A certain Hogwarts professor of runes

Tuesday morning, the weather was unusually clear, and the winter sun shone on Hogwarts, bathing the ancient castle in a golden glow.

Felix slept until eight o'clock, when he opened his eyes to the sound of several young wizards having a snowball fight.

He threw back the covers, and his cotton pajamas automatically detached, revealing a fine, soft cardigan sweater. He stretched his neck to adjust the clothes for greater comfort, and then, with the help of magic, put on a pair of fleece-lined trousers.

"Magic makes people lazy," Felix couldn't remember what grade he was in, but he wholeheartedly agreed.

Finally, he put on a dark wizard's robe, and once everything was done, he opened the window and looked down at the snowy scene outside.

The weather had warmed up considerably, and Felix did not feel the cold. A thick layer of snow had accumulated in the open space and courtyard in front of the castle, and several young wizards were hurrying to the dining hall for breakfast.

"Luckily I didn't have class this morning. Happiness really is all about comparison."

Back in his office, he reviewed the tasks he had been working on recently.

Find the secret room and deal with the basilisk (you and Dumbledore agreed to resolve this during the Christmas holidays);

Find the Dark Lord's relic that is suspected to be a Horcrux (three times of promotion have yielded no results, yet another piece of evidence that the little wizard is unreliable).

Practice instant kill techniques (I've been a bit lax lately, and I'm stuck on the four-jump technique).

Acquire the rare skill Parsley (feedback pending, person in charge: Harry Potter);

The agreement with Klein (postponed indefinitely...);

The next encounter with the tycoon Hagrid (carefully planned);

Looting the Hogwarts Millennium Library (in progress);

Dealing with the public opinion threat posed by Rita Skeeter (√);

Completed the Magic Rune Creation Binding Vine (√);

Guide Hermione in completing her thesis (√);

Preparing Christmas gifts (√);

Undertake the Duel Club project proposal (√);

Ancient Magic Script Course Teaching Reform Plan (√);

Befriend Lockhart (You're out of your mind, this quest is null and void).

Felix clicked his tongue. Nothing particularly urgent. With less than a week until Christmas, he was starting to feel a bit lazy.

"We could visit Professor Snape and finalize the matter of the dueling club assistant."

Felix descended the castle stairs, crossed the courtyard, and saw several strangely shaped snowmen by the roadside—clearly the work of lower-grade students who, limited by their magical abilities, had to complete the task themselves.

After breakfast, he descended to the castle's underground space and found the Potions professor's office with practiced ease.

When Snape knocked on the professor's door, he expressionlessly refused Snape's request to come in.

"I don't think I invited you to my office, Felix."

However, Felix had long since figured out the professor's personality; unless you wanted to tease him, he would speak his mind and talk about what he was most interested in.

So Felix said, "Professor Snape, I have received Headmaster Dumbledore's approval to take charge of the remaining dueling courses. As for the instructors, I need to know your wishes..." He paused, looking into Snape's eyes.

Snape pressed his lips tightly together, his dark eyes fixed on him. After a moment, he stepped aside. "Please come in, Felix."

The Potions Professor's office was located underground, dimly lit, with shelves against the wall filled with countless glass specimen jars. Further inside was Professor Snape's private bedroom.

Felix walked up to the specimen shelf and examined one of the jars carefully. "Is this the claw of an eight-eyed giant spider? Is it one of the ones that lived in the Forbidden Forest?" he asked with interest.

Professor Snape emerged from the inner room, followed by two glasses of pumpkin juice. "No," he said curtly, handing him a glass of pumpkin juice.

The two got down to business.

"Felix, when did you take Lockhart's Duel Club from him?"

"Professor, I must remind you that Professor Lockhart's daily work is too busy, and he has to make this painful choice."

“I don’t think so,” Snape scoffed. “What’s so busy about a performance class?”

"Of course he's busy replying to fans' letters. From what I understand, he spends at least an hour a day doing this." Felix gave a mischievous smile. "I can totally understand Professor Lockhart. After all, we're both writers, and we have to deal with fan harassment, and he's much more prolific than me."

"His books..." Snape trailed off, his expression saying it all. "But you reply to fans' letters? That's quite unexpected. I didn't think you'd waste your time on such trivial matters."

"There's nothing we can do," Felix said with a sigh. "Most of them are officials from the Ministries of Magic of various countries. We discuss Muggle legislation and how to deal with Muggles."

Snape choked.

He said, "Felix, stop beating around the bush and tell me what you're here for."

"Professor, I would like to know if you are still willing to participate in my dueling course."

"Your dueling course?" Snape drew out the word "your".

"Yes, my dueling course." Felix looked at him calmly.

This is a distinction between primary and secondary.

Snape fell silent.

Felix remained calm. He didn't know if Snape would agree, but according to the information he had obtained from Lockhart, Snape had volunteered to be the assistant for the course.

This shows that he is interested in dueling lessons.

As for the reason, Felix didn't know, nor did he care much.

However, he had heard that Snape had been seeking a teaching position in Defense Against the Dark Arts, but unfortunately, Dumbledore had never agreed. Is there a connection between these two events?

For example, did Snape use dueling lessons as a substitute for Defense Against the Dark Arts? Felix wondered to himself.

"I need to be involved in the selection of course content," Snape stated.

Felix smiled and said, "Of course, your experience is valuable."

Felix placed the glass of pumpkin juice back on the table, stood up, and said, "Professor, the next dueling class will be held after the Christmas holidays. I will discuss the course content with you then. Have a good day."

"No need to see me out," Snape said sternly.

Felix, who was about to walk out the door, suddenly stopped: "By the way, Professor Snape, I've already prepared your Christmas present. I'm sure you'll be satisfied."

Snape forced a smile and said, "I'll prepare a present for you too, Felix."

……

In the evening, Felix and Professor Flitwick took turns patrolling the castle. There were always some young wizards who, for various legitimate and illegitimate reasons, would slip out of the professors' and prefects' sight and act alone.

But to his surprise, he ran into Hermione Granger, who was in a hurry and out of breath.

"Professor Hyp! Oh my god, I've finally met a professor!" the little witch exclaimed excitedly.

"Miss Granger, what happened?"

"The Chamber of Secrets... the monster in the Chamber of Secrets..." Hermione wanted to speak, but she had run quite a distance and was now out of breath.

"A new attack?" Felix's expression turned serious. Was it really that bad? Another attack just days before Christmas?

His assistant nodded first, then shook his head.

"The attack did happen, but no one was hurt. However, Harry, he, he went after the Basilisk!"