A certain Hogwarts professor of runes.

By this time, Li Qiaodan had disappeared. The morning's commentary had taken a toll on his throat. According to Neville, he planned to urgently order a box of iced rat candy from Owl to soothe his throat.

Hermione glanced at the extra black stone tablet and gave a soft hum.

Harry returned in the late afternoon, nearing dinnertime. He first enthusiastically went through all the names on the stone tablet, and when he saw "Angelina Johnson," he was genuinely happy for her. He also saw Cho Chang's name, and he couldn't quite describe whether he felt sad or happy—he already knew that Cho Chang had agreed to be Cedric's girlfriend.

Before he could think any further, Angelina rushed over and gave him a warm hug. "Thank you, Harry," she said, then pulled him into the Gryffindor crowd.

"Oh, our hero Potter is here!" the twins cheered. Fred gave a perfunctory bow: "It's an honor, we've been needing a mentor."

“No, I’m not—” Harry waved his hand awkwardly, “I’m not old enough.”

The twins put their arms around his shoulders, one on each side. "We can include you in the aging serum deal," he said, gesturing towards Li Jordan. "Li found a way, but you need to buy at least an ounce. We're looking for someone to share the cost..."

"Don't you get a share of the profits?" Ron asked.

“That’s true, George. We’ve been spending too much lately and forgot we still have a debt to collect,” Fred said.

“That makes sense. We’ve only just started the month, and we’ve already spent thirty Galleons,” George said.

“Thirty Galleons!” Ron said angrily, his eyes wide. “And you won’t even buy your own brother a new dress!”

The twins exchanged a glance.

“We went through the same thing,” Fred shrugged, “and all the money went into materials. We could lend you some feathers to stick on your dress.”

Chapter 363 After the Lights Out

Ron stormed off, and Harry reached out to catch his retreating figure, unsure of what to say.

On his first day back at school, while packing his luggage, he saw the dress Mrs. Weasley had prepared for Ron. To him, it looked more like a maroon velvet gown with a neckline trimmed with what appeared to be moldy ruffles and matching lace on the cuffs.

Harry didn't have the courage to wear it out. Judging from Ron's expression at the time, he wished he could keep the clothes at the bottom of his trunk and never use them in his life.

Ten seconds later, Ron flew out spinning.

Harry and Hermione caught him. Ron sat on the ground, his face pale, and said in a low voice, "I've had enough of being poor. Harry, can you lend me some money? I promise I'll pay you back!"

Harry hesitated for two seconds, knowing what Ron was going to do—buy the aging potion. “No problem,” he said.

“Ron! You shouldn’t—Dumbledore wouldn’t be unaware of this—” Hermione advised.

"None of your business." Ron buried his head. "Didn't you say you had a way to get the invitation card? You weren't just talking nonsense, were you?"

Hermione stared at him incredulously, but Ron only gave her the back of his head. Hermione gave him a haughty look and strode up the steps.

Her figure disappeared in front of the cold, black, suspended gate. Only a dozen seconds later, the black mist began to fluctuate violently.

Ron stared in disbelief at the black stone tablet, where a golden name appeared in a flamboyant style—Hermione Granger. The black door opened silently, releasing a surge of scorching heat, and the golden flames behind her gradually faded.

……

Eight o'clock in the evening.

Felix Apparated Justin Finley to a London alley, then they took a taxi and, following Justin's address, arrived at the villa district.

“Mom, it’s me, Justin.” Justin rang the doorbell in front of the yard and spoke into the microphone, “I’m with a professor from the school.”

"Oh my goodness! Honey, Mommy's coming right away."

A flurry of activity came from the other end of the microphone, as if someone had broken a glass.

Justin opened his mouth, somewhat embarrassed. Felix silently observed the patterns carved on the pillar until a well-dressed woman strode out, hurriedly adjusting her hat.

"Hello, you are, uh..."

She paused, looking at Justin and then at Felix, through the gate.

"Are you... a professor?" she asked cautiously. He was so young. All the professors she had ever met were overweight and had thinning hair, without exception.

Even if magic can cure hair loss, it can't make people younger, right? The professor named "McG" who visited our home the first time didn't have that ability.

“Oh, Mom, open the door! He’s my ancient runes professor, I told you about him!” Justin said from the side.

The woman reached out a hand through the door and flicked him on the forehead.

"Ouch!"

The woman patted her pocket with satisfaction, then said apologetically, "Is this Professor Haip? This child did mention you, saying you're very young, but I thought you should at least... Oh, sorry, I forgot my keys. I changed my clothes when I got home tonight... I'll be right back." She hurried away.

Justin asked doubtfully, "Professor Hyp? We can use the unlocking charm..."

“There’s no need for that,” Felix said. “Waiting won’t hurt.”

Justin scratched his curly hair, puzzled. "Professor, what kind of magic did you just use? A Portkey?"

Felix laughed. "Where did you hear that word?"

"Ernie told me that during the Quidditch World Cup in the summer, the Ministry of Magic prepared three hundred Portkeys, which people from all over the world used to come to England!"

“Three hundred is just the number within the UK,” Felix said. “The magic of the door key needs to be attached to an object; I used Apparition.”

"Apparition?"

"That's right, it's more convenient than a door key, and you've seen the results. You'll be exposed to it when you're in sixth grade."

"But why haven't I seen anyone else use it?"

