A certain Hogwarts professor of runes.

"Can I release the little snake?"

“Oh, no way,” her sister said. This earned her a glare.

Outside classroom number seven.

Several professors gathered in the faculty lounge. Felix took out some tea leaves, Flitwick rummaged through an old cabinet and found some teacups, and Professor Sprout took out some black flower petals and added them to the tea. Everyone enjoyed their tea and chatted.

However, Snape left early, citing the need to process another batch of potions. Moody stayed, but declined the invitation to have tea together.

“Felix, what are your plans?” Flitwick asked.

"I currently have the memories of several professors, which can be used to design some dangerous scenarios for them to practice their reaction skills, crisis management abilities, and combat skills, etc. Then, I can provide individual guidance based on their specific characteristics. That's all I can think of for now."

“That’s all we can do,” Flitwick nodded. “Nobody knows what the competition will be like or what the specific rules are.”

Felix nodded slightly, agreeing with him. He knew the first project was most likely a dragon, but he didn't know the specific rules. It could be enduring the dragon's attacks for a period of time, or it could be taking something from the dragon. Judging from Charlie's earlier statement that the Ministry of Magic only selected female dragons that were incubating eggs, this possibility was the most likely.

Moody said gruffly, "I'm not an expert on things like memory, but if you ask me, real skills can only be honed in real environments. What's fake is fake. I might as well take these students to a truly dangerous place!"

"This isn't right, Alastor," Flitwick said uneasily. "We can't take the students out of the school..."

"What's wrong with that! This generation has never experienced war, they're spoiled and pampered. How can you expect them to remain calm when facing the challenges of the championship?" Moody spat dismissively. "If they were my Aurors, I would definitely train them hard and take them to capture dark wizards a few more times. Not many, just three to five times, and they would be completely transformed."

Flitwick snapped, “They’re just students! Not your Aurors.”

“But the competition they face is even more dangerous than that of a typical Auror!” Moody roared.

“No, absolutely not… Minerva won’t agree, and Dumbledore won’t agree either…” Flitwick muttered.

Felix poured himself a cup of tea, leaned back in his chair, and stared at the amber-colored tea in the cup. He said slowly, "Taking students away from the school is probably impossible, especially since they're deliberately heading into dangerous places. Professor Moody, your teaching methods have been quite controversial before..."

“The Unforgivable Curse?” Moody grinned, a cold smile playing on his lips, his demonic eye darting around. “They should be thankful they first encountered this spell in my class.”

Instead of on the battlefield...

This was the unspoken meaning in his words, which the other three professors present understood.

Moody was a complete ruthless cynic who advocated brutal teaching. In his plan, he also intended to chant spells on his students so that they could personally experience the effects of each evil curse, including the three unforgivable curses.

Of course, he chose the Imperius Curse. The other two were too dangerous; even Moody wouldn't dare use them on his students.

This outrageous teaching plan drew unanimous opposition from Flitwick and Sprout, and the tea party ended unhappily. Flitwick tiptoed toward the headmaster's office, seemingly wanting Dumbledore to persuade his friend.

When only Felix and Moody were left, Felix checked the time and asked him, "Want to go check? I reckon a few students should have gotten their invitations by now, assuming they find they can try multiple times."

Moody thought for a moment, "Forget it! I won't join in the fun. Didn't you say in the meeting that the selection would last all weekend? Just give me a list on Monday so I know who's participating in the training!"

With some effort, he pushed his cloak to one side to make room for his wooden legs to stand. Then, with a rough, scarred hand gripping his crutch, he pushed himself up.

“Albus said you were very bold, and I thought you would understand what I did,” Moody said softly.

He left with a limp.

Felix sat alone in the faculty lounge, quietly lost in thought. After some time, a knock sounded at the door, and Ernie McMillan's tall figure burst in.

“Mr. McMillan, what can I do for you?” Felix asked calmly.

“Professor Moody told me you were here. Oh, uh…” Ernie’s momentum faltered as he pulled Justin out from behind him. “Professor Hyp, it’s Justin. He has something important to tell you…”

A few minutes later, Felix understood. "So—an antique appeared in your house, and you suspect it's been enchanted, or more specifically, perhaps cursed?"

“That’s right, Professor.” Justin nodded quickly.

“Is that so…” Felix fell into thought. He asked, “Mr. Finley, please hand me a hand.”

