A certain Hogwarts professor of runes.

"Uh, I was just saying it offhand, of course none of this will happen..."

Hermione looked around worriedly, feeling it wasn't safe here: "Harry, we'd better not mention that word outside."

"Hornet?"

Harry muttered something under his breath, then thought about it seriously. "You're right, but most people wouldn't know what Luna is." Harry stared at the little girl in the garden, who was carrying a food box in one hand and a half-finished mistletoe wreath in the other.

Luna's eyes darted around, and she tossed the wreath aside, pretending to have suddenly noticed them. "Hello, Harry, Hermione, Ron. It's so nice to see you," she said in a singing voice.

"What are you doing here?" Harry asked, suddenly regretting discussing the topic in the garden, wondering how much Luna had overheard.

“I’m waiting for Ginny, you know, she’ll be hungry, and a picnic is a must.” Luna swayed gently, her waist-length golden hair swinging back and forth.

"Really?" Ron looked at him with suspicion. "Did you hear that?"

"Luna"

Ginny came running from afar, panting and out of breath. "Sorry I'm late," she said. "Fred and George insisted I try their new product, and I barely managed to get away. I can't let them know about this... going to the Forbidden Forest to visit Frenzelon?"

Ginny stared, stunned for several seconds before realizing her slip of the tongue. She shrieked, "What are you doing here? Trying to eavesdrop! Oh, Hermione, Harry, you're here too..." Her expression turned blank. "What happened?"

Harry and the others looked at each other, seemingly realizing it really was an accident.

Luna hummed a song softly as she picked up the wreath she had dropped and began weaving it herself.

A few minutes later, they headed towards Hagrid's hut.

“We’re concerned about you too, Ginny,” Ron said. “There was an attack just two months ago on the edge of the Forbidden Forest…”

“Yes, your leg has been bewitched; it’s swollen to twice its original size,” Ginny said lightly.

"It's still oozing pus! Ginny, don't you care about your brother at all?" Ron said disapprovingly.

“Worried? Of course I was worried when I first heard it,” Ginny said sternly, “The second time, the third time, the fourth time, the fifth time…”

Ron's face flushed red, even the roots of his ears turned bright red.

Harry changed the subject. He knew perfectly well how Ron had boasted about it afterward, and had heard it far more often. But since Ron had used the spell to protect him, Harry thought Ron was fully deserving of the praise he had received.

So he said, “Well, so you’re going to visit a centaur? Perfect, we were thinking of going to Hagrid’s to see Buckbeak; they might become friends…”

Harry stopped talking, suddenly wanting to slap himself. Centaurs have a strong sense of pride. He stammered, "I mean... yes, uh, they're all our friends."

Luna said cheerfully, "You're right, Harry. I think you two will become friends; Ferenze is very friendly."

"Felenze? Felenze?"

Harry and Hermione exclaimed in surprise at the same time. Harry said, "I know him, Ferrenze, back in my first year! I encountered a dark wizard hunting unicorns, and it turned out to be Quirrell. He worked for Voldemort and for the Man of Darkness. It was Ferrenze who helped me and took me away from there."

He carefully chose his words, avoiding the word "ride," because his experience told him that horsemen were very averse to it.

Luna stared at Harry in a daze. Harry added, "It's true, he looks very young, has platinum blonde hair, and is very strong..."

Luna beamed with joy.

The group arrived at Hagrid's hut and saw the burly Hagrid weeding the pumpkin patch. As they approached, Hagrid held a red umbrella and gestured in the field.

"Hagrid!"

Hagrid turned around. "Harry, Ron, Hermione! Oh, and two little girls, one of them is from the Weasleys. What's your name?"

“Ginny, Ginny Weasley.”

"And what about you?" Hagrid looked at Luna, the tip of his umbrella hitting a pumpkin next to him with a "bang," bursting open a large hole and splashing yellow juice all over their faces. "Oh, sorry!"

Hagrid said hastily, pulling Harry and Ron aside, who were closest to him, "I'm going to get a rag. It's not good to use magic on you." He explained in a low voice, "I'm not very good at life magic, and I missed a good opportunity..."

"Wait, Hagrid is all cleaned up! All cleaned up! All cleaned up!"

With Hermione's help, they managed to get to the point quickly.

“Buckbeak? It’s back with its pack, and its people miss it dearly.” Hagrid said, waving his arms. Harry and the others were a little disappointed, but still happy for Buckbeak.

