A certain Hogwarts professor of runes.

However, the next second——

"Chi chi chi!"

The magical puppet suddenly lit up, and light blue ice crystals fell one after another. The surrounding temperature plummeted. "She" suddenly raised her arm, and a series of icy blue ice pillars rose from the ground, and the cold air spread outwards like rolling waves.

The group stared in disbelief at the scene.

In front of the palm-sized magical puppet, a row of half-person-high icicles extended seven or eight meters away, completely freezing the door to the common room.

A cold, icy mist filled the air, and the young wizards in the common room all sneezed.

Meanwhile, in his office, Professor Hyp was sipping tea, happily flipping through an ancient alchemy book.

Beside him was the Daily Prophet, with today's front-page headline: "Good or bad: The huge gap between two new professors," by Rita Skeeter.

Chapter 57 Unexpected Situations

Tuesday morning, the weather was unusually clear, and the winter sun shone on Hogwarts, bathing the ancient castle in a golden glow.

Felix slept until eight o'clock, when he opened his eyes to the sound of several young wizards having a snowball fight.

He threw back the covers, and his cotton pajamas automatically detached, revealing a delicate and soft cardigan sweater. He stretched his neck to adjust the clothes for greater comfort, and then, with the help of magic, put on a pair of fleece-lined trousers.

“Magic makes people lazy,” Felix couldn’t remember what grade he was in when he saw this, but he wholeheartedly agreed.

Finally, he put on a dark wizard's robe, and once everything was done, he opened the window and looked down at the snowy scene outside.

The weather had warmed up considerably, and Felix did not feel the cold. A thick layer of snow had accumulated in the open space and courtyard in front of the castle, and several young wizards were hurrying to the dining hall for breakfast.

"Luckily I didn't have class this morning. Happiness really is all about comparison."

Back in his office, he reviewed the tasks he had been working on recently.

Find the secret room and deal with the basilisk (you and Dumbledore agreed to resolve this during the Christmas holidays);

Find the Dark Lord's relic that is suspected to be a Horcrux (three times of promotion have yielded no results, yet another piece of evidence that the little wizard is unreliable).

Practice instant kill techniques (I've been a bit lax lately, and I'm stuck on the four-jump technique).

Acquire the rare skill Parsley (feedback pending, person in charge: Harry Potter);

The agreement with Klein (postponed indefinitely...);

The next encounter with the tycoon Hagrid (carefully planned);

Looting the Hogwarts Millennium Library (in progress);

Dealing with the public opinion threat posed by Rita Skeeter (√);

Completed the Magic Rune Creation Binding Vine (√);

Guide Hermione in completing her thesis (√);

Preparing Christmas gifts (√);

Undertake the Duel Club project proposal (√);

Ancient Magic Script Course Teaching Reform Plan (√);

Befriend Lockhart (You're out of your mind, this quest is null and void).

Felix clicked his tongue. Nothing particularly urgent. With less than a week until Christmas, he was starting to feel a bit lazy.

"We could visit Professor Snape and finalize the matter of the dueling club assistant."

Felix descended the castle stairs, crossed the courtyard, and saw several strangely shaped snowmen by the roadside—clearly the work of lower-grade students who, limited by their magical abilities, had to complete the task themselves.

After breakfast, he descended to the castle's underground space and found the Potions professor's office with practiced ease.

When Snape knocked on the professor's door, he expressionlessly refused Snape's request to come in.

“I don’t think I invited you to my office, Felix.”

However, Felix had long since figured out the professor's personality; unless you wanted to tease him, he would speak his mind and talk about what he was most interested in.

So Felix said, “Professor Snape, I have received Headmaster Dumbledore’s approval to take charge of the remaining dueling courses. As for the instructors, I need to know your wishes…” He paused and looked into Snape’s eyes.

Snape pressed his lips tightly together, his dark eyes fixed on him. After a moment, he stepped aside. "Please come in, Felix."

The Potions Professor's office was located underground, dimly lit, with shelves against the wall filled with countless glass specimen jars. Further inside was Professor Snape's private bedroom.

Felix walked up to the specimen shelf and examined one of the jars carefully. "Is this the claw of an eight-eyed giant spider? Is it one of the ones that lived in the Forbidden Forest?" he asked with interest.

Professor Snape emerged from the inner room, followed by two glasses of pumpkin juice. "No," he said curtly, handing him a glass of pumpkin juice.

The two got down to business.

“Felix, when did you take Lockhart’s dueling club from him?”

“Professor, I must remind you that Professor Lockhart’s daily work is too busy, and he has to make this painful choice.”

“I don’t think so,” Snape scoffed. “What’s so busy about a performance class?”

“Of course he’s busy replying to fans. As far as I know, he spends at least an hour a day doing this.” Felix gave a mischievous smile. “I can understand Professor Lockhart. After all, we’re both writers and have to deal with fans’ harassment, and he’s much more prolific than me.”

