A certain Hogwarts professor of runes.

“However, I think it’s not bad.” Ron looked at the disheveled Slytherin wizards, especially with Malfoy among them, and happily picked up a piece of bacon.

Hermione said worriedly, "Right now Peeves is targeting Slytherins, but that might change in a while."

“That’s the worst off Slytherin ever,” Ron said optimistically.

Chapter 139 Mischievous Ghost

Felix stayed in his office until noon before going to the auditorium for lunch, feeling extremely hungry.

Instead of sitting in the teachers' section, he randomly chose a long student table, where several young wizards were discussing the morning's events nearby.

"In just one morning, Peeves attacked Slytherin students in the Great Hall, knocked down statues in the corridors, smeared mud on armor, and wrote on the ceiling..." A student listed Peeves' crimes on his fingers.

"I think he must have spent the whole day yesterday thinking about how to celebrate, which is why he was so efficient today."

Felix was listening nearby when several Slytherin students stormed in, their angry shouts clearly audible even to Felix, who was seven or eight seats away.

"...This is outrageous! To run around causing trouble in the common room! We must tell Professor Snape..."

Their voices gradually faded into the distance.

Felix walked out of the auditorium, intending to visit Belby, only to find his office door locked.

As he was about to leave, he saw Belby's tall, thin figure coming towards him; he looked beaming with joy.

"Damocris".

“Oh, Felix, did you come to see me? I went to Professor Snape’s office, and the work on improving the wolfsbane potion is progressing very well…” Belby said enthusiastically.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Belby suggested, "How about we go grab a drink?"

Felix readily agreed.

“Please wait a moment, I still need to tidy up a bit…” Belby said vaguely as the two entered the Defense Against the Dark Arts office, which was quite different from the one Lockhart had used.

Instead, in a location somewhat similar to Snape's office, there were several large cabinets against the wall, each containing various bottles and jars; on a long table, there was a row of glasses and crucibles.

One of the cauldrons was simmering a potion, with an orange flame burning beneath it and steam rising from its rim.

Felix glanced at it; the crucible contained a creamy substance, but its color was an unsettling dark green.

"Is this some kind of ointment?"

“That’s right, it’s incredibly effective against the large boils caused by the Boil Curse. I’ve discussed it with Madam Pomfrey, and wow, she’s a treasure trove of knowledge, knowing all sorts of potions for minor injuries and ailments.”

Felix agreed, saying, "I completely agree with you, Damocles." He had discovered this back in school.

Belby lifted a curtain in the corner, revealing two metal cages inside, where two red-hatted animals were sleeping peacefully.

But when he took out two thumb-sized glass bottles, they immediately opened their eyes, chirped, and clung to the cage bars with their paws.

Felix could actually read a sense of 'longing' in their gaunt faces.

Bellby uttered an interjection, and Red Hat immediately fell silent, pressing his head against the edge of the cage and opening his mouth wide.

He poured the bright red liquid from the glass bottle into their mouths, and the man in the red hat looked ecstatic, swaying as if he were drunk.

Then, Belby covered the curtain, went to Felix's side, put two green leaves into the cauldron, and gently tapped the edge of the cauldron twice with his wand. The dark green thing began to spin.

“Alright, it’s resolved. Let’s go,” Belby said.

As they descended the steps to the ground, they saw several lower-year Slytherin students running in a sorry state not far away, hiding the backs of their heads with the hoods of their wizard robes to avoid the ubiquitous chalk dust.

"Oh, ten points, ten points, that's great, a hundred points!" A little guy who looked like a dwarf was doing somersaults in mid-air as he chased after him, waving his two short arms incessantly.

"Mischievous Ghost".

Peeves stopped and looked at the two professors beside him. "Oh, I didn't see them~ These poor little things have captured all my attention..." He glared with evil eyes and awkwardly tugged at his pointed hat.

Felix waved his hand, causing the pointed hat on Peeves' head to fly into his hand. "This shouldn't be yours, right, Peeves?"

“Yes, it’s mine, Professor,” a Slytherin boy whispered as he approached.

Mischievous Ghost glared at him fiercely, "Lord Mischievous Ghost will remember you!"

The Slytherin was startled, stopped his outstretched hand, and looked very hesitant.

Felix waved his wand, and a silver beam struck Peeves, causing his eyes to glaze over. He felt lightheaded, muttering repeatedly, "No, I hate class!"

"Don't pull my hair..."

"I hate the history of magic!"

"Why did he get the highest rating!"

The Slytherin wizards looked at Felix with awe, and even Belby's eyes were somewhat fixed on him. He could deal with Peeves, but to achieve this effect was a bit unsettling.

It seemed that Pipi Ghost had suddenly split into countless thoughts, and these thoughts came from different people.

“Don’t look at me like that. It was just a simple confusion spell that made it think it had just been born,” Felix said.

“Is there any explanation?” Belby asked, though he didn’t think it was just a simple confusion spell.

"Peeves is a special kind of ghost, or it would be more appropriate to call him a boisterous ghost. He was born with the construction of Hogwarts, but he only took on a concrete form when the school enrolled a large number of students and used their playful mood and overflowing magic."

The students who had just been chased listened quietly, exchanging excited glances.

“He won’t stay like this forever, will he?” Belby asked.

