A certain Hogwarts professor of runes.

He said to the two of them, "You're hired, Miss Krivat. Go enjoy your vacation, and report back tomorrow..."

Chapter 324 Lupin's Doubts

Remus Lupin took today's interview very seriously. He arrived half an hour early and quietly reviewed the materials he had prepared on his way there, with carefully selected newspaper clippings in his pocket.

"...Regardless of background, it all comes down to ability. Anyone who far surpasses ordinary people in any three of the following areas: ancient runes, alchemy, spells, transfiguration, magical theory, or Muggle studies..."

Regardless of background, it all comes down to ability!

This is an extremely rare term in the magical world's recruitment process. Although the requirements are relatively harsh, Lupin believes that he is not bad at anything except for ancient runes. In fact, his expertise is in Defense Against the Dark Arts, which he had many opportunities to practice during his years of wandering.

After receiving the interview invitation, the reply sent to him reiterated that the company was committed to practical magical research, which would involve the improvement and transformation of a large number of Muggle items. Lupin spent half a month learning about all sorts of novel things in the non-magical world.

Lupin became completely engrossed in this discovery, finding a system entirely different from magic, full of rigor and logic, where everything was traceable, but unfortunately, no place was left for magic.

He didn't know if the master of the 'future world' had seen this, but he felt that even if he wasn't accepted, it would be worthwhile to experience the company's philosophy. When he arrived at the address, he saw an imposing standing castle surrounded by a large group of people.

He listened for a few minutes, still completely bewildered. What did he mean by a building that suddenly appeared an hour ago? Was this an empty lot two hours ago?

He also saw a house-elf wearing clothes—which was strange in itself—but the ringed ouroboros on its chest caught Lupin's attention. Did it represent an ancient family, alchemy, or... the Spellbook Club?

After he revealed his identity, the house-elf led him into the building. Lupin liked the simple and unadorned architectural style inside. They went up a winding spiral staircase, with Dobby skipping and hopping in front.

"Please wait a moment—"

Lupin stood on the second floor near the handrail, looking at the reliefs on the ceiling. Thanks to his cramming over the past few days, although he didn't recognize all the figures on the dome, he could tell their professions, especially the person fiddling with the complex machinery, who seemed to be a mechanical engineer.

As he pondered, he heard a gust of wind and turned around to see Severus Snape's indifferent face. Snape stood two steps above him, his black robes gathered in front of him, like a black bat with its wings folded, looking down at him.

“Lupin,” Snape said softly, a smile spreading across his face, “Welcome…to your home.”

Lupin suddenly remembered that when Snape first brought him the wolfsbane potion, he had the same expression. After drinking it, he couldn't eat for two whole days.

“Hello, Severus,” Lupin said gently as he climbed the last two steps. “What a coincidence to meet you here.”

“Coincidence? No…” Snape said with amusement, “I’ve been waiting for you for a long time.”

"You waited specifically for me?" Lupin frowned. The ouroboros emblem on Dobby's chest resurfaced in his mind. Muggle, ancient runes were listed first in the job requirements…

“The surname Lupin may hint at your identity,” Snape’s smile grew colder. “I’ve recently been studying the science of names, and I’ve overlooked one thing in the past: names have a kind of magic.”

Lupin was stung; he hated having that mentioned. The word 'Lupin,' in some obscure usages in certain countries, means wolf.

Snape curled his lip in disdain, about to say something more, when a commotion arose behind him. Felix emerged with Percy and Penelope, both surprised by the tense atmosphere between them.

"Get out of here—" Snape said, radiating a chilling aura.

Percy and Penelope glanced at Felix, who smiled and nodded at them, and they hurriedly left.

Felix waved his wand, and the building's doors slammed shut.

He leaned against the corner of the wall and said slowly, "I've always been curious. Both professors were outstanding figures of their time, one a master of dueling and the other a master of Defense Against the Dark Arts. So who was the better one?"

“I had a chance to see this before, but I interrupted it. Now I finally have the opportunity to confirm it.”

Lupin frowned and looked at Felix: "I'm here for an interview, not to fight."

Felix lowered his head, staring intently at his fingernails. "You've misunderstood, Professor Lupin. I already acknowledged you at your farewell party. Yes, this is my company. I've already gotten to know your abilities well enough during this year of working together, so you can treat this as a welcome event for a new colleague—showcasing your skills and getting to know each other better. Or perhaps you can curse me."

