A certain Hogwarts professor of runes

Felix stared at the shimmering green snakeskin in front of him, pondering how to make it.

"First, we need to remove the impurities. This step can be similar to the process of using the Binding Vine, however, the characteristics of the Basilisk and the Man-Piercing Willow Branch are completely different..."

……

Valentine's Day, February 14th.

When the young wizards got up early to go to the Great Hall for breakfast, they found that the four walls were covered with large, dazzling pink flowers, and many heart-shaped confetti were constantly falling from the light blue ceiling.

Even the usual corridors are decorated with holly and mistletoe.

Many young wizards and witches were laughing foolishly while eating.

On this day, professors will turn a blind eye and not meddle—but don't expect them to smile at you either.

"I bet Percy will be so jealous if he sees this," Ron said, pointing to several couples holding hands in the distance. He and Percy had made up, but he couldn't help but make a sarcastic remark about him.

But none of this mattered to them. Harry, Ron, and Hermione ate breakfast and rushed off to class.

It was evening.

They dragged their weary bodies into the hall, where many young wizards were already seated at the long table.

As expected, they saw the dwarves dressed as Cupid, but they stood obediently on a makeshift platform, playing their harps with gloomy faces—not unpleasant to listen to, at least not enough to make one want to run away.

The two smallest-looking dwarves didn't seem to have mastered the skill yet. They stood two or three meters from the entrance of the hall, pulling out handfuls of colorful shavings from their back pockets. Any two or more young wizards passing by would get hit by them.

Harry and the others saw Dean and Neville walking ahead, bathed in a rain of colorful debris. Neville stood awkwardly in place, while Dean made an ambiguous grumble and quickly ran away.

A burst of laughter erupted from the long table.

Neville scratched his head and smiled, his round face flushing.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione quickly circled around the wall to avoid the pair of dwarves.

Soon, one unsuspecting couple after another fell for it. If it was a young couple, they would just laugh it off without feeling embarrassed. But if they were just friends, the expressions on their faces were enough to make the young wizards on the sidelines laugh for ages.

At the teachers' table.

Looking at the lively scene, Belby said with some surprise, "I didn't expect Hogwarts to celebrate Valentine's Day now? You know, I used to always hide it."

Felix said, "Maybe it's to welcome you."

"Stop joking, Felix," said the middle-aged wizard, glancing around. "Where's Professor Snape?"

"He won't like this scene, he might be a little late."

"Yes, he seemed quite serious," Belby said. "Our last meeting was too brief; we didn't have much of a talk, but some of his ideas were very insightful..."

"Is it about the wolfsbane medicine?"

"That's right, he seems to have ideas for improving the wolfsbane medicine. I hope we can cooperate, and I'm willing to provide the initial research data."

"Didn't you think about inviting anyone else?" Felix asked curiously.

"I've thought about it, but... not many people are interested," Belby said regretfully. "Professor Slughorn did offer some suggestions, but he declined to get involved."

"Slughorn?" This wasn't the first time Felix had heard this name.

"Yes, he used to be my potions professor, but he's retired now and his whereabouts are unknown, so it's hard to get in touch with him."

After about ten minutes, the professors arrived one after another.

Professor Flitwick sat in the empty seat next to Felix, and Professor McGonagall sat down right next to him.

Snape chose a spot far away.

Just as Harry was listening to the dwarves play the same piece for the seventh time with great boredom, the dinner party finally began.

Dumbledore tapped his cup to quiet the young wizards, then introduced their new professor to everyone with a broad smile.

"I am honored to introduce you to Damocles Belby, who has generously agreed to fill the vacancy for Defense Against the Dark Arts class this semester."

The young wizards clapped sparsely; the previous professors had already exhausted their enthusiasm.

Belby stood up, bowed to the crowd, and said, "It is an honor to return to Hogwarts after so many years. Although I will only be here for six months, I will do my best to fulfill my duties..."

Belby's words were very sincere. His appearance and clothing were not as dazzling as Lockhart's, which made him unable to attract everyone's attention. This directly won the limited favor of the young wizards.

The most direct evidence was that when he sat down, the young wizards' applause was much more synchronized and louder.

Snape, sitting to the side, stared coldly at the wine glass in front of him with a stern face.

The other professors welcomed him. Although it didn't make sense that Belby, who earned the Order of Merlin by inventing the Wolfsbane Potion, would come to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts, he was at least a person with real talent.

It's better than Lockhart constantly organizing pajama parties.

Various delicacies appeared on the long table, and the young wizards, tired from a long day, began to feast.

Professor Flitwick, who was sitting next to Felix, spoke to him in a low voice.

"Felix, I heard you're using a new teaching aid in your class?"

"That's right, Felius, I call it the answer parchment."

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

"Don't take offense at what I'm saying—I saw it from my students, and I found it to be very useful for the theory of spells as well."

"You're planning to use the parchment with the answers in your Charms class?"

Flitwick stammered, "There are only a few months left until the wizarding exams, but the theoretical scores of some junior wizards are still worrying."

He looked at Felix: "If there's anything I can help you with..."

Felix chuckled softly: "Felix, I have no objection to that. However, I have indeed encountered some difficulties—if we are to add more disciplines, we will definitely have to improve upon the existing ones, which is not something I can solve alone. I would like to invite you to study with me."

"I'd be more than happy to," Flitwick readily agreed.

Professor McGonagall seized the opportunity to interject, "I can help too."

Felix said, "Minerva, I've considered adding all of Hogwarts' subjects, but that would require a prestigious professor to bring it to fruition."

Professor McGonagall thought for a moment. "It's a good thing I'll try to understand other people's perspectives. But how do you integrate so many disciplines on a single piece of parchment?"

“Using synchronization magic,” he explained, “the parchment in the young wizard’s hand is just a simple magical artifact for receiving information; the runes and alchemy on it are relatively simple. I also have a scroll made of dragon skin, which contains the wizarding level exam questions from recent years.”

"However, this also means that young wizards can only use the answer parchment at Hogwarts."

"Hmm, one to many..." Flitwick pondered, "I think I've heard this line of thinking mentioned before."