The days at Hogwarts

In the audience, Professor McGonagall suppressed the smile on her face and said calmly, "It seems that the flying broom is just a tool after all. Winning the game still depends on the players."

"Winning or losing is not important. What's important is the students' growth and gains. I think Malfoy gained a lot from this game." Snape stared at the stadium expressionlessly and added, "Next year I plan to have them switch to Firebolts, the new flying brooms that are faster."

Professor McGonagall: "..."

Professor Sprout smiled and said, "I'll check it out. If it's suitable, I'll also replace some flying brooms for our team."

Professor Flitwick quickly stroked his beard and said, "I think Professor McGonagall is right. The broom is just a tool. The more important thing in a game is the players. Let's discuss how to unify the flying brooms used in future games. We shouldn't get caught up in meaningless comparisons."

The Potions Professor and the Herbology Professor were both well-off, so he, a Charms Professor, couldn't compare to them. If they were asked to switch to Firebolt, Ravenclaw would really be at the bottom of the list.

Chapter 257 Final Exam Approaching

"In this class, I need you to collect the mushrooms dancing in the corners and transplant them into the fenced garden. It's almost vacation time. If we don't take care of them for the whole summer, when we open the greenhouse after vacation, the tide of mushrooms will overwhelm us!"

The fat witch Professor Sprout shouted at the entrance of the greenhouse, "Also, stay away from those mandrakes and don't steal their leaves anymore, or they'll jump out and bite you!"

Loren glanced at Hermione next to him. The little witch's mouth pursed, and she was obviously unhappy.

The stealing of the Mandrake leaves was done by members of the Animagus teaching class, who were preparing to prepare some extra leaves for practice during the holidays and to accumulate experience for the rituals of the next semester.

However, the guys in the senior grades had obviously gone too far. In just a few days, they had pulled out several well-growing mandrakes, forcing Professor Sprout to emphasize this matter specifically.

"Can we take some toadstools with us?"

"Will the mandrakes chase us and bite us?"

The Gryffindors below were laughing and making noises. Ever since they defended the house cup, the little wizards from the Lion House had been very unruly even in Potions class. Then Snape caught a few of them and punished them by making them collect toad's saliva. Only then did they restrain themselves a little.

"Some toadstools are poisonous. If you don't want to spend your summer vacation in St. Mungo's, it's best not to take off your gloves and touch them. If anyone dares to mess with the mandrake again, I will dig a hole and bury him next to the mandrake!"

Professor Sprout was so angry that he laughed: "Now start working!"

The little wizards swarmed out, carrying buckets of mushrooms in their gardening gloves, their gardening boots making clacking sounds on the muddy floor of the greenhouse.

Loren shook the girl's shoulders, her long brown hair swaying with his hand, and he could smell the girl's unique fragrance.

"Come on, are you really going to take mandrake on vacation?"

"I just can't accept it." Hermione said unhappily.

"It's just practice anyway, you can put anything in your mouth. When I get home I'll make you a light bulb candy and you can hold it in your mouth for as long as you want." Loren muttered to himself as he pushed Hermione around the greenhouse.

"What is a lightbulb candy?"

……

Summer had crept into the grounds around the castle, the sky and the lake turning a violet-tinged pale blue, and in the hothouses flowers as big as cabbages burst into bloom.

Harry saw a very special toadstool under the poisonous tentacle climbing frame. There were black lines on its cap and two dark mold spots on the mushroom stick.

"Dark hair and dark eyes." Harry smiled stupidly, "You look like Cho Chang from Ravenclaw."

"Loren also has black hair and black eyes!" Ron slapped a crimson plant with thorns nearby, causing it to retract its tentacles that were quietly reaching towards Harry's shoulders. "Be careful of poisonous tentacles. They have grown fangs. If you are dragged into the climbing frame, you won't have to take the final exam."

The poisonous tentacle retracted. Ron recalled the scene just now and shook his head in disgust: "Harry, you are laughing like a dark wizard who cursed that girl. It's disgusting!"

Harry's face turned red and he hastily plucked the toadstool and threw it into the bucket.

Ron squinted his eyes and stared at him for a while: "You are not really in love with her?"

"I, I..." Harry murmured twice, "I don't know, I always think of her."

"Hey man! Now is not the time to fall in love, the most important thing is the final exam!"

……

Perhaps because he was frightened by the poisonous tentacles during the day, Harry had a nightmare at night.

Many people were crowded in a dark room, their eyes were glowing with a faint green light, and their clothes were all tattered. The one standing in the front seemed to be their leader, his clothes were the best, with only four or five patches on them.

"The next International Confederation of Wizards Conference is about to be held. The Anti-Werewolf Act of the British Ministry of Magic will sooner or later become the International Confederation of Wizards Anti-Werewolf Act. Only by supporting me can I bring you dignity and freedom..."

A cold, hoarse voice came from an armchair hidden in the darkness, and no one could see the speaker's face.