"What? Oh—" Justin looked at the professor extending his hand, and although he was puzzled, he did as he was told.

The two held hands.

“Imagine what that thing looks like,” Felix said.

Justin began to recall that he had a deep impression of this antique and had played with it for a long time out of suspicion, but now he felt very relaxed when he thought about it.

Under the gaze of three pairs of eyes, a vase, predominantly blue, appeared in the air. It resembled a combination of a goblet and a narrow-necked bottle, its body coated with blue enamel and adorned with lapis lazuli. The vase's top had two harp-shaped arched handles, from which a silver chain extended, hanging near a smooth, clean silver base.

"A silver artifact. In other words, a silver item?" Felix chuckled. "Is it because it doesn't easily collect dust?"

Justin's eyes lit up. "That's what the person who gave the gift told my dad. Apparently, it used some ancient and special technique, which is very rare..."

Ernie McMillan couldn't help but exclaim, "That's clearly a characteristic of goblin artifacts! You didn't tell me that, otherwise I would have noticed it much sooner!"

“But I don’t know much about it either,” Justin argued.

“Justin,” Felix interrupted their conversation, “is anyone home right now?”

“They’re usually very busy and don’t get back until very late,” Justin added. “The same goes for weekends.”

“Alright, I’ll go with you tonight to visit your parents,” Felix said. He stood up, flicked his wand, and the tea disappeared, the cup was cleaned, and floated back into the cupboard.

"Let's go back and see how many people have received invitation cards?"

Justin quickly said, "There were three people before I came out: Cedric Diggory of Hufflepuff, Roger Davis of Ravenclaw, and Collins Foley of Slytherin."

……

“I’d rather die than go,” Ron said, his face pale as if he had just recovered from a serious illness. “You can’t even imagine what it’s like to be overwhelmed by swarms of spiders the size of fingernails, with countless legs crawling all over you, crawling into your mouth, ears, and nose… Damn it, I think Hagrid’s Aragog in his cage looks much better now.”

Hermione sat with her knees drawn up, silent. She gradually regained her composure, hesitated for a long time, and then whispered, "I've found a shortcut that might get me the invitation card, but I don't know if that counts as cheating..."

“What did you say?” Ron stared at her.

The black, suspended gate slowly opened, and Harry stepped out, holding a golden card in his hand.

Chapter 362 Disassembly

"Harry went to the school hospital?"

When Felix returned to classroom number seven, it was still some time before noon, and many people hadn't left yet. He asked the commentator, Li Qiaodan, who had his hair combed into neat little buns.

As soon as he entered, I heard his passionate commentary, which greatly contributed to the lively atmosphere at the scene. However, perhaps after a while, his voice became a little hoarse.

“Yes, Professor Heap,” Li Jordan said. “He got the invitation card, but he didn’t look too good. His friend Granger took him to the school hospital, along with Fred and George’s brother Ron.”

As they spoke, a figure was thrown out through the black, suspended gate. Felix gently waved his wand, allowing her to land steadily on the ground.

“Oh, thank you, Professor Hyp,” Angelina Johnson said gratefully.

Felix nodded, looking at the black door covered with handprints of all sizes. He saw a student deliberately crouching down, pressing his dirty hands against the edge of the door. "It's a symbol of courage," Lee Jordan said, and Felix chuckled.

He raised his wand and pointed near the black steps. A small mound of earth rose nearby, the soil in the center sliding outwards, overturning the grass. Before the crowd's eyes, a pointed stone monument emerged from the earth. The monument was about six or seven feet tall, and on its smooth surface, four names shone brightly, like stars. The crowd gathered, pointing and whispering—

Cedric Diggory;

Roger Davis;

Collins Foley;

Harry Potter;

The young wizards stared at the four names, filled with envy. They wished their own names could appear on them too.

When Felix heard Angelina mention Cedric's secret, he smiled slightly and waved his hand again, revealing the four words at the top of the stone tablet: courage, wisdom, perseverance, and composure.

“You should all realize that everyone can try multiple times,” Felix said calmly, projecting his voice so everyone could hear him. “Here are a few more pieces of advice—”

“Every failure will bring you a huge mental burden. It’s best to rest for half an hour to an hour before trying again, unless you have an extremely resilient and strong personality.”

