Hogwarts: What are the four great masters doing?

Ryan tried to argue against the bet, but his words were magnificently ignored.

"make a deal!"

So finally, Cedric made the bet.

"Let's confirm our bet—you think there will be at most one professor replacement next school year, while I think there will be at least two... all right?"

"No problem!"*2

The twins nodded proudly.

Then, they started discussing the outcome of the Quidditch World Cup - Cedric was optimistic about the Bulgarian team, but the twins, who were die-hard fans of England, believed that England could wash away the shame.

Well...as expected, Ryan still couldn't get a word in.

And while they were talking...

The train has arrived at the station.

"First-year students, follow me!"

Accompanied by Hagrid's familiar voice.

The twins also stopped communicating: "Oh, we have to go see Ginny off...you guys come quickly too! Ced, help us with the luggage!"

The two brothers who loved their sister dearly got out of the car quickly.

Ryan and Cedric looked at each other, then began to pack their luggage helplessly.

"They lose."

However, while cleaning up the snacks left by the twins, Cedric said with a smile.

"Oh?"

Ryan raised his eyebrows: "What do you mean? Could it be that the so-called curse was done by the ancestors of your Cedric family?"

"...Of course not!"

After hearing this, Cedric looked at Ryan unhappily, and then he revealed the answer.

"I set a trap in the bet, and they didn't notice it at all."

"The content of the bet is 'changing professors for the next academic year', but it doesn't specify that it must be the professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts."

"And I happen to know that Professor Keltburn of Care of Magical Creatures is retiring next academic year - Fred and George didn't take that course."

Cedric the Honest was gloating.

"...You're so mean, Ced."

"Oh, thanks for the compliment."

When Ryan and Cedric got off the car, they saw the first-year wizards lining up under the guidance of Hagrid, preparing to complete the ceremony of entering Hogwarts for the first time.

Ginny and Luna stood side by side - the latter seemed to have seen Ryan at this moment and was waving to him.

The bells in her hair today were replaced with pieces of tiny shells, which made continuous sounds as she moved. The sounds were not as clear as bells, but seemed more ethereal.

Ginny beside her was not so relaxed at the moment - the twins were muttering something to her.

Ryan guessed that they might be trying to scare his sister who knew nothing about the entrance ceremony, because he vaguely heard the two of them mention the words "giant squid", "last year", and "ate the little wizard".

Ginny's face turned red with fear, until the twins were picked up one by one and taken away by Percy, who had lost his patience.

Harry, Ron and Hermione on the side were both angry and amused, especially Ron.

"Youth... When I first entered school..."

He said this as if he had forgotten that he had enrolled in school just last year.

And after watching the little wizards leave.

Ryan and others soon arrived at the four-wheeled carriage road northeast of the station.

This is also the entry route for young wizards above the second grade - they would take what is called a four-wheeled carriage pulled by the Thestrals, entering the castle through the main gate of the school.

And here, a small but significant episode occurred.

When Ryan arrived, almost all the Thestrals sensed his presence.

The Thestrals who were pulling the cart all stopped and bowed to Ryan.

And Ryan certainly knew the reason—and it wasn't just because he had helped a Thestral last year.

The more crucial reason is that he inherited Hufflepuff's 'authority' at Hogwarts.

Although until now, he is still not sure how this special authority is formed and operates.

But in fact, he is the real 'Lord of the Forbidden Forest'.

As a creature of the Forbidden Forest, the Thestral naturally had to salute him.

Of course.

Because in order to see the Thestrals, one must have faced death with one's own eyes.

Therefore, most of the young wizards present did not notice anything unusual, except Harry who said "cool".

So Ryan looked at him subtly, guessing in his heart that maybe the incident of being hit by the Killing Curse last year had given him some indescribable understanding of "death".

And then, they boarded the carriage and soon passed through the imposing wrought iron gates of Hogwarts.

Ryan certainly remembered this door - because it was this door that he and Ravenclaw personally asked an excellent blacksmith to forge.

