Final Exams Approaching

"In this lesson, I need you to collect the Umbrella Mushroom that are thriving in the corners and transplant them into the fenced nursery. The holidays are coming up, and if we neglect them for the entire summer, the Umbrella Mushroom swarm will overwhelm us when we open the Greenhouse again!"

Professor Sprout, the fat Witch, shouted at the Greenhouse entrance, "Also, stay away from those Mandrake! Stop stealing their leaves, or they might jump out and bite you!"

Loren glanced at Hermione beside him; the little Witch's lips trembled, clearly unhappy.

The members of the Animagus class stole the Mandrake leaves to prepare extra leaves for practice during the holidays, thus gaining experience for the ceremony next semester.

However, the older students had clearly gone too far, pulling up several thriving Mandrake in just a few days, forcing Professor Sprout to specifically emphasize the matter.

"Can we take some Umbrella Mushroom with us?"

Will Mandrake chase after us and bite us?

The Gryffindor below were laughing and joking. Ever since they won the House Cup, the young wizards of Gryffindor had been unruly even in Potions class. Then Snape caught a few bad apples and punished them by making them collect toad saliva. Only after that did they become a little more restrained.

"Some Umbrella Mushroom are poisonous, so if you don't want to spend your summer in St Mungo's's, it's best not to take off your gloves and touch them. Anyone who dares to mess with Mandrake, I'll dig a hole and bury them next to the Mandrake!"

Professor Sprout laughed in exasperation, "Now get to work!"

The young wizards scattered in a flurry, wearing gardener's gloves and carrying buckets of Umbrella Mushroom, their gardener's boots making a clattering sound on the muddy Greenhouse floor.

Loren shook the girl's shoulder, her long brown hair swaying with his hand, and he could smell the girl's unique fragrance.

"Come on, are you really planning to spend your vacation sucking on Mandrake?"

"I'm just not reconciled," Hermione said sullenly.

"It's just practice anyway, you can put anything in your mouth. I'll make you Bulb Candy when we get home, you can keep it in your mouth for as long as you want." Loren muttered to himself as he pushed Hermione around the Greenhouse.

What is Bulb Candy?

Summer quietly arrived in the area around the Castle. The sky and the lake both turned into a light blue with a purplish glow, and flowers as large as cabbages bloomed in the Greenhouse.

Harry saw a very special Umbrella Mushroom under the Venomous Tentacula trellis. Its cap had black stripes, and its stalk had two dark mold spots.

"Black hair, black eyes." Harry chuckled blankly. "You're just like Cho Chang from Ravenclaw."

"Loren has black hair and black eyes too!" Ron slapped a thorny, deep red plant next to him, causing it to retract its tentacles that were quietly reaching toward Harry's shoulder. "Watch out for the Venomous Tentacula. They've grown fangs. If you get dragged into the trellis, you won't get your final exams."

The Venomous Tentacula retracted, and Ron, recalling the scene just now, shook his head in disgust. "Harry, you laughed like a dark wizard cursing that girl, it was disgusting!"

Harry's face flushed red, and he hurriedly plucked the Umbrella Mushroom and threw it into the bucket.

Ron squinted at him for a moment. "You haven't actually fallen for her, have you?"

"I, I..." Harry stammered, "I don't know, I keep thinking about her."

"Hey buddy! Now's not the time for romance, the most important thing is final exams!"

Perhaps because he was frightened by the Venomous Tentacula during the day, Harry had a nightmare that night.

Many people were crammed into a dark, deep room, their eyes glowing with an eerie green light, their clothes tattered and ragged. The one standing at the front seemed to be their leader; his clothes were the best intact, with only four or five patches.

"The next International Wizarding Congress is about to convene, and the British Ministry of Magic's ' Anti-Werewolf Law ' will sooner or later become the ' International Confederation of Wizards Anti-Werewolf Law.' Only by supporting me can you gain dignity and freedom..."

Hidden in the darkness, an armchair emitted a cold, hoarse voice; no one could see the speaker's face.

The Werewolf inside the house remained silent, staring intently at the Wormtail beside them. The gazes of so many Werewolf nearly made the Wormtail collapse to the ground in fear.

The leader, whose clothes were patched up, stepped forward. Without even glancing at the Wormtail, he spoke to the darkness behind him, "Our life as a fugitive has made us cautious, Dark Lord. We cannot join you, but we can make a deal with you."

