Since the start of the term, Harry felt his attention was being pulled in six or seven directions—Quidditch, Dumbledore's biography, the student council, clubs... The difficulty of the seventh-year coursework was unrelenting, as if the professors had been waiting for this moment to cram every advanced piece of magical knowledge into them.
In Charm class, the excitable short-statured Professor Flitwick exclaimed in an exaggerated tone:
"My goodness! I'd like to list all the useful spells, but I'm afraid your little brains couldn't handle it!"
The students exchanged glances.
"But don't worry," he said cheerily, standing as usual on a stack of thick books. "I'll teach you something more practical, closer to the essence of spells... like the Storage Charm, which allows you to cast two completely different spells at once; or how to analyze and construct an unfamiliar spell, which will come in handy if you plan to invent spells in the future; or other advanced casting techniques, such as the sequence of applying different spells to the same target, how to reduce disturbances... and so on."
Potion class spared no one either. Harry felt like he was back in first year—after a failed attempt at brewing a Boil-Cure Potion during the first lesson, Snape had them practice the most basic potion-making techniques for several weeks.
The advanced students strived to meet Professor Slughorn's diverse demands every lesson, such as "reducing the toxicity of wolfsbane with rose petals and jumping mushrooms" or "maximizing the effect of valerian roots with limited ingredients"...
Even the new Transfiguration teacher, Emmeline Vance, raised new demands after getting familiar with her teaching duties: the seventh year would continue learning human transfiguration, attempting to combine transfiguration theory with various complex models for comprehensive application. After saying this, she transformed a feather into a bird, then the bird's long beak flattened, its feathers fell out, and soft, black down grew in, turning it into a Niffler. The students were amazed.
"It's just the appearance." Emmeline Vance said, "My lesson is not to be confined to the transfigurations we've learned before but to understand the effect you want to achieve."
Snape's attitude was the most unsettling for the students.Even in his favorite subject, his demeanor barely changed. In a recent Defense Against the Dark Arts class, Snape flipped the textbook to the very end. The students watched his every move, guessing which part of the content they would learn, but Snape turned to the last page and tossed the book aside.
"Today's lesson is an extension topic, you will find that exams won't cover this material." His dark eyes swept over the classroom, "This means, this class won't be much help to those just aiming for their N.E.W.Ts certificates. Anyone who doesn't want to listen or can't understand can come back next week."
No one left voluntarily. Despite everyone feeling slighted, as if they were being looked down upon, they were all determined to prove themselves. However, after the class, the students left the classroom dejected, evidently, none had met Snape's expectations.
"Do you know what's the most annoying part?" Dean said indignantly, "He actually suggested I use the free time to do something else... like go for a swim in the Black Lake or something."
"That's not surprising," Seamus said, holding back a laugh, "Your hair-loss hex almost hit him. Imagine—"
"But the seventh year's curriculum is indeed valuable, the advanced applications of various defense spells and dueling spells are dazzling," Daphne Greengrass chirped excitedly, "You can't imagine how magical it is to replace 'Impedimenta' with 'Totalus Halt'..."
On the last afternoon of September, Hermione came out of the dormitory holding a box and sat opposite Harry and Ron. They stared at the box, and Harry said without much hope, "Hermione, please don't tell me there are badges in there?"
"—And ones with ambiguous acronyms?" Ron added.
Hermione raised an eyebrow.
"Of course not!" She opened the lid and poured out its contents, a pile of thick clippings immediately stacking up on the table like a small mountain. Harry and Ron leaned in to look. "These are what I've collected over the past month since school started. Now I need to sort them out again."
"Like the categorization you did over the summer?" Harry asked.
"Mm-hmm," Hermione said.
"Can you tell anything from them?" Harry asked, he and Ron picked through the table, selecting content they found interesting to read.
Since school resumed, the clipping of news during the summer had stopped. Other students at most subscribed to one or two newspapers, except for Hermione—she subscribed to every newspaper and magazine she could collect. Every other week, the Granger parents
would send her a package filled with Muggle newspapers they could find.
"News always lags behind, but you can still gather some useful information. I must say, things change day by day," Hermione said, sorting through the pile, "Especially when read alongside the book 'Aiding the Publicization of Magic'..."
"You don't need to tell me," Ron muttered, "the whole world is changing, except for Professor Binns' class."
Harry's gaze landed on a small clipping. He read the neat printed font, "A new wizarding town's location has been decided in Cornwall, named Rutherford. Already, two hundred wizards have moved there. It is reported that Rutherford is adjacent to another mixed wizard-Muggle settlement—Dingworth Village. With the new town completed, the surrounding wizards will have more choices..."
Dingworth... Harry stared at the name, then suddenly asked Ron, "What was the name of the place where Bill and Fleur finally settled?"
"Shell Cottage," Ron said offhandedly.
"No, I mean the specific location."
"Oh, it's on a cliff by the sea in Cornwall," Ron said, reminiscing, "Bill told me in a letter—it's on the outskirts of a village, called... what was it?"
"Dingworth," Harry confirmed.
"Right, that's the one."
Harry nodded and continued reading the clipping, 'Rutherford will become the second entirely wizarding town in Britain, the first being Hogsmeade Village. Those involved in the construction include twenty-four workers and fifty-seven wizarding families deciding to settle there. Thanks to their contributions...'
Harry saw the Longbottom surname among a long list of names.
The second piece of news was a reprint in the "Daily Prophet" from a Muggle newspaper interview with an apparently influential individual criticizing commerce with wizards for disrupting existing business rules, suggesting they should be banned from certain industries... Harry put down the clipping, accustomed to the occasional opposition popping up, and picked up another small piece of paper.
