My partner at Hogwarts is Tom

Chapter 101 Countdown and Guess Who I Am

The approaching Christmas atmosphere, like the sweetest icing in Honeydukes candy store, seeped into every brick of Hogwarts.

Decorative rings made of holly and mistletoe began to appear in the corridor, shimmering with a warm, magical glow.

Snowflakes drifted gently down from the ceiling of the auditorium, but they didn't actually wet anyone's hair or robes.

Even the armor and portraits seemed to have become more amiable than usual, and occasionally one could hear the armor humming off-key Christmas carols.

For most young wizards, this means the most enjoyable time of the year is about to begin, provided they can ignore the dreaded final exams.

However, before the Christmas holidays officially began, the professors' "mercy" seemed to arrive ahead of time.

In the advanced Transfiguration class, Professor McGonagall still kept a stern face, emphasizing that "Animagus is not the end of Transfiguration, but the beginning," but the length of the assigned paper was noticeably reduced by one-third.

In the Charms class, Professor Flitwick even allowed them to practice some "fun little spells, but not necessarily within the scope of the OWLs exams" in the last ten minutes, such as making a quill pen automatically tap dance.

Potions Class — Well, Potions Class is still Potions Class. Professor Snape's sharp tongue and gloomy mood haven't diminished in the slightest because of the holiday.

However, he seemed to focus more on the seventh-grade NEWTs test takers, and his mockery of the younger students was somewhat lacking.

We saved a little money.

This tolerant atmosphere, like a warm fire, successfully melted away the last bit of tension in the young wizards' nerves.

The discussions about "locked room monsters" in the library were completely replaced by "Christmas gift lists" and "stay-at-school holiday party plans".

In the common room, there were more students playing Wizard Chess, playing slap-the-deck cards, or simply gathering together to chatter about the joke shop's new products.

However, there are two places where this relaxed breeze absolutely cannot reach.

One of them is an abandoned washroom that is bubbling away.

The other area is the classrooms and common rest area for fifth and seventh grade students.

The Common Wizarding Levels (OWLs) and the Ultimate Wizarding Levels (NEWTs), these two towering mountains in a Hogwarts student's life, will not be lowered even an inch by falling snowflakes and joyful hymns.

On the contrary, the pressure increases daily as the countdown shrinks.

A preparatory class for the OWLs exam of the Fantastic Beasts Conservation course.

Today's class is in a regular classroom on the first floor of the castle, with a view of the courtyard covered in a thin layer of snow.

Viktor stood in front of the podium, his hands resting on the table, his gaze slowly sweeping over the group of fifth-grade students below, whose faces still held a trace of holiday anticipation but who had to face reality.

Many of them had faint dark circles under their eyes, and their notebooks were filled with dense notes.

"Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen," Victor said, his voice not loud, but clearly reaching everyone's ears.

"I hope you enjoyed last week's hands-on lesson on how to find water sources and amazing plants using animal tracks in the wild. Wasn't it fun?"

Several students nodded subconsciously, smiles appearing on their faces, but they quickly suppressed them.

They knew that Professor Victor's use of such a relaxed tone at the beginning usually meant that a "but" was to follow.

Sure enough, Viktor changed the subject, and the smile on his face became somewhat "regretful".

"However, pleasant times are always short-lived. Let's turn our attention back to a perhaps less pleasant but absolutely crucial reality: you only have six months left until the Ordinary Wizard Level Exam."

He paused, watching as many students below the stage unconsciously straightened their backs or quietly swallowed.

"Six months sounds like a long time? Let's calculate the actual effective learning time. Excluding the Christmas holiday..."

Easter holidays, weekends, and the time that various Quidditch matches and club activities might take up—well, let's be optimistic and say there are still twenty-five weeks of actual school time left.

He picked up a piece of chalk, turned around, and wrote the number "25" on the blackboard.

"We have two classes a week for the Magical Creatures Protection class. One long class, two hours; and one short class, one hour, added for the exam. That's three hours of class time per week." The chalk drew a clear formula on the blackboard.

"25 weeks multiplied by 3 hours equals 75 hours."

He turned around, faced the students, and spread his hands.

