A certain Hogwarts professor of runes.

What do you think of Cedric?

"He has a particular fondness for magical puppets..."

Isn't this perfect?

“Yes… Aubrey is good too, as are Selton and Pardis.”

Felix stroked his chin, watching the two figures retreating. They were both talking about people from the Magic Rune Club; was there something about them he didn't know?

After afternoon classes ended, Felix walked towards the Great Hall, a Niffler perched on his shoulder, attracting many curious glances along the way. Just as he reached the foyer, he saw Harry and Draco arguing in the distance.

Harry said something angrily, then pulled Ron away. Draco Malfoy's face turned red. He threw down the newspaper in his hand, angrily pulled out his wand from behind his back, and pointed it fiercely at Harry.

"boom!"

Harry nimbly leaped to the side, a fiery spell brushing past his hair. He turned around and swung his hand sharply—Draco seemed to have been hit by something, his wand slipped from his hand, and he stumbled backward, only to be caught by Crabbe to prevent him from falling.

Several screams arrived belatedly.

"Merlin's beard, what is that?!"

"Silent and wandless spellcasting, Potter is amazing! It's such a pity he's only in fourth grade..."

"Do you think he could become a warrior if there were no age limit?"

"It's hard to say, everyone has made great progress in the past two years."

Ron stared at Harry in shock. "How did you do that?"

Harry stared blankly at the wand that had suddenly appeared in his hand—it belonged to Malfoy. Harry himself didn't know what was happening; he was just indignant at being suddenly attacked and instinctively retaliated. Just as he was about to say something, he heard a loud crash from the hallway.

Bang! Then a roar echoed in the hallway.

"You're not allowed to do that, kid!"

Moody appeared, limping, his wand pointing at a snow-white weasel trembling on the stone-paved ground, right where Malfoy had just stood.

In the silence, Moody asked, "Did he hurt you?"

“No,” Harry said, “the spell didn’t hit.”

"Don't touch it!" Moody yelled.

"Don't touch—what?" Harry asked, bewildered.

"I'm not talking about you—I'm talking about him!" Moody roared again, raising his thumb and pointing over Crabbe's shoulder. Crabbe was about to pick up the weasel, but he was so frightened that he froze on the spot.

Moody began to limp toward Crabbe, Goyle, and the ferret. The ferret cried out in alarm, dodged, and ran off in the opposite direction.

“I don’t believe in this!” Moody roared, pointing his wand at the weasel again—just then, someone stepped in front of the weasel. “Oh, Professor Moody, I can’t let you do that.”

Felix smiled and deflected the spell.

The weasel huddled at his feet, while the Niffler Valen perched on his shoulder, watching him curiously.

As for Felix himself, his gaze had already fallen on the dirty Daily Prophet, which had been stepped on several times on the ground. Coincidentally, he had just seen the headline on it that morning.

Chapter 355 Testing

“Professor Hyp, I advise you to mind your own business,” Moody said calmly. “He needs to be taught a lesson. Attacking someone from behind is the dirtiest and most despicable act…”

“That makes sense,” Felix said. “However, Hogwarts hasn’t punished students like that for a long time. I suggest sending him to Professor Snape for solitary confinement.”

“Snape?” Moody gave a disdainful look. “Yeah, Snape… I bet he doesn’t want to see me… But I do hope to have a good talk with him, what a great idea!”

He pointed his wand at the ferret, and Felix stepped forward. "Oh, I think I'll leave it to me."

boom!

A scorching spell struck the golden magic barrier, sparking golden and red sparks. Moody's wand shone brightly, its red light illuminating the half of his face that was twitching uncontrollably.

“Professor Moody,” Felix said softly, “you used a Stunning Spell.”

“Try your skills, kid!” Moody roared, his spell forming a beam of light. “Dumbledore has praised you highly, but people like us always believe what we see.”

“That’s quite a rare thing,” Felix said, frowning, as the power of the armor charm in front of him increased accordingly. He had a fairly good impression of Moody; having a decent person at school was always better than some inexplicable liar or dark wizard, and Moody was also a supporter and friend of Dumbledore.

