The Rune Mage Starting at Hogwarts

Her mind began racing, trying to come up with a way to defend Ryze.

But at this moment, Ryze simply greeted the other person directly.

"Good evening, Nymphadora. You're on a mission here today too."

“Nifa...Dora?” Hermione paused for a moment, noting that it was a rather unusual name.

The word Nymph originates from a nymph in Greek mythology, but over time, it has become somewhat frivolous in modern English, carrying a slightly sensual connotation. Therefore, even women almost never use this word as a name, let alone this seemingly burly and robust man.

"Don't call me by that name in front of others!" Nymphadora looked at her uncle with some embarrassment when Hermione repeated her name.

Then, to Hermione's surprise, she quickly transformed back into her original teenage form.

Chapter 107: A Mystery from Ten Years Ago

Hermione watched as the muscular man's face and physique rapidly changed.

In just a few seconds, the person standing in front of her transformed into a young witch with striking short pink hair and a somewhat embarrassed expression.

Rizz gave Hermione a brief introduction: "This is Nymphadora Tonks, my cousin's daughter. She just graduated from Hogwarts this year and is now a prospective Auror."

Hermione quickly greeted the senior, judging that the other person probably didn't like the name Nymphadora, so she decisively addressed her by Tonks' surname.

Nymphadora's expression indeed became much more composed, and she nodded amicably to Hermione: "Yes, you can just call me Tonks."

As she said this, she turned to look at Ryze: "But you, buddy, after not seeing you for a few months, you're here talking about these illegal things with other little wizards. Aren't you getting a little too cocky?"

Ryze blinked: "Didn't you mention these things to me, including that reminder that it's not a violation as long as you're not caught? I've kept that in mind all along."

“I never said any of those things directly, you just made up your own guesses,” Nymphadora would of course not admit to that. She had indeed only hinted to Rhett that he didn’t need to be so law-abiding at Hogwarts.

Then she continued to ask Ryze, "But how did you find me? I've developed my talent even more perfectly in the last six months. Even the old guys in the Auror office might not be able to see through my disguise at a glance."

Ryze shrugged: "It's probably some intuition I have as a fortune teller, especially when people around me share the same bloodline, I can sense it to some extent."

Otherwise, Ryze wouldn't be spreading such a secret in public.

Nymphadora's hair began to shimmer: "You really have a talent for divination! I thought my mom was just saying it casually. How did you discover you have a talent for divination? Can you tell me now when I can get a promotion?"

“Let’s talk about it when we get home. Do you really want me to do your divination here? Besides, you still have a mission, right? Be careful your boss doesn’t see you slacking off,” Ryze said, picking up his luggage and gesturing to Hermione that it was time to go.

Nymphadora remembered that she was still on a mission, so she coughed lightly and her tone became much more serious: "Alright, my parents should be waiting for you at the exit now. You should go out now and we'll talk after I get off work!"

Ryze waved to Nymphadora, and after Nymphadora quickly transformed into another form, he led Hermione, who kept turning back to look at Nymphadora's face every three steps, out of the house.

“That’s a Disguise Magus, an equally rare magical talent that allows people to change their appearance at will without a wand or potion,” Rizz explained simply.

"Then she must have done very well in her Transformation class," Hermione thought first.

Ryze spread his hands: "In fact, Professor McGonagall did have high hopes for her, but unfortunately she has no intention of continuing to study Transformation in depth. She would rather become an Auror than a professor."

The two chatted about the trail for a while on their way out of the station. Although Hermione was somewhat dissatisfied with the Ministry of Magic's subtle differential treatment, the idea of ​​practicing magic outside of school was still quite appealing to her.

Even though the Christmas holidays are shorter, she felt she might get restless if she couldn't use magic for two months during the summer vacation.

After leaving the station, the two began searching for their families along the roadside and saying goodbye to each other.

Rez, relying on her divination, found the Tonks and his wife first.

Ted's brother-in-law, sitting in the driver's seat, nodded to Rez and let him get in: "You look like you've grown quite a bit taller. Could it be that the food at Hogwarts has improved?"

"There shouldn't be any changes for now, but I've managed to go to the kitchen and teach some house-elves how to make fried rice and dumplings. I believe the Hogwarts menu will be more abundant next year."

With that, Rez put his luggage away, got into the back seat of the car, and greeted Andromeda in the back seat.

Ted laughed heartily, "We're also waiting for your dumplings. Although we've eaten dumplings at Chinese restaurants before, we've never had dumplings made by our own family."

