Today was the first day of official classes, and the atmosphere on campus was still somewhat lax; the students all looked listless and lazy.
But the moment everyone walked into the Transfiguration classroom, that laxness vanished instantly, because Professor McGonagall's expression was extremely severe—so severe that it made people wonder whether Gryffindor had once again lost a hundred and fifty points all at once.
Eda was also startled by Professor McGonagall's expression. She was sitting in the back row with George, and she shrank down, hiding behind Angelina, carefully searching through her memories.
Only after a moment did Eda dare to sit up straight—she was certain now that she hadn't done anything out of line recently. Professor McGonagall's expression was definitely not aimed at her.
The students, unclear about what was going on, looked at one another.
Although Professor McGonagall was always strict, it was only the beginning of the school year—surely it couldn't be that bad! They then turned to look at Eda in the back row, and were surprised to find that she was sitting perfectly straight, with no fear on her face at all.
This only left everyone even more confused.
What was going on with Professor McGonagall today? Dead or alive, just give them a straight answer—don't keep dragging it out!
Just as the students were letting their thoughts run wild, the class bell rang. Everyone was finally relieved—the moment of judgment had at last arrived.
Professor McGonagall swept her gaze over the students in the classroom and said in a heavy tone, "Just a moment before entering the classroom, you were still acting lax and idle. It seems you haven't realized at all what kind of year this will be. Who can tell me what awaits you this year?"
"O.W.L.s. We'll be taking the O.W.L. exams this year," Eda answered proactively. When Professor McGonagall asked a question, Eda had to help keep the class going.
The students in the classroom still had not realized how serious the situation was. Yes, they were going to take exams, but they still had a whole academic year before the exams!
Fred and George even had the leisure to joke around. Fred imitated the hooting of an owl, while George made squeaking noises, just like an owl hunting mice at night.
But people as audacious as the twins were, after all, not that many, so the classroom did not erupt into laughter as it usually did.
Professor McGonagall merely glanced at the twins, and Fred and George immediately fell silent.
"Gryffindor loses five points," Professor McGonagall continued. "O.W.L.s—Ordinary Wizarding Levels—are one of the most important examinations of your lives. Your results will affect your sixth- and seventh-year courses, and in turn affect your employment prospects after graduation."
Given Hogwarts' rather dismal employment rate, the importance of the wizarding level exams was not particularly obvious, since many outstanding graduates still ended up with less-than-ideal jobs.
The wizarding world simply did not have that many positions, and witches and wizards were generally long-lived, which resulted in far more candidates than available posts.
Each year, the number of vacancies could not meet the number of Hogwarts graduates.
But looking at it from the other side, these exams were also very important, because many desirable jobs in the wizarding world required specific O.W.L. and N.E.W.T. certificates as a stepping stone.
For example, if you wanted to become a Healer at St Mungo's, you needed to achieve at least an "E" in the exams for Potions, Herbology, Transfiguration, Charms, and Defence Against the Dark Arts.
The same applied to working at the Ministry of Magic. In addition, you might also need to take other exams or attend training programs.
Take Nymphadora Tonks as an example: after graduating from school, she used her exam certificates as a stepping stone to apply for Auror training. Only after completing the training program could she become an Auror under the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.
The two wizarding level exams, nicknamed "O.W.L.s" and "N.E.W.T.s," were like tickets for a ship in life. Only with a ticket were you qualified to board, but how far that ship could take you depended entirely on your own ability.
Of course, if you had a father like Lucius Malfoy, or a grandmother like Vinda Rosier, then even without that ticket you could still live comfortably. Living off your ancestors' wealth and idling away your days—nothing could be simpler than that.
Professor McGonagall walked down the aisles between the desks, continuously emphasizing the importance of O.W.L.s. She hoped that everyone would start taking things seriously from this very moment and make thorough preparations for the exams next June.
"I believe you now fully understand the importance of these exams. The more certificates you earn, the more choices you will have in your future career," Professor McGonagall said as she returned to the podium. "In addition, I must add that my advanced Transfiguration class only admits students who achieve an 'E' or above in the exams."
The atmosphere in the classroom grew somewhat heavy. At fifteen or sixteen years old, they felt an unprecedented pressure, as if the weight of life had suddenly been placed upon their still-young shoulders.
Putting pressure on students was only meant to make them nervous and alert, not to crush them, so Professor McGonagall did not say any more and began the first lesson of the new school year.
However, the effect of this class was not very good. The unprepared students, having suddenly heard such "bad news," could not recover right away, and spent the entire lesson in a daze.
At long last, the class ended, and the delicious lunch slightly soothed everyone's wounded spirits—but the afternoon lessons delivered another heavy blow.
Even darker than the dungeon classroom was Snape's sallow, waxy face. Standing in the shadows of the podium, what he said was even more frightening than Professor McGonagall's words. Moreover, Snape's advanced Potions class only accepted students with an "O" grade. This meant that next year's Potions lessons would probably be attended jointly by all four houses.
Eda felt that by this time next year, whether the number of students in that classroom could even reach double digits would be an open question.
Potions did not require you to wave a wand, nor did it demand memorizing what happened where hundreds of years ago, yet its difficulty was not low at all. Potions required not only mastering the subject itself, but also having a solid grasp of Herbology.
The most crucial factor was still Snape himself.
He was indeed an outstanding Potions master, but he was not a qualified teacher.
Snape's attitude toward students was deeply problematic, especially when they were young—students with less mental resilience were very prone to developing resistance, such as Neville Longbottom, or Harry Potter.
On top of that, Snape carried the philosophy of "the master leads you to the door, but cultivation depends on yourself" to its extreme. However, this approach did not suit every student in the classroom. Not everyone had talent in Potions, and not everyone could force themselves to study and understand this somewhat tedious subject.
After the first day of classes, the fifth-year students of all four houses were completely listless.
The sudden increase in pressure left them struggling to breathe, and the harsh requirements for enrolling in advanced classes dealt them a devastating blow.
Everyone regarded fifth year as a living hell, unaware that by the time they reached seventh year, they would realize just how easy fifth year actually was.
In the Great Hall, compared with the fifth- and seventh-year students, those in the remaining years were in much better spirits. They were all discussing the same thing—an accident had occurred in Hagrid's Care of Magical Creatures class, where a hippogriff had injured a student.
This was Hagrid's very first lesson, and Harry was attending it as well. Hagrid hoped to leave everyone with a good impression. It was precisely because of this mindset that he did not choose relatively gentle magical creatures like flobberworms or nifflers, but instead went with the far more thrilling hippogriffs.
The first half of the lesson could be considered a great success. With Harry's help, Hagrid and his class sparked tremendous interest among the students.
Unfortunately, Draco Malfoy had also chosen this course. How could young Master Malfoy possibly watch Scarhead steal the spotlight while he himself remained idle?
As for the outcome, the entire school already knew—young Master Malfoy had been injured by the hippogriff Buckbeak.
Although many people believed Malfoy had brought it upon himself and deserved it, everyone knew this matter would not end well, and at the very least, Buckbeak would not have a good ending.
When forced to choose between a powerful, influential wizard and a magical creature, right or wrong, guilt or innocence, did not matter—the outcome had been decided from the very beginning.
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