A certain Hogwarts professor of runes.

The twins stared blankly as the knife moved nimbly across the wooden board. Five minutes later, when the board was removed, they compared the patterns on both sides repeatedly. They were exactly the same, with no difference whatsoever.

“Think about whether it can be used in your products,” Felix said. Hobert gave them a strange look, guessing that they might be asked to make some toys. But as long as they could sell, he didn’t care what it was used for. After all, the instructions listed hundreds of dangers, and if they didn’t follow the instructions and an accident occurred, they shouldn’t expect to get a penny in compensation.

"Next up is the laser engraving machine..."

"It has higher precision, faster engraving speed, and more delicate and natural transitions, making it comparable to some hand-carved artists. It can work on various flat surfaces, such as thin metal sheets, glass, leather, cloth, canvas, and so on."

"What about the parchment?" Fred asked with interest.

"Parchment?" Hobert paused for a moment. "Perhaps you could try a printer?"

“Alright, Fred, don’t make things difficult for him,” Felix said lightly. “Mr. Nate, could you help me find a stone slab?”

“Of course, I remember having similar samples in my office.” Hobert left in a hurry.

With only four people left, Lupin asked, "Can we use it?" He pointed to the small computer, "It looks complicated."

“There’s no need to worry about it,” Felix said. “I only need the mechanical parts…”

His hand rested on the mechanical engraving machine, his magic subtly sensing and touching it. Within an almost imperceptible field of vision, ripples of magic spread outwards. After a few seconds, the stationary conical blade suddenly began to rotate, and under his control, it left a magical symbol on the edge of the wooden board.

Felix gently blew away the wood shavings, his fingertips brushing across the carved marks, leaving a trace of magic.

"Tell me, what would happen if we combined this with the principles of magical portraits and gave it basic intelligence?"

Chapter 328 The Gift

After some haggling, Felix purchased three sets of equipment each. Then he took Lupin and the twins through the streets of London, calling out the names of various Muggle companies and buying a bunch of odds and ends.

Back at Future World Corporation in Diagon Alley, Felix piled the items up in the lobby, creating a small mountain that attracted a crowd. The company's new employees came over, both to see the strange objects and to see the company's elusive boss.

Felix led them to sit down together for a short meeting.

“I’ll be staying here for the next while we work together to produce the company’s first product,” Felix said. “And maybe we can also modify some magical machines.”

Krivat reminded him, "Professor Hyp, oh sorry, boss—"

“It’s alright, you can still call me Professor, or Hyp,” Felix said with a smile.

“…Yes, Professor,” Penelope said somewhat nervously, but she quickly got to work. “We need to consider the Ministry of Magic’s stance, especially the Department for Prohibiting the Misuse of Muggle Items.”

"You mean the department that Arthur Weasley heads?" Felix asked meaningfully.

Penelope blushed and pretended not to hear. "The department's duty is to prohibit the application of magic to things made by Muggles, in case they happen to return to Muggle shops or homes."

Seeing that others had similar concerns, Felix thought for a moment and replied seriously, "That is indeed a problem, but I have studied this part of the law carefully. It will not have much impact on us. We just need to report those carving machines to the Ministry of Magic."

"Following this line of thought, you'll find that the entire law serves one purpose: to prevent the magical world from being exposed."

"To summarize, the prohibition on the misuse of Muggle items has three main implications." Felix glanced around at the confused crowd and counted on his fingers, "First, it prohibits malicious spellcasting and playing tricks on Muggles; second, it prohibits the sale of enchanted products that resemble Muggle items, especially things unique to them, such as a toaster;" He smiled, "Of course, nothing is absolute. The Ministry of Magic has a list of permitted items, and not everything is prohibited."

"Third, the law prohibits unauthorized modifications and the addition of other functions. These kinds of legal provisions are rather vague, probably because if you really investigate, many people have prohibited items in their homes, and they may not even know it themselves. So the only thing worth noting is—" he drawled out, and said softly, "that is, do not use it in front of ordinary people."

