Harry Potter: A Certain Ancient Rune Professor of Hogwarts (TL)

“Come in.” Felix said.

The two sat across from each other on the couch, and a plate of small snacks and two glasses of pumpkin juice automatically floated to the small table.

“Oh, thanks.” Hermione said, “Professor Hap, I haven’t thanked you for the beautiful Easter eggs you sent.”

She didn’t have many friends, and the Easter chocolate eggs she received were basically limited to her parents, roommates, Harry, and Ron.

“It’s nothing, as long as you like it,” Felix said politely, he mail-ordered a batch from the candy store and gave them to people close to him, such as professors, students, and close pen pals with whom he had close ties during Hogwarts in the past.

In his mind, it’s a social politeness.

He didn’t put much thought into it other than to include a handwritten greeting card – one should not expect the cafeteria eaters to be skilled at making Easter eggs.

“Miss Granger, do you have any questions about your third year course selection? And, um, you should consult Professor McGonagall regarding this issue.”

“I will speak with Professor McGonagall tomorrow.” Hermione nodded and took a deep breath and said, “Actually, I ticked all the courses … despite the fact that some people said there would be a time conflict, but as far as I know, Percy, Ron’s brother, took all the courses in his third year.”

“Percy Weasley?” Felix blinked, “He did excel in Ancient Runes.”

“I didn’t want to drop any of the courses, I mean-” she said slowly, “If someone can do it, why can’t I?”

It dawned upon Felix, “So, you want to find out from me what’s the secret here?”

“Yes, Professor, if it is convenient for you to reveal it.”

“Well, this is a semi-open secret among the professors, but they all try not to reveal it to other students, and have to conceal it in many ways … Of course, some smart people will certainly be able to find the anomaly.”

“You may be one of them, aren’t you? Or do you personally have a first-hand experience in this secret, like Percy?” Hermione eased her breathing and looked at Felix expectantly.

“Unfortunately, I also inquired about it later. I didn’t choose Muggle Studies and Arithmancy when I was in school, which made me miss out on this precious opportunity.” He said with a melancholic look.

“You didn’t even choose Muggle Studies?” She looked at Felix incredulously.

“Yeah, I thought the class is purely a waste of time at that time. No one could have imagined that I would later become an expert on muggle-related issues.”

Hermione thought to herself, “I didn’t expect that either, that’s crazy, but professor you originally came from the muggle world, right?”

“So, the hidden secret is-”

“The Time-Turner, which allows you to go back a couple of hours.”

“Back in time?” Hermione looked at him with a shocked expression, “But, but Professor, how is that possible!”

“Otherwise, how would any student pick two courses that conflict with each other?” Felix asked rhetorically.

Hermione couldn’t speak.

She heard Professor Hap continue, “I have not examined this exquisite magical artefact and do not know its mechanism. But from what has been made public, the Ministry of Magic is extremely strict about the use of Time-Turner, with hundreds of laws in place for this cause and the harshest penalties for abuse.”

“Then why do students-”

“Strict guarantees and screening are required, Miss Granger. Out of sight, and unseen by others, with successive Headmasters of Hogwarts – now Dumbledore – vouch for it on their name, while Professor McGonagall has to write various kinds of letters proving that the user is an absolutely model student to guarantee that it won’t be used for anything other than studies.”

Hermione suddenly thought of one of Percy’s nicknames – Model Percy.

“So, if it’s your application, Professor McGonagall won’t refuse it, I think,” Felix reassured her.

If his assistant got the Time-Turner, maybe he would have a chance to do some research? But Felix viewed this sudden impulse cautiously, from the far less information, all he saw were dangerous cases of misuse of the Time-Turner.

The Time-Turner is not dangerous, the danger lies in some smart ass playing with time.

Hermione left contentedly.

Before leaving, Professor Hap cautioned her, “Do not reveal the existence of the Time-Turner to anyone, it will make things very difficult for Professor McGonagall and will be a great threat to the user.”

…

The other second-year young wizards were also worried about course selection at this time, after all, it would practically affect their future – after this selection, the range of subjects for the OWLs and NEWTs exams were basically determined.

Every young wizard has his or her own way –

Students who come from wizard families discuss this in detail with their relatives, but sometimes it has the opposite effect. Neville, for example, got somewhat overwhelmed and confused when some of his relatives wrote to him with various conflicting suggestions.

“Do you think that Arithmancy and Divination are more difficult to learn than the ancient runes?” When Hermione returned, she saw Neville asking Harry’s opinion in the common room.

“Uh … maybe?” Harry said vaguely, a form for course selection and course information in his hand.

Ron tapped Neville on the shoulder, “Mate, of course, you’re taking Ancient Runes class!”

Neville said shakily, “My memory’s not good, Professor Snape said–”

“Hey, don’t listen to him, he doesn’t have any good words in his mouth,” Ron said in a mysteriously lowered voice: “I’ll tell you a secret, Professor Hap is the strongest among all the professors, as long as you become his student, Snape will never dare to bully you again.”

“But, but, Professor Hap is Snape’s student ah ~”

Ron stammered, and stuttered, “Maybe they don’t get along.” He saw Hermione walk in and immediately looked towards her for support, “Hermione, you should understand, right?”

“I don’t see any evidence that the two professors don’t get along!”

Ron resentfully sat back in his chair.

Harry looked usked Hermione: “Did you get any suggestions from Professor Hap?”

“I didn’t ask any advice about choosing a course, I just had some questions …” She thought of Felix’s warning to her, and she vaguely brushed over the subject.

Percy is more willing to give advice to the underclassmen, and his voice reaches their ears as he is surrounded by a group of people: “It has to do with your plans for the future; if you love the outdoors, you can boldly choose the Care of Magical Creatures class; if you are keen on calculating and solving puzzles, you can choose Arithmancy, and Divination; personally, I highly recommend Ancient Runes class, Professor Hap has brought this course a whole new meaning to it.”

The young wizards were all in agreement, the golems all over the school made them envious.

“… Some people will tell you that muggle studies is idiotic, but personally, I think wizards should have a thorough understanding of non-magical societies, especially since you aren’t sure if you’ll be working in a job that is closely tied to muggles. As an extra note, Professor Hap is also an expert in this area!”

“As for the divination class, I also highly recommend you take it for a very simple reason. If you have the gift for prophecy, this class will change your life; even if you don’t, divination class is the easiest subject to pass.”

The young wizards left thoughtfully.

Harry also experienced something, he is pondering a question at this moment, what do I want to do in the future?

If it came to what he is best at, it is undoubtedly Quidditch, but he is not sure that he would become a professional Quidditch player.

In the end, after discussing it with Ron, he picked the usual classes – Care of Magical Creatures, Divination, and Ancient Runes- as his new classes.

He figured that if these classes proved taxing to learn, at least there would be someone willing to be helpful and friendly there.

Dean, who also grew up around muggles, told the two of them, “I chose it with my eyes closed, except for Ancient Runes.”

The other students also tend to put Ancient Runes as their first choice because of Felix’s wide influence.

There will be a huge surprise waiting for him at the beginning of the next academic year.