But

He was really crazy. Severus advised him not to get into trouble, but trouble still came.

The students took a few steps back, but more people crowded around, watching the scene with shocked expressions. Last year, Snape and Lupin had smashed the office to pieces, but no one knew. This was different; the two professors were openly fighting!

"Quickly, call someone over! Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall, Professor Flitwick, Snape... whoever it is!" Hermione shouted frantically.

Some students, sensing something was wrong, went to call for help. A Slytherin prefect rushed down the hallway to the basement. "I'm going to find Professor Snape!" he shouted hastily.

"You can't do that, kid!" Moody seemed to have regained his composure and even had the leisure to shout at the people around him. He roared, "Step back a bit more! This is a rare opportunity to show you how a real wizard fights!"

“Sorry, Professor Moody. I’m not as… indifferent to the consequences as you are,” Felix said.

He actually preferred the word "crazy," but at this point, it wasn't good to provoke Moody. Who knew if Moody might suddenly get serious as the game progressed? In any case, Felix wouldn't deliberately admit defeat.

The young wizards watching noticed that Professor Hyp's spell was becoming increasingly dark and terrifying, unlike the Ironclad Spell. It looked more like a piece of rusty iron, or perhaps a tattered shield that had been found somewhere, buried for many years, but no one would doubt that it was stained with blood.

Its color is a mixture of dark red and iron gray, and its shape is twisted, with a brass luster at the break.

"What kind of magic is this!" The young wizards gasped, stunned. Professor Hyp's magic looked a bit evil... but its power was truly formidable.

They thought only the arrival of other professors could stop this sudden conflict, but the situation quickly changed. Felix wasn't going to let the stalemate continue. A clash of spells could be considered a friendly exchange, but what about jumping around and unleashing vicious curses at each other?

He twirled his wand, and the dark red and iron-gray armored charm quickly softened, flowing like blood. Small points protruded from the shield, like forked snakes, coiling towards Moody's powerful stun spell.

Moody's intact eye widened, while his other demonic eye darted around wildly. What was this thing? He sensed something was wrong and tried to sever the spell, but the connection was no longer something he could break on his own.

Felix had silently invaded his magic, and the two wands were now forcibly linked together.

The intense, laser-like beam of light was gradually stained with iron gray and dark red, leaving spots that looked like a child smearing paint on the beautiful railing.

Currently, this handprint is getting closer and closer to Moody's.

All of this happened in a short period of time. The students could still hear the prefect's hurried footsteps as he ran towards the basement, but anyone could tell that he probably didn't need to call for help.

Even the Niffler Valen, who was covering his eyes, openly stared at Moody across from him, grumbling and baring his teeth.

“Professor Moody, I just want to end this pointless dispute.”

"Are you kidding me!" Moody gritted his teeth. "Let go!"

“Okay, right away…” Felix gently agreed, but he didn’t let go; instead, he sped up the intrusion.

Moody's expression grew increasingly grim, one side of his face twitching more violently. His demonic eyes, like those of a caged owl, darted wildly, but then, a barely perceptible smile appeared on his face. Someone was coming.

"Felix! Professor Moody! What are you doing..." McGonagall's surprised voice rang out. The books she was holding scattered all over the floor. She rushed over, drew her wand, but didn't know what to do, and stood anxiously by.

"Let go, Professor Hyp. I acknowledge your strength," Moody said calmly, his eyes no longer showing any madness.

Felix shrugged. With Professor McGonagall around, there shouldn't be any fighting now. He flicked his wand, and the intense magical fluctuations subsided. Moody withdrew his wand and took two steps back.

Everyone stared blankly at the beam of light that lingered in mid-air. After losing the magic of both sides, the beam corroded and turned into ashes, peeling away bit by bit, creating a breathtakingly beautiful sight.

McGonagall stared at the lingering traces of magic in the air, speechless for a long time. She looked at the two of them and said irritably, "Can anyone explain what happened? Two professors fighting in broad daylight! Nothing like this has ever happened at Hogwarts!"