When Hagrid heard that they were going to visit the centaurs, he glared at them and yelled, “Are you out of your minds?! We were attacked just two months ago! And there was the Battle of the Covered Bridge. If I hadn’t been at the school hospital, I would have missed it…” He stared at them blankly for a long time, then said dejectedly, “I can’t help you. I don’t know that spell.”

Harry and the others offered him words of comfort. "You saved me, Hagrid, remember? Madam Pomfrey said that if we had waited any longer, she would have cut off his leg and made it grow back," Ron said sincerely.

“Hagrid, you used the Inflation Charm very well,” Hermione said, looking at the pumpkin outside the window.

Harry racked his brains, but unfortunately he couldn't find a suitable reason. "They're all right, Hagrid. You can't underestimate yourself."

"Thank you, thank you all..." Hagrid emotionally pulled out a handkerchief and wiped his moist eyes, then suddenly realized, "Stop! You still haven't said why you're going to the Forbidden Forest?"

“We’re going to visit Ferencze, I haven’t seen him for months,” Luna said. “Also, big guy, I love the layout of your place, it’s a lot like my home.”

Hagrid laughed. "Call me Hagrid, little girl. What's your name?"

“Luna, Luna Lovegood,” she said, shaking her head.

Hagrid rummaged through a dusty bag and pulled out several dirty things, handing them out one by one. "What's this?" Harry asked. It looked like the bones of some kind of creature.

Luna puffed out her cheeks and started blowing, producing a loud whistle. After a while, she stopped, slightly out of breath.

Hagrid said gruffly, “Look, Luna has already demonstrated it. It’s a bone whistle that I use to train the animals in the Forbidden Forest. It might come in handy if we encounter danger. Of course… little ones, I don’t recommend you go into the Forbidden Forest…” he said with great hesitation.

Finally, Hagrid took them to see Ferrenzer. Luna placed the mistletoe wreath on the centaur's head, and they all shared the food from the food box. Because there were so many people, no one got much, and Harry felt even hungrier after eating.

He missed the chapel in the castle very much, but the reunion with Ferencze was also very interesting, if only he hadn't talked about complicated astrology.

“The rings Mars has been emitting recently are very strange, and we think they signify something,” Ferenc said. He strongly suggested that Luna do a fire and smoke divination with sage and mallow, “You are the most spiritual human being I have ever met.”

Luna did as she was told. Harry was more surprised that she carried these things with her than her cork necklace and the Airship Lee earrings. So they had to sit together and watch the acrid smoke rise. Hagrid was taller than them when he sat down, and a breeze blew, carrying the thick smoke mixed with incense towards him, causing him to sneeze incessantly.

Ferenze was completely unaffected. “Fate brought us together to form a prophecy.” He lay on the ground, examining it closely, trying to find certain shapes and symbols.

“It looks like the magic Professor Hyp taught us,” Ron muttered to Harry. Harry didn’t see any similarities, but he thought it looked a bit like Buckbeak’s flapping wings.

“It’s like a flaming cape,” Ginny said, describing it as a game.

Hermione chose to observe from the sidelines, sitting quietly without saying a word; she had never been interested in these strange things.

“Humans have never been very good at this kind of thing; even centaurs acquired this ability over a very long period of time,” Ferenze said calmly. “And it’s easy for them to make mistakes. Luna, what did you see?”

“I saw a party, everyone was having a great time, and everyone was shooting fireworks into the sky,” Luna said happily. “I wish I could have been there.”

Ferenze said with some disappointment, "I thought it was a hint of war..." The others looked at him in confusion, and he explained, "Mars is in control of the war. In the past decade, all indications have suggested that the wizarding world has only been experiencing a brief period of peace between two wars. However, there have been new developments recently, which the elders of the clan cannot understand." He shook his head and did not continue on this heavy topic.

Afterwards, Harry and his friends returned to the castle, had a hearty meal, and forgot all about it.

They returned to the Gryffindor common room, where Percy was standing in front of the bulletin board, looking at the job postings. "Isn't he going to the Ministry of Magic?" Harry asked.

Ron shrugged. "Penelope hasn't found a job yet, but she has received a few letters of recommendation. However, her dream job is overseas, and Percy is trying to persuade her to stay."

A few minutes later, Percy left excitedly.

Before returning to his dorm, Harry glanced at the advertisement and, based on Percy's approximate location before leaving, found an inconspicuous clipping in a corner. He didn't read the fine print at the bottom, but he did remember the company name.

The future world.

Chapter 314 Different People's Choices

Harry never expected that he would hear the name of the company "Future World" multiple times over the next two days.

