The End of Second Year

The shattered bone fragments were licked by magical flames, and the flowers on them quickly withered and turned yellow, both turning to ashes together.

Sean gently waved his wand, and the flames grew even more intense. In this way, not even the last ashes remained, only black smoke was blown away by the night wind.

After scattering Voldemort's father's ashes, Sean placed the already "aged" bone specimens into the grave.

"Reparo"

The stone slabs, soil, and moss floated up and then gathered together, and old Tom Riddle's grave was restored to its original state.

Sean snapped his fingers and quickly left the scene.

I wonder what would happen if Voldemort really used that resurrection spell and then threw the Yeti's bones into the Cauldron.

Sean, who had transformed into black mist and was flying rapidly through the air, thought with schadenfreude.

Having dealt with the immediate problems, Sean returned to Newmontgard. At this time of year, the castle would have already entered a tense atmosphere of preparation for the final exams.

However, Grindelwald's escape and resistance to capture had such a significant impact that his name was ubiquitous in the headlines of major newspapers and weekly magazines. At the request of the International Confederation of Wizards and the Wizarding United Guard, the Austrian Ministry of Magic dispatched a group of Auror to assist in guarding Grindelwald —reportedly out of fear that Grindelwald might return to retaliate.

However, Grindelwald's reputation exceeded many people's expectations. Despite such a massive brainwashing campaign, about half of the students in Newmontgard still maintained their trust in Grindelwald.

Those students who trusted the official institutions were called traitors, fools, and deformed garden Gnome; in turn, they were called fanatics, sympathizers, and attic Ghoul with impure intentions.

Newmontgard split in two in a bizarre way.

Nowadays, Hogwarts students rarely encounter provocations from Newmontgard students when walking through the castle; what is more common is a confrontation and verbal sparring between two groups of people dressed in uniforms and trench coats.

With exams approaching, the Newmontgard Hospital Wing is busier than usual—disagreeing students often end up dueling after arguments.

"Only a bunch of idiots like you can't understand who Professor Grindelwald is!"

"Professor? He's a criminal now! Hundreds of arrest warrants are posted every day. I think you're all stubbornly unrepentant!"

"Who is the stubborn one? The professor has clearly been treated unfairly. Haven't you learned to use your brains after all these years in Newmontgard? That's right, now it's clear that you don't deserve to stay in Newmontgard at all."

"The evidence is irrefutable! Newmontgard is not Grindelwald's Newmontgard. You are now accomplices, naive, ignorant, and stupid accomplices."

"Ironclad evidence? If I find someone to cast Imperius Curse and say you're an idiot, then the world should consider you an idiot? No, I'm wrong. Anyone with a brain can see that you are idiots!"

"Come on, let's see who's the real idiot!"

In the tense corridor, two groups were facing off, wands already in their hands, a duel imminent.

However, they suddenly paused, because someone was walking towards them.

Sean Wallerup.

Regardless of which group they belong to, their feelings towards Sean are extremely complex, but overall, he has gained some popularity among those who support Grindelwald.

Those who do not support Grindelwald are somewhat wary. The same plot unfolded the day before yesterday, with the two groups about to duel encountering Sean. One of the opponents provoked and insulted him, resulting in him being sent to the Hospital Wing with mud in his mouth.

"Hey, Wallerup," one of the supporters greeted.

Sean, who was talking to Hermione, turned his head and smiled in greeting, without saying anything more.

These supporters idolized Grindelwald, worshipped the old man, and tried their best to emulate him.

Arrogant, stubborn, and only believes in himself.

Sean also tried to communicate with them, and finally came to the conclusion that he was still Sean, not Grindelwald, and that the group was not willing to listen to him.

The goodwill stemmed from his relationship with Grindelwald, not from Grindelwald himself.

So Sean gave up on getting involved in the conflict between the two groups and just greeted them when they met.

You can fight however you want.

Sean, who was chatting and laughing with Hermione, ignored the two groups and walked right past them.

The group exchanged glances and began shouting insults again.

"See you in the Duelling Classroom after school! Don't run away!"

"Whoever runs is Troll!"

Hearing the shouts from behind, Hermione, who was carrying a stack of thick books, pouted and said, "Boring."

