Ancient Wizards Return to Hogwarts...

Chapter 394 The Carefully Prepared Final Exam and the Secrets in the Office

"Too weak. Does this guy really have a domain?" After managing to drain the water from the cave, Rice pulled the nameless cultist, who was soaking wet, out of it.

In the blink of an eye, the monk was instantly killed by Rice, leaving Rice speechless.

When Rice saw the sand emerging from his body, he thought there would be a big battle tonight. He didn't expect that the other party's development of the domain was so shallow, and he couldn't even transform his whole body into elements in a short time.

If he could transform his entire body into elements, coupled with the advantage of this location, this guy could actually hold out against Rice for a while.

"Take this as a warning, take this as a warning!" Rice decided that after returning to Hogwarts, he would definitely tell Daphne and the others to seriously develop their own fields, so that they would not end up in the same situation in the future.

However, the fact that this guy's fighting spirit was so weak made Rice feel troubled.

Can this kind of guy really put pressure on Daphne and the others? Let's hope it doesn't turn into a game of hide-and-seek in the end...

Rice's eyes darted around, and suddenly a good idea came to him: it didn't matter that the cultivators in his hands were weak in fighting spirit, there were still divine remains in the cave!

Those remnants of the gods are not lacking in fighting spirit; they are more than capable of fighting.

Thinking it and doing it, Rice directly took the divine remains out of the cave and integrated them into the cultivator's body.

The cultivator immediately began to convulse.

Seeing this, Rice didn't delay any longer and rushed back to Hogwarts before sunrise.

After heading straight to Helga's office and handing the monk over to Hufflepuff, Rice yawned.

"I'm here, the rest is up to you."

"Okay." Helga, still half asleep, took the materials from Salazar, examined them, and then showed a satisfied expression.

Possessing a domain and exuding a strong killing intent, he is indeed excellent material. Salazar has really gone to great lengths.

Next, she will modify the doll and the materials, separating the domain and killing intent from the materials and then attaching them to the doll. This will give her doll greater combat power and add considerable pressure to the students.

After thinking for a while and getting a general idea, Helga got busy.

Several hours later, the material had disappeared, and the hole in the doll's neck had been filled.

"Very good." Looking at the doll in front of her, Helga smiled with satisfaction. Now she just had to wait for the final exams to be over.

The two exams organized by the Ministry of Magic were held earlier than the final exams at Hogwarts.

While wizards in other grades are still in class, fifth and seventh graders are already preparing for the most important exams of their lives.

In today's magical world, without a few respectable OWLs and NEWT certifications, it's practically impossible to get by.

As a result, older students generally became quite neurotic, and all sorts of strange potions and magical items began to circulate in private. These included, but were not limited to: Buffet, a mind-boosting potion that greatly enhanced performance in real-world situations; Dragon Claw Powder, which strengthened memory; potent calming potions; and Forget-Me-Not Potions, which made people forget their worries.

Some of the goods were even related to Rice. Rice had prepared many calming potions for Astoria, but after the curse in the girl's soul was removed, these potions naturally became useless.

After consulting with Rice, Astoria took the calming potion Rice concocted and resold it, and it sold remarkably well. Upperclassmen who couldn't sleep due to anxiety only needed a few drops of the calming potion to get a good night's sleep and relieve their inner worries.

At this critical juncture, Rice's tranquilizers were practically a miracle cure, even being sold by the ounce. The final price was comparable to its weight in gold.

It gave Rice a little shock to modern wizards.

The atmosphere reached its peak when the Wizarding Exams Authority arrived, and even Cedric was somewhat affected.

"Diggory, you seem very nervous?" The day before the exam, Cedric was called to Helga's office.

Cedric swallowed hard: he was indeed a little nervous.

He was worried that he would not perform well in the exam and would embarrass his teacher.

You have to understand, his teacher is one of the founders of Hogwarts, a living legend. If he doesn't perform well in OWLs...

Cedric couldn't imagine what would happen.

