Chapter 245: End of Term
Chapter 245: End of Term
In Hagrid's cabin, the five of them were celebrating Buckbeak's freedom. The joyous atmosphere lasted until Liam and the others returned to the castle.
As they climbed the castle stairs, Harry suddenly remembered and mentioned the Prophecy he had heard during the exam from Professor Trelawney. Liam listened to the Prophecy, which was nearly identical to the original, and felt a bit surprised. After all, Peter Pettigrew was sentenced to a life term in Azkaban. How could he possibly join Voldemort again? Moreover, when Peter was captured, there was a complete record of his transformation from a rat to a human. In such a situation, Azkaban would certainly have taken precautions.
However, considering that there were so many Death Eaters back then, it was reasonable to think that one or two might have escaped and were trying to resurrect Voldemort. But this meant that it was impossible to preemptively capture these criminals and close this loophole.
Liam shook his head, realizing that his thoughts were futile at this moment. On one hand, he was already prepared to face the dark times ahead. On the other hand, Dumbledore and the Ministry of Magic were still standing in the way, so it wasn't his place as a third-year student to worry about such things. Therefore, he decided to celebrate the end of the exams with everyone else. After all, only time would tell what would happen tomorrow, and there was no need to burden his friends with his concerns.
The next morning, Liam came to the lake after breakfast, watching the giant squid lazily waving its tentacles on the water's surface as he waited for the Daily Prophet to arrive.
"You seem a bit off today", Hermione's voice came from behind him. She walked over and sat down next to him on the grass by the lake. "Or perhaps I should say, ever since Harry mentioned Professor Trelawney's Prophecy yesterday, you've seemed preoccupied. Can you tell me what's going on?"
"I have a bad feeling. Professor Trelawney's Prophecies are mostly just a way to deceive people, but from what I know, these Seers occasionally make real Prophecies. When they do, they speak in a tone that isn't their own, their bodies seem to lose control, and most importantly, they have no memory of what they said afterward."
"I think you're just being over-sensitive", Hermione raised an eyebrow. "After all, you've been learning so much lately, which might be making you overly anxious."
"Thanks for the compliment on my recent studies", Liam joked. "I hope that's all it is."
At that moment, a brown barn owl flew toward Liam, dropped the Daily Prophet, and extended its left leg, which carried a small leather pouch. Liam took out five Knuts and placed them in the pouch. The owl, having received its payment, quickly flapped its wings and flew away.
"Nothing important in the news today", Hermione glanced at the front and second pages of the Daily Prophet. "The front page criticizes some countries for exporting poor-quality cauldrons to Britain, which even led to an important Potions maker getting injured. The second page is about the Zabini widow becoming a widow for the seventh time, which sounds a bit—"
Liam was flipping through the later pages of the newspaper when he suddenly pointed to a small article in the corner of page seven. "Look here. Peter Pettigrew has escaped from Azkaban, and the Ministry of Magic is urging all Wizards to report any sightings to the Aurors. They're offering fifty Galleons as a reward for any useful information."
"What's wrong with the Ministry of Magic? Two people have escaped from Azkaban in just one year", Hermione complained after reading the news. "But this does seem to align with Professor Trelawney's Prophecy. However, Professor Dumbledore is still here, so we don't need to worry too much for now."
"You're right, but given the chaos during the last war, it's necessary for us to prepare in advance. For example, we could step up our combat training. After all, if something does happen, Wizards from non-magical families like us are the most vulnerable."
"It shouldn't be that bad", Hermione said, sounding a bit skeptical. "But you're right, it's better to be prepared than not."
At noon, the two of them, with some heavy hearts, headed to the Great Hall for lunch, only to hear how Peter had managed to escape. According to a third-year Gryffindor whose family member worked at the Ministry of Magic, Azkaban was entirely guarded by Dementors. Despite the Ministry warning the Dementors that Peter was an Animagus, those monstrous creatures failed to take note of this detail.
The only certain information was that Peter had likely left Britain by now. So, the British Ministry of Magic, adhering to the principle that less is more, published a rather inconspicuous report in the newspaper.
"Ah, these guys", Liam said, somewhat dejectedly, rubbing his forehead. But this wasn't the only unpleasant thing that happened today. In the afternoon, the students learned that Professor Lupin had resigned.
"Although Professor Lupin is a good person, I understand why he resigned", Hermione said while they were reading in the Library. Perhaps due to their excellent performance in the Transfiguration exam, Professor Mcgonagall had given Liam and Hermione a permission slip to borrow the book Dangerous Transfigurations. Since the book couldn't be taken out of the Library, they had to take advantage of every spare moment to read it, hoping to finish before the holiday.
"It's just the Werewolf issue", Liam said in a low voice. "Now that we have Wolfsbane Potion, it can ensure safety, so I don't think it's a big deal to have a Werewolf as a professor."
"I agree, but most wizards don't see it that way. And we've pieced together enough clues to guess that Lupin is a Werewolf. It's likely that other students have figured it out too. In such a situation, how could parents allow Lupin to stay at Hogwarts? His worn clothes show that he's been turned down for many jobs because he's a Werewolf, which means a lot of people know his secret. This information couldn't be kept hidden forever. By resigning now, he's avoiding making things difficult for Professor Dumbledore. Otherwise, if the truth came out, it would be even worse", Hermione carefully analyzed the reasons behind Lupin's resignation.
"Professor Lupin was the best Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher we've had in three years. It's a real shame", Hermione concluded, sounding regretful.
"But it might be for the best, given the curse on that position. Think about the last two teachers. At least Professor Lupin managed to leave the job unscathed", Liam said, trying to console her.
After dinner, as they returned to the Common Room, they ran into Harry. Harry told them he had gone to see Professor Lupin off. Professor Lupin had resigned voluntarily, feeling that he still posed some danger to the school.
With Professor Lupin's resignation, the news of him being a Werewolf spread throughout Hogwarts. However, many Gryffindor students expressed their regret. Additionally, they were not optimistic about the next Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher.
On the last day of the term, Liam and his friends finally finished reading Dangerous Transfigurations. The exam results were also released. Liam, as usual, received all Outstanding grades.
Hermione also received all Outstanding grades, but since Liam had organized and summarized all his powers after mastering Alchemy, his practical exam scores were significantly higher than Hermione's. As a result, he achieved the unprecedented feat of being the top student in his year.
Among Liam's acquaintances, Harry, Ron, and Neville also passed all their exams. Neville, in particular, received an O in Herbology for the first time, so he went around to thank each member of his Study Group during breakfast.
Meanwhile, Gryffindor House, largely due to their outstanding performance in Quidditch matches, won the House Cup for the third consecutive year. This meant that the end-of-term feast was decorated in scarlet and gold. In the final day of the school year at Hogwarts, Liam felt very pleased.
(End of Chapter)
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