Hardy casually tossed the Time-Turner into Morris's hands.
"Come on, let's give it a try," he said, walking over to Morris and placing his hand on the other's shoulder. "Our first time travel will be done together, and I'll tell you what to watch out for."
Morris looked at the Time-Turner in his hand; the gold chain on it had some unknown, sticky stains on it.
"What's this?" He wiped the stains on his hands onto the other person's sleeve with some disdain.
Hardy glanced down at his cuff and said nonchalantly, "Probably melted chocolate. My colleague added an automatic chocolate-making machine to the office. Oh, it's a really amazing machine; you'd never guess how it works..."
Seeing that the other person was about to launch into a long-winded explanation, Morris quickly interrupted, "Can I use the Time-Turner now?"
"Of course." Hardy nodded. "Let's take a turn and rewind time to an hour ago."
Following instructions, Morris controlled the golden hourglass to begin spinning.
One lap.
Ten seconds passed.
Nothing happened.
Morris looked at Hardy, puzzled.
Hardy's expression turned serious. He quickly took the Time-Turner from Morris and examined it carefully.
"That's strange... That shouldn't be the case, there's nothing wrong with this thing. Try it again."
Morris hesitated before taking it and then spun the Time-Turner again.
Still no response.
Hardy hesitated for a moment, then said, "Spin around a few more times."
Morris was obedient and did as he was told.
Second lap.
Third lap.
Fourth lap.
Fifth lap...
"Bang!"
A muffled thud, not too loud, was followed by a small puff of gray smoke emerging from the Time-Turner.
It exploded.
The classroom was filled with the smell of burnt chocolate.
Morris and Hardy were both taken aback by the sudden small explosion.
The two looked at each other, and neither spoke for a moment.
Finally, Hardy realized what was happening.
"Ah-ha," he chuckled dryly, "I don't think it's a problem with the chocolate."
Morris: "Hard to say."
Surely it couldn't be that there was something wrong with his operation?
He won't take the blame for this.
Hardy took the broken Time-Turner from Morris. The hourglass was broken and still slightly smoking, and the gold chain was broken in two.
He stopped smiling and sighed, " Merlin... it's completely broken. This little thing won't be easy to fix."
Morris crossed his arms. "It looks to be of very poor quality, Mr. Hardy."
Hardy carefully examined the Time-Turner, then slowly raised his head, his gaze landing on Morris's face.
"I think I know why. The damage is because of you, Mr. Black. You're probably just not cut out for using the Time-Turner."
Morris pointed to himself, "Me? I'm just not cut out for it?"
He always felt that the other party was making baseless accusations.
Hardy's expression was serious. "I know this sounds like I'm shirking responsibility, but please let me explain, although it's a little difficult to explain."
"Let me start with the basics. First, time is a special thing, and time magic is the most subtle and sensitive branch of magic."
"I can't explain to you how the Time-Turner works, but I can tell you for sure, Mr. Black, that you're probably being repelled by time itself."
Time doesn't want you to go back to the past.
His tone was more serious than ever before.
Morris didn't understand, but he felt that what the other person was saying was probably right.
"So what should we do now?" he asked.
"I can't help it," Hardy sighed again. "In short, you can't use the Time-Turner anymore, Mr. Black. But don't worry, you won't have to pay for the damaged Time-Turner. I just need to write a detailed report explaining the situation to the department."
Morris was a little disappointed.
He also wanted to see what time travel was all about.
It seems there's no chance now.
However, he still had a strong interest in the Time-Turner in front of him.
Hardy seemed to read his mind and seized the opportunity to tempt him, "If you want to research the Time-Turner, join the Department of Mysteries. The agreement is still here."
"No." Morris shook his head.
He wouldn't sell himself out just because of that.
"Won't you reconsider?" Hardy was still unwilling to give up.
Morris refused again, casually retorting, "By the way, why are you so persistent?"
"Because of the bonus... oh no, because I find you pleasing to the eye..."
Morris ultimately failed to gain access to the Time-Turner, and the wreckage was recovered.
When he reported this to Professor McGonagall, she was extremely surprised.
"You mean the Time-Turner isn't working for you?"
"Yes, Professor."
Morris asked, "What about my electives next year?"
Professor McGonagall pondered for a few seconds. "This is indeed an unprecedented situation. Since the Time-Turner is ineffective for you, the most direct and reliable solution is to adjust your class schedule."
"I understand," Morris already had his answer ready, "Then please remove all courses except electives for me."
"?
Professor McGonagall paused for a moment.
She thought Morris was just joking a few days ago.
" Hogwarts has a strict curriculum," she said seriously. "It cannot be adjusted by students according to their preferences."
"Aren't there any exceptions?" Morris pressed. "Has no student ever done this before?"
Professor McGonagall rubbed her temples. "Even if there was, it was a long time ago."
"Then I can set a new precedent, Professor," Morris said earnestly. "I need more free time to study."
To be honest, those classes he attended were really useless; he might as well have squeezed out the time instead.
He skipped a lot of classes last year, which resulted in him losing a lot of House Points.
As it turned out, it had no effect on him.
After listening to Morris's words, Professor McGonagall fell into deep thought.
She could naturally understand her student's thoughts.
"Alright," she sighed, "Since you insist, I won't object, but it must be approved by the principal and your professors. Also, you must be number one in your grade every year."
"That's simple," Morris said matter-of-factly.
Ultimately, after some persuasion from Morris, he successfully obtained the privilege of skipping all basic courses. The process was easier than he had imagined.
Almost none of the professors who taught the course objected.
That makes sense.
After all, the professors knew that his learning ability was extremely terrifying, even to an exaggerated degree.
Geniuses always receive special leniency.
Hogwarts is not a rigid school.