A Professor of Magic at Hogwarts
Chapter 652: Wonders - (1)

On the final weekend of February, in the Ancient Magic Office, an owl delivered the day's edition of "The Daily Prophet" to Felix.

Felix unfolded the newspaper, and on the sixth page, the headline of the international news read: "American Wizarding Congress Declares Temporary Abandonment of Exclusive Wands, Mute Groups Storm Woolworth Building." After carefully reading through, he found there was much more the reporter hadn't covered.

The survival environment for wizards in the Americas differed greatly from Europe and Africa.

For instance, the British Ministry of Magic chose to maintain a direct line of communication with the Muggle Prime Minister during significant events, a practice other European countries' magical ministries followed suit. On the other hand, Africa presented a different scenario: due to prevalent local mystical cultures and slow information dissemination, many wizards there operated semi-openly under guises like "witch doctors," "shamans," or "diviners"—a phenomenon present in Britain as well, albeit far less brazen.

The consequence of practicing magic openly could result in becoming the second Carlotta Pinkstone. Thus, Felix and Ms. Bones believed that if the magical world were to be forced into openness, the likelihood of issues arising in America and Africa would far surpass that of Europe.

Hence, Ms. Bones had already tasked the British representative to the International Confederation of Wizards with submitting a warning proposal.

During this period, Felix had also faced criticism, as "the invention of exclusive wands would further burden an already struggling secrecy effort," and it was no surprise that the American Wizarding Congress, the most unstable magical environment domestically, was the first to make such a decision.

At least more magical ministries from other countries were cautiously accepting the concept of exclusive wands, which was enough for him.

The chaos within the American Wizarding Congress had long been brewing.

For instance, recently, Milerva had hosted many American wizarding families; these parents hoped to enroll their children at Hogwarts, and they themselves were prepared to relocate to Britain.

"The Noels are just the most sensitive to smell, perhaps the most timid," Felix remarked.

According to information Felix had obtained from her, such occurrences weren't uncommon; during the First Wizarding War, many British wizards sought refuge abroad, and smuggling activities were rampant during that time.

Because it was much easier for wizards to travel from one end of the Earth to the other than it was for Muggles.

In Felix's view, many wizards actually had no sense of distance; traveling abroad—from Britain to France or America—took nearly the same time, just a turn of a key, with the only reminder of the difference being the galleons they spent.

It wasn't until after the war that these wizarding families returned to Britain, but some chose to stay abroad.

Now, the American Wizarding Congress, the Reform Society, and various factions were gearing up for heated discussions, even spilling over to the International Confederation of Wizards, much to the chagrin of the newly appointed Chairman of the Confederation.

Felix hadn't expected to be at the center of this event.

Valen lay by the specially made meditation basin, curiously eyeing the silver substance inside. Holding an exclusive wand, it glanced at Felix alertly. Seeing no reaction from Felix, it tentatively stirred the thoughts inside with the wand tip.

A young voice with a slight echo emerged:

"I don't disrespect Hagrid, Professor Dumbledore. I just feel... his keeping of the Acromantulas in the castle is too risky. I'm a prefect."

Valen was somewhat surprised and quickly withdrew the exclusive wand. The silver substance in the meditation basin faintly swirled, and another voice came from within. Valen's shiny eyes widened; despite the echo, it could discern that it was the Dark Lord speaking.

"...I heard you're looking for the legendary Chamber of Secrets? It's quite messy in there. I'm planning to turn it into an amusement park. Don't you agree that Hogwarts students' entertainment options are lacking? What do you like..."

Felix glanced out the window, then glanced at the mark on the calendar. He ticked off March 10th and stood up to stretch his neck.

"Let's go, Valen. Let's take a stroll in the Great Hall and see the students' achievements over the past half-month. If we're lucky, maybe we'll catch some Apparition!" he lazily said. "One of my students managed to barely master Disapparition in just a few days... frightening."

...

Harry had been discharged earlier in the day. When he firmly shook off Mrs. Pomfrey's fussing and returned to the common room, he was surprised to find few familiar faces.

"Harry, you're out of the hospital?" said a member of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, with delight. He announced loudly, "Hey! Everyone, welcome back our 'Ghostly Captain' to the team." The people in the common room gave a round of applause, and Beater Perkins whistled loudly.

"Where is everyone else?" Harry asked.

"They're in the Great Hall for the Apparition lessons," he replied.

Harry thanked him and waved to Perkins and Demelza Robins in the distance, then made a round of the dormitories, finding them empty. He was somewhat perplexed to find a Certificate of Disapparition on his bed, along with a small bag of galleons—twelve, to be exact. He knew it was the refund for the Disapparition class he had signed up for earlier.

Harry felt a bit surprised. Did it take the Ministry a whole year to remember to send them their certificates? Couldn't they just mail them directly? He figured if he had received his, Ron and Hermione surely had theirs already.

He entered the Great Hall, where students were gathered in groups, chatting. Hundreds of practice hoops were placed on the floor.

Harry looked around, but couldn't spot a single professor. What was going on? At least he saw familiar faces. He approached, just in time to hear Ron sharing his experience with practicing Disapparition.

Hermione and Neville were also there, as was Ginny, who seemed visibly uncomfortable.

"...The more you fear, the worse it gets, really! I've had several serious splinching incidents while learning Disapparition... Yes, Professor Snape helped once or twice, but afterwards, we had to figure it out ourselves, like losing an eyebrow or getting a small cut..."

"It's indeed quite challenging," Ron said. "I always struggle with the direction... Harry is really good at this."

To maintain their newly restored friendship, Ron generously praised Harry, knowing that the next topic of conversation would usually be "The Hundred Exciting Disapparitions of the Weasleys."

"Harry!" Ginny exclaimed, jumping up to hug him. "We were just talking about going to see you later."

"I really don't want to stay until Easter," Harry whispered.

Then he felt somewhat embarrassed as he noticed people around them showing a keen interest.

"I remember, Harry used consecutive Disapparition to retrieve the Golden Egg from under the dragon's protection," Padma Patil said.

"I thought it was a coincidence," another student remarked.

"Of course, it's not a coincidence. Harry is particularly good at this!" Ron became more enthusiastic after seeing Harry, and continued, "Remember when I used Disapparition combined with the Stunning Hex to defeat Nona Lebert in the Triwizard Tournament? Disapparition is an advanced dueling technique even among the Auror ranks."

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