A certain Hogwarts professor of runes.

Egilbert Fontana swirled his wand behind him, turning the Flame Badge into a vortex. He then strode over and shook hands with Dumbledore.

“Professor Fontana, welcome,” Dumbledore said.

“Oh, Professor Dumbledore, you look exactly the same,” Fontana said, his eyes shining. He wore a dark brown robe, and his jet-black hair was neatly combed, not a hair out of place even when he shook hands firmly.

Dumbledore's long silver beard was blown into a lovely arc by the cool autumn breeze of October.

"Please allow me to introduce you—Professor Cormac Wilkinson, the Defense Against the Dark Arts, and two teaching assistants from the school, Julia Edmund and Bethney Bach, who insisted on coming. And of course, this year's main characters, my students!"

Dumbledore smiled and led them inside, followed by Ilfamoni's students. The student named Byers had been looking around ever since he appeared. When he spotted Felix, he shuffled over to stand next to the blonde female teaching assistant.

“Sister, it’s Mr. Hep.” He whispered, but his voice was so loud that the students next to him heard him.

They all looked at the Hogwarts professors.

"Which one?" someone asked.

“The youngest one!” Byers replied.

Besni subtly nudged her younger brother and whispered, "Your brother Julia and I both saw it. You have a year to get to know him, now! Act like a proper student, all the Hogwarts students are watching!"

As she spoke, she wore a polite smile and followed behind the headmaster and Professor Wilkinson. However, as they passed the Hogwarts professors' group, Byers couldn't help but gesture to Felix to lift his mask.

The boy next to him laughed and teased, "Is this the person you've been thinking about for a whole year?"

“Shut up, Grevis,” Byers whispered.

They only quieted down when Yuria looked over.

Ilfamoni's delegation entered the Great Hall, followed by Hogwarts professors, and finally the heads of the four houses and their students.

Huge silk banners hung on the walls of the Great Hall, each representing a house in Hogwarts: Gryffindor with a red background and a golden lion, Ravenclaw with a blue background and a bronze eagle, Hufflepuff with a yellow background and a black badger, and Slytherin with a green background and a silver boa constrictor.

Behind the teacher's desk hung the largest banner, bearing the Hogwarts emblem: a lion, eagle, badger, and snake joined together, encircling a large letter H.

“I don’t know what to do at this time,” Ron said. “We just finished eating at ten in the morning…”

But he soon knew what to do. As the Hogwarts students took their seats in the Great Hall, the Ivermony students standing in the center began to sing the school song in unison—

"We stand united against the Puritans. We draw inspiration from the kind wizard Morrigan."

Because she was persecuted by non-wizards, she fled from faraway Ireland to this place, and that's how our school originated. Oh, Iphamoni of Massachusetts!

We chose it!

We chose it!

Excellent magic academy~ Your walls protect us; the days spent with you were like a dream. You taught us everything about magic!

One thing is very clear now:

No matter where we are, no matter where we are, our true home—our one and only home—is Iphamoni!

Then, the students of Ephamoni raised their wands, and the tips of the wands exploded, flashing animal-shaped fireworks across the Great Hall. The Hogwarts students watched as a long-horned water snake with a shining crystal embedded in its forehead, a lithe cat and leopard running about, a thunderbird soaring with outstretched wings, and a goblin raising its bow and arrow, and they all applauded.

"What's that thing with thorns?" Harry asked, clapping his hands.

“It’s a goblin. Professor McGonagall mentioned it during her training. Its magical ability allows it to disguise itself as a porcupine,” Hermione said, looking up at the four animals. At the same time, the lion, eagle, badger, and snake on the banner in the Great Hall seemed to move. She whispered, “The professor said that Iphamonny has a deep connection with Hogwarts, and now it seems that’s true…”

Harry stared wide-eyed at the goblin-shaped fireworks in the sky, covered in porcupine-like quills, then looked down at the jungle warriors standing behind the Ilvermorny students, who seemed idle and even somewhat dissatisfied—they looked like Gringotts goblins without their suits.

“The difference is huge,” Harry said with admiration.

Ron clapped his hands in confusion and said, "Why don't we have a school song with the same tune?"

“We do,” Hermione said. “It’s mentioned in Hogwarts: A History of the School, though I think Professor Dumbledore probably thought that heartfelt praise was better than repeating the same tune year after year.”

Her gaze swept across the professors' table, and she asked, puzzled, "Have you seen Professor Hyp?"

Harry and Ron looked around but found nothing.

"Strange, the professor has already sat down, but there's an empty seat. Where did he go?"

At this moment, Dumbledore stood up. "Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, ghosts, and—especially—distinguished guests," he said with a smile to Ilfamoni's students. "It is with great pleasure that I welcome you to Hogwarts."

"You will spend a considerable amount of time at Hogwarts, not only because of the Tournament, but also, at Professor Fontana's suggestion, you will experience firsthand Hogwarts' ancient traditions and its magical courses that have nurtured generations of outstanding wizards."

"And this all begins with the Sorting Ceremony!"

He looked toward a corner of the Great Hall, where Felix was walking over with a smile, holding a Sorting Hat.

Chapter 374 Seeking Advice

The students of Hogwarts are witnessing a truly extraordinary Sorting Ceremony.

“I know this year is unusual, I mean… we canceled Quidditch and we have a professor who curses us, but… this is just too weird,” Seamus muttered.

He watched as the adult Ilvarmani students lined up, sitting one by one on small stools, ready to be screened by the dirty Sorting Hat.

His friend Dean Thomas shrugged and said, "There's only going to be more weird stuff. There are still three schools that haven't come yet!"

“That makes sense.” Simon nodded in agreement.

At the top of the auditorium, Felix spoke gently, drawing curious glances. "You just need to walk over, put on your hats, and wait quietly for a while... However, I suggest you give your names so that others can recognize you."