A red flash flew towards him. "Stop talking nonsense, Felix," Snape said menacingly. He looked at Lupin. "I seem to have had very little contact with you. You're always hiding behind Potter and Black..."

“Oh, Severus,” Lupin drew his wand, unable to contain his anger any longer, “the two of them are enough for you to handle. If you add me, you’ll wet your pants.”

Snape gave a stern smile. "Well said..." A beam of red light shot out.

Lupin nimbly dodged, casting a disarming spell with a backhand. The two equally fiery individuals clashed, spells flying, light filling the air. Snape felt a long-lost excitement; he truly felt alive, except for the incessant chatter beside him—

"Nobody cares here, stop hiding, Severus, where's your dark magic?"

"Oh, you almost hit me, Professor, your aim is off—"

Felix tilted his head, a spell exploding beside him, and he smiled: "You guys attacked me first, don't say I'm being unreasonable..."

He straightened up from the wall, slowly unfolded his arms, and a dark wand appeared in his hand. With a gentle wave, three dazzling beams of light flew out simultaneously, rushing towards the two of them.

Lupin was surprised by his sudden entry into the battle. He awkwardly blocked the spell and cautiously took two steps back. He was surprised to see that Snape had also erected a barrier that emitted a faint glow.

The two looked at each other, and as Felix walked over with outstretched arms, Snape said with great annoyance.

"Get rid of the ones in the way."

But Felix struck first. He kept getting closer, unleashing a barrage of spells. Each spell wasn't particularly powerful, but the sheer number of them was astounding, and the magical light made his body glow.

"Professors, you still need to work harder."

Snape and Lupin exchanged a glance. Snape flicked his wrist, unleashing a burst of black mist that corroded the incoming spell. Lupin's wand slashed down like a sword, sending pebbles trembling as they flew toward Felix.

He was still somewhat bewildered, completely unable to understand what had happened. He had nervously attended the interview, only to run into his arch-nemesis Snape, who immediately rubbed salt in his wounds. Another former colleague was also subtly stirring up trouble, inciting them to fight. He even found a flimsy excuse to join in, and was now forced to team up with Snape…

How did we get to this point?

Chapter 325 Magic Factory

Once the fight started, it was hard to stop. Lupin struggled to control the spell, while Felix fought him for control of the transformed entities. Half of the rubble on the field turned into cat-like creatures, and the other half into chubby sniffles. They waddled around comically and plopped down on the cat-like creatures, making them scream in pain.

On the other hand, Snape's spells were fast and urgent. When faced with oncoming spells, he neither dodged nor avoided them, but instead used his superb reaction speed to deflect them at the last moment. His casting speed was at least twice as fast as that of an average person.

However, Felix was equally quick. He seemed to have no limits, suppressing Lupin while still managing to fight back, occasionally using hand gestures to cast spells and create moving golden shields.

Snape felt nauseous; he couldn't think of a better word. The golden shield was extremely resistant to spells, and as two or three spells pressed down on him, he had no choice but to use an even more powerful spell to freeze them in place. But the next second, the shield transformed into small snakes, nimbly slithering across the ground.

What surprised him even more was that for some simple spells, even if he hit Felix, the spell would slide off his chest.

"The Humanoid Armor Charm... Professor, I was a little careless. It's not my strongest defensive spell. If you had used the Cutting Charm you just used, I might have bled a little."

At the end of the battle, Snape and Lupin unleashed a small black hurricane, causing a buzzing vibration inside the building and tearing apart and swirling pebbles from the ground, making it look even more terrifying.

It was fifty or sixty feet tall, occupied a third of the castle, and emitted a "whooshing" sound, forcing the group to retreat.

"That's more like it." Felix smirked. It would be easy to dodge, but to defeat him head-on would require some effort. Besides, his goal was never to win.

Just then, the lights in the castle began to flicker incessantly. Felix looked up and saw the chandelier at the very top being violently shaken by a small hurricane, creaking and groaning under its strain.

A milky white sphere was sucked down and swept into the hurricane. Under the influence of external forces, it began to twist and expand... Bright beams of light pierced through the black hurricane, like countless lightsabers piercing a tattered bag. Its light shone into the dim space and onto their uncertain faces.

Finally, the pillar of light disappeared along with the hurricane.

Snape paused for a moment. “No fun.” He put away his wand and prepared to leave.

“Don’t go, Professor,” Felix grabbed him, grinning, “After the welcoming ceremony, we should discuss the company’s future.”

