A certain Hogwarts professor of runes

"Young wizards, I need you to stand in the four positions on the stage according to the academy's directions." Felix waved his hand, dispelling the magic that restricted sound.

The students below the stage were bewildered. Felix walked to one side of the square, gilded stage. "Slytherin, assemble here!" He then walked to the other side. "Ravenclaw, assemble here!"

"Gryffindor, assemble here!"

"Hufflepuff, gather here!"

As Felix walked around the stage, all the young wizards understood the professor's meaning and quickly sprang into action.

"Ginny, over here!"

Ron called out to his sister, and Harry looked over to see Ginny standing there, holding hands with a Ravenclaw girl.

The girl wore a strange necklace around her neck, which seemed to be strung together with some kind of bottle stopper, and her light-colored blonde hair was messy.

Like Ginny, she didn't make any move. Harry even thought she seemed to be unaware of the situation, staring at the young wizards passing by.

Ron squeezed through, with Harry and Hermione close behind.

"Ginny, hurry up. Uh... what's this?" Ron looked at the Ravenclaw girl in front of him.

"I'm her new friend," the girl's gaze swept over him, paused briefly in front of Harry, and finally landed on Hermione.

"I know you. A lot of people say you should have been assigned to Ravenclaw." Her gaze was fixed on Hermione.

"Really? I think Gryffindor is great," Hermione replied.

Harry and Ron exchanged a glance, and Harry cautiously said, "I think we should hurry..."

Most of the young wizards had already taken their positions, making their small group quite conspicuous.

Even Professor Hyp looked over.

Ron grabbed Ginny and started jogging. Suddenly, the girl said, "Luna, Luna Lovegood. That's my name."

Harry, who was running at the very back, had to stop and introduce himself to her: "Um, I'm Harry Potter."

"I know you," said the girl named Luna.

Harry muttered, "Really?" The scene was rather awkward, so he quickly said, "See you another time!" and then went to catch up with his friend.

Luna leisurely walked to Ravenclaw's position and waved to Ginny on the other side.

"Who is that?" Ron asked Ginny.

"My new friend," Ginny said, lowering her head shyly when she saw Harry staring at her. "Our two houses are actually very close, but there's a mountain between us."

"Weasel Mountain?" Harry asked with interest. He had visited Ron's house earlier this year and learned of the name from the twins. According to Fred, one of their childhood dreams was to "fly over Weasel Mountain on a toy broomstick."

Ginny quickly looked up at Harry and whispered, "It's a little further north; their house is on a mountaintop."

On stage, Felix looked away, wondering to himself: Luna, and the red-haired little witch, is that the Weasleys' youngest daughter?

Once the last young wizard had taken his place, Felix said, "Next, we need to practice in groups. You can choose your own partners, preferably from the same grade."

The young wizards sprang into action again, and Felix and Snape stepped off the stage to tidy up the chaotic ranks.

"Two people per group, five meters apart."

Snape, like a gliding bat, silently floated behind Harry and Ron, who were chatting happily. Snape rolled up his sleeves and gave them both a hard slap on the head. "Pay attention, you two."

Harry and Ron grimaced as they watched Snape's departing figure. Ron asked, puzzled, "How does he manage to walk without making a sound?"

Five minutes later, the young wizards lined up in an orderly fashion.

"Everyone look at me, and chant the spell with me," Felix said as he returned to the stage. "Be careful not to point your wand at your partner. Swing the wand in a small arc, then thrust it out quickly, like this—"

"Disarm you!"

On the stage, a dazzling red light, like a scorching bolt of lightning, flew out from Professor Hyp's wand.

The young wizards lined up in four directions below the stage shouted in unison, "Expelliarmus!"

"Very good, continue."

"Disarm you!"

"Watch the angle of your wands, continue!"

"Disarm you!"

"Very good," Felix said, "Next is the theoretical knowledge about spells. I'll only cover the most important points..."

About twenty minutes later, the young wizards were waving their wands quite skillfully, but still none of them succeeded.

Felix and Snape whispered to each other for a moment, then he said, "Young wizards, take out the parchment we just gave you."

The young wizards, bewildered, took out the parchment.

"Professor Snape and I exchanged views. Your questions mainly focus on the following seven points, which I will explain in detail. Please check them against your own questions."

"Balk, please come up on stage. I need your cooperation."

After speaking for twenty minutes, Felix was a little thirsty, but he knew in his heart that his words would only work on some top students, while most young wizards would learn magic mainly through "feeling" and "repetition".

So for the next half hour, he and Snape kept weaving through the crowd, giving specific instructions.

"Miss Pete, your thrust of the wand was not decisive enough. Think about my demonstration just now, and then look at the seventh line on the parchment."

"Mr. Warren, your spell pronunciation is not standard. Yes, spells are not necessary, but you need to practice them before you can use them properly."

"This...you're Naveen Longbottom? You're too nervous. Confidence is important! Imagine yourself successfully casting the spell. Yes, I suggest you imagine it twenty times in your mind."

Every ten minutes, he would call on a few typical examples of mistakes to demonstrate. Felix found that demonstrating mistakes was more effective than demonstrating correct ones—at least, many young wizards realized they had made the same mistakes after laughing.

Of course, the young wizards who were ridiculed also received bonus points as compensation.

"Thank you, Neville, your question is very representative. Also, five points for Gryffindor."

"And you, Miss Vera, your movements are too stiff. Don't laugh, everyone. If Miss Vera were to show even a tenth of her talent in ancient runes, she would absolutely amaze you. Ravenclaw, five points."

"Marcus... Anyway, don't imitate him. We should at least thank him for his courage. Slytherin, five points."

Felix wiped his sweat. Guiding questions wasn't scary; what was scary was how to protect the young wizards' self-esteem as much as possible and find ways to praise them.

"I should prepare a list of compliments and write down all the reasons I can think of. That way I won't have to come up with them on the spot..."

Finally, an hour and a half after the dueling class began, a fifth-grade wizard succeeded.