A certain Hogwarts professor of runes.

“Nonsense!” Fudge shouted. “Do you know what you’re saying? Accusing a Minister of Magic? Who gave you the orders to do that?” He glared at Felix, his eyes darting between Felix and Dumbledore.

“Like I said, Minister Fudge… I know what I’m saying, but you don’t seem to understand what you’re doing,” Felix said with a smile. “This is just hypothetical, discussing one possibility for the future, isn’t it?”

“I certainly don’t have the power to remove or punish a sitting Minister of Magic,” he said dismissively. Fudge was furious; no one had ever threatened him so openly before. Yes, he took Felix’s words as a blatant threat.

“...However, everyone is responsible for their words and actions, especially those in power,” Felix said. “Therefore, I would like to ask everyone here to keep in mind the views of both sides in today’s debate. You can keep your thoughts to yourselves and when everything is clear, you will naturally know who to support and who to reject.”

Chapter 467 Fountain of Good Fortune

The meeting ended unhappily.

Fudge eventually resorted to delaying tactics, agreeing to investigate the existing leads, but Felix had no doubt that he would forget his promise after the meeting.

“You’re being too blunt; Fudge might not be able to handle it,” Dumbledore said outside the Ministry of Magic.

“Yes, he’s got only an ounce of cunning,” Felix said sarcastically. “What do you think of Ms. Burns?”

Dumbledore's sharp blue eyes looked at him.

“You can imagine,” Felix said, gazing at the street corner where a mobile ice cream truck stood, “how much trouble our minister will cause once war breaks out. I don’t want to face the threats of Voldemort and the Ministry of Magic at the same time. It’s necessary to deal with one side first while we have the time.”

“Felix, your idea is dangerous,” Dumbledore disagreed with him. In fact, that was a mild assessment.

“It’s just planning ahead,” Felix shrugged, changing the subject. “If war really breaks out, Fudge won’t be able to stay in that position any longer. He can resign and leave, leaving behind a mess.”

His idea was simple: if Fudge wasn't reliable, then someone else would take the stage. Amelia Borns looked good, and she was one of the closest people to that position.

Felix pondered this before returning to the Ministry of Magic. In a way, this meeting came at the cost of Fudge and Dumbledore's public falling out, which had alerted some people, especially Amelia Bornes, whom Felix found to be a key figure.

She controls 90% of the Ministry of Magic's military force, and her subordinate combat squads include Aurors, Strikers, and Magical Law Enforcement Reconnaissance Teams. She has the right to intervene in any combat operation, even those involving Dementors who are not directly under her command.

"Sirius seems to know her?" Felix recalled.

In the afternoon, the Aurors practiced runes magic on the field. Their learning progress was actually faster than that of the junior wizards in the school. Felix hadn't been idle in the past two weeks either, collecting a lot of data that could be used in future teaching.

On the training field, Felix sat in a corner, fiddling with a long red fingernail. Tonks approached with interest. "Is this some kind of new product? What's it for? Can it change color?"

Felix chuckled and put away Rita Skeeter's nail. "It's far more powerful than you think. Hopefully, I'll never have the chance to use it."

"Could it be some kind of weapon?" Tonks clearly didn't believe him. She looked across the field. "Kingsley is about to succeed."

Kingsley held his wand in one hand and drew flowing runes with the other, creating a pale green magical barrier that resembled a flowing curtain of water.

"Are you ready?" Delilah called from afar.

At this moment, the surrounding people gathered around, all watching their actions. Delis suddenly waved his wand, and several spells struck the rune Ironclad Charm, causing beautiful ripples to spread across the surface of the water curtain. "Try this one!" Delis slashed his wand sharply, and bright red runes flashed, forming a blazing fireball. The fireball swept through the air and shattered the still-developing water curtain.

Kingsley took a few steps back and stood firmly on his feet. A cheer erupted from the crowd.

“My task is almost complete. Hogwarts starts in two days,” Felix said thoughtfully.

“You can stay here as long as you want,” Tonks said, “and you can come back anytime. Scrinker said your consultant title will be retained.”

“Staying any longer would be an eyesore,” Felix said with a smile. He took out his communication mirror, flicked it a few times, and a gentle voice came from the other end, “Felix?”

“Remus, it’s me,” Felix said calmly. “The company may encounter some obstacles recently, so we’ll have to temporarily halt expansion.”

"What happened?" Lupin asked, sounding slightly nervous. Tonks listened intently with wide eyes.

"It's just about taking precautions and being prepared," Felix said vaguely. "If the company is affected, let me know in time, don't delay, and I'll help resolve it."

“Is that so…” Lupin said from behind the microphone, “I had this planned for a while, and I can use this time for employee training.”

“I can help,” Tonks suddenly said.

Felix looked at her.

“I can help,” Tonks repeated, and Lupin asked in surprise, “Dora?” “It’s me,” Tonks said with a smile. She pointed to the communication mirror and Felix kindly handed it to her.

……

Hogwarts, the office of ancient spell runes.

Niffler Valen woke up in its crib. Today was its tenth day living alone. Although the Dark Lord had asked Hermione to take care of it before he left, it preferred to sleep in its own comfortable little bed.