“That’s your future company,” Snape said coldly.

“It’s our 'future',” Felix said, looking at him.

Ten minutes later, Felix bowed to Dobby and said apologetically, "Thank you for your help, Dobby."

"Leave it to me, Mr. Hyp. Dobby finally has something to do," the house-elf said, patting his chest. The tips of his long, thin fingers glowed as he put the ruins back in place.

Snape, Lupin, and Felix went up to the large room on the second floor and sat down in three separate groups.

Felix said sincerely, "Professor Lupin, Severus and I spend most of our time teaching at Hogwarts and don't have much energy to devote to this. I can only formulate strategies in the general direction, and the specific management will have to be done by you."

Perhaps he was tired from fighting, because Snape did not raise any objections.

Lupin thought about it seriously for a moment, "What do you need me to do?"

"study."

"Study?" Lupin asked, puzzled.

Felix said, "Back when Dumbledore interviewed me, he said that he hoped to introduce wisdom from outside the magical world. The magical world has been closed off for too many years, and things that are commonplace in the outside world, even with slight modifications, can profoundly change the entire magical world. Therefore, learning is essential."

Snape gave Felix a meaningful look. He had seen some information in his temporary office at .a. Building that even if only one-tenth of it were realized, it would bring about earth-shattering changes to the wizarding world.

Starting with the lives of all wizards, it's as cunning as ever...

Felix pulled out a stack of parchment and let it float in front of Lupin. “I don’t want to create anything groundbreaking, but rather—how do you put it? Like spring rain, it will nourish silently, making the company’s products an indispensable part of every wizard without them even realizing it.”

“We can start with wizarding households, such as magic lamps or magic air conditioners. You can imagine that with just such a small box, it can keep the temperature within a twenty-foot diameter area at the most comfortable level.”

Lupin fiddled with the small box that floated in front of him. He tried to infuse it with a trace of magic, and the surrounding temperature immediately dropped, like a March breeze blowing on him, bringing him a touch of coolness.

"This is just one example. In fact, I have made some similar things, which you can think of as prototypes. You can improve on them and imagine different application scenarios."

“Then the profit…” Lupin was convinced. In his view, this was a good thing, and he began to consider the company’s development.

“Don’t worry about profits for now,” Felix nodded. “Besides what I just mentioned, I hope you can find suitable magic, not limited to ancient runes, alchemy, or obscure spells. It would be best if you could establish effective standards and procedures for travel.”

"Remus, we are making history."

Lupin admitted that he was persuaded, his heart gradually became more active, and he rediscovered meaning.

"How many people are there in the company right now?" Lu Ping asked.

“You, me, Severus, Dobby, and Miss Crevat who just left,” Felix counted on his fingers, “I’ve scheduled the other interviews for the next week, about… three hundred people.”

Lupin's vision went black. "You mean, you wouldn't let me..."

“Well, since the R&D team is going to be handed over to you, it would be best if you could go through it yourself. However, I can provide a list of people I have my eye on, which might be of some use,” Felix said.

“I will also help this summer,” he added.

Lupin found the word "help" a bit jarring; this wasn't his company at all. "Then at the full moon..."

“Severus will be responsible for providing the wolfsbane potion, as well as the preparation of some alchemical materials,” Felix said. He had inherited a great deal of alchemical knowledge from Nicolas Flamel, and among this knowledge, the most impressive aspect of a truly great alchemist was the recipes for various enchanting materials.

Some alchemical symbols only work with special enchanted materials, which was originally a disadvantage, but with continuous development and the refinement of various recipes, it has completely become the mainstream.

The fact that it solved the problem of basic talent alone made it the first choice for wizards, and the decline of ancient runes was not without reason.

“Besides that, there’s one more thing we need to do this summer,” Felix said. “Transform a magic factory.”

"Magic...factory?" Lupin asked. He understood both words, but put them together, they were somewhat puzzling.

“Hmm,” Felix waved his wand, scattering a golden mist that revealed an image of an automated production line. “Just assume I’m imagining it; such unmanned production lines don’t exist in the real world, at least not now.”

"This concept comes from outside the magical world, so we don't need to accept it entirely. Instead, we should select what's suitable and ideally complement the magical world. For example, high-precision engraving... or mass-produced repetitive work..."

“I’ve contacted an equipment manufacturer. Once you’re done with your recruitment work, we can go take a look together,” Felix said with a smile.

Chapter 326 Humble Abode