A Professor of Magic at Hogwarts-Chapter 733: Side Story - Valen

The exclusive Wandlore Academy is located on the northeastern corner of a floating island. Beyond the standard teaching facilities and buildings, what makes it unique is a group of statues within the school grounds, dedicated to commemorating the first individuals who received their exclusive wands and changed their destinies. Among these, the most eye-catching is a statue of a Niffler holding a wand, named Valen.

Valen is possibly the most famous Niffler in the academy, and perhaps even among magical creatures, because it starred in a series of 'instructional videos' at the academy's inception. Thousands of wizards, insensitive to magical powers, learned about the functionalities and suitability of exclusive wands through lessons from a Niffler.

"I've met Valen a few times," Winnie Warrenton shared in class, "It performed tasks with its exclusive wand that I had never imagined possible, vastly expanding the scenarios and value of using exclusive wands."

"There are no fewer than ten global research topics inspired by or centered around it, the most influential being the 'Magic Reactivation Theory,' which explores whether dormant magical powers can be reactivated through learning and practice, making them like those of a normal wizard. There are rumors that Valen has overcome its dependence on the exclusive wand, though this has yet to be confirmed…"

"What if it's confirmed?" a student asked.

"It would mean it's possibly the smartest Niffler ever, surpassing the intellectual capacity of the twelve thousand low-magic wizards involved in the research... Now, if you don't mind, let's continue our lesson. By the way, Valen is also literate, having written an article for 'The Daily Prophet,' though it was rejected. However, the article was later published in 'The Quibbler.' You might have heard of it, 'Life on Mars Diary.'"

Behind the academy, there lives a family of Nifflers, born from the same litter as Valen. Every week, scientists in white coats come to exchange shiny trinkets for ten to twenty minutes of research time. Unfortunately, these Nifflers haven't shown any exceptional intelligence, except they are all quite good at playing Exploding Snap. Or any other card game, for that matter.

Today, two uninvited guests arrived at the school.

"Albus, I have a secret to share with you," Scorpius said as they walked on the moist soil, the bamboo forest echoing with the crisp sound of birdsong.

"I'm listening," Albus replied.

"Dad's been restless these past few days—" "Oh," Albus lowered his head, kicking the ground softly, "I guess it's because of my dad, he raided Malfoy Manor…" "It's unrelated," Scorpius interjected. "It's about a man named 'Nott.' Dad has been uneasy ever since he heard that the Ministry detained him for investigation and searched his house. I found this in dad's office."

He pulled out a golden time-turner, with Albus staring blankly at the delicate hourglass embedded in the center.

"What is this?"

Scorpius took a deep breath, "A Time-Turner."

"A Time—What?"

"It allows one to travel through time," Scorpius explained excitedly. "However, the previous Minister for Magic suspended all research on it, and the files from a department I can't name were archived. I learned all this from my dad's notes. I guess if we can find and defeat the person who cursed my mom, her illness might be cured."

"But we're only—" Albus counted on his fingers, "five years old."

"Yeah," Scorpius said dejectedly. "We can make a promise, to use this thing to travel back in time once we're capable—say, in ten years—to find the person who cursed the Greengrass family and defeat him."

"It's a deal," Albus said.

Their fingers hooked together, both grinning foolishly, satisfied with their pact. Then they heard a "whoosh" and "chitter-chatter" not far off, sounding more like magical creatures than people.

Albus and Scorpius exchanged glances, cautiously moving towards the sounds. Pushing through a particularly tall bush, they discovered a dip in the ground and gasped in surprise. It seemed they had stumbled upon a Niffler nest, where a dozen Nifflers were frolicking in an area covered with bamboo leaves. Some were smaller, with patches of pink and grey fur, and at the center was a small table (or what appeared to be one), where three Nifflers were playing cards, with a significant pile of shiny metal pieces beside one of them.

"It's Wizard's Chess," Albus noted, watching the apparitions emerging from the table.

"The game is the recent trend, 'Defeat the Dark Lord.' Look, it's two against one," Scorpi

us said.

The two lay on the ground, engrossed in the game. Being only five, their thoughts weren't complicated. "The Dark Lord's cards are awesome!" "Which one?" "The one with fur as smooth as velvet satin," Albus commented before suddenly feeling something was amiss. The light overhead seemed to brighten.

Looking up, they saw a Niffler cub waking from its sleep, yawning halfway through, and staring right back at them, or rather, at the glowing Time-Turner in Scorpius's hand.

