."

"Oh, goodness! Sweetie, Mom's coming right over."

Sounds of hurried movements came through the intercom, as if someone had just broken a glass.

Justin's mouth hung open, feeling somewhat embarrassed. Felix quietly observed the patterns carved on the pillar until a finely dressed woman walked out hurriedly, adjusting her hat in the process.

"Hello, are you, um..."

Through the door, she hesitated, looking at Justin, then at Felix.

"Are you... the professor?" She cautiously inquired. This was way too young; all the professors she had encountered were portly and balding, without exception.

Even if magic could cure baldness, it couldn't make someone younger, could it? The "McGonagall" professor who had come to visit for the first time didn't possess this ability.

"Oh, Mom, open the door! He's my Ancient Runes professor, the one I told you about!" Justin interjected.

Through the door, the woman extended a hand and playfully flicked his forehead.

"Ouch!"

Satisfied, she patted her pocket and then apologized, "Professor Harp, right? My child did mention you, said you're very young, but I thought... well, shouldn't you be a bit... Oh, sorry, I forgot my keys, changed my clothes before coming home... I'll be right back." And with that, she hastily left.

Confused, Justin asked, "Professor, can't we use the Alohomora spell"

"No need for that," Felix said, "waiting a bit won't hurt."

Scratching his curly hair, Justin didn't quite understand. "Professor, what kind of magic did you just use? A door key?"

Felix chuckled, "Where did you hear that term?"

"Ernie told me. He said during the Quidditch World Cup in the summer, the Ministry prepared three hundred door keys, and people from all over the world used them to come to the UK!"

"Three hundred is just the number within the UK," Felix said, "Door Key magic needs to attach to an object. I used Apparition through Illusion."

"Illusion Apparition?"

"Exactly, it's more convenient than Door Keys. You've seen the effect now, you'll encounter it in your sixth year."

"But why haven't I seen anyone else use it?"

"Oh, that's because the school has cast a spell to prohibit Illusion Apparition, of course, Door Keys too."

At that moment, Mrs. Finch-Fletchley hurriedly reappeared, welcoming the two inside.

Mr. Finch-Fletchley had the same curly hair as Justin. He brought over two cups of coffee, saying, "I heard from Justin that you also drink coffee. A friend gave me some Rose Summer coffee. You can give it a try."

He placed the coffee down, wiped his hands, and shook hands with Felix.

Felix explained his purpose, which surprised the Finch-Fletchley couple. They immediately led him to the study. As they walked, Mr. Finch-Fletchley introduced, "It used to be in the living room, but Justin kept fiddling with it. His mother worried he'd break it, so it ended up here in the study."

Justin glared at his mother and then had his hair tousled by her.

In the study, Felix carefully examined the antique vase. He scrutinized it for a while, not for the enamel patterns on the surface, but for the magical radiance hidden beyond regular sight

"Is there a problem?" Mr. Finch-Fletchley asked nervously.

"Oh, no," Felix said, "No matter how many times I see it, I'm always amazed by the craftsmanship of the fairies. Their unique magic rivals top alchemical recipes... but please rest assured, there's no curse on it."

"That's good, that's good." Mr. Finch-Fletchley breathed a sigh of relief. He had been worried about radiation or something of the sortforgive him for not understanding magic, but that's what he imagined curses to be.

Afterward, the Finch-Fletchley couple invited him to spend the weekend together. Felix knew they wanted his own child to stay.

He subtly said, "Hogwarts students live at school, and professors have an inescapable responsibility for young wizards' safety..." He saw their disappointed expressions and added, "At most until tomorrow morning. Please prepare a guest room for me, preferably a quiet one."

"Of course, naturally. You can rest assured, Professor Harp," Mrs. Finch-Fletchley hurriedly agreed, fearing he might change his mind. She patted Justin's head and said seriously, "What about your manners?"

Mumbling, Justin said, "Thank you, Professor."

...

Hogwarts, after lights out.

Harry had gone to bed early; he was exhausted from the day. Ron and Hermione were at odds with each other, ignoring one another. Of course, Hermione had already obtained her invitation, and Harry certainly hoped Ron would too. He and Ron had spent the afternoon in Classroom Seven.

His contribution was limited; he mostly helped analyze the situation after Ron's failures. However, this wasn't his strong suit. Thankfully, Hermione had left some of Professor Pomfrey's potions which helped alleviate mental fatigue, cutting down on their required rest time.

Ron lay in bed, tossing and turning, unable to sleep, a heavy weight on his mind.

He stared at the faint light outside the window, barely catching a glimpse of the moon's edge.

Harry had succeeded, Hermione had succeeded, and even... he glanced at Norbert, whose loud snoring was reverberating in the room. Yes, even Norbert had succeeded in getting an invitation.

He knew he couldn't measure up to Harry and Hermione, but at the very least, he didn't want to fall too far behind.

He sat up, lost in thought for a while. Eventually, he stealthily got out of bed and picked up the half-filled bottle of potion from the table. Exiting the dormitory, he pushed open the door to the common room.

Ron made his way through the pitch-black corridor with bated breath, refraining from using Lumos for fear of encountering Filch or Mrs. Norris.

Finally, after half an hour, he reached the vicinity of Classroom Seven, silently celebrating his good fortune.

Ron held his wand, not daring to make a sound, his hands feeling along the wall. Classroom Seven didn't have a lock; one entered by drawing a magical rune symbol. Professor Harp had talked about it in the Rune Club.

Right now, he just needed to find the right spot, then quickly draw the rune, slipping into the classroom, gaining an extra night's time over others.

Ron's hand encountered a raised object, chilly and cold, but warmer than the temperature of the wall and door. His spirits lifted; he found it! However, the next second, a suppressed scream echoed in his ears, sending shivers down his spine.

A ghost? Peeves? No, it was a living person...

"Who's there?"

"Who's there!" Fear made Ron's voice distort, the tone twisting and turning, he himself unsure of what he was saying.

In the darkness, an unknown creature was less than a foot away from him. Ron swallowed hard, took two steps back, raised his wand, and muttered softly, "Lumos."

A faint halo illuminated from the tip of his wand, revealing the face of the person right in front of him

"Draco Malfoy!"

"Ron Weasley!"

>

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