A certain Hogwarts professor of runes.

Hagrid?

Hagrid stared at him, muttering, "Felix, you've heard too..." He patted the hippogriff's head, "Be good, Buckbeak, you can't make another mistake."

Bakkebick lowered his head, which he had been holding up, and continued to eat the raw meat in the bowl.

"Want some?" Hagrid shook the barrel.

"no thank you."

Felix chose a seat not far from him and said, "I have heard some rumors, but I didn't expect them to affect you so much."

Hagrid took another swig of liquor, sparse drops clinging to his beard. "What can I do? Probably the shortest-serving professor in history..."

"They fired you?" Felix asked, somewhat surprised.

“Well, Harry and the others asked the same question… not yet, but it’s only a matter of time. Yesterday, a representative from the school board came to see me, dressed impeccably, and to be honest, he looked a bit like you. He told me that my course scheduling was too aggressive and that I should be more cautious…”

“I don’t think it’s a big problem,” Felix said. “As far as I know, hippogriffs are quite intelligent. Something must have happened to them.”

"An accident? You could say that... You be the judge!" Hagrid suddenly shouted angrily, startling the giant beast beside him. "That student named Malfoy didn't listen to a word I said. I told him to bow, to bow! He acted like an idiot!"

Felix looked at Hagrid with a strange expression and asked softly, "You let it have close contact with the students?"

“Yes, I know them. There’s no danger. As long as it returns your greeting, it’s a bow… hiccup!” Hagrid hiccuped, shook the barrel, and poured the rest of the wine into the copper basin. “That means it acknowledges you. Very polite creatures, aren’t they?”

Felix has reservations about this. It's true that bowing can gain approval, but not out of politeness. Rather, it's because you expose your vulnerabilities first, gaining their trust, and they will bow in return to earn your trust.

This is a unique habit.

“Hagrid, my advice is, against creatures capable of harming a young wizard, like it—”

“Buckbeak, its name is Buckbeak,” Hagrid introduced in a gruff voice.

"—For example, with Buckbeak, it's best to observe it from a distance during the first lesson. Once you're familiar with it, you can select one or two obedient students to interact with it."

“Good suggestion, but unfortunately it’s not applicable right now,” Hagrid said sadly. “I’ve been feeling listless all day, feeding the students Floppy caterpillars and looking up at the sky… Maybe an owl will tell me I’ve been fired any second now.”

Felix said directly, "Hagrid, you don't need to worry about your position. I checked the records of your predecessor—that is, Kettleburn. He had 62 probationary periods, some of which were much more serious than yours, but he still retired unscathed."

“Really? I didn’t expect that. That school board representative looked like I was about to be sent to Azkaban,” Hagrid said expectantly.

“They can’t fire a full-fledged professor; that’s the president’s prerogative. At most, they can give you a disciplinary action, but who cares?” Felix said. He had thoroughly studied these rules, so he never considered paying them any attention.

Hagrid perked up and looked at Felix: "So, I'm alright?"

"You were fine to begin with."

"That's wonderful!" Hagrid cheered, splashing liquor from his beard everywhere, while Buckbeak sneezed.

"Oh, go on, Buckbeak, back to your territory!" Hagrid laughed, pulled it up, and pushed it out of the hut amidst its reluctant gaze.

“I was worried I’d be fired, or even lose my job as a forest ranger, and I wanted to feed it one last time. Now it seems I was overthinking it…”

Felix said, "Hagrid, let's discuss what you're going to teach next. I think the little unicorn is pretty good; it's fluffy and looks very cute. I'm also curious about the characteristics of the golden fur of a baby unicorn..."

"Wouldn't that be impressive enough?" Hagrid asked.

Felix looked at him calmly, which made Hagrid uneasy. He waved his hand. "Okay, you're right, I shouldn't have taken the risk."

He counted on his fingers: "Unicorn, Bowtruckle, Niffler, Fire Crab, Flower Fairy, and the Diplade... Isn't its call a bit dangerous too?" He asked Felix for his opinion.

The vulture is a small, dark green bird with a shy personality. It looks somewhat like a malnourished young vulture and is known for its heartbreaking call.

Felix thought for a moment: "I remember its calls were rhythmic?"

"They usually only call before a heavy rain. For a while, people used them to predict the weather, but later they couldn't stand their calls anymore, they were too awful... Some harbingers will keep howling in winter, which means they are about to die." Hagrid said thoughtfully, "I can find a sunny day when they look listless."

Felix encouraged him, saying, "That's it, Hagrid. You need to eliminate potential risks based on the characteristics of magical creatures."

"Ha, I think I've figured out the trick."

……

Felix returned to his office; it was already completely dark. He looked at Nick Lemaître's photograph on his desk and asked, "Is Nick in?"

“I’m already asleep.” The person in the photo blinks.

“He’s been going to bed very early lately,” Felix said.

In the photo, Nicolas Flamel smiles and says, "Old people can't stay up all night, can they?"

An elderly person over six hundred years old...

Felix pondered the meaning of those words, "When he wakes up, please tell Nick that I've prepared his Christmas present, the kind with special meaning, that he'll definitely like."

Chapter 192 News from the Magic Rune Club

The next two days passed peacefully. On Thursday morning, during the fourth-grade Ancient Runes class, Felix once again revealed the news about the Runes Club to the students.

As soon as get out of class ended, he was surrounded by many students.

"Professor, when does the Spellbook Club hold events?" a witch with golden-red curly hair asked, linking arms with her friend and laughing.

Felix said gently, "Miss Eckmore, the news will be announced next Monday, including the recruitment process."

"Can you give me a sneak peek, just a little bit?" Marietta Eckmore pleaded, drawing admiring glances from the students around her.

“One way is through open assessments, that’s all I can say,” Felix said.

