Bright and early on the second day, as young wizards rose from their slumbers, they discovered that Gryffindor House had suddenly gained fifty points, catapulting them to the lead in the House Cup. Naturally, questions swirled about what had transpired the previous day.
And so, the news of Hermione becoming the assistant to the new Ancient Magical Texts professor was announced.
Gryffindor, of course, was the most proud, while the other houses couldn't help but express some reservations. A second-year student, now an assistant to a professor? Was there some sort of secret involved?
Thus, a rather unpleasant incident unfolded on the Quidditch pitch. Draco Malfoy called Hermione a "mudblood," and in his fury, Ron cast a curse intended to harm but struck himself instead.
Hermione felt deeply disheartened, but Hagrid offered her solace, "He's just jealous, that nasty piece of work! Our Hermione's writing papers they can't even dream of!"
However, the winds of change came swiftly. The new Ancient Magical Texts professor handed out an extensive essay as supplementary material to all the students enrolled in the course, including the seventh years.
This essay was, of course, penned by Hermione.
Numerous older students attempted to find errors within, but despite their skill, they couldn't find a single mistake.
It wasn't that Hermione's knowledge of Ancient Magical Texts exceeded that of the seventh years—she hadn't even started studying them yet. Rather, almost singlehandedly, she had meticulously reorganized the historical development, research directions, significant discoveries, and theoretical schools of Ancient Magical Texts, updating the information right up to the previous year.
For nearly thirty years, no one had undertaken this task. As a result, the knowledge of Ancient Magical Texts that researchers possessed was outdated.
This was the true value of Hermione's essay.
Several professors expressed their admiration for the essay on various occasions, particularly Professor Flitwick, who nearly fainted with excitement during class.
As a result, all controversies ceased. Especially after a Gryffindor student "kindly" shared Hermione's recommended reading list, the prevailing sentiment shifted from "Hermione the Know-It-All" to "The New Professor is Truly Eccentric."
For a second-year student to be tasked with reading twenty heavy tomes in a week and writing seven pages of parchment was nothing short of "eccentric."
Countless young wizards taking Ancient Magical Texts were now trembling with trepidation.
Professor Felix Harp found his reputation suffering.
Even Professor Snape joined in, taunting Neville in his recent Potions class, "With your intelligence, I sincerely advise you not to take Ancient Magical Texts in your third year. Professors might mistake themselves for teaching a giant."
Felix's Ancient Magical Texts course, meanwhile, began to follow its proper path.
In the fourth-year classroom:
"Welcome to the hallowed halls of Ancient Magical Texts, our first class," Felix addressed the young lions and serpents below.
Among them were two familiar figures—the Weasley twins.
"I won't waste too much time repeating the importance of this course; some information I've already shared in the open sessions."
"If you aspire to uncover the glory of wizards past, to decipher the arcane secrets of ancient wizardry hidden within cryptic manuscripts, then this course is for you."
"If you yearn to craft mystical alchemical creations, to recreate the magical artifacts of legends and fairytales, then you need this course."
"If your aim is to delve into the true essence of magic, to unveil the unique power and glory inherent to wizards, then this course is just as vital."
Felix closely observed the expressions of the young wizards. Seeing them involuntarily become more serious, he felt a sense of satisfaction. It seemed he could repeat this introduction a few more times.
"But everything begins with the basics."
On the lectern, Felix waved his wand, and a suitcase popped open abruptly, releasing dozens of magical puppets that landed accurately in front of the students.
"Cool!" the twins exchanged a glance, both impressed.
Other students eagerly picked up the magical puppets, playing with them in their hands. Some even attempted to make them move using their wands.
"Considering that third and fourth years have the least exams to worry about, our course will focus primarily on practical applications."
Below, cheers erupted.
Felix Harp waited for a while, allowing the young wizards to casually fiddle with the magical puppets in their hands before he continued, "I believe some of you have already noticed that your magical puppets aren't moving."
He wore a mysterious smile, tinged with a sort of mischievous delight, "—In a way, they're still incomplete."
The young wizards stared at him in confusion.
"That's right, incomplete. These magical puppets lack certain crucial magical inscriptions at the nodes of magical energy—connections, alignment, balance, coordination. These are the four categories of practical Ancient Magical Texts you'll be dealing with this term, a total of twenty-seven."
"As long as you master them all, you'll have a real magical puppet."
"Of course, that's in addition to another 482 theoretical incantations. That's your entire curriculum for this year," Felix added.
One of the twins shouted, "Professor, let's get started already!"
Felix looked at him approvingly, not bad, they know how to play along. "In today's lesson, I'll be explaining the four incantations related to the 'connection' aspect. If you successfully master them, you can make your magical puppets move."
"Move?"
"Perform basic actions, like throwing a punch, kicking, rolling over, that sort of thing."
"Professor, could you teach us more?"
"Of course... not."
Following that, the young wizards maintained an unprecedented level of focus in class. Each of them tried to grasp these four incantations as quickly as possible. However, by the end of the lesson, only Fred Weasley had managed a partial success—his puppet could continuously swing its right arm, but only the right arm.
"Weasley, plus ten points."
As the end of class approached, Felix began assigning homework.
"Your homework is to practice the four incantations we covered today. Keep your magical puppets with you for now; they're here for your practice."
"I hope that in the next class, all of you will have mastered these four incantations."
George raised his hand, "Professor, what if the magical puppet breaks?"
Truth be told, he wanted to take it apart and reverse engineer it.
"No need to worry, I've cast protective spells."
Felix seemed to offer a well-intentioned addition—
"Under the protection spells, your magic will only last half an hour. So, you know, practice more."
The young wizards, still packing up their things, looked at this amiable professor with dazed expressions.
But for the highly skilled duo of twins, this wasn't much of a concern. Their focus lay elsewhere. Fred asked, "Professor, will you teach new incantations in the next class?"
He was eager to enhance his magical puppet.
"That depends on your overall progress," Felix's response was ambiguous. In reality, of course not. The next few classes would all be theoretical. Now, be good and translate your textbooks.
Did they really think I'd be shepherding? Do I even need evaluations anymore?
Felix's strategy was to lure the young wizards in, and then he could do as he pleased.
"By the way, there will be a test before Halloween, covering both theory and practice. The student with the highest combined score will receive a magical puppet handmade by me," Felix whispered softly, "The upgraded version."
"Now, class dismissed!"
...
This same strategy was repeated over the following days. Soon enough, the third and fourth-year wizards were fueled by enthusiasm for the Ancient Magical Texts course, their interest reaching a fervent peak.
After class, everyone had a magical puppet in hand, waving their wands to command the puppets.
By Friday, Fred Weasley took things a step further in the Transfiguration class. Before the lesson started, he openly used his magical puppet to perform a tap dance routine, sending this wave of enthusiasm into full throttle.
However, Professor McGonagall wasn't particularly pleased and deducted two points from Weasley.
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