The Rune Mage Starting at Hogwarts

But what happened to Harry and Ron after that?

But let's talk about that later. Ryze first explained to Professor McGonagall why he was there.

"Potions that quickly run out of potions!" Hermione, standing nearby, suddenly looked up, surprised that she had never heard of this before.

"Because this competition is held every seven years, it was originally scheduled to be held this year. Even though it was postponed to 94, we would only be third-year students at that time. Under normal circumstances, our potion-making skills would definitely not be as good as those of the older students, so naturally they wouldn't have told us about it. It's just that I happened to find out about this and wanted to compete with the older students, so I tried to register with Professor Snape."

He showed the shrinking potion in his hand: "Professor Snape gave me a day to prove myself. Time is tight, but I happened to have some inspiration, so I thought I would finish brewing this potion first, fulfill Professor Snape's first request, and then it wouldn't be too late to attend the banquet."

Professor McGonagall looked at Reiz, who was holding the medicine, with a determined gaze.

The other person seemed completely unaware of how dangerous the troll he had defeated outside the door was to a first-year wizard.

In his mind, defeating the troll seemed like a trivial problem that could be easily solved; it was the test Snape posed to him that was more likely to ignite his fighting spirit.

Although McGonagall could clearly sense Ryze's pursuit of magic over the past two months, Ryze's current enthusiasm for potions seemed a bit too much.

Chapter 65: Thank you for your reminder back then

"In any case, you have to go back to Ravenclaw Tower now. I can't leave you alone in the Potions classroom until I'm sure the danger is over. As for the test Severus gave you, I'll discuss it with him, and we should be able to give you some extra time later."

Professor McGonagall turned to look at the heavily injured troll outside the Potions classroom: "Also, although I don't condone such behavior, as a first-year wizard, you still deserve a ten for defeating a troll on your own."

As she spoke, she waved her wand, summoning two house-elves. She explained the situation to them, instructing one of the house-elves to inform Headmaster Dumbledore, and the other to take Rhett and the others back to their respective common rooms.

"Alright, Mr. White, you can take back Ellie now. We, the professors, will handle the rest."

Rizz nodded to let Ari come back, then used magic to tidy up the potions table. He then took his own cauldron and, led by the house-elf, returned to the surface with the three young wizards through the underground passage.

It was on the way back to the lounge that Rizzi finally understood what was going on with the three of them.

Hermione saw his Alley heading to the Great Hall to explain the situation to his roommate and get some food.

Hermione originally wanted to ask Ryze's roommate if Ryze was secretly studying even at the Halloween dinner, but then she heard from a student who was taking Potions with Ravenclaw in the afternoon that Ryze had been wandering around the underground classrooms and had been caught by Snape, who was in a bad mood all day for some reason, and made to do chores.

Then Quirrell rushed into the Great Hall in a panic to explain about the trolls, and Principal Dumbledore had the prefects lead their respective house students back to the common room.

As everyone was preparing to leave for the common room, Hermione remembered that Rhett was still working for Snape in the Potions classroom, so she quickly found Professor McGonagall, who was preparing to search the castle, and explained the situation to her.

Then Hermione came over with Professor McGonagall.

“It’s a good thing you thought of me back then,” Rhett said politely to Hermione, since she had tried to help him after all.

Then he looked at Harry and Ron behind him.

Hermione finished speaking but didn't hear anything from the two of them, so what's going on with them?

It was only then that Hermione remembered the two people following behind her.

“Oh right, Harry and Ron are the ones I met on my way to the underground passage with Professor McGonagall. They probably wanted to warn you too.”

“That’s not entirely true…” Harry scratched his head, then tugged at Ron beside him and explained to Hermione, “Actually, Ron initially wanted to apologize to you, and then we realized you weren’t in the crowd, so we thought you were lost and decided to go look for you first. Then Ron said you must have gone to find Rhett, so we ran over here to the underground classrooms.”

Then Ron lowered his head in frustration: "I didn't expect you to go to Professor McGonagall first, and we ended up having five points deducted by Professor McGonagall instead."

"Apologize?" Hermione blinked, seemingly not thinking the other person had anything to apologize for.