"Why are you so nervous?" Helga laughed. "In a few years, when you look back, you'll realize that these exams were just a small episode in your life. Go ahead and take them with confidence. Don't be discouraged if you don't perform well; your teacher believes in your abilities."

Helga really didn't take the so-called "OWLs" exams seriously.

In her view, ten excellent OWL exam certificates are not as valuable as a small step forward in the field.

Helga Hufflepuff's students don't need certificates to prove their excellence; their teacher's name speaks for itself.

Of course, she should still take the exam if she can get a high score, because Old Viper and Old Raven also have students, and who knows, they might start competing with her students for their scores in the OWLs exams someday. She has to be on guard against that.

Thinking of this, Helga suddenly remembered something: Salazar's current identity is a student, which means he will also have to take the OWLs exam in the future.

If his grades are even worse than Cedric's, then I'll have some fun.

Although Helga thought the probability of such a thing happening was low, it was still possible, because modern magic and ancient magic were quite different. And as far as Helga knew, Salazar hadn't studied modern magic very diligently—which was understandable, and she hadn't put in much effort in that area—so there was a chance that the old viper would be caught off guard.

If this happens, it will provide all the laughs for you until you're buried.

Cedric was unaware of his teacher's complex inner journey; he only felt that his teacher's words were heartwarming and made him feel comfortable.

"By the way, do you need a calming potion? I have a bottle here that will help you sleep better. I can also get Felix Felicis, but I don't particularly recommend it to you."

The moment Cedric heard the name "Felix Felicis," he was somewhat intrigued. He had heard of this famous potion, which could bring good fortune.

After a few seconds of internal struggle, Cedric politely declined his teacher's offer. In his view, illusory luck was far less valuable than real ability.

However, he still accepted the bottle of calming medicine.

This stuff has no side effects, and I have a few friends who have recently developed insomnia and really need it.

After seeing Cedric off, Helga sincerely wished her student well in her heart. This wasn't just so she could give Salazar a little "surprise" in the future, but also because she hoped the OWLs exam would give Cedric some confidence.

The OWLs and NEWT exams lasted a total of two weeks.

During this time, the auditorium was used as the written examination hall. The four long college tables disappeared, replaced by individual small tables. After the written exam, the candidates went in groups into a small room next to the auditorium to wait to be called to take the practical exam. Small groups of students entered the examination room in alphabetical order, while the rest crammed in the room.

After finishing their last exam, the fifth and seventh-year students finally breathed a sigh of relief. The fifth-year wizards could relax for a while, while the seventh-year students started sending out resumes and continuing to communicate with various companies or the Ministry of Magic.

Percy was one of the happiest people.

Although the results wouldn't be available for a while, he knew he had done exceptionally well, perfectly meeting Mr. Henry's requirements. This was confirmed the day after the NEWT exam—Henry once again invited him out of Hogwarts.

"Congratulations, Weasley. Although it's a bit against the rules, I still want to welcome you to the Ministry of Magic in advance and make you a part of it." Henry extended his hand and shook hands with Percy.

Upon hearing Mr. Henry's words, Percy felt as if he had suddenly forgotten how to breathe.

It took him a few seconds to realize: He had been accepted by the Ministry of Magic?! He was going to become a promising employee of the Ministry of Magic?!

"Of course. Although theoretically the report cards won't be available for a while, it's still quite easy to find out someone's grades. You passed, with excellent grades in all subjects, great job!"

Percy opened his mouth as if to say something, but found his mind blank and he couldn't say anything.

"However, I should have told you before that your studies are very demanding."

Percy nodded.

Mr. Henry explained his purpose: he hoped that Percy would not waste any time and would go with him now to attend the Ministry of Magic's training for him.

Time waits for no one!

Percy had no reason to refuse; he couldn't wait to join the Ministry of Magic and start working right now.

"Very good, very motivated. I will apply to Professor Dumbledore," Henry praised Percy. He had thought the young man would want to relax for a while and spend some time with his family, but he was pleasantly surprised that he was willing to throw himself into work now.

