A certain Hogwarts professor of runes

Felix walked out of the Pig's Head Bar and let out a long sigh.

Never underestimate anyone!

Look, even a dark wizard has the ambition to peek into the secrets of the Dark Lord. Isn't his own ideal of "exploring the true meaning of magic" a bit too small?

Felix thought about it carefully and finally concluded that his own ideal was more lofty.

As for the contract with Klein, contract my foot!

Trying to cause trouble right under Dumbledore's nose? Do you really think he's that stubborn?

Besides, he already knew the answer to the question.

What's the secret behind the Dark Lord's leap to death? Horcruxes, he understands that concept. Therefore, as long as he doesn't research Horcruxes, the contract will naturally be dissolved after a year.

The prophecy states that "the Dark Lord's relic will only stay at Hogwarts for one year," indicating that it is merely a temporary presence. Therefore, the contract between the two only needs to last for one year—this is Klein's idea.

Felix, however, speculated that the relics were probably destroyed by the main characters.

The main characters never have a peaceful year at school, and perhaps he won't be able to have any peace until they graduate.

However, this also reminded him that the crisis in this year's "plot" seems to come from the Dark Lord's relics, namely Horcruxes.

Which Horcrux could it be?

This is a question that Felix has been pondering since returning to his office.

He vaguely remembered that there were seven Horcruxes in total, most of which were relics of the four leaders of Hogwarts. This corresponded to Harry and his friends' seven years of school life. Could it be that one was destroyed each year?

He knew about Ravenclaw's crown, Slytherin's locket, and Hufflepuff's cup. Logically speaking, Gryffindor's sword should also be a Horcrux.

Which one was destroyed last year? The first one seems to be called "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone," so the Philosopher's Stone is a Horcrux?

Felix made irresponsible guesses.

The information he has is actually not very useful. First, you can't prove what you're saying because he doesn't know where the Dark Lord put the Horcruxes. Second, it's too taboo. Felix's background is questionable, and suddenly telling Dumbledore about Horcruxes... Goodness, you've started researching Horcruxes, haven't you?

Therefore, he'll just let things take their course and at most offer some side support.

This can be considered a perk for his assistant (tool) Hermione Granger.

That's right, the assistant position has already been reserved for her, for reasons... well, it's hard to explain.

Two of the three remaining candidates have already dropped out: the Weasley twins approached him yesterday and withdrew voluntarily. They've been busy with Quidditch training this week and expect to spend every weekend on it for the next year.

Felix understood from their tone that they were implying he should put that guy named Wood in solitary confinement for a whole school year so they would have time to do other things.

Would he agree to this? A professor openly abusing his power for personal gain—does he even have the right to live a respectable life?

The main problem is that we couldn't agree on the terms; they were asking for too much time!

Even Snape wouldn't lock a student up for an entire school year for no reason.

This left Felix speechless. He had originally intended to repay Professor McGonagall's favor, but things had turned out this way.

Are there any other promising students in other colleges...?

Fortunately, Miss Granger is very reliable. I can run into her at the library every day, and you can tell she's working very hard; she even has dark circles under her eyes.

The next day, at the library.

It was another ordinary day. Felix picked out a book called "Secrets of Fighting" from the restricted section and devoured it with great interest.

This book primarily records the secrets of various duels among wizards throughout history. It's placed in the restricted section because it contains many explicit images. In an era when the magical world lacked legal regulations, black magic flourished due to its rapid learning, immense power, and bizarre nature. Therefore, duels at that time were bloody, cruel, and even quite bizarre.

For example, what he is seeing now is a scene where an unfortunate wizard's head has irreversibly "pumpkinized," not just swelling to the size of a pumpkin, but completely turning into a "vegetative state."

Even more miraculously, this loser lived on and died three years later.

The book also contains a lot of fighting instruction, which is quite explicit. Felix even sees how to incorporate curses into ordinary spells.

New trick learned!

Around noon, Felix walked out of the library, ready to enjoy his lunch.

Hermione on the other side hesitated for a moment, then decisively followed.

"Professor! Professor Hepburn."

Felix stopped in his tracks. "Is there something you need, Miss Granger?" He didn't tell Hermione that she was already the only candidate for assistant, and that learning more wouldn't be a bad thing.

"It's like this, I read in a book that some gifted wizards can hear things that others can't. Is that true?" Hermione asked, calming her breathing.

Felix was taken aback. Cleveland? But he quickly dismissed the far-fetched idea.

"Could you be more specific? The conditions you've given are too broad."

Hermione considered carefully, seemingly organizing her thoughts, "It's a little story about a young wizard and...his father, who were copying documents in a castle when the young wizard suddenly heard something strange, while his father! knew nothing about it."

Strange, why does Hermione always pause on the word "father"?

The thought flashed through his mind, and after a moment's thought, Felix replied, "Many of these stories are actually made up, so what you've heard may not be true. However, we can still discuss it."

Hermione nodded happily.

"The first possibility is that the young wizard is lying, trying to get his father's attention, which is common in the Muggle world," Felix said, stating what he considered the most likely answer.

Seeing Hermione about to speak, he shook his head. "The second possibility is that they are copying some dangerous magical materials. You know, some ancient magical manuscripts contain magic or have been specially treated by their previous owners. If unqualified people touch them rashly, it can easily cause dangerous consequences."

Seeing Hermione deep in thought, he added, "There are quite a few books like that in the restricted section of Hogwarts."

However, they are all locked with magical chains, strictly forbidding young wizards from peeking at them—unless you obtain the professor's autograph.

"The third possibility," Felix raised his voice slightly, "is that the young wizard has awakened some talent, such as prophecy, perception, or suddenly mastered a language."

"Could you elaborate, Professor?"

"Well, as you know, some young wizards have special talents, such as animal affinity or exceptional talent in wandless spellcasting, while the rarer one is the talent for prophecy. Professor Trelawney's elders seem to have this talent... Oh, Trelawney is the Divination professor, you might take her class next year."

"As for language talent, it is often related to their ancestors. If their ancestors mastered mermaid language, this talent may be passed on to the next generation, or suddenly appear in their bloodline hundreds of years later."

Felix gave a casual example: "For instance, the little wizard in your story might have had ancestors who spoke mouse language, and he just happened to overhear the chatter of a talkative Mr. Mouse that day."

Even after Professor Hyp had disappeared from sight, Hermione remained in her thoughts. Could it be that Harry had an ancestor who was a strange wizard who could talk like a mouse?

She was a little confused.