"A trade? A trade requires the ability to pay for the goods. You're just a bunch of greyhounds being chased around by the American Magical Congress. What do you have to trade with me?"

The cold voice was filled with disdain and sarcasm.

The Werewolf pack began to stir, but they remained silent, relinquishing power to their leader. Facing the angry gazes of the many Werewolf, Wormtail's body began to tremble uncontrollably.

The leader remained silent for a moment, then ultimately refused to agree to the other side's conditions and left with his group of Werewolf.

The room echoed with the relaxed panting of Wormtail, who asked in a high-pitched voice, "Master, why are we trying to win over these lowly Werewolf? I mean, they're of no use in this faraway land."

"Think long-term, Wormtail. You'll be going back to Hogwarts in a few months, and I'll need some other servants."

The Wormtail showed a look of terror. "No, please, master..."

Harry blinked a few times and slowly opened his eyes. His head was spinning. He had gone to bed early last night, but now he felt as tired as if he hadn't slept all night.

Outside the window, the distant clouds were already showing glimpses of golden light, and the sun was beginning to rise.

"Amado, Animo, Animado, Animagus".

He heard Neville chanting incantations softly, his tone sincere and meticulous.

This is the Animagus ritual procedure. From the day the Secret Potion was buried, Neville would point his wand at his heart and chant a spell every sunrise and sunset.

"What an exhausting ritual..." Harry thought, then snuggled back into bed, intending to take another nap.

Even if Voldemort were to jump out of his dream the next moment, he would still want to sleep for a few more minutes...

Transfiguration classroom.

This classroom, like the other classrooms in Hogwarts Castle, is ancient, with walls made of thick stone blocks, candlesticks on both sides emitting a bright light, and a high ceiling that often makes one feel small.

During class, several ghosts stayed at the back of the classroom, flipping through ghost books and occasionally talking to the students in the back row.

When Professor McGonagall looks over, the mischievous ghost will place its hand on the neck of the dozing little wizard, the icy chill sending a shiver through him, and then Professor McGonagall will deduct points and make him copy something.

Loren and Hermione sat in the front row on the right, close to the window, lazily resting their chins on their hands, their eyes occasionally drifting out the window.

From here, you can see Hagrid striding across the Black Lake, a handful of centipede-shaped yellow flowers in his hand, teasing Fang, who is circling around his feet.

Professor McGonagall stood on the stage, outlining the semester's curriculum. The simplified second-year Transfiguration material was rather boring for Loren, and he couldn't seem to muster any enthusiasm. Whenever he tried to close his eyes and doze off, Hermione would give him a sharp pinch on the waist, more invigorating than Wit-Sharpening Potion.

Bored, Loren noticed Harry in the front row. Harry looked even sleepier than himself, slumping his shoulders listlessly, his head occasionally drooping. He would quickly straighten up after waking up, which made Professor McGonagall frequently glance at him.

Loren found it amusing. Although Harry would sometimes daydream in class and had recently been grinning blankly, he had never been like this before.

"Ring ring..."

The bell rang, signaling the end of get out of class.

Professor McGonagall closed her book and said to them, "The final exam will cover the material we just reviewed. The exam is scheduled for June 1st. Go back and study hard. If you have any questions, talk to your classmates or come to my office to ask me. Those who have extra time can also review the elective material."

The young wizards in the audience quickly checked their notes to make sure they had written down all the key points for review.

Harry immediately perked up, quickly stuffing the books and notebooks into his bag. He turned to the three of them and said, "Let's go to the empty classroom next door. I have something to tell you."

Loren, Hermione, and Ron blinked and followed.

A few minutes later, in a corner of the Abandoned Classroom.

Ron exclaimed incredulously, "Voldemort?! You dreamed about him again!"

Harry nodded, his eyebrows drooping, looking rather listless. "I dreamt that Voldemort was recruiting a lot of Werewolf, and they seemed to be plotting something big. He also said that Wormtail was going back to school next term."

Ron clenched his fists and said through gritted teeth, "Back to school? Is Voldemort planning to send him back to turn himself in? If so, I'm going to teach him a lesson!"

"The Anti-Werewolf Law is going to be promoted internationally... the International Confederation of Wizards..." Hermione said seriously, "We have to tell Headmaster Dumbledore about this!"