"This is bad," Scorpius murmured.

"What do we do?" Albus asked.

"Run!"

At the same time, the Niffler cub sounded an alarm, and all the Nifflers stopped their play, turning their heads in unison towards one side, including those burrowing out of their holes. Could it be that treasure had come to them on its own? All the Nifflers—except for Valen—were fixated with bright eyes; they were all quite poor, especially when Valen visited.

Valen, not pleased, turned away. It was about to win again, for the hundred and fortieth... time (?) against its two brothers, relishing the feeling of cleaning them out. After the robbery, it would organize a treasure hunt, going easy on them as they were both naive, bearing no grudges or memories of the loss.

In their view, two small children, shorter than the bushes, were stumbling up the slope, one of them holding something that flickered with light.

A real treasure? Valen pondered, finding it somewhat familiar.

Albus and Scorpius had run a distance, panting heavily, but the slight rustling of branches and bamboo leaves behind them not only persisted but seemed to draw closer. Albus caught a glimpse of a black shadow overtaking them.

"What now?"

"Climb a tree!"

Without time to consider if it was feasible, neither wanting to run any further, they chose a holly tree, about a meter in diameter, covered in knots. Helping each other, they scrambled up, Albus reaching the nearest branch with Scorpius's aid, too exhausted to speak.

Scorpius nudged Albus, and they looked down together.

A dozen Nifflers, covered in black fur, stared up at them intently, then one particularly noticeable Niffler pushed through the crowd, swaggering to stand beneath the tree, looking up at Albus and Scorpius.

That Niffler was, of course, Valen. It fixed its gaze on the Time-Turner in Scorpius's hand, its flat mouth wide open.

"They want the Time-Turner!" Scorpius shouted.

"Don't worry," Albus reassured, "I have a trace on me. Dad will come looking for us. In theory, we just need to hide in the tree until night—"

"I'm not as optimistic as you," Scorpius interjected. "For instance, I'm not entirely sure if Nifflers can climb trees?"

Albus was stumped by the question, having never considered it. He hesitated, "They shouldn't—" but then saw a reddish-brown Niffler cub clambering up the tree, shaking its round body, and immediately fell silent, his expression turning to terror.

Valen slapped the climbing Niffler, handing it a piece of candy as a distraction. Then, with a thoughtful expression, it pulled out a mirror phone from its pocket. Several Nifflers crowded around, their eyes gleaming at the glowing mirror. Valen, eyeing them sidelong, now held a small stick, seemingly ready to strike.

The mirror phone connected, and Valen chattered away, hanging up satisfied. After all this, it stared at the two kids in the tree, bored. It took out a jar of candies, and Albus and Scorpius swallowed hard.

"Here," Scorpius said, deftly catching a candy in mid-air and handing it to Albus.

"No, it's your turn," Albus replied, eyeing the Nifflers below. That Niffler was too cunning, casually tossing candies into the air. He hadn't even noticed the man who appeared not far away, seemingly out of nowhere. When he spoke, both boys jumped.

"You can come down now. It's better for everyone," Felix said.

Albus almost fell from the tree, while Scorpius choked on the candy in his mouth, turning red-faced in panic. Felix pointed a finger, and Scorpius's expression quickly eased. Albus, while patting Scorpius's back, asked, "Who are you?"

"Oh, sorry, forgot to introduce myself. Felix Harp," Felix said, gesturing towards the holly tree, "The curse of being famous, assuming everyone knows who I am."

Albus and Scorpius had certainly heard the name but hadn't connected the dots, though they had no time for surprise. The holly tree beneath them bent to one side, taking them with it. The rough bark became as smooth as a slide, and they slid uncontrollably down. As they neared the ground, hundreds of branches grew wildly, entwining to form a bench. Felix sat on one end, speaking to Valen with his head lowered.

"Oh... really? Well, alright then."

After their conversation, both looked towards the somewhat uneasy Albus and Scorpius. Albus, mustering courage, asked, "Hello? Are you really Harp—uh, Professor? Sir? Headmaster?"

"Mr. or Professor works, Albus," Felix said calmly.

"You know me?" Albus asked in surprise.

"Yes," Felix admitted, somewhat embarrassed. "But you might not remember me. I got married two years ago and was cleaning the trench last year... Anyway, I'm familiar with you." He turned to Scorpius, "I gifted a wand at Draco and Astoria's wedding."

Scorpius's eyes widened.

"That wand of snakewood with a Basilisk nerve core!"