It's so nice to be free from everyone's supervision!

"Ha!"

Warren spent a considerable amount of time reorganizing his collection, then happily climbed onto the sofa and began flipping through "The Tales of Beedle the Bard." He had already finished reading "The Adventures of Mick the Wizard." Felix gave Warren the fairy tale books he had previously brought over for reference, to be used as reading practice materials.

Of course, it was nominally a gift for Valen after he learned to read.

Valen particularly liked the picture above. He yawned as he read the story of the Fountain of Good Fortune: Three witches and an unlucky knight embarked on a quest to find a fountain that could grant good luck, and they had to overcome three obstacles. The first obstacle was a giant white earthworm blocking their path. The knight's swords were ineffective against it; only by "providing it with pain" could the earthworm be made to move.

Why don't they take a detour? Or carve out a tunnel? Warren thought, maybe they don't have a single Sniffer friend, oh, that's terrible.

As it continued reading, a terminally ill witch watched time tick by, tears of despair streaming down her face, when finally the giant earthworm made way for her; Valen gaped in astonishment.

The second challenge was a bewitched hillside halfway up the mountain. They had to "hand over the fruits of their labor" to get over it. They took out all the money they had on them—Valen couldn't help but shudder—but the magic mountain remained unmoved. Time continued to pass, and only the second witch persisted in climbing, glistening with sweat from her forehead. So they were able to continue their ascent.

Valen was stunned. Wasn't the fruit of labor money? He was more than willing to exchange his sweat for some Galleons, just like the process the Great Demon King had taught him to read.

The third challenge is a river that winds around the mountaintop. The condition for passing the challenge is to exchange "past wealth." The unlucky knight is willing to offer his shield as a small boat, which amuses Valen. He enjoys the leisurely afternoon by dipping thumb biscuits in jam.

The knight in the story undoubtedly failed, despite his generosity. But it was the third witch who came up with the answer. She had been abandoned by her beloved and had come to the Fountain of Good Fortune to ease her pain and longing. But here, she extracted the treasured memories from her mind—the times she spent with her cold-hearted lover—and threw them all into the river, where several stepping stones appeared.

Finally, they arrived at the Fountain of Good Fortune.

When it came time to decide who would get the Fountain of Good Fortune, the Unlucky Knight was the first to give up, leaving only three witches. At that moment, the first witch, who was terminally ill, suffered a relapse due to the hardships of the journey and was on the verge of death. They wanted to carry her into the Fountain of Good Fortune, but she was in too much pain and begged them not to do so.

The second witch discovered that the surrounding herbs possessed magical powers. She gathered these herbs and, with the knight's help, concocted a potion and fed it to the suffering witch. Miraculously, she was healed! She no longer needed the Fountain of Good Fortune.

The second witch also resisted the spring's temptation. Her possessions and wand had been stolen by a despicable thief, and she had hoped the Fountain of Good Fortune would save her from poverty and weakness. But now she didn't need it—she had persevered to the end in the second challenge, she was no longer weak, and she had also collected many precious herbs that would allow her to regain her wealth.

As for the third witch, she also no longer needed the Fountain of Good Fortune. In the third challenge, she let go of her obsession with the past and was no longer troubled by love.

Finally, the three witches agreed to let the unlucky knight soak in the Fountain of Good Fortune as a reward for his chivalrous deeds. The unlucky knight did so, and when he emerged from the fountain, he believed he had washed away the bad luck that had been plaguing him. He finally had the courage to express his feelings—he had fallen in love with the third witch.

In the end, the Unlucky Knight married the third witch, and—because of their unity and mutual help along the way—the four decided to break down the barriers between wizards and Muggles and live together. They lived happily for a long time, and even at the time of their death, the Unlucky Knight firmly believed that the Fountain of Good Fortune had changed his fate. But he didn't know that although the magical garden where the Fountain of Good Fortune was located was full of magic, the Fountain of Good Fortune itself had no magic power at all.

But why? Valentine couldn't understand. Just then, there was a knock at the door. He opened his eyes wide and eagerly opened the door. Hermione stood there. She cheerfully picked Valentine up, "I'll take you to eat something delicious."

Hermione took Warren to the Great Hall for a meal, and then to the common room to play chess and cards with him, but he wasn't very interested.

"What's wrong, Warren? Are you sick?" Hermione asked worriedly.

Valen shook her head. As evening fell, they headed toward the ancient rune office. Suddenly, Valen sniffed, and her dark eyes brightened instantly. She struggled to jump down from Hermione's arms and ran down the corridor.

"Valen!" Hermione shouted from behind, chasing closely behind.

They came to the spiral staircase, went down two floors, and then Warren leaped up from the corner. Hermione was startled, but Warren didn't miss and caught her with both arms.

“Oh, Valen, did you miss me?” Felix said with a smile.

Chapter 468 The Mystery of Resurrection

"Chirp! (The smell of ice cream!)" Valen looked up at Felix, her little hands clutching his clothes.

