On the last day of the Easter holidays, Mrs. Norris gave birth to seven kittens.
Ordinary cats typically have a two-month pregnancy, but with Kneazle blood in her lineage, Mrs. Norris had carried them for over six months!
The litter consisted of four ginger kittens and three tortoiseshell ones, each inheriting the coloring of either Boba Tea or Mrs. Norris.
The kittens were adorable, but William didn't have the energy, or resources, to care for all of them. Four ginger cats, plus Boba Tea? Feeding them alone would bankrupt him! Naturally, he planned to give them away.
Fortunately, all seven kittens had already been claimed. Nicolas Flamel's wife, Perenelle, had mentioned wanting a cat two Christmases ago, so one was reserved for her.
Annie, Ginny, and Luna frequently visited William's dormitory under the pretense of "checking on the kittens," only to shamelessly help themselves to his stash of snacks and comic books. They had each chosen a kitten well in advance.
Hermione also selected a tortoiseshell kitten, firmly refusing to take a ginger one that resembled Boba Tea.
Professor McGonagall, thrilled by the prospect of adding to her feline collection, also claimed one. As a self-professed cat lady, she was partial to cats that looked like Boba Tea and picked a ginger kitten.
Even Filch was in line to receive one. After all, it seemed only fair to reserve a kitten for him. However, this needed to be handled delicately.
Ever since the attack, Filch had been in a daze for months. After the basilisk was defeated, he had recovered but lost a significant amount of vitality and was currently recuperating in the hospital wing.
Filch didn't even know Mrs. Norris had been pregnant, let alone that she'd already given birth! By the time he was discharged, the kittens would be running around.
Such a revelation might be too much for him to handle.
William planned to lie low with Boba Tea for a while after Filch returned, lest the cat get caught and face drastic consequences, permanently separating him from Mrs. Norris.
Mrs. Norris nursed the kittens for two months before abruptly stopping and shooing them away, forcing them to fend for themselves.
Thus, the kittens dispersed to their new owners. Except for the one sent to Nicolas Flamel's estate, the rest stayed on school grounds.
For a long time afterward, students often saw Mrs. Norris strutting proudly through the corridors, followed by six tiny kittens.
As June arrived, so did the dreaded end-of-term exams.
Many students were in agony, thanks to a rumor that had been circulating.
Supposedly, due to the attacks earlier in the term, exams would be canceled. However, professors wanted to keep students motivated, so the announcement would only come at the last minute.
Many believed it.
Countless students had even asked the professors, only to be told exams were indeed happening, and they shouldn't slack off.
This only fueled the belief that the rumor was false.
The attacks had ended before Easter, leaving over a month until exams, of course, they weren't going to be canceled.
William eventually discovered the rumor had originated in Slytherin House.
And the source? Professor Snape.
Displeased with Slytherin being dead last in house points, Snape had deliberately spread the false rumor, hoping to sabotage the other houses' grades and salvage some dignity for his own. A truly cunning snake!
Hermione, by contrast, was thoroughly delighted. She had already reviewed her materials several times, starting her revision schedule right after Christmas break.
During the Easter holidays, she even visited Annie's dormitory every morning to drag her to the library to study.
As far as Hermione was concerned, since William was top of their year, and she was top of her year, it was only logical that Annie should be too.
She even created a seven-round revision schedule for Annie, insisting that William strictly supervise her progress.
Annie, meanwhile, spent her nights teaching her kitten, Pineapple, how to beat up Hermione's cat, Ginger Tea.
Exam week began, and an unusual hush fell over the castle.
On Monday, third-years emerged from their Transfiguration exam looking pale.
The practical component was particularly challenging. Professor McGonagall had tasked them with transforming teapots into kittens.
Her new "model cat" for demonstrations was the ginger kitten she had adopted.
With a flick of his wand, William conjured an identical kitten and earned full marks from McGonagall.
Most students, however, ended up transforming their teapots into sharp-nosed mice.
McGonagall's ginger kitten gleefully chased the mice around the classroom, causing chaos.
In Charms, Professor Flitwick tested them on a hiccup-curing spell, designed to stop someone from incessantly hiccupping.
Marietta took it a step too far and accidentally turned Cho's hiccups into full-blown asthma.
Cho spent the rest of the exam coughing violently, nearly hacking up a lung.
On Tuesday morning, Professor Kettleburn hosted the Care of Magical Creatures exam.
He instructed the students to collect the fluid secreted by Clabberts.
It was a simple task since many students had begun using Clabberts as alarms after the attacks. Soon, the air was filled with the fragrance of heather blossoms.
After the exam, the students applauded and bid farewell to Kettleburn, who struggled to hold back tears, clearly reluctant to retire.
Hagrid, watching from the sidelines and hoping to pick up a few pointers, grew increasingly nervous.
Nonetheless, Kettleburn retired, and Dumbledore gifted him a complete set of enchanted wooden prosthetics.
That afternoon, they sat for their Potions exam. Professor Snape spent the majority of the session hovering around William.
The two occasionally exchanged glances. While brewing his potion, William subtly held up four fingers, signaling a potential 60-40 profit split.
Snape, however, countered by holding up two fingers, implying the deal would only go through if William sold the materials at 20% below market price.
What an audacious negotiator Snape was, truly worthy of Merlin's cunning!
The deal fell through for the moment. William decided to focus on his potion-making instead.