The Weasley twins exchanged a glance, and Fred chuckled, saying, "Dad's got his mind figured out perfectly." He knew, after all, that his father had drafted this law, and that he was curious about everything in the Muggle world, so he had left himself many loopholes.

Before Arthur Weasley, there was no relevant legislation in the Ministry of Magic, but as there were more and more cases of Muggle items being misused, the Ministry of Magic finally remembered to make a law around it. It was in this context that Mr. Weasley made the law and became the head of the department.

Felix continued, "One of our principles is the improvement and transformation of Muggle objects. What does that mean? Not simple copying, but learning from the wisdom they embody, rather than any specific thing."

"For example, the magic lamp works on a completely different principle than the electric lamps used by ordinary people. The only similarity is that they can both emit light."

The crowd chuckled softly, their worries dissipating. In truth, most of them lacked the courage to openly defy the Ministry of Magic.

"In this process, you will find that we are using a concept - a more convenient and practical way of lighting. We don't need to painstakingly learn how to use electricity or how to study the materials and principles of electric lights. Instead, we can think about how to use magic to achieve the effect we want."

Felix looked at everyone and said seriously, "I don't want to see prejudice against the non-magical world in the 'future world.' Any specific person or group, as long as it has obvious external characteristics, will never be liked by everyone. To put it bluntly, some people see the advantages, while others see the disadvantages..."

"I don't want you to get bogged down in these trivial things. If you approach it with an appreciative mind, you'll find that the outside world has also achieved remarkable success over the past few centuries. The wisdom, ideas, and achievements they've demonstrated are all worth learning from."

For the next few days, Felix stayed in the standing castle in the future world, where Lupin, Penelope, and several seventh-year graduates who had mastered the ancient magic of illumination completed the design of the magic lamp.

The most difficult part was storing the ancient magical runes on physical objects. Felix searched through the materials left by Nicolas Flamel and finally found an enchanted material that was like flowing mercury, which he then used magic to shape.

This process required a lot of experimentation, which prompted Snape to come and protest, complaining that the materials were being consumed too quickly. As a result, he was also dragged into the research by Felix.

The basic chandelier, candlestick, and lantern-shaped magic lamp were successfully completed one after another. After that, a Ravenclaw-graduate witch proposed to use transfiguration to design an eagle shape. When used, all that was needed was to say a specific syllable, and the eagle would flap its wings, fly into the air, and spit out a bright ball of light.

The idea was unanimously praised by the 17 employees who graduated from Ravenclaw. Subsequently, more forms of magic lamps were proposed, including a majestic lion with a wake-up function, a bouncy badger that could follow its owner everywhere, and a snake-shaped magic lamp inlaid with green gemstones.

Felix added several more dragon designs and used shapeshifting to transform the emitted light into the shape of his breath.

The purchased engraving machine also came in handy. Felix never expected to use it so soon. He simply made some modifications and let the employees familiarize themselves with its operation in their spare time, and try to offer suggestions for improvement.

As a result, a wizard named Fink David came up with an idea. While fiddling with the engraving machine, a flash of inspiration struck him. He suggested that they could create a batch of rune cards modeled after the Chocolate Frog cards, and leave the most basic engraving part to the machine.

Felix was very interested in the idea and improved upon it—using a machine to complete the engraving, then applying an enchanting material to the card, so that wizards could hold the card and practice the corresponding runes by following the markings on it with their fingers.

Felix felt he would have another teaching tool for his ancient runes classes this year, so he happily placed an order, giving his company its first sale.

Soon, the first batch of one hundred rune cards was finalized. It can be seen as a simplified version of Hermione carving runes on chestnut wood with a rune engraving knife, taking only one factor into account: the stability of magical power. Once successful, it would display the magical symbol corresponding to the rune, such as a waterfall or a flame. Of course, this was merely a phantom of magic.

The twins came up with a prank version: once the magic was interrupted, the card would emit a piercing scream and loudly mock the wizard who used it.

“This is the inspiration that life gives us,” Fred said with emotion.

