A certain Hogwarts professor of runes.

The two smallest-looking dwarves didn't seem to have mastered the skill yet. They stood two or three meters from the entrance of the hall, pulling out handfuls of colorful shavings from their back pockets. Any two or more young wizards passing by would get hit by them.

Harry and the others saw Dean and Neville walking ahead, bathed in a rain of colorful debris. Neville stood awkwardly in place, while Dean made an ambiguous grumble and quickly ran away.

A burst of laughter erupted from the long table.

Neville scratched his head and smiled, his round face flushing.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione quickly circled around the wall to avoid the pair of dwarves.

Soon, one unsuspecting couple after another fell for it. If it was a young couple, they would just laugh it off without feeling embarrassed. But if they were just friends, the expressions on their faces were enough to make the young wizards on the sidelines laugh for ages.

At the teachers' table.

Looking at the lively scene, Belby said with some surprise, "I didn't expect that Hogwarts celebrates Valentine's Day now? You know, I used to hide it from everyone."

Felix said, "Maybe it's to welcome you."

“Stop joking, Felix,” said the middle-aged wizard, turning to look around. “Where’s Professor Snape?”

"He won't like this scene, he might be a little late."

“Yes, he seemed quite serious,” Belby said. “Our last meeting was too brief; we didn’t have much of a talk, but some of his ideas were very insightful…”

"Is it about the wolfsbane medicine?"

“That’s right. He seems to have ideas for improving the wolfsbane medicine. I hope we can cooperate. I’m willing to provide the initial research data.”

"Didn't you think about inviting anyone else?" Felix asked curiously.

“I’ve thought about it, but… not many people are interested,” Belby said regretfully. “Professor Slughorn did offer some suggestions, but he declined to get involved.”

“Slughorn?” Felix had heard the name before.

"Yes, he used to be my potions professor, but he's retired now and his whereabouts are unknown, so it's hard to get in touch with him."

After about ten minutes, the professors arrived one after another.

Professor Flitwick sat in the empty seat next to Felix, and Professor McGonagall sat down right next to him.

Snape chose a spot far away.

Just as Harry was listening to the dwarves play the same piece for the seventh time with great boredom, the dinner party finally began.

Dumbledore tapped his cup to quiet the young wizards, then introduced their new professor to everyone with a broad smile.

"I am honored to introduce you to Damocles Belby, who has generously agreed to fill the vacancy in this year's Defense Against the Dark Arts class."

The young wizards clapped sparsely; the previous professors had already exhausted their enthusiasm.

Belby stood up and bowed to the crowd. "It is an honor to return to Hogwarts after so many years. Although I will only be here for six months, I will do my best to fulfill my duties..."

Belby's words were very sincere. His appearance and clothing were not as dazzling as Lockhart's, which made him unable to attract everyone's attention. This directly won the limited favor of the young wizards.

The most direct evidence was that when he sat down, the young wizards' applause was much more synchronized and louder.

Snape, sitting to the side, stared coldly at the wine glass in front of him with a stern face.

The other professors welcomed him. Although it didn't make sense that Belby, who had earned the Order of Merlin for inventing the Wolfsbane Potion, would come to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts, he was at least a person with real talent.

It's better than Lockhart constantly organizing pajama parties.

Various delicacies appeared on the long table, and the young wizards, tired from a long day, began to feast.

Professor Flitwick, who was sitting next to Felix, spoke to him in a low voice.

"Felix, I heard you're using a new teaching aid in your class?"

“That’s right, Philius, I call it the answer parchment.”

Professor McGonagall, sitting a seat away, subtly slowed down her chewing.

"Don't mind me saying this—I saw it from my students, and I found it to be very useful for the theory of spells as well."

"You're planning to use the parchment with the answers in your Charms class?"

Flitwick stammered, "There are only a few months left until the wizarding exams, but the theoretical scores of some junior wizards are still worrying."

He looked at Felix: "If there's anything I can help you with..."

Felix chuckled softly. "Felix, I have no objection to that. However, I have indeed encountered some difficulties—if we are to add more disciplines, we will definitely have to improve upon the existing ones, which is not something I can solve alone. I would like to invite you to study with me."

“I would be more than happy to,” Flitwick said readily.

Professor McGonagall seized the opportunity to speak up: "I can help too."

Felix said, "Minerva, I've considered adding all of Hogwarts' subjects, but that would require a prestigious professor to bring it to fruition."

Professor McGonagall thought for a moment. “It’s a good thing I’ll try to understand what other people are thinking. But how do you integrate so many disciplines on a single piece of parchment?”

“Using synchronization magic,” he explained, “the parchment in the young wizard’s hand is just a simple magical artifact for receiving information, and the runes and alchemical techniques on it are relatively simple. I also have a scroll made of dragon skin, which contains the wizarding level exam questions from recent years.”

"However, this also means that young wizards can only use the answer parchment at Hogwarts."

“Hmm, one-to-many…” Flitwick pondered, “I think I’ve heard this line of thinking mentioned before.”

Chapter 119 Judgment (Available for purchase on the 31st)

"Is it a two-way mirror?" Felix asked with interest.