Andromeda then helped Ryze tidy up the rain and snow off him, and asked him about his situation at school.

Although Ritz maintained correspondence, many things could not be clearly explained in the letters.

She asked Ryze about the friends she had made at school, and then mentioned the consignment of those euphoric drugs.

Rizzi also mentioned that he had just seen Nymphadora on the platform.

“She seems a bit anxious about when she can get a permanent position, but I feel it will be difficult in the next year or two,” Rez said, and Anton Mida nodded in agreement.

Knowing Ryze's talent for divination, she said to him, "Nymphadora is indeed very hardworking, but she has always been impulsive and often makes mistakes in small things. So Moody said that she needs to hone her skills for a few years first. However, we haven't mentioned these things to her yet. When you bring this up with her, please be tactful so as not to dampen her enthusiasm."

Andromeda paused for a moment, then spoke to Ryze in a somewhat formal tone: "Regarding Sirius, I tried to find some of his clothes from back then, but I don't know if they'll be of any use."

She looked at her cousin, her tone somewhat serious: "Do you really think there are any hidden secrets in the case from back then?"

Harry Potter ended the darkest era brought about by Voldemort, and Sirius Black, as a traitor, was also despised by countless wizards at the time.

Although Sirius Black was sent to Azkaban without trial, his mental state remained unstable throughout the process. Apart from constantly laughing hysterically, he showed no intention of communicating with anyone.

So over the years, although no one knows why Sirius Black sided with Voldemort, they have tacitly accepted the fact that Sirius Black betrayed them.

Even now, ten years later.

In a letter sent in November of this year, Ritz said that he had recently seen some strange things while doing a bloodline reading and hoped that she could help collect items that Sirius had used. He wanted to do a more in-depth reading for Sirius during the Christmas holidays to try to find out the truth from back then.

Chapter 108: The True Traitor

Andromeda looked at Ryze, seemingly recalling the past more than ten years ago when Sirius resolutely chose to escape his family and join Dumbledore's Order of the Phoenix to fight against the Death Eaters.

A lot happened in those short few years.

First came Alfard's disappearance, followed by Sirius's betrayal.

Each of these events dealt her a significant blow at the time.

Now, Alfard at least has an excellent offspring, and it seems that Sirius's situation has also taken a turn for the better.

She wanted to know the truth of what happened back then more than anyone else.

“Everyone says he was crazy laughing like that on that street,” Andromeda said softly. “We also know that the Potters did indeed have Sirius as their confidant, and only if he leaked the information could the Mysteries find the Potters.”

"But you said that on that day and night, you saw him crying over Harry and Hagrid's backs, and you sensed that there was more to it than met the eye... I hope you can use this ability to help us figure out what really happened back then."

......

Ted parked the car smoothly in front of the Tonks' house, then helped carry the suitcases, and the group went home together to prepare dinner.

The matter of divination should obviously wait until after we've filled our stomachs.

As Rizzi was instructing Andromeda on how to tell if the dumplings were cooked, a flame suddenly burst forth in the fireplace.

Immediately afterwards, accompanied by a violent coughing fit, a staggering figure emerged from the fireplace.

"Who pushed me from behind!"

Niphadora grumbled, but then her face lit up with delight when she smelled the delicious aroma coming from the kitchen.

"Looks like I got back just in time. Can we eat now?"

Andromeda nodded to the other person: "That's about it. Go change your clothes and clean up, and you'll be all set."

The dumplings at home are mostly modified by Ritz to suit the tastes of most Europeans and Americans. However, the Tonks family is very open to new things and they also rave about dumplings with pork and scallion fillings and even vegetarian fillings.

After a pleasant dinner, Nymphadora also brought up the matter they had agreed on at the platform.

"Alright, Ryze, can you do a divination for me? Help me see if I can get a permanent position in the first half of next year!"

She started rambling about how she had wasted two years of her life in the Divination class at Hogwarts.

"I stared at the crystal ball and teacup for two whole years, and apart from the reflections of people inside, I couldn't see a single hair!"

"Professor Trelawney always said that our 'third eye' was blocked by worldly desires, but I think she was talking complete nonsense, so after studying for two years, I decisively gave up the course... So, Ryze, what do you plan to use for divination, tarot cards, a crystal ball, or tea leaves?"

Now that she has finally met a younger uncle who is truly gifted in divination, she naturally wants to see what this divination is all about and whether she was truly blinded by worldly concerns back then.