"Isn't it normal for young people to be hot-blooded?" Sean shrugged with a smile.

"If I were an opponent, I should contact newspapers and officials to learn more about Mr. Grindelwald's crimes back then. This would put me in an invincible position. At the same time, I should also investigate the situation in Paris that night and convict Mr. Grindelwald. If I were a supporter, I should find evidence of collusion between officials and witnesses. If I can't find any, I should obscure his criminal history and focus on publicizing Mr. Grindelwald's contributions over the years. At the same time, I should rally alumni to stir up public opinion and force the authorities to release more inside information. Many things cannot withstand the scrutiny of thousands of eyes."

After saying that, Hermione raised an eyebrow. "There's no point in arguing and dueling inside the castle—it might even affect your final exams."

Sean looked at her with some surprise and said, "Not bad, Miss Granger, your thinking is very clear."

"I'm taking a preconceived stance, but in reality, I'm only on your side, Mr. Wallop," Hermione said lightly.

"Thank you for your trust." Sean smiled and patted his chest in acknowledgment.

Hermione gave him a disdainful look. "You can't keep up the act anymore. Last time you put on this gentlemanly act and then shoved that poor guy's head into the ground."

Sean shrugged. "You can treat this as a kind of ritual."

"Damn the sense of ritual..."

The two chatted and laughed as they returned to the Common Room. Apart from continuing to gather information, Sean had stopped doing anything else recently.

The private tutor was put on the wanted list, another old man who was once considered a beacon of light was avoiding him, and after the last big show, Sean's Death Eaters meetings were also suspended to avoid any accidents.

Sean simply immersed himself in studying; the world war hadn't broken out yet, and the final exams were still coming up.

And so, the weather in Austria slowly warmed up, the Auror and the Guard Corps patrolled and stood guard inside the castle, the students of Newmontgard argued and dueled, and the students of Hogwarts watched the show.

At the school gate, Grindelwald's smile on the wanted poster was unrestrained and eccentric, his trench coat and a corner of the wanted poster swaying in the wind.

In this kind of weather, Sean sat in the exam room of Newmontgard.

With his studies already ahead of schedule, and with Hermione's help, Sean's exams went smoothly—even during his Transfiguration exam, Professor McGonagall saw him raise his wand and said, "You can leave now."

Two weeks ago, he received the fourth-grade Transfiguration tutorial from Professor McGonagall.

Even the Potions that had been tormenting Sean worked without fail. Snape's notes were incredibly useful; he memorized them completely and followed the steps to create the Potions, which amazed and impressed the Potions professor of Newmontgard —although Sean felt that Grindelwald's influence played a part in this.

Newmontgard was much more efficient Sean had imagined; the report cards were delivered to the students the afternoon after the exams.

As expected, Hermione was still in first place. She was already one of the most diligent and intelligent students, and during her revision with Sean, the two learned from each other, which improved Hermione's Transfiguration and powerful magical attacks as well as her studies.

Moreover, her knowledge of the History of Magic was far superior to Sean simply copied and memorized.

Sean, who came in second, was also very satisfied, mainly because this time he got a genuinely high score on the Potions, unlike last year when there was an element of Snape's charity.

In addition, Daisy was already very clever, and with the combined instruction of Hermione and Sean, her abilities completely overwhelmed the first-year students of both schools, making her first in her grade no surprise.

The commotion among Newmontgard students during the review period did affect their grades. Percy, a sixth-year student, surpassed Newmontgard's genius to become the top student in his year, while the top student in the fourth year was also from Hogwarts, someone that Sean had long forgotten— Stephanie Ollivander.

Stephanie, who is usually rarely seen, silently overshadowed everyone, even though she hadn't grown any taller.

Upon hearing the news, Sean simply shrugged indifferently. So much had happened recently that compared to their previous experiences, it all seemed rather boring. There wasn't much to hate anymore, and liking was out of the question. Becoming strangers was the best outcome.

After the results are released, there will be the year-end banquet, after which the Hogwarts students will leave Newmontgard Castle they have lived for half a year.

Sean was organizing his things in his dorm room.

The room was blown up when the Guard Corps came to arrest him last time, and he lost a lot of things, but luckily, most of them could be bought back with money, so Sean decided to be magnanimous and not ask the Guard Corps for compensation.

