A certain Hogwarts professor of runes.

“They were probably eaten by a giant snake,” Hufflepuff student Ernie McMillan told his friend Justin Finley.

“Don’t listen to him,” said Susan Burns, who was standing nearby. “Last year he said that Sirius Black turned himself into an orange and was bought back by Filch…”

“I was just saying it offhand!” said Ernie McMillan, a tall, imposing man. “Besides, I got the inspiration from Hannah; she said Blake could turn into a flowering bush!”

Hannah Abbott frowned and looked at him with hostility.

"...Just two years ago they were saying Harry Potter was the heir to the Chamber of Secrets," Susan Bornes continued, ignoring the argument.

Ernie yelled angrily, "I already apologized to Harry! Apologize in front of everyone!" Justin tugged at him; his sleeves were almost rolled up, revealing a pair of short, chubby hands.

Ernie muttered discontentedly, "So what if she has an aunt who is the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement..."

Susan Burns glared at him, but they didn't start arguing. The seventh-grader returned, his legs as weak as noodles. His friend asked him, "What happened to you?"

“A... a Rune-a-Snake!” he said, his teeth chattering. “It was even more terrifying than those two Weasleys described! It kept chasing me, and there were other things following behind. I didn’t see them clearly, I was just running and throwing Obstruction Charms behind me, and then…” He swallowed hard and said breathlessly, “I saw a mouth.”

"Whose mouth?"

"No, I don't know. I rushed straight into its mouth. I only remember its mouthful of yellow teeth, tightly shut, and then... then I came out." He finished recounting his experience, his voice trembling.

The young Hufflepuff wizard looked rather grim. Just then, Cedric Diggory took a deep breath. "I'll give it a try!"

Chapter 360 Another Attempt

“Sed,” Cho Chang asked softly, “why don’t we wait a little longer?”

“No, I’m afraid it will only get worse if we drag this out any longer,” Cedric said with a smile. “Professor Hyp won’t set up any insurmountable obstacles. He’s selecting candidates for warriors, not powerful wizards. The secret is in what he said earlier.”

Qiu Zhang looked at him thoughtfully and said, "Courage, wisdom, perseverance, composure?"

Cedric nodded and strode out. Lee Jordan was encouraging people to come forward. The previous examples made the young wizards a little apprehensive, and they were willing to wait until the first person to receive an invitation card appeared.

Harry couldn't resist any longer. He took a few steps forward and caught a glimpse of Cedric walking towards him out of the corner of his eye.

"Anyone else want to try?" Li Jordan was still trying to persuade them. "The professors might come back with a cup of tea, and what will they think when they see three zeros? Oh, a fourth volunteer has appeared! Let's cheer for him, Cedric Diggory from Hufflepuff!"

Cedric walked up the smooth, black steps, touched the black door, and was sucked inside in the blink of an eye.

The students couldn't help but slow their breathing, afraid that he would be thrown out at any moment. But ten seconds passed, thirty seconds passed, one minute, two minutes, until five minutes had passed, when the suspended black door opened silently, and Cedric walked down the steps holding a golden card.

"Look! Cedric did it! He got the invitation card! He's the first one!" Lee Jordan shouted excitedly, and the students of Hufflepuff burst into a huge cheer.

Li Jordan grabbed Cedric and said, "Dude, you're really something! Anything you want to say to us?"

Cedric smiled shyly, exuding an indescribable ease: "I only have four words to say—courage, wisdom, perseverance, and composure, that's enough. Oh, right," he thought for a moment, "Professor Hyp cast a spell on the card, and I think that's my biggest takeaway today."

He returned to the Hufflepuff crowd and was surrounded by them.

"Cedric, how did you get through this?"

"Yes, how did they escape from the mouth of the runic serpent?"

"What is that thing with the big mouth? Is it a giant?"

Cedric shook his head. "I haven't encountered any of these things, not a single one. I don't think Professor Hyp is testing us on how to defeat them; I've already told you the secret."