“His books…” Snape didn’t finish his sentence; his expression said it all. “But you also reply to fans’ letters? That’s quite unexpected. I didn’t think you would spend your time on such trivial matters.”

“There’s nothing we can do,” Felix said with a sigh. “Most of them are officials from the Ministry of Magic of various countries. We’re discussing Muggle legislation and how to deal with Muggles.”

Snape choked.

He said, "Felix, stop beating around the bush and tell me what you're here for."

"Professor, I would like to know if you are still willing to participate in my dueling course."

"Your dueling course?" Snape drew out the word "your".

“Yes, my dueling course.” Felix looked at him calmly.

This is a distinction between primary and secondary.

Snape fell silent.

Felix remained calm. He didn't know if Snape would agree, but according to the information he had obtained from Lockhart, Snape had volunteered to be the assistant for the course.

This shows that he is interested in dueling lessons.

As for the reason, Felix didn't know, nor did he care much.

However, he had heard that Snape had been seeking a teaching position in Defense Against the Dark Arts, but unfortunately, Dumbledore had never agreed. Is there a connection between these two events?

For example, did Snape use dueling lessons as a substitute for Defense Against the Dark Arts? Felix wondered to himself.

“I need to be involved in the selection of course content,” Snape stated.

Felix smiled and said, “Of course, your experience is valuable.”

Felix placed the glass of pumpkin juice back on the table and stood up. "Professor, the next dueling class will be held after the Christmas holidays. I will discuss the course content with you then. Have a good day."

"No need to see me out," Snape said sternly.

Felix, who was about to walk out the door, suddenly stopped: "By the way, Professor Snape, I've already prepared your Christmas present. I'm sure you'll be satisfied."

Snape forced a smile and said, "I'll prepare a gift for you too, Felix."

……

In the evening, Felix and Professor Flitwick took turns patrolling the castle. There were always some young wizards who, for various legitimate and illegitimate reasons, would slip out of the professors' and prefects' sight and act alone.

But to his surprise, he ran into Hermione Granger, who was in a hurry and out of breath.

“Professor Hyp! Oh my god, I’ve finally met a professor!” the little witch exclaimed excitedly.

"Miss Granger, what happened?"

"The Chamber of Secrets... the monster in the Chamber of Secrets..." Hermione wanted to speak, but she had run quite a distance and was now out of breath.

"A new attack?" Felix's expression turned serious. Was it really that bad luck? Another attack just days before Christmas?

His assistant nodded first, then shook his head.

"The attack did happen, but no one was hurt. However, Harry, he, he went after the Basilisk!"

Chapter 58 The Basilisk and the Parsnip Language

“Calm down, Miss Granger!” Felix demanded. “You need to tell me how long it has been since you last met Harry? Can you pinpoint his location now? And how did he track the Basilisk?”

Hermione quickly replied, “No more than five minutes, Professor. We deduce the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets is in Myrtle’s bathroom, so we arranged to meet there. Harry located the Basilisk through Parseltongue…”

“Very good,” Felix interrupted her, waving his wand. A silver beam of light flew from the tip of the wand and condensed in the air into a small bird with a pair of long, narrow, sickle-shaped wings, which hovered in mid-air.

Felix announced loudly, "Headmaster Dumbledore, Harry Potter is tracking the Basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets alone. Please come to Myrtle's Abandoned Washroom immediately; it is most likely the location of the Chamber's entrance."

After saying that, the small bird flapped its wings and disappeared in an instant, turning into a streak of light.

"Professor, what kind of magic is this?" Even in this urgent situation, the little witch couldn't help but ask.

"The Guardian Charm can help you ward off Dementors or deliver a message temporarily."

"Is that a kind of swift?"

"Yes, it's very fast."

“Let’s go to the restroom first,” Felix said to Hermione. “You can tell me what happened on the way.”

By the time the two had almost reached Myrtle's washroom, Felix had already figured out the situation.

One hour ago.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione quickly finished their dinner in the Great Hall, exchanged glances, and then slipped out together.

“It’s 6:20 now,” Hermione told the two before they went out. “We have about 40 minutes. As long as we get back to the common room with the rest of the group before 7:00, no one will notice we’ve been out.”

They planned to confront Professor Hyp, gain his trust, and then report the information from the secret chamber to Headmaster Dumbledore.

But something went wrong halfway there—

"Tear you apart...I want to kill...I crave blood..."

As they walked down a dimly lit corridor, Harry suddenly heard the sound and shouted, "The Basilisk! It's out!"

"Did you hear that?" Ron asked nervously.

Harry dashed out, climbed a flight of stairs, and strained his ears, searching for what he could hear. He seemed to hear a faint scraping sound, so he ran after him, with Ron and Hermione close behind.