A certain Hogwarts professor of runes.

Felix raised his hand to silence the chattering Harry, Ron, and Hermione. A few steps behind them stood another group of warriors.

Do you want to be a Squib?

"What?" Harry asked in surprise. He didn't know how the topic had come up. Of course he knew about Squibs. Filch was a Squib. He had known that since his second year.

Hermione's eyes widened in terror, while Harry stared blankly at her face, an expression he had never seen before.

"This is the price of forfeiting, which is why I asked you, do you want to be the squid?"

"What a joke!" Harry shouted, his body trembling, a mixture of fear and rage he couldn't quite tell. He couldn't imagine the consequences of becoming a Squib. Hogwarts was the first place he truly belonged, his first home... How could he allow himself to leave?

Even Cedric and the others were stunned. Although Headmaster Dumbledore had repeatedly emphasized that the contract could not be broken, they never expected that forfeiting the game would be punished in this way.

Squibs, having lost their magic... In fact, Squibs possess a sparse amount of magic, which allows them to see things that ordinary people cannot, use potions, and enjoy some of the conveniences of magic. However, most of them are unable to fully cast a spell in their lifetime.

"Then there's no need to say such things."

Felix quickly said, "Next is the second topic: why tie the two groups of Hogwarts champions together? That's something you're all concerned about, isn't it?"

The six people—Harry, Ron, Hermione, Cedric, Roger Davis, and Collins Foley—all nodded.

Felix explained, "On the one hand, this is a necessary compromise. You wouldn't want four internationally renowned magic schools to be hostile to Hogwarts for decades to come, would you?"

They all shook their heads in unison.

“On the other hand, this is also what I personally hoped for.” Felix looked at the six stunned faces and finally smiled. “Yes, the current situation is exactly the result I wanted to achieve.”

"Why, why?" Harry stammered.

“When a second group of champions appeared at Hogwarts, I immediately realized the danger—no, not that someone had tampered with the rules of the Goblet of Fire, that was something I realized later,” Felix added as he saw Harry trying to interject.

“Hogwarts has two groups of champions, which is not only an honor, but also a sign of the division among the four houses. Although my attempts at the Spellbook Club have slightly broken down the solid barriers between the four houses, I suddenly realized that if I don’t do something, this championship could ruin all my previous efforts.”

“Of course I wouldn’t allow that to happen,” Felix said. “So, after consulting with Dumbledore, I came up with new grading rules.”

Harry and the others stared at him in disbelief.

“But Professor Hyp,” Ron suddenly said, “doing this will only cause the school to lose the championship trophy, Hogwarts will definitely lose, and it will bring a huge disaster.”

"Why do you say that?" Felix asked politely.

“Because, because…” Ron raised one of his hands, which trembled uncontrollably, “because I… it’s been like this ever since I found out the first project was the fire dragon. I’m just not warrior material. If I were involved, I wouldn’t be able to help, and I would only be a hindrance.”

“Just hearing the name terrifies me. If I were actually facing a fire dragon, I'd be dead for sure, and I'd drag Harry and Hermione down with me. Just thinking about that scenario makes me think,” he said, his face pale and strained, “it would be better to kick me out and choose someone else. A Squib, actually, is also…”

“Ron…” Hermione said sadly.

“I know I'm not as good as all of you, and I'm even among the bottom of the selected students—”

“Not in one batch,” Felix interjected.

"What?" Ron looked at him in surprise.

“Not a batch, I mean, you’re the worst one,” Felix said. “Of all the students selected, excluding Miss Greengrass, you’re the worst.”

“But Neville…” Ron glared at him, speaking indignantly.

“Neville may not have as many spells as you, but he far surpasses you in the Ironclad Charm and the Stunning Charm. Most importantly, he has begun to develop a dueling system that suits him. As time goes on, the gap between you will become more and more obvious.”

Ron stood there, his mind blank, looking completely dumbfounded.

“Professor Hyp—” Harry looked at Ron anxiously, then at Felix, not understanding why he was being asked that.

"...However, I have high hopes for your potential."

Ron's eyes darted around, a hint of life returning to his deathly pale face. He repeated blankly, "Potential?"

"Yes, potential. Actually, your talent isn't bad. Even if you just played around, you could still rank in the middle. If we're only talking about practical ability, you could rank ahead of your age..."

