A certain Hogwarts professor of runes.

“Go around to the back!” Crouch Jr. saw through the deception.

"Let's back off!" Harry shouted, his wand thrust through the gap, the Disarming Charm activating silently. A Death Eater's wand flew from his hand toward Harry. "Shatter!" Harry shouted again, the wand breaking into several pieces mid-air.

"Where to retreat to?" Ron shouted, standing on one foot.

Harry didn't answer. He saw that Death Eaters had circled around to their side and were already at their flank. He quickly threw out a few Stunning Charms, which missed, but the fast and urgent spells startled the two reckless Death Eaters, and they dared not approach recklessly any further.

Hermione tugged at Ron, "There's a huge yew tree behind us."

Harry was now in a dilemma. He didn't know how to get the 'knight' to obey him. Judging from its previous performance, it was quite intelligent and didn't seem like a magician at all.

“We’re going to back up. You come with us, do you hear me?” Harry said to the knight.

There was no response; the knight simply stood in front of them indifferently.

During this time, the Death Eaters surrounded them again.

"Back off!" Harry said decisively, activating the Rune Armor Charm. They took a few steps back, and the knight who had been motionless moved, taking a step back as well, always blocking their way.

"It really works!" Harry was overjoyed. They quickly retreated to the vicinity of the yew tree, where they managed to hold the situation together under the protection of the huge trunk and half of the knight's shield.

"Here you go!" Harry pulled two wands out of his pocket, which he had picked up in his spare time earlier.

“Fantastic!” Ron exclaimed, his face pale. With Ron and Hermione joining the fray, the Death Eaters became more cautious in their attacks, especially after Ron used the Radiant Flame Charm to turn one of them into a torch.

The Death Eaters tried to extinguish the flames, but ordinary water had no effect. After a while, the flames went out on their own, and the Death Eater was on the verge of death.

"They're afraid of this spell! They should have realized it—it's incredibly effective against dark wizards!"

Hermione managed to use the ancient magic she had mastered. Golden flames transformed into a firebird, which swiftly flew to a Death Eater and pecked him on the face. The Death Eater immediately let out a terrible scream.

"Help me!" he shouted.

Crouch Jr. summoned a stream of water, and the golden flames slowly extinguished, leaving the Death Eater burned beyond recognition.

"Is he dead?" Hermione asked, trembling.

"Who cares!" Ron shouted.

However, Hermione simply had the firebird circle around the yew tree and the knight, showering them with golden flames. No matter how much Crouch urged him, the Death Eaters dared not approach.

"Use the Stop Charm!" Crouch Jr. shouted.

"Disarm!" Harry seized the opportunity, unleashing the Disarming Charm with all his might. The red light of the spell resembled a long laser beam. Crouch Jr. immediately activated his Armor Charm. At the same time, Harry amplified his magic, and sparks flew as the beam struck three Death Eaters who were close to Crouch Jr., their wands flying from their hands into the deep darkness. Ron followed up with a Stunning Charm—

“Only two shots hit,” Ron said regretfully.

Amidst his busy work, Harry glanced into the distance. The cemetery was completely destroyed, riddled with pits and rubble. Professor Hyp had used Apparition repeatedly, simultaneously creating seven afterimages that formed an impenetrable net, trapping Voldemort in the center, a deadly predicament. And the spell the professor used was—

Killing Curse!

Voldemort summoned a silver shield from the thin air. The Killing Curse struck the shield, making a "sizzling" sound. The Killing Curse, weakened considerably, managed to pierce the shield in the next second, but Voldemort had already taken advantage of this moment to escape.

Voldemort grinned maliciously. "Not bad tactics, but your Killing Curse is too weak. You'll have to watch mine!" He raised his wand, then vanished from his spot. He hovered in mid-air, without any wings, appearing to Felix's right as if riding the wind. In an instant, a dazzling green light illuminated half of the graveyard—

"Avada kendawa—"

The spell shattered Felix into pieces.

The battle froze for a moment. Everyone looked up at the sky; the green light had not yet dissipated, and the fragments of Felix Heap's body shone brightly, drifting down like flower petals.

