Chapter 239

“Great Green!”

Fred, wearing a hat embroidered with red and green stripes, bowed to En with a tip of his hat.

“So you’ve decided to come with us to the Burrow?”

George popped his head out from behind the portrait beside En.

En fell silent for a moment—Professor McGonagall had quickly agreed, and planned to take En to Diagon Alley over the summer to pick out some gifts.

She said the Weasleys were excellent wizards, with several outstanding Gryffindors among them.

But Professor Snape…

The professor was utterly swamped.

Literally—he was barely keeping up with his teaching schedule alone, and even when En went to the dungeons to brew potions, he left En under the watch of a Ravenclaw who had advanced in Potions.

Fortunately, he seemed to genuinely enjoy his role as Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, and despite his haggard appearance, he never deducted a single point from Gryffindor.

Especially Harry, who was nearly suffocating.

Previously, he only needed to watch out for two Potions classes; now he had to be cautious during four. He spent the entire day complaining to Ron about Professor Snape’s “abusive behavior.”

Yet under Professor Snape’s instruction, his Defense Against the Dark Arts had improved dramatically.

This made his perception of the professor even stranger—he didn’t seem like an excellent instructor, yet in certain ways, he was.

The knowledge he imparted, though not as scientific, engaging, or logically structured as the Green Notes, was vastly broader and reached depths the Green Notes could never attain.

And because the professor was so busy, En found no opportunity to ask.

One more thing—until now, Professor Snape seemed unaware of everything that had happened at the trapdoor; he had only spoken with Headmaster Dumbledore, and the headmaster appeared not to have mentioned the part involving the young wizards.

Outside the caretaker’s office.

“I’m sorry, I can’t decide right now.”

En lowered his head slightly.

“Great Green—your devotee is willing to wait a hundred years.”

Fred said with a mischievous grin.

En looked at the two of them without speaking. Only when Fred chuckled did they turn their attention to the doorknob of the caretaker’s office.

“Strange doorknob—can we replicate it, George?”

Fred tapped the doorknob; it shrieked and bit wildly, but Fred’s hand remained just beyond its reach.

En’s expression turned odd, and soon he heard Fred cry out in pain:

“Who improved this thing again! My hand’s been bitten through…”

“Good, now you’ve got a hole in your hand—just one more…”

George said cheerfully.

Before leaving, En suddenly realized the Weasleys hadn’t outwitted Mr. Filch in a long time.

The night sky beyond the castle was clear—a perfect night for stargazing.

Again, he entered the depths of the Forbidden Forest; the dense canopy above blocked all light. En felt eyes watching him.

His suspicion was quickly confirmed as Fang came running over, rubbing against his legs.

Then came Hagrid and Wuwu; Hagrid was feeding Wuwu, as he always did at this hour, giving the creature an extra meal.

After all, it was the first male Thestral in the forest—it naturally received more care from its keeper.

“En—looks like a good night!”

Though Hagrid couldn’t understand those mysterious astronomical concepts, when a friend had good fortune, he delighted as if it were his own.

“See you later, Hagrid.”

En nodded and took his leave of Hagrid.

The Centaur instructor was already waiting in the grove, gazing at the night sky.

Not far away, young Centaurs ran about; the elders of their tribe had gathered here to teach their juniors.

“The clouds obscure the planets’ paths—wait patiently.”

Firenze said.

En fell silent and waited alongside the Centaur.

From nearby came the noise of young Centaurs; Firenze spoke in a calm tone:

“Centaurs never interfere with the paths of fate-stars. We believe all is destined. We have followed this rule for a long time.

Foreseeing the future made us arrogant; we ceased to care for other life on this land. But one day, when all resisting life has vanished, the Centaur tribe will face great peril.”

His eyes shone blue.

“En, in the celestial sectors not obscured by clouds, Jupiter shines brightly—our meeting is no accident.

We are both solitary wanderers…”

Centaurs always spoke in mysterious, vague tones, as if their method of predicting fate-star omens demanded it.

En leaned against a large stone, gazing at the vast expanse of stars.

“Today, you will learn to judge planetary brightness.”

The Centaur instructor said.

Soon, En understood why astrology was unreliable.

Judging planetary brightness was affected by countless factors: clouds, seasons, the brightness of other planets.

Thus, relying solely on the naked eye to perceive planetary brightness was extremely inaccurate.

The Centaur instructor’s solution was:

“Rely on experience and intuition.”

En translated it: rely on talent.

【You practiced Divination Magic at an apprentice level. Proficiency +1】

This was his third successful attempt.

It seemed he had a slight talent.

“I believe you’ve found the guidance of your fate-star.”

Firenze, observing En, nodded.

Then they lit sage and lavender; as smoke rose, a wind swept through the Forbidden Forest, rustling the beech branches wildly and twisting the smoke into strange shapes.

So they waited again for the wind to cease, and the Centaur instructor told En that in different seasons, Centaurs chose different herbs to burn for different celestial sectors.

The material and condition of these herbs also affected the observation of fate-stars.

As he burned the herbs and observed the stars, En suddenly wondered: could this also be a form of ritual magic? An ancient and profound one?

…

Although his progress in Divination Magic was slow, whenever the moon was dim and the stars shone brightly, En always went to the Forbidden Forest to observe the night sky.

Bane, an older Centaur, occasionally came to capture curious young Centaurs and would snort coldly at Firenze.

Firenze was not popular among the Centaurs—he was even ostracized. Though he sighed about it, he remained resolute in his choice.

Thus, exam week arrived.

The weather was stiflingly hot; the exam hall was so hot it made wizards uncomfortable. Professors handed them new quills specially prepared for the exams, all enchanted with anti-cheating spells.

Though the exams seemed chaotic and overlapping, they could all be divided into two categories: theory and practical.

In the morning came the first practical exam.

Spellwork exam.