A Professor of Magic at Hogwarts

Chapter 113: A Little Stove Kindling

Later that day, Felix Harp and Snape mentioned their conversation with Dumbledore; the professor left in silence.

Perhaps he didn't hold much hope... Felix watched his retreating figure, lost in thought.

Time skipped to Saturday, and Felix Harp finally had a substantial amount of leisure time.

He pulled out the Memory Charms material he had copied from Professor Lockhart's office and began to study it meticulously. It was evident that Lockhart attached great importance to this material; it was filled with seemingly profound personal annotations, some of the ink still fresh, no older than two weeks.

"Lockhart hasn't been entirely idle these past few months."

According to Felix's guess, Lockhart might never have truly cared about teaching, holding a mindset to just scrape through the year. After a year, he'd leave, having sold a fair number of books, made some progress in Memory Magic, and most importantly, he could write a book like "Cursed Professors" or "My Year at Hogwarts."

For Lockhart, this was an effortless task. He could even tweak and modify abandoned stories from the past and use them directly.

At least from the interview manuscripts transcribed by the trio, Felix saw a considerable portion dedicated to the crooked old wizard's experiences in dealing with cursed magical items. Yet, this content wasn't included in his "Wandering with Werewolves."

If Lockhart intentionally connected this content with Hogwarts' curses, packaging himself as a master of curse-breaking, it would be entirely plausible.

Felix disregarded Lockhart's own annotations in the material and diligently read through the original manuscript – although "manuscript" wasn't quite the right term, as the entire material was copied by Lockhart. This was the most regrettable aspect for Felix.

However, amidst the lines and words, he still sensed a familiar tone.

"Who exactly did Lockhart inherit this legacy from? Could it be a master of Memory Magic?"

Felix thought of the thousands of magical books in the Room of Requirement, and he started to feel a headache coming on. Identifying this person based on similar styles would be an immense undertaking...

As evening approached, Felix Harp breathed a sigh of relief and set aside the material.

His gains were substantial.

Aside from Lockhart's signature spell, "Obliviate" (Ancient Magic version), he had also acquired various scattered tricks related to Memory Magic.

By combining insights from Lockhart, the diary, Snape, and himself regarding Memory Magic, perhaps after some time and effort, he could create a new sixth-level spell.

Should it be the Mind-Enclosing Charm or Obliviate? For Felix Harp, the choice was truly difficult.

"And with two versions of the Obliviate Charm, I have the opportunity to deduce a simplified path to modern magic, tracing it back to its ancient roots."

Much like the partial Ancient Magic that Professor Flitwick had given him, it was highly likely that it was the precursor to both the Shrinking Charm and the Engorgement Charm.

This was yet another long-term project, but for Felix Harp, it was a venture with countless rewards.

Felix Harp pondered continuously, feeling that this was his greatest achievement since returning to Hogwarts – apart from his growing collection of practical Ancient Magical texts.

He even drew parallels and found several intriguing ideas in this material that could help resolve the confusion stemming from the diary.

"Lockhart truly is a treasure of a wizard. It's a pity he's heading to Azkaban."

...

Later in the evening, his little assistant arrived promptly on schedule.

Felix Harp packed away the Memory Charms material and took out a stack of parchment two feet thick from the corner.

These were the assignments submitted by the young wizards in their Dueling class.

"Ah... we have our roles clearly defined. I'll provide the evaluations, and you'll record them," Felix Harp said, feeling that his assistant had shown some weakness during her practice duel with Harry.

However, she was the most determined among the young wizards learning the Disarming Charm using his "breaking down" method.

A bit of extra guidance was necessary.

"Starting with this one..." Felix picked up the first piece of parchment, looking at the data on the form. "Tsk tsk!" He didn't say much and handed it to Hermione.

"Professor, what should I write?" the young witch asked, holding a quill in her hand.

"Give him a question mark, but make it a bit exaggerated," Felix Harp advised.

Hermione: "???"

"The data is fabricated," Professor Harp replied succinctly.

"Professor Harp, how did you figure that out?"

"His data looks impressive, but I've observed him in Dueling class. He hasn't mastered the Disarming Charm, and he's even got issues with the most basic wand movements... Probably copied the data from a top student."

Hermione nodded and wrote a question mark on the parchment.

"Moving on to the second one, let me see..." Felix circled several lines of data. "His issue is a weak foundation. I suggest reviewing specific chapters in the spellbook that the material covers in detail. Miss Granger, please mark the relevant sections for me."

"Of course." She swiftly wrote, "Focus on studying the content mentioned in Key Learning Point 5 of the Disarming Charm material" – she had the Disarming Charm study material memorized down to a tee.

After Hermione finished marking, she looked at the data Felix had circled and suddenly understood.

This student, named Errol Buz, had most of his issues concentrated under the category of 'Proper Procedure', with other categories like 'Essential Theory', 'Casting Attitude', 'Magical Comprehension', and so on, barely touched.

As time flowed, Hermione diligently transcribed Professor Harp's advice onto the parchment. Professor Harp wasn't idle either; he marked crucial data to help her understand better.

With each question she encountered, her understanding of the Disarming Charm grew clearer.

Many of Felix's suggestions, when cross-referenced with the key data he pointed out, became quite comprehensible.

This was an issue of proper procedure, that was a mindset problem... it was evident even in his self-assessment.

Felix Harp also offered various small tips. For instance, in the section about the casting attitude, his method was, "Imagine a tall person with a fierce attitude wielding a broomstick attacking you, and then use your intent to send the broomstick flying out of their hand."

She noted Professor Harp's explanation: "The mindset for casting the Disarming Charm is a self-defense mindset. You must firmly intend to neutralize the enemy's ability to harm you."

Hermione couldn't help but ask, "Professor, do we need to maintain this mindset while casting the charm?"

"After becoming proficient, it won't be necessary. Some skilled Aurors can even release the Disarming Charm in their sleep. But when you haven't yet mastered the incantation, adopting the correct mindset will accelerate your learning."

Hermione nodded in understanding.

Midway through the grading, Hermione yawned rather unceremoniously.

"Let's continue tomorrow evening. I suggest you spend more time practicing the Disarming Charm during the day; there might be some surprises in store for you," Felix Harp advised his assistant.

The next evening –

"I've truly made progress!" Hermione excitedly told Felix Harp.

She hadn't waited for the daylight; as soon as she returned last night, she began practicing on her own.

It was a peculiar sensation. The moment she waved her wand, she could sense where her execution fell short.

The suggestions and tips she had written down kept replaying in her mind.

Throughout the day, she dedicated a considerable amount of time to practice, and her progress was almost visibly rapid.

Felix Harp smiled, "Once we finish grading today, I believe you'll have a remarkable understanding of the Disarming Charm."

...

The following week passed quickly, with the parchment used for answers in the fifth and seventh years appearing in Ancient Runes classes of other grades.

Discussion about this new teaching tool spread among the young wizards.

In the Great Hall one day, Professor McGonagall inquired about the answer parchment from Felix, and he gladly provided her with the information.

Professor McGonagall stood there, deep in thought.

A while later, after much revising, this chapter took quite a bit of time, and it still feels a bit unsatisfactory.

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