A Professor of Magic at Hogwarts

Chapter 82: Return from the Holidays

The Blood Baron is the ghost of Slytherin House, and even the young wizards of this esteemed institution keep their distance from him.

His appearance is truly fearsome, and Peeves the Poltergeist is most afraid of him.

"Long time no see, Baron," Felix Harp greeted.

The Blood Baron remained still, hovering in place, his vacant eyes fixed on the direction in which Professor Greengrass had departed.

After a while, in his raspy voice, he finally spoke, "Hello, Harp."

Felix looked at him, recalling an incident during a nighttime stroll at school when he inadvertently overheard a conversation between the Blood Baron and Professor Greengrass. The Baron was pleading for her forgiveness, while Professor Greengrass cursed him, ensuring he would never find redemption.

It was also that night when he discovered the identity of Helena Ravenclaw. He pieced together the entanglement between the two. Helena had taken the diadem of Ravenclaw and had been too afraid to return home. As her admirer, the Blood Baron had been entrusted by Rowena Ravenclaw to bring her back.

A fierce dispute arose between them, and tragically, the Blood Baron accidentally killed Helena. Consumed by remorse, he used the very weapon that had taken Helena's life to end his own.

"Baron, you said her name was her taboo. What does it mean?" Felix inquired.

The Blood Baron didn't answer directly. He simply said in a dry tone, "I see you haven't fallen into the dark magic. In this, you are stronger than I."

Felix's expression turned solemn, and he spoke softly, "It was you who reminded me."

"Even without me, you could have broken free on your own. I saw the records you kept..."

"Oh," Felix also found a glimmer of humor, "that was a Muggle world psychological assessment form, a precaution I had prepared in advance to prevent myself from sinking deeper... but I must say, without you, I might have taken another month or two to realize the severity of the problem."

The erosion of the mind by dark magic is subtle, and the data on assessment forms always lags behind. By the time anomalies are detected, the danger might already have occurred.

The Blood Baron drifted away in silence.

Felix gazed at his emaciated figure and shook his head in the end. The affairs between the two ghosts were beyond his involvement or mediation—ghosts' inner conflicts were not easily unraveled.

Ghosts were creations of death with lingering regrets and strong obsessions that kept them tethered to the realm of the living. Their existence hinged on these obsessions, and thus, their understanding remained rooted in the time when they were alive.

In this aspect, they were somewhat akin to the portraits in the headmaster's office, but ghosts could change over time.

Though change didn't necessarily guarantee favorable outcomes.

According to Felix's estimation, if Hogwarts were to publicly dismiss Professor Binns, he might disappear on the spot—since Binns' obsession was teaching.

However, considering the humanity of such a method and the challenge of finding another knowledgeable scholar to replace him, these two dilemmas rendered the suggestion unexplored.

He returned to his office and opened three selected manuscripts from the Slytherin records, studying them carefully. This material bore the distinct mark of Slytherin himself—he put forth a conjecture about whether it was possible to transform the unique talents of magical creatures into wizarding spells.

This line of thinking had existed for centuries, as seen in examples like the Disillusionment Charm and Animagus transformation, or the Invisibility Cloak and Disillusionment Charm. However, in reality, these developments in magical spells often occurred serendipitously.

Only when future generations looked back did they notice the striking similarities between certain wizarding spells and the innate talents of magical creatures.

And Slytherin sought to discover a method to reliably transmute the unique talents of magical creatures into wizarding spells. But clearly, he abandoned this path later on.

Slytherin chose to relinquish this pursuit, and the young Tom also didn't take it seriously, as evidenced by him stashing these materials in the Room of Requirement, using them for pranks.

However, Felix Harp found this quite intriguing. He committed the fragmentary information to memory, perhaps to be used in a future moment.

Over the next few days, Felix flipped through books, watched films, and lived in leisure and comfort. He took the time to check on the progress of his assistant's studies and offer appropriate advice. Time flowed by steadily.

Finally, the Christmas holiday came to an end, and a new term began at Hogwarts.

On that evening, the Hogwarts Express brought the students back, gathering them in the Great Hall, which instantly became lively.

After the purification of the Christmas holiday, it seemed the students had forgotten the attacks of the previous term, now enthusiastically sharing their experiences.

"My mom took me abroad to visit relatives, and I never thought I actually had a cousin at Ilvermorny!" a young wizard exclaimed with excitement. Others eagerly questioned for more details.

"What's Ilvermorny?"

"A magic school, similar to Hogwarts, but it's in the United States."

"Really? I thought there was only one magic school in the whole world!" another young wizard sighed.

At the Gryffindor table, Hermione was dressed in layers of clothes, a knitted hat on her head, and a massive mask covering her face.

"Hermione, what's the matter with you?" Katie Bell, a year older than her and a chaser on the Gryffindor Quidditch team, asked puzzledly.

"I caught a cold, cough cough!" she said briefly.

"But I noticed the color of your eyes has changed too, a bit like a cat's..." a young witch observed her closely.

"Uh... probably due to magic," Hermione deflected the topic, "Katie, how did you spend your holidays?"

Katie was indeed diverted, pouting. "Stayed home, really boring except for being safer. Do you think there'll be more attacks? I read a lot of newspapers during the break..."

"Don't worry, Katie. There won't be any more attacks," Hermione said confidently.

"How do you know?"

"Cough cough, you'll understand in a bit," Hermione replied, and on the other side, Harry tugged at her sleeve.

He whispered, "Hermione, isn't your magic transformation complete yet? Honestly, your appearance is a bit odd."

She sighed in frustration, "Not yet—I can manage to use it, but the effect is quite poor, and I still have a light layer of fur on my face. Maybe in another day or two, Professor Harp said my progress has been fast."

Ron tapped an empty tall goblet with his fork. "But how are you going to eat?"

"Not eating!" Hermione replied indignantly.

Ding ding ding! At the teacher's table, Dumbledore tapped a glass in front of him.

The Great Hall gradually quieted down.

Dumbledore stood up, his face radiant, and said, "Welcome back, young wizards."

A bit delayed, I apologize.

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