Felix laughed. "You have a really good nose," he said, stroking its head with one hand. In its expectant eyes, the ring on his hand flashed, and an ice cream cone suddenly appeared.

"Waaaaah!"

“I have more,” Felix said. “I bought them on the way back.” He waved his hand again, and two more ice creams floated in the air.

He handed Hermione one. "Oh, thank you," Hermione said.

They headed toward the office of ancient runes, Hermione munching on bits of nut on her ice cream—it was quite different from the flavors served at the Hogwarts table.

"How's the third project coming along?" Felix asked, crunching on the chocolate topping of his ice cream.

"It's going fairly well—we're practicing with Cedric, Collins, and Roger, and although Harry seems a bit—well, anyway, we're progressing incredibly fast. I can hardly believe Collins hasn't mastered Apparition yet, considering she's already in seventh year!"

Hermione chattered on, “We all bet on who will master Apparition first—Ron or Collins, Professor. We’ve told them the secret of the Room of Requirement.” She glanced cautiously at Felix.

“It’s alright,” Felix said. “Actually, quite a few people have known about it over the years, but very few have been able to uncover its true secrets.”

Hermione looked relieved. "And the ghost book you gave Harry, the prize he won in the dueling tournament... Harry took it out too, but after more than a year, the magic on it has become a bit sluggish." She didn't mention that Professor Hyp's face in the book had become blurry; she had tried to fix it, but with little success.

Felix listened with a smile and opened the office door.

“Mr. Wimpple from the Experimental Spells Committee came to the school a couple of days ago. He came to review the runes and spells we discovered. Everyone was very curious about the horns growing on his head, but he said things were much better... Harry, Ron, uh,” she pursed her lips, “and Malfoy, the three of them discovered that the Radiant Flame Charm seems to have a restraining effect on dark creatures. Mr. Wimpple is going to try them one by one, and if the effect is good enough, he will apply to the Ministry of Magic for a reward, and may also invite Harry and the others to join the League Against the Dark Arts.”

“I didn’t expect this.” Felix said, slightly surprised.

“And… uh,” Hermione hesitated. “What is it?” Felix asked, and Hermione’s answer surprised him. “Harry had another nightmare.”

"Is it related to Voldemort?"

“It should be…” Hermione stammered. “Harry wasn’t sure either. He was dreaming that Crouch Jr. and Voldemort were plotting something. Harry entered Voldemort’s perspective again, and he said he saw Crouch Jr. kneeling at his feet… After that, Harry woke up. His Occlumency had worked.”

In fact, Harry was quite regretful about it; his Occlumency seemed to have backfired in this matter, preventing him from obtaining more useful information.

Felix's expression turned serious. He realized something. "Does Dumbledore know about this?"

“I know,” Hermione nodded quickly. “Harry’s scar on his forehead is burning. Ron took him to the hospital, and Headmaster Dumbledore arrived shortly afterward.”

Felix nodded. He vaguely guessed why Dumbledore had chosen to suddenly reveal the truth at the meeting in Wizengamor, even at the cost of openly confronting Fudge: Voldemort's resurrection was drawing ever closer, and the wizarding world was still completely unaware of it...

Lucius Malfoy didn't find anything unusual either. That was normal; Horcruxes were clearly more closely connected to Voldemort than magical marks. Harry could detect Voldemort's intense emotional fluctuations, but that didn't mean Death Eaters could do the same with the Dark Mark.

What Felix really wanted was for him to know about Voldemort's resurrection as soon as possible, and to know the Death Eaters' subsequent plans.

When he came to his senses, he saw Hermione staring at him, and she said hesitantly, "Professor, if Voldemort really comes back to life, besides Dumbledore, is there anyone who can stand against him?"

Felix laughed. "You want to ask me if I'm his match?" Her question seemed to be the same one he had asked Dumbledore.

Hermione, realizing her secret thoughts had been exposed, looked at him sheepishly.

“Hmm, it’s hard to say. I’ve never really fought Voldemort either,” Felix shrugged, saying uncertainly, “I guess I’m still a bit lacking.” He was judging based on Dumbledore’s strength. Dumbledore had clearly undergone the transformation process that Lady Ravenclaw had described, turning him into a “magical creature,” but perhaps due to age or other reasons, his condition had declined slightly.

Voldemort could fight Dumbledore in this state, only slightly inferior, which roughly indicates that they were on the same level, with no significant difference between them.

And he...

Hermione looked at Professor Hyp, who was staring at her arm in deep thought, somewhat puzzled. However, she at least heard the professor's answer, and felt a pang of disappointment; even someone as powerful as the professor was no match for Voldemort.

After leaving the Ancient Runes office, she returned to the common room, where Harry and Ron were using their last moments to finish their assignments. Hermione sat down, looking preoccupied, and cautiously said to the two of them, "I've already asked the professor."

The abrupt remark startled Harry, who frantically knocked over an ink bottle. "Oh—it's alright, don't worry about it," he said, drawing his wand and pointing to the shards on the ground. "Restore everything." The shards immediately pieced themselves back together.

Then he and Ron looked intently at Hermione. "What did the professor say?"

Hermione repeated Felix's words to them, and Harry looked shocked.