The werewolves in the room remained silent. They stared silently at Wormtail beside them. The gazes of the many werewolves almost frightened Wormtail to the ground.

The leader with patched clothes came forward, without even looking at Wormtail, and said to the darkness behind him: "Life on the run makes us cautious, Dark Lord, we cannot join you, but we can make some deals with you."

"Trade? The premise of a trade is that you have the ability to pay for the goods. You are just a bunch of greyhounds being chased around by the Magical Congress of the United States of America. What can you trade with me?"

The cold voice was full of disdain and sarcasm.

The werewolf group began to get restless, but they remained silent and handed all the power to the leader. Facing the angry gazes of many werewolves, Wormtail's body began to tremble uncontrollably.

The leader was silent for a moment, and ultimately did not agree to the other party's conditions, and left with many werewolves.

Wormtail's relaxed breathing was heard in the room. He asked in a shrill voice, "Master, why should we win over these lowly werewolves? I mean, they are of no use in this distant country."

"Think long-term, Wormtail. You will be returning to Hogwarts in a few months, and I will need some other servants."

Wormtail showed a look of horror: "No, please, Master..."

Harry blinked his eyelids a few times and slowly opened his eyes. His head was dizzy. He had gone to bed early last night, but now he felt as tired as if he had not slept all night.

Outside the window, the distant clouds were already showing some golden light, and the sun was beginning to rise.

"Amador, Animo, Animado, Animagus."

He heard Neville muttering a spell quietly, his tone sincere and meticulous.

This was the ritual process of the Animagus. From the day the secret potion was buried, every sunrise and sunset, Neville would point his wand at his heart and chant the spell.

"What a tiring ritual..." Harry thought, falling back into bed and planning to sleep a little longer.

Even if Voldemort jumped out of his dream the next moment, he would still sleep for a few more minutes...

Transfiguration Classroom.

This classroom is as simple as other classrooms in Hogwarts Castle. The walls are built with thick stones. The candlesticks on both sides emit bright light, and the high ceiling often makes people feel insignificant.

During class, there were a few ghosts staying at the back of the classroom. They bent over their desks, flipping through ghost books, and occasionally talking to students in the back row.

When Professor McGonagall looked over, the naughty ghost would put his hand on the neck of the dozing little wizard. The icy cold air would make the person shiver, and then Professor McGonagall would deduct points and punish him by making him copy.

Loren and Hermione sat in the front middle row on the right side, close to the window, their chins resting lazily on their backs, their eyes occasionally drifting out the window.

From here, Hagrid could be seen striding past the edge of the Black Lake, clutching a handful of tiny yellow centipede-shaped flowers and teasing Fang as he circled around his feet.

Professor McGonagall stood on the stage and sorted out the teaching content for this semester. The simplified second-year Transfiguration knowledge was a bit boring to Loren, and he couldn't concentrate. When he wanted to close his eyes and doze off, Hermione would twist his waist hard, which was more refreshing than the Buffy brain wakener.

Bored Loren noticed Harry in the front row. He looked even sleepier than himself, with his shoulders drooping listlessly, and his head occasionally lurching down. After waking up, he quickly straightened his posture, causing Professor McGonagall to frequently look over here.

Loren found it interesting. Although Harry would be distracted in class and often smiled stupidly recently, he was not as bad as he was now.

"Jingle Bell……"

The bell rang for the end of get out of class.

Professor McGonagall closed the book and said to them, "The content of the final exam is what we just sorted out. The exam date has been confirmed to be June 1st. Everyone should go down and review it carefully. If you have any questions, talk to your classmates or come to my office to ask me. Those who have extra time can also review the content of the elective part."

The young wizards in the audience hurriedly checked their notes to make sure they had written down all the key points for review.

Harry perked up immediately, quickly stuffed his books and notebooks into his bag, turned around and said to the three of them, "Let's go to the empty classroom next door. I have something to say to you."

Loren, Hermione and Ron blinked and followed.

A few minutes later, in the corner of an abandoned classroom.

Ron cried out in disbelief: "Voldemort!? You dreamed about him again!"

Harry nodded, his eyebrows drooping, looking listless. "I dreamed that Voldemort was recruiting a lot of werewolves, and they seemed to be planning something big. They also said that Wormtail would return to school next semester."

Ron clenched his fists and gritted his teeth as he said, "Go back to school. Does Voldemort intend to send him back to surrender? Then I must teach him a lesson!"

"The Anti-Werewolf Act will be extended internationally... the International Confederation of Wizards..." Hermione said seriously, "We have to tell Headmaster Dumbledore about this news!"

"That's what I thought. I'll go find him later." Harry nodded.

Loren thought about the information revealed in the dream. It seemed that Voldemort had begun to recruit forces to plan a counterattack after his resurrection. He vaguely remembered that Voldemort had organized many armies of dark creatures, werewolves, giants, and giant spiders... They were all cannon fodder.

