Chapter 97: Final Exams and Buckbeak

Before June arrived, what arrived first was this year's Quidditch final.

Gryffindor vs. Slytherin.

The final result was Gryffindor defeating Slytherin, and Gryffindor winning this school year's Quidditch Cup.

It was a pity that he was working as a slave in Professor Snape's studio that day, so he couldn't go watch.

According to Hermione, the Gryffindor students held a celebration in the common room that day, partying until very late.

Really nice; this is what youth is all about.

After the match ended, the term drew to a close, and the learning atmosphere within the school rose significantly.

This was because Hogwarts also had final exams.

However, for them as first-years, the pressure of the exams wasn't very high, because most courses were still at the foundational stage, and the professors wouldn't make things too difficult for the new students.

For example, Professor Fuliwei's Charms exam; he had once requested in the first class of the school year that students learn the silent Levitation Spell within this year.

But as it turned out, the final exam didn't test this at all.

As long as everyone could cast the Levitation Spell with ease, they could get a decent score.

Rui'an and Yisen loudly accused their own Head of House of being a fraud.

But complaints aside, the two of them still passed the exam smoothly, and they also passed the exams for other subjects smoothly, not failing a single one, though they were all more or less lopsided in their strengths.

Rui'an was better at Charms and Black Magic Defense, while Yisen was better at Herbology.

As for Titus, he would take the exam if he could, and if he couldn't, he'd just let it be.

He didn't feel any pressure at all.

He perfectly interpreted what it meant to be carefree and plump.

As for John, he naturally completed all the exams with ease as well.

However, individual professors tailored some higher-difficulty exam content for him.

For example, Professor Snape required him to independently complete the brewing of a pot of Compound Potion; the preliminary preparation alone required many days of time.

Like the caddisfly, which needed to be brewed in the pot for twenty-one days, and during this period, he needed to come and check the pot every day.

There was also the Moonlight Herb, which needed to be picked during a full moon to be effective; of course, he didn't need to go pick it, he could just use ready-made ones.

Only after preparing everything did the actual brewing truly begin.

Once a mistake was made during the brewing process, all previous efforts would be wasted.

During this period, he had been borrowing Professor Snape's workshop, and finally, after a month, he completed this extremely complex magic potion.

Professor Snape didn't say anything after checking it, clearly it was qualified, and he also obtained a pot of Compound Potion.

Professor McGonagall also added extra Transfiguration exam content for him.

She required him to turn three cups into three different birds simultaneously, and he had to perform a series of action demonstrations according to her requirements to be considered qualified.

For a first-year, this was simply impossible to do, but for John, it was easy.

Professor Fuliwei didn't add extra exams, because the daily Charms practice was an exam for John every day.

Among so many professors, if one were to ask who understood John's current strength the best, it would be Professor Fuliwei.

As for Professor Lupin, he likewise didn't add any extra exam content for him; after all, besides learning the Guardian God Spell from Professor Lupin, he hadn't learned anything else from him.

Black Magic Defense wasn't like other courses that could be fast-forwarded constantly; this course required knowledge to be accumulated slowly.

One had to slowly understand various dangerous creatures one might encounter, or ways to deal with Black Magic.

Time arrived in June, and Buckbeak's execution day finally arrived.

Because it was the end of the term, the upper-year exams hadn't ended yet, and they hadn't gone on vacation either, so during this time, they didn't have to attend classes and could roam around.

Originally, Titus and the others wanted to find John to go exploring together.

But John told them about the matter of rescuing Buckbeak, and once they heard it, they thought this was much more interesting than exploring.

They all expressed that they wanted to go watch and wouldn't interfere with them.

Actually, John wouldn't directly participate in it either; after all, they needed an alibi to show that everything was just an accident.

During this time, Hagrid had also trained with Buckbeak many times, letting it immediately break free and run away when it saw someone coming with an axe.

At the same time, he also attracted many crows near the Forbidden Forest to create some chaos at the critical moment, adding some interference to the scene.

Once Buckbeak escaped to the designated location, someone would help it take off its shackles, help it blend in with its own kind, and then it would completely disappear from the sight of the Wizarding World.

On the day of the execution, the sky was gloomy, and the executioner appeared at Hogwarts carrying an axe, accompanied by Minister of Magic Fudge.

He didn't expect that he would actually come in person to execute a winged beast.

Could it be that he had accepted benefits from Malfoy?

Headmaster Dumbledore accompanied them personally, leading Fudge and the executioner to Hagrid's Hut together.

They saw Buckbeak locked in the pumpkin patch by an iron chain and nodded.

Then they entered Hagrid's Hut together.

Before the execution began, some necessary procedures were still needed.

When they came out, they saw Buckbeak still locked in the pumpkin patch by the iron chain, seemingly without any abnormalities.

"Hmm, the time has come, begin the execution."

Fudge glanced at the sky and said to the executioner.

The executioner grinned, shouldered the giant axe, and walked toward Buckbeak.

The axe blade gleamed coldly under the dim sky, and the surrounding air seemed to have frozen.

Buckbeak saw the executioner approaching, and a trace of confusion appeared in its eyes; this person seemed different from the one who came to scare it a few days ago.