“Nifadora,” Andromeda called her name solemnly, which immediately made her look quite dejected.

"I was just asking casually. If it doesn't work, then forget it."

Nifadora said this, but her eyes remained fixed on Rez, as if to say that she would tell her secretly later.

“I can perform a divination for you, but before that, I need to perform a divination for something else first,” Rizz explained to Nifadora.

Upon hearing this, Andromeda stood up and walked towards the study.

Before long, she returned to the living room carrying an old wooden box.

Nifadora stared curiously at the box; she remembered that her mother had brought it back from outside last month.

She noticed that her mother seemed somewhat dazed, but she did not offer any explanation when she asked her questions.

Nymphadora became more serious, then asked in a low voice, "What are you going to do divination about? It's making me a little nervous."

Rizz opened the wooden box, revealing a Gryffindor-colored wizard's robe and several magical photographs inside.

Nifadora glanced at it, and her body suddenly froze.

In the photo, a handsome young man with dark hair is laughing freely at the camera. He is hugging another young man with messy hair and glasses. Both of them are holding butter beer. The background seems to be the Three Broomsticks pub in Hogsmeade.

That was Sirius Black, the uncle in Nymphadora's childhood memories who would use all sorts of magic to make her happy and secretly take her riding flying broomsticks.

Also ten years ago, he betrayed everyone and became a Death Eater, Voldemort's lackey.

Nymphadora's hair color has become much duller.

Back then, because she didn't believe Sirius had become a traitor, she used her transformation ability to sneak out of her house to find out the truth about the bombed-up street mentioned in the newspaper. As a result, she encountered Death Eaters in that area instead.

Ultimately, Moody, who was investigating nearby, appeared and rescued her, taking her home.

She wanted to become an Auror because of this incident.

The atmosphere in the living room became a bit heavy.

All eyes turned to Ryze.

"So you also doubt the truth of what happened back then. What did you discover?" Nymphadora asked Ritz.

Ryze described what he had seen, and then continued, "Ever since then, my intuition has been telling me that there is probably some unknown truth here, which may even be the complete opposite of what we know now."

Although he already knew the truth, he did want to see if he could use his current divination abilities to see more directly what happened that night.

He cast a supernatural spell on himself.

His already extremely fast thinking became even more acute.

Then, he reached out and placed his hand on the photograph in the wooden box and the wizard's robe, closed his eyes, and focused his attention on the medium.

Immediately afterwards, a completely new scene appeared before his eyes.

“I see it…it’s Godric Valley.”

As a young Sirius Black, he rode his motorcycle to the ruins of a house, his body trembling violently, his eyes filled with disbelief, unable to believe what he was seeing.

The scene changes.

The enormous half-giant Hagrid held a baby wrapped tightly in a blanket in his arms.

“Give Harry to me, Hagrid,” Sirius Black said, swaying as he stood up. “I am his godfather, and it is my responsibility to take care of him.”

Hagrid shook his head and simply relayed Dumbledore's orders.

Sirius didn't persist; he just stared blankly at the scar on the baby's forehead. Finally, he put the key to his flying motorcycle into Hagrid's hand.

"Take him away, Hagrid, to a safe place."

Sirius Black didn't stop crying until the motorcycle flew into the sky and disappeared into the night.

Then, he seemed to finally realize something, and the grief on his face froze instantly.

Instead, there was extreme anger and madness.

“You betrayed them, Peter!”

Chapter 109: Dumbledore's Decision

Hogwarts, the Headmaster's Office.

Dumbledore was sitting behind the table with a plate of hot, fragrant dumplings in front of him.

While Rez's fruit-filled dumplings can't be considered a main meal, they are certainly a novel experience as a dessert.

"The pineapple fried rice last time, and the fruit dumplings this time, he really knows how to please the elderly. No wonder you all like him so much."

Dumbledore ate his dumplings and gestured to McGonagall beside him, asking if she wanted a few of these special-flavored dumplings too.

“Albus, if you keep eating like this, you’ll have to go to Mrs. Pomfrey for some digestive pills,” Professor McGonagall said, standing to the side with a helpless look in her eyes. “I’ll also remind Mr. White next time to stop making you these sweets that add extra burden to your body.”

“Minerva, this is a token of their appreciation; you mustn’t discourage a young man’s enthusiasm.”

Professor McGonagall pursed her lips but didn't say anything more. She simply told Dumbledore to have one last bite before taking the plate away.