Although there was a ring, he couldn't just stuff everything into it, nor could he display the ring. So Sean obediently folded clothes into the box.

After a while, Sean glanced at the empty dormitory and muttered to himself, hands on his hips, "That should be about right..."

He looked around the entire dormitory room, and finally looked at the bedside table.

"I almost forgot about this thing..." Sean walked over and picked up a big, golden egg.

This was a prize he received for helping Grindelwald last time. He studied it for a while but couldn't figure out what it was, so he could only accept that it was just a simple little toy.

I picked up the Golden Egg and tossed it in my hand, but it didn't change at all.

"It's good to keep it as a memento." Sean raised an eyebrow and tucked it into the ring.

Let the Cat-Leopard Pudding play with it as a ball of yarn.

At night, Newmontgard's Great Hall is brightly lit, and the gold and red flags symbolizing this newly emerging prestigious school flutter on both sides of the Great Hall without any wind.

However, the atmosphere in the Great Hall was not high; there was neither the excitement of an upcoming holiday nor the relaxation of finishing exams.

With a new headmaster, the students split into two groups, and even the final exams went awry—four out of the seven grades lost their top spots to Hogwarts, a school they had always looked down upon.

Therefore, the atmosphere at this semester's End-of-Term Feast was rather somber.

Once everyone was seated, Vita Rosier, the current headmistress of Newmontgard, stood up from the empty headmistress's seat. She seemed to lack any sense of responsibility as a headmistress, and continued to scan the crowd with her usual emotionless gaze.

The new principal has recently attracted a lot of attention. Since Grindelwald disappeared, she has become younger every day, and has now returned to the cool and elegant woman she was in her twenties.

Of course, the curse of regaining a youthful appearance is not uncommon, and Vita Rosier was not investigated again, but it did spark some discussion among the students.

The aloof woman raised her glass. "This year, the history of Newmontgard has moved forward once again, and this castle still stands tall against the wind and rain. We also welcome guests from afar, Hogwarts. Thank you for what you have taught us, and we hope that you can gain knowledge here and take it back to carry it forward."

Led by her, a lukewarm round of applause rang out in the Great Hall.

Vita Rosier then changed the subject.

"And you, as students of Newmontgard— " She paused, her eyes haughty and cold. "I would like to say that I am proud of your performance this year, but I am not as merciful as the former headmaster. Forgive my bluntness, but you are terrible."

The cold, harsh voice struck the faces of every Newmontgard. They froze for a moment, then humiliation, shame, and anger surged onto their faces.

Vita Rosier's tone remained unchanged. "The crushing defeat in the Duelling Classroom, the utter annihilation of Newmontgard Day, I thought you would have learned something. And then what happened? The school underwent a huge upheaval, and besides the foolish duels, even the report cards were a complete mess."

"I have nothing to say, but this year's summer vacation will be delayed by a month."

"Alright, let's begin our dinner."

After saying that, she raised her wine glass to everyone and sat down, leaving Professor McGonagall beside her with her mouth slightly agape.

The Great Hall was completely silent. The faces of the Newmontgard students turned pale and then red, and most of them suddenly lost their appetite.

Whispers arose at the long table at Hogwarts. Sean turned around and saw several members of his Golden Dawn. He gave them a thumbs-up and silently mourned for them.

The food at the dinner was exquisite and delicious. Sean observed a moment of silence for three seconds before he began to feast.

After they had almost finished eating, Sean quietly brought up the system panel; he hadn't looked at the panel closely in a long time.

He tried single pulls a few times since there was no pity system in the points pool, but he didn't get anything good at all.

There were no changes to the inventory or talent bar. Sean looked at the Spell Proficiency below.

Proficiency, which directly reflects one's progress, is certainly a good thing. However, Sean's Spell Proficiency has also increased, and the spell level has not changed much. He has a rough estimate of the daily increase in proficiency, so he usually only checks it once every now and then.

The first few spells were pretty much as he had predicted, but gradually, Sean's expression started to look strange.

Why did the proficiency of several spells, such as the Explosion Charm, the Blinding Charm, and the Spell Light Alteration Charm, increase so much?