A day at Hogwarts.

Chapter 590 Before the Finals
A loud splash came from the lake, followed by a commotion. People were shouting and running towards the source of the sound.

A seventh-grade student suddenly jumped into the icy lake. Before he could sink very deep, several shadows rushed over from nearby, and the mermaids quickly pushed him out of the water and threw him back onto the shore.

Just as ripe fruit falls into the water in autumn, students occasionally jump into the lake in summer. The mermaids are used to it and are well prepared, since they can exchange each one they pull out for an equal weight of delicious fruit from Hogwarts.

The person who jumped into the lake appeared to have only choked on the water. Several students hurriedly lifted the student up and ran towards the school clinic, leaving a trail of wet footprints.

All exams finished yesterday, today is a rest day, tomorrow is the final of the three-way competition, and then it's summer vacation.

To maintain a relaxed atmosphere, Hermione was forbidden by Charles from answering questions with anyone, and he promised her half of the remaining chocolates from Ginny's place if she could do so.

The Confusion Spell on Charles was still in effect, and although some people found it strange that he was always nowhere to be found during exams, no one investigated it further.

Apart from the principal and a few professors, no one else knew that he had taken the ordinary wizarding level exam.

As everyone strolled along the lake, Hermione, standing at the edge of the crowd a short distance away, witnessed this scene and asked in bewilderment, "Why did he jump into the lake?"

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

She suddenly noticed that Charles was looking at her in a strange way.

Charles said to her earnestly, "Hermione, you have to promise me that if you ever do poorly on your exams, you won't do what he did and jump into the lake."

Hermione rolled her eyes at him, her cheeks puffing out slightly.

Ron shook his head and said, "I can't imagine what it would be like if Hermione failed her exam. It's even more unbelievable than Professor Moody being a Death Eater."

Harry nodded silently, agreeing with Ron.

Ginny smiled and said to Charles, "If you just take out the chocolate, she won't jump anymore."

Harry continued to nod silently, agreeing with Ginny's assessment.

Just then, Fred and George strolled over from the lakeside, sharing the news they had just heard.

"Hey, you know what? He only realized he forgot to write his name after he handed in his paper!"

"That's right, now they'll have to repeat next year and graduate with us."

"This is the ultimate wizard exam!"

"I can't believe someone can be this stupid."

Their tone carried a hint of schadenfreude, leaving the others speechless.

Charles told the twins, "Don't be careless. How much investment you get next year depends on your performance."

Ron seized the rare opportunity and, feigning concern for them, said, "You all had better recall whether you actually wrote your names down during this exam."

Fred and George became a little nervous after hearing this.

They had to put a lot of their research on hold this academic year because they were assistants in the Triwizard Tournament. They'll be busy again in the summer. Charles will provide funding based on their exam results, and without funding, they won't be able to do their research.

The group chatted and laughed as they continued their walk along the lake.

The weather is lovely today. Sunlight filters through the leaves, casting dappled patterns, and a gentle lake breeze carries moisture across my face—it's very pleasant.

They came to a secluded meadow surrounded by trees on three sides and facing a lake on the other. The grass was soft and the view was open. Unexpectedly, they saw Headmaster Dumbledore standing there alone, looking around, sometimes looking down at the ground, sometimes gazing at the lake, as if he was carefully examining and measuring this place.

Harry and the others went over to greet him, but Charles lagged behind, looking thoughtfully at the old man before finally turning and leaving.

Charles had a hunch that Dumbledore was choosing a burial plot for himself.

He couldn't help but wonder if he should squeeze Grindelwald in with him.

The idea lingered in his mind for a long time.

He has always been quite open-minded about life and death. After all, he has died once before, so dying again wouldn't be a big deal. Maybe it'll just be a different world, a world of cultivation?
Lost in thought, he walked to the back door of the castle.

Along the path leading to Hogsmeade Village, a row of armored guards stood watch over many strange trees that were two stories high.

"Hi Charles, I didn't expect to see you here."

A deep and familiar voice rang out.

Charles was surprised to see Krum, who was looking at the trees with interest. He said, "I thought you would be resting in the castle or preparing for tomorrow's game."

