A certain Hogwarts professor of runes.

"This part is too much."

Did I say that?

"To have a close relationship with Dumbledore, who, me?" He shook his head.

The colors in the room gradually returned, which was also a magical scene, like a child finding a faded photo in an old storage room and picking up crayons to scribble on it.

The world has become vibrant again.

Rita Skeeter discovered that she had regained her mobility.

She glanced at the wand in her hand, then at Felix, who was still reading the parchment, her eyes darting around.

But she quickly abandoned the foolish idea.

"Have you thought it through? Do you want to make a move? This might be an opportunity. Grab me, and you can make up whatever story follows." Felix looked up at her, his light blue eyes meeting hers.

“You’re joking, Felix, no, Professor Hyp, Sir—” Rita Skeeter kept changing her form of address.

"Oh."

He tossed the parchment in his hand down lightly, and it silently turned to ashes.

"Regarding the purpose of my visit..."

"I apologize! I will stop all false statements!" she said quickly, with a fawning smile on her face.

"Thank you, Rita."

Felix stood up, smiled slightly, bowed politely, then pushed open the door and disappeared into the night.

It was completely dark by now, and the north wind whipped the snowflakes, making his robes flutter loudly. Felix took two steps into the snowstorm, and the next second he disappeared from the spot.

After a while, Rita Skeeter quietly opened the door, glanced left and right, and seeing nothing outside, she quickly closed the door.

A string of vicious curses burst from her mouth; she was cursing someone with almost the most offensive words she had ever known.

“Felix Heap!” she shouted the name viciously.

“I want revenge! Revenge… on his secrets… Yes, that’s right, that damned man… He doesn’t know I’m an Animagus yet, or maybe, no, it’s too risky.”

After hurling insults for a long time, Rita Skeeter's mouth was dry, and she finally stopped.

She went to the wine cabinet, intending to take out a bottle of wine to quench her thirst, but as soon as her fingers touched the handle, the beautiful silver artifact turned into fine sand in her hand.

Rita Skeeter froze.

She tentatively extended a thick finger and pointed at a long-necked purple flask—her favorite wine jug. But the next second, the flask rapidly disintegrated into fine sand, including the wine it contained.

Her eyes widened in terror, and she stumbled and bumped into the chair behind her. Then she discovered that the chair had also fallen to the ground and turned into a puddle of fine sand.

Rita Skeeter looked around at her house—everywhere was turning to sand, including her exquisite picture frames and crocodile handbag.

Even the floor was not spared.

"Ahhh!"

She ran out of the house in terror, and as she watched, the entire detached house teetered on the brink of collapse, and a whirlpool of sand surged from its base, slowly but steadily swallowing the house.

“This is a lesson.” A voice suddenly echoed in Rita Skeeter’s mind.

Her lips trembled, as if she wanted to say something, but this time, she quickly shut her mouth.

On the edge of the forbidden forest.

Felix suddenly appeared, braving the wind and snow, making his way towards the castle. The December weather was bitterly cold, especially with the strong winds and blizzards; every step was a severe test.

As he caught a glimpse of the castle's outline in the distance, a thought struck him. He shook his head; the castle really never learns its lesson.

Felix pushed open the dark brown door, shook off the snowflakes, and entered the warm castle.

He waved his wand lightly, and the door behind him slammed shut, keeping the wind, snow, and darkness outside.

Chapter 55 Magic Rune Knowledge Competition

As Christmas approaches and the festive atmosphere intensifies, many young wizards' enthusiasm for learning has plummeted.

Many professors say they can't relax, but they don't put too much pressure on them, which is reflected in the amount of homework they assign.

However, this leniency does not apply to fifth and seventh graders. They are required to take the OWLs and NEWTs, respectively, in that year.

Ancient magic script, fifth grade class.

Felix reiterated the importance of the OWLs exams, "You only have six months until the regular wizarding level exams. Subtract holidays and weekends, how much time do you have left?"

"Let me do the math for you. Six months, let's say twenty-five weeks."

Amidst the bewildered expressions of the young wizards below, the professor began to do the math, "Two classes a week, one long lecture lasting two hours, and one short lecture lasting one hour, so..."

"It's only seventy-five hours in total."

"Do you have that much study time outside of class? No matter how I calculate it, it's less than two hundred hours."

Seeing Professor Hyp's regretful expression, the young wizards fell silent.

