Hogwarts Study Panel

Chapter 472-470: News (3k)

The black cat woke up.

When it opened its eyes, the fog at the border was churning intensely.

"You and one of my... teachers are very similar."

Rita said casually.

She conjured a scene, and the black cat recognized it as the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom at Hogwarts.

Seventy-nine years ago, this Defense Against the Dark Arts class was taught by a Boggart.

Dumbledore is guiding a group of teenagers forward, leading them on an experiment.

"Hilarious"... "Hilarious"...

The voices of the young wizards rose and fell, Boggart transforming from a shark into a buoy, from a zombie head into a pumpkin, from a vampire into a rabbit with buck teeth, and laughter echoed one after another.

"Alright, Newt. Be brave."

Dumbledore said.

The black cat had never seen Principal Dumbledore look so young.

Sixteen-year-old Newt stepped to the front of the line. Boggart transformed into a desk at the Ministry of Magic.

"That's not common. So what is Mr. Scamander's greatest fear in this world?"

Dumbledore said with a smile.

The black cat looked at Headmaster Dumbledore; it seemed the headmaster had enjoyed watching plays even when he was still a professor.

"Working in an office, Professor."

Sixteen-year-old Newt said honestly and sincerely.

The whole class burst into laughter.

"Let's begin, Newt."

Dumbledore smiled too.

"Hilarious! Hilarious!"

Newt transformed the desk into a playful wooden dragon and then walked away.

"Well done. You're getting better."

Dumbledore clapped.

Now it was Rita's turn, but she didn't move.

She was scared.

“Rita, it’s just Boggart, it won’t hurt you. Everyone has things they’re afraid of.”

Dumbledore said kindly to Rita.

In front of him, a group of girls gathered together, gloating over her fear.

"Let's see how she makes a fool of herself."

Those girls said.

Rita stepped forward. Boggart also began to transform, and immediately all the laughter ceased.

Green light shone on every terrified face. Boggart had become a shadow, with a tiny human hand.

Rita let out a sob and ran out of the classroom.

The black cat and the adult Rita followed behind her, watching her hide into another empty classroom.

Some time had passed, and young Rita was still sitting at her old desk. Then Dumbledore walked in.

"What a pleasant surprise!"

Dumbledore said.

"Because you saw me in the classroom? Am I such a bad student?"

Rita said coldly to Dumbledore.

"On the contrary, you are my smartest student."

Dumbledore said.

"I meant bad, not stupid. Don't bother trying to figure out the answer. You never liked me."

Rita coldly uttered those words.

"That's not right. You're not a bad kid."

Dumbledore came over and sat down.

"Then you're mistaken."

Rita didn't look at him.

But Dumbledore was scrutinizing her closely.

“Rita, I understand that the rumors about your brother Kovacs are causing you pain.”

"Dumbledore said."

"No, you don't understand. Unless your brother is dead too."

Rita shouted sternly.

"My sister died."

Dumbledore said.

She glared at him, both of them hostile yet curious.

Do you love her?

Rita asked.

"My love for her is simply not enough."

Dumbledore's eyes were gray.
"It's never too late to let go. Some say that honesty is a relief, a great weight lifted from your shoulders."

Rita was still staring at him.

I wondered what he knew.

"Regret has been my constant companion. I don't want you to become like that."

Dumbledore left.

The illusion shattered.

"I had my doubts about him, and sometimes I wondered if he was a monster too, until I met someone."

Rita said to the black cat.

The black cat's ears twitched, and Leta was now certain that her beloved Bastet was not merely traversing Newt's dreams.

“A witch who has forgotten her own name, no, she is not a complete witch.”

Rita looked on with a look of reminiscence.

"She only remembered that she had two older brothers at Hogwarts, and she had been waiting for them. And I don't remember many people who fit that description... With some simple deductions, I understood who she was."

The black cat naturally knew who she was.

"It was then that I realized what the teacher said was true, that we were the same kind of people."

Rita said.

"But what about you? My dear Bastet, can someone like you understand the heart of a wizard?"

"I am a wizard."

"The black cat said."

Rita chuckled.

"Yes, I understand. You are not a cat, you are a wizard."

Rita said in a very serious tone.

The black cat bobbed its head up and down in agreement, and Rita laughed so hard her body was shaking.

A powerful magical creature, possessing magic far beyond the imagination of wizards.

But it is willing to listen to the wizard's wishes, and even to grant them.

It's amazing.

Rita found the day more interesting than she had imagined.

"Ms. Lestrange, can you still find her?"

"The black cat asked."

"Oh, her? Of course."

