A Professor of Magic at Hogwarts

Chapter 52: Persuasion and Research

"The prejudices of the human heart are like great mountains, Harry."

...

As Harry stumbled out of the Ancient Runes office, the words of Professor Harp echoed in his mind.

Two hours prior, he had attempted to dispel the professor's "terrifying" idea, but now, clutching a scroll of magical runes, he found himself contemplating how to translate the sinister language of "Parseltongue."

He even believed he might be benefiting the entire wizarding world.

"Harry, I think Professor Harp has a valid point. A person's innate abilities aren't crucial; what matters is the path they choose," remarked Ron, who had been listening to the entire conversation.

"Moreover," Ron added, his eyes gleaming with envy as he looked at the magical puppet in Harry's hand, "Professor Harp's gift is quite lavish." The puppet had ice-blue hair and was one of Professor Harp's most prized possessions.

It was the price Professor Harp had paid for the exchange—a puppet of the highest caliber from his personal collection. According to him, this puppet could "easily defeat a seventh-year graduate."

Harry's thoughts rewound two hours...

"Harry, we often label others and unfamiliar things too easily, but once we gain some understanding, we realize this approach is quite one-sided. Take Albus Dumbledore, for example. He accomplished much during his tenure, yet all people seem to remember are some absurd rumors, twisted by those with ulterior motives..."

Professor Harp summoned the book "Albus Dumbledore: Genius or Fool?" from the table. It flipped open with a "swish" to a page in the middle, revealing its contents to the three.

"Headmaster Dumbledore improved Hogwarts' regulations, abolished most forms of punishment... Additionally, he declined the Dark Lord's job offer, sparing Hogwarts' students from his influence. This is the general view, but is it truly so? With the aim of uncovering the truth, the author delves into a different logic—one hidden in obscured history, steeped in political intrigue..."

Felix Harp calmly interjected, "This book, riddled with lies and distorted facts, has been on the bestseller list for quite some time."

Harry felt a strong aversion towards the woman named "Rita Skeeter" and a shared empathy for Headmaster Dumbledore's plight—they both were misunderstood, he just happened to be due to Parseltongue.

Fueled by a sense of camaraderie, he swiftly agreed to Professor Harp's proposal. Thus, Professor Harp handed him a dictionary and instructed him to translate accordingly.

Ron and Hermione looked on with curiosity. After their initial shock, they became intensely interested in the matter at hand. In Ron's words, "This is the process of unveiling Parseltongue; we're witnessing history!"

Yet, the process wasn't easy. Harry opened the dictionary to the first page, hesitated for a while, and struggled to utter a single word.

"Professor, I can't do it."

Felix considered for a moment. "Your Parseltongue isn't proficient, perhaps it lacks direct stimulation." He waved his wand, casting a Detect-Feedback spell on the magical dictionary.

As a result, whenever someone read the book, they felt as though they were face to face with a snake.

Now, Harry quickly got into the groove. Skipping the first two useless words, he emitted a hoarse, eerie sound that startled Ron and Hermione beside him.

"That sound is wicked." Ron shivered, a chill running down his spine.

"It's serious magical research, Ron." Hermione was also quite shaken.

"Which word is it?" Felix inquired.

Harry pointed to the third word on the dictionary page, "It's this one, 'away'."

"How many sounds can you produce from this page?"

Harry tried again, his finger moving on the dictionary, and the other three were able to gauge his progress.

However, in the following moments, Harry was either struggling to speak, his face contorted, or his mouth produced ordinary English words. Ron had to remind him more than once, "Harry, you're speaking human language," and "Harry, we can understand you."

It wasn't until the last word on this page that Harry finally spoke in Parseltongue, "This word is 'eat'," he exclaimed excitedly, "I'm familiar with this one, heard it on Halloween."

Felix Harp rested his chin on his fingers, "So, on this page, more precisely, spanning both pages, there are 23 words, and only two can be converted into serpent language."

"Professor, what does this mean?" Harry inquired.

"Ah, the languages of animals are always less elaborate than humans', and they tend to be vague. For example, the concept of 'eat' has a dozen similar terms for us, which is quite rare in the languages of other intelligent creatures."

Felix pondered for a moment, "Let's pause for now; I need to modify the dictionary."

The three followed Professor Harp to a workbench, an expansive concave table with a smooth wooden surface waxed to a shine.

From Harry's perspective, Professor Harp tapped and pointed his wand at the dictionary, creating a variety of colored lights. The professor alternated between silence and murmuring to himself, and after ten minutes, he stopped.

"Professor?" Harry was about to ask what he had done, but he was left speechless.

The words on the dictionary suddenly came to life.

Quite literally, the pages took on a gentle yellow hue, rippling with concentric circles like water. The headings of each word began to twist and turn, as if gaining hands and feet. Then, they struggled out of the dictionary and materialized in a three-dimensional world.

The dictionary then rapidly flipped its pages, "heading words" were flung out, landing on the workbench. Hollow black lines wavered and danced, creating an animated scene. In less than a minute, there were thousands of them.

This scene was incredibly awe-inspiring; two-dimensional objects had suddenly entered the real world.

"Professor, am I dreaming?" Harry asked, bewildered.

"This is magic," Felix Harp stated calmly.

A strong gleam erupted in Hermione's eyes; this was magic. She had always thought of magic as tangible things: spells, potions, or moving portraits. But Professor Harp showed her through action that magic was capable of far more than she had imagined.

Magic was the unknown, a realm of endless possibilities.

Felix Harp glanced at the "army of words" before him with satisfaction. Temporarily activated, they floated in the air. He gave his wand a swift flourish, and a suitcase in the corner "pop" opened, releasing sheets of parchment.

Felix raised his wand and drew a circle, connecting them. Under the influence of his magic, the sheets stuck together.

Then, Felix Harp's wand tapped the tabletop. The "word army" on the workbench merged into the parchment, forming distinct letters in an orderly arrangement.

Once this was done, the long parchment, or rather, the parchment scroll, coiled itself up, transforming into a magical scroll.

"Snap!"

It landed on the workbench.

"Here you go, Harry. Fortunately, I'm familiar with some obscure magic," Felix Harp said with a smile.

"How do I use this, Professor?"

"It can store your Parseltongue pronunciation—of course, before using it, you need to tap the corresponding content with your wand. Also, I've removed some English vocabulary; you see, there are tens of thousands of words in the dictionary, but many are utterly useless."

So, in the remaining time, Harry unrolled the scroll, translating word by word—this time the progress was much faster.

In the office, every few seconds, a hoarse, eerie sound would fill the air.

Ron and Hermione transitioned from initial discomfort to getting used to it, and finally to numbness, all in less than an hour.

At nine o'clock, Professor Harp escorted the three out. "Harry, you can find a private place to record these, and if you encounter any issues, feel free to come to me."

Then he turned to Hermione, "Tomorrow's Magical Runes class is temporarily canceled; I have some urgent matters to attend to."

"I need to meet someone," the professor stated.

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