Before leaving, Snape sneered and scrawled something in William's notebook. It suspiciously looked like a perfect score.
William nodded with satisfaction. Despite their haggling, Snape's gesture showed there was still room for future negotiations.
On Wednesday morning, they had their History of Magic exam. William breezed through the essay question about the founding of the International Confederation of Wizards.
Since William had chosen all available subjects, some of his exams overlapped. He had to request separate scheduling for a few of them.
Professor Trelawney was not pleased with him as William had skipped most of her classes.
However, Dumbledore seemed to have had a word with her. After William spun some creative nonsense in front of her crystal ball, she grudgingly gave him high marks.
On his way out, William caught a glimpse of several crates of sherry piled up in Trelawney's storage room.
What a shameless drunkard!
A week later, the exam results were announced, and William was once again top of the year.
At the end-of-year feast, Ravenclaw retained the House Cup.
This was no surprise. Thanks to the Chamber of Secrets incident, Dumbledore had awarded 200 points each to William and Harry, catapulting Ravenclaw and Gryffindor far ahead of the other houses.
In addition, William, Cho, and Cedric were each awarded 50 points for alerting the professors about the beast attack.
With William and Cho's combined points alone, Ravenclaw had outpaced Slytherin.
Professor Snape skipped the feast entirely. Rumor had it he was feeling unwell, though some students speculated he was sulking after another year of Ravenclaw dominance.
The school year finally came to an end.
The next morning, everyone boarded the Hogwarts Express.
William and his friends claimed a large compartment to themselves.
At one point, Malfoy came to see Harry, ostensibly to bid farewell before summer break, or perhaps confess his... Ahem, say goodbye.
After all, the next time they'd meet would be in two months.
The exchange, however, was far from cordial.
Harry had used Tom Riddle's diary to free the Malfoy family's house-elf, Dobby, leaving Draco seething with rage.
"If I had my wand, I'd teach him a lesson!" Malfoy stormed off.
Afterward, Ron exclaimed loudly, "If I had my wand, I'd take care of Malfoy myself!"
During the Chamber of Secrets incident, Harry had shoved Ron's wand into his mouth to stop him from biting his tongue. The wand was now irreparably damaged.
"I'll buy you a new one," Harry offered apologetically.
"No need," Ron said, blushing. "That wand was already faulty. Hopefully, Mum and Dad will get me a new one this summer."
"I thought you wanted a pet?" Harry asked, puzzled.
"No, I've got Scabbers," Ron said, pulling the rat from his pocket.
Scabbers had returned after months of being missing. Everyone had assumed he was dead, but he had been hiding in Neville's shoes the entire time.
Ron held Scabbers by the tail and swung him in circles.
"Scabbers loves this game. Look how happy he is!" Ron said, increasing the speed.
Harry watched with a twitching eyelid, was convinced Scabbers' tail would snap off any second.
It didn't.
…
Meanwhile, Annie, Luna, and Ginny were busy dressing up their kittens. Luna even hung her carrot-shaped earrings on one kitten and asked, "Are you going to the Burrow this summer?"
"No," Annie said, shaking her head. "We're going on holiday to France with Hermione's parents. We probably won't be back until the end of summer."
Luna looked disappointed, clearly nostalgic about last summer's adventures.
Cedric and Cho, sitting nearby, were poring over maps and planning William's family's trip to France.
"You must watch the French Quidditch League Cup! There's a match during the holidays," Cho said, enthusiastically marking spots on the map.
"And don't forget the wand-making shops. Their craftsmanship is incredible," Cedric added.
"Wand-making isn't that exciting," Cho countered.
"How can you say that? It's an art!" Cedric argued passionately.
William and Hermione exchanged glances. If necessary, they were ready to vacate the compartment and let Cedric and Cho settle the debate with a duel.
Out of nowhere, Hermione asked, "Should we visit Beauxbatons Academy?"
"Why would we do that?" William asked, puzzled. "No one's there during summer."
Hermione popped a mint into her mouth, her cheeks puffing as she grumbled through the candy, "Fine, we'll wait until term starts!"
William smirked but said nothing.
"I've been thinking about becoming an exchange student," Hermione said softly, her voice hesitant. "I want to see other magical schools."
"Then go for it. With your grades, any school would accept you as an exchange student."
"But I'm scared of unfamiliar places," Hermione admitted, her tone quiet. "I know I'm not good at making friends. If I'm alone, it'll be hard…"
"That's easy," William said, tapping the edge of his seat with a dazzling smile. "Once you've chosen a school, I'll apply to be a professor there after I graduate."
"Really?" Hermione tilted her head, looking at William with warmth in her eyes. "Then you'd be my teacher?"
"Sure. I'm already your private tutor, aren't I? Just call me Professor Stark."
"Though you should worry about something else," William added with a grin. "Like whether a school would even hire someone fresh out of Hogwarts."
"Of course they would!" Hermione propped her chin on her hand, a proud smile playing on her lips. "With Professor Stark's talent, every school would compete to hire you!"
"So if I go abroad, you have to follow me," Hermione said firmly. "Don't leave me to face a strange place alone."
William nodded, looking at Hermione as if lost in thought.
A gentle breeze wafted through the compartment, carrying a faint, sweet fragrance.
William reached out to smooth the stray strands of Hermione's brown hair that danced across her forehead.
Together, they gazed out at the sky beyond the window.