“No, Felix, I don’t think so,” Flitwick said thoughtfully.

Professor McGonagall offered her guess: "Perhaps a magical newspaper?"

“A newspaper?” Felix looked at her; he had never thought of such a thing before.

“That’s right. I remember the Daily Prophet had similar technology. If the news changed, the content of the newspaper would also change,” Professor McGonagall added. “This is rare now, though. They prefer to move it to the evening paper.”

She recalled, "During the war years, the Ministry of Magic issued several emergency notices through the Daily Prophet..."

Felix was somewhat surprised. In his impression, the Daily Prophet wasn't very much committed to journalistic integrity; they were probably more concerned with newspaper sales.

That's why there are daily and evening newspapers, as well as a weekend edition of the Sunday Prophet.

However, the Daily Prophet's overall viewpoint leans towards the Ministry of Magic, so... this is a foundation for cooperation laid a long time ago?

"Did they also use synchronization magic?" He wanted to know more.

“I think it’s more than that—the newspapers may have used a variety of transformation spells, which is their exclusive technology and can’t be seen in other publications,” Professor McGonagall replied.

Felix pondered, and realized that this was indeed somewhat similar to his answer parchment, or even more refined—their newspaper covered the whole of Britain.

Aside from the lack of interaction.

“No, not exactly.” Flitwick said, somewhat puzzled. “Strange, I shouldn’t have forgotten…”

Professor McGonagall's eyes widened, and she stammered, "Could it be...that person's mark, Philius?"

“Oh my God, of course not!” Flitwick’s voice became shrill.

Felix listened quietly. They were talking about the Dark Mark?

He hadn't studied it, but from what he remembered, it was a kind of magical contract with patterns, used for location and summoning. Perhaps Voldemort added his own interpretations.

Suddenly, Belby, who had been silent, said, "Come to think of it, I've seen something similar in the Muggle world..."

"That's right, this is it!"

Belby's words gave Flitwick an idea, and he exclaimed in surprise, "I remember now, I heard that from Professor Bubbaji!"

Kereddy Bubbaje?

Professor of Muggle Studies?

Felix recalled that he had only met the professor a few times, and she seemed to live off-campus most of the time.

“Karedi showed me a picture; it was square and boxy. I don’t remember its name.” Flitwick looked at Belby, hoping for a response—

“Oh, I remember it was called a mobile phone?” Belby said. “I saw someone using one at the Muggle Opera House, and I even asked him about it. I told him I was from the countryside.”

He grinned at Felix, a reference Felix made in his book, "How to Deal with Muggles."

Flitwick gave Belby an affirmative look. "This is it—a mobile…phone? They say Muggles can talk across thousands of miles. Kerridine complained to me that her paper was completely ignored; they thought it was pure fantasy—all ancient stuff."

Professor McGonagall wasn't very familiar with Muggle technology, and she asked with a puzzled look, "Is the Muggle world really that advanced? How do they solve the problem of long-distance communication?"

Flitwick and Belby were speechless; their knowledge in this area was extremely limited.

Felix let out a soft breath.

He knew what kind of book he should write this year—an introduction to science and technology in the Muggle world. However, Professor Bubbaji's experience served as a good counterexample; if he started with something beyond the wizards' imagination, he probably wouldn't make a ripple.

His two previous books introduced the development history of ordinary people and their ways of thinking, which are things that wizards can understand. Moreover, he deliberately arranged a large number of examples of communication scenarios, which are quite practical—making it easier for some public officials to follow the map and deal with ordinary people.

That is why his books have gained professional recognition.

It also makes it easier for him to slip in some of his genuine personal opinions...

How should he structure his new book? Felix pondered.

It must be simple, clear, and easy to understand at a glance. Less is more.

Some simple mechanical parts, some prototypes of energy utilization, and even simple, repeatable physical experiments...

He suddenly remembered talking to Miss Granger about Lockhart, where he mentioned that he admired Lockhart's method of incorporating knowledge into stories. "Maybe I'll imitate that someday!" he said to his assistant at the time.

Now it seems I could write a fairy tale called "The Adventures of a Wizard Boy"?

“Felix?” Flitwick looked at him.

“I just thought of some interesting things,” Felix said.

He put a visit to Professor Bubagi on his agenda.

As for improving the parchment for answering questions, he still had many ideas from the young wizards that he hadn't yet put to use. In addition, the two-way mirror, the magic newspaper, the Dark Mark, and the mobile phone could all provide him with inspiration and ideas.

Midway through, the professors finalized a collaboration plan, much to Belby's regret, as he was completely unfamiliar with this area.

After the banquet, the young wizards left in twos and threes, tacitly agreeing to each other's presence. Some male and female wizards quietly disappeared from the group to find secluded places for their rendezvous.

'I wonder how many couples Felch will catch tonight?' Felix's mind wandered to random thoughts.

Back in his office, he flipped through today's Evening Prophet, and the front-page news caught his attention—

Gilderoy Lockhart faces seven years in prison; fans write letters criticizing the Ministry of Magic.

This piqued Felix's interest. The newspaper reported that Lockhart deeply regretted his actions and was willing to treat and compensate those who had been harmed—hoping to escape punishment.