#200 - Section 200

The Mind Flayer of the Witch Heart Society in Knockturn Alley, I haven't directly confronted him, but he is proficient in the three Unforgivable Curses. According to the information received, he annihilated the werewolf community.

It is also very likely that he caused the riots on Tric Island, because someone witnessed creatures like ghouls, and only the Witch Heart Society is known to have a few.

Judging by his strength, he should be on par with Voldemort. It won't be easy for me to suppress him.

Recently, a Flame Demon appeared, yes, the one who robbed Gringotts.

His strength is also increasing rapidly. It took a lot of effort yesterday to deal with that giant, which is why he didn't think about fighting me.

Otherwise, I definitely wouldn't be able to protect Ollivander's Wand Shop, and maybe the spells set up in Diagon Alley and Knockturn Alley would be broken, directly exposing the wizarding world to Muggles.

That's right, Dumbledore doesn't have the confidence to take down the Flame Demon. He is extremely proficient in Fiendfyre and Transfiguration, and his magic is quite strong.

He might even be hiding other trump cards.

Even now, Dumbledore is still grateful that the Flame Demon finally chose to leave, otherwise, today's situation might really be unmanageable.

But who exactly is targeting me among these three people?

The reason for including Ethan is that Dumbledore believes Ethan is not an easy person to deal with, whether it's his actions at Hogwarts or the events at the Quidditch World Cup.

It's entirely possible that he's targeting me now.

As for Voldemort, he hasn't been resurrected yet, so it can't be him.

Other wizards are not qualified enough.

Many people are targeting me, but I can only feel a premonition from those with equal strength, or those whose strength is not too far apart.

However, Dumbledore doesn't know who it is specifically.

Thinking and thinking, Dumbledore directly put down his quill and leaned back in his chair to ponder.

Chapter 244: Triwizard Tournament

After finishing his work, Ethan didn't rush to Hogwarts.

Anyway, Cassandra and the others are still on the train. Even if Ethan goes to school, he will be bored waiting for the start-of-term feast.

And on the train, because it is constantly moving, Ethan can't Apparate directly.

So he found a place to test the two talents he had just drawn.

Although, after accepting these two talents, basic information about them appeared in Ethan's mind.

But it's impossible to master them without understanding their use in reality.

The Penetration talent is just like its name.

It strengthens Ethan's observation ability. His senses, which were already relatively sharp after learning the Supersensory Charm, are now even more acute.

He can even predict the opponent's next action based on their movements, to achieve the effect of subduing the enemy.

This was tested on Herpo the Foul.

This is different from Legilimency, after all, Legilimency can be resisted by Occlumency.

But this prediction is not subject to this limitation.

However, limitations still exist.

At first, he could indeed predict Herpo's attacks, but soon Herpo noticed something was wrong.

If he was being crushed by brute force, there was nothing to say, that was normal.

But every time, he dodged his attacks perfectly or neutralized his spells.

After confirming that his Occlumency was activated, Herpo had some guesses.

The subsequent battle evolved into confusing the opponent and guessing each other's intentions.

It is still very useful to catch the opponent off guard when they are unaware.

If the opponent is prepared, this prediction doesn't have much effect.

Overall, the effect of this talent is not bad.

It should have some of the effects of Cho Chang after taking the Blood of Magic.

It's just that because Ethan has enough Buffs, whether it's physical fitness or magic, he is stronger, so the effect is even better than hers.

Ethan has experimented with the Earth Walking talent, and it only works when standing on the ground.

Whether it's flying in the sky with a Flying Charm or riding on a magical creature, this talent doesn't react at all.

Of course, this talent can still be activated while wearing shoes, it doesn't say you have to be barefoot to step on the earth.

The effect is also simple and direct, increasing movement speed on the ground. In reality, this is not very useful.

Mainly because, which wizard runs!

It only has a bit of positioning effect when dodging attacks, but usually, they use magic to defend or duel with magic. It is only ordinary wizards who really need positioning.

Look at Dumbledore, he never positions himself.

Another effect is that standing on the ground, stamina recovery and magic recovery speed become quite fast.

When manipulating the earth with Transfiguration, it also becomes more handy and doesn't consume much magic.

Ethan speculates that standing on the ground, this talent probably also has an earth affinity effect.

It's just a pity that there are hardly any earth-related spells, and they are all quite ordinary.

If you want to develop in this area, you either need to extract ancient magic or invent and create your own.

It's just that Ethan doesn't lack attack methods now, so he'll just let it go.

After testing the two talents, Ethan had no reason to stay any longer.

He immediately Apparated to Hogsmeade Village.

As soon as he arrived, Ethan cast a few spells on himself.

Speaking of which, as long as it is the start of the school year, the weather around Hogwarts has never been good.

It's always windy and rainy, and today is no exception.

Although the weather is bad, there are still quite a few wizards coming and going on the streets, especially around the tavern.

Although today is not Hogsmeade Day for Hogwarts School, many people have chosen to come here due to the destruction of Diagon Alley.

However, Ethan wasn't very interested in this, and immediately disappeared into the darkness.

