A certain Hogwarts professor of runes.

Hagrid walked ahead in the dense jungle, with Felix and Belby following behind him.

They walked and talked—

“Hagrid, I’ve heard there are werewolves and trolls in the Forbidden Forest… Is that true?” Felix asked with interest, though he was skeptical, as he had never encountered them during his school days when he used the Disillusionment Charm to wander at night.

“You mean that one,” Hagrid muttered, “there is one, but it’s on the other side of the Forbidden Forest, not near us.”

Because of his work making wolfsbane potion, Belby had gained in-depth knowledge of the werewolf community, and he couldn't help but ask, "Why would werewolves live in the Forbidden Forest?"

Hagrid's eyes widened. He stopped and thought for a long time before finally waving his large hand and saying, "Don't ask me, I don't know either. Most werewolves live in seclusion, but I know some who live with their packs. I think they're probably heartbroken..."

The group moved on from that topic, and Felix asked, "Hagrid, are there any interesting magical creatures in the Forbidden Forest?"

This question was exactly what Hagrid wanted to hear, and he rattled off a string of names as if they were second nature: "Eight-eyed Giant Spider, Hippogriff, Billy Wiggler, Thestral, Luvius Cerberus, Teppo Warthog, Bowtruckle, Hinkpunk, Sphinx..."

Belby quickly wrote them down; some of the names sounded dangerous.

“There were quite a few humanoid creatures too. Besides centaurs, trolls, and werewolves, I remember seeing a group of flower fairies,” Hagrid said. “Of course, they just looked a lot like humans, the kind with wings.”

Felix knew about these creatures, fairies or flower fairies, which are generally 1 to 5 inches tall and look very similar to humans—except for having a pair of insect wings on their backs.

They are generally divided into groups according to the different types of wings, some transparent and some colorful.

Unlike the wise fairies commonly found in Muggle fairy tales, these creatures are generally not very intelligent, love to quarrel, and cannot speak human language.

However, Felix's focus is not on this—

"Luvius the Cerberus? I feel like I've heard that name somewhere before."

"Cough cough!" Hagrid coughed violently, explaining in a flustered manner, "You must have misheard me. Did I mention it to you?"

Felix looked at him calmly, and for some reason, Hagrid suddenly felt that Felix's eyes were somewhat similar to Dumbledore's. He awkwardly scratched his cheek. "Okay, I admit it, I let Fluffy roam freely in the Forbidden Forest. He's my three-headed dog, and the circumstances are complicated..."

“Hagrid,” Felix said softly, “as far as I know, Cerberus is more dangerous than a lone troll.”

“Ah, well, that…” Hagrid stammered for a moment, then finally said dejectedly, “You’re right, Felix. So I sent it deep into the Forbidden Forest, even further from the school than here. I visit it once a month, poor Luwei, it’s still so small…”

He sniffled sadly, tears welling in his eyes.

Felix and Belby remained silent. An adult Cerberus is at least three or four meters tall and is a rather dangerous magical creature, capable of fighting giants one-on-one without being at a disadvantage.

……

With Hagrid's guidance, Belby's goal was achieved quickly, and Felix also picked up a lot of miscellaneous materials.

They saw the Bowtruckles, which were covered in bumps and looked like brown tree branches. These little guys were clinging to the Wand Tree and peering down.

I saw the family of eagle-headed horse-bodied winged beasts, whose names perfectly matched their eagle heads, horse bodies, and wings; their bright orange eyes were particularly eye-catching.

There's also the Hinkpunk, hiding near a body of water, and the blue Billywig bug, who's taken over an area...

Felix even found a giant eight-eyed spider's claw on a rugged, winding rocky path.

As darkness fell, the last vestiges of light in the Forbidden Forest vanished rapidly, and the trees seemed to turn black. They prepared to return to the castle.

“The road is too far, we might not make it to dinner time.” Hagrid raised his arm, using his silver cane and his other arm to push aside the dense foliage above his head, and looked at the sky glowing with the afterglow of dawn.

