If I could stop autumn from coming, I would brush summer away with a duster, half in disdain, half with a smile.
—Emily Dickinson
According to the exam-week schedule, the Care of Magical Creatures exam would be held next Tuesday, which was much easier than Monday's Potions exam.
Only the practical portion might be somewhat dangerous. Examinees had to demonstrate how to feed and clean Fire Crabs without being seriously burned. Ever since the performance of The Fountain of Fair Fortune in the Great Hall had nearly burned down the school, uncontrolled "wildfire" had no longer been permitted inside the castle.
Minerva had always been conscientious. When Pomona found her, she was inspecting the site for the day-after-tomorrow's exam—the lawn at the edge of the Forbidden Forest.
Hagrid was as he always was. He and Professor Grubbly-Plank were casting protective spells around the examination grounds to keep the Fire Crabs from escaping and charging into the Forbidden Forest.
After the Battle of Hogwarts, the Forbidden Forest was no longer human territory. Several Centaurs watched from afar. Even during the day, the forest was not well lit, and only their silhouettes could be seen. Pomona could not tell whether Firenze was among them.
Minerva had asked Pomona to call Sinistra back, though Pomona had never understood the deeper meaning behind it.
Though many "Heroes" in Greek mythology had studied under Centaurs, Centaurs were not human after all, and many of their views differed from those of humans.
Stargazing had to be done at night, and teaching at a famous murder scene was hardly appropriate. It would actually be quite nice if Trelawney's tower could be renovated over the summer holidays—provided Sybill could give up being a "Seer" and put more thought into astrology.
Being Headmistress was not easy, even though Minerva