Hogwarts: Don't call me Wandmaker

Chapter 263 The Approaching Exam Week

Dumbledore's words sparked a murmur of discussion in the Great Hall, with everyone speculating about why the Ministry of Magic had made such a rule.

But what about Gryffindor...?

“What Headmaster Dumbledore means is that you can talk about it with others, but you can’t admit it,” Fred said, looking at Ginny with a serious expression.

“Also, it’s best not to get caught by the Ministry of Magic,” George said.

"That's your own idea, isn't it?" Hermione said irritably. "Dumbledore is the headmaster of Hogwarts; how could he allow students to break the rules?"

Faced with Hermione's question, Fred and George exchanged a glance and smiled in unison.

"No, no, no, Hermione, you still don't know Dumbledore at all."

"Just wait and see, this isn't going to end here."

Hermione frowned but didn't say anything.

After adding some more requirements from the Ministry of Magic, Dumbledore prepared to send everyone back to sleep.

"Oh, right, there's one more thing." He suddenly remembered something and quickly said, "Exam week starts after June. I'm sure you haven't forgotten this important matter, right?"

The entire auditorium fell into an eerie silence.

“It’s already the end of May… June is exam week…” Ron stood there, muttering to himself in a daze, “How come it’s so fast? Dumbledore must have gotten the dates wrong.”

Hermione glanced at him and said, "If you paid more attention to the exam dates, you'd find he hadn't made a mistake."

“Why should I care about the exam time?” Ron said. “Besides, I bet I’m not the only one who thinks this way.”

He was right; after Dumbledore said those last words, almost half the students in the Great Hall were quite surprised.

Clearly, none of them expected that the dreaded exam week would be so close.

Of course, even exams cannot dampen everyone's curiosity.

Siron thought it would take some time for wizards outside of Hogwarts to learn about this, but to his surprise, an owl delivered the news the very next day.

Peter Pettigrew mysteriously revives, Sirius Black escapes from prison to seek revenge; who is the true traitor?

Looking at the headline on the front page of the Daily Prophet, Celen could already imagine what Fudge looked like right now.

He's probably furious, since he's been trying to keep this news a secret.

Further down the story, the writing is excellent, almost perfectly replicating the scene. In particular, the scene where the Death Eaters appear and throw their wands to Peter Pettigrew amidst the Dementors' encirclement is described in great detail.

It was so detailed, it felt like she witnessed it herself.

Take another look at the signature next to the title: Rita Skeeter.

Well, that's okay.

"Dumbledore was preoccupied with dealing with hundreds of Dementors, which allowed Peter Pettigrew to escape or join the remaining Death Eaters."

Hermione read the last paragraph aloud, then instinctively looked at Harry.

"Or they may have joined the remaining Death Eater organization..."

"Oh, it seems that even without handing Peter Pettigrew over to the Ministry of Magic, they already know who the real traitor is."

Harry opened his mouth, unsure whether he should be happy... but he was certainly relieved. Since yesterday, he had been worried that if he couldn't catch Peter Pettigrew, he wouldn't be able to clear Black's name.

Now it seems that not all the people in the Ministry of Magic are fools... Peter Pettigrew's escape is tantamount to voluntarily exposing his identity. If the people in the Ministry of Magic continue to act as if they know nothing, they might as well resign and go grow magic spores.

Oh no, this is from the Daily Prophet and has little to do with the Ministry of Magic.

Harry went over and glanced at the newspaper, which mentioned that Sirius Black's first hearing was in early July.

Fortunately, he was already on vacation by then, so he should have had time to go and see... well, provided that the Dursleys were willing to let him go to the Ministry of Magic.

Harry scratched his already messy hair in frustration.

The Dursleys are all Muggles and hate anything related to magic, including the topic.

If Harry really said that, he would most likely be locked in that secluded attic until Hogwarts starts.

No, he has to find a way to attend the hearing...

The group went outside the castle and went to greenhouse number three for a herbal medicine lesson.

As June approaches, the days become sunny and cloudless, and the weather is hot and humid. It would be so comfortable to lie on the grass with a few bottles of chilled pumpkin juice.

But that won't work; with exams approaching, students don't have time to relax outside.

In recent days, even fewer people have been discussing Peter Pettigrew. They have to sit in the library, forcing themselves to concentrate and remember every time or name mentioned in the book.

On this day, Celen unexpectedly saw Fred and George in the library, who had just finished their homework.

Library, homework... honestly, these two words don't really fit with the Weasley brothers; they feel weird.

But they were indeed reading.

Because after the fifth grade, students will take the OWL (Ordinary Wizard Level Examination).

This exam is different from the final exams of other grades. The questions are more difficult, and the invigilation is more strict. Often, there will be five professors in one classroom at the same time.

However, if they perform well enough in the OWL, they will be free for the rest of the holiday.

So the two of them started studying hard. When Ron saw them in the library last time, he thought he had seen wrong and mistook Percy for Fred and George.

Percy is preparing to take the NEWT (Ultimate Wizarding Exam) in order to achieve excellent results and secure a job at the Ministry of Magic after graduation. In recent days, he has become increasingly neurotic. If anyone speaks loudly in the common room at night, he will immediately reprimand them and give them a severe punishment.

At this point, Percy no longer cared whether Gryffindor could win the House Cup; he just wanted peace and quiet.

He even deducted five points from Xilun because he walked too loudly.

Celion thought Percy was just picking a fight. His Animagus was a cat, after all, and it made a lot of noise when it walked.
But when he saw Percy's obvious dark circles and bloodshot eyes, he still generously forgave him.

Compared to such trivial matters, he was actually quite concerned about Sirius Black, who had been taken to the Ministry of Magic; there were still things he hadn't yet fulfilled for him.

If he is imprisoned in Azkaban again after the hearing, Siron will have suffered a huge loss.

However, the Ministry of Magic kept a very tight watch on Sirius Black. Even his grandfather, Garrick, couldn't find out anything. The reply only said that Sirius Black was being held in the deepest part of the Ministry of Magic, and no one except Fudge knew where that place was.

If you want to see Sirius Black now, you'll have to wait until the hearing.

……

(End of this chapter)