Felix was afraid the young wizards would become withdrawn, so he didn't use it. He valued the spell cards more for their ability to help learn spells. However, the twins were having a blast. They even tried adding a few fake cards to a stack of real cards. If they tried to inject magic into them, the cards would transform into a nest of mice that would scurry around everywhere.

George said with a grin, "We can give it to Harry as a birthday present."

……

On the morning of July 31st.

When Harry opened his gift, he was a little confused. Professor Hyp and the Weasley twins had given him the exact same gift: a stack of cards, and even the instructions were identical.

However, the Weasley twins' instruction manual contained a strange smiley face, which made him a little uneasy.

Curious, he followed the instructions and tried to trace the card with his finger and infuse it with magic. The moment he succeeded, a lush green wand tree phantom popped out of the card, swaying gently and making a rustling sound.

Harry stared at them for a while, then tried other different cards with great interest, thus learning quite a few unfamiliar runes. However, he eventually discovered the difference between the two gifts.

After a failed attempt, the card made a "bang," exploded with purple smoke, and turned into five or six fat rats that scurried around in the narrow gaps of the room, giving him a big fright. He tried to chase the little guys out from under the bed, but they only squeaked even louder.

When he heard Uncle Vernon snoring, he didn't try to do anything rash. He waited quietly for a while, and the fat rats came out on their own, gathered together, and after a cloud of purple smoke, they returned to being a card.

Harry opened the other gifts. Ron, Hermione, and Hagrid gave him three super-sized cakes, which meant that Dudley's diet plan had no effect on him at all. In fact, apart from breakfast, he usually sneaked off to Sirius's rented house and stayed there until evening before returning.

Besides having his longing for family fulfilled, Harry discovered a benefit he hadn't considered before: he could cast spells outside of school. Living next door to Mrs. Figg, Harry could use Sirius Black's spare wand—he revealed that the wand he'd stolen from the dark wizard wasn't quite right for him, so he went to Ollivanders to have one made again.

Harry took the Dragonheartstring wand and used it, though he wasn't used to it and always felt it wasn't as good as his own wand, but he was satisfied as long as he could cast spells. He and Sirius practiced dueling in the house that had been enchanted with a stabilizing charm. It was originally just a protest against a boring TV program that Sirius and Harry had sprawled on the sofa one afternoon, but Sirius unexpectedly became enthusiastic about the game.

He taught Harry a lot of dueling techniques, but he soon discovered that Harry had already developed his own fighting style, which, although somewhat immature, was undeniably present. Moreover, Harry's skill level was very high, making their dueling games more realistic.

Sirius Black called out Harry's father's name more than once, which made Harry feel both heartbroken and moved.

There was an incident in between: the Ministry of Magic sent him a letter warning him about his off-campus spellcasting. Sirius Black later sent back a roaring letter, and then the Ministry of Magic didn't follow up.

Harry was initially a little apprehensive, but Sirius explained, "This law is designed for Muggle-born students to prevent them from revealing themselves to Muggles, but do you think they'll care about children from wizarding families?"

Harry was happily persuaded and even wrote about it in his letter. Hermione replied that she wanted to do the same as Sirius and send him a howling letter. Harry smiled broadly, but when he saw the back of the letter where Hermione mentioned that she was researching curses, he stopped smiling.

……

In his bedroom, Harry opened Sirius Black's gift box. It was only the size of his palm, square and neat. When he touched the lid, a sound came from inside. Harry paused for a moment. He wasn't worried about a curse, but he was worried that Sirius Black had sent him some strange gift.

Harry had long realized that his godfather was less mature than himself in some ways. For example, he couldn't cook, and his housework magic was terrible. If it weren't for Kreacher, Harry estimated that Sirius would have moved into the Dursleys' house and started fighting with them that very day.

He carefully opened the lid, and a round, golden object flew out. Harry instinctively reached out and caught it, his heart pounding. Through the gap between his fingers, he saw a beautiful, glittering golden sly. Harry's eyes lit up; this gift was exactly what he wanted.