Ryze thought Ron was too quick to back down; he was already thinking of apologizing to Hermione after only half a day.

Has Hermione's reputation in Gryffindor risen so high that she managed to get Ron sorted out in just one afternoon?

"It was those words I said this morning... Harry told me that although our bet is over, we're still friends, and friends shouldn't say things like that. I was out of my mind when I said those things, so I hope you'll forgive me and forget everything I said this morning."

Hermione gave a soft snort, which could be taken as tacit acceptance.

“However, I won’t be reminding you to do your homework every day anymore. My time is precious too, and you need to learn to finish it as soon as possible after class,” Hermione said, then turned to Rhett behind her. “So, do you think I want to sign up for Potions with Professor Snape?”

“Hard to say,” seeing Hermione still thinking about potions, I shook my head. “You can try, but it’s quite difficult. Snape asked me to brew two different shrinking potions, and I failed twice before I made the normal one. Tomorrow I need to figure out how to brew the second one during class in the afternoon.”

Hermione's progress in her major subjects was not much slower than Rhett's, so she naturally knew that the shrinking potion was a third-year topic, but the book only described one method of making it, and according to Rhett, the book had omitted many important details.

"There are still two years left. I'll wait until I'm more confident before going to Professor Snape," Hermione thought. Knowing that Snape had only given Rhys one day to prove himself, she felt that she hadn't accumulated enough experience yet and would wait until her third year to see how things went.

Then Hermione asked Rhett what magic he used to defeat the troll, whether it was the ultimate Flash spell that he and Professor Flitwick had been researching together.

After all, the through wounds on the troll's body were quite obvious.

Upon hearing this cool magical name, Harry and Ron immediately perked up and asked Rhett how he had defeated the troll.

Ryze briefly explained the principle of Ultimate Flash, and then described the effect of illuminating the runes as another kind of ancient magic that he had recently mastered.

Hermione looked slightly helpless upon hearing about ancient magic.

Over the past two months, although she had taught herself ancient magic script, she also confirmed with Professor Babling that she had neither a talent for divination nor a talent for ancient magic.

It can be said that Ryze was already far behind from the start.

Fortunately, during these two months, she had talked with several professors about talent and confirmed that even without these ancient talents, as long as she was willing to work hard, she could still become an excellent wizard like these professors. This rekindled her fighting spirit.

However, now that she heard Ryze say that he had mastered some ancient magic that ordinary wizards could hardly ever master, she couldn't help but feel a little envious of the talent that Ryze possessed.

Fortunately, she now understands that Ryze is not the kind of person who would waste his talent. Among all the first-year students, she spends the most time in the library, followed by Ryze.

Apart from the first week of school, the other person spent a whole weekend trying to find the secret of the ancient raven statue.

She never asked Ritz about the statue again, and Ritz never brought it up again, so Professor Babling probably managed to get Ritz to temporarily give up the idea.

Just as Hermione was thinking this, she heard Rhett's words.

"Speaking of which, it was Hermione who mentioned the Senses Charm, which led me to ask Professor Babling to cast it on me. Hermione also played a part in solving that mystery and enabling me to master this ancient magic."

Chapter 66: Customized Puzzle

Actually, Ryze and Hermione don't interact much in private.

After all, everyone is busy studying, and classroom conversations are all about academics. When we bump into each other in the library, we just nod and say hello, and at most ask about each other's study progress.

Even if Hermione encounters any problems with her studies, unless she happens to run into Ritz, she will usually choose to read books or go directly to the professor for help, and rarely takes the initiative to ask Ritz.

As for Ryze, it goes without saying that with the Keystone Mage talent and 53 points of skill haste, he is making steady progress in his studies, which feels like a natural progression.

That's why, even though Hermione didn't ask and Ryze kept a low profile, Ryze finally used the passive effect to activate them for the first time today. He also remembered that he hadn't thanked Hermione for reminding him about the Sense8 charm.

This is also a good opportunity to officially unveil the "Light Them Up" rune in the form of ancient magic.

Although Professor Babling mercilessly commented that the raven statue was like a riddle specially made for Ryze by Ravenclaw, and that even a thousand years later, there would never be another person like Ryze.