However, Felix was in a good mood today, and he decided to conduct a student survey.

"Which subject do you consider to be your weakest?"

A little witch asked timidly, "Does ancient magic runes count?"

"It doesn't count!"

“That’s the history of magic,” the Hufflepuff girl said. “Professor Binns always makes us memorize a lot of things, and I don’t have a very good memory.”

“He never highlights anything in class, while other professors at least give some hints,” a Ravenclaw said indignantly.

Professor Binns is the type who says, "I only talk about the key points, and everything I mention in class is a test point." He is also known for his flat, monotonous language, which sounds like he is chanting a mantra.

It has an excellent hypnotic effect.

"History of Magic... very good, Miss Selton, Mr. Pardis. Anything else?"

"I'm not very good at astronomy class; I always get the planets' positions mixed up."

"The practical lessons in herbalism are fun, but I can never remember the properties of magical plants."

Don't you think arithmetic divination is complicated?

"Fortune-telling classes are a nightmare!"

Someone immediately retorted, "Nonsense! Divination classes are the easiest to pass."

"Trillaun is a psychopath!"

"Professor McGonagall is very strict."

“Catahlburn’s classes are always filled with dangerous magical creatures.”

"Professor Snape is terrible."

The young wizards started discussing it enthusiastically, but the discussion quickly veered off-topic. Felix quickly stopped them, asking how it had escalated into criticizing the professors of various subjects.

He summarized the young wizards' views: "Therefore, you generally do not perform well in courses that are more theoretical and require a lot of memorization, such as ancient runes, history of magic, and astronomy."

Felix suddenly had an idea and decided to give it a try: "How about we play a game?"

“Please, both students… well, Miss Seldon and Mr. Pardis, I need your cooperation.”

Two young wizards stepped forward curiously.

The little wizard in the classroom suddenly perked up.

"Take out your wands."

Seldon and Pardis excitedly pulled out their wands, their eyes fixed on Felix.

Professor Hyp's teaching is always full of novel and interesting methods—this is a widely circulated saying in other grades, but relatively less so in fifth and seventh grade.

“Let me think…” Felix flicked his wand, and a nine-square grid appeared in front of each of them.

Inside the grid were nine magical words that flickered with sparks.

Above the heads of the two young wizards were two names gilded in gold—Pat Selton and Warren Pardis.

"Professor, what is this?"

Hufflepuff's Pete Selton asked curiously, and a friend pointed to the top of her head, revealing her name above it. Strangely, there was a number "0" next to the name.

"We're going to have a spellbook knowledge competition. I'll be explaining the spellbooks, and you need to find the corresponding spellbook as quickly as possible and touch the corresponding square with your wand."

"You need to be faster than your opponent to score a point."

"The game ends when one of you reaches 100 points first."

Felix looked at the two of them. "Let's try it once."

He uttered a series of interpretations: "Light, illuminating the road ahead, also represents the brilliance of knowledge."

Pete Selton and Warren Pardis stared intently at the runes floating in mid-air before them. When Professor Hyp spoke the second short phrase, Pete's eyes lit up, and she quickly tapped the bottom left corner of the 3x3 grid with her wand.

"I know, it's Ken!"

When her wand touched the rune, the area instantly turned bright gold, and at the same time, a "+1" symbol appeared above her head, which remained for two seconds before disappearing.

Pete belatedly looked up at her head—the original number "0" had become "1." She glanced at the professor. "I won?"

“In a sense,” Felix said, “I think you understand the rules of the game now, right?”

Both nodded in agreement; this way of playing was really fun. Warren, standing to the other side, couldn't help but grip his wand tightly—he had been a step too slow.

Felix waved his wand, causing the first set of nine squares to disappear, and a second set of nine squares appeared in front of the two of them.

"The second word, reward, symbolizes victory and satisfaction—"

Warren swung his wand at the center of the 3x3 grid, watching the area turn a dazzling gold. His face flushed with excitement. "It's Wyn, Professor."

“Correct answer.” Felix nodded, and a “+1” mark appeared above Warren’s head, making his score 1.

The competition continues; "poverty, hardship, also represent a kind of misfortune."

Without a second thought, Warren tapped his wand on the upper left corner, but this time, the area quickly turned a bleak gray.

“Wrong answer, Mr. Warren.” Felix waved his wand, and a “-1” mark appeared above his head, resetting his score to zero.

Warren clenched his fist in frustration.