American comics: From Hogwarts to God on Earth

Some magic still lingered within the demon's remaining body. Rune extracted it and transformed the mass of flesh into a large dog, which then jumped into the river. In a metropolis, he might have needed to be more cautious, but this was Gotham—a place without Batman where the daily death toll could equal the annual total of some cities.

As for the remaining magic, Rune infused it into the house itself.

After tidying everything up, Rune threw himself onto the bed, not even bothering to cover himself with a blanket, and fell asleep immediately. The familiar ceiling made him pause for a moment, finally pulling him out of his gloomy mood. The difference between Hogwarts and Gotham was simply too great.

In the dormitory, Edward huddled up, not daring to utter a word, trying his best to make himself invisible. He could sense Rune's bad mood, and his own previous betrayal filled him with both shame and fear. However, Rune had no time to pay attention to him; he was reciting runes.

Upon entering their third year, Hogwarts students face the challenge of course selection. Electives include Divination, Arithmetic Divination, Ancient Runes, Conservation of Magical Creatures, and Muggle Studies. Ancient Runes is a compulsory course. Rune originally intended to delve into alchemy, and Ancient Runes are the foundation of alchemy. Now that he has acquired a large amount of material in the DC universe, he can't just let it sit idle at home, can he?

What truly troubled Rune were the two elective courses: Protecting Magical Creatures and Muggle Studies. Each student had to choose at least two electives. Protecting Magical Creatures might be useful, but not necessarily that much; Muggle Studies could be treated as a low-stakes course, allowing him to get a certificate while freeing up some time to study ancient runes.

However, in the end, Rune chose the course on protecting magical creatures. The kind of cataclysmic events that threaten to destroy the Earth or even the universe in the DC universe are still a long way off. Hogwarts has its own prophet, and Voldemort is unlikely to cause much trouble. Learning more useful knowledge might come in handy someday.

After beginning his studies, Rune discovered that ancient runes might be more useful than he had imagined. This stuff is actually the magical language of Thor's side in Marvel.

In mythology, Odin, the Allfather, sought greater wisdom and hung himself on the World Tree for nine days and nine nights, contemplating the mysteries of the universe. When he descended from the World Tree, he discovered the secret of runes—the ancient runes. This discovery greatly astonished the runes, and he immediately decided to dedicate some of his transfiguration practice time to learning ancient runes.

At the same time, Rune also prevented Malfoy from making a fool of himself in the first lesson on protecting magical creatures.

A few days later, Dumbledore summoned him to his office and briefed him on the progress of the matter. With this most powerful white wizard of the era around, Sirius had virtually nowhere to hide—especially after learning that he wouldn't harm Harry at all, Dumbledore easily lured Sirius out. When the poor man was captured, he was thin and haggard, with a dazed and melancholy expression, and his face was surrounded by unkempt, long, black hair.

Rune seized the opportunity to ask Dumbledore to teach him the Patronus Charm. Whether it was a misperception or not, Dumbledore seemed much more relaxed after he made the request. However, Professor Snape's expression had been quite unpleasant during this time.

During this time, Rune led a very structured life. In the DC universe, he memorized runes, practiced spells and transfiguration, and tried to make new potions; at Hogwarts, he practiced the Patronus Charm, Legilimency, and Occlumency. The latter was at Dumbledore's insistence, because Rune's divination abilities were too powerful, and he needed to be able to protect his memories.

A few days later, at Professor McGonagall's request, Rune came to visit Sirius, who was lying in bed.

"Hello." Sirius seemed relatively calm. His head was shaved, and his striking gray eyes looked at Rune. "Thank you for your help, Rune... I really don't know how to repay you. If there's anything you want, just tell me, whether it's Galleons or anything else, I'll do my best to satisfy you."

"You're welcome." Rune sat down and looked at the man in front of him. He didn't stand on ceremony and said bluntly, "I want you to do three things for me."

As he spoke, he waved his wand, and an invisible barrier appeared, isolating the sounds from both inside and outside.

Sirius nodded: "As long as I can do it."

"First, I need you to find your house-elf, take the gold locket from him, and give it to Dumbledore." Rune took a few steps back. "This item is related to Regulus's death."

Sirius sat up abruptly, but said, "Who cares if that Death Eater lives or dies?"

He didn't like Regulus, but he still cared about news of his family.

"Regulus isn't as hopeless as you think, Sirius. Quite the opposite, he's an unsung hero. He stole something vital to Voldemort and tried to destroy it, but he failed. Sirius, he died on the road to fighting Voldemort, and his importance is far greater than you imagine."

Sirius stared intently at Rune: "Really?"

"The evidence is in Kreacher's hands, Sirius." Rune said with some reluctance.

Then, Sirius's body began to tremble slightly, as if struck by an invisible hammer, rendering him immobile, his eyes empty and bewildered. His lips parted slightly, as if trying to say something, but no sound came out; he trembled silently, like a withered leaf torn by the wind. Tears welled in his eyes, but remained unshed.

"I always... always... thought..." He couldn't even utter a complete sentence, and in the end, he could only curl up on the bed, avoiding Rune's gaze. This was his last vestige of dignity as an adult.

Rune didn't speak, but simply listened quietly as Sirius sobbed uncontrollably. The time seemed both long and short. When Sirius looked at him again, there was nothing unusual about him except for his red eyes.

"What's the second thing?"

"I want you to take Harry to Gaunt House in Little Hangleton and find a ring. It's a large ring, like it's made of gold, crudely crafted, and set with a black gemstone engraved with the symbol of the Deathly Hallows. Absolutely, absolutely do not let Dumbledore know about this," Rune said, looking solemnly at Sirius. "Then burn it with a Fiendfyre spell until only the black gemstone remains, and finally discard it. Sirius, am I clear enough?"

Rune's expression was overly serious, even somewhat stern, and Sirius couldn't help but recall Professor McGonagall's expression after he had deducted a lot of points from Gryffindor. He swallowed hard and nodded.

"Be careful, there will definitely be traps there, but as long as you're careful, it shouldn't be a problem. Watch out for signs of magic; the ring is heavily protected by magic. Finding it isn't difficult, the difficulty lies in breaking through the protective magic." After a pause, Rune said, "The last thing is simple: teach me how to use the Fiendfyre spell."

After Sirius agreed, Rune anxiously dispelled the spell and walked out of the school hospital under the unfriendly gaze of Madam Poppy Pomfrey.

He was somewhat uneasy about Sirius, not because he didn't trust his integrity, but because he feared that Sirius might recklessly leak information. After all, Dumbledore had been keeping a close eye on Harry.

But it wouldn't work without Harry. The Resurrection Stone would only be obtained by those who truly needed it, and people like Marvolo Gaunt and Voldemort, who didn't really need to resurrect someone, had no idea that the black gem on the ring was actually the Resurrection Stone.

As a last resort, Rune did not tell Sirius the true identity of the ring.