An ordinary Saturday afternoon not long after the start of term.
"She's very talented."
Snape graded Harley's assignment and wrote a large O on it, meaning Outstanding.
He Shenyan sat beside him, also grading assignments, except they were Snape's.
He was far less merciful. "Yes. And she works harder than you do. Mr. Snape, I don't know whether you checked this essay of yours. When discussing the difference between Portals and Apparition, you reversed the two. That's a very elementary mistake."
Snape fell silent for a moment before saying, "...My apologies, Professor."
He remembered the vanilla ice cream Harley had given him when she came to see him after dinner that day. It had truly tasted very good. In that brief moment, he had already drifted off again.
It's all right, Harley. You only need to wait a little longer.
Snape straightened up and continued working.
He Shenyan set Snape's assignment aside and picked up Dumbledore's. At Hogwarts, it was not only the students who had to study; the teachers did as well.
From Monday to Friday, they taught the students. On Saturdays and Sundays, they still had to attend He Shenyan's lectures. They could be called thoroughly diligent, but no one had any complaints. When life was fulfilling, there was not much to complain about.
Compared to Snape, Harley had it much easier.
After class, she either buried herself in the library with Hermione or ran wild around the grounds with Ron.
The upper-year students played Quidditch, but the first-years had no chance to take Quidditch lessons this year. So sometimes, they would go and watch the older students play with longing in their eyes.
Ron's twin brothers had mocked him quite a bit over this—until they saw Harley with him.
The expressions on their faces in that instant had made Ron laugh for three whole days.
Whenever he thought about it, he wanted to laugh. He often burst out laughing during meals, leading quite a few people to think he had gone mad. Ron only explained, "You didn't see their expressions. That mixture of shock, unwillingness, and envy—wanting to come over and play with us, but not daring to—was just too funny!"
Then his two brothers pranked him for an entire week.
Harley was very well-known at Hogwarts—not only because of her strange title of "the Girl Who Lived," but also because of her outstanding appearance.
Harley herself seemed completely unaware of it. Hogwarts had no dress requirements at the moment. She often wandered around in tailored black suits or casual jackets, her red hair as dazzling as flame.
It was said that someone had even written her a love letter and intended to read it aloud in public. The fellow was caught by the arriving Snape and punished with cleaning an abandoned Potions classroom for two full weeks. His wails made passing students think some ghost was haunting the place.
Dumbledore, compared to the other staff members, had much more free time.
The board of governors had not come looking for trouble again. He hardly taught classes either, and even when he did, it was only as a substitute. Most of his time was spent studying the Compendium of Basic Spells He Shenyan had given him. The book was absurdly thick, and though its title claimed it was basic, its contents had absolutely nothing to do with "basic" in Dumbledore's opinion.
He filled three parchment notebooks with notes, made four or five trips to He Shenyan's office every day, and most of those visits were late at night. Yet no matter when he went, He Shenyan patiently answered his questions.
Moreover, Dumbledore had never seen him sleep.
Aside from studying, he also had to set aside one day every week to visit Voldemort in Azkaban, who was now little more than skin stretched over bones.
Dumbledore was unwilling to elaborate on Voldemort's exact condition.
Yet his mood visibly improved by the day. Snape had asked him about it in private, but the annoying old man had merely smiled pleasantly and told him, "Oh, there's no need to worry. My dear Severus, you only need to supervise Miss Potter and make sure she continues studying hard. You needn't concern yourself with anything else."
He had even winked mischievously as he said it. Every time Snape thought of that, his teeth itched.
When people devoted themselves wholeheartedly to something, time usually passed very quickly. The hour-and-a-half lesson vanished in the blink of an eye. Harley bit her pen and, even after class had ended, did not choose to get up and move around.
She frowned at a passage on the blackboard. Malfoy, sitting behind her, stared blankly at the back of her head, utterly unaware that he looked like an idiot.
Beside Harley, Hermione copied furiously from her notes, moving so fast that Ron nearly thought she had cast a spell on her pen. Ron looked at his own notebook. After an entire class, he had written barely three paragraphs.
The boy wailed inwardly while maintaining an outward appearance of calm. He imitated Harley and raised his head to stare at the blackboard. He recognized every word, but when they were put together, he could not understand any of them.
Twenty minutes later, he saw the young professor enter the classroom and tap the podium with one finger, expressionless.
The sound was not loud, but every bit of chatter vanished.
He Shenyan said, "I believe it is necessary to inform you all that Christmas break will soon be upon us. Before the holiday begins, I will give everyone a test. If you have been attentive enough in class, this test will be very easy. Those who are not confident can use this time to ask me questions, or ask any classmates you think have learned the material well."
He paused, satisfied to see the horrified expressions he wanted.
He smiled. "Those who pass the test will receive a small gift from me. And if you do not pass, there is no need to be overly nervous. We will meet again in January."
Ron could no longer hear the professor's voice. The word exam echoed through his mind. A chill rose from the soles of his feet to the top of his head, traveling from one side of his brain to the other. Once again, he had learned nothing in this class.
"...Ron! Ron!"
Ron staggered toward the Great Hall with his books and notebook in his arms, looking like a walking corpse. Harley called out to him twice from behind, but he did not react.
Harley had no choice but to step forward and pat his shoulder. Ron turned around with a face ashen with despair. The sight frightened Hermione, who stood beside Harley, into letting out a scream. The scream startled Ron as well, and his notebook fell to the floor. It happened to open, revealing notes that were barely different from blank paper.
"I know why you look like that now." Harley looked at him and nodded slowly.
Ron picked up his notebook. His mind was now filled with images of what would happen after he failed the exam. Fred and George would definitely find out, and they would definitely tell Mum. Ginny might find out too.
Oh no, I'm so stupid. If those two know, doesn't that mean everyone will know?! I'll be the only Weasley to fail his very first exam.
But for some reason, compared to those scenes in his mind, he seemed more afraid of disappointing Professor He.
Ron walked off alone. Harley and Hermione remained where they were. The bushy-haired girl said worriedly, "He looks terrible, Harley."
"Yeah, but it doesn't seem like we can help him much. The professor has reminded us to pay attention before every class since term began. If he doesn't want to study, there's nothing we can do. At most, I can lend him my notes, but I don't know whether he'll be willing to read them."
Harley troubledly brushed the red hair by her ear. Malfoy sneaked away from beside her, while the two lackeys who had once been inseparable from him had long since vanished without a trace.
"Does he really think we haven't noticed that he's been following you?" Hermione watched the boy leave the corridor and asked Harley with a frown.
The red-haired girl merely shrugged indifferently, then took Hermione's hand and headed toward the library.
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