The Rune Mage Starting at Hogwarts

Chapter 173: Malfoy's Admitted Defeat

Just as George and Fred assured him, the rumors about Malfoy reached their peak that evening.

That evening, while having dinner, Ritz heard many new versions of the rumors.

Anyway, some people are already confidently asserting that Malfoy recently developed this strange hobby due to excessive stress.

“Someone even said that Malfoy tried to ask Mrs. Pomfrey for ‘dessert’ in the school infirmary. He said it so convincingly, as if he saw it with his own eyes. I wonder who made up these outrageous rumors,” Terry shared the latest information he had heard.

Slytherin's attitude toward these increasingly outrageous rumors was rather ambiguous, with very few people stepping forward to debunk them.

On the one hand, it was because of the mess that Malfoy and his friends had made in the past six months. Apart from a few powerless members of the small family who hoped to rely on the Malfoy family and would make a few symbolic excuses, the other Slytherin students with some ability did not take Malfoy seriously at all.

On the other hand, it's also because Malfoy and his gang are now mostly recuperating in the infirmary.

Crabbe is truly in deep trouble, and Malfoy has indeed been affected; they are now too ashamed to show their faces in the auditorium.

Besides the two of them, many other members of Malfoy's group were also staying in the infirmary for other reasons.

Although everyone in the auditorium was having a great time talking about Malfoy, Reese still hoped that no one would bring up these things while he was eating, because these reports were making him lose his appetite.

Just when Ryze was about to finish dinner quickly and then go to the Forbidden Forest to continue his divination practice, a tall figure wearing Slytherin robes stopped next to Ryze.

It is Jemaa Fali.

The Slytherin prefect didn't speak immediately; she simply stood quietly to the side, watching Rhett slowly finish the last of his food.

It wasn't until Ryze wiped her mouth with a napkin and looked up at her that she spoke, "Ryze, let's talk."

Rizzi looked at Jemma and pointed out of the hall, indicating that they should talk in the corridor.

Ryze roughly knew what the other person wanted to talk to him about, so he nodded, got up, and followed her out of the hall.

The two stopped in front of the stone pillar.

“That young master of the Malfoys is going crazy in the infirmary,” Gemma said bluntly, her tone carrying a hint of disdain for Malfoy. “According to Mrs. Pomfrey, although he is physically fine, he is extremely stressed and weak.”

“It seems that today’s events have had a significant impact on him,” Ryze responded with a smile.

Jamie nodded, then shook her head: "I know this isn't just today; it's been going on for the past two weeks. Their group has been having all sorts of mishaps, with accidents happening in places that are hard to notice."

She paused for a moment, then continued, "In short, although Draco is stupid, he has now realized one thing: he can't afford to mess with you. He promised me that he will never appear in front of you again to provoke you or do anything to target you again. So he went to some lengths to ask me to come to you, hoping that you can accept his apology."

Ryze leaned against the wall, his face pale but still revealing a mocking smile: "Apologies... It's rare to see my nephew apologize."

"So, what are the things he should apologize to me for?"

“First, there was that ‘accident’ in the herbal medicine class today. He admitted that he was the one who started it, wanting to teach you a lesson when you weren’t feeling well, but he ended up reaping what he sowed,” Jamie read Malfoy’s apology calmly. “Second, there’s that cursed greeting card from half a month ago… He admitted that he had someone make it and gave it to you, hoping to make you lose all your hair and then laugh at you.”

At this point, Jemma himself couldn't help but raise an eyebrow, clearly finding Malfoy's methods truly shameful.

"And then there was that provocation at the beginning of the semester; he apologized to you for his foolish behavior back then."

As she said this, Jema took out a heavy little cloth bag and a notebook from the pocket of her robe and handed them to Ryze.

"This is what he offered, along with a rather generous amount of Galleons and a Malfoy family potions notebook, to compensate you for the trouble caused by his previous rude behavior. He hopes this matter can end here."

Jemma looked at Reiz, her tone becoming somewhat subtle: "Actually, I don't care whether he lives or dies. Compared to that brainless idiot, I value our relationship more. If you think it's not enough, I can have him add more."

"I only came to pass on a message because I received a favor from him. If you don't want to forgive me, it's okay if you don't accept it."

In Jemma's view, Malfoy's concession was to be expected.

Although the Malfoy family was indeed powerful, it was nothing compared to Rhett Butler. She had no doubt that Rhett would become a great wizard in the future.

She wouldn't jeopardize her relationship with Ritz for Malfoy.

Upon hearing Jemma's words, Ryze took the bag. The Galleons inside made a dull thud, indicating that it was indeed quite heavy.

Then Rizz quickly flipped through the potion notebook and looked at it.

The document is filled with detailed records of special methods for processing medicinal materials. Although they are not the originals, they should be valuable resources accumulated by the Malfoy family.