But this is, after all, a mystery that no one has solved for a thousand years. It's quite normal that he awakened some new ancient magic while coming into contact with those traces of ancient magic.

But when he said those words, Hermione froze on the spot.

Harry and Ron, standing to the side, were completely baffled, having no idea what was going on.

"You really solved the mystery of that raven statue?" Hermione asked eagerly. "Was that really a riddle left behind by Ravenclaw?"

Rizz nodded: "Yes, after you reminded me, I asked Professor Babling for help. With the help of the Extrasensory Charm, I was able to use divination to see where the statue was originally placed."

"After that, we successfully found the ancient magical traces left by Ravenclaw and some textbooks from the early days of the school's founding... Ah, we've arrived at Ravenclaw Tower. I'll head back now and tell you more about it next time."

Rizz saw that the house-elves had brought them to the front of Ravenclaw Tower, so he waved to Hermione and prepared to go back to the common room.

As soon as Ryze turned around, Hermione, in a very rare move, grabbed him and stared at him, asking, "What about those textbooks? Putting aside the ancient magic and stuff, you haven't been carrying me around studying those textbooks personally compiled by the four founders for the past few months, have you?"

Hermione's aura was quite powerful at that moment, and Harry and Ron behind her immediately stood at attention.

Although it has no effect on Ryze.

"The textbook is with Professor Babling. I only glanced at the first part. Actually, it doesn't go into too much depth. It's just that the attitude towards black magic wasn't as sensitive as it is now in that era, or rather, the concept of black magic and white magic hadn't fully formed in the Middle Ages. So, a lot of the content isn't suitable for young wizards to learn now. Let's wait until at least the third year."

Hearing this, Hermione reluctantly released Rhett: "Really?"

“You can ask Professor Babuling. I’m not afraid that you will surpass me, and there’s no need to hide this from you.”

Hermione finally felt a little relieved at this point.

Putting aside her innate talents, she didn't want to fall too far behind Ryze, at least in the areas that normal wizards could access.

After Rhett's figure disappeared from Ravenclaw Tower, Harry and Ron hurriedly asked Hermione about the raven statue.

It seems that Ryze has been secretly doing a lot of big things behind their backs.

Hermione sighed at this.

"If only I knew, Ryze has a lot of secrets. It wouldn't be surprising if he suddenly found Ravenclaw's crown that had been missing for a thousand years... Let's go, I'm going back to the lounge to read. I think I understand why none of Ryze's roommates thought about going to see him."

"Huh?" Hearing Hermione's words, Ron finally reacted. "Right, why didn't they think to go find Ryze? As her roommates, they should have realized much earlier that Ryze hadn't come to the Great Hall at all, right?"

Hermione rolled her eyes at them: "Rizz has an extremely rare talent for divination. He can see things from a thousand years ago and find the ancient magical traces left by Ravenclaw. How could he not see what will happen tonight?"

"At least he must have been able to sense the danger."

"When Professor Quirrell burst into the Great Hall and announced the troll invasion, I noticed the particularly surprised expressions on Anthony and the others' faces. At the time, I thought they had forgotten about Ryze because of the trolls' appearance. Now that I think about it, it's more likely that Ryze had already warned them beforehand, which is why they were so surprised when it actually happened."

"You mean Ryze knew all along that there would be a troll invasion tonight, so he deliberately went to the underground classroom?" Ron, being a pure-blood wizard, had heard many stories of prophets since childhood, so he immediately clapped his hands, indicating that he completely understood.

"That's right, that explains it. Ryze doesn't actually like Snape that much, and he rarely goes to the underground classrooms except for classes. His sudden visit today must be because he sensed something was going to happen there, so he waited there specifically to see if his prophecy had come true!"

"That potion-making skill is so advanced, how could it possibly compete with a seventh-year student?"

After Ron explained it, Harry felt that it made some sense.

Hermione also felt that what Ron said should be fine, but regarding the potion, Ron was not just making things up.

Ryze has finished brewing the shrinking potion for his third year, and judging from his confident appearance, he is likely to pass Snape's test tomorrow and successfully obtain the potion.

Besides, who says third-grade students can't compare to seventh-grade students?

