The Last Day

June 23, morning.

The Potions Master practical exam ended at 10 a. m., and the young wizards who walked out of the classroom looked somewhat dazed.

Professor Snape's teaching this academic year wasn't particularly complex, focusing mainly on identifying different types of poisons and preparing antidotes. During class, he frequently threatened the Gryffindor students, telling Neville on Tuesday that he would use the toad Trevor to test for poison, and on Thursday that he would poison Harry's Halloween and Christmas dinners...

To everyone's surprise, the final practical exam question was about Endurance Potion, leaving some Gryffindor House and Hufflepuff House students who were obsessed with guessing the questions feeling cheated.

Instead of going to the Library to study with Hermione, Loren arranged to meet her in the Great Hall later, while he stayed behind to help Professor Snape.

After the students finished brewing the potions, they put them into slender glass bottles. According to the color, layering, viscosity, etc., Loren first roughly divided the potions into three boxes: one box for failing, one box for barely passing, and one box for excellent.

Professor Snape would then carefully examine the medicine bottles, writing down his grades on parchment according to the labels on them, and sometimes he would even unscrew the stopper to smell them.

These exam submissions ultimately went to different places. The best ones were given to Madam Pomfrey as a reserve of medicines; the next best ones went to the market and were distributed through various channels, with the proceeds used for teaching in the next semester; and another type was poured into the toilet and flushed down the sewer into Black Lake.

"Don't rush, look carefully. The color of the Endurance Potion is similar to the juice of July grass; it can't be too light, nor too dark. This whole bottle is almost black. Its viscosity is slightly higher than water, but lower than olive oil. We need to observe its flow..."

"Sometimes it's hard to judge with the naked eye alone, so you can use a small stick to dip some in."

"After you finish grading the Endurance Potion for the fourth grade, there are still potions for other grades. If you have time tomorrow, you can continue to help. You can just grade the potions for the lower grades directly; there's no need to categorize them."

Loren felt like he'd been conscripted. He wanted to ask if the Potions Master teaching assistant received a salary, but looking at Professor Snape's expression, he couldn't bring himself to ask.

"Okay, Professor."

Are there any more exams later?

"And then there's A History of Magic, the last subject. After that, I'll watch the competition," Loren replied.

It seems that the A History of Magic exams are always placed last every year, and he reasonably suspects that the other professors are bullying Professor Binns because they have no human rights—it's blatant school bullying.

"Watch the game..." A faint ripple appeared in Snape's eyes. "Just stay in the stands and don't do anything unnecessary."

Loren glanced at him suspiciously.

Professor, you seem to be hinting at something...

"Go back and study."

"Okay, Professor."

Snape casually tossed the potion into the third box, the glass bottles clinking together with a crisp sound.

Loren left the classroom without a word. Professor Snape looked rather gloomy, probably because Harry Potter hadn't been able to take the exam.

I hurried upstairs and arrived at the Great Hall.

Harry was sitting next to Ron, flipping through his notebook idly, looking rather forlorn.

Because of his Champion status, he didn't have to take the exam. During each exam, he would sit with the proctoring professor and occasionally chat about strategies for dealing with the maze.

During the last Care of Magical Creatures exam, Harry and Hagrid wandered around the field together. After the exam, they went to discuss some strange questions with Loren and the others, such as how to deal with the Blast-Ended Skrewts, how to answer the questions about the Manticore, and how to avoid being entangled by the Devil's Snare...

Loren gained a new understanding of the secrets behind the Goblet of Goblet of Fire.

Ron is worried about the upcoming A History of Magic exam. He knows exactly what the exam points are. Hermione and Loren have given him some tips and highlights, but knowing what knowledge will be on the exam doesn't mean he doesn't need to memorize it. The Goblin Rebellion lasted for decades, and each point could be expanded into a paper.

Analysis of the pre-war situation, the time and place of the war, the significance of the victory or defeat, in addition, what role did the magic used in the war play, what problems were exposed, and how was it improved in later generations?

Ron would rather bathe the Blast-Ended Skrewts than memorize it all.

Hermione sat opposite the two, her lips moving as she kept reciting the passages she had memorized.

Loren strode over and sat down next to Hermione, glancing at her densely filled notebook. He was immediately struck by a mysterious force and turned away to slack off. "Tsk, Harry, what are you thinking about with that worried look on your face? Worried about how to chat with Professor Binns later?"