These notes are indeed very valuable to Ryze now.

“Since Malfoy has already deeply realized his mistake, as his elder, I certainly won’t keep harping on it,” Rez put away his notebook and purse, then revealed a slight smile.

"Senior Jemma, please tell him that as long as they are careful, I think his behavior will improve around Easter. He should be fine this academic year, provided that he doesn't go back on his word... otherwise, it won't be this kind of prank anymore."

When Jemma heard the date "Easter," her eyes flickered slightly.

She knew very well that the bad luck that had befallen Malfoy and his gang over the past two weeks was no coincidence, and the fact that Reiz had now given a clear deadline undoubtedly confirmed her suspicions.

However, she was a smart person and knew what she should ask and what she shouldn't ask.

Whether it's some kind of dark magic curse or some kind of divination, she, as a Slytherin, wouldn't care; in fact, it might even raise her opinion of Ryze.

“Easter… It’s still more than a month away, but it’s much better than that endless despair we felt before,” Jemma chuckled. “I think Draco would be very happy to hear this news.”

Chapter 174: Ferran the Centaur

Whether Malfoy was happy or not, Reese didn't know, but Reese was definitely in a good mood right now.

The heavy Galleons and the potion notebook were indeed a good harvest, making his efforts over the past two weeks of using divination to confirm Malfoy and his gang's whereabouts and designing various traps worthwhile.

Their rustling and trembling can stop whenever they want, but since Ryze already said at noon that he would make the other party unlucky until Easter, he naturally cannot go back on his word.

Moreover, this would leave a deeper impression on Malfoy, preventing the other party from forgetting the pain once the wound heals.

"In that case, I won't disturb your extracurricular activities. I'll pass on your words to that young master who's not quite right in the head, and hopefully he can hold out until Easter."

After she finished speaking, Jemma Fali glanced at Ryze, who was pale and exhausted. Although she didn't know how Ryze had gotten himself into this state, she knew that Ryze was definitely not just messing around.

“Then see you tomorrow,” Jema nodded slightly, then turned and walked into the shadows of the castle.

Ryze watched her leave, then tightened his Ravenclaw robes and, taking advantage of the fact that no one was paying attention, cast a Disillusionment Charm on himself and headed toward the Forbidden Forest.

Walking through the trees and bushes, Rizzi easily found the observatory from yesterday.

He had originally thought he would see Ronan in the vicinity.

To his surprise, the centaur who appeared there tonight had long, light-gold hair and a silver horse's body.

Of the three centaurs that Rizz has seen so far, this one has the most otherworldly bearing and appearance.

As Ryze approached, the other person turned to look at Ryze's location.

Those sapphire-blue eyes were fixed on the spot where Ryze was hiding.

“Hello, I’m Ronan’s friend Ritz. We’re meeting here tonight,” Ritz said, dispelling the illusion spell and greeting the centaur who seemed harmless.

“You can call me Ferranze. Ronan is busy tonight, so I will take over his guidance for you,” the silver centaur’s voice was gentle.

He stared intently at Ryze, his gaze deep and intense.

“I’ve heard Ronan mention you, a Ravenclaw who is full of curiosity about the stars and shrouded in mystery… but seeing you in person, I realize his description wasn’t accurate enough,” Ferranze lowered his head slightly, his gaze falling on the ring on Ryze’s finger.

"It's incredible that you are still a student favored by Rowena Ravenclaw. A thousand years after the founder's passing, someone is still able to inherit that gift of wisdom."

Ryze gave a brief reply before turning to Ferrenser and asking, "So, Ferrenser, what are we going to learn tonight, or are we going to continue to clear our minds and use our five senses to experience our surroundings?"

Ferrenze nodded: "Of course, this is the foundation of astrology. However, I will also guide you so that you can cross this threshold as soon as possible."

Ferrenze turned around and looked up at the starry sky: "The weather is better today than yesterday, perfect for studying."

"Wizards are accustomed to using spells to change the world, but centaurs are accustomed to observing fate with their eyes... Riz White, use your eyes, your ears, and the power within you to observe and listen to the breath of the stars."

Ference's guidance was clearer than Ronan's.

When the stars twinkle, he will tell Ryze in advance when to listen to the sounds that only those with the right qualities can hear.

Having practiced all night and spent the entire day adjusting her mindset and clearing her head, Ryze was able to regain that wonderful sense of rhythm in less than fifteen minutes under Frenzier's guidance.

In that instant, Ryze felt that he was no longer an independent individual, but had become one with the Forbidden Forest, becoming one of the stones and trees that could be seen everywhere.

Then, he seemed to hear the strange sound of starlight falling to the ground.

“I…felt it,” Rizz murmured.

