Chapter 492: Advanced Classes
Chapter 492: Advanced Classes (Request for Subscriptions, Favorites, and Votes)
The next day, the weather was absolutely perfect. The sky was a clear blue, with only a few wisps of clouds floating by, and the sun hung high in the sky, radiating light and warmth. The cool air, tinged with a hint of sunlight, blew across their faces, invigorating them. This was undoubtedly a good omen to start the new semester.
After breakfast, they remained in their seats, unlike their usual routine of leaving. Today, the heads of the four houses would collect the advanced class applications from students in sixth year and above, and provide them with guidance.
Everyone in Gryffindor waited for Professor Mcgonagall to come down from the staff table. The process of distributing the class schedules this semester was much more complex than usual. Professor Mcgonagall had to ensure that each student's O.W.L. scores met the requirements before they could continue with their chosen N.E.W.T. advanced classes. Of course, if a student's O.W.L. scores met the requirements but they felt they didn't need a particular N.E.W.T. certificate, they could opt out of that class. The content of N.E.W.T. classes was more challenging, and the homework was more complex. Not everyone could guarantee they could handle the workload.
Hermione's classes were quickly confirmed. She decided to continue with Spellcasting, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Transfiguration, Herbology, Arithmancy, and Potions. Initially, she wanted to take all twelve subjects, but after Liam reminded her that she would have plenty of time in the future to learn any knowledge she was interested in, she reduced her course load significantly.
"Not taking Ancient Runes? I remember you were quite interested in it, and you got an O in your O.W.L.", Professor Mcgonagall paused, as if a thought had struck her. "That's right, Liam's knowledge in this area is far more extensive than any professor here. You indeed don't need to spend extra time in class on this subject." As a member of the Order of the Phoenix, Professor Mcgonagall naturally knew some things.
Next was Neville. Although his studies in the Study Group had significantly improved his academic performance, and he did well in this exam, Professor Mcgonagall still had some advice for him.
"Mr. Longbottom, your Herbology score is an O, which is excellent. I'm sure Professor Sprout will be delighted to see you back. Your Defense Against the Dark Arts is also outstanding. The issue is that your Transfiguration and Spellcasting are both E. Neville, I'm curious why you didn't choose the Charms advanced class? To be frank, your talent in Transfiguration is not as strong as in Charms. I'm concerned you might struggle to keep up in Transfiguration. And I've noticed you don't seem to enjoy Transfiguration much. Why push yourself?"
Neville looked uncomfortable and mumbled something about his grandmother wanting him to take it.
"Oh, Augusta's suggestion? But I noticed that the career you chose during last year's career counseling didn't require a N.E.W.T. in Transfiguration. I think you should focus on your strengths."
"I agree, but my grandmother thinks choosing Charms is just a shortcut", Neville grumbled.
"Then choose Charms. I'll write to your grandmother. Just because she didn't pass her Charms O.W.L. doesn't mean the subject isn't worth studying. You've made significant progress in your studies over the years, and your grandmother needs to recognize that her grandson is much more capable than she imagines and needs to forge his own path."
After hearing Professor Mcgonagall's words, Neville's face lit up with disbelief and joy as he took the new schedule that Professor Mcgonagall had just conjured. By then, Professor Mcgonagall had already turned to Parvati, who soon left with a somewhat disappointed look, as the handsome Centaur Professor only taught Divination to first to fifth-year students this year.
Once almost everyone at the table had finished, Professor Mcgonagall approached Liam: "Mr. Liang, your class selection can only be done last, as there's a bit of an issue with one of your subjects."
"Is it the Alchemy class?" Liam immediately guessed the problem, as his exam results and course selections were identical to Hermione's except for this one class. If there was an issue, it could only be with this one.
"Yes", Professor Mcgonagall said, sounding somewhat helpless. "In the past, this course required students to obtain an O in Transfiguration, Ancient Runes, and Arithmancy in their O.W.L. Exams, and they also had to pay for some of the raw materials. As a result, for nearly a decade, no one at Hogwarts has enrolled in this course."
At this point, Professor Mcgonagall lowered her voice. She felt embarrassed that as the best school in Britain, and perhaps Europe, they couldn't provide the appropriate education for students who met the requirements. "This year, due to well-known reasons, we couldn't find an Alchemy professor. So, the Headmaster came up with a compromise."
Liam listened quietly to Professor Mcgonagall's explanation. He understood why the Headmaster couldn't find an Alchemy professor: Alchemists were a highly sought-after profession among wizards. They could live comfortably by remaining neutral. Joining Hogwarts as a professor would mean declaring allegiance to Dumbledore, which was clearly not a worthwhile move for most Alchemists. Besides, with only one student enrolled in the course, the school governors were probably not willing to invest too much.
Seeing Liam's serious expression, Professor Mcgonagall felt even more guilty. "Dumbledore and the governors decided that you can self-study this course. When the exam time comes, a specialist from the Ministry of Magic's Exam Department will come to administer the test. As compensation, the Alchemy Lab in the school will be available for your use."
This answer made Liam quite happy. He could access the vast amount of Alchemy resources in the school's secret archives and receive guidance from Rogen. Not having a professor actually suited him better, as it would give him more time to pursue other interesting activities.
"Thank you, Professor", Liam said with a smile, accepting the new schedule and the key to the Alchemy Lab. Professor Mcgonagall patted his shoulder seriously and said, "I believe you will achieve great things in Alchemy. Also, thank you for your help with the Order of the Phoenix."
Liam smiled back. He had prioritized selling discounted magical defense items to the Order of the Phoenix to strengthen their ability to withstand the Death Eaters. This strategy, combined with his indiscriminate attacks on the Death Eaters, had proven effective. Recently, the number of Muggles reported as casualties in the news had been significantly lower than in the novels he had read in his previous life.
With his new schedule showing no classes for the first period, Liam and Hermione went to check out the Alchemy Lab assigned to him for the year.
The laboratory was located on the fifth floor of the castle, on the west side near the Ravenclaw Tower. The corridor was empty, with no portraits, statues, or armor, and not even a single door. Only sunlight from the windows illuminated the entire corridor.
"Didn't you say the Alchemy Lab is in this corridor? How do we get in?" After curiously circling the corridor twice, Hermione finally gave up and turned to Liam for an answer.
"This place is similar to the back wall of the Leaky Cauldron. In fact, the way to open the back wall was inspired by this place", Liam explained. He walked to the wall opposite the third window from the corridor entrance, then carefully examined the wall. Finally, he found a slightly blue-tinted brick at waist height and tapped it with the bronze key given by Professor Mcgonagall.
The brick trembled and began to move, forming a small hole that gradually grew larger. Soon, a stone door with a relief carving of an eagle holding a star appeared.
"Is this a legacy of Ravenclaw?" Liam glanced at the Ravenclaw-styled relief on the door, then pushed it open and walked in.
(End of Chapter)
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