"Look, all told, you only have seventy-five hours left to study this subject in class."

"So, what about after class? How much time do you allocate for reviewing, organizing notes, and reading supplementary materials?"

"I suspect it'll be difficult to exceed twice that number, even if you work extremely hard, setting aside an hour every day—let me do the math—"

He pretended to frown and do mental calculations, but in reality, some students in the audience were already quickly doing the same calculations in their minds, their faces gradually turning pale.

"Even if you can manage to study related materials for one hour every day outside of class, seven days a week, twenty-five weeks—well, that's only 175 hours. Add that to the 75 hours in class, and you have a total of 250 hours."

"You have 250 hours to master all the theories, practices, regulations, case studies, and risk management procedures required by the Wild Animals Protection Laws (OWLs) exam syllabus."

Victor sighed, his expression as if he had seen someone trying to scoop up the Black Lake with a teaspoon.

"Time is of the essence, children. Very, very urgent."

The classroom was completely silent.

Only the rustling sound of the quill pen tip unconsciously gliding across parchment and the faint whistling of the cold wind blowing through the windowpane could be heard.

Here we go again—Professor Victor's "time algorithm," which he learned from the "mysterious East" and sounds unbelievable but, upon closer inspection, sends chills down your spine.

I felt like there were still many months left, but after he broke it down and calculated it like this, it seemed like there were only a few drops of sand left in the hourglass.

An invisible, heavy pressure, like a thick, soaked cloak, hangs over the hearts of every fifth-grade student.

Several Gryffindors instinctively straightened their backs, the Ravenclaws pushed up their glasses, their eyes becoming more focused, the Hufflepuffs exchanged worried glances, and even a few usually carefree Slytherins frowned.

Just then, Tom, who had been dozing at Victor's feet next to the podium, seemed to sense the solemn atmosphere and raised his head at just the right moment.

A small, fluffy white cloud, resembling a cotton candy, popped out from the top of its furry head with a "poof".

A miniature, chibi-style image of Tom appears in the clouds.

With a red ribbon tied around his head bearing the words "Struggle," he sat at a table piled high with books, biting the end of a quill pen, writing furiously with a bitter and resentful expression.

Behind the chibi Tom, a huge, red-glowing magic number countdown is rapidly ticking. The numbers are so small that it's hard to see exactly how many there are, but the sense of urgency is palpable.

"Pfft—" Someone couldn't help but laugh out loud first, but quickly suppressed it.

This scene is so eerily familiar! It's practically a true reflection of their feelings right now!

Looking at the students' faces below the stage, which showed a mixture of anxiety, helplessness, and a strange amusement at Tom's antics, Victor nodded in satisfaction.

"Yes, that's the state." He tapped the blackboard, drawing everyone's attention back.

"That's more like it. OWLs are not child's play; they relate to your future career path, eligibility to take NEWTs courses, and even the entry requirements for some specialized professions. Slack off? Not a chance."

He then changed the subject, his tone becoming somewhat more relaxed.

"However, learning should also be balanced with rest; being constantly tense will actually reduce efficiency. So, before we begin today's main content, let's play a little game to relax our brains and, incidentally, test your observation skills and knowledge of magical creatures."

He waved his wand, and the blackboard behind him rippled like water, then a clear black shadow pattern appeared.

The pattern looks like the silhouette of a zoo, but one part of it is enlarged and abstracted.

It was a long, winding shape with what appeared to be a smaller sphere at the top, connected to a larger main body.

"I'll draw, you guess," Victor said with a smile. "Based on this shadow, guess a magical creature. You have thirty seconds to think, and you can discuss it with each other."

The atmosphere in the classroom instantly became lively, and the heavy pressure from before was temporarily dispelled by curiosity.

The students whispered among themselves, staring at the strange shadow, trying to recall a matching magical creature.

"Long neck—and a small head—is it a giraffe? Oh no, Muggle animals don't count—" a Hufflepuff student muttered under his breath.

"Could it be a bird snake? Bird snakes can extend and retract!" A Ravenclaw's eyes lit up.