However, this time it only lasted a few seconds before Ryze couldn't maintain this ethereal state and had to leave.

Ferranze, standing to the side, gave a light clap of applause.

“Very good, much faster than I expected. You do have a talent for divination that even we centaurs can hardly match.”

He described how they, the centaurs, trained.

Even though most people born in the Year of the Horse have a natural talent for divination, mastering astrological divination is not an easy task.

Even when they were still foals, they needed to practice for long periods at night.

It generally takes half a month to a month to feel the rhythm of the world, and it takes more than half a year of practice to stabilize in that state and perform divination, allowing your body to completely remember that feeling.

"You've reached the threshold in just one night. What you need to do next is to make your body remember this feeling so that you won't leave this state even when you're thinking. That means you've successfully entered the door."

Ferenc pointed to Ryze's chest and gave an analogy: "Treat it like breathing. Do you consciously think about how you breathe? When you stop treating this observation as magic and make it instinctive, you've succeeded."

According to Fernando, for the rest of the night, Ryze doesn't need to deliberately try to stay in that state for a certain amount of time; he just needs to repeatedly enter that state and let his body remember the feeling as much as possible.

Ryze nodded, and then continued to follow Fernando's instructions, continuing to feel the rhythm of the world.

Stars, moon, cold wind, stream... Feralas gave Ryze hints one by one, and Ryze entered that state faster and faster.

Over the next few hours, Ryze repeatedly entered that ethereal state, only to fall out again and again due to subconscious distractions.

But as Ferranze said, his body is gradually adapting to this rhythm.

Now he only needs about a minute to enter that state, and the time he can stay in that state is constantly increasing.

From a few seconds at the beginning, to ten seconds, and at its best, it can even reach nearly half a minute.

"Huh...huh..."

After Ryze held that pose for another twenty seconds and looked around in that state, Ference nodded to the panting Ryze.

“It seems your body is gradually memorizing this feeling,” Ferrenze looked up at the moon’s position. “Then let’s stop here for today. Excessive practice will deplete your spirituality, and your body is already exhausted. So go back and get a good night’s sleep tonight. I hope you can enter this state again tomorrow while fully conscious.”

Chapter 175: Introduction to Astrological Divination

1992 2 Month 29 Day.

This is a special day that occurs only once every four years in the solar calendar. It is an "extra day" that occurs to adjust for the discrepancy between the calendar and the actual orbital period of the Earth.

Although it may seem unremarkable, for most people at Hogwarts it was just an ordinary day.

But according to Ferrenze, this "extra day" allows the stars to return to their most chronological state, and for the centaurs, this day allows them to observe the changes in the stars more clearly.

Today is also the last day of the month, and Rizz must gain the approval of the centaurs tonight in order to complete the special raven quest and unlock the new Prismatic Talent.

So that evening, Ryze, after having dinner and resting for a while, went to the Forbidden Forest.

Unlike yesterday's exhaustion, Ryze took a good rest today as Fernando had asked, allowing himself to head to the Forbidden Forest in the clearest possible state.

The weather tonight is a bit colder than the past few days, and there's a light drizzle, so it's not a good day for stargazing.

In fact, if Hogwarts' astronomy class encountered such a day, Professor Sinister would often choose to cancel the class or have the students memorize the star charts in the tower.

According to older students, if there is a long rainy season, astronomy classes may be suspended for more than a month until the sky clears up and the missed progress is made up.

But the changes in weather did not have as much of an impact on the centaurs as the wizards had imagined.

Because their astrological divination does not rely solely on the eyes.

In the astrological divination of the Centaurs, sight was only the most basic means of perception. They relied on hearing to detect the direction of the wind and on touch to feel the changes in humidity in the air. They could also capture the sounds of the stars above the clouds.

When Ryze braved the drizzle to return to the familiar observatory, he was surprised to find that not only Fernando was waiting there that night, but Ronan was also standing there.

The two centaurs were looking up, as if they were trying to see the stars above the clouds.

Upon seeing Ryze's arrival, the two centaurs quickly greeted him.

"Although the stars are obscured by clouds today, we can still see the bright stars above the clouds. This is what you need to do today: use your intuition to find the moon's current position."

Rizz nodded to the two centaurs.

Then he took off his hood, allowing himself to fully feel the rain falling on his body—a trick he had learned during his two days of practice.

Some more direct external stimuli can help him get into the zone better.

His mind was very clear today, and his thinking was very fast. Fortunately, the practice of the past two days and the adjustment he made throughout the day had helped him regain some of his sense of rhythm.

He stood in the rain, his eyes fixed on the sky ahead, trying to feel the frequency of the raindrops falling on him.

Time passed by minute by minute.

It took Ritz fifteen minutes to barely enter that ethereal state.

However, his brain was too active at that moment, which quickly pulled him back from that state of harmony with nature.