The young wizards buzzed with excitement, exclaiming "Potter," "Amazing," and "Wow!" They even brought up his encouraging words to Angelina, "I'll prove it to you." Draco Malfoy mouthed disdainfully, "Saint Potter!"

Felix smiled slightly.

"As for the test, I think many of you have already guessed it: it's about facing your fears. Of course, if your fears are funny things, like a mountain of garbage or a smelly boot, then you'll be facing some interesting and strange creatures that I've specially prepared, creatures that even Headmaster Dumbledore has praised."

It wasn't just my achievement; I specifically referenced Muggle movies and the monsters and challenges that past champions had to face.

The young wizards participating in the selection glared at him, their eyes practically spitting fire. That morning, they were chased by monsters, coiled by snakes, trampled by giants, crushed by giants, and kicked like balls by cars that creaked and deformed…

The bizarre nature of his encounter could be compiled into a sensationalist storybook.

“I can see you’re all eager to continue the challenge,” Felix said with a smile. “Well then, one last thing, the entire selection process will continue until next Monday, when I will come back to confirm the final list.”

"Don't even think about casting a spell on the stone tablet and imprinting your name on it..."

University Hospital.

Madam Pomfrey irritably handed Harry a glass of potion and personally supervised him as he drank it. Harry endured the discomfort and finished the liquid, which tasted like cheap vegetable juice. He wiped his mouth vigorously, thank goodness, he didn't have to listen to Madam Pomfrey's nagging anymore.

Ron sat at Harry's feet, fiddling with the invitation card. He stroked the delicate patterns on the gold card repeatedly, his face full of envy. "It's so beautiful."

"How did you do that, Harry? Is there a trick?" he couldn't help but ask.

“My tricks might not work for you, and no one should be casting the Killing Curse on you…” Harry yawned widely. Madam Pomfrey’s potions always worked very quickly, and he forced himself to speak.

"You're facing the Killing Curse?" Ron shuddered, the card slipping from his hand, which he caught with his legs.

Hermione covered her mouth. "That spell? The one Professor Moody demonstrated in class?"

“Yeah, green beams of light shot at you from all directions, and every time I thought I was going to die,” Harry said lazily. “Only after we got outside did we escape this state…”

"It's so strange! I tried a few times in the middle, telling myself that it was all fake, but I forgot all about it after I went in."

“We are too,” Ron said. “Hermione and I. I tried twice and saw more than a dozen different spiders, and each one was different, can you believe it?” He said incredulously, “There’s a ball spider that if you poke it, pus will ooze from its belly, and when my spell hits—” He paused slightly, remembering some terrible memory, and his face scrunched up.

“I faced all sorts of academic setbacks: failing exams, being called in by professors, being expelled from school for not being able to use magic, or magical accidents…” Hermione sighed. “Like you, I completely forgot that I was being tested in a strange place. It was as if we had suddenly lost our minds and couldn’t remember why we were there.”

"That might be what the professor intended."

“But if we don’t remember and treat it as real every time, how can we possibly get through?” Ron said.

Harry said thoughtfully, “We shouldn’t just think about what happens inside the Black Gate. Didn’t the professor emphasize potential and growth? Don’t forget, we forget we’re under trial inside the Black Gate, but we remember everything after we come out. I suddenly realized that the interval between the two trials is the key to overcoming fear and growing.”

"So the test is actually to verify whether you have reflected and grown?" Hermione said astutely.

“No, haha—that’s right.” Harry’s eyelids drooped, and he looked sleepy.

He tapped his head. "There's something else I need to tell you. There's a spell on the invitation card, probably made by Professor Hyp. It's very, very interesting, and I strongly suggest you...you try it!"

Harry hadn't finished speaking when he slumped onto the pillow and fell asleep. He was too tired today.

“What kind of magic is it?” Ron stared at the gold card, turning it over and over for a long time, before handing it to Hermione. “I didn’t find anything.”

Hermione took it, pulled out her wand, and pointed: "Spell Revealed! Reveal the secret!" After a long while, she hesitated and said, "It should be a one-time spell; only the first person to get the card will receive this reward."

Ron said regretfully, "I really wanted to shake Harry awake and ask him what happened."

After lunch, the two returned to Room Seven. They had specifically asked Madam Pomfrey for a large bottle of potion to soothe their nerves. Hermione begged for a long time before Madam Pomfrey reluctantly gave it to her.