There are stone pillars on both sides of the door, and on top of the pillars is a winged wild boar - it was it that guided Ravenclaw in his dream to find the site where Hogwarts was built... which is one of the places with the most abundant magic in the whole of England and even in the whole of Europe.

Ravenclaw called that part of the miracle.

"Perhaps it was the soul of this land that guided me here."

She sighed like this at the time.

The Geminis obviously had no interest in this ordinary door that they were already used to seeing.

At this moment, they just explained to Harry: "After passing the door, there are red bristle trees at intervals - do you recognize them? They are also called lion trees... You can use them as markers when practicing Quidditch. If you lose your sense of distance and direction when turning or falling, they are very useful."

"We think it might have been left behind by some former Quidditch veterans—Hey! Cedric, you're not allowed to eavesdrop, this is an internal conversation between the Gryffindor Quidditch team!"

Amidst the discussion, they quickly got off the car at the big lawn.

But it was at this time...

"what is that?"

At this moment, accompanied by Ron's exclamation.

Ryan also saw it at the main entrance of Hogwarts.

At this moment, a curtain of water actually fell from above.

A strong magical power was surging within the water curtain.

"Thief-proof waterfall?"

The young wizards naturally recognized this magic prop instantly.

Thief-proof Falls - a goblin creation, there is one in Gringotts.

At this moment, the anti-theft waterfall at the gate of Hogwarts is smaller than that of Gringotts.

But the essence is obviously the same.

"Yeah... Anti-Thief Waterfall, that's the name..."

At this moment, Filch was standing at the door.

He spoke sinisterly when he saw the little wizards coming.

It wasn't until he saw Ryan that his expression brightened up a bit: "Oh, Mr. Elias..."

He walked over hunched over, with a very friendly attitude.

"Mr. Filch, how is Mrs. Norris?"

Ryan naturally knew the reason - at the end of the previous school year, Filch's cat, Mrs. Norris, fell ill, and it was Ryan who cured it.

This made the old Squib so grateful to Ryan that his attitude towards Ryan was obviously different from that of other young wizards.

"Oh, she's fine—just a little sensitive and afraid of people after she got sick... But that's not a bad thing. Many naughty little wizards are dangerous to her... those troublemakers!"

As he said this, Filch fixed his eyes on the twins behind Ryan.

"So what's this thief-proof waterfall?"

Ryan naturally did not refute the sensitive old Squib, but directly asked the key questions.

"It's Professor Crouch—the new professor this school year. He's set up thief-proof waterfalls at every entrance and exit of the school... I heard these are high-end ones he requested from the Ministry of Magic."

"Besides that, there are also looking glasses scattered throughout the school...they will go off if they detect any dark magic."

After hearing this, Ryan was also stunned.

He had heard before that Barty Crouch Sr. seemed to be planning to set up some defensive measures at Hogwarts.

But he didn't expect that this measure would come so quickly.

Moreover, it is a high-end product like the anti-theft waterfall.

That's right.

Ryan naturally knew that as one of the goblins' most proud magical defense creations, the anti-thief waterfall was indeed very effective.

Most of the Transfiguration and Dark Magic, as well as hidden people or spells, will be exposed when passing through the Anti-Thief Waterfall - including the Polyjuice Potion and the Imperius Curse used by Voldemort last semester, which are all within the range of the Anti-Thief Waterfall.

In fact, as far as Ryan knew...there was actually a thief-proof waterfall in the Ministry of Magic.

Even during the many past Ministers of Magic, especially when Voldemort rose to power more than a decade ago and Grindelwald was wreaking havoc more than fifty years ago.

The thief-proof waterfall is a standard security measure of the Ministry of Magic.

However, with the fall of Grindelwald and Voldemort, the existence of the Thief-Proof Falls began to be criticized.

After all, whether visitors or Ministry of Magic staff, most people don't like to be splashed with water - even though the water in the Anti-Thief Waterfall dries up quickly, it still causes dissatisfaction among many people.

"A great day, starting with crossing the Thief's Falls."

"You need to wear thick work clothes even in the summer, otherwise your figure will be clearly visible to others under the anti-theft waterfall."