"That's what I was thinking too. I'll go find him later." Harry nodded.

Loren pondered the information revealed in his dream. It seemed Voldemort was beginning to gather forces and plan his counterattack after his resurrection. He vaguely remembered that Voldemort had finally organized an army of several dark creatures: Werewolf, giants, Acromantula... all of them were just cannon fodder.

Never mind, that's Old Dumbledore's business.

Loren frowned and looked at him. "Harry, is there still no progress in your Occlumency?"

Harry fell silent and shook his head.

Ron knew why he was in a dilemma, and weakly advised him, "Why don't you go find that old bat? Snape is quite capable. It's not a good thing if your brain is connected to Voldemort's brain..."

"I think Professor Snape's teaching—" Loren paused for a moment, "Is at least not life-threatening compared to the threat of Voldemort."

Hermione shoved his shoulder. "Do you want to hear what you're saying?"

"To be honest, even if I think Professor Snape is not bad, I must admit that his teaching methods are not gentle enough."

The chattering of several people made their way into the Headmaster's office. When they pushed the door open, the white-bearded old principal was reading a report about Damocles Belby in the Daily Prophet.

"From your description, they seem to be Werewolf from United States ..." Dumbledore murmured softly, sitting in his chair lost in thought.

After a long while, Dumbledore came to his senses and slowly nodded. "I will handle this, Harry. The most important thing now is that you must master Occlumency as soon as possible."

"Headmaster..." Harry opened his mouth, his eyes shifting between light and shadow.

He had a secret thought he dared not voice: if they could see what Voldemort was doing more often, wouldn't they be better able to deal with Voldemort... From this perspective, having a connection in his mind to Voldemort's mind didn't seem like such a bad thing.

His thoughts were practically written all over his face; Loren could read them without Legilimency. He said quietly, "Just imagine, what if Voldemort dreamt that you were thinking of Cho Chang—"

No! No!

Harry screamed in panic before the story was even finished, "What a horror story! It's even scarier than the Banshee!"

Hermione couldn't help but laugh, resting her forehead on Loren's shoulder, her body trembling so much that it tickled Loren.

Ron's face was full of mockery, making Harry want to crawl under the table immediately.

Dumbledore stroked his beard, pondered for a moment, then looked up and said seriously, "Harry, I must advise you—"

Thankfully, the headmaster is a decent person... Harry breathed a sigh of relief, hoping Dumbledore would steer the conversation back on track.

"Smart girls are hard to get, Cho Chang? I remember she was a Ravenclaw girl, right?"

"Headmaster!" Harry called out, embarrassed.

"Hahahaha!" Dumbledore laughed heartily, no longer teasing him. "Just like Loren said, Voldemort might also be able to see what's going on in your head, so I can't tell you what I'm going to do, at least not now."

Focus on preparing for your final exams. At least these old bones of mine can still move around a bit, so I don't have to send you kids to fight the Dark Lord.

The old principal's words reassured them a lot.

Loren didn't think much of it. Just as the headmaster said, it wasn't their turn to face Voldemort directly now.

After hesitating for a moment, Hermione finally asked the question that had been on her mind, "Headmaster, will the Anti-Werewolf Law really be promoted? Will it become the International Confederation of Wizards Anti-Werewolf Law?"

"I don't think so." Dumbledore's smile faded, and he looked earnestly into the little Witch's eyes, as if addressing an equal adult.

"Hermione, perhaps the Easter court hearing made you feel that the Ministry of Magic is not a qualified government, but I must say that the International Confederation of Wizards was established for a better and more peaceful Wizarding World. President Pierre Bonacourt protects the rights of trolls, and President Alfred Cragg invited the Erdling to attend the council."

The International Confederation of Wizards has only made fools of itself due to its lenient policies; it has never actively excluded any particular type of creature. At least, as the president of the International Confederation of Wizards, I would not agree to promote the "Anti-Werewolf Law," even if they were to disqualify me from the committee.

Dumbledore winked at them. "After all, I have Werewolf friends too."

They didn't need to worry about the matter for the time being. Loren and the other three chatted with Dumbledore for a while, finished their tea, and then said their goodbyes.

As they walked out of the Headmaster's office, Dumbledore suddenly called out, "Loren, can you come with me to St Mungo's after the holidays? That matter has been settled."

Loren waved his hand without turning his head. "Understood."