There was also a note in the box—

'Dear Harry'

I've wanted to give you this gift for a long time. I found it in Felix's office when only one wing was intact. I asked Felix to fix it and make some interesting changes, but you'll have to discover them yourself. It's no fun if all the secrets are revealed.

Also, back in school, James used to steal the Golden Snitch from the team to attract Lily's attention and look cool. I highly recommend you try it.

Your godfather, Sirius Black.

Harry grinned, loosened his grip, and the Golden Snitch slowly spread its wings and vanished with a "whoosh." He scanned left and right, quickly catching up with its trail, and caught it firmly as it flew past Harry's left ear.

Harry shook it hard, and the Golden Snitch settled down obediently in his hand. He seemed to hear some faint, rustling sounds, so he held the Golden Snitch to his ear and shook it gently; this time the sounds were much clearer.

Harry pressed the Snitch's surface, and its metal casing suddenly opened. Harry noticed something stuffed inside. He tilted the opening toward the bed, and "whoosh!"

A pile of various snacks were scattered on the bed, rolling all over the place—chocolate frog, crucible cake, ginger salamander cookies, dragon milk cheese, and a candy gift bag from Honey Duke's shop.

“Wow!” Harry exclaimed.

Chapter 329 The Best Birthday

When Harry appeared in the kitchen, none of the Dursleys looked at him or mentioned his birthday, which pleased Harry just as much. He didn't want Uncle Vernon's smelly socks at all; one bad birthday present was enough.

Uncle Vernon was reading the newspaper, Aunt Penny was cutting a dry grapefruit, and Cousin Dudley—he had his fat arm slumped on the table, his whole face sullen.

Dudley's good days were over after he returned with a shameful report card and a body full of fat. In fact, he could still struggle. If he shed a few tears, Aunt Petunia would sympathize and cry along with him, and then quickly give in and agree to all of Dudley's demands.

This was his specialty. However, below the report card were a few words carefully filled in by the nurse at Smetine School, subtly reminding the two parents that if Dalli continued to gain weight, it would affect his health, and the school's clothing store no longer had clothes in his size.

The nurse also thoughtfully included a weight loss diet plan. At Aunt Penny's insistence, and to take care of Dudley's feelings, the whole family had to follow the new diet. The effect was obvious; Uncle Vernon's chin became smaller, which made his beard look much more flowing and fluffy.

Harry didn't care at all; even before receiving his birthday present, he would still go to Sirius's for breakfast. Now he couldn't wait to imagine where Sirius would take him. Sirius had recently found a motorcycle, and he saw a glimpse of Hagrid in his godfather's adoring eyes.

"It's grapefruit again!"

Dudley said angrily that he had perfectly inherited his Uncle Vernon's small eyes and build.

Harry thought happily, sniffing the tasteless contents of his plate, and couldn't help but burp. He had just eaten two large slices of cream cake and was feeling a bit full.

“Darling?” Aunt Penny said very patiently, “We agreed to follow the diet plan the school nurse sent us—”

But Dudley paid no heed. He finished his portion in two bites and stared wide-eyed at Harry's plate—even though the grapefruit was much smaller than his own. Then his gaze fell on Harry's lips, where there were suspicious traces of food.

“He hid food,” Dudley said confidently, extending a carrot-shaped finger.

Harry quickly wiped his mouth, and after touching the sticky cream, he realized he had been careless.

"What?" Aunt Penny asked, puzzled.

However, Dudley stared at Harry with greedy eyes, as if he were a piece of cream cake. A shadow fell over Harry's heart, and he faced a difficult choice: if Dudley really wanted to take his cake, should he take out his wand to threaten him?

'Sirius isn't here, there's no spare wand, and there's no excuse. If I use magic, the Ministry of Magic will immediately pinpoint my location...'

Just then, a loud horn blared outside, followed by the roar of a motorcycle idling. Uncle Fernon exploded, yelling angrily, "It's that damned murderer again, that scumbag... Can't he just be quiet for once?!"