Never mind, this is something that Old Deng should worry about.

Loren frowned and looked at him: "Harry, your Occlumency is still not making any progress?"

Harry fell silent and shook his head.

Ron knew why he was in such a dilemma, and advised him weakly, "Why don't you go find that old bat? Snape is quite capable. It's not a good thing for your brain to be connected to Voldemort's brain..."

"I think Professor Snape's teaching, um..." Loren hesitated for a moment, "compared to the threat of Voldemort, at least it won't be life-threatening."

Hermione pushed his shoulder: "Do you want to listen to what you are saying?"

"Let's be honest. Even though I think Professor Snape is pretty good, I have to admit that his teaching methods are not gentle enough."

……

The chattering of several people made their way into the principal's office. When they pushed the door open, the old principal with a white beard was reading the report about Damocles Belby in the Daily Prophet.

"From your description, they seem to be American werewolves..." Dumbledore murmured softly, sitting in a chair and falling into deep thought.

After a long while, Dumbledore came back to his senses and nodded slowly: "I will take care of this matter, Harry. The most important thing now is that you must master the brain block technique as soon as possible."

"Headmaster..." Harry opened his mouth, his eyes changing light and dark.

He had a secret thought that he dared not say out loud: if they could often see what Voldemort was doing, would they be able to deal with Voldemort better... Looking at it this way, having a channel in his brain that leads to Voldemort's brain didn't seem to be a bad thing.

His thoughts were almost written on his face. Loren could read them without Legilimency. He said faintly: "Think about it, if Voldemort dreamed that you missed Qiu Zhang——"

"no no!"

Harry screamed in panic before he finished listening. What a horror story! It was even scarier than the Howling Banshee.

Hermione couldn't hold back her laughter. She rested her forehead on Loren's shoulder and her body trembled, which made Loren feel a little itchy.

Ron's whole face was filled with a playful expression, which made Harry want to crawl under the table immediately.

Dumbledore stroked his beard and pondered for a moment, then raised his head and said seriously: "Harry, I must advise you -"

Fortunately, the headmaster is a serious man... Harry breathed a sigh of relief, looking forward to Dumbledore getting the topic back on track.

"Smart girls are not easy to chase, Qiu Zhang? I remember she was a girl from Ravenclaw, right?"

"Headmaster!" Harry yelled in exasperation.

"Hahahaha!" Dumbledore laughed happily and stopped teasing him, "Like Loren said, Voldemort may also be able to see into your mind, so I can't tell you what I'm going to do, at least not now.

Just concentrate on preparing for your final exams. At least now I can still move my old bones, and I won't have to ask you kids to fight the Dark Lord."

The old principal's words made them feel much more at ease.

Loren didn't think much about it. As the principal said, it was not their turn to face Voldemort now.

After hesitating for a while, Hermione finally asked the question in her heart: "Headmaster, will the Anti-Werewolf Act really be promoted? Will it become the International Confederation of Wizards Anti-Werewolf Act?"

"I don't think so." Dumbledore's smile faded. He looked into the little witch's eyes seriously, as if he was treating her as an equal.

"Hermione, perhaps the Easter trial made you feel that the Ministry of Magic is not a qualified government, but I must say that the International Confederation of Wizards was established for a better and more peaceful wizarding world. President Pierre Bonacourt protects the rights of trolls, and President Alfrida Cragg invites martens to attend the parliament.

The International Confederation of Wizards has only made jokes due to its leniency, and has never actively excluded a certain type of creature. At least as the president of the International Confederation of Wizards, I will not agree to promote the Anti-Werewolf Act, even if they want to remove me from the committee. "

Dumbledore winked at them. "After all, I have werewolf friends too."

They didn't need to worry about the matter for the time being. Loren and the other three chatted with Dumbledore for a while, and after drinking the tea in their cups, they said goodbye.

When they walked out of the headmaster's office, Dumbledore suddenly shouted outside: "Loren, can you accompany me to St. Mungo's after the holiday? That matter has been settled."

Loren waved his hand without looking back: "Got it."

Chapter 258: End of the Second Grade

Hermione calmly slowed down her pace, letting Harry and Ron go ahead while she and Lauren followed side by side.

"So, you can't come home with me on the Hogwarts Express again?" Hermione poked him with her arm.

"I think this is all Headmaster Dumbledore's fault," Loren said sternly.

Luckily, Professor Flitwick allowed me to stay on during my holiday and spend a day or two completing the Apparition test.

Hermione snorted twice, her eyes sparkling, "St. Mungo's? So this is another secret that cannot be told?"

"I think you can say that. It's to treat Neville's parents. Remember Bloody Mary's hand mirror? Maybe it can work."

Loren looked at the two people in front of him. Ron seemed to have said something teasing to Harry, which made Harry want to cover his mouth. The two started fighting in the corridor.