Neither of them spoke first. Moody hadn't come up with an excuse yet, and Felix couldn't very well say that the new professor was indeed a tough Auror who would resort to violence at the slightest provocation.

McGonagall's eyes grew increasingly dangerous, her lips pressed into a thin line, and her chest swelled up like an angry balloon.

Harry felt it was his responsibility to explain the situation, since it had started with an argument between him, Ron, and Malfoy, but he suddenly saw a small hand stick out from Professor Hyp's shoulder and point to the ferret below.

McGonagall also noticed the Niffler's actions. She actually had some reservations about Felix keeping a Niffler, but since there were no rumors of anything being stolen from the castle yet, she decided to wait and see.

Her gaze fell on the weasel, somewhat puzzled. The little creature was quite pretty, all white, but it seemed very timid, its two front paws gripping Felix's trouser leg tightly, unable to escape even during the intense magical battle just now.

If Niffler Valen is Felix's pet and they have a close relationship, then what about this ferret?

Harry, somewhat embarrassed, reminded him from the side, "It's Malfoy."

"what?"

“That ferret, he’s Draco Malfoy,” Harry repeated.

"Oh my god!" McGonagall looked at the weasel in surprise. Felix waved his wand, and with a loud crack, Draco Malfoy was restored.

He said somewhat apologetically, "I had completely forgotten about you."

Chapter 356 Conversation

Draco didn't speak. He lay sprawled on the floor, his face glistening with sweat, his light blond hair plastered to his forehead, trembling. He staggered a few steps but couldn't stand up. Crabbe and Goyle came over, looked at Moody who wasn't responding, and helped Draco to his feet.

McGonagall's suspicious gaze darted between Felix and Moody, and she quickly identified her target. She frowned and said, "Professor Moody, did you use Transfiguration on Malfoy?"

“Yes, we need to teach him a lesson, to leave him with a lasting impression, so he won’t attack others from behind in the future,” Moody said.

Professor McGonagall glanced at Felix inquiringly. Felix nodded slightly. McGonagall said weakly, "Even so, we would only put them in solitary confinement, not punish them with shapeshifting. Prolonged shapeshifting is harmful and was abolished long ago. Dumbledore must have told you this, right?"

"You probably mentioned it, right?" Moody scratched his chin casually, grinned, and said in a gruff voice, "It's not that serious, Professor McGonagall!"

"I couldn't stand his attack from behind, so I tried to scare him. Professor Hyp suddenly appeared and probably thought my actions were inappropriate! A small conflict ensued. I had also heard a lot about Dumbledore from him before... so I thought I'd test his skills."

Moody limped around, waving his rough, calloused hand, and said in a hoarse voice, "I know why I'm here. Dumbledore didn't hire me to be a pushover!"

"Danger never appears out of the open, giving you time to prepare. That's why I'm here to sever the tentacles of some people and some things. I did overreact a bit, but in my experience, overreacting is always better than being caught off guard!"

"Stay alert at all times!" he roared, startling a first-year student who sat down on the ground.

Moody's magic eye saw it. He grinned, dragged his wooden prosthetic leg to the new student, grabbed him, and, pointing his missing piece of flesh at his nose and his intact eye, laughed loudly, saying, "Kid! You'll find that appearances are the least frightening thing. Excuse me, move aside."

The crowd parted to make way for him, looking at him with awe.

“Right!” Moody stopped and turned to look at Felix. “We’d better pick some promising warriors and train them beforehand, right during the first dueling class, what do you think?”

“Of course,” Felix said with a smile.

Moody stared at him intently for a few seconds, then strode away.

"Wow, he's so cool!" a student exclaimed, watching Moody's retreating figure.

“He’s a true warrior, the kind who knows everything, very knowledgeable… You’ll see when the time comes.” Another student spoke highly of Moody, having just attended Moody’s class that afternoon.

Professor McGonagall glanced at the students who remained and said sternly, "Scatter, scatter! Go eat, don't block the way." She walked over to Draco Malfoy, but her gaze hesitated as she looked at Felix.

"Then, Mr. Malfoy..."

“I’ll hand it over to Severus,” Felix said.