"Let's sign these documents now. I've got something good for you." With that, Mr. Henry pulled a box from his pocket and mysteriously pushed it in front of Percy.

"What is this...?" Percy felt a surge of curiosity, along with a nagging sense of warning.

"A time converter." Mr. Henry's expression turned serious.

He told Percy that he needed so much extra help that the Ministry of Magic decided to allow him to use the Time-Turner to shorten his training time.

This is also the challenge of his work.

"No problem, I will definitely complete your task." A sense of sacred sacrifice appeared on Percy's face.

At this moment, he was so excited that he felt as if the entire Ministry of Magic was on his shoulders.

"What a fine young man!" Mr. Henry praised Percy, who quickly signed a stack of warrants and underwent a brief training session on using the time converter.

"Never let your past self discover your future self, never expose yourself, remember that, remember that," Mr. Henry repeatedly warned.

"Yes." Percy understood the necessity of doing so and nodded very seriously.

Next, Mr. Henry helped Percy with the paperwork for leaving school early and handed over his study materials for the first phase. The materials were placed in a small satchel enchanted with a seamless stretching spell, which made a sound that didn't match its shape whenever it moved.

Percy needs to finish reviewing this pile of materials by July and pass the Ministry of Magic's assessment, which is the first step he needs to take to integrate into the Muggle government.

Percy accepted the task with great excitement and left with Mr. Henry.

He had no idea what the future held for him.

……

Like Percy, Cedric didn't get any rest after the OWLs exams either, as he was immediately drafted by his own teacher.

While making the parts, he noticed that the door of a cabinet in the teacher's office was always closed, which aroused his curiosity.

What's in this cabinet?

When he asked his teacher about this, Helga always brushed it off, unwilling to tell him the truth, only saying that it was a secret.

Since the teacher had said that, Cedric stopped asking questions and simply buried his doubts in his heart.

Time flies, and soon the final exams organized by Hogwarts were over. Daphne and Astoria were also among the recruits, staying in Professor White's office to "tighten screws" together.

Two days later, Hermione was also brought over by Rice, ostensibly for "learning progress".

This isn't just him making things up; it's indeed a practical skill. If you learn it, you can live a very comfortable life providing after-sales service to various families in the future.

This resulted in everyone still having a very "fulfilling" time after the final exams.

However, Helga is not a stingy person; the subsidies she has given the children these past few days are enough for them to buy a first-class ticket to the Quidditch World Cup Finals.

This went on for several days, and just when Daphne and the others had gotten used to it, Helga suddenly told them one morning that she was going to a meeting at the Ministry of Magic with Professor Dumbledore.

"Professor White, what kind of meeting are you going to?" Daphne asked, her big, bright eyes wide.

"It's a secret, you'll find out next semester. It's something really interesting~" Helga winked at Daphne, giving her a mysterious smile.

"Huh?" Daphne's curiosity was immediately piqued, but unfortunately Professor White refused to reveal a single word.

"Alright, I'm leaving now. I've put the materials for the doll parts in the cabinet. Just go and get them if you need them."

After leaving those words, Professor White left, leaving a group of children in his office.

After she left, Daphne wanted to slack off and relax, but she found that even Rice was seriously making doll parts. So she had no choice but to patiently start making parts as well.

As everyone worked with great enthusiasm, the raw materials were consumed very quickly. Soon, the mithril used for carving was insufficient.

"I'm going to get some mithril." Daphne stood up and walked to the most conspicuous cabinet in the office. Just as she was about to open the cabinet door, Cedric called her back.

"Daphne, there shouldn't be any raw materials in that cabinet."

Daphne stopped what she was doing and looked at Cedric with curiosity.

"Professor White said there's a... secret inside." Cedric's expression turned a little strange as he repeated his teacher's words.

"A secret?" Daphne narrowed her eyes: Isn't this a coincidence? Professor White went to the meeting today because of a "secret"!

Now she was even more eager to open the cabinet door and find out what was inside.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Update here~ Goodnight everyone!

(End of this chapter)