Chapter 454: Trading

Let me guide others ... Neville thought dully, his heart suddenly felt heavy, with the weight of responsibility. He liked this feeling.

...

On the other side, Professor Marchbanks and old Vera walked down the corridor of the castle.

"A very talented young man, I realized it when I invigilated his exams that he would do great things!" Marchbanks exclaimed.

Old Vera didn't seem to agree.

"You shouldn't despise a Grand Master." Professor Marchbanks pointed out.

" Grand Master ... You mean him?" Old Vera's eyes widened as the shorter Professor Marchbanks met his gaze with no evasion, and he opened his mouth several times, only to succumb to her stern gaze.

"Don't tell me you don't keep up with the news, Hedstrom!" Professor Marchbanks exclaimed.

Old Vera couldn't speak. If someone makes a list of people in the whole wizarding community who pay the most attention to Felix's news, he would definitely come out on top, and God knows what his face was when his granddaughter found Felix's comic book set from his study.

Isn't he doing so because he is concerned that this boy will one day smash a few more bricks of the ancient rune foundation!

"That book of his, Explorations of Ancient Magic Runes, I just read it two days ago! He was at that level three years ago," Professor Marchbanks said nonchalantly, "It's even better than the introductory handbook on runes you guys published!"

Old Vera opened his mouth to retort, but she carried on, "And I wrote to Babbling! In her reply, she wrote back with nothing but praise for him!"

"That half-breed-" Old Vera frowned, seeing Marchbanks stern gaze cast over him, he immediately shut up and said smilingly, "Sorry, I didn't mean to."

"It seems she was right to refuse to join you guys in the first place!" She said with discontent.

Several students in the corridor looked over, and without a word to anyone, the two walked to the Grand Staircase and made their way downstairs. "What day of the week is it again?" Professor Marchbanks asked.

"What? Uh, I think it's a week - ouch!" Old Vera wondered when his foot sank unexpectedly into one of the stairs' ledge and jammed in.

Hogwarts has many such tricky stairs. It had now become instinctive for students to pass over them, and old Vera hadn't been here for over half a century, and he faintly remembered nothing unusual in the morning.

"So it's Thursday." Professor Marchbanks said thoughtfully.

...

When he went to the great hall for lunch, Felix pinned the questionnaire handed over by Professor Marchbanks from the Committee on Experimental Charms on the bulletin board in the entrance hall and enclosed it with a bubble spell on the outside.

Then he waved his wand as a piece of parchment flew out of the ring and got pinned to the wall with glowing writing shining on it.

When he left, the young wizards gathered far and wide to read the new notice:

All students, teams, and faculty members who have developed a stable combination of ancient runes and spells can receive a copy of the Questionnaire of the Committee on Experimental Charms, which needed to be answered in detail and sent to the Committee on Experimental Charms with a thesis attached, and after being verified as a valid new spell, they will be awarded the honour of "Spell Inventor" with the opportunity to obtain the right to name that spell. Sᴇaʀᴄh the Nʘvᴇl(F)ire.nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

The content and word count of the thesis should be based on the article "The Invention of a New Spell: The Combination of the Water-Making Spell and the Ancient Magic Rune 'Flow of Water'" reported on the front page of the Daily Prophet on March 12, and the template of the thesis can be obtained from any Magic Rune Club member.

Each person is limited to taking only one copy of the questionnaire, as there are only limited copies.

Note: This is the easiest and safest way to get your name printed in a textbook.

Go for it!

Signed: Professor of Ancient Rune at Hogwarts, Felix Hap.'

Harry, Ron, and Hermione looked at each other.

An excited voice rang out behind them: 'Warren! Look! We just finished our thesis about it yesterday!" The seventh-year Petter Shelton tugged a Ravenclaw boy's sleeve and pushed forward, "Oh, Hermione, Harry, Ron, hello." Shelton greeted.

"Hello guys." Warren Partiz chimed in, both of them are among the first members of the Magic Rune Club.

Harry and the group greeted them back.

"Having your name printed in a textbook ... sounds really appealing." Shelton said with narrowed eyes, reaching out and poking her hand into the sticky bubble on the bulletin board and slowly yanking a piece of parchment out of it, Hermione saw the official seal of the Ministry of Magic with her sharp eye.