Since the school year started, Harry felt like his attention was split into six or seven slices—Quidditch, Dumbledore's biography, the student council, clubs... The coursework for the seventh year was as challenging as ever, as if the professors had been waiting for this moment to dump all sorts of advanced magical knowledge on them.
During a Charms class, the excitable, short-statured Professor Flitwick exclaimed with exaggerated enthusiasm:
"Goodness me! I’d love to list all the useful spells for you, but I fear your tiny brains wouldn’t be able to hold them all!"
The students looked at each other, bewildered.
"But don’t worry," he said, his smile beaming as he stood on a pile of thick books as usual. "I'll teach you something more practical, closer to the essence of spells... like the Storage Charm, allowing you to cast two completely different spells at once; or how to analyze and construct an unfamiliar spell, which will be useful if you ever want to invent spells; or other advanced spell-casting techniques, such as the sequence of casting different spells on the same target, how to reduce interference... and so on."
Potion class was no exception. Harry felt like he was back in first year—after failing to brew a Boil-Cure Potion during the first lesson, Snape had them practice the most basic potion-making techniques for several weeks.
Advanced students strove to meet Professor Slughorn's various demands every class, such as "reducing the toxicity of monkshood with rose petals and jumping toadstools" or "maximizing the effects of asphodel with limited ingredients"...
Even the new Transfiguration teacher, Emmeline Vance, after getting used to her teaching duties, set new challenges for the students: on top of continuing human transfiguration, the seventh year would try to combine transfiguration theory with various complex models for practical application. She then transformed a feather into a bird, followed by the bird's beak flattening, its feathers falling out, and soft, silky fur growing in its place, turning it into a Niffler. The students were amazed.
"It’s just the appearance," Emmeline Vance said. "The lesson here is not to be constrained by the forms of transfiguration you’ve learned before, but to understand the effect you want to achieve."
Snape's approach was the most discomforting for the students.
Even in his favorite subject, his attitude barely changed. In a recent Defense Against the Dark Arts class, Snape flipped the textbook to the very end. The students watched his movements, trying to guess which part of the content they would learn, but Snape turned to the last page and then tossed the book aside.
"Today’s lesson is on an extension topic; you'll find none of this will be on the exams." His dark eyes swept across the classroom, "That means, this lesson won't be of much use to those who are just aiming to get their N.E.W.T.s certificates. Anyone who doesn’t want to listen or can’t understand can come back next week."
No one left. Despite feeling slighted as if being looked down upon, they were determined to prove themselves. However, after class, the students walked out of the classroom dejectedly, evidently, none had met Snape's expectations.
"Do you know what's the most infuriating?" Dean said angrily, "He actually suggested I use the free time to do something else... like go for a swim in the Black Lake or something."
"That’s not surprising," Seamus tried to hold back a laugh, "Your hair-loss hex nearly hit him. Just imagine—"
"But the curriculum for the seventh year is indeed valuable. The advanced applications of various defense spells and dueling spells are mesmerizing," Daphne Greengrass chirped excitedly, "You wouldn’t believe how magical it is to replace ‘Impedimenta’ with ‘Totalus Halt’..."
On the last afternoon of September, Hermione came out of the dormitory with a box and sat opposite Harry and Ron. They stared intently at the box, and Harry, without much hope, said, "Hermione, please don’t tell me there are badges in there?"
"—And ones with ambiguous acronyms?" Ron added.
Hermione raised an eyebrow.
"Of course not!" She opened the lid, spilling its contents onto the table—a mountain of thick clippings immediately piled up. Harry and Ron leaned in to look. "These are what I've collected over the past month since the start of school. Now, I need to sort them out again."
"Like the categorization you did over the summer?" Harry asked.
"Yes," Hermione confirmed.
"Can you make anything out from them?" Harry picked through the table, selecting content he found interesting to read.
Since the school year resumed, the clipping of news from over the summer had stopped. Other students at most subscribed to one
or two newspapers, except for Hermione—she had subscribed to every newspaper and magazine she could collect. Every other week, the Grangers would send her a package filled with Muggle newspapers they found.
"News is always a bit behind, but you can still gather some useful information. I must say, changes are happening day by day," Hermione said, sorting through the pile, "Especially when read in conjunction with the book 'Aiding the Publicization of Magic'..."
"You don’t have to tell me," Ron grumbled, "the whole world is changing, except for Professor Binns’ class."
Harry's gaze landed on a small clipping. He read the neat printed font, "A new wizarding town's location has been decided in Cornwall, named Rutherford. Already, two hundred wizards have moved there. It is reported that Rutherford is adjacent to another mixed wizard-Muggle settlement—Dingworth Village. With the new town completed, the surrounding wizards will have more choices..."
Dingworth... Harry stared at the name, then suddenly asked Ron, "What was the name of the place where Bill and Fleur finally settled?"
"Shell Cottage," Ron said offhandedly.
"No, I mean the specific location."
"Oh, it's on a cliff by the sea in Cornwall," Ron said, reminiscing, "Bill told me in a letter—it's on the outskirts of a village, called... what was it?"
"Dingworth," Harry confirmed.
"Right, that's the one."
Harry nodded and continued reading the clipping, 'Rutherford will become the second entirely wizarding town in Britain, the first being Hogsmeade Village. Those involved in the construction include twenty-four workers and fifty-seven wizarding families deciding to settle there. Thanks to their contributions...'
Harry saw the Longbottom surname among a long list of names.
The second piece of news was a reprint in the "Daily Prophet" from a Muggle newspaper interview with an apparently influential individual criticizing commerce with wizards for disrupting existing business rules, suggesting they should be banned from certain industries... Harry put down the clipping, accustomed to the occasional opposition popping up, and picked up another small piece of paper.
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