With exams approaching, Duelling Club activities were temporarily suspended.
The students from Durmstrang would also be taking their examinations directly at Hogwarts.
Recently, Grindelwald had become quite elusive. Apart from his daily routine of sending various gifts to Ariana, he spent most of his time away from Hogwarts, seeking out Dumbledore instead.
This period was undoubtedly the most enjoyable time of his life - freed from the constraints of the greater good and having resolved his grievances with Dumbledore.
They were once again immersed in magical research wholeheartedly, just like during that summer when they were seventeen.
They shared only one goal: to reach the Legend realm and not fall too far behind Wayne.
After all, where would their pride be otherwise?
As the most exceptionally talented geniuses of this century, both Grindelwald and Dumbledore had their own unique insights into the fields Wayne had taught them. The collision of their thoughts sparked numerous inspirations, leading to significant progress.
They shared a common feeling - making breakthroughs in magic had become much easier than before, and this wasn't solely due to their unreserved exchange of ideas with each other.
It was also due to changes in the world.
These changes had shown signs years ago, but they had become increasingly apparent recently.
The turning point... was around the time when Wayne successfully broke through to the Legend realm.
By late May, the pressure from exams was mounting, and increasingly peculiar behaviours began to emerge.
Some would suddenly shout in the quiet library, then run out laughing before Madam Pince could even chase them away. Others enjoyed talking to themselves in the toilets, frightening young wizards in adjacent stalls who dared not stand up for half an hour, until their legs grew numb from sitting too long.
Ernie Macmillan enjoyed asking others about their revision schedules.
"How many hours do you revise each day?" he asked Harry and Ron while queuing outside the Herbology class.
"A few hours?" Ron said uncertainly.
"I usually revise for eight hours," Macmillan said proudly. "One hour before breakfast, one hour at noon, two hours before dinner, and four hours before bed. Even more on weekends."
Both Harry and Ron looked rather uncomfortable—combined, their revision time didn't even match Ernie's.
Especially Ron, who had recently started dating Lavender Brown. Harry often couldn't find him, leaving little time for revision.
"Why don't you ask Hermione?" Ron resorted to using their house's top student to suppress Macmillan. "Hermione has the virtual helmet Wayne gave her and uses it for two hours every day. Converted, that's much longer than your time."
Now it was Macmillan's turn to feel awkward.
Fortunately, Professor Sprout arrived at the entrance of Greenhouse Three, ending the awkward conversation.
After that, Macmillan changed his approach.
"What? You're revising for eight hours? Three hours a day is plenty for this material, don't push yourself too hard."
"Five hours is too much as well. Taking it easier can help maintain better focus."
Before anyone realised, a trend had swept through Hogwarts - competing over who revised less, as if that indicated greater confidence about the exams.
But secretly, many were hiding under their bedcovers using Lumos charms to read their textbooks.
"Parvati, how long did you revise yesterday?"
"And you, Hannah?"
"I slacked off, only revised for two and a half hours before playing chess with Susan."
Their conversation happened to be overheard by Professor McGonagall and a white-haired elderly woman. Professor McGonagall looked stiff, but the old woman smiled, though it appeared rather sinister.
"Minerva, it seems your students are quite confident about passing their exams."
"Madam Marchbanks." Professor McGonagall smiled weakly. "They simply have too much homework, which naturally reduces revision time, but the outcome is the same."
This was complete nonsense. At this final stage, professors had stopped assigning homework entirely, only distributing mock papers for students to identify their own weaknesses and revise accordingly.
Madam Marchbanks gave a noncommittal smile. This wasn't her first time as an examiner - she had even invigilated Dumbledore's graduation exams back in the day. How could she not know Hogwarts' habits?
"Alright then, where's that little Lawrence? Being both Headmaster and examinee, why hasn't he shown his face since I arrived?"
She seemed somewhat hard of hearing, speaking loudly enough for many to overhear, drawing curious glances from around.
"He's been busy with his own affairs, but he certainly won't miss the exams. Shall I fetch Dumbledore for you?" Professor McGonagall asked cautiously.
"No need. I've always said he'd be better off as Minister for Magic, to stop those fools from messing things up." Madam Marchbanks shook her head. "Let school people handle school matters. The exams don't properly start until tomorrow anyway, no need to rush."
The two gradually walked away, followed by over a dozen other examiners from the Ministry of Magic's Examination Office - people who only worked these few days each year, leading rather leisurely lives.
...
By evening, Wayne, who had been absent for over a month, finally reappeared.
He wore white wizard's robes today, embroidered with gold thread at the cuffs and edges, looking quite solemn.
However, Grindelwald didn't appear, most likely still with Dumbledore, leaving all student matters under Vinda Rosier's management.
During this period, Professor McGonagall and Rosier had developed a sense of shared suffering. Dealing with two absentee leaders had kept them constantly busy.
Particularly for Professor McGonagall, having two consecutive superiors like this had begun to give her thoughts of staging a coup.
'If I'm doing all the work anyway, whether I'm Headmaster or not, why shouldn't I take the position myself? Why should I work for someone else?'
Completely unaware that Professor McGonagall was contemplating rebellion, Wayne was conversing with Madam Marchbanks.
