After Snape's latest round of sneering sarcasm, Lupin left his office.
He made a quick sweep of the study hall, then headed straight for Douglas Holmes's office.
"I can't help but feel it's odd," Lupin mused. "It always looks like Professor Snape is out to get Harry, but honestly, I think he's actually worried about him. Otherwise, how would he just happen to show up at the castle gates at the perfect moment?"
Sirius gave a derisive snort. "Worried? He's just looking for any excuse to catch Harry breaking the rules. The man's a petty, spiteful git. I'll never understand how Dumbledore lets someone like that teach."
Douglas chuckled. "Doesn't that just prove Professor Snape is responsible? He knows every rule by heart—well, alright, that's a stretch. But Remus, best not to meet with them alone for now.
I'm guessing the reason they were out so late is they learned something from Hagrid. Let's give them some space—see if they can handle Wormtail on their own. If they fall for his tricks, we'll step in."
Sirius scoffed. "With Wormtail's brains? Please. No way he could fool James's son, especially with that clever little witch at his side."
Douglas snorted. "Sure, Wormtail lacks brains—which is exactly why he managed to run circles around you lot back then."
As Sirius bristled, Lupin quickly changed the subject with a wry smile. "So, should I teach those two the Animagus counter-charm yet?"
Douglas shook his head. "No need. I've already told Professor McGonagall. She'll cover the spell during the Animagus review—anyone third year and up will get a chance to learn it."
By the second week of December, each Head of House had tallied up the students staying for Christmas.
After last year's fiasco with report cards being sent home, quite a few students chose to remain at Hogwarts over the holidays.
With only a week to go before final exams, the tension was palpable.
Especially among the fifth and seventh years—this year's finals were being called mock O.W.L.s and mock N.E.W.T.s, with the tests set by the Wizarding Examinations Authority. The goal was to see if the new curriculum was actually working.
The whole thing started when Douglas published an article in the Daily Prophet without first consulting the Ministry of Magic.
"The Meaning of Curriculum Reform"
As educators in the magical world, we must reflect on our reforms and build ourselves anew.
Hogwarts has stood for one thousand and three years, yet there has never been a unified standard for courses or textbooks—everything has been left to the whims of headmasters and professors.
The curriculum reform after these thousand years, led by the great Headmaster Dumbledore, is a far-reaching and profound change, recognizing the shortcomings of our traditions and boldly charting a new path…
To make it clear the Ministry was behind this reform, Fudge sent his own aides and officials from the Examinations Authority to oversee the finals, and the press made a great show of the Ministry's "vital role."
At breakfast in the Great Hall, most fifth and seventh years clutched their textbooks like lifelines.
George groaned, "Honestly, if it weren't for the signs in every classroom counting down—'O.W.L.s in 174 days'…"
Fred rolled his eyes. "I'd think the O.W.L.s were next week, looking at how jumpy Percy is."
George snickered. "He acts like if he aces this one, he'll walk right into a Ministry job."
At the other end of the Gryffindor table, Hermione nibbled her toast while firing off questions. Across from her, Neville squeezed his eyes shut and recited answers, sweat beading on his forehead. Ron flipped through his book, checking Neville's responses.
"Blimey, Neville, how'd you do that? Not a single mistake!"
Neville wiped his brow, grinning sheepishly. "I spent ages memorizing the textbooks. Professor Holmes said it'd help my memory.
And he promised that if I get an Outstanding in two subjects, he'll teach me swordsmanship next term. Just like Godric Gryffindor—sword in one hand, wand in the other…"
The students nearby stared at Neville in surprise.
Not far away, Colin piped up excitedly, "Professor Holmes promised me too! If I get Outstandings in three subjects, he'll show me how to make my camera fly and take pictures remotely—then I can get shots of Harry catching the Snitch!"
Scenes like this played out in every house and year—Douglas had made promises to students all over Hogwarts.
In Hufflepuff, students debated whether it was possible to gather lightning in their palms and zap their food, or conjure magical flames to cook it on the spot.
Ravenclaws discussed the magical device Douglas had shown them—drop a book inside, and it would become an audiobook. They all agreed: finally, they could listen to their textbooks while they slept.
Slytherins were abuzz about the so-called Dragon Balls. According to Professor Holmes, there were seven in total, to be awarded to the top student of each year. Each Dragon Ball could transform nearby materials into a giant python, perfect for binding enemies or blocking spells.
But if all seven holders truly trusted each other as brothers and cast a special incantation together, they could summon a magical dragon.
Of course, the Dragon Balls came with plenty of restrictions:
Even if the Dragon Balls sounded a bit gimmicky, they still held a strange allure for Slytherins. Some were already plotting: if they could summon a dragon, could they wipe out all of Gryffindor in one go?
Soon, exam week arrived.
To keep Hogwarts from embarrassing itself in front of the Ministry, Professor McGonagall asked Douglas to help contain Peeves, who'd been on a rampage ever since the "Peeves Cage Ball" incident.
For this, Douglas unveiled a new invention: a six-story Demon-Suppressing Tower—a magical structure he'd developed with Sirius and Lupin, based on the "Monster Locking Tower" principle from his system, but adapted to fit this world's magic.
Its core was made of Anti-Magic Stone, combined with arrays of magic circles and auxiliary spells. With a Shrinking Charm, the tower could be reduced to a ten-inch model; then, with Engorgio, Wingardium Leviosa, and a Binding Rope Charm, it could capture up to six targets and forcibly imprison them inside.
Of course, there were drawbacks: it could only catch all its targets at once, never more than six; once occupied, it couldn't be shrunk again; and to avoid being destroyed, it had to be stored somewhere saturated with magical energy—like Hogwarts.
But for Lupin and Sirius, the real problem was its utterly out-of-place appearance. They couldn't fathom why Douglas insisted on an Eastern-style pagoda in the middle of a medieval castle.
Still, the tower had its perks: spirits and ghosts caught inside couldn't simply pass through the walls, and ordinary wizards would have their magic forcibly suppressed by the Anti-Magic Stone. If a powerful wizard tried to force their magic, the runes etched into the floor would siphon it away.
To test the tower, Douglas had to sacrifice Peeves' freedom for a week.
One morning, students out for their run discovered a bizarre new building had appeared in the middle of the Hogwarts courtyard.
When asked, Lupin simply explained that it was a special structure for containing Peeves.
And as for this pagoda that clashed so spectacularly with Hogwarts' style—well, since Dumbledore hadn't said a word, none of the other professors dared complain.
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