"Correct. I initially preferred unicorn hair, but Mr. Ollivander advised against it, so I turned to my collection of Basilisk materials... It failed a few times, but I knew why. Anyway, that's beside the point." Felix continued, "Could I see the little time-turner in your hand? It seems better than the one the Nott family hid... Probably the last two lost to the world."

Scorpius, wary, hid his hands behind his back, tears swirling in his eyes.

"Are you going to take it away? I can't give it to you—"

"It's fine, you can keep it for now," Felix said thoughtfully. "Normally, I should find out in three days, my wife would tell me... But it's hard to say, I might have missed it. I was distracted by another matter..." He paused, "Draco once asked for my help, but I wasn't sure then. Now it's time to address the issue."

Albus and Scorpius looked at him, confused.

Felix blew on his palm, and countless tiny magical symbols spread out like petals, forming a mirror frame in the air, though without a mirror surface. He searched his pockets, pulling out a tiny glass bottle containing strands of golden mist.

"I've been using a lot recently, took me a while to accumulate this."

Muttering to himself, Felix uncapped the bottle, picking a strand of golden mist with his pinky, flicking it towards the floating frame. The mist vivaciously filled the empty mirror, with tiny symbols lighting up from the edges inward. After a few seconds, the golden surface became smooth and reflective.

"Let me think... Astoria... no, it should be the Greengrass family," Felix said seriously.

The mirror's images flickered rapidly, changing scenes and figures too quickly to follow, like reading a densely printed book through dirty, smudged glasses.

"I can't time-travel, the cost is too great, and I wouldn't want others meddling with time. But there's a lot we can do, like the curse on the Greengrass family. It's unnecessary to go back; we can bring what happened to the forefront... I couldn't do this a few years ago, just the energy required was a headache. Found it."

Albus, Scorpius, and Valen all looked towards the mirror, where the image stabilized on a scene, showing a gaunt, pale man with whiskers, mumbling spells as blood dripped from his nose, solidifying in the air into sinister, pulsating black symbols. While the scene was unsettling, Felix watched intently, nodding.

"So, that's it. Similar to the curse on the Defense Against the Dark Arts position at Hogwarts, targeting not a person but the entire Greengrass family. As long as their bloodline exists, the curse persists, releasing accumulated power every few decades. Knowing the principle makes it easier to address."

"Easier to address?" Scorpius asked, baffled.

"We could design a spell making the curse believe the Greengrass family has naturally died out... Just an example, I have a better solution." The mirror shattered, and Felix carefully collected the now fainter golden mist back

into the bottle, then got busy.

Valen, having watched for a while, distributed snacks to the Nifflers and the boys. Albus and Scorpius, realizing their hunger, eagerly ate. "What's that?" Scorpius pointed at a jar, thinking he saw tentacles moving.

"Don't touch, that's a cockroach cluster," Albus said with experience. Scorpius looked at him strangely, and Albus reluctantly added, "If you had a brother who loves pranks as much as mine."

"Not likely," Scorpius said wistfully, then perked up, "But maybe I'll have another brother or sister."

"It's done," Felix announced, stealing a piece of lava cake from Valen and stuffing it into his mouth, "Don't worry, Valen has a lifetime discount card from Honeyduke's, even I don't have one." Valen protested, wasn't it you who used my name to get it?

"The curse... is gone? Mum's okay?" Scorpius asked, eyes wide, moving his arm, hoping to feel lighter, but nothing happened.

Felix nodded, then shook his head.

"The curse is indeed gone, but Astoria needs time to recover, hopefully in time for the Quidditch World Cup. Alright, you've been out too long, time to go back." He waved his hand, and Albus and Scorpius disappeared.

Felix lay on the holly bench, playing with the glass bottle of golden time energy, breathing slowing, his body becoming gradually transparent, as if separated by something. Valen threw a pebble at him.

Felix rolled his eyes.

"Hermione's completely won you over, you could have traded for candy, would've been easier on me..."

Valen immediately pulled out a brown wig from its pocket, putting it on, then leaned forward, exuding a certain aura. With arms crossed, it smirked (if possible), thinking: Ha, despair, Dark Lord, our alliance was formed decades ago during a moonlit walk around the castle, a strong friendship that nothing could break, could not...

Valen sniffed the air.

"Deep-sea fish, some species might never have been discovered, wonder how they taste."

"Glug." Valen swallowed, feeling its unbreakable friendship challenged, followed by a chorus of swallowing sounds from the Nifflers, all eagerly looking on...

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