On the morning of the third day, he, Ron, and Hermione rushed to the Spellbook Club. With only a week left, every member of the club felt a sense of urgency. Even Harry and Ron, who had been restrained before, refrained from going on their last trip to Hogsmeade this term.

Of course, this is also related to a real concern that Hermione pointed out: "These kinds of opportunities are hard to come by—if we don't meet the professor's expectations, not only will the professor send a letter home, but we'll also be in doubt whether we'll have another chance next school year. You don't want to see Malfoy looking so smug, do you?"

Harry had to admit that Hermione's last words touched him, as did Ron's.

"Look at his arrogant attitude! He's completely forgotten about Buckbeak!" Ron was indignant about it.

Yesterday, as Draco Malfoy left the classroom, he boasted about his academic progress. Ron countered by mentioning his victory in the Buckbeak case, but Malfoy completely forgot the name and sarcastically remarked, "Is this a puppet you made yourself, little Ronnie?"

Several Slytherin students laughed, because of George's mistake, everyone in the club now knew what Ron's nickname was.

……

They arrived at the Rune Club's headquarters. Hermione drew a rune in the air with her finger and stuck it on the door. The door opened silently, and as the three entered the room, the door behind them closed automatically.

Professor Hyp was sitting on the sofa chatting with Neville when Hermione noticed Neville handing the professor an invitation with interwoven gold and red patterns.

“I received it, Neville,” the professor said.

Neville smiled shyly at Harry and the others, then dipped his finger into the stone basin beside him, and was sucked in. Harry began to imagine the scene of Professor Hyp suddenly appearing as he landed from the air.

Harry and Ron entered the space inside the stone basin one after the other, while Hermione stayed behind last, looking at Felix with something clearly in mind.

“Please sit down, Granger.”

Hermione sat down next to him. "Can I talk to you, Professor?"

“Of course, you’ve already completed their path ahead of time. I designed this teaching process based on your learning progress.” Felix said with a smile, leaning forward to let his palm brush across the stone basin, his fingertips scattering dappled sunlight. “Alright, no one will hear our conversation.”

Hermione pulled out the Time-Turner hidden in her clothes and hesitated before saying, "Professor, do you think I should hand it over?"

"Why do you say that?"

“I broke my promise to Professor McGonagall and used it for things other than studying. She trusts me so much. If she finds out—” Hermione said sadly.

“Miss Granger,” Felix emphasized, “do you think you’re the only one who knows about this? Perhaps your two best friends should be included as well?”

Hermione's eyes widened. "Professor, you mean there are other people who know, who know—" Her hands and feet turned cold. On the day of the Battle of the Corridor Bridge, she had broken at least a hundred laws set by the Ministry of Magic.

"Let's do a simple recap of what we did that day: we did indeed deceive time, or more accurately, we simply filled in a gap in history."

Felix said calmly, "In order to wait for the scene you described, even when they encountered several crises, I did not show myself. I observed from the sidelines, and at the closest I got to Harry, I was less than a foot away... It wasn't until your experience became everyone's experience that I took action to guide Harry, and he successfully cast the powerful Patronus. Then, what happened next occurred."

Hermione nodded; the professor had told her that, and she wholeheartedly agreed.

Felix continued, "But there's a flaw here—I appeared suddenly in front of everyone. For those who know you possess the Time-Turner, it's easy to deduce a lot from this tiny detail, like Principal Dumbledore, or Professor McGonagall..."

"What about the Ministry of Magic?" Hermione held her breath.

“The Aurors shouldn’t know about such a confidential matter, at least they wouldn’t be able to connect it to you, but Fudge… I don’t know if his power-hungry mind could come up with it, but he can’t verify it,” Felix said, spreading his hands.

Hermione secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

“I’m not trying to scare you, but to point out a problem you’ve overlooked. So, if Professor McGonagall pretends not to know, you don’t have to tell us everything, it will only embarrass you both… However, I do suggest you drop some electives, you’ve had a very tiring year.”

Hermione bit her lip, her expression conflicted. She was calculating in her mind that she had already given up divination. If she gave up one more subject, she could have a normal schedule. And she already had the answer in her heart.

She initially chose Muggle studies because she thought it would be fascinating to see ordinary people from the magical world's perspective. However, after a year, putting aside the novelty, she realized that in some common sense areas, the professor in this course didn't know more than she did, and the views in the textbook were quite outdated and pedantic. She didn't gain as much as Professor Hyp's books.

“Professor, I’ve made up my mind. I will return the Time-Turner to Professor McGonagall.”

Later that day, she would have a suitable opportunity—at Professor Lupin's farewell party.