Rita's eyes darted around,
"You've rushed across the border just to bring good luck to the wizard? Whose wish are you fulfilling this time?"

The black cat remained silent.

"I am willing to help, for my teacher, and also because of you."

Rita sighed.

The fog surged even more violently, and both the black cat and Rita knew that it was time to part ways.

When will you come again?

Rita placed a trimmed Gabriel in the vase and asked the black cat, as if she were asking an old friend.

"do not know."

The black cat shook its head.

Rita understood that good luck might never come again, or it might return tomorrow.

After a while, the black cat glanced back at her, then turned and disappeared into the deep mist.

Only a witch who loved to trim flowers remained at the border, and occasionally she would tell stories of a black cat to those who came to cause trouble and were tied up by her.

……

Hogwarts.

The bell tolled three times.

Sheen, unusually, did not wake up at his usual time. This trip to the border was not too smooth, as he had used the power of the Void Rune too thoroughly.

This led to a disappointing outcome: he was unable to reach the border for the time being.

But this period won't last too long; Sheen estimates it will be a full month.

He recalled Rita's words and inexplicably thought of the principal's office, which was filled with silverware.

The old wizard guarded the castle as if it were a prison he had built himself.

As he passed the principal's office, the bells were still ringing, and Sheehan could already smell the sweet pumpkin aroma wafting through the auditorium.

He recalled Rita's pumpkin pie and concluded that Rita's skills were better than his Ravenclaw teacher's.

However, he quickened his pace a bit; exam week was approaching, and he had a potion exam that afternoon.

For the wizards, this exam was no longer a complete disaster.

Thanks to some truly useful notes, they at least didn't let Professor Snape's face turn completely black.

Harry remembered that the last time he was embarrassed was during a potions class pop quiz, when he couldn't thicken his forgetfulness potion no matter what he tried.

Snape watched with a look of satisfaction on his face. Before leaving, he jotted something down in his notebook, which looked like a zero.

Now that such things are completely a thing of the past, he can even pass the Potions exam with relative ease.

When they came out of the cellar, everyone was still discussing the test that had turned out alright.

That night, the young wizards took an astronomy test atop the tallest tower.

Gazing at the starry night sky, Sheen always thinks of his prophetic magic.

Despite studying with the centaur teacher for so long, he still hasn't been able to unlock the magic of prophecy.

The centaur teacher inevitably frowned, having recently been searching for answers within the knowledge of the centaur race.

In addition, Sheen has been staying at the border for more than three hours.

The Dream Story mentions that seven hours later, the sky over the border will turn dark, the stars will become brilliant, and you will be able to see a clear and bright night sky, which is the best time for divination.

This unusually rapid progress reminded Sheen of the legends of the borderlands, the legends of the lucky black cat.

At the same time, seeing "Dream Stories" as "Merlin Stories" made Sheen realize that before long, he might be able to witness a different kind of borderland, a borderland glittering with stars, a borderland that would allow wizards to glimpse a corner of something as vague as "the future".

What changes will occur at the border at that time, perhaps only Merlin knows.

The weather was clear that night. After the astronomy exam, Sheen went to learn divination from the centaur teacher.

Although his progress in prophecy magic was still stuck at the very end, it didn't stop him from learning about the centaur's knowledge of prophecy.

The exams, however, continued at a leisurely pace.

The History of Magic exam was on Wednesday morning, and when Professor Binns' ghost told them to put down their quills and roll up their parchment, the young wizards couldn't help but cheer.

Anyone who has read Grimm's Notebooks is guaranteed a perfect score in the history of magic, and the history of magic section of Grimm's Notebooks happens to be one of the most popular extracurricular books for wizards.

Its popularity almost rivaled that of "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" and "The Tales of Beedle the Bard".

Moreover, I heard that a new part of "Grimm's Notebooks" is about to be released, called "History of Magical Positions". In the past few days, the pre-order letters have almost filled the entire Grimm's Bookstore.

Wednesday afternoon was the herbalism exam. We were baking in the sun in the greenhouse, and by the time we got back to the common room, the back of our necks was sunburned. Everyone was looking forward to this time tomorrow, when everything would be over.

Thursday morning was the last exam, which tested Defense Against the Dark Arts.

Professor Snape readily took on the role of examiner, forcing wizards to duel with their companions in his presence.

In his words:
"That weak, idiotic guy should have received this kind of training long ago."

Although magic was flying around during the exam, surprisingly no one was injured.

When the exam ended, everyone left the arena excitedly.

Only Sheen was kept behind by Professor Snape.

(End of this chapter)