“No, he’ll recover in a week at most, but the process won’t be pleasant… I thought he’d remember this feeling,” Felix said regretfully.

“Teacher, professor, is there any good way…” said the little wizard whose hat had been stolen.

But Felix seemed not to hear him. With a clearly puzzled look on his face, he asked Belby, "Do you think we should tell the little wizard that the Tongue-Locking Charm can also be used against ghosts?"

“That’s not a good idea, it might bother some ghosts…” Belby said cooperatively.

“The ghosts in the castle are all friendly. If any young wizard dares to use their powers on a ghost, they’ll be locked up for a whole year,” Felix said.

Belby's eye twitched slightly. Are you serious?

The Slytherin students were startled and said hesitantly, "Professor, we'll be leaving now."

“Your hat.” Felix tossed him the pointed hat he was holding.

"Thank you, Professor!" the young wizard said, then was pulled away by his companions.

Chapter 140 A Small Gathering

Three brooms.

Mrs. Rosmerta brought two glasses of mead, “the finest oak-ripened mead, low in alcohol; you’ll enjoy it.”

Thank you, ma'am.

She smiled and nodded, then turned to greet the other guests.

Belby looked around the tavern and saw that besides a few young wizards, there were seven or eight adult wizards talking quietly.

“I feel like business here is much better than at Pighead Bar,” he said.

“The Pighead Bar specializes in strong liquor, so young wizards don’t go there much,” Felix said. “Besides, the owner’s appeal and the interior ambiance are worlds apart.”

Belby glanced at the graceful Mrs. Rosmerta, then thought of the wrinkles on the face of the Pighead Bar owner and his grime-covered glasses, especially the filthy, decaying atmosphere of the bar…

"Okay, you're right. If it were me, I wouldn't go without a valid reason."

Felix lowered his head and took a sip of mead. The taste was excellent. The sweetness of honey and the fragrance of oak filled his mouth. He could hardly taste the alcohol. But as the liquid slid down his throat, he could clearly feel a wave of warmth rising up in his heart, making his whole body feel warm.

"How does it feel to be back in school, Damocles? It's been about a month, hasn't it?"

"It's very relaxing, I feel younger again," Belby said with a smile. "However, sometimes I really want to crack open some students' little heads and see if they're filled with pus from Babo tubers?"

Felix looked at him silently. As expected of you, Potions Master, your metaphor is so fresh and unconventional.

Babo tuber is an extremely ugly plant, and its sap is no less so—a viscous, yellowish-green liquid with a pungent petroleum smell.

However, one cannot blame him for being harsh. The challenge that Belby faced from a mediocre student surpassed Felix in every aspect—because Defense Against the Dark Arts was a compulsory course that every young wizard had to take before the sixth grade.

It is well known that the teaching quality of this course has always been worrying.

Felix said, "There are always some good students, aren't there?"

“That’s true,” Belby reflected on himself. “I also lectured a bit too fast, you know, to make up for previous deficiencies. Take the second-year students, for example; they’ve barely even seen any low-danger magical creatures, let alone how to deal with minor curses.”

"Is this the potion you brewed?"

“That’s right. I compiled a list of the minor curses they knew and made a special section to teach them how to deal with these curses.”

“That sounds great, Damocles. You have a real talent for teaching.”

“No, Felix, your ‘answer parchment’ has been a great help to me.”

Felix looked at him, puzzled.

Belby explained, "I converted the information I found into test questions, put them on answer sheets of parchment, and made sure they completed them after class as part of their homework."

Is this... an online assignment?

The full-subject version of the answer sheet has been available for some time now, and each professor has received a dragon-skin scroll that allows them to modify and add questions for the corresponding subject—Felix has granted this access.

However, most professors clearly place more emphasis on fifth and seventh graders, as they have included all the questions from recent OWLs and NEWTs exams. For other grades, they may only provide the key areas and corresponding reference chapters.

It seems that no one has yet realized this use of parchment...

Felix looked at him, and Belby said somewhat embarrassedly, "Although I only plan to teach for half a year, I hope to achieve something. To be honest, I don't want the young wizards to tell the new professor how bad I am next school year."

"Don't worry, there shouldn't be a better Defense Against the Dark Arts professor than you in the last ten years," Felix said with great confidence. He had encountered most of the Defense Against the Dark Arts professors during his school years, and the few remaining ones, as far as he knew, had rather mediocre reputations.

Not to mention in the last two years, a dark wizard and a fraudster.

At the end of the gathering, Belby talked about her latest teaching plan: "In addition to the Lesser Curses series, I also want to do a series on the creatures of the Forbidden Forest, which also contains many dangerous magical creatures."

He also formally invited Felix to explore the Forbidden Forest together.

Seeing his somewhat hesitant tone, Felix understood that he was afraid of being affected by the curse and wanted to find a partner so that they could take care of each other when they encountered danger and not be left alone due to an accident.

For example, what if you encounter a Trojanus?

Felix agreed after a moment's thought. He also planned to explore the Forbidden Forest thoroughly and collect some magical materials along the way.

Every time he saw the snake-tooth carving knife, he felt it was mocking him.

Felix was even considering turning the unicorn dagger Hagrid gave him into a rune engraving knife.