[Chapter Size: 1800 Words.]
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There would be a party on Christmas Eve, although there weren't many people at the school.
Suddenly, the entire castle seemed empty, as over 80% of the students had disappeared. Even the library, usually the busiest place, was now empty, with only Harry and Ron present.
The two were debating whether they should complete the task Hermione had assigned them.
Before leaving Hogwarts, Hermione had given them instructions to continue searching for information about the Philosopher's Stone, the restricted section of the library.
This surprised Ron so much that he even suspected he was hallucinating.
Although, since the troll incident, Hermione had not been as strict with the school rules, no longer mentioning them all the time. But this was the first time Hermione had said something that violated the school's rules.
Harry felt a great sense of accomplishment, an indescribable pleasure in causing trouble for a good girl like Hermione.
However, while it was fun to lead Hermione, a good girl, toward mischief, the task she had left for them was giving Harry a headache.
How could it be so easy to get into the restricted book section?
There were portraits guarding both sides of the restricted area, just like the portraits at the entrance of the Gryffindor common room. If you passed without permission, the portraits would scream and alert Madame Pince, and then the troublemaker would be punished in various ways.
Harry had seen people in such trouble before and had no intention of learning from their situation.
And to be honest, he didn't care that much about the Philosopher's Stone anymore. After all, it had been a long time. So long that Harry had almost forgotten about it. If it weren't for the weekly Potions class and the occasional encounter with the scowling Snape in the hallways, Harry might have forgotten entirely.
Unless he learned the Disillusionment Charm or the Invisibility Charm and became invisible, he wouldn't be able to sneak past the guards of the two portraits.
In fact, Harry was quite interested in both of these spells. However, even though the Invisibility Charm was a very basic spell in Neil's memory, Harry couldn't manage to learn it no matter how hard he tried. As for the Disillusionment Charm, he hadn't found any way to practice it at school.
Harry tried asking the twins and found out that they had been using these spells for over two years.
Harry understood that completely. If the twins knew these spells, they wouldn't get caught by the professors or even by Filch now and then, and wouldn't be punished in various ways while Harry and the others watched with smiles on their faces.
Well, it was nice to see others having bad luck, especially with smaller misfortunes.
After struggling for most of the day, Harry and Ron still hadn't managed to get into the restricted section.
"Forget it, Snape seems to be quiet lately…"
That's how Harry and Ron comforted themselves.
At night, before dinner, Harry and Ron arrived at the hall excited. Less than fifty students remained at the school, most of them from Hufflepuff and Gryffindor. There weren't even any Slytherins.
Christmas means something completely different to witches and wizards than to Muggles. Harry had casually skimmed through the relevant information during his time in the library over the past two days. The wizarding Christmas had nothing to do with Christianity.
Although Christianity's attempt to hunt witches had been the subject of jokes among wizards for hundreds of years, this had not made them feel positively about Christianity.
They celebrated this season, which was more about the rebirth of all things and the New Year. It also came from the ancient Roman festival of Saturnalia, so wizarding Christmas also had Christmas trees and Christmas presents.
Since this festival has some significance for wizards, most pure-blood families will have related activities. According to Ron, wizarding families, especially those with pure-blood heritage, often hold feasts during this time.
The Weasleys had participated in the early years, but after the birth of the fourth and fifth children, Fred and George, expenses became tight, and there was no money left for proper gifts or outfits, so they gradually stopped attending.
Ron had only heard Bill and Charlie talking about it, and even Percy rarely attended such gatherings.
Even though the Weasleys didn't attend, other wizarding families still did. Therefore, almost all the Slytherin and Ravenclaw students had to go home. There would be more Gryffindor and Hufflepuff students, mostly from Muggle-born or half-blood families, who would remain at the school.
Harry didn't care much about that. All that mattered to him was dinner.
Although the standard of food and drink at Hogwarts was generally very high, at least Harry thought so, every time there was a festive banquet, another level of standards was reached. For example, ice cream, cream pudding, and jelly were rarely available during the week but were abundant during festivals.
When they excitedly arrived at the hall door, they bumped into a teacher, which was common, but somewhat unexpected.
This was a professor. Harry and Ron were both stunned when they saw her.
She was a very beautiful professor, with long brown hair casually tied in a ponytail behind her. This professor's hair was long and straight, like a waterfall.
Her eyes were also brown, and combined with her almost perfect features, Harry was stunned for a moment.