As he moved, golden light cascaded down, forming a dazzling halo around the three of them.

Felix squinted, adjusting to the sudden brightness.

“I have a better way, Hagrid.”

He stretched out his hands, one on Belby's shoulder and the other on Hagrid's waist—

"What?" Hagrid asked, somewhat surprised.

The next second, their bodies twisted rapidly and disappeared from the spot.

The branch, having lost its support, sprang back sharply, and a few leaves fluttered down.

At the edge of the Forbidden Forest, not far from Hagrid's hut, the three figures suddenly appeared.

Hagrid looked around at his surroundings, and upon seeing his own little hut, he excitedly exclaimed, "Apparition? How convenient! To be honest, I've never experienced this magic before..."

“I’ve heard wizards in the tavern say that they think anyone who uses Portkeys and Apparition to travel is a fool—it takes at least half a day to get used to that disgusting feeling, but it’s not as bad as they make it out to be.”

Felix shook his head, explaining that Apparating Hagrid with him was far more strenuous than doing it alone.

After having dinner in the auditorium, Felix returned to his office.

He took out his day's harvest from the ring; some magical plants were piled in a corner. He planned to visit Professor Sprout to inquire about transplanting and planting them—they didn't need careful nurturing, just enough to sustain him until he could use them.

He also had materials from magical creatures, such as the giant claws of the eight-eyed spider, the feathers of the hippogriff, and the stinger of the Billywig worm, all of which he planned to test their magical properties one by one.

Just after eight o'clock, he heard a knock on the door. He opened the door and saw his assistant standing outside.

"Professor, I have some questions I'd like to ask you about course selection."

Chapter 149 Course Selection

“Please come in,” Felix said.

The two sat opposite each other on the sofa, and plates of snacks and two glasses of pumpkin juice floated onto the small table automatically.

“Oh, thank you,” Hermione said. “Professor Hyp, I haven’t thanked you yet. The Easter eggs you gave me were beautiful.” The Easter chocolate eggs she received were basically limited to those from her parents, roommates, Harry, and Ron.

“It’s nothing, I’m glad you like it,” Felix said politely. He had ordered a batch of candy from the candy store to give to close friends and family, such as professors, students, and pen pals at Hogwarts.

In his view, this was a matter of social etiquette.

Aside from attaching a greeting card, he didn't put much thought into it—don't expect cafeteria workers to have the skills to make Easter eggs.

“Miss Granger, do you have any questions about course selection for the third year? And you should consult Professor McGonagall about this.”

“I’ll speak with Professor McGonagall tomorrow,” Hermione nodded, took a deep breath, and said, “In fact, I’ve ticked all the courses… Although some people say there might be scheduling conflicts, as far as I know, Percy, Ron’s brother, took all the courses in his third year.”

“Percy Weasley?” Felix blinked. “He is indeed excellent at ancient runes.”

“I don’t want to give up any classes. I mean—” she said slowly, “If others can do it, why can’t I?”

Felix understood immediately. "So, you want to know the secrets behind this?"

"Yes, Professor, if it would be convenient for you to disclose."

"Well, it's a semi-open secret among the professors, but they try their best not to tell other students and go to great lengths to cover it up... Of course, some smart people will definitely notice something amiss."

“You are one of them, aren’t you? Or are you a secret witness, like Percy?” Hermione slowed her breathing and looked at Felix expectantly.

“Unfortunately, I only found out about it later. I didn’t choose Muggle studies and arithmetic divination when I was in school, which made me miss a valuable opportunity,” he said with a melancholy look on his face.

"You didn't choose Muggle research?" She looked at Felix incredulously.

"Yes, I thought the course was a complete waste of time. Nobody could have imagined that I would later become an expert on Muggle issues."

Hermione thought to herself, "I didn't expect this either. It's really outrageous, but the professor is from the Muggle world."

