[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-hogwarts-learning-panel":3,"chapter-hogwarts-learning-panel-hogwarts-learning-panel-chapter-44":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Hogwarts Learning Panel",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2250282,4210,"Chapter 44: The Wizard","hogwarts-learning-panel-chapter-44",44,"\u003Cp>“Merlin, why is this? Because it’s strange?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Justin’s pale gray eyes revealed confusion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that moment, a strong gust of wind came from the window, shaking the magical lantern hanging on Justin’s wall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He poked Wizard Sean and Hermione, rousing them from their reverie.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hermione frowned slightly, cheeks puffed, about to say something,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>when she saw Justin staring in shock, his hand pointing out the window.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Beside the ancient, three-sided wall, a figure shot toward the castle like lightning,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>sweeping past the open fan-shaped arch window, stirring a roaring gale,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>the broomstick’s tip still glinting in the sunlight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Because it’s cool… I get it now.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Justin’s whisper was carried off by the wind, but the eagerness in his eyes was unmistakable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Don’t even think about it, Justin… First-years are strictly forbidden to fly brooms without permission. Haven’t you memorized the school rules?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hermione’s quiet words shattered the blond boy’s fantasy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Huh?!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Justin stood frozen like a stump, utterly stunned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Don’t tell me you came to school without learning the rules.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hermione wasn’t captivated by the older wizard who had just flown by on a broom—she was more concerned with the bewildered little Hufflepuff,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Good heavens, if you haven’t memorized the rules, how can you possibly avoid breaking them?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I didn’t know… I thought Hogwarts wouldn’t be this strict…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Justin was momentarily speechless,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>and instinctively turned to Wizard Sean.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Wizard Sean, have you memorized the school rules?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wizard Sean’s nod plunged Justin’s gaze into utter gloom.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In fact, to ensure he could stay at Hogwarts, Wizard Sean had memorized the rules backward and forward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hermione was right—first-year students were forbidden from flying brooms on their own, but with Madam Hooch’s permission, it was different.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though few first-years managed it, there was always hope.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Really… here.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hermione placed a brown-covered book with gold trim into Justin’s arms, its pages filled with precise notes,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>and the Hufflepuff’s dim eyes brightened again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He clutched *Hogwarts: A History*, then heard Hermione murmur, “Idiot.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Also, wizards don’t use magic brooms just to look cool…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hermione turned the page of *Quidditch Through the Ages*,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>and the three small heads leaned in together again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>{Throughout history, wizards have understood that\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>if their Muggle neighbors learned the full extent of their abilities, those Muggles would find ways to exploit them,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>so if wizards wished to possess a means of flight in their homes,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>such a thing had to be discreet, something easily concealed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What happened next is well known}\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So they chose brooms?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Justin hadn’t expected this answer, but quickly nodded in understanding,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If my neighbor were a wizard, I’d find it hard not to want to know everything about them.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Afternoon sunlight slanted through the fan-shaped arch window, dividing the small classroom into warm patches of light and shadow,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>tiny specks of dust drifted slowly in the beams, like countless miniature golden sprites,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>then jerked suddenly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The trio studying Quidditch were startled—the pounding on the wall came again from outside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Oh! It’s Ernie—if he knocks on the adjacent wall, it means he’ll wait for me in the Great Hall.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Justin snapped back to awareness and quietly called to Wizard Sean,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It’s about Professor Snape—I had Ernie and the others help out,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>after all, Mother said, united strength is always greater.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wizard Sean nodded thoughtfully, then the two bid Hermione farewell and left the classroom,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Justin adding:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hermione, don’t worry—I won’t tell anyone where the classroom is. After all, it’s our secret!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I promise…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hermione, absorbed in her book, seemed unconcerned—only after Wizard Sean and Justin left did\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>her eyes slightly redden.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the Great Hall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A short, chubby blond boy sat restlessly, clutching a book, his eyes constantly drifting toward the door.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Alright, Finlay told me to wait here—he’ll come. Worrying about that is pointless; better worry about Friday’s flying lesson.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ernie!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Justin scanned the Great Hall and spotted the boy at the Hufflepuff table.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Justin!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The short, chubby boy instantly responded; Justin quickly led Wizard Sean over.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Looking at the not-unfamiliar face, Wizard Sean’s mind flashed with information.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ernie Macmillan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A ninth-generation pure-blood Hufflepuff, equally sincere.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He once mistakenly believed Harry was the Heir of Slytherin; after Hermione was petrified, he gradually realized Harry was innocent and publicly apologized to Harry, who accepted his apology.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What impressed Wizard Sean most was during the Battle of Hogwarts,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Professor McGonagall addressing Ernie as a prefect:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Prefects, upon my command, organize your housemates and lead them orderly to evacuation points.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ernie Macmillan replied with rare seriousness:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What if we want to stay and fight?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ernie brought good news: Professor Snape was grading assignments and had been in his office for quite some time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wizard Sean immediately retrieved the brewing tools and ingredients from the classroom,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>and set off for the dungeons.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The reason he had to brew there was that first-year students were not permitted to take cauldrons out of the dungeons,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>and if they were, Hogwarts would soon be overrun by explosion experts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Potions wasn’t a safe subject—just like chemistry experiments must be done in a lab,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>such dangerous activities couldn’t be carried out casually.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thin wisps of white smoke rose again above the cauldron; Wizard Sean’s expression was focused, his hands moving steadily,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>and soon the cauldron began to bubble vigorously,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>the dungeon now filled only with faint breathing and the gentle boil of the potion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When Professor Snape left his office and entered the dungeon,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wizard Sean had already left, satisfied with his three points of proficiency.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Master Libatius Borage was right:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>without sufficient mental will, one could not complete an improved ritual.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since his last potion brewing, Wizard Sean’s exhaustion had persisted,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>a weariness that ran deep—from within outward—and according to Master Libatius Borage’s estimate, it would last at least five days.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>While waiting for his exhaustion to fully recover, Wizard Sean didn’t idle. If one sentence could accurately describe what he was doing,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>it would be:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was playing hide-and-seek with Professor Snape.\u003C\u002Fp>",990,"2026-06-19T10:00:40.768Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","8f33a632fef5772f5f7ce4835ec58dc72c8e2079ec24d780a87e8cc4c5bc4c6a","hogwarts-learning-panel-chapter-45","hogwarts-learning-panel-chapter-43",526,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fhogwarts-learning-panel-cover.jpg"]