She had originally planned to slow down her studies, but now, encouraged by Rizzi, she doesn't expect to finish all the courses by the time she's in third grade, but she should at least learn the seventh-grade arithmetic and divination courses.

However, seeing Harry and Ron getting more and more excited about the prophecy about Ritz, Hermione didn't want to argue with Ron. She just reminded him not to gossip about Ritz's secrets after returning to the Gryffindor common room.

Ron and Harry immediately said no problem.

Anyway, news of Ryze defeating the troll will probably spread by tomorrow, and they'll have plenty to talk about when they get back to the lounge.

Chapter 67: Outrageous Rumors

When Rizzi answered the question about the eagle-head door knocker and walked into Ravenclaw's common room, his figure was immediately spotted by Penelope, the prefect.

Penelope still looked somewhat angry at this moment.

"Merlin's Beard, you're finally back. When I saw that your dorm was the only one missing in the entire Ravenclaw, I wanted to go out and look for you. But I was only slightly relieved when Anthony said that you already knew what was going to happen tonight."

Ryze apologized to the fifth-year student and then briefly explained that she had been brewing potions in the Potions classroom.

"You want to participate in the Potions Challenge? Will you agree to give you a chance?" Penelope was somewhat surprised to hear this, but after thinking about this junior's talent, it didn't seem so unexpected.

Penelope didn't ask Rizzi what had happened, but simply pulled Rizzi aside to check that he wasn't injured, and then breathed a sigh of relief.

"Although you have a talent for divination that allows you to avoid misfortune and are much stronger than the average junior wizard, there are many records of diviners dying in accidents throughout history. You shouldn't rely too much on your divination results. Anyway, it's good that you're alright. You should go and eat something first."

Although the Halloween dinner was interrupted, the elves moved their dinner from the auditorium to the lounges in each college, where they are now continuing their Halloween activities.

When Ryze returned, his roommates waved to him and eagerly asked if he had seen the giant monster.

"You really had a premonition about that troll? And do you know how that troll got in?"

Anthony asked curiously.

Ryze waved his hand, not answering the question directly, but simply explaining how he had dealt with the troll: "I was brewing a potion when that troll broke in, and I took care of it, and incidentally gave Ravenclaw an extra 10 points."

"This troll is just the beginning. Let's wait for Principal Dumbledore to handle it. The rest is not our concern."

Those who were assigned Ravenclaws weren't stupid. Hearing Ritz's slightly meaningful words, they knew there were probably some secrets Ritz couldn't reveal right now.

Fortune tellers are like this: often they know what the future holds, but they can't say it out loud, otherwise they might get themselves involved.

Even Ravenclaw left behind the saying "Life is short," so people naturally didn't ask any more questions.

They were intelligent and shrewd Ravenclaws. Although they sought answers, they were not like the Gryffindors who relentlessly struggled to find the answers. Sometimes, giving up was also a kind of wisdom.

After a Halloween-themed Eve, news of Rhett's defeat of the troll spread rapidly throughout Hogwarts on the first day of November.

This news naturally came from Gryffindor.

At the same time, these messages sound rather outrageous, and it is clear that they have been embellished by the disseminators during the transmission process.

At least by the time Rhett had breakfast, the rumors that reached his ears were already quite bizarre—the troll was actually deliberately placed there by Snape to attract everyone's attention so that he could steal the mysterious treasure that Dumbledore had placed in the forbidden room on the fourth floor.

Just then, Ritz appeared in front of Snape. Snape, who disliked Ritz, decided to take this opportunity to get rid of him, which is why he left Ritz in the Potions classroom to work for him.

But unexpectedly, Ryze possessed ancient magic passed down through generations of the Black family, which he awakened at a critical moment and defeated the troll.

It was also because the troll was defeated too quickly that Snape's plan failed. He was forced to leave the room before he could retrieve the treasure and was injured in the process.

"No way, this rumor is too wild! Who started it?!" Ryze, who was drinking milk when he heard the rumor, almost choked on his milk when his Gryffindor classmate asked him. He quickly told the classmate that he had only defeated the troll and knew nothing about anything else.

Then Michael, the social butterfly who had intelligence sources in various colleges, also went to Gryffindor out of curiosity.