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Chapter 599: A Real Dream
Chapter 599: A Real Dream
Hermione made no comment on Ron's self-deception, only responding with a humph. They returned to the common room for a brief rest before heading back to the Great Hall for lunch.
At lunchtime, the four house tables reappeared.
Hermione asked at the table, "By the way, you almost missed breakfast this morning. What happened?"
"That? Well", Harry said, shoving a mouthful of mashed potatoes, "we overslept."
"Everyone overslept?" Hermione seemed surprised. The boys seemed so relaxed, while many girls in the dorm had been up all night.
"Yeah", Harry mumbled, moving the pumpkin soup closer to him. Ron nodded, waving a sausage in agreement.
Forgetting to set the alarm wasn't the smartest move, but since it was a spur-of-the-moment decision, the five roommates agreed to let it slide. At least they got a good night's sleep and felt refreshed the next morning, which Harry thought was enough, wasn't it?
Neville's scream was the first to wake the others, a clear sign.
In the afternoon, Professor Hup did not appear for the Spell Practice Exam.
"He's teaching the fourth years", Terry Boot, a fifth-year Ravenclaw student, told Harry and the others. "I saw him on my way by."
The students preparing for the exam were making their final efforts in the entrance hall.
Ernie Macmillan and his friend Justin Finch-Fletchley were quizzing each other on common spells, casting them quickly and making the movements, looking like they were performing a silly dance. Pavarti Patil and her twin sister stood on either side of Lavender Brown, muttering incantations with wide eyes. Lavender looked on the verge of a breakdown, her face pale, clutching a charm in her hand.
Each time Professor Flitwick called out a group of names in alphabetical order, the students in the entrance hall would look up in panic, as if Flitwick were leading them to some terrifying place.
Harry's turn was between Hermione and Ron. When his name was called, he followed the Patil twins inside but was stopped by the short Professor Flitwick at the door. "Professor Toffey is available, Potter", Flitwick panted, almost pulling Harry over.
Harry quickly apologized and ran inside.
The Great Hall was set up differently from the morning, with seven or eight tables in the center, each with an examiner. Harry recognized Professor Toffey from earlier and approached the wizard with the least hair. Toffey's large glasses lifted from the register to scrutinize Harry closely.
"Potter, the famous Potter? Now, I'd like you to make this egg cup perform a few somersaults for me..."
Outside the Great Hall, Ron and Dean huddled together, whispering.
Their names were near the end of the alphabet, making them one of the last groups. As the number of students dwindled, neither had much interest in reviewing their notes.
"I wonder what they'll test us on? No one who's gone in has come out yet, it must be pretty strict."
"Probably some basic spells, like the Levitation Charm, Summoning Charm, or making a teacup grow legs."
Dean glanced around quickly to ensure no one was listening, then lowered his voice to Ron. "I heard that if you perform exceptionally well, you can earn extra points."
Ron perked up, "Tell me more!"
"I'm not sure", Dean said uncertainly, "but I heard that if you demonstrate a particularly advanced spell, the examiners might give you bonus points."
Ron sighed, sounding pessimistic, "That's only for the top students."
"True", Dean agreed, looking sympathetically at Ron. "Being around Harry and Hermione must be tough, right?"
"Yeah... wait, what do you mean?" Ron's face turned red.
"Oh, uh", Dean realized his mistake and raised his hands, trying to soothe Ron, "Actually, you're better than most people, it's just that being around Hermione and Harry makes it hard to stand out... Hermione is top of the class in every subject, and Harry is unbeatable in practical exams."
Ron's expression softened, muttering, "I'm not that good... cough!" Despite his words, his eyes gleamed with excitement, and he looked at Dean expectantly, silently urging him to say more.
The pressure now shifted to Dean, who awkwardly changed the subject, "By the way, do you think Luminos counts as a bonus? It is Ancient Magic—"
Ron looked disappointed but couldn't force Dean to compliment him.
He shook his head, "Probably not. Everyone in the Rune Club can do Luminos. Remember when the shade army attacked the school? There were so many light orbs above us." He sighed, "It might have been impressive a few years ago, but now? I bet at least a hundred students in the school can do that spell."
Ron's and Dean's spirits sank even lower.
The entrance hall was nearly empty now, with only a few students left, including Zacharias Smith, who was boasting loudly in front of the Hufflepuff hourglass. Dean couldn't stand it anymore, "I'd love to punch him in the nose."
Ron grinned, "I've been wanting to do that for a long time."
Zacharias Smith, oblivious to Ron and Dean's disdain, continued arrogantly, "Oh, come on, how hard is this exam?"