Byers, who was standing at the front of the line, glanced at him and asked, "Mr. Hyp, may I call you Professor?"

“Of course,” Felix said, “you are welcome to take my class.”

Byers walked up to the stool, and when he saw the Sorting Hat, he was dumbfounded. He looked back at Felix in disbelief, and Felix nodded at him: Yes, that's exactly what you think.

Byers announced loudly, "Byers Bach, from Iphamoni, Thunderbird School." Then, resigned, he closed his eyes, curled up on the small stool, and put on the Sorting Hat.

“Look!” said a girl from Ilfamoni, pointing at the Sorting Hat.

Suddenly, a crack appeared at the bottom of the drab hat, and at the same time, a voice echoed in Byers' mind.

"Haven't you ever seen a sorting ceremony like this before, little one?"

Byers opened his eyes and asked in a low voice, "Are you the Hat Ghost?"

"...So that's what you think. How do you get sorted into your houses? Oh, I see...standing in front of four statues, waiting to be chosen...Hogwarts isn't that complicated, I can do it all by myself..."

"You can see my memories?" Byers was taken aback.

"Just focus on your current thoughts, don't interrupt! You're a Thunderbird student? Kind-hearted, but also adventurous... Hufflepuff and Gryffindor are both suitable for you, you can choose one..."

"Which college does Professor Hyp belong to?" Byers asked, secretly calculating.

“Slytherin…don’t even think about it, you’re not good enough…you’re far inferior to that cunning kid…”

“No, I want to try!” Byers said.

His idea was simple: once the competition started, they might not have time to attend classes, so for now he just wanted to choose an academy based on his own preferences.

But the Sorting Hat disagreed; it didn't want to go against its principles and assign a student to a completely unsuitable house. After five minutes of pleading and cajoling, Byers finally lost patience and shouted, "Gryffindor!"

A burst of enthusiastic applause erupted from the Gryffindor seats.

Byers took off his hat somewhat blankly, and heard Felix say to him, "Go on, pick a seat, you'll make new friends."

Byers walked to the long table belonging to Gryffindor and sat down, where he saw a round face that was similar to his own.

“Uh, hello?” he greeted him. “I’m Beiersbach.”

“Hello, my name is Neville, Neville Longbottom,” the round-faced boy replied.

"Did you take Mr. Hyp's class?" Byers asked.

“Oh, of course…” Neville’s attitude became noticeably more enthusiastic. He began to introduce the course on ancient runes, and then mentioned the rune club and the dueling class.

Next, the pace of the branch campus quietly accelerated—

"Steward Hampton, from Ilfamoni, Cat and Leopard Academy."

Hufflepuff!

“Victor Percival Grevis, from Iphamoni, Longhorn Water Serpent Academy.”

Slytherin!

"Francis Hunter, from Iphamoni, Goblin Academy."

"Ravenclaw!"

Ten minutes later, the Sorting Hat brought the brief Sorting Ceremony to a close.

Dumbledore rose from his seat and addressed the crowd: “Now, prefects of each house, please lead your new students to enjoy a leisurely weekend. We will gather here again for dinner, and then the students of Ephamony will return to their temporary residences with their professors. Professor McGonagall will then distribute your class schedules to your respective houses, and you are free to choose your preferred courses during the first week.”

Is there anything you don't understand?

He glanced around and said cheerfully, "Then let's get moving! I think you're all eager to get started!" He turned and bowed slightly to Principal Iphamoni, saying, "Professor Fontana, I have some of this year's new tea in my office..."

“Of course.” Principal Iphamoni returned the greeting with impeccable manners.

Dumbledore took him away, leaving Professor McGonagall somewhat embarrassed.

Logically, Professor Wilkinson and Professor Moody taught the same subject and should have a lot in common, but McGonagall was really worried about leaving them alone. She didn't want to see the news of Ilfamoni's professor being attacked at Hogwarts in the Daily Prophet the next day.

She went along with Flitwick. She planned to talk about light topics, so she could stop Professor Moody if he was about to launch into a tirade about his experiences with casting curses on his students…

Before leaving, Professor McGonagall gave Felix a look. She left with peace of mind because she noticed that the other two young teaching assistants knew Felix, and she trusted him completely.

Sure enough, Yuria and Besni approached Felix.

Before he could say anything, Besni ran over and hugged him warmly, saying excitedly, "Mr. Hyp, this is a belated thank you... thank you for saving my life!"

Once she let go, Felix smiled and said, "I just happen to have the ability to remain unmoved no matter who was there at the time."

He didn't want to dwell on the issue, so he somewhat abruptly changed the subject, saying, "Miss Bach, Mr. Edmund, would you like to try the Sorting Hat?"

This was hardly a normal topic; the Sorting Hat seemed utterly powerless in his hands.

However, Julia and Bethney were genuinely interested. They had just spent a long time observing from the professors' seats, so they naturally wouldn't refuse the opportunity to try. The test results showed that Julia was assigned to Slytherin, while Bethney was placed in Ravenclaw.

……

"I really didn't expect you to become professors. But it seems you haven't left the Reform Society?"

Outside the castle grounds, Felix led the two on a stroll along the Black Lake. The Hogwarts students had all gone to see Ilfamoni's students; the area was deserted, with hardly anyone in sight. A gentle breeze blew, and a large squid lazily basked in the sun in the Black Lake.

His gaze swept over the sail and wave emblem on the right side of their chests, and he asked softly.

"That's not all! Brother Yuria is now a key member of the Reform Society. Many people joined because of his name, and he even designed the organization's logo himself."

Besni said with emotion, "Actually, Principal Fontana protected us. Before the Magical Congress made a formal decision, he hired Julia, and I also became a teaching assistant."