"A bird-snake's neck isn't that thick, is it? And the main part of the shadow is quite wide—like some kind of—lying creature?" another Ravenclaw retorted.

"I know!" a Gryffindor boy exclaimed excitedly, raising his hand after Victor nodded in agreement.

"It's a horse-shaped water monster! When it transforms into a horse, its neck can stretch very long, and it likes to stay in the water; this broad section resembles a shadow on the water's surface or the shore!"

This answer sounded quite reasonable, and several students showed expressions of agreement.

Victor chuckled and shook his head. "The idea is interesting, but it's wrong. When the kelp monster changes form, the neck length doesn't change that dramatically, and the shape of this shadow's 'head' is off."

Wrong guess? The students got even more excited.

Several other people tried names like "Bu-bird," "Ball-Escape Bird," and some even guessed it was "Australian Protein-Eyed Fire Dragon Baby," but all of these were denied by Victor.

Thirty seconds passed quickly, and no one guessed correctly.

The students' curiosity was piqued to its peak, and they stared eagerly at Viktor.

"Looks like everyone's stumped." Viktor's smile held a mischievous glint in it. "Well then, let's reveal the answer."

He waved his wand again.

The shadow patterns on the blackboard spread out like ink, then quickly reformed, refined, and filled with color again.

A few seconds later, a lifelike animated image appeared on the blackboard: it was Tom!

It was on all fours, stretching its neck, trying to reach a plate of smoked fish on a shelf in the distance, emitting an enticing aroma.

Its neck was stretched out long, like a highly elastic rubber band, its eyes were wide open, and its tongue was sticking out.

That "large body" is its round body and crouching hind legs, while that "small round ball at the top" is naturally its cat head that is stretching out desperately!

"Ha ha ha ha!"

The classroom erupted in laughter. The students, who had been racking their brains trying to come up with all sorts of fantastical creatures, suddenly realized that they had all been tricked by the professor!

This isn't some magical creature at all; it's just the professor's quirky cat!

Beside the podium, the real Tom was already clutching his stomach with both paws, rolling around at Victor's feet laughing. His big green eyes were full of mischief and smugness, and his throat was making gurgling sounds that were like hiccups and laughter at the same time.

"Alright, alright, joke time is over." Victor clapped his hands after the laughter subsided, and Tom also scrambled to his feet, shook his fur, and resumed his serious squatting posture.

"Let's relax a bit, and now let's get back to the main topic." Viktor's tone became serious and infectious.

"A very important part of the practical exam for OWLs is to assess the wizard's understanding of the habits of magical creatures, especially in simulated and challenging wild environments."

"Therefore, how to communicate with your partners efficiently and safely, leverage each other's strengths, and work together to overcome difficulties is not only a key point in the exam, but also an essential skill to master when you actually work in the relevant industry in the future."

He bent down and picked up the seemingly ordinary but intriguing briefcase that had been lying at his feet.

"So, we'll have today's class in a different place."

He opened the lid of the box, revealing a deep, dark entrance that seemed to lead to another world.

"Leave the theoretical knowledge for review after class. Now, let's move on to the practical training ground—learn how to achieve optimal cooperation with your animal companions in a simulated wild adventure environment."

Amidst the sudden brightening of the fifth-grade students' eyes and low cheers, Victor smiled and pointed his wand at the open box.

A gentle yet irresistible suction force swept through the classroom, drawing the students, along with their backpacks and notebooks, into an invisible vortex. Exclamations of surprise and excited shouts mingled together, and in the blink of an eye, they disappeared at the entrance of the suitcase.

Tom was the last to go in. He gracefully leaped into the box and landed accurately, not forgetting to use the tip of his tail to close the lid.

With a soft "click," the lid of the box closed.

The classroom fell silent again, with only the comical image of Tom stretching his long neck to reach for the fish on the blackboard remaining, silently mocking the students' "serious" guesses, and the increasingly rich Christmas prelude outside the window, carrying the scent of pine needles and gingerbread.

In that vast and diverse world of suitcases, a "Wilderness Adventure Collaboration Training" program, combining fun, challenges, and targeted testing, is about to unfold in snowfields, jungles, swamps, or volcanic areas.