The Shopkeeper of All Worlds in the British Wizarding World

Chapter 635: Servant (Monthly special update for loving you so I want to help you)
After lunch, Ryan and Hermione went to Professor McGonagall's office to get the class schedule for this semester. But they came to nothing. There was no one in Professor McGonagall's office. They decided to go back to the common room to see what was going on. To their surprise, they saw Professor McGonagall at the door of the common room, who was about to enter the common room.

"It's you! You two really worked hard last week. Even without Dementors, Azkaban is not a place suitable for human habitation. Not to mention that you have experienced two real battles that you should not have participated in at your age." As the deputy headmaster in charge of general affairs, Professor McGonagall naturally knew what Ryan and the others had done last week. "By the way, you two should hurry to the common room. I have something very important to inform everyone. This matter is also related to you two."

"Related to us?" Ryan was a little surprised, but he didn't ask anything. Instead, he followed Professor McGonagall into the common room.

Now there was a large group of people in the common room, all enjoying the quiet time of the afternoon while preparing textbooks and homework for the afternoon classes. After seeing Professor McGonagall come in, everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at her.

"I have an announcement to make to everyone. This announcement is only for seventh-year students." Professor McGonagall said, holding the parchment in her hand. "So all seventh-year students, come with me now."

Soon, under the curious gazes of other students, the seventh grade students gathered together. Professor McGonagall led everyone to a corner of the common room, used a magic to separate them from the others, and then unfolded the parchment and said.

"In consideration of the current situation, the Ministry of Magic will temporarily organize a small-scale NEWTs exam. Registration for this exam is voluntary. If anyone is willing, they can come to my office to register before tomorrow night."

It seems that after the fall of the Ministry of Magic, Dumbledore's staff was seriously short of manpower, so he had to temporarily select staff from the seventh-year students of this year. However, Ryan thought that this was also a solution. Many things had to break the routine during the war, not to mention that the current situation was unprecedentedly bad. At least during the last war, even in the darkest time, the Ministry of Magic did not fall into Voldemort's control.

"Naturally, considering that you are taking this exam a year in advance, it may be a bit rushed." Professor McGonagall rolled up the parchment in her hand and said, "So after taking this exam, we will still have another NEWTs exam at the end of the semester. Anyone who is not satisfied with the results of this exam can take the exam again. After the end of this exam, those who meet the standards can apply for early graduation."

After hearing what Professor McGonagall said, Harry and Ron immediately became excited. They knew that they probably couldn't pass the exam and get a diploma at their current level. But since they could take the exam again at the end of the semester, they were happy to give it a try.

"Professor, will the group of people from London test us?" Ryan asked when the professor was about to leave the common room. "If it is the subordinates of the mysterious man who test us, we would rather not take this test."

"Of course not." Professor McGonagall turned around and replied, "The Director of the Wizarding Examinations Authority, Professor Griselda Marchbank, has also come to Hogsmeade with her two assistants. They will come to Hogwarts to preside over the exam for you."

Professor McGonagall paused for a moment and said, "Of course this exam may not look as formal as those in previous years, but I can assure you that all the NEWTs certificates you hold have the same validity as previous certificates of the same type."

"Of course, by recognized, I mean recognized by the Ministry of Magic in Hogsmeade. If the war is won, these certificates will be as effective as the previous ones. If it fails--" Professor McGonagall shrugged. "I think those who take the exam don't need to think about such issues."

After hearing Professor McGonagall's cold humor, Ryan's mouth corners slightly raised. Just like she said, everything now is for the current war. Everyone has the freedom to choose their side, and they must also bear the consequences of their choice.

For example, this exam is actually a simple way to divide the camps. At least at this time, those who are willing to take the NEWTs organized by the Ministry of Magic in Hogsmeade are at least against Voldemort and support Dumbledore. In the current situation, many things bring risks on the one hand and opportunities on the other. Especially after the Ministry of Magic, which was completely controlled by those pure-blood families, completely turned to Voldemort's faction, the Ministry of Magic, which was temporarily established in Hogsmeade and headed by Ms. Bones, the former director of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, was in short supply of staff. Even newcomers like Percy were given the position of leader of the accidental event reversal team.

The same is true for other positions, such as Mr. Arthur Weasley is now the Director of the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes, and the Director of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement even needs to be a part-time position for the current Minister of Magic, Ms. Bones. This shortage of staff means that the students who now enter the Ministry of Magic will have a much brighter future than those who came before.

Of course, Ryan decided to sign up not because he was interested in the position in the Ministry of Magic, but because he felt that he had a lot of things to do this year and should not spend too much time on his student life.

After Professor McGonagall left the common room, it suddenly became noisy again. Many junior students came up to ask what Professor McGonagall had just said. In the midst of the noise, Hermione approached Ryan and whispered, "Ryan, I think the actions of those pure-blood families are a bit strange."

"What do you think is wrong?" Ryan asked?
"In my opinion, these pure-blood families are similar to the top rich people and nobles in the Muggle world. In theory, shouldn't they bet on both sides? Why are so many pure-blood families now completely turning to the You-Know-Who?" Hermione expressed her inner doubts. "This is completely different from the way I know those upper-class people behave."

"It's simple, because there is magic here." Ryan explained in a low voice, "Unlike the Muggle world, in the wizarding world, power, status, relationships, and wealth are not the most important. Only the power created by magic is the root of everything. You see, the reason why those pure-blood families can protect their things is not because they have wealth, status, or anything like that. It's because they have a monopoly on a certain kind of knowledge, a kind of knowledge that makes them more powerful than others."

"So it is easy to understand why the You-Know-Who was able to get those pure-blood families to follow him firmly. This is because he is the most powerful dark wizard and has enough power to suppress every subordinate who is dissatisfied with him. As a group of dark wizards, you can't expect them to have much virtue."

"For example, we will try our best to take care of the relatives of those who died and provide them with some help. But the You-Know-Whos won't. For example, the Crabbe and Goyle families lost their heads and their main fighting force in the previous battle. This summer, I heard from Malfoy that the two widows left by the two families had been married to two dark wizards from Northern Europe under the arrangement of the You-Know-Whos, and their wealth had been almost divided up before."

"This is simply..." Hermione was shocked by the ugly side of human nature revealed in this incident, "Crabbe and Goyle are also families with a history. Don't the pure-bloods have any objections?"

"Each of them is unwilling in their hearts, but what can they do? The You-Know-Who has enough power to suppress them." Ryan pointed out a fact. "Not to mention that the You-Know-Who no longer cares about worldly wealth. For these Death Eaters, the death of their accomplices is just a good opportunity for them to divide up their property, and maybe even accept their wives."

"I always thought that the Death Eaters were a combative group, but I didn't expect that they were like this internally," said Hermione.

"They are indeed very powerful. The wizards from pure-blood families have more knowledge and experience than most of our wizards." Ryan said. "But they are not a group, just a group of slaves who gather under the command of the mysterious man and provide him with everything he needs."

(End of this chapter)