A certain Hogwarts professor of runes

Felix snapped out of his daze.

"Oh, I've been thinking a bit too deeply." He had just connected the twins' ideas to cell phones in the future, so he spent some of his mind in his thought chamber to deduce the possibilities.

He could easily solve this "text message" function; he hadn't read all those alchemy books in the library for nothing.

However, if he wants to implement more complex functions, it will not be easy to do so.

After all, wizards from hundreds or thousands of years ago didn't have such wild imaginations; there were too many things they needed to research and experiment with independently.

But...why bother? Why do you have to do everything yourself?

He stared at the twins. If in the past he had only regarded them as promising young wizards, now he was thinking about how to nurture them so as not to waste their talents.

Maybe I'll see magic phones become all the rage someday?

Felix has always been a very goal-oriented person, but he doesn't refuse to make the wizarding world a better place.

Especially when it doesn't require much effort.

He told the twins, "Of course I could tell you the answer directly, or even fulfill your ideas, but I would prefer to cultivate your abilities."

Felix took out a piece of parchment, scribbled down a book title, and marked the page numbers.

"This is a reference book list, containing everything you want—two of them are stored in the restricted section, and I'll give you a separate approval slip."

"Thank you so much, Professor Hep," the twins said exaggeratedly, their excitement suggesting they were about to rush up and hug him.

Felix quickly waved his hand—

"Also, regarding materials, you can consider the material used for the wand shaft."

"Professor, do you have any recommendations?"

"Personally, I like ebony, like black jade." Felix showed them his wand. "However, reason tells me that chestnut is a better choice. It is very mild and has no particular inclination."

The twins left happily.

After finishing his second afternoon class, Felix headed straight for the Great Hall. On the way, he saw a group of young wizards gathered together, with Professor McGonagall standing in the middle of the group. Her lips were tightly pursed, and her expression was quite serious.

Which little wizard has gotten into trouble again?

As Felix approached, he noticed three other creatures in front of Professor McGonagall, who were so short that they were obscured by the young wizards.

Felix was quite surprised to find that they were dwarfs.

They have dark green skin, are usually no more than one meter tall, and have rough, fierce faces. Even when expressionless, they exude a sinister aura.

Seeing the dwarves reminded Felix of one person—Farris Spavian, the former Minister of Magic who set two records: one was that he ascended to the position of Minister of Magic at the age of 109, and the other was that he served for 38 years.

Nearly a century has passed since then, but neither of these records has been broken to this day.

One of his bizarre behaviors was telling a vulgar joke about "centaur, ghosts, and dwarves walking into a bar" during a speech at the "Wizards and Friendship Conference," which angered the centaurs, who then attempted to assassinate him.

……

Felix stood outside the circle, while Professor McGonagall was arguing with a dwarf with the gloomiest face. He seemed to be the leader among them, carrying a dirty bundle on his back and gesticulating wildly as he spoke.

"Ma'am, we've received your invitation; you cannot cancel!"

Professor McGonagall said impatiently, "I've said it three times already. Lockhart invited you, but he's about to be tried by Wizengamot."

"But...but...we have many talents, let me show you."

The dwarf opened the tattered bundle behind him, took out a pair of golden wings and put them on his back, and then picked up a small harp.

The other two dwarfs tapped their feet to the beat with gloomy expressions, performing stiff dance movements.

Then, to the astonishment of the young wizards, a gloomy-faced "little Cupid" with golden wings and a harp on his back began to sing—

"Ari Lala~"

"We are messengers of love~"

"Kicking other people's calves all the way, tirelessly~"

"A declaration of love~"

Felix suddenly froze, staring blankly at the three dwarfs, his hair standing on end.

The other young wizards felt much the same way; Harry's face seemed to be twitching, and Ron was grinning and leaning back as far as he could.

Hermione listened expressionlessly, but her lips were tightly pursed, making her look about seven-tenths like Professor McGonagall.

Harry thought to himself that if anyone sent this guy to confess his feelings to him, he would be so ashamed that he would turn into steam and disappear on the spot.

After singing that awkward part, the dwarf stopped. Throughout the song, Professor McGonagall's lips trembled, stammering, "You...you..."

"Madam, we're professionals. I can even choreograph a dance on the spot, a song and dance..." The dwarf's face twitched from side to side, as if searching for a target. Whichever direction his gaze fell, a space would appear in that direction.

Finally, the little man's gaze kept shifting between Harry and Felix.

Felix felt a tightness in his chest. Few people could make him feel nervous, but this little man in front of him had undoubtedly done so.

He strode out, his wand silently casting the Silent Spell – "Silence".

The little man opened his mouth but couldn't make a sound. He frantically touched his throat.

"Professor McGonagall, what happened?"

McGonagall said with a helpless expression, "Giddro Lockhart's special Valentine's Day program—dressing up dwarfs as Cupids to confess their love on Valentine's Day."

"..." Felix said, "He really thinks things through long-term. It's been almost half a month since he was arrested."

Professor McGonagall said, "In fact, he booked it a month in advance, and according to them," she snorted at the gnome, "they are very popular."

She cleared her throat and said to the dwarves, "You have not entered into a cooperation agreement with Hogwarts, so I regret to inform you—" Professor McGonagall was speechless.

Several dwarfs were weeping bitterly, creating a strange scene—they were silently shedding tears with serious and gloomy expressions, which left the young wizards watching with mixed feelings, unsure whether to laugh or feel sorry for them.

"We're willing to offer a discount..." said the leader of the dwarves. "It's too difficult; our team is going to go hungry."

Finally, Professor McGonagall took them away, leaving the problem to Dumbledore to worry about.

Not long after, the latest news arrived—

Dumbledore agreed to let the dwarves perform at the Valentine's Day party, but refused their offer to deliver love letters and read confessions to students for free.

In the common room, an upperclassman provided more accurate information: "It is said that Dumbledore did this to welcome the newly appointed Defense Against the Dark Arts professor."