He found Qiu Zhang and said, "Qiu, I suggest you give it a try."

"Because of the magic on the card?" Qiu Zhang asked.

“That’s part of the reason, well, mainly because I want you to join me in the training,” Cedric said, scratching his head.

……

With successful examples and key tips, more people dared to try, and long lines even formed. Lee Jordan reminded them, "Tests can be done simultaneously; Fred and George did just that—"

One by one, the young wizards went in, but even more were thrown out at an even faster pace, getting up from the ground dejectedly.

Harry, followed by Ron and Hermione, said, "You don't need to come with me, you can wait a little longer..."

“Don’t talk nonsense, I want to try it myself,” Hermione said impatiently.

“Yeah, who wouldn’t want an invitation?” Ron said with a grin, but Harry could clearly see fear in his eyes, and even his tone of voice was different from usual.

Harry took a deep breath, walked up the steps, and touched the patterns on the door. The next second, the patterns on the door started to move, spinning to form a shallow vortex that sucked him in.

'Let me see what's inside!' Harry said to himself.

His feet touched solid ground, and before he could even see his surroundings, a dazzling green light filled his entire field of vision, accompanied by a hoarse, terrifying sound as chilling as the wind—

"Avadakendawa!"

Harry's heart nearly stopped beating, everything went black, and he felt as if he had stepped into thin air, plummeting helplessly. The next second, his body tensed—

"Harry! Harry!"

"Harry, what's wrong?"

Ron and Hermione looked at him with concern, and Harry then realized that he was not dead, but had been thrown out through the black door and caught by them.

'What kind of test is this? It doesn't even give me time to react?' Harry was baffled.

Ron looked at Harry, whose face was pale, and advised, "It's okay to fail. We can watch the show." Harry followed his gaze and saw a row of students lying on the ground. He also saw many familiar faces from Gryffindor.

Angelina Johnson got up, looking disheveled. She looked up and saw Harry staring at her. She gave a bitter smile. "I was thinking, since there's no Quidditch this year, I might as well find something to do. Becoming a school champion would be nice, but I couldn't even make the school selections, which means I'm not cut out for it..."

She shook her head dejectedly and prepared to leave.

“No, you can do it!” Harry said.

"what?"

“You can—” Harry struggled to his feet, “I’ll prove it to you.”

Under her questioning gaze, Harry walked up the steps again. Even the commentator, Li Jordan, was taken aback and murmured, "It seems Potter wants to try a second time. I don't know if it will work..."

Ignoring what others thought, Harry placed his hand on the black door and silently prayed.

The slight feeling of weightlessness returned, which delighted him. It worked! He knew the professor wouldn't kill anyone instantly, and everyone could try again!

Hermione watched his retreating figure with concern. "Harry was too impulsive. I can guess that the professor used a technique similar to the Mind Chamber, perhaps combined with Legilimency, or the abilities of Boggarts or Dementors, to force everyone to confront their deepest fears. And in the process, they would display all sorts of heroic qualities..."

She shook her head. "But every failure is a significant blow; just look at those people." She paused slightly, staring intently at the black door, then suddenly chuckled.

"What's wrong?" Ron asked, puzzled.

"Oh dear," Hermione tried to hold back her laughter, but her shoulders began to tremble violently. "Look... on the door, Harry... Harry's handprint!"

Ron and Angelina stared at the door, vaguely making out a dirty handprint—undoubtedly Harry's. Everyone else had tried it for the first time; only Harry was repeating the challenge, his hands still covered in mud.

Angelina smiled faintly, about to say something, when Harry was thrown out of the black door for the second time.

His face was even paler than before, but his eyes were unusually bright. Before they could ask any questions, Harry hurriedly blurted out, "I've figured it out!" Then he rushed back like a whirlwind, climbed the steps in a few strides, and slammed his hand on the black door, leaving another fresh muddy handprint.

Li Qiaodan leaned closer, put down his wand, and whispered, "Is he possessed?"