Charles was genuinely surprised, given how tense the other warriors all seemed. This morning in the cafeteria, Seymour barely touched breakfast, Cedric forced himself to eat plenty of fried eggs and bacon to build up energy, and Fleur ate almost nothing—one might think she was on a diet. Krum, as a world-class athlete who had participated in numerous top-level competitions, possessed a much more stable mentality than the others.

"Rest is also part of preparation." He smiled calmly and shrugged. "The tactical analysis and physical preparation have been completed. There's no point in being tense anymore, so it's better to relax."

He did look very relaxed, and there was no pre-match anxiety in his eyes.

“Perfect timing. There’s a question I’ve been wanting to ask,” Krum said, pointing to the trees with curiosity in his eyes. “Are these the kind of trees that give birth to sheep? I’ve noticed that their leaves are exactly the same as described in the book.”

He tried to take a few steps closer to examine it more closely, but was blocked by the armored figures.

With the match imminent, getting injured over this would make him a laughingstock, so he chose to just watch from a distance.

Charles nodded and replied, "That's right, it's the tree that gives birth to sheep. I found a precious seed by chance a few years ago, and it took a lot of effort to get it to grow."

"However, they grow slowly and take many years to bear fruit."

Krum looked at the trees and said with a sigh, "The meat of the sheep that grows on the trees is very delicious."

"Our national team had discussed before that if we ever managed to win the Quidditch World Cup, we would chip in and have a feast of tree-born sheep to celebrate."

Charles nodded understandingly and said, "You can contact me then; I have connections to get the results."

He couldn't help but feel a little sorry for Krum. As a Seeker, he was one of the world's best, but the overall strength of the national team was insufficient, making it difficult for him to go further in international competitions.

The two chatted for a while about the legend of tree-born sheep and how to cook it, and the air seemed to be filled with the tempting aroma of roasted meat.

As he spoke, Black strode briskly from the direction of Hogsmeade Village, with two enormous carpets floating behind him, each taller than a person, made of magic.

Blake was busy delivering goods to Professor McGonagall, so he waved to Charles and Krum as a greeting, then maneuvered the carpet quickly toward the castle gate, leaving a trail of wind in his wake.

Krum looked at the two huge carpets and asked curiously, "Are they going to put new carpets in the castle?"

Charles shook his head and explained, "No, that's the carpet we'll be using tomorrow at the final venue. I don't know the specifics of the setup."

Krum raised an eyebrow in surprise and asked, "The venue for the finals?"

"Isn't the competition being held near the castle? Why do we need to fly such a huge carpet over there?"

Charles also looked puzzled, shrugged, and said, "To be honest, I don't know the exact location either."

"I also thought it was on or near Hogwarts, but I overheard professors chatting and they said that it wasn't, and the location is kept secret."

"I also heard that the professors all use door keys to get in."

He was also surprised by this arrangement.

The two exchanged a glance and saw the same question in each other's eyes, but quickly understood.

Anyway, everything will be revealed tomorrow, so there's no point in digging deeper now.

Krum changed the subject, bringing up his communication laptop that he always carried with him.

“Charles, could we add another new feature to the laptop?” he asked tentatively. “You know, as a public figure, I sometimes need to issue announcements or statements to a lot of people.”

"Right now I can only send messages to all my contacts. It would be great if it were like a food delivery shop, where you can see the menu but I have to click on it to see what I post."

This is a special need that only celebrities have; ordinary wizards don't really need such a function yet.

Charles stroked his chin thoughtfully for a moment and said, "Hmm, I've actually considered that idea too."

"Adding preset emojis to plain text is technically feasible and can be implemented quickly."

"But uploading pictures is currently quite troublesome; the owner needs to draw them themselves."

"We are researching a magic camera and a matching magic display frame, which theoretically will allow photos to be sent via laptop in the future."

"However, this is very difficult. The magic of image transmission is extremely complex, so this year I plan to recruit several wizards who specialize in this type of magic to join the company."

Krum listened attentively, thought for a moment, and said, "If it's just a text announcement function at the beginning, that's perfectly sufficient. We can add images later."

Charles readily agreed.

So, at Falbaddon Castle, a group of cattle and horses received orders from their boss to work overtime overnight to develop and launch the new "personal space" feature of the communication notebook, giving Krum priority to try it out.

(End of this chapter)