"Huh~ How disgusting! The Professor's nasty sense of humor!"

Shelton said as she pulled her hand out, her fingers dry and clean. Partiz took a copy as well, and they both left in pairs.

"Let's grab a copy too, or we'll have to borrow from someone else." Hermione said decisively, and they each took one. Standing a short distance away from the crowd, they looked at it.

Harry read the questionnaire, the first line on it is a small string of words: 'Please fill in the name of the inventor of the spell truthfully and make sure that all those involved in the development of the spell are signed in order to avoid controversy:'

The first question is: Describe the principle of the spell in brief language.

The second question is: Describe in brief language what the spell does.

The third question is: Identify the type of spell: General purpose, Protection spell, Hex, Poison spell, Curse, Curse breaking spell, Transfiguration spell, Other.

...

"Oh no!" Ron shouted in a low voice.

"What's wrong?" Harry and Hermione asked in unison while scanning down the top questions.

"Look at the first line!" Ron stared, reading it word by word, "'Make sure that all those involved in the development of the spell are signed ...'" he looked at Harry meaningfully.

"Malfoy!" Harry sucked in a cold breath, and his body froze.

At that moment, Draco Malfoy came strutting towards the notice board with his hands in his pockets, leading his two followers, Crabbe and Goyle. "I heard someone call my name ...," Draco said with narrowed eyes.

"Nothing!" Harry and Ron said immediately.

Draco looked at them with suspicion. He stared at the bulletin board and cocked his head towards Crabbe, who followed his gaze and then stared back.

"Go get a copy." Draco said slowly and Crabbe immediately squeezed into the crowd, while Ron quietly tugged on Harry's sleeve and Harry backed away knowingly.

"Wait, Potter!" Draco said. Harry turned back woodenly and looked at him coldly, "What do you have to say, Malfoy."

Draco: "I heard that Professor Hap is giving you a short lesson?"

Harry, Ron, and Hermione's hearts tightened. The professor had told them to keep it a secret, but Harry had been studying for almost three months now and had been reporting to the Ancient Rune office once a week, so there were bound to be times when he was seen.

"So what of it? Are you jealous, Malfoy?" Ron volunteered as cover and provoked him.

Draco glanced at him as he lazily pulled a small slip of paper out of his pocket and raised it. With a wide grin, he said, "Sorry, I've got one too."

"Got what?" Harry asked impatiently, bewildered at the randomness. "You're getting special training from Professor Hap?" He exclaimed, as Ron and Hermione also showed incredulous expressions.

"You can see for yourself, Potter." Draco looked happy as Harry grabbed the note and looked at it with Ron and Hermione.

"It's true." Hermione said softly, she immediately recognized the familiar handwriting on it.

At that moment, Crabbe pushed his way out of the crowd and handed the questionnaire to Draco, who glanced at it quickly, his eyes paused at the first line.

"Tsk." He said.

Ron and Hermione looked up from the slip of paper, looking very frustrated and confused. Harry continued to look at the small letters on it over and over again as if he was trying to detect the slightest hint of a flaw.

"There's no title." Harry said.

"What do you mean--" the smile on Draco's face froze.

"There's no title," Harry repeated, looking at him suspiciously, "It didn't mention anything about training, it just told you to report to Professor Hap's office every Saturday."

Draco paced up to Harry and whispered, "Because of the need for secrecy, but I can tell you, Potter ..." his light-colored eyes sparkled, "it's Apparition and Disillusionment Charm. "

He watched with satisfaction as Harry wore a shocked expression. "Yeah, well, that's always been your privilege, hasn't it? Breaking school rules with no fear of punishment, having your fans everywhere you go, even the professors-"

"So you're jealous?" Harry met his eyes without blinking, bringing up what Ron had said and saying it again.

"You could think so." Draco surprisingly admitted it, snatching the note from Harry's hand. Motioning at Crabbe and Goyle, as he walked towards the great hall.

Harry stared at his back in silence.

"Who knows what he's done to flatter Professor Hap!" Ron looked at Harry worriedly while saying pointedly, "Maybe his dad bought two hundred magic gramophones in one go!"

...

