Hogwarts Wasteland: The Witch from the Borderlands

Before the students could even recover from the joyful atmosphere of Quidditch, the dreaded final exams were just around the corner.

But what's even more terrifying than final exams is that children without parents, or those unwanted by parents, have to travel with professors during the summer vacation, or rather, work to pay off debts.

Although Hogwarts does not charge tuition, the expenses for young wizards, such as textbooks, parchment, quills, cauldrons, clothing, and food, add up to a considerable amount. Malfoy Castle is unwilling to provide these costs for free, and Muggle wizards should not take it for granted that they are entitled to everything. Therefore, in fact, these funds are advanced by the professors.

This amount of money isn't much, and it won't be a huge burden for each professor. However, it's not a long-term solution, and professors can't keep working for love indefinitely. Therefore, during the summer vacation, these students who truly owe money to the professors have to travel and study with them, living and eating at their homes and doing whatever they can.

While older students can earn money and find their own accommodation, younger students, without professors watching over them, might be sold off as soon as they step outside.

As for what specific job he will do, that depends on the professor's character.

In the past, Lucius would send the unfortunate ones assigned to him directly to the shops in Malfoy Castle to do jobs similar to those of the elves. Over the summer, the actual income generated would far exceed the expenses incurred during their school years, and they would not actually learn anything.

If they were assigned to Professor Sprout, they would be much luckier. They would most likely continue at the school, tending to the plants in the greenhouse, or go with the professor to the wild to collect rare wild mutant plants. It would be novel and interesting, and selling magical materials could pay off their debts. The professor wouldn't really tire the children out; it would be a true study tour.

Those who fall into Professor McGonagall's hands will travel with her to many Muggle territories, disguise themselves as Muggles to communicate with people, exchange rare alchemical items with Muggles for rewards, and may even encounter goblins and cyborg lunatics. While experiencing tension and excitement, they will also gain a deep understanding of the world's structure and the conflicts between races.

The price to pay is that you have to write a long paper when you get back, discussing what you learned during the holiday. If it's not insightful enough, it will be sent back for rewriting.

Professor Flitwick ran a spells tutoring class in his home, where many wild wizards would take classes during the summer holidays, while the students would act as teaching assistants and learn along the way.

As for Professor Lily, the Potter family specially built a basement to set up her potions workshop, and the children assigned to her were to attend potions classes for two months.

However, Lily wasn't as heartless as Lucius. She taught the children without reservation and would give them a wage at the end of the holidays. This money was the reward for the children helping her brew potions. You know, potions with Lily Potter's label could sell for a lot of money. These children would become rich after returning to school. If they worked under Professor Potter for several summers in a row, they could even buy their own small house in Malfoy Castle after graduation.

This year is different, though. Mrs. Potter had booked Hermione to come to her house in advance, and after some discussion among the parents, they decided to bring Harry, Neville, Ron, and the other boys together. They were all first-year students, so Lily could mentor them and help them learn and improve.

With this in mind, Professor McGonagall decided not to assign any new students to Lily, but instead to other professors. Fortunately, Dumbledore's liberation also freed McGonagall, allowing her to have the energy to take care of more children. In addition, there weren't many homeless students, and some students, like Hermione, were invited by the parents of close classmates to pay for their expenses. Some of the older students were even able to earn their own money. Therefore, even without Lucius, she could manage to arrange everything perfectly.

The auditorium was bustling with activity as students moved between the long tables, checking who their classmates would be assigned to the same professor. This year, the popular Professor Potter was absent, but the centaur Frenzel had finally agreed to take the foals on a trip to Africa. However, it was said that life would be tough, with them having to compete with Bowtruckles for scarce tree canopies to sleep in and take turns keeping watch. But Frenzel would distribute the magical creature materials they hunted to the students, allowing them to sell them freely for money, which might even be more profitable than selling potions.

Some people were glad they drew Professor Sprout's name and could continue to stay in their warm and comfortable castle, while others held the slip of paper with Professor McGonagall's name on it and looked miserable. They had already foreseen a thesis that would be longer than the rest of their lives.

Of course, the remaining children who didn't need to travel for study focused more on their upcoming final exams. At the beginning of the semester, the professors emphasized the teaching plan for each year, and if they fell far short, they would be forced to repeat the year.

The final exam is a test of these teaching plans. Every child must reach at least 80% of the plan to be considered qualified. Otherwise, they will have to attend intensive tutoring and retake the exam in the last week before summer vacation. If they still fail, they will have to attend classes with the younger students next year.

In the wasteland era, Hogwarts, with its responsible attitude towards students, would never allow poor students to coast through graduation. Releasing such children out of the castle was no different from sending them to commit suicide.

It is precisely because of this strict teaching policy that the level of the wizarding world has improved significantly over the decades. Even pure-blood nobles who are born into wealth and comfort now have decent spellcasting abilities, rather than being magical wastes who can only rely on elves to do their work.

The first-year curriculum wasn't difficult. At least compared to Percy, who was losing all his hair, they could pass with just a little effort. There hadn't been any cases of students repeating first grade in the last ten years.

But that doesn't mean Harry and his friends can get by easily. Numerous spells, complicated potion-making procedures, intricate transfiguration, dizzying astronomy lessons, interesting but unforgettable magical history... Herbalism is the only slightly easier subject. Professor Sprout can't bear to let the children fail. She always says that even if they don't do well in this subject, it's not likely to kill them unless they stick their heads into biting cabbage.

Of course, there is also the most difficult Anti-Wizard Technique Defense course. The exam for this course is divided into two parts: a theoretical written test and a practical assessment. The written test is not difficult, at least most people have done well in it, but the practical test is deadly. The entire grade will be ranked according to their usual practical performance, and the bottom 20% will be automatically considered unqualified. If they do not want to repeat the year, they must last for ten minutes against the top student.

As everyone knows, the first place in the first year's practical class was unsurprisingly given to the Serpent Queen from Gryffindor. This monster, who single-handedly captured Defense Stance Professor Lucius, has been at the top of the rankings for years, to the point that even upperclassmen are unwilling to spar with her, forcing Flitwick to step in himself.

To last ten minutes against her, it doesn't depend on how skilled you are, but on how much effort Hermione is willing to put in.

Even many upperclassmen claim that this year's first-year practical exam will be the most difficult exam at Hogwarts, and even the seventh-year students are not confident that they can face Miss Granger when she goes all out.

The bottom-ranked badgers had already brought treats and were waiting outside the lounge for Hermione, hoping she would go easy on her. Of course, Hermione wouldn't actually go to the fourth floor to borrow the Brilliant Stone just to be the goalkeeper. She said she would only perform at the level expected of a first-year student, but she wouldn't deliberately hold back.

"This is the level of a first-year student! Heaven knows how amazing first-year students are in her eyes!" Ron complained to Harry in private. In fact, if Hermione had trained them at the same intensity, these little badgers would probably have to continue taking first-year defense class next year.