"I can't go to the exam hall with you guys." Harry sighed even more sadly. "Professor McGonagall told me that the Champion ' relatives have been invited to watch the finals, and the Champion will be able to meet with their relatives this afternoon."

"What's there to worry about?"

"You don't think the Dursley will come, do you?"

"Hmm... where's your godfather?"

"Sirius Black has been very busy, so he probably won't be able to come."

Harry pictured himself standing alone to the side as the other Champion warmly reunited with their families. He couldn't help but sigh. Thank goodness the reporter wasn't there, or he would have been on the front page of the Daily Prophet again tomorrow.

Ron had his head buried in his history of A History of Magic textbook, his eyes darting around.

After lunch, they sat in the Great Hall for half an hour.

"Harry, we're going to take the exam now. If we have any extra papers, I'll ask Professor Binns for one and bring it to you this afternoon to keep you entertained." Loren said and left, casually putting his arm around Hermione's shoulder and whispering some exam tips in her ear, "Don't panic if you encounter a question you don't know. First, read the question carefully and see what it covers. Write down everything you can think of, fill it up! Whether it's right or wrong, Professor Binns might get confused and give you more points..."

Hermione looked helpless, while Ron listened intently with a serious expression.

As Harry watched them walk away, his smile slowly faded. When he turned back, he met Viktor Krum's somewhat disappointed gaze. He was sitting at the Slytherin table and seemed to have been watching Loren and the others as well.

Krum withdrew his gaze, lazily rose, and headed towards the meeting room at the back of the Great Hall, where relatives would gather. Phoebe Delacour, Cedric of Hufflepuff, and Gravis, who were sitting at the Ravenclaw table, left one after another, and the Great Hall gradually quieted down.

Just as Harry was about to go to the Library to study some spells, the meeting room door opened, and Cedric poked his head out. "Harry, come on, they're waiting for you!"

As soon as the bell rang to signal the end of the exam, Ron couldn't sit still any longer. He grabbed Loren and ran towards the meeting room in the side hall of the Great Hall. Hermione followed lightly behind, asking them about the last few questions on the exam paper as they ran.

"Are you also in a hurry to look up the names of the fairy generals? To be honest, their naming system is too strange, and I can't remember their middle names."

As they entered the conference room, they immediately understood why Ron was in such a hurry.

Cedric and his parents stood by the door, chatting and laughing about the first two projects, with Mr. Diggory. Amos Diggory grinning from ear to ear.

Viktor Krum was speaking rapidly in Bulgaria with his dark-haired mother in a corner of the room, while his father stood silently beside him, his father's hooked nose occasionally humming with pleasure and pride.

Phoebe and Gabrielle stood beside a gentle, beautiful lady, chattering away in French. Gravis stood ramrod straight in the corner, his parents' dark and white skin a stark contrast to his parents'.

The most striking sight was the large family in front of the fireplace, all with red hair, as if the flames inside had leaped out. Molly and Bill greeted Harry warmly, and when they saw them open the door, they waved to them with smiles.

"You didn't expect that, did you!"

Molly warmly hugged each child, and bent down to kiss their cheeks, "I'm here to watch Harry's game, and to see you all before your summer vacation, dears..."

Both Loren and Hermione felt a slight blush.

Bill smiled and shook hands with them, his braided hair and fanged earrings completely at odds with his gentle smile, "How are you? Charlie wanted to come too, but he has to stay in Romania to take care of the mother dragon and can't leave. The dragon eggs have cracked, and the mother dragon has developed depression."

Hermione's face showed a conflicted expression, feeling sad for the Fire Dragon while also being curious. She couldn't help but ask, "Can Fire Dragon get depressed? What are the symptoms of their depression?"

"..."

Loren noticed a burning gaze coming from not far away. Phoebe Delacour looked over her mother's shoulder and examined Bill with great interest, seemingly more interested in the fashionable accessories.

Back at Hogwarts, Molly and Bill's eyes shone, as if they had endless things to say.

"I haven't seen this place for five years. Is the portrait of that mad knight still there? I think his name was Sir Cadogan?"

"He's still there; he argues with the freshmen every semester."

"How is the Fat Lady?"

"It's still the same."