"Is there still an assessment? Oh dear, but other clubs are all invited!" Marietta chattered.

Eddie Camille countered, "I think it's good, considering it's the first time we've hired anyone." He considered himself a top student and believed he could stand out even with assessments.

Eddie was put in solitary confinement by Professor McGonagall last year for selling substandard potions. At that time, Felix wanted to get Ron out of Lockhart's clutches, so he asked Professor McGonagall for the young wizard who had recently been put in solitary confinement.

He was one of the nine.

With Hermione joining later, a total of ten people completed the initial test on the 'answer parchment'.

Felix explained, "There are a few people I'll be directly invited to; they're the people I've observed over the past year and feel are suitable. But time is limited, and I can't get to know all of you..."

The young wizards who had been surrounding the area gradually dispersed, and Marietta, holding her friend's hand, asked, "Qiu, what kind of test do you think it will be?"

Qiu Zhang joked, "It might not be an assessment; you might receive an invitation."

“I know my own limitations—my grades in this course are only average, Camille has a better chance,” Marietta said somewhat pessimistically, but she quickly looked at her seriously. “Maybe you can get an invitation.”

Qiu Zhang smoothed her hair. "We can't put our hopes on this; we should make some preparations in advance." She blinked at her friend. "The professor has already revealed quite a bit of information."

"Really?" Marietta looked at her with a puzzled expression.

"The professor said there would be a public evaluation, and considering what he said later, that it took a year of observation to find a few suitable candidates... What comes to mind?"

"I've got an idea... uh, there are two ways to recruit new employees?"

Qiu Zhang stared at her, while Marietta chuckled sheepishly and said, "You know I'm not as smart as you; I'm always a bit dazed."

“You’re just too lazy to use your brain!” Qiu Zhang said irritably. She then explained, “The assessment criteria are definitely not based on the scores of ancient magic script, otherwise there would be no need to waste time. In addition, all the things this professor has done over the past year and a half—magical puppets, parchment for answering questions, and this year’s spyglass… all point to one thing.”

"what?"

"He values ​​the practicality of ancient magic runes more!"

Marietta finally realized, "That makes sense, but we haven't learned many practical runes..."

"So I suspect there are two possibilities!" Qiu Zhang held up a finger. "The first is that they want us to create an alchemical item to test our practical skills;"

"The second type is to examine our understanding of practical ancient runes."

“But I don’t understand it. Last year we only learned seven, no, nine practical runes,” Marietta said with a bitter face.

"You're so stupid. The professor wrote three books in total, one of which is about ancient magic script."

"Then what are we waiting for!" she exclaimed excitedly, grabbing Qiu Zhang's hand and heading to the library.

"Wait, wait, we still have class!" Qiu Zhang grabbed his unreliable friend.

"Oh dear, I forgot. By the way, did that handsome Hufflepuff guy ask you out?"

"Ahem! Well... he invited me to spend the weekend in Hogsmeade."

"Oh~"

Meanwhile, Felix had finished his morning classes and headed straight for the library, where he ran into the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor coming out.

He nodded to the professor and walked past him.

"Professor Haip, please wait a moment!"

Felix stopped in his tracks. "Is there something you need, Professor Lupin?"

Lupin looked at him gently: "Well, I've learned from some students that there has been some interaction between Duel Class and Defense Against the Dark Arts Class. I'd like to ask about your plans for this academic year..."

Felix felt a chill run down his spine, sensing that Snape was watching him from somewhere.

Of course, this is just an illusion.

He thought for a moment and said, "Let me talk to Severus and finalize the content to be taught this school year."

Lupin clearly understood his implication; he made no further requests and thanked him gently.

Felix watched his retreating figure. "A good person, it's a pity you can only stay for a year." Otherwise, he would have tried his best to resolve the conflict between them.

But this kind of thing is actually thankless and easy to get yourself into trouble. If Snape leaves the Duel Club in a fit of anger, he'll be at a loss.

Felix entered the library, greeted Mrs. Pince, the librarian, and made his way to the restricted section.

After a while, he found the book he wanted—"The Wizard's Bloodline".

There are various theories about the origin of wizards, with two being the most prevalent. Those who subscribe to the concept of destiny believe that wizards are individuals who naturally awakened magical powers; they are destined for greatness, different from others from birth. These individuals are revered as the original pure-bloods, or the first generation of wizards.

Wizards who hold the bloodline transplant theory believe that wizards were originally just ordinary people. In ancient times, ordinary people (Muggles) faced the threat of magical creatures and struggled to survive. Some wise individuals experimented by transplanting portions of magical bloodlines into themselves, thus gaining magical powers.

"But the second claim is clearly untenable; it's a blasphemy against the identity of wizards and full of unbelievable nonsense. Whenever someone discusses this topic with me, I always refute them with this question: Where did those original magical creatures come from?"

This is not a good question to answer, because there are two opposing views: one is the theory of innate existence, which holds that these magical creatures have always existed; the other is the theory that they are the result of wizards' experiments.

According to the first theory, if magical creatures have always existed, why can't wizards also exist? The second theory, however, further proves the greatness of wizards…

Felix quickly skimmed over the section that was heavily influenced by his personal opinion, and after about ten minutes, he stopped at a particular passage.

'A wizard's blood possesses magical power, more abundant than that of other parts of the body, and is a prerequisite for some stringent magical contracts. This has given rise to the infamous bloodline detection magic, where some pure-blood families extract the blood of their newborn offspring, discarding those with lower concentrations. This practice is universally condemned, and even today, it's possible that some stubborn families still insist on using it…'

Felix looked up from his book, pondering what he had read.

He had originally intended to confirm whether Sirius Black's hair could be used in place of blood to break through the defenses of Black's old mansion.