A day at Hogwarts.

Chapter 627 How to get through this school year

The turmoil caused by Umbridge seems far off for most Hogwarts students who are still immersed in the novelty of starting school.

On the first morning of the new school year, the cafeteria was still filled with a relaxed and lively atmosphere as students enjoyed their breakfast while chatting and laughing about their holiday experiences.

Angelina Johnson, captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, rushed to the Gryffindor long table, found Harry and the other team members, and informed them that the selection of a new goalkeeper would begin this Friday.

As breakfast was drawing to a close, Professor McGonagall came in with a stack of parchment and began distributing timetables to the Gryffindor students.

The first-year students craned their necks, their faces filled with anticipation and curiosity for the magic course.

When older students received their timetables, they mostly wore a solemn expression, as if they were facing certain death.

“Charles, don’t you have a timetable?” Hermione suddenly noticed that Charles’s hands were empty.

Charles simply replied calmly, "Professor McGonagall may have forgotten to take mine."

After he finished speaking, he got up and left the noisy cafeteria ahead of time.

No one paid much attention and all looked down at their densely packed schedules.

Looking at his schedule for the day, Ron felt a wave of dizziness – the morning consisted of a hypnotic history of magic and an agonizing potions class, while the afternoon included a mysterious divination class and a Defense Against the Dark Arts class with the new professor.

“I really wish Fred and George could speed things up,” he muttered irritably, “and get those quick-fix truancy candies out and selling already.”

At this moment, Charles arrived at the principal's office to wait.

Dumbledore did not appear; instead, Professor McGonagall showed up.

She walked briskly, her expression more serious than usual.

“The headmaster has been called to the Ministry of Magic at the last minute,” she explained, “so there’s something I need to talk to you about.”

Professor McGonagall gestured for Charles to sit down, then cut to the chase: "Charles, what are your thoughts on your course arrangements for this year?"

She paused, then continued, "Given that you passed all the OWLs exams early last year, you are fully capable of skipping to sixth grade."

"If you're willing, and after evaluation, we might even consider letting you go straight into seventh grade."

Upon hearing this, Charles looked somewhat embarrassed.

Skipping a grade is not impossible, but he must consider it carefully.

Last time, my father passed the OWLs exam in fourth grade, and he was so frustrated that he only recognized 25 letters of the alphabet. If he had passed NEWTs in fifth grade, who knows what would have happened.

“Professor,” he began cautiously, “could you give me some time to consider?”

Professor McGonagall expressed her understanding, saying, "Of course, you can give us an answer before the Easter holidays."

Charles nodded, then asked earnestly, "Professor, could you give me some advice?"

He definitely needs guidance from a professional.

A rare complex expression appeared on Professor McGonagall's face, as if she had gone through an internal struggle.

She took a final deep breath and said, "Charles, in previous years, I would have advised you to act according to your capabilities and choose the safest path."

She hesitated for a moment, then lowered her voice, carrying a hint of barely perceptible heaviness: "But... this year's situation is somewhat special."

"We hope you can improve yourself as much as possible and work even harder."

After saying this, Professor McGonagall's expression seemed rather unpleasant, and a hint of guilt flashed across her eyes, as if she were uneasy about putting pressure on a student from the college and even the school.

Charles keenly grasped this point.

He nodded calmly and said, "I understand, Professor. I will consider it carefully."

This is not mandatory; Charles could easily take a year off, let alone continue in fifth grade.

So Professor McGonagall simply gave him a brief talk, telling him not to rush into a decision.

The school bell was about to ring, so Charles asked for a fifth-grade timetable, then left the principal's office and headed to the History of Magic classroom.

Professor Binns's somber tone was the best lullaby; even the old man would have to lie down.

In this classroom, students can do almost anything as long as they don't disrupt the class, including studying the history of magic.

Charles sat down in a corner at the back of the classroom, took out the letter that Roff had handed him yesterday, unfolded the parchment again, and began to read it carefully.

It was a handwritten letter from Mr. Newt Scamander. The letter was long, but the core message was the same: Mr. Scamander was eagerly inquiring whether Charles owned a large tract of land or intended to buy a large tract of land in the near future. He had “some” magical creatures there, possibly in considerable numbers, who urgently needed a safe new home.

Charles silently calculated that Newt was already 98 years old this year, and it was indeed necessary to plan for the future of those rare creatures.

He was willing to help, but it was quite tricky to do.

Around his villa on the island, fishermen were appearing more and more frequently, and Dementors would occasionally spawn, making it not an ideal place to house magical creatures.

His current large amount of liquid funds mainly comes from the millions of Galleons he received as compensation from Gringotts.

However, such large-scale land transactions are not common in the wizarding world. It would probably be necessary to exchange Galleons for Muggle currency and then go to the Muggle world to buy the land.

Such a large sum of money seems difficult to handle; we'll need the Ministry of Magic's intervention.

Charles pulled out a parchment and began replying to Newt, stating that he did indeed have plans to purchase a large farm, but also clearly pointed out that the payment and land transfer would require the Ministry of Magic's coordination to complete.

He didn't need to go into details; the experienced Mr. Scamander would naturally understand the crux of the matter and know how to cooperate to push things forward.

In the next class, everyone will get a close look at Professor Snape, whose house has been blown up.

Harry suddenly realized that the way his classmates looked at Professor Snape today was exactly the same way they looked at him when he was a first-year student—full of irrepressible curiosity, with a bellyful of questions they wanted to ask but dared not utter a word.

Professor Snape completely ignored the stares. He slowly scanned the room with his icy gaze, then said in a stern tone that could freeze a cauldron: "Before we begin our new lessons today, I think it is necessary to remind you that most of you will be taking a crucial exam next June."

"At that time, you will prove just how much you have learned in the preparation and use of potions over the past few years."

“Although there are indeed a few people in this class who are hopelessly slow-witted,” he said, his gaze sweeping over Neville and Harry, “I still hope that you can at least barely ‘pass’ in your OWLs exams.”

“Otherwise…” he drawled, his voice laced with undisguised threat, “I will be very, very angry, and the consequences will be absolutely unbearable for you.”

The air in the classroom seemed to freeze, and all the students involuntarily tensed up.

In the midst of this deathly silence and terror, Hermione suddenly raised her hand.

Professor Snape seemed surprised that someone would ask a question at this moment and impatiently gestured for her to speak quickly.

Hermione stood up and asked clearly, "Professor Snape, you just said that 'the vast majority' of people take the exam."

"Is there anyone who is unable to attend due to any special reason?"

Snape clearly hadn't anticipated this problem.

He glanced instinctively and very quickly at Charles in the corner of the classroom, then looked around at the Gryffindor students, and then let out a cold sneer, saying, "Miss Granger, you will know whose names will not appear on the list of candidates next June."

Snape achieved his goal, and the Gryffindor students were taken aback.

Harry, in particular, felt his heart sink and couldn't help but wonder if Snape was planning some way to prevent him from taking the exam and make him repeat a year.

(End of this chapter)