"Professor Marchbanks, I didn't expect you'd arrive today."
"Just a day early. I've heard you've made quite a stir at the school—I know all about it. Excellent work, much better than Dumbledore's." Madam Marchbanks beamed, clearly very pleased with Wayne's reforms.
While praising Wayne, she couldn't resist taking a swipe at Dumbledore and the Ministry of Magic.
"All those young people acting like they're in their dotage, lacking ambition. Can't they see the average exam scores declining every year?"
"If this continues, we'll barely have any qualified students graduating."
Wayne maintained his smile and listened without comment, waiting for her to finish venting before saying, "Hogwarts' reforms have only just begun. In a few years, I might even modify the examination rules themselves."
Marchbanks froze. Had anyone else said this, she would have dismissed it as a joke.
The two examination systems had existed for centuries. She had long wanted reform, but the resistance was too great.
Yet these words came from Wayne Lawrence...
When he set his mind to something, no one in the wizarding world could stop him.
"We'll have a proper chat after the exams," Marchbanks said, not wanting to hear any earth-shattering suggestions that might affect her invigilation focus tomorrow.
They agreed to discuss it in detail the day after the OWL examinations concluded, thus dropping the subject.
"Hermione, drink this before tomorrow's exam."
After the feast, Wayne found Hermione and handed her a vial of Invigoration Draught.
"Eh?" Hermione stared blankly. "Isn't using potions before exams considered cheating?"
"This is just a simple Invigoration Draught to help you take the exam in your best condition. I've already asked Professor Marchbanks, and she confirmed it's perfectly fine. Don't worry."
Only then did Hermione happily accept it, while the surrounding fifth-year students were already wide-eyed with excitement. Seventh-year students soon gathered around, too.
"Headmaster, are there more of these potions? I'll pay ten Galleons!" Everyone was desperate to earn extra certificates.
Seeing the crowd surrounding him, Wayne didn't take advantage to inflate prices.
"If you want some, come to the Great Hall early tomorrow morning. One Galleon per vial - cost price."
"Long live the Headmaster!"
"Wayne, I love you!"
The cheers startled professors who had already left. Professor McGonagall even came back specifically to check what was happening. After understanding the situation, she confirmed with Marchbanks before feeling reassured.
Back in the dormitory, Toby and Norman began their ritual to summon academic spirits.
Reportedly taught by a sixth-year student who swore he'd passed six exams last summer purely because he'd summoned the spirits of past Hufflepuff academic geniuses to possess him, granting him divine assistance.
Wayne watched with amusement, even bringing out his treasured portrait of Merlin for them to worship.
During breakfast the next morning, he was surrounded by examinees from both year groups. It was only with Cho and Astoria's help that the potions were distributed at maximum speed.
Even Cedric bought one.
"Are you worried you won't perform well?" Wayne asked, looking at him strangely.
Cedric yawned, downing the potion with his eyes closed. "My roommate went mad with that spirit-summoning ritual last night. Couldn't sleep properly."
The twins beside them froze, speaking simultaneously: "They were summoning spirits, too?"
Wayne's expression turned peculiar. "Don't tell me Diggory told them about it, too?"
"That's the one!"
After breakfast, other students went to classes while the fifth and seventh years lingered in the entrance hall. At half past nine, they were called into the Great Hall to begin their two-week examination period.
Theory exams in the morning, practicals in the afternoon. The first exam was Charms, with over a dozen witches and wizards moving between desks and chairs. Every inch of the hall was enchanted with anti-cheating spells, but these only prevented magical cheating, not physical methods.
Last year, a girl had written exam content somewhere... private, but her excessive padding was immediately spotted by professors. Fortunately, she wasn't disqualified, though her painstakingly prepared notes were thoroughly washed away.
Soon, the two-and-a-half-hour written exam concluded. Wayne and Hermione walked out of the examination hall, compared answers, and Hermione steadied her nerves.
"I thought I'd written the counter-charm for the Hiccupping Jinx as the spell for the Itching Charm – it scared me to death," Hermione said with lingering fear.
Time passed day by day, with each day completing one subject's examination content. The first week consisted of core subjects, keeping everyone exceptionally busy.
But by the second week, students began finishing their exams early one after another.
Only those like Wayne and Hermione, who had taken many optional courses, had to persist until the very last day with Arithmancy to achieve complete success.
On the penultimate day, during the Care of Magical Creatures exam, Newt brought a group of recuperating unicorns for the students to prepare healing potions and food for them.
He called Wayne aside.
"Wayne, I'm thinking of leaving Hogwarts next term."
Wayne was taken aback, not expecting Newt to still want to resign after teaching for a week.
"Senior, haven't you been doing quite well? Why do you want to leave again?"
"The world is at peace, and it's time for me to retire," Newt said with a reserved smile. "Hagrid has been idle for a term already – he's perfectly capable of handling this job."
Wayne pondered for a moment before ultimately refusing:
"Sorry, I still don't agree with your resignation. Don't be hasty – let me finish."
Seeing Newt about to speak, Wayne preemptively interrupted him.
"Senior, this world is about to become turbulent again. Isn't it safer to remain at Hogwarts?"