"So, the secret is—"

"A time converter that allows you to go back a few hours."

"Go back in time?" Hermione looked at him in shock. "But...but Professor, how is that possible!"

“Otherwise, why would any student choose two conflicting courses?” Felix countered.

Hermione was speechless.

She heard Professor Hyp continue, "I haven't studied this exquisite magical artifact and don't know its structure. But according to publicly available information, the Ministry of Magic is extremely strict about the use of the Time-Turner, having enacted hundreds of laws for this purpose and imposing the harshest penalties for its misuse."

"Why did the student—"

“Strict guarantees and scrutiny are required, Miss Granger. Behind your back, the headmasters of Hogwarts—now Dumbledore—have vouched for it themselves, and Professor McGonagall must write various letters to prove that the user is an absolutely exemplary student, to ensure that it will not be used for anything other than studying.”

Hermione suddenly remembered one of Percy's nicknames—Model Percy.

“So, if it’s you applying, Professor McGonagall shouldn’t refuse,” Felix reassured her.

If his assistant got his hands on the time converter, perhaps he would have a chance to conduct research? But Felix viewed this sudden idea with caution; from the meager available information, he had only seen dangerous cases of time converter abuse.

Using a time converter is not dangerous; what is dangerous is presumptuously manipulating time.

Hermione left satisfied.

Before leaving, Professor Hyp warned her, "Don't reveal the existence of the Time-Turner to anyone. It will put Professor McGonagall in a very difficult position and pose a huge threat to the user."

……

The other second-year wizards were also worried about course selection, as it would significantly impact their future—this course selection would essentially determine the subject range for the OWLs and NEWTs exams.

Each little wizard has their own method—

Students from wizarding families often discuss these topics in detail with their families, but sometimes this has the opposite effect. For example, Neville had several relatives writing to him with conflicting advice, leaving him bewildered and unsure of what to do.

"Don't you think arithmetic divination sounds harder to learn than ancient runes?" Hermione asked Harry in the common room when she returned.

“Uh…maybe?” Harry mumbled, with a course selection form and course materials in his hand.

Ron patted Neville on the shoulder: "Buddy, of course we'll choose the Ancient Runes!"

Neville said awkwardly, "My memory is bad, Professor Snape said—"

“Oh, don’t listen to him, he never says anything nice,” Ron said in a mysterious low voice. “Let me tell you a secret, Professor Hyp is the strongest of all the teachers. Once you become his student, Snape will never dare to bully you again.”

"But...but Professor Hyp is Snape's student!"

Ron was speechless, stammering, "Maybe they don't get along." Seeing Hermione walk in, he immediately sought her support: "Hermione, you should know, right?"

"I haven't seen any evidence of discord between the two professors!"

Ron sullenly sat back down in his chair.

Harry looked up and asked Hermione, "Did you get any advice from Professor Hyp?"

“I didn’t ask for advice on course selection, I just had some questions…” She thought of Felix’s advice to her and vaguely touched on the topic.

Percy was happy to give advice to the younger students. Surrounded by a group of people, his voice reached their ears: "It's about your plans for the future. If you love outdoor activities, you can boldly choose the Conservation of Magical Creatures course; if you are passionate about calculation and puzzle-solving, you can choose Arithmetic Divination; I personally highly recommend Ancient Runes, Professor Hyp has given this course a whole new meaning."

The young wizards nodded in agreement, envying the magical puppets that filled the school.

"...Some people will tell you that Muggle research is foolish, but personally, I believe wizards should have a comprehensive understanding of non-magical societies, especially since you can't be sure you won't be working closely with Muggles. And, by the way, Professor Hyp is an expert in this field!"

"As for the divination course, I highly recommend you take it. The reason is very simple. If you have a talent for prophecy, this course will change your life; even if you don't, the divination course is the easiest subject to pass."

The young wizards left thoughtfully.

Harry also had a similar experience, and he was thinking about a question at that moment: What should I do in the future?