162: Rebellion and Examination


    The Minister of Magic, who was supported to take office, is a little rebellious. What should I do?


    A week before exams, John received a letter from Rufus Scrimgeour.


    In it, Scrimgeour imed he''d been busy with ministerial duties and had only just seen John''s letter.


    At that, a cold smirk appeared on John''s face.


    What nonsense. Letting it sit for days only to send a response like this?


    Between the lines, the message was clear: being newly appointed, he couldn''t afford to let anyone catch him slipping and had to handle matters strictly by the book.


    And what did that mean?


    Basically, Buckbeak''s head was as good as chopped off—even Merlin himself couldn''t save it, or so Scrimgeour implied.


    Was he throwing this in John''s face, thinking the title of acting Minister was some kind of honor?


    John didn''t bother replying or writing to anyone else. He simply filed the letter away with a nk expression.


    If Rufus wanted to "fly solo," John would let him fly as high as he dared.


    He wouldn''t humor him any further, so John ramped up his search for Peter Pettigrew.


    The Marauder''s Map was now running 24/7, and if Peter showed up, John would hunt him down.


    Feeling slightly better, John tossed the chew-toy wand for Tom to fetch.


    Sitting on thewn, John appeared unusually rxed.


    Daphne was too busy to cook now, which meant John could avoid her "dark cuisine" for a while.


    Since exams wereing up, sses had less going on, giving everyone plenty of time to review.


    John was fiddling with a badge in his hand;st time, he''d used it to contact Professor Snape.


    As a result, Snape learned about the Constttion Society.


    Not that it mattered—John hadn''t been trying to hide it.


    The badges allowed for mutualmunication, though the ninth one still hadn''t been assigned.


    Judging from Snape''s reluctance to wear the badge, it seemed he had no interest in joining the Star Society.


    And fair enough—what professor would join a student club?


    Besides, Snape had always been Dumbledore''s man. If he were to join anything, it would be the Order of the Phoenix.


    So, for now, the ninth badge had no owner, and John put it away.


    He wasn''t sure if Snape would tell Dumbledore about all this. Sirius ck remained hidden in the Forbidden Forest, and John checked on him every few days.


    For someone in confinement, Sirius was behaving quite well.


    <em>Compared to Azkaban, anywhere else was paradise, I guess.</em>


    Meanwhile, Hagrid was still fighting for Buckbeak, with Hermione helping by gathering information to aid in Buckbeak''s case.


    It was a mystery where Hermione found all that time. Given her studious nature, shouldn''t she be entirely buried in exam prep by now?


    John headed to the library, where students were already packed in, reviewing for exams.


    Only a few seats were left, and John nced over at the restricted section but decided not to go there.


    He was just there to return books. He''d borrowed several restricted books for quite a while and had already gone through all their contents.


    As he ced the stack of books down, he noticed Madam Pince''s eyebrows knotting up.


    Apparently, she hadn''t expected him to have borrowed so many restricted books.


    With the books returned, John settled into prepping for exam week.


    …


    <strong>A week passed.</strong>


    <strong>June 3rd.</strong>


    The first subject was Transfiguration, with tasks like turning a teapot into a turtle.


    Since John had an Arithmancy test after Transfiguration, he was scheduled to take the first slot.


    Entering the exam room, he saw Professor McGonagall overseeing the test.


    John took out his wand and, with a practiced flick, transformed the orange teapot before him into a slow-moving turtle.


    "Excellent work, Mr. Wick," Professor McGonagall praised with a smile.


    John nodded and proceeded to the next exam room.


    The Arithmancy professor, Septima Vector, was there.


    Embarrassingly, this was John''s first time meeting her in person.


    Professor Vector looked curiously at the student who had missed her ss for nearly the entire year. The exam consisted of a single piece of parchment and a quill.


    John passed the Arithmancy test.


    At lunchtime, he just grabbed some bread and water, but Daphne swapped his meal out for a te of <strong>mango pasta</strong>, so he reluctantly finished the yellowish dish.


    "Transfiguration this morning was so hard," Malfoy groaned, looking defeated. Transfiguration wasn''t his strength.


    Hearing this, John nced at Daphne. She was a top student and skilled at Transfiguration, so she had no trouble.


    In the afternoon came the Charms exam.


    Professor Flitwick looked eager, seemingly waiting to see if John would modify the Cheering Charm.


    John was paired with Goyle, and as soon as John cast the charm, Goyle startedughing uncontrobly while tears came out of his eyes.


    ''He won''t dieughing, right?''


    Goyle''s performance managed to bring John to tears.


    "Well done, Mr. Wick, excellent Cheering Charm. Goyle, you still need practice; at the very least, try to avoid turning it into a Crying Charm."


    Despite failing, Goyle walked out grinning as if he''d aced the test.


