[Regarding modifications to Hogwarts' learning and examination system, please don't nitpick for accuracy.š]
"Why is your reaction so intense?" Kasenhis asked, puzzled.
"Because I've seriously studied your thesis, and I've failed more than once. I even thought you hadn't fully written out the Enchantment Table technique, or that it was some kind of personal talent of yours... If I hadn't gotten lucky and succeeded once at the end..."
"And now you're telling me that two of your students have completely mastered the Enchantment Table? That they can even set up shop in Diagon Alley?" Ollivander said, clearly in disbelief.
"Hey, I never said they've set up shop in Diagon Alley. But I did leave them a storefront there," Kasenhis said smugly.
"Well then, I suppose it's about time old folks like us make way for the younger generation," Ollivander sighed.
"You can't put it that way. How about this, if you give them a bit of leniency, go easy on them, I'll teach you everything step by step," Kasenhis leaned in beside Ollivander and said quietly.
"My apologies, but that won't be necessary." Ollivander rolled his eyes. While he never denied that Kasenhis's achievements in alchemy surpassed his own by an absurd margin, leaving him, a businessman standing on the legacy of his ancestors, far behind, he was still the head of the Ollivander family, a man with genuine talent in alchemy. He had his pride.
Still...
Fortunately, Ollivander remained an interesting fellow.
Whether out of old friendship, or something else difficult to define, during the alchemy exams, he still gave the young wizards slightly higher scores.
ā¦
All praise to Ollivander.
After the exams ended, Hogwarts once again returned to that warm and relaxed atmosphere.
Of course, not everything was like that. Take Harry, for example.
At this very moment, Harry was in Grindelwald's office, being thoroughly tormented.
To be fair, before teaching Harry Occlumency, Grindelwald would explain everything very clearly. He made sure Harry understood why he needed to learn it, what benefits it would bring, and what kind of advantages he would gain. This kind of direct and equal conversation undoubtedly made Harry genuinely willing to learn Occlumency.
But setting feelings aside and looking at the facts...
Learning Occlumency was truly a miserable task.
Letting the power of Legilimency forcibly invade the mind, then relying on some vague, indescribable state to resist that force head-on.
Not to mention a fifth-year kid like Harry, even most adult wizards might not be able to endure it.
For example, Harry now had to down a whole bottle of Calming Draught every time he finished a one-on-one Occlumency session with Grindelwald, just to be able to sleep.
Still, the results were quite good. Thanks to the schemes of Grindelwald and Dumbledore, after learning Occlumency, Harry could block Voldemort'sēŖ„ę¢, yet at the same time, he could, to a certain extent, glimpse Voldemort's thoughts.
Perhaps these so-called thoughts were not Voldemort's true thoughts, but rather what Voldemort wanted Harry to believe were his thoughts.
Even so, it was enough for now.
At most, it turned into a series of psychological battles. Unlike the Death Eaters, who were practically all lunatics, Hogwarts was full of capable people, seasoned professors with years of experience.
If it came to mathematical logic, these old professors might struggle a bit. But when it came to psychological gamesā¦
Bro, did you really think the teachers couldn't see through those ridiculous or overused excuses you came up with?
Maybe their skills at mind games wouldn't amount to much in the Muggle world, but in the wizarding world, they were absolutely top-tier.
If you wanted to find someone even better, you'd probably have to go to Gringotts and look for a goblin working part-time as an investment broker.
And someone like Voldemort, a narrow-minded blood supremacist, would never admit that anyone could surpass him in any field, especially not when that "someone" wasn't even human.
Because of this, Harry had gained another daily task. He had to record every dream he had, at every moment, then hand them over to Dumbledore or Professor McGonagall and the other seasoned professors who had spent years outwitting students, letting them decipher the real intentions hidden behind Voldemort's dreams and deceptions.
When Kasenhis first learned that the Hogwarts professors had such an interesting activity, he even wanted to join in and study itā¦
But after he interpreted one of Harry's dreams as Voldemort wanting to turn into a werewolf on a full moon night and team up with Lupin to mess with Lucius Malfoy using some kind of hook, while forcing Narcissa to stand there and watch whether she liked it or notā¦
He was promptly kicked out of this "interesting" job.
"Ahā¦ what a pity." Kasenhis packed up his textbooks and headed toward the classroom.
OWLs weren't exactly what you'd call final exams. To put it more broadlyā¦ at least, that's how it was on his side.
It was like the biology and geography graduation exams in the second year of middle school. It had nothing to do with the end of term. It was simply a way to assess your magical level in advance, letting Hogwarts and the wizarding world understand the abilities of young wizards.
After the exams, the students packed up their things, tossed out their old revision materials, and headed off to new classrooms.
Because there was still a final exam waiting for them. Two major exams in a single term. It was honestly a bit absurd.
That said, Hogwarts wasn't completely devoid of compassion. For example, it still gave students time to consider which advanced classes they wanted to focus on in the next term.
Of course, if a student performed so poorly that not a single professor wanted them in their advanced class, then technically, after finishing fifth year, they could just step into society, find a job, and live out a quiet life. With a wizard's abilities, no matter how badly things went or how hard it was to find work, staying alive and maintaining basic living conditions would never really be a problem.
Still, that kind of situation was rare. Because no matter how poorly a student performed, even if they were worse than a troll, there would always be at least one subject at Hogwarts willing to accept them.
Professor Sprout's Herbology, and Professor Kasenhis's Alchemyā¦
That, in a way, was the greatness of Hufflepuff.
They would never reject a student because of their grades.
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