Ron looked at him, "But I can't compare—"

“You lack sufficient motivation.” Felix scratched his head. “An interesting phenomenon is that whether in dueling class, ancient runes class, or runes club, your performance is mediocre, the kind that is below average and you would never notice at first glance.”

Ron's face scrunched up.

“But actually, these are three different levels of difficulty,” Felix said.

“That’s why I think you lack enough motivation,” Felix said. “Originally, this was your personal choice, and I wouldn’t have interfered too much, but now things are different. Whatever the reason, you have become one of the champions of Hogwarts.”

“In a sense, you are still the most important one. You should understand what I mean.”

Harry had never seen Ron shake so evenly, from head to toe, even the muscles in his face were twitching.

"I decide whether Hogwarts will ultimately win the trophy?" Ron said slowly.

“You can think of it this way: if you think of the tournament as a game of Quidditch, you're the only goalkeeper,” Felix said. “Before, you didn't have a reason to get stronger, but now you do—”

"On a small scale, you are one of the warriors who have the opportunity to bring honor to the school through your efforts; on a larger scale, every effort you make now is to protect the lives of your two good friends—Potter and Granger."

"I look forward to your performance on your first project."

He took a few steps, then turned to Harry, Ron, and Hermione. "The next few days might be tough for you, with an extra group of warriors, especially when the scoring rules are announced."

"Your situation might improve once the first project is finished..."

“Professor Hyp!” Cedric said. “I will stand up and explain to the others that I heard everything, and Harry and the others were also victims.”

“I will also make it clear to the Ravenclaw students that I am a prefect,” Roger Davis said.

“Me too, Professor Hyp,” Collins said, glaring at Ron. “I’m going to get the trophy, and I’ll be watching you closely.”

Felix curled the corners of his lips, waved, and turned to leave.

Chapter 385 Advantage

Nighttime, the Ancient Magic Script Office.

Golden mist condensed into lifelike human figures, drifting past Felix one by one. Niffler Valen stood on the small square table, reaching out to catch the golden shadows.

"Igor Karkaroff, former Death Eater, Voldemort's traitor. Suspicious points: He sneaked into the foyer and had private contact with the Goblet of Fire—leaving him less suspicious;"

"Ludo Bagman, accused of helping Death Eaters pass on intelligence. Suspicious: His overly enthusiastic welcome of Harry becoming a champion—a suspect, but no opportunity to commit the crime;"

For a considerable period of time, the Goblet of Fire was in Dumbledore's possession, so if a problem arose, it wouldn't go unnoticed.

"Barty Crouch, former head of the Enforcement Division, is known for his tough style. He was removed from his key position due to his son's involvement in the Death Eater case. Suspicious factors include: the deaths of his wife and son in the incident, the ruin of his career, and the possibility of him taking extreme measures; coupled with his poor health and conflict with Fudge during the World Cup—he is a suspect, but lacks the opportunity to commit the crime, similar to Bagman;"

"Mrs. Orim Maxim, suspected to be a half-giant. During the war, giants were staunch supporters of Voldemort. Suspicious aspects: None found yet."

"Incomplete information on students from various schools, including Vagadu and Ifamoni, makes it impossible to determine..."

Felix pondered silently until finally, when a figure with a fake eye and a scarred face appeared, he waved his hand, causing the golden mist to dissipate.

"Regardless of who did it, whether it was one person or a group, their target was Harry, and they wanted Harry dead. But isn't this going to be too complicated? Perhaps there's a deeper purpose..."

"And has Voldemort actually been resurrected? Is he planning to use Harry as his first sacrifice after his resurrection? To stage a scene of the dead returning? If he has been resurrected but hasn't shown himself, he can only be secretly recruiting his old followers. With Dumbledore's intelligence network, he should be able to find some clues... Fortunately, I'm not bad either. It's time to write a letter to a few old friends."

He glanced at the improved Marauder's Map, lingered on Moody's name for a moment, and then put it away. "I need to find time to include the locations of the four magic schools."

He snapped out of his daze and saw that Niffler Valen was staring at him. He smiled and gently patted Niffler's long beak twice.