Lucius Malfoy, who had been slacking off, bulged his eyes. He was dead just like that? What about Dumbledore? Were you really that confident you could handle the Dark Lord and all those Death Eaters? He immediately reached into his pocket, where the communication item Felix had given him earlier now seemed like a hot potato.

……

"How is this possible?" Harry's head spun. Although he knew Voldemort was terrifying, Professor Hyp was equally powerful in his mind. He looked around in disbelief. Perhaps the professor had used Apparition and would deliver a fatal blow to Voldemort the next time he appeared.

Everyone seemed to share this idea; they gripped their wands tightly, cautiously staring at the sky where the night stars twinkled.

Harry's heart sank. The knight in front of him suddenly became transparent. It had withstood Voldemort's Killing Curse, yet now it was collapsing on its own without anyone attacking it...

Is Professor Hyp really dead?

Whether friend or foe, everyone needs time to accept this reality. Only Voldemort moved; he tilted his head back, took a deep breath, and ran his hand across his bald forehead, a look of ecstasy on his face.

A great enemy is finally dead.

Another person moved. Hermione took out her beaded pouch and reached inside. "Please...please...it has to be inside," she said, her voice trembling with tears.

She took out the Time-Turner, put it around her neck, and turned the knob. "Just three hours earlier." Her fingers trembled. Harry and Ron looked at the small Time-Turner at the same time, their eyes gradually brightening.

At the same time, the knight who had been blocking their way finally collapsed, turning into countless points of light, like fireflies in the night.

"Oh—" Hermione trembled as she spun around once, twice, three times, and she was done—the Death Eaters were still unaware of what had happened.

"Shatter to pieces!" a triumphant voice shouted. Harry's eyes widened, and he hurriedly used the Ironclad Charm. The magical barrier formed almost instantly, but a white light pierced through the gap and struck the Time-Turner directly.

The time converter began to spin rapidly.

Hermione disappeared.

Where did that girl go?

What did he do?

"Illusionary Body Charm or Apparition—"

At that moment, Voldemort's gaze also turned over. He was surprised by the disappearance of the Muggle girl, and also surprised that Harry Potter was still alive and had held on until now.

Harry was right about one thing: Voldemort didn't have the courage to cast the Killing Curse on Harry. He was afraid that the nightmare from thirteen years ago would repeat itself, so he devised the method of torturing Harry with the Crucifixion Curse, which both demonstrated his authority and prevented him from worrying about the curse's backlash.

Apart from Felix Heap's death, everything that happened tonight was unpleasant.

Voldemort remained silent, hoping someone would notice his "awkwardness" and offer to help him resolve the Harry Potter problem. Barty Crouch Jr.... Lucius Malfoy... they could all guess his thoughts in the past.

The soft sound of footsteps rang out, a jarring echo in the still night. Hermione emerged from behind the massive yew tree—

Hermione!

Hermione!

Harry and Ron were overjoyed. They knew how the Time-Turner worked; what might have been several hours for Hermione was just a blink of an eye for them. Harry had been worried that the Time-Turner had been affected by Crouch Jr.'s spell, but Hermione's appearance meant she had succeeded.

“Hermione, Professor—” Harry was about to speak when he was suddenly thrown back by a surge of power emanating from her, and Hermione’s body began to radiate a dazzling golden light. Her appearance was rapidly aging… no, it should be said that she was growing up; she seemed to have aged ten years in an instant, but the next second she returned to her original appearance, as if everything before had been an illusion.

"Click!"

The time converter on her chest shattered.

"It's time—" Crouch shouted, a huge sense of crisis surging through him. He absolutely trusted his instincts. "Master, save me—"

But Voldemort had moved his position beforehand. Standing on the high hill, he saw a black lightning bolt pierce through Crouch Jr.'s head—he was dead.

“Felix Heap!” He looked around in horror. “Where?”

He saw Felix. He was less a real person and more like a ghost, a ghost of vengeance. Felix's entire body was covered in dense, strange patterns, and his body glowed eerily, appearing multicolored.

