A certain Hogwarts professor of runes

Felix leisurely ate his breakfast as young wizards arrived one after another, their faces beaming with smiles as they chatted and joked with each other.

The entire auditorium was filled with a lively atmosphere.

After leaving the Great Hall, Felix headed towards the Forbidden Forest, where he encountered Hagrid, who was coming to the castle.

"Hello, Professor Hagrid," Hagrid greeted him warmly.

"Hello, Hagrid. I received your gift, and I love it," Felix said, especially its material.

"Ha, I'm glad you like it. By the way, the automatic mop you gave me is quite useful; it cleaned the house like new," Hagrid said gruffly. "I didn't have to do anything; it can even clean itself."

After exchanging pleasantries, Felix arrived at the edge of the Forbidden Forest. He intended to break off some chestnut branches; his stock was running low.

But halfway there, he frowned.

On the snow-covered ground, there was a straight line of footprints leading towards the Forbidden Forest.

Felix measured the size of the footprints and concluded that they belonged to some young wizard who had violated the prohibition. He followed the footprints.

Felix walked through the snow, the only sound being the crunching of the snow and leaves beneath his feet. Before he knew it, he had reached the edge of the Forbidden Forest.

However, this place is quite remote, located in the northwest corner of the Forbidden Forest, which is quite close to the main gate of Hogwarts—this is the route young wizards take to Hogsmeade Village on weekends.

Felix stopped in his tracks. Everything around him created a silent atmosphere—white snowflakes fell from the sky, and when he looked up, it was as if countless ice crystals were flying towards him.

All was silent, and the vastness of the world seemed to leave him all alone.

"Hissing~"

A black creature that looked a lot like a horse poked its head out of the Forbidden Forest. It glanced at Felix with its silvery-white eyes, sneezed, and then flapped its large, black, bat-like wings and retreated back into the forest.

"It's Thestral." Felix was somewhat surprised.

This is a rather rare magical creature, and many wizards classify them as special invisible beasts—only those who have experienced, witnessed, and understood death can see them.

This trait has given them a bad reputation; Thestrals were once considered an ominous sign—comparable to the omens of death a wizard might have upon encountering a large black dog. But they are actually quite docile animals.

Felix became even more curious, so he ventured deeper into the Forbidden Forest and, after about two minutes, came to a clearing.

Amidst the swirling snowflakes, a little girl stood amidst a dozen or so emaciated Thestrals, clutching a handful of dry grass and offering it to the mouth of the nearest Thestral.

He also heard her humming softly, which sounded quite pleasant.

Felix waited until she had finished feeding him the dry grass before walking over, his footsteps startling the little witch awake.

The girl raised her head. She had a head of messy, waist-length golden hair, and very light-colored eyebrows and eyes.

When he got close enough, he discovered that the little witch had stuck her wand behind her left ear, wore aviator glasses, and had a necklace made of corks from butterbeer hanging around her neck.

At that moment, her eyes were fixed on the person who had suddenly appeared.

A strange feeling welled up in Felix's heart. The eccentric little wizard... could it be Ravenclaw?

"What's your name? Which academy are you a junior wizard from?" Felix asked.

"Luna," she said in a voice that sounded almost like singing, "Luna Lovegood, that's my name. I've seen your open lectures; you're a professor."

"Yes, obviously. Miss Lovegood, which house are you from?"

"Ravenclaw said that extraordinary wisdom is the greatest wealth of mankind."

Felix understood, as expected... He said in a reprimanding tone, "Why did you venture into the Forbidden Forest alone? Don't you know it's dangerous here?"

"They're not dangerous," Luna said absentmindedly. "Thestrals are friendly. Do you want to feed them together?" She suddenly squatted down, brushed aside the snow, and grabbed a handful of half-green, half-yellow hay.

She turned her light-colored eyes to him, and Felix noticed that her voice had almost no pitch, but with its ethereal quality, it gave the impression that she was singing.

"No," he said.

So Luna turned around and, seemingly oblivious to everyone else, fed hay to a baby Thestral. It appeared to have just learned to walk, its somewhat stiff limbs lowered, and it licked Luna's fingers with its tongue.

She hummed a strange little tune softly, and snowflakes fell on her clothes, accumulating into a thin layer.

Felix calmed down and didn't try to break the atmosphere.

"Are you feeling better?" Luna asked.

"What?"

"You were just harassed by a swarm of horseflies," Luna said sympathetically.

"I—what did you say?"

"Hush flies...they sometimes float into your ears and mess with your head," she said. "I think I just heard one buzzing around here."

Felix didn't believe such creatures existed, but he asked her with great interest, "Could you elaborate on the harassing fly?"

Luna looked surprised, adjusting her toad-like glasses with one hand as she looked at Felix from behind them.

"Harassment flies... well, they're usually invisible, but when they want to do something to your brain, they glow red with excitement."

"So, you saw it?"

"That's right," she said with absolute certainty, as if stating some kind of truth.

For the first time, Felix became suspicious. He looked around but found nothing.

After a while, the two returned to the castle together.

As they walked, he asked Luna, "Didn't you go home for Christmas?"

She said calmly, "My father is rushing to finish his manuscript for the Christmas special issue, but we've agreed to look for the Curved-Horned Snoring Beast during the summer vacation."

Another unfamiliar name. "Your father is—"

"Xenophilius Lovegood, the editor of Quibbles."

Felix said nothing; he knew the reputation of this newspaper.

Standing at the castle gate, Felix said to her, "I won't deduct points this time. Go, find your friends, and have a wonderful Christmas."

"I'm very happy right now," Luna said with a cheerful smile, then she looked thoughtful. "You've reminded me of a Gryffindor freshman I met before. She seemed very friendly. Maybe we can be friends."

"Really? You can give it a try," Felix casually encouraged.

"I remember she was carrying a rooster," Luna said casually. "But who doesn't have a strange quirk?"

"What did you say?" Felix raised his voice, but quickly softened his tone again. "Do you know her name?"

Luna shook her head, two strands of hair fluttering across her forehead. "But her hair is beautiful, like a dancing flame."