"Ha, he can't even do the Patronus Charm", Ron said disdainfully, noticing Dean's suddenly stiff expression, "What's wrong?"
"You just said—said—" Dean asked weakly.
"What?" Ron was confused. At that moment, a silver light spread from the Great Hall, a massive beam engulfing the remaining students in the entrance hall.
He saw Dean's mouth drop open in shock, and the lingering pessimism on his face vanished.
Ron probably looked the same. "It's Harry's super Patronus!" he exclaimed, craning his neck to look inside the Great Hall, which was eerily quiet. Just as Ron wondered why the Patronus Charm didn't earn a round of applause, a commotion broke out inside.
"The Patronus must still be effective", Ron said, satisfied, listening to the examiners' amazed exclamations, "Almost forgot, I can do that spell too."
...
"The exam was interrupted for ten minutes because of you."
After the day's exams, Ron told Harry in the common room, "But thanks to your Patronus, I felt great during my exam." He raised one eyebrow, "Too bad that jerk benefited too."
"Who are you talking about?" Ginny, preparing for her final exams, asked.
"Zacharias Smith", Ron said without hesitation.
"Oh, him." Ginny remembered, pouting, "He's been pestering Luna and me at club meetings, acting all high and mighty, and mocking Luna's decorations."
Harry felt conflicted. He admitted Luna had a unique personality, but her taste was questionable. Still, he agreed that Zacharias was indeed annoying, "Yeah, he is pretty obnoxious."
They were preparing for the next day's Transfiguration exam, and Harry's mind was filled with complex spell models and theoretical analyses. He couldn't understand why turning a toad into a rat took up an entire chapter in the textbook, and Hermione's notes from the book were over a dozen pages long, including three essays she had written in the past.
So when someone called out, "Harry—someone's looking for you", he was relieved to have a break. Passing Fred and George Weasley's table, they were playing Wizard Card with Lee Jordan, whispering to each other.
Fred lazily waved at Harry as a greeting.
"Are you not studying?" Harry asked.
"We know our true level", George said.
Right, Harry thought, annoyed. They must not know that Mrs. Weasley always asks about the twins when she writes to Ginny. He pushed open the door, hearing the Fat Lady chatting with a familiar voice.
"Yes, I went to see it... giggles... the painting is huge, I guess it's about twenty feet long... Violet and I went to see it, and the students did a great job, very impressive... Dumbledore certainly drove the Dark Lord to flee... giggles..."
Harry stepped out of the portrait hole and glanced back at the Fat Lady's portrait, unsurprised to see a few wine bottles at the base. Her face was flushed, and she seemed unaware of anyone leaving, mumbling to herself.
"…I just can't figure out why there's a Niffler in it, standing so prominently…"
"Professor?" Harry called out in surprise as he saw who was at the door.
Felix nodded at him, "Follow me, Harry."
Harry followed the professor nervously, racking his brain for any serious mistakes that could have prompted the usually laid-back Professor Hup to seek him out. He suspected it might be serious business. They walked down a dark corridor, and the professor stopped.
"Your performance today shocked the examiners", Felix smiled, "The strength of your Patronus far exceeded their expectations."
"Um—" Harry didn't know how to respond.
"I need your help", Felix said straightforwardly.
"Sure", Harry nodded, "What do you need?"
"For some reason, I need to collect some emotions, specifically yours", Felix tilted his head, "The method is to use your unique Patronus, but don't let the magic burst out like it did earlier, it's too noticeable... summon it quietly, and I'll take care of the rest."
When Harry returned to the common room, his shock was still evident.
"What's wrong? You look like you failed an exam—" Ron said.
"That's Hermione", Harry corrected himself instinctively.
Hermione raised an eyebrow and glared at him, and Harry quickly said, "Slip of the tongue." Ginny and Ron burst out laughing.
"Professor Hup called me", Harry explained once they calmed down, "He said he needs my Patronus..."
After listening quietly, Ron said in disbelief, "You mean Professor Hup put your Patronus in a glass bottle?"
"Shh", Harry said, "Lower your voice."
"Didn't he tell you why?" Hermione asked.
Harry shook his head, "No", he admitted.
"That's strange", she rubbed her forehead, "Given his character, if it was a magical experiment, he would have been eager to explain everything and maybe even involve you in the research, unless it had to be kept secret."
"He said it had to be kept secret for now", Harry said.
"Maybe he doesn't want to distract us", Ron guessed, "We have exams tomorrow."
"But he asked me to come to his office every night for the next few days and use the Patronus", Harry said. Normally, if he canceled the spell, the Patronus would dissipate, but the professor used some method Harry couldn't understand to preserve the emotions and magic—Harry guessed it might be something like a Dementor capturing cage. The idea of a row of his Patronuses in the professor's office made him feel odd.