"Teach, teach, teach, professor?" Ron was dumbfounded. The professor's face seemed to be completely demonized, and at first glance, he was even more creepy than Voldemort next to him.

“It’s me.” Felix grinned, revealing teeth also made of runes, one or two of which Ron recognized.

“Put your hands on my arms,” Felix said. As he spoke, countless points of light surged in from all directions, filling his body. Harry, Ron, and Hermione did so simultaneously, and then Felix extended his other hand, and a wand appeared in his grasp.

He glanced around, and the Death Eaters all avoided his eyes. Only Voldemort looked down at him, his expression inscrutable. Felix smiled. "Terrified, aren't you?"

He simply used Apparition and disappeared from the graveyard.

The next second, Felix, Harry, Ron, and Hermione appeared in a makeshift tent outside the maze castle.

"Professor, you really did it! Back from the dead—good heavens!" Hermione shouted in surprise, and Harry and Ron were also filled with joy.

Felix smiled at them, then suddenly collapsed, powerless.

"professor--"

"Professor Hep!"

"professor--"

Harry, Ron, and Hermione shouted at the same time. At that moment, chaos erupted both inside and outside the maze castle.

Chapter 487 Death Testimony

"Professor, how are you—"

“I’m fine.” Felix got up from the ground, and Harry quickly found him a chair to sit down. He closed his eyes and breathed slightly. The three of them looked at Felix with concern. The professor seemed to have recovered from his terrible state, but not completely—his face, neck, hands… would occasionally turn into dense magical runes, and then the next second they would turn back into whole skin, repeating this process over and over.

“I’m not quite familiar with this situation yet, so to avoid scaring anyone, I won’t go out for now… Go find Headmaster Dumbledore and tell him what happened.”

Felix opened his eyes, startling Harry, Ron, and Hermione. The professor's light blue pupils were replaced by countless runes, his eye sockets looking like two shrunken rune spheres. After he finished speaking, he closed his eyes again, and his body began to flicker once more.

The three exchanged a glance.

“It’s obvious the professor needs time to master his new powers, and someone has to stay here during that time,” Hermione said.

“I’ll go. You and Ron stay here,” Harry decided after a brief pause. “You’re both injured—”

"It's not like you're the one who's been hit by several Cruciatus Curses," Ron grinned.

Harry smiled back. "At least my leg is still fine, and—" He hesitated, then said uncertainly, "Actually, later on, I felt that Voldemort's spell wasn't affecting me as much, it was like...like my body was gradually adapting to the damage from the Crucifixion Curse..."

Ron and Hermione stared at him suspiciously.

Ron said uneasily, "Harry, you'd better see Madam Pomfrey. I've heard that being subjected to the Cruciatus Curse multiple times can cause serious side effects—"

“You think I’m crazy?” Harry stared, and Ron looked away, muttering under his breath, “It wouldn’t be a problem to at least check.”

“It might be—uh—the protective magic in Harry’s blood,” Hermione said cautiously, choosing her words carefully. “Let’s not speculate. To be honest, I’m a little uneasy that Headmaster Dumbledore isn’t here.” She glanced cautiously at Felix, her hand clutching her pocket where the ring he had given her lay.

The professor's previous excuse was that the ring contained some contraband, and he had entrusted it to her for safekeeping to avoid inspections by the Ministry of Magic. She hadn't thought much of it, but now that she was out of danger, she began to wonder if it really needed to go to this extent for just cooperating with an investigation.

Harry nodded and headed towards the door. Just as he was about to lift the tent flap, Hermione called to him.

"Wait, Harry—"

Harry turned around and saw Hermione looking at him seriously.

You know what to say, right?

“Know—what—” Harry didn’t understand her meaning at first.

“The Time-Turner,” Hermione reminded him.

Harry suddenly realized, yes, Hermione went back in time and changed history... no, according to the materials he had recently been looking at, using a time-turner only has two outcomes:

Either fail—the user suffers the backlash, and it threatens 'time' from the past to the present;