"Good evening, Professor Babbling!" Ron was the first to react and greeted her quickly.
"Good evening, Professor," Harry also reacted and quickly greeted her.
"Good evening, Mr. Weasley, Mr. Potter." The beautiful professor nodded. Her voice was ethereal and lacked emotion, just like her expression at that moment, which was distant and indifferent.
After saying hello, the professor calmly entered through the door and into the hall.
Harry had met this professor at the Opening Ceremony, but he didn't know what subject she taught at the time. Also, since he had noticed the annoying Snape at that moment, he hadn't bothered to ask.
He didn't expect that after that he wouldn't see this professor again for several months. Harry had almost forgotten about her, but unexpectedly, he saw her again today.
Entering the Great Hall with Ron and sitting at the long table, Harry didn't even bother to observe the dinner, which was much smaller in quantity but much richer in variety. Instead, he looked at the professors' seats.
Sure enough, he saw the beautiful professor sitting next to Madame Hooch and Professor McGonagall. Madame Hooch and Professor McGonagall were talking about something, with the former occasionally bursting into laughter.
The beautiful professor seemed very calm the entire time, speaking incoherently while eating.
"What was the name of that professor you just mentioned?" Harry couldn't help but ask Ron, who was smiling while eating a fried, golden lamb chop next to him.
"Huh?" Ron was stunned for a moment, then answered, "You mean Professor Babbling?"
"What?" Harry didn't hear clearly because Ron's mouth was full of food.
"Professor Bathsheda Babbling." Ron swallowed the lamb chop and spoke clearly. "She teaches Ancient Runes, an elective course for third years and above. They say it's the only subject in the school that's harder than Transfiguration."
"Ancient Runes?" Harry was stunned.
Runes, also known as magical runes, are the most common language used in magical spells. Ancient Runes, as the name suggests, are ancient magical words.
Harry had read about it in a book. It was a very complex, deep, and boring subject. He hadn't expected this professor to actually teach this course.
"How have I never seen this professor before?" Harry asked casually as he grabbed a piece of smoked sturgeon and ate it.
"I haven't seen her either. This is the first time. I've heard she only appears in the classroom, and no one can find her at other times. Oh, it seems I occasionally see her in Professor McGonagall's office," Ron said indifferently.
"So how do you know her?" Harry asked, curious.
"Percy said so," Ron explained.
"Percy chose Ancient Runes. He wants to work at the Ministry of Magic after graduation, and this course will give him extra points. Percy once said that if he found a very beautiful professor at school, it would definitely be Professor Babbling. I don't think anyone else at the school could be described as very beautiful."
Harry nodded in agreement. Indeed, while there were several younger professors and teaching assistants at the school, there were many beautiful ones. But Harry felt that the only one who could be called very beautiful was Professor Babbling.
"Ancient Runes class?"
Harry thought he might consider taking that elective when he reached third year!
However, while Professor Babbling ate very gracefully and elegantly, she still ate very quickly. She finished her meal in no time, said goodbye to Professor McGonagall and Madame Hooch, and left.
Back in his room, Harry had trouble getting into a meditative state. After a while, he finally got into a meditative state, Harry returned to the completely white room.
This time, Harry did something he had been thinking about all day.
He touched almost everything in the room. Unfortunately, almost everything was just for show. The TV couldn't be turned on, the game console couldn't be played, and even the tables and chairs couldn't be moved.
Frowning, Harry finally turned his attention to the silver lights scattered on the walls like stars.
"What is this?"
As a Gryffindor, Harry had a daring soul. He reached out and touched the shining silver star.
The next moment, Harry felt a sharp pain in his head, followed by pain that spread throughout his body. Harry snapped out of his meditation almost instantly, writhing slightly in his bed but unable to make the slightest sound.
Ron, who was meditating, or sleeping, on the bed next to him, didn't notice Harry's abnormal condition.
"What's happening?"
The severe pain throughout his body, especially in his head, made Harry's expression twist in a grimace. However, the pain seemed to have overwhelmed his nervous system, and he could no longer control his body.
It seemed like minutes, but it also felt like hours.
The pain disappeared as suddenly as it had come.
Harry let out a long sigh, feeling his entire body drenched in sweat. There was a bright golden light before his eyes, and he felt dizzy. He didn't even have time to remove his sticky clothes before falling into a deep sleep.
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