A Certain Magical Hogwarts

Chapter 398 The Slytherin's Protector

Professor Barbling's sudden and bizarre actions led to William being kicked out of the library by Mrs. Pince.

And he was forbidden from entering for three days!

Fortunately, William ran fast, otherwise Mrs. Pince might have brandished a feather duster and unleashed a full-on display of her authority as librarian.

William found another empty classroom, sat down, and took out the Phoenix Book again.

The book cover has a lock on it, and the raised part is printed with a cute picture of Phoenix Fox.

William first saw the Book of the Phoenix at Dumbledore's place.

After the Chamber of Secrets incident, Dumbledore used the Book of the Phoenix to contact Euryale Hicks, the headmaster of Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

This book is a precious alchemical artifact, functioning much like a two-way mirror, allowing for long-distance communication. Even more remarkably, it can connect many people.

Dumbledore once established an international network to counter Grindelwald.

William also found a Phoenix Book in the safe house in Paris, and with Nicole's consent, he took it away.

Otherwise, Babling wouldn't be able to contact him either.

After William opened the Phoenix Book, he went to find Professor Babling.

Babling seemed to be observing something; a seductive smile played on her lips, her previous panting no longer present.

The witch before him was definitely the most beautiful woman William had ever seen; she was even more beautiful than Fleur.

Exquisite features, wine-red eyes, and long, silver, curly hair cascading down her shoulders like a waterfall.

She still wore that conspicuous lapis lazuli amulet around her neck—it featured a snake coiled around a scepter.

"William, it's been a long time," Barbling greeted him familiarly.

"Where are you? Aren't you at Ilvermorny Magic School?" William asked cautiously, frowning.

He wasn't quite sure why Professor Babling had suddenly contacted him.

William was very familiar with Babling; during the second time loop, the woman had given him one-on-one, close tutoring in ancient magic runes for several years.

William, like a scumbag, squeezed this treasure "grandmother" dry. After the time loop ended, he felt he had learned enough and never went to see her again.

Last year, he was the kind of person who didn't even attend ancient magic script classes!

But judging from Babling's appearance, it seems she has a memory of him.

This is strange.

Dumbledore knew about the time loop because he possessed an ancient Pensieve left behind by Hufflepuff.

The Pensieve is just as important as the Sorting Hat; it stores memories that successive headmasters consider important.

The Ravenclaw Ring operates using the magic of Hogwarts Castle, as does the Pensieve.

Therefore, as long as Dumbledore stores memories in the Pensieve every day, those memories will not be directly lost due to the reset of the time loop.

But Babling shouldn't have any memory of it.

"William, I'm at the U.S. Ministry of Magic's Capitol."

Professor Babling gently turned the Phoenix Book around.

A grand hall, about 700 feet high, with a cathedral-like ceiling and brilliant lighting, came into William's view.

William had never been there, but he was quite certain that this was the U.S. Ministry of Magic's Capitol.

Especially the ceiling, which is made entirely of large areas of crystal, with exaggerated lighting fixtures casting vivid light that sweeps across the pearl-colored polished lacquer on the inner walls.

Only the U.S. Capitol Building, belonging to the Ministry of Magic, has such extravagant, nouveau riche decorations.

The question is... why is that giant monument standing in the hall smoking?

William soon found out the reason.

With a loud bang, a brilliant flash streaked across the sky, and a bolt of lightning struck the monument, engulfing the surrounding area in thick black smoke.

Barbling brushed her silver bangs aside and chuckled, "Pretty, isn't it? Let's go!"

"..."

Barbling turned and left the U.S. Capitol.

The screen stops,

It reappeared five minutes later.

Babling appeared in a house. She had changed into a purple court dress, placed the Phoenix Book on a shelf, picked up a crystal goblet, and sat on a velvet sofa.

She took a small sip of the scarlet liquid. Her movement was elegant.

"I have fifteen minutes before I have to go to class. I need to talk to you about something," Barbling explained.

"What's wrong?" William had a bad feeling.

Newt brought a Thunderbird from France to America, but the Thunderbird disappeared en route.

The Magical Congress of America was terrified by what happened in Paris, which is why Newt was taken in by the Aurors as soon as he crossed the border.

William was speechless... It turned out that Newt really had been tricked by Clegane into sending the Thunderbirds back to North America.

But the thunderbird escaped midway and flew all the way to England to find William!

Newt was detained by the Aurors for negligence. They needed to conduct a risk assessment on Newt's black box before allowing him to enter the United States.

"Then what are you doing at the Magical Congress of the United States?"

"Of course, it brought out Newt's things, like the Phoenix Book that we're talking about now."

"However, I acted on my own initiative and had a minor conflict with the American Aurors." Barbling shrugged.

"..."

So the lightning just now was a magic spell cast by Baburin?

Was she fighting the Aurors when she was panting heavily?

Is this a minor conflict? This is a terrorist attack!

"Then why did you call me?" William asked, puzzled. "You can't expect me to break into the Magical Congress of America, can you?"

"No," Professor Barbling said softly, swirling her wine glass.

"Dumbledore should have told you that I came to America in place of Newt."

He's been arrested again and won't be out anytime soon, so I have to stay at Ivermony Magic School to keep an eye on Tom.

But the situation was sudden, and Dumbledore hadn't found a replacement teacher beforehand, so other professors had to temporarily cover my classes.

"There aren't many professors who are truly proficient in ancient runes. Even a dean like McGonagall has a lot on her plate. She can manage to teach for short periods..."

"You don't mean you want me to substitute for you, do you?" William couldn't help but interrupt.

Barbling blinked, snapped her fingers, pointed her slender finger at William, and smiled, "Congratulations, Mr. Stark, you got it right!"

"No way, officer! I'm only in fourth grade, just a regular student."

"You dare say you're just an ordinary student?" Barbling raised an eyebrow.

"A student can break into a French prison, evade a city-wide Auror manhunt, and stop Arya Grindelwald?"

William shrugged. "Even if you say that, I'm just a student. How can I teach other people ancient magical runes?"

"At Illuminati Magical School, professors usually have young teaching assistants who can occasionally help professors with their classes," Barbling said lazily, leaning back on the sofa.

"I taught you ancient runes for so many years while you were in the time loop, your level is definitely good enough to teach those little wizards."

"...You know about the Ravenclaw bronze ring?" William asked in surprise.

"Of course I know." Babling revealed a mysterious smile: "I noticed something was wrong the first time you came to see me."

It's not just Hufflepuff's Pensieve that can store memories.

Babling gently tugged at the amulet around her neck, and she spun it around.

A gorgeous, serpentine S shines on the back.

William's eyes flickered.

Slytherin?

……

……

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(End of this chapter)