A certain Hogwarts professor of runes.

He did bring honor to the college, but he couldn't escape the punishment for attacking an innocent professor.

In fact, Professor McGonagall had already told him about the contents and duration of his confinement, but unfortunately, he ended up in Lockhart's hands.

He had heard Harry mention the contents of confinement—writing replies to Lockhart's fans. It seemed easy, but each four-hour task was enough to make one question the meaning of life.

Chapter 83 Professor Snake

On the first day of the new semester, Felix sensed the restlessness in the young wizards' hearts; they were all waiting for get out of class to end so they could go to the courtyard to see the basilisk.

He cleared his throat, and after attracting the attention of the young wizards, he gently waved his wand, "The dragon emerges from its cave." Accompanied by a cloud of black mist, a small snake with black spots landed on the lectern.

It hissed and its slender body twisted and turned.

The young wizards all looked up, craning their necks to see clearly.

As Felix's wand traced its scales, the little black-spotted snake underwent a dramatic transformation—its smooth scales became thick and solid, giving it a metallic sheen; its color also turned a vibrant green, gleaming with the brilliance characteristic of venomous snakes.

Even its body had swelled considerably, and it raised its flat snake head, its pair of yellow eyes appearing cold and ferocious.

“Professor, is this… a basilisk?” a student asked.

"Yes."

"So, Potter and his friends defeated this little guy?"

The young wizards in the audience said with some disappointment, "This is too small, only about three or four feet."

The little snake monster, especially, looked even more inconspicuous as it huddled on the podium.

Many young wizards suddenly had the illusion that they could do it too.

However, the basilisk's appearance was quite frightening, especially its pair of yellow eyes, which looked really creepy.

Felix remained noncommittal about their attitude and continued to explain, "The greatest threat from the basilisk lies in its eyes; they are extremely lethal. In other words, by the time you see it, you may already be permanently defenseless."

The murmurs from the audience subsided considerably.

"and--"

He waved his wand, and the tiny basilisk that had been huddled on the podium suddenly sprang up from the table, startling the young wizards in the front row who all leaned back.

As it traced an arc in mid-air and landed precisely in the center of the classroom, the small basilisk's body suddenly and rapidly expanded.

It magnified more than ten times in an instant, filling most of the classroom space before they could react.

"Aaaaah!" Many young wizards screamed, frantically trying to avoid the giant basilisk that was pressing down on them, but they soon discovered that the basilisk's body had changed from a solid form into a black mist.

A young wizard sitting on the ground mustered his courage and reached out to touch it; his hand went straight through the black mist. He looked up and saw that many people had half their bodies inside the mist, and they were now shuffling out in terror.

Felix said with a wicked grin, "Well, that's the true size of the basilisk."

After a while, the young wizards calmed down after realizing that the thing did not harm them at all.

Several students got up from the ground embarrassed. One of them, a little witch named Campbell King, used her wand to stir the black mist-like basilisk's body, turning the scales around her back into a cloud of black mist.

Many young wizards curiously imitated him, and in the process, the black, misty basilisk kept slithering and twisting its body in the small classroom, its huge serpentine body passing through desks, chairs, books, men and women.

But most of the young wizards were no longer afraid. They excitedly poked at it with their wands, and sparks of various colors flashed from time to time in the shadowy black mist.

A few minutes later, the basilisk shrank back to about three or four feet in size, and its body changed from a black mist back to a green solid.

"Professor, is this what the basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets really looks like?" a young wizard asked in awe.

“You can think of it this way.” Felix conjured a chair and sat down. “Since you’re curious about the basilisk, let it give you a lesson today.”

The young wizards looked at each other with puzzled expressions, but just then, a voice that sounded very similar to Professor Hyp came from the basilisk's mouth.

"Now open your books to page 79, where we will study an excerpt from a manuscript translated in 1842 by Carlyle Matthew, an expert in ancient runes. This manuscript is from about seven hundred years ago."

Many of the young wizards were startled, but having learned from their previous experience, they were not so embarrassed as to fall off their seats again. Instead, they stared intently at the small basilisk in front of the podium, its upper body raised high.

They blinked in confusion, then looked at Professor Hyp, who sat calmly in the corner of the podium, their minds filled with a multitude of complex thoughts.

The little basilisk opened its mouth, revealing thin, dagger-like teeth. "Yes, it is I, your ancient runes professor. So, what are you waiting for?" The basilisk suddenly approached the young wizard in the front row, startling her so much that she dropped her quill.

"Campbell, tell me, what did I just say?"

“Professor, you just spoke of the spell Eoh, which means yew tree, symbolizes death and rebirth, and can also mean continuity and maintenance,” the little witch named Campbell King stammered as she stood up.

“Well said, Ravenclaw gets ten points,” the basilisk said, flicking its tongue.

Campbell let out a long sigh of relief, sat down, and patted his chest.

"So why didn't you write it down?"

The other young wizards began to write furiously.

In the remaining lessons, the young wizards gradually accepted this somewhat eerie "snake professor," who slithered along the aisles on both sides, occasionally approaching a careless young wizard, glaring at him with his yellow eyes and shouting, "Don't look at me, read your book!"

Professor Hyp, sitting in the corner, had a smiling expression on his face the whole time, and he seemed to be in a very good mood.

As get out of class was about to end, Felix stood up, waved his wand, and amidst the young wizards' reluctant expressions, transformed their snake professor back into black mist.

"Today's homework is to retell the contents of this manuscript. The requirement is a piece of parchment, and you must use the knowledge you learned in the third and fourth grades."