"Oh, because the school is under a spell that prevents apparition, and of course, it also prevents door keys."

At that moment, Mrs. Justin appeared, jogging in, and greeted the two of them inside.

Mr. Finley, who had the same curly hair as Justin, brought over two cups of coffee. “I heard from Justin that you drink coffee too. A friend gave me some Geisha coffee; you can try it.”

He put down his coffee, wiped his hands, and shook hands with Felix.

Felix explained his purpose, and the Finleys were taken aback. They immediately led him to the study. As they walked, Mr. Finley explained, "It used to be in the living room, but Justin always kept playing with it, and his mother was worried he would break it, so she put it in the study."

Justin glared at his mother, who then messed up his hair.

In the study, Felix carefully examined the antique vase, scrutinizing it intently for a long time. He wasn't looking at the patterns on the enamel surface, but rather at the magical radiance hidden beneath—invisible to ordinary people.

"Is there a problem?" Mr. Finley asked somewhat nervously.

“Oh, no,” Felix said. “No matter how many times you see it, you’ll be amazed by the goblins’ craftsmanship. Some of their magic is comparable to the best alchemical formulas… But rest assured, there are no curses on it.”

“That’s good, that’s good.” Mr. Finley breathed a sigh of relief. He had been worried about some kind of radiation or something—forgive him for not understanding magic, but that was the curse he had imagined.

Afterwards, the Finleys invited him to spend a weekend with them. Felix knew they wanted Justin to stay.

He said tactfully, "Hogwarts students all live on campus, and professors have an inescapable responsibility for the safety of young wizards..." Seeing their disappointed expressions, he added, "I can only stay until tomorrow morning at most. Please prepare a guest room for me, preferably one that is quiet."

“Of course, don’t worry, Professor Hyp,” Mrs. Finley quickly agreed, afraid he might change his mind. She patted Justin on the back of the head and said sternly, “Where’s your manners?”

Justin said sullenly, "Thank you, Professor."

……

Hogwarts, after lights out.

Harry went to bed early, he was exhausted from the day. Ron and Hermione had a fight and were ignoring each other, but Hermione had already received an invitation card, and Harry naturally hoped that Ron could get one too. He and Ron spent the whole afternoon in classroom number seven.

However, there was very little he could do; he could only help analyze the situation after Ron's failure, which was hardly something he was good at. Fortunately, Hermione had left behind Madam Pomfrey's potion, which could alleviate their mental fatigue and shorten their rest time considerably.

Ron lay in bed, tossing and turning, unable to sleep, his face full of worries.

He stared at the light outside the window, and could barely make out a corner of the moon.

Harry succeeded, Hermione succeeded, and even... He glanced at Neville, who was snoring loudly. Yes, even Neville had successfully obtained an invitation card.

He knew he couldn't compare to Harry and Hermione, but he at least didn't want to fall too far behind.

He sat up, stared blankly for a while, and finally, tiptoed out of bed, picked up the half-empty bottle of medicine from the table, walked out of the dormitory, and pushed open the door to the common room.

Ron walked cautiously down the dark corridor, not daring to even use his fluorescent flashlight, for fear of running into Filch or Mrs. Lorris.

Finally, half an hour later, he arrived near classroom number seven, secretly rejoicing at his good luck.

Ron, wand in his mouth, dared not make a sound, his hands groping along the wall. Classroom number seven was unlocked; entry was done by drawing a rune. Professor Hyp had just mentioned it in the Rune Club.

Right now, all he needs to do is find the right spot, quickly sketch out the runes, sneak into the classroom, and he'll have an extra night compared to others.

Ron touched something raised, cool to the touch, yet warmer than the walls and door. He was instantly alert—he'd found it! But the next second, a suppressed scream rang in his ears, sending chills down his spine.

A ghost? A pixie? No, it's a living person...

"who!"

"Who!" Ron's voice was so frightened that it became distorted, his tone convoluted and he didn't even know what he was saying.

In the darkness, an unknown creature was less than a foot away from him. Ron swallowed hard, took two steps back, raised his wand, and whispered, "Fluorescence."

A hazy glow emanated from the tip of the staff, illuminating the face so close to his—

"Draco Malfoy!"

"Ron Weasley!"

Chapter 364 The Starry Sky

Ron and Draco stared at each other, falling into an eerie silence.

“You’re out at night, Malfoy!” Ron preemptively rebuked him.

"Are you talking about yourself, Weasley?" Draco said casually.

After another brief silence, Draco spoke, his eyes gleaming. "Stop pretending, Weasley. We're all in this for the same purpose. Let's not talk about who's who. You don't want to get into trouble, do you?"

Ron touched the medicine bottle in his pocket and remained silent.

"Meow~"

A cat appeared out of nowhere, perched on the windowsill, bathed in moonlight, its yellow eyes fixed on them.

"Get away—get away, you stupid cat!" Ron immediately became anxious, whispering and waving his hands at it.

However, Lady Lorris gave him a haughty glance, her smooth, gray fur gleaming silver in the moonlight, and her gaze passed over Ron to Draco Malfoy behind him.

A magic wand emerged, its tip gleaming red.

Ron shoved Draco aside, causing his wand to deflect and the spell to hit the wall—

"What are you doing?" Ron said angrily.

“I just wanted it to sleep for a while, and you wanted it to attract Filch?” Draco said calmly. “It was you—foolish Weasley—who let it get away.”