Before going to sleep, he thought about it carefully, as if he had forgotten something... "Oh, right," he waved his hand, causing the fireplace to light up with a bright green flame, and Felix muttered under his breath, "Don't blame me for locking up your fireplace. It bothers me six or seven times a day. Nobody can stand that."

The next morning.

Harry groggily opened his eyes and was startled when he saw Ron's appearance—he looked like he hadn't slept all night, and the shadows under his eyes were even deeper than Mr. Crouch's.

“That cat was looking for you,” Ron said in a hoarse voice. “It kept scratching at the door, so I let it in.”

Harry lifted the curtain of the four-poster bed and saw Crookshanks crouching on the bedside table, his seemingly flattened cat face staring intently at him, his tail sweeping aimlessly, scattering a stack of spell cards.

“Is something the matter, Crookshan?” he asked.

On the cabinet, the ginger cat stretched out a paw, pointed outside, and let out a chilling howl. Simo, who was fast asleep beside it, rolled over.

Harry and Ron exchanged glances. Harry tentatively asked, "You want me to go outside? Is... Hermione looking for me?"

Crookshan's yellow eyes showed approval.

So Harry changed out of his pajamas. While getting dressed, he glanced out the window. It was pitch black outside, probably only four or five o'clock. He couldn't help but yawn.

He went to bed very late yesterday and was woken up early today, so he didn't get any sleep at all.

In the common room, Harry and Ron spotted Hermione waiting furtively outside. She was completely covered up, with a scarf wrapped around her head like those worn by Beauxbatons students.

The last time Harry saw a similar outfit was when Hermione accidentally ingested a Polyjuice Potion containing cat hair. During breaks in recovery, they would use partial shapeshifting to conceal the facial hair; this magical spell is said to be used by vampires to hide their fangs.

"Hermione, what's wrong... and Ron, I've been wanting to ask you for a while now, didn't you two sleep all night?"

“I can’t sleep—oh dear, don’t ask yet, Sirius’s here,” Hermione said hastily, her voice sounding strange, as if she had a piece of candy in her mouth.

"Who?" Harry snapped back to reality.

Outside the Gryffindor common room, Sirius was chatting idly with the portrait of the Fat Lady. The Fat Lady was engrossed in her conversation, reciting her lines in a deliberately lowered theatrical voice—

"The little boy with a bruised and swollen face—returning under the cover of night—his secret, arduous training—ah~ he finally became a fearless warrior—"

Sirius frowned, feeling increasingly irritated. What kind of rubbish was that?!

"Can't you just let me in?" he asked for the fifth time, still unwilling to give up.

“Oh, no,” the plump lady stopped and said solemnly, “I have professional ethics. You are neither a student nor a professor, and even with a password, you can’t come in…”

The door opened from the inside, her portrait was turned aside, and Harry, Ron, and Hermione came out.

"Sirius, what brings you here? Hermione told me, and I didn't quite believe it!" Harry asked in surprise.

“Otherwise, how could I sit idly by when something like this happens? You should have notified me immediately. That’s when the Two-Way Mirror is used,” Sirius said irritably, glancing at the two behind Harry. “So, the trio has officially received recognition? Have you decided on a name for your team?”

Ron glanced at him but didn't say anything.

Harry glared at his outspoken godfather, while Sirius immediately raised his hands in surrender. "Well, it was unintentional—you should know how I feel right now."

"Did Professor Hyp tell you, Mr. Black?" Hermione asked shrilly, still speaking in that strange way. Harry gave her a strange look.

“Call me Sirius—yes, the books in the old house are somewhat useful,” Sirius said with a wry smile, putting his arm around Harry. “Let’s find an empty classroom and have a good chat. You guys come too, we’re in this together now, after all…”

“I hate that way of putting it,” Harry muttered.

Sirius grinned and reached out to ruffle Harry's messy hair.

They found an empty classroom and each shared what they knew. Harry and his friends learned more useful information, such as that Karkaroff was captured by Moody when he was still a Death Eater, but he escaped the Ministry of Magic's punishment by giving a list of Death Eaters. More than ten years later, he transformed into the headmaster of Durmstrang.

“Now we finally know why Karkaroff is so wary and hates Professor Moody,” Harry said, glancing at Ron, whom they had discussed earlier, and who gave a perfunctory reply.

When Harry mentioned that the first project was related to dragons, Sirius Black jumped up and paced back and forth in the empty classroom.