As soon as the bell rang, the corridor echoed with the sounds of footsteps and chatter—the young wizards had already rushed out, heading straight for the courtyard. Meanwhile, in the fifth-grade ancient runes classroom, the young wizards somewhat dazedly packed their things and slowly strolled out of the classroom.

"Hey! Campbell, come on, let's go see the Basilisk!" her friend called out excitedly. "I've been looking forward to this since last Transfiguration class."

Campbell said calmly, "You go first."

"how about you?"

“I suddenly lost interest in the basilisk,” Campbell said.

The young wizard who walked out of the ancient runes classroom with her nodded in agreement. They had not only spent a class with the basilisk, but had also been taught ancient runes by it.

……

In the courtyard, a number of young wizards had already gathered, huddled together, their figures indistinct.

In the middle of the young wizards was a huge basilisk that was forty feet long. Its body was as thick as an oak tree trunk, and its scales were as big as a palm. They looked very rough and gleamed with a cold green light.

Chapter 84 Cornelius Fudge

On the flat, snake-like head of the basilisk, a large hole pierced through its skull and upper jaw, leaving only two dark, empty holes for its eyes.

Occasionally, gasps of fear would rise from the crowd.

These wizards ranged in age from first or second grade to sixth or seventh grade, but they still couldn't help but swallow hard when faced with the dead basilisk.

One of the young wizards asked the question that everyone was wondering: "Potter and his friends fought this behemoth? How did they manage to do that?"

No one answered his question.

A Slytherin student couldn't resist getting closer; he reached out his hand, but an invisible barrier repelled him.

“Dumbledore said so, Flint.” A sharp voice rang out, and the crowd parted to make way for Professor Flitwick.

He was short, but the young wizards at Hogwarts respected him because he always lectured with passion and treated all the young wizards in the four houses equally.

He went to the front and walked around the basilisk. "It's a rare magical creature. I think Hagrid will like it."

……

After the class ended, Felix thought about it and decided to go to the courtyard to take a look.

Dumbledore said at last night's dinner that Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge would be coming today, and he intended to get a closer look at the man.

Rumor has it that he's Dumbledore's yes-man, completely lacking in his own opinions. But Felix doesn't see it that way. A political manipulator, when in a vulnerable position, is even less principled than the best bootlicker.

He walked down the stairs, preparing to cross the auditorium.

Just then, a commotion came from afar, and seven or eight people walked towards them.

“Minister Fudge, this way please.” Professor McGonagall walked ahead.

Behind her was a stocky, short, middle-aged man. He was short and stout, with messy gray hair and an anxious look on his face.

His clothes were a strange hodgepodge: a pinstripe suit, a bright red tie, a long black cloak, and purple pointed boots. He also had a dark green top hat tucked under his arm.

Felix recognized him immediately; it was Cornelius Fudge, the current Minister for Magic. Following closely behind was a tall man dressed as an Auror, who appeared to be Fudge's subordinate.

Following him was a middle-aged man with platinum blonde hair, who was completely wrapped in a long black travel cloak. He had a cold, aloof expression on his face and was carrying a wand that looked like a cane.

Looking at his distinctive hair color, Felix had a guess in his mind: perhaps he was from that rather famous pure-blood family—the Malfoys?

Following Malfoy was a woman, whom Felix had met before, Rita Skeeter. She was heavily made up and energetically instructing her two assistants, “Seize the opportunity, the opportunity! Understand? Take lots of pictures.”

The two young men holding the magic camera nodded meekly in agreement.

Felix couldn't help but laugh; it seemed this newspaper celebrity had a very good mental fortitude.

Rita Skeeter, carrying a handbag, began cautiously searching her surroundings as she walked through the auditorium.

She happened to meet Felix's gaze, her pupils suddenly contracted, and her steps became hesitant and unsteady.

Following behind her was Dumbledore, who strolled at the very back. He was the tallest among them, and at that moment, his deep blue eyes were watching everything.

Professor McGonagall saw Felix ahead and stopped. “Oh, Felix. Let me introduce you. This is Cornelius Fudge, Minister for Magic.” Then, she gave a soft hum and said reluctantly, “These two are Lucius Malfoy and Rita Skeeter.”

Fudge was enthusiastic enough; he strode forward and extended both hands: "Felix Heap, I've heard so much about you. I've heard the French Minister of Magic mention your name more than once."

Felix subtly withdrew his hand. "He's only written a few books." He had been staring into Fudge's eyes the whole time, but he didn't see much passion in them.

He then looked at Rita Skeeter and whispered, "Rita."

The woman with exaggerated curly hair greeted him awkwardly, "Hello, Mr. Haip." She was unsure whether to pretend she didn't know him, and whether revealing his secret would cause her any trouble.

But if Felix wasn't mistaken, Fudge and Malfoy's expressions changed simultaneously at that moment.

That's really sharp... I guess you'd be a real celebrity in the world of fame and fortune.

Felix nodded to Malfoy, but the two didn't interact much.

But Lucius Malfoy stared at him silently for two seconds with his gray eyes, then gave a reserved smile and extended his right hand: "Hello, Mr. Hyp."

Felix was surprised, but he also extended his hand, "Hello, Mr. Malfoy."

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Professor McGonagall continued to lead the way, while Felix had quietly strolled to the back of the group and walked alongside Dumbledore.

The two trailed the group at a distance, talking quietly to each other.

“Felix, it’s wrong to abuse Legilimency.” Dumbledore blinked. “It will take away a lot of your fun and make you more prone to boredom with the world.”