Later that evening, Felix wrote a letter in his office, and then he lightly tapped his index finger on the letterhead, as the words on it disappeared bit by bit -

"Lucius, thanks for the reminder, your information is very useful. Remember: in the future, every strange change concerning the Dark Mark, no matter how minor, you must alert me in time. In return, I will follow my promise to train your son on life-preserving magic, starting this Saturday ..."

He put the letter into an envelope, sealed it, and stared blankly at the top for a moment, before setting it aside and picking up a stack of manuscripts from a drawer.

It is a booklet that he planned to finish regarding the introduction of runes, which is to promote the usage of runes. It contained detailed explanations about the origin and development of ancient runes, as well as the most crucial illumination magic.

Trying to learn ancient magic was never an easy task, even for the simplest illumination. In particular, Felix also intended to adopt a correspondence course-like approach, a tactic that usually serves to coax uneducated Squibs.

However, he decided to challenge this approach.

The key lies in the extreme familiarity of illumination, as well as on the rune cards. According to Remus' data, a thousand sets of the cards have been sold within England, covering almost 40% of the potential buying public - that is, those families with unenrolled young wizards at home.

This, of course, cannot be separated from the overwhelming advertising and low prices.

For wizards who lacked entertainment, rune cards served as a good pastime for both adults and children. Of course, most parents just treat them as a kind of educational toy - this concept was also proposed by the young people of Future World, who took great pains to come up with satisfactory advertising lines for their boss.

The time passed gradually and the night is getting deeper. Niffler Valen yawned, her small black eyes moved away from the comic book, blinking sleepily.

"Kiki! (Still not sleeping!)"

"Just a little longer ... Valen, you don't have to wait for me." Felix said with a smile, turning over another page of the manuscript and continuing to revise.

"Kiki! Kiki Kiki? (Waiting for that fool who can do magic?)"

Felix laughed.

"Don't call people fools, Andys shouldn't have used a Golden Galleon to do magic in front of you. Not to mention you took it away, but he also has to suffer your ridicule ...," he said pointing at Valen's pink beak. "It's Dobby." He explained.

"Kiki!" Valen perked up and took a sip of lemonade through the straw, her dark fluffy fur instantly frizzed up, bringing her spirits up immediately. "Hum ki ki? (Is that the rich guy?)"

"Uh, Dobby has indeed been collecting golden buttons lately."

Finally, the little golden clock on the desk struck twelve. Almost at the same time, a copper knut in Felix's hand became hot, that's Dobby's call, Felix waved his hand to disperse the alert magic in the house. Almost half a minute later -

"Snort!"

House elf Dobby suddenly appeared in the office.

"Oh, Mr. Hap, hello!" Dobby said with a deep bow, he looked up and greeted Valen happily, "Hello to you too, Miss Valen!"

Valen looked at Dobby with anticipation as she burst with joy, "Kiki?"

Dobby took a shiny metal button out of his small suit pocket and exclaimed in a sharp voice, "This is something Dobby collected for Miss Valen!"

Valen reached out her small hand and took it, looking twice at it, then she pulled a golden vial out of her own pocket and handed it to Dobby.

"Oh, how generous of Miss Valen!" Dobby said excitedly, glancing at Felix, who smiled at the side, so Dobby took it and looked at it repeatedly.

"It's transparent! Oh look, it's beautiful! Dobby got another present!" Dobby brought his tennis ball-sized eyes to the bottom of the vial and looked around.

After a moment, Felix had to remind him, "Dobby, Lucius is still waiting ..."

"Oh ..." Dobby sighed, his two bat ears drooped. It was evident that he seemed to have been avoiding mentioning the matter.

"Don't worry, he wouldn't dare touch you." Felix said.

"Dobby knows that Dobby has the backing of the great Mr. Hap! But Dobby has mixed feelings ..." the house-elf said, picking up the envelope from the table where it had been placed for a long time, "Dobby doesn't have to talk to him, does he?"

"No need." Felix assured him. "You can drop the letter at his feet if you want."

"Oh~" it is obvious that Dobby is tempted, but he refused, "Dobby represents Mr. Hap now, and Dobby has no need to fear him ..." he puffed out his chest and majestically said.

"Kiki! (Your legs are shaking!)" Valen held out her finger.

Felix knew perfectly well that Dobby could not understand what Valen had said.

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