It felt that this person seemed to carry real killing intent.

Immediately, Buckbeak stood up, spread its wings, and let out a sharp hiss.

This action not only stunned the executioner and Fudge, but even Hagrid and John and the others observing from afar were stunned.

Buckbeak made a reaction different from the usual training, directly facing the executioner in a fighting stance.

"Hagrid, didn't you let this beast lose its ability to move in advance?"

Fudge frowned, his tone carrying dissatisfaction and confusion.

"Uh... this, I..."

"Fudge, don't be so harsh; Buckbeak has been locked here for several months, and now its temperament has changed greatly, it doesn't even let Hagrid get close."

Dumbledore gently smoothed things over for Hagrid, and hearing Dumbledore speak, Fudge didn't say anything more.

Although Hagrid was very grateful for Dumbledore's smoothing things over, he was now even more worried about Buckbeak; it seemed to have completely failed to react according to the training.

The executioner frowned, gripping the axe tightly while trying to get close to Buckbeak.

Buckbeak, however, suddenly flapped its wings, stirring up a gust of wind; amidst the flying dust, the executioner couldn't get close for a moment.

Even Fudge took a few steps back, his face looking ugly.

Just as everyone was astonished, Buckbeak suddenly let out a loud cry, and immediately countless crows swarmed from the direction of the Forbidden Forest, blocking the sky and sun, making the scene chaotic.

The crow flock circled in the air, making harsh cries, obscuring the already gloomy sky.

The executioner tried to wave the axe to drive them away, but the black bird flock didn't show any intention of retreating.

Fudge's face turned pale, and he retreated repeatedly, shouting something angrily, but was drowned out by the noisy cries.

Buckbeak took advantage of the chaos, suddenly pulled the iron chain, and let out a deafening roar.

"Albus! Why don't you hurry up and stop all this!"

Sensing Buckbeak's intention to escape, Fudge's angry voice rang out; Dumbledore, hearing this, glanced at Fudge, and only then raised his hand unhurriedly.

A wave of invisible magical power spread from around Dumbledore, instantly repelling countless crows.

But Buckbeak also took the opportunity to break free from the iron chain, suddenly spread its wings, stirred up a gust of wind, and rushed straight into the sky.

Fudge was shocked and roared at the sky: "Hurry and stop it!"

However, Buckbeak had just happened to blend into the scattered crow flock, and a single magic spell couldn't knock it down at all.

Everyone could only watch it fly toward the depths of the Forbidden Forest and disappear from sight, feeling powerless.

Hagrid also breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Buckbeak escape.

Dumbledore revealed a faint smile, as if everything was within his expectations.

The executioner gripped the giant axe tightly and could only sigh at the sky.

"Why did this happen!"

Fudge turned his head angrily to question Dumbledore.

Dumbledore spread his hands innocently.

"There's no way, Fudge; after all, it is a ferocious, terrifying, and untamable dangerous animal. Perhaps it felt the threat of death, refused to sit and wait for it, and chose to resist and escape."

Fudge was speechless for a moment and couldn't say anything.

After all, these were the charges the Ministry of Magic had set against Buckbeak in the first place.

"I want to go back immediately and arrange for people to search the Forbidden Forest, and the sky cannot be let off either!"

Fudge's anger hadn't subsided, and he muttered through gritted teeth.

"Of course, no problem. Oh, by the way, remember to tell your employees to be careful of the Centaurs in the Forbidden Forest; they don't really like the intrusion of outside humans."

"And the Eight-eyed Giant Spiders inside must also be careful. Oh, and don't scare the unicorns; they are currently in their breeding season."

Fudge's face turned green and white; although Dumbledore's words sounded a bit sarcastic and schadenfreude-like.

But what he said reminded him that it wasn't worth going to such great lengths for a hippogriff that had no threat.

Fudge finally didn't say anything, waved his hand, took the executioner to bid farewell to Dumbledore, and left directly.

When leaving, he also passed by a group of students watching the show; he snorted coldly and left the place where the crowd gathered directly. 【100】 Watching Fudge leave, Harry and the others who had been watching from nearby finally stopped holding back their laughter and ran excitedly toward Hagrid's side. 【101】 A group of people gathered together to cheer for Buckbeak regaining its freedom, as well as what had just happened. 【102】 John didn't crowd over; he just smiled. Although it was different from the plan, it had succeeded at least. 【103】 He turned and took his friends who were watching the show to leave, brushing his clothes and leaving, hiding his merit and fame. 【104】 Alright, actually it was because Titus was hungry, so they were going to eat dinner. ===== CHAPTER 98 =====

Watching Fudge leave, Harry and his friends, who had been watching from nearby, finally stopped holding back their laughter and excitedly ran toward Hagrid.

A group of people gathered together to cheer for Buckbeak regaining his freedom, as well as for what had just happened.

John did not join them; he just smiled. Although it didn't go exactly as planned, it had worked out in the end.

He turned and left with his friends who had been watching the show, brushing off his clothes as he departed, hiding his merit and fame deep within.

Well, actually, it was because Titus was hungry, so they were going to have dinner.