When I arrived at the grounds outside the gates of Hogwarts, the carriages pulled by Thestrals were already full.

Without a doubt, Cassandra and the others had arrived ahead of me.

Therefore, I didn't linger outside. I stepped onto the stairs, ready to enter the castle and attend the start-of-term feast.

"Good evening, Professor McGonagall."

Upon entering the doors, the first person I saw was, as always, Professor McGonagall, the cat animagus.

I had a great deal of respect for Professor McGonagall. When I first enrolled, she helped me a lot and even tutored me privately.

Seeing that it was me, Professor McGonagall smiled slightly and immediately asked with concern:

"How did things go at Gringotts?"

Dumbledore had told her that I needed to arrive late.

Professor McGonagall was understanding, considering the large sum of galleons involved.

Moreover, during the Quidditch World Cup, Professor McGonagall had made a small fortune alongside me.

As a staunch supporter of Quidditch, Professor McGonagall naturally wouldn't miss the Quidditch World Cup.

Furthermore, as a Scotswoman, Professor McGonagall was an ardent supporter of the Scottish team.

However, in the previous few matches, Professor McGonagall had lost quite a bit.

Fortunately, thanks to me, she recovered her losses and even made a small profit.

That's why she was particularly concerned about my situation.

"It's all settled. Gringotts compensated me with fifteen million galleons."

In this regard, there was no need for me to hide anything.

"Good that it's settled. Go on in; I still need to greet the new students."

Although she was somewhat surprised by the number, Professor McGonagall didn't show it and said with her usual composure.

"Okay. Also, Professor McGonagall, Harry won't be back until two days from now."

"Alright, I understand!"

After parting ways with Professor McGonagall, I went straight into the Great Hall.

As always, the Great Hall was specially decorated for the start-of-term feast.

Hundreds upon hundreds of candles floated in the air above the tables, illuminating the golden plates and goblets.

The ceiling was enchanted to mirror the sky I had just seen outside. Black and purple clouds swirled above, and as another rumble of thunder sounded outside, a forked bolt of lightning flashed across the ceiling.

At the four House tables, not a single student was silent. They were all discussing the Quidditch World Cup and the attack on Gringotts.

At the head of the hall, at the fifth table, the faculty members sat side by side. Dumbledore was still in the center seat, and they were also conversing about something, but Snape remained silent with a cold face.

However, as I walked in, most of the wizards' attention turned to me, and the noisy scene quieted down.

I was already used to this, so I walked directly to the Ravenclaw table.

Once I sat down, the chatter resumed.

However, based on my keen perception, I heard that there was now an additional topic of conversation: myself.

They were discussing how I had managed to accurately predict the winning teams in the Quidditch World Cup and how many galleons I had received from Gringotts in compensation.

Terry was the first to start asking me these questions. He was Muggle-born, so he hadn't been able to attend the World Cup this summer.

Even though he and Michael had earned some galleons by making Baruffio's Brain Elixir for me, enough to buy tickets to a few matches, they hadn't gone.

They had only learned about the live events of the matches through the wizarding newspapers in Diagon Alley.

As for Gene, I had seen him at the match and even helped him win a few bets.

In response to Terry's questions, I selected some things that I could talk about.

Before long, the doors of the Great Hall opened, and the noisy hall instantly fell silent.

Professor McGonagall led the new students, who were lined up in a long row, to the head of the hall. They stopped in a line along the faculty table, facing the entire student body.

They were all soaked from head to toe, as if they had swum through the Black Lake.

Moreover, they were all trembling. I didn't know if it was from the cold or from nervousness.

Next was the usual procedure, the Sorting Ceremony.

After the Sorting Hat finished singing its song, Professor McGonagall called out a person's name, and they went up to put on the Sorting Hat to be sorted. Then, each house welcomed the new student with applause.

As the last new student, Kevin Whitby, was sorted into Hufflepuff, the Sorting Ceremony came to an end.

At that moment, Dumbledore stood up.

He smiled warmly at all the students, opened his arms, and made a welcoming gesture.

"I have only two words to say to you," he said, his booming voice echoing through the hall, "Eat!"

At the four House tables, including the professors' table, a sumptuous dinner appeared simultaneously.

Everyone could choose their favorite foods according to their preferences.

Because it was the first day of school, and everyone had been traveling all day, coupled with the weather, everyone couldn't be bothered to discuss anything and focused on filling their stomachs.

After dessert was eaten, the meal was considered over.

Dumbledore stood up once again, looking at everyone with a smile. The buzzing sound of conversation in the hall stopped abruptly, and only the howling wind and the sound of heavy rain could be heard.

"Well then!"

"Now that we are all well-fed and watered, I must once again ask for your attention, as I have a few notices to announce."

"Mr. Filch, the caretaker, has asked me to inform you that the list of forbidden items within the castle has been extended to include the Screaming Yo-yos, Fang Frisbees, and Knickerbocker Bangers. A full list can be seen in Mr. Filch's office for those who are interested."

As he said this, the corners of Dumbledore's mouth twitched slightly.