"If what you say is true, it must be serious and urgent", Hermione said firmly.
They spent some time guessing the reason for the professor's request, but they had little to go on.
"Could it be related to... you know who?" Ginny whispered.
Harry's heart raced, but the guess had no basis. They eventually returned to their tedious review, with Harry yawning as he flipped through Hermione's Transfiguration notes. The clarity of his mind, which had been restored by seeing Professor Hup capture his Patronus in a jar, was fading again.
After the Transfiguration exam, the third day was Herbology, followed by Defense Against the Dark Arts. Sirius Black stood at the door, encouraging each student. "What if I don't do well?" a student asked nervously as they high-fived Sirius.
"Don't worry, by the time you get your results, I won't be your professor anymore", Sirius grinned, "You don't have to worry about me casting curses at you."
After the Ancient Runes exam on Friday, Harry and Ron privately agreed they would at least get two 'Outstandings.'
One in Defense Against the Dark Arts and one in Ancient Runes.
"This is a good start; you'll feel more confident for next week's exams", Hermione said calmly, flipping through her book.
Harry and Ron were playing Wizard Card, borrowed from the Weasley Twins. The cards had been modified, and when Harry played a Disarming Charm, a red light knocked Ron's knight armor away.
Taking advantage of Ron's turn to draw a card, Harry leaned forward and grabbed the exam schedule, "Let me see the schedule for next week—Monday, Potions; Tuesday, Care of Magical Creatures; Wednesday, morning is the Astronomy theory exam, afternoon is the Divination class exam, and there's more... the practical Astronomy exam is at eleven PM."
"I've always wondered why you haven't given up on Divination class. Even if Trelawney makes rare predictions, it's undeniable that she mostly teaches nonsense", Hermione asked sharply.
"Listen, Hermione—oh, Hurricane Charm, Harry, you lost", Ron savored his victory, "We've been lying for three years just to get into the Divination O.W.L. exam—"
Seeing Hermione about to interrupt, he quickly added, "If you're lucky, this class will add an O.W.L. to your transcript—even if you know nothing, I'm serious!"
Harry hadn't realized Ron had a point. He thought about it seriously. He continued the Divination class largely out of inertia, and partly because he had heard Trelawney make a prediction.
Despite the low probability, Harry still harbored a faint hope: what if he heard another real prediction? If there was, he hoped Trelawney would be more precise, not too vague, like giving the exact date of Voldemort's death...
As the days passed, the students finally reached the last exam.
Harry flipped open the History of Magic exam paper on his desk, scanning the questions as usual. His head immediately felt heavy. The History of Magic notes he borrowed from Hermione that morning were slipping from his mind, and he didn't want to waste time looking at the back pages. He just wanted to write down as many answers as possible before he forgot all the names and dates.
He glanced at the podium, where Professor Hup sat lazily, seemingly lost in thought.
'Today is indeed a good day to slack off,' Harry thought resentfully.
After a few more seconds, he realized he hadn't written a word and quickly bent over to start answering. As Harry expected, he struggled the names and dates—especially those of giants, goblins, trolls, and centaurs. The names were both tongue-twisting and long, and Harry suspected the historians had just transliterated their grunts.
For about two hours, Harry fought with drowsiness.
When the elderly Professor Toffey slowly announced that there were thirty minutes left, Harry sighed in resignation. He stopped thinking about the conflicts between Liechtenstein and trolls and flipped back to the front of the paper, where a few questions were still blank.
He stared at the fourth question: 'In your opinion, did the wand regulations contribute to or help control the goblin rebellions of the eighteenth century?'
Harry tried to clear his foggy mind. The sand in the hourglass on the podium trickled down slowly, and the weather outside was beautiful, a typical June day, but he had to sit in the stuffy Great Hall thinking about goblin rebellions... Harry's consciousness grew increasingly fuzzy, and his head drooped toward the desk, a suspicious drool forming at the corner of his mouth... He found himself seeing Headmaster Dumbledore's face, no longer gentle, with no spark of joy in the deep blue eyes behind the half-moon glasses. He looked serious and solemn.
Dumbledore waved his wand wildly, and the power of the spells made Harry's heart race. Rows of stones, along with large clumps of grass and dirt, surged toward him, as if the entire earth was being dragged to crush him.
But Harry was not afraid.
A brilliant green light poured from the wand in his hand, casting eerie shadows. He felt a twisted smile on his face and spoke with intense excitement, "Does the taste of the Curse feel good, Dumbledore?"
"Bring out your best, or you'll die today!"
(End of Chapter)
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