“I don’t think so,” Angelina said. “That’s the Harry Potter I know—stubborn, single-minded, just like when he was training.”

Hermione stood up and pulled Ron up with her.

"What are you doing?" Ron was examining the handprints on the black door and commented, "The second handprint is clearer. Harry's hand must hurt a lot!"

But Hermione pulled him up the steps, saying firmly, "It's our turn."

“I knew I couldn’t avoid it,” Ron muttered. He looked left and right, then placed his hand on Harry’s muddy handprint.

Chapter 361 Antiques and Invitation Cards

Time passed slowly, and Ernie McMillan and Justin returned together, having undoubtedly failed.

After a moment of silence, Ernie asked him, "Do you want to try again?" Justin shook his head and casually found an empty spot to sit down. "Let me catch my breath." He said, somewhat incredulously, "How did Potter do that?"

The two turned their heads and saw Harry's retreating figure disappear again, a feeling of admiration rising in their hearts. When he failed two or three times, some Slytherins booed, and even Gryffindor students felt a little embarrassed, but when he failed for the ninth or tenth time, no one laughed at him anymore.

Harry's two friends, Hermione and Ron, also tried it, sitting crookedly to one side.

Justin hesitated for a moment before saying, "Ernie, there's something I want to ask you."

"What is it?" Ernie asked casually.

"It has nothing to do with the selection process. It's because of my family... During the summer vacation, someone gave my parents an antique vase, and I always felt something was off about it..."

Ernie muttered, "Could it be a spell?"

"Is that possible?" Justin asked nervously.

“How would I know? I’ve never even seen him.” Ernie rolled his eyes. “But I do know who I can ask for help.”

"Who?"

"Professor Hyp is the best, of course. He's the expert in these magical items."

“Yes,” Justin immediately agreed, “Ernie, you’re right, then I’ll have Mom and Dad send the stuff over—”

"That thing just sits in your house?" Ernie's eyes widened, making him look like a bull.

“Uh, that’s right,” Justin said sheepishly. Seeing Ernie’s eyes widen again, he quickly added, “But that antique is kept in a cabinet, and no one usually touches it.”

Ernie thought for a moment, "In that case, I suggest you don't send any more letters home. Let's go find Professor Hyp."

"Now?" Justin asked in surprise.

"Of course! What are you thinking? What if there's a curse on it?" Ernie couldn't help but shout at him, his face turning red with excitement.

Hearing this, Justin couldn't sit still any longer. "Let's go find Professor Hyp right now!"

As Justin and Ernie Macmillan hurriedly parted the crowd and passed a small group of Slytherin students, they accidentally stepped on Pansy Parkinson's foot, who was talking to a sullen Draco Malfoy.

"Ouch!" Pansy cried out in pain.

“Ah! I’m sorry—” Justin said apologetically. Pansy glared at him, about to say something sarcastic, but Justin was pulled away by Ernie. “Hurry up, the professors have been gone for a while.”

Pansy raised her arms and screamed, “Draco, look at them—the McMillan family has fallen into depravity, as ill-mannered as those Muggles! I should tell my dad to write home and get him away from those stinking bastards…”

"Sister, do you think she looks like a fox with manic-depressive disorder?" a little girl with delicate features asked.

“Don’t talk nonsense, Astoria.” Daphne held her sister’s hand tightly, a hint of a smile playing at the corners of her eyes. She gestured towards Pansy, indicating that she shouldn’t hear them.

Pansy hadn't heard; she was relaying her grandfather's words, "Hufflepuff students are a bunch of idiots, so most of them are unhappy." Draco, growing impatient, turned his head toward Astoria.

Astoria was startled and, feeling a little guilty, whispered in Daphne's ear, "He—may—have—heard." She stared nervously at Draco Malfoy for a long time, and finally breathed a sigh of relief when she realized that he didn't seem to be telling the fox-face.

Before long, she became restless again—