    After finishing his Charms exam, John headed to Ancient Runes, by far the easiest subject for him.


    Professor Bathsheba Babbling stared in shock, her mouth agape, as if doubting the difficulty of her own exam.


    With his level 5 proficiency in Runes, John was practically qualified to teach the subject himself.


    As he tranted the final passage, John wrapped up his first day of exams.


    He wasn''t nervous—just aimed to perform at his usual level.


    During dinner, Daphne leaned over, talking about how hard the exams were. But her expression barely hid that she was either the second or third highest scorer.


    Malfoy, on the other hand, lookedpletely defeated, knowing he still had training after exams.


    For concealing the missing wand''s truth, his punishment was the Sitama training sessions until the end of the term. Let''s see if he goes bald by then.


    ...


    <strong>The next day.</strong>


    John couldn''t quite understand Hagrid''s logic.


    After studying so many magical creatures, Hagrid''s final Care of Magical Creatures exam involved… caring for a Flobberworm, with the goal being that it was still alive an hourter.


    John gave Hagrid a look, thinking: Could you make it any more obvious you''re going easy on us?


    Even left alone, a Flobberworm wouldn''t die in an hour.


    This could be considered the only exam of the week where he didn''t need to think or do much.


    He even noticed Hagrid chatting with the trio while casually checking on the Flobberworms to see if they were still alive.


    In the afternoon, it was time for the Potions exam, and cries of despair echoed through the ssroom.


    At this moment, Malfoy seemed to perk up, casting smug nces at the whining Gryffindors—this was his home turf.


    The task was to brew a Confusing Concoction.


    This potion causes confusion in whoever drinks it. The biggest challenge was achieving the right thickness, but for John, it was straightforward and simple.


    He was the first to finish, handing his potion to Snape for inspection. Snape''s expression remained unreadable as he awarded John full marks without a word.


    John nced at Harry, who was still scratching his head, and wondered if he should give him a hint.


    <em>Hmm, maybe not.</em>


    <em>He is the Chosen One, after all—getting a hint might hurt his pride.</em>


    Feeling quite pleased, John left the ssroom.


    Later that evening, Astronomy ss was held on the rooftop of the tallest tower.


    It wasn''t far from the Divination ssroom.


    ...


    <strong>Day three of exams.</strong>


    History of Magic was as dull as ever, and John even began to suspect that Professor Binns had some sort of hypnotic spell.


    Despite his sleepless endurance, why did he feel so sleepy just from looking at that ancient, lifeless face?


    The exam content was just as boring as the lectures. He wrote down things about medieval witch hunts and called it a day.


    In the stifling ssroom, he couldn''t help but crave a scoop of nutty ice cream. Students hunched over, the scratching of quills filling the air.


    When it was time to hand in the parchment, Professor Binns had the same lifeless look, though technically, he was dead.


    The heat persisted through the afternoon Herbology exam. The greenhouse baked under the sun, and a Slytherin student nearly fainted.


    Once it was over, everyone fled the greenhouse, desperate for fresh air.


    ...


    <strong>Thursday, thest day of exams.</strong>


    Professor Lupin was still everyone''s favorite teacher, and his exam was the most enjoyable.


    An outdoor obstacle course.


    John passed through a pond with Grindylows lurking within, but they were so intimidated by him that they hid.


    In a pit full of Red Caps, not one dared to pop up.


    In the marshy ground, the Hinkypunk had already curled up into a ball, seemingly hoping John wouldn''t notice it.


    Finally, it was a battered old chest, and inside was a Boggart, which transformed into a chocte rice noodle roll that got swiftly pped back into the chest.


    "Keep Fruits And Choctes Out Of The Fucking Food!!"


    Thest two exams were Divination and Muggle Studies, and John didn''t even need any real prophecies; he aced them effortlessly.


    It was a rare, satisfying experience to be given a leg up like that.


    Before he left, Professor Trwney gave John a cryptic message: the prophecy was nearing.


    John paused, recalling the prediction he''d made at the start of term.


    After answering what a rubber duck is used for, Muggle Studies was also over.


    As John left the exam room, an owlnded on his arm with a letter from Hagrid.


    Buckbeak''s appeal had failed.


    "Looks like Scrimgeour is dead set on doing this."


    John stared at the note. Buckbeak''s incident was neither too serious nor trivial, and his attempt to get that Slytherin student to withdraw the im hadn''t worked.


    It was probably Rufus Scrimgeour''s doingst time, John had asked him to help save Hagrid; this time, he wanted to use Buckbeak to test "Johnny Silverhand" and n his next steps.


    "Heh, well-yed, he probably thinks Johnny Silverhand wouldn''t turn on him over a hippogriff."


    John chuckled coldly.


    In one phrase: it doesn''t hurt, but it''s disgustingly annoying.


    So....


    ____________


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