How did today's exam go?

"Oh, it's alright. I couldn't remember all the names of those rebellious goblin generals, so I made up a few."

"That's right, I couldn't remember that when I was in school either. They all called people with names like 'Longbeard' and 'Uric the Oddball,' who could remember those? We had to make them up."

"..."

As they were talking, green flames suddenly shot up from the fireplace, raising clouds of black soot. Accompanied by a coughing sound, a tall, thin, dark-haired man stepped out of the fireplace, his striking gray eyes blinking rapidly from the soot.

"Ahem... Professor McGonagall told me this fireplace was clean, but that's really unreliable."

Sirius Black! You're here too!

Harry excitedly joined in, and Molly, who was also an acquaintance of Sirius Black, pulled Bill over to catch up. The warm and joyful atmosphere among them was even more vibrant than the fireplace nearby.

Loren and Hermione stood behind, observing Sirius Black Black from afar. His loose, long hair had been trimmed to the length of a finger joint, his thin cheeks had become fuller, and a layer of bluish-black beard covered his chin. Dressed in a casual jacket, he looked much more energetic.

As if sensing his gaze, Sirius Black looked up and looked over. As Sirius approached, the smile on his face gradually faded until he finally stood in front of Loren.

Harry was confused about what had happened and looked at Mrs. Weasley, who had fallen silent beside him.

After a moment of silence, Sirius Black said softly, "I haven't had a nightmare in a long time."

"Hmm." Loren looked at him expressionlessly, the bloodshot veins in his eyes had indeed disappeared, leaving only slightly cloudy whites.

"Now..." Sirius Black stared into those eyes, struggling to resist the urge to look away, and asked cautiously, "Can you forgive us?"

He could hear his heart pumping blood faster, and thin beads of sweat seeped from his pores and evaporated quickly. The loss of heat made him feel cold all over, and he almost wanted to shiver.

"..."

No one spoke. Hermione gripped the hand of the person next to her tightly, so tightly that the skin around her turned slightly white from the pressure.

Sirius Black's face paled. After a brief silence, he forced a smile and said, "Then, could I invite you to my wedding this summer, probably in August?"

"Wedding!"

Harry and Ron exclaimed in surprise from behind. They immediately wanted to go forward and ask what was wrong, but Molly held them back tightly, constantly winking and gesturing at them.

Loren's heart stirred, and he nodded slightly. He clearly saw a glimmer of joy instantly bloom in Sirius Black's eyes, and the smile on his pale face became much more genuine.

"I imagine you have a lot to say," Loren said softly. "I won't disturb your reunion any longer."

"Th-thank you..."

The stars are bright on a summer night.

Almost two weeks have passed since the last full moon. The moon is now just a narrow crescent. Without the moonlight's suppression, the other stars have room to shine, displaying varying shades and brightness. Some are bright but only a tiny dot, while others are dim but appear as small fragments of pale red.

Loren leaned on the railing of the Astronomy Tower, his eyes reflecting the shimmering, brilliant Starry River.

Hermione stayed by his side, occasionally feeding him a few cookies. She looked up at the stars and sighed, "Mr. Morgan, if you don't cheer up soon, I'll run out of snacks."

Loren was somewhat embarrassed and annoyed. "I have enough to feed you!"

Hermione reached out and patted his shoulder, her gentle voice tinged with a hint of helplessness. "I know you have some, but I feel like you're lying to me about feeding you snacks. You've been lying all afternoon."

"There's no afternoon. The exam was over, and we went to the meeting room to chat for half an hour. It's only half an afternoon." Loren's voice gradually relaxed as he inhaled the cool evening breeze blowing across the tower and exhaled a long breath, as if all the heat and low spirits had been expelled.

"Yes, half an afternoon, it's because I didn't have enough snacks." Hermione nodded.

Loren tilted his head, sadly realizing that he was now taller than the little Witch, and that he had to bend his knees to do this movement, which was no longer as comfortable as before.

Hermione pursed her lips and pulled him into her arms. "Are we really going to that wedding that summer?"

"Go ahead, I don't really like him, but for Headmaster Dumbledore's sake..."

"What does this have to do with Headmaster Dumbledore?"

"Then let's do it for Voldemort's sake."

"What does this have to do with Voldemort?"

You'll find out then.

"..."