Divine Thunder Hall Completed, Divination Exam

"We don’t need any help." Ron looked at the white mist inside the Crystal Ball and said indifferently, "The omen is obvious. There’ll be heavy fog tonight."

Professor Trelawney was slightly displeased when she heard that.

She sat down directly at their desk and examined the Crystal Ball.

A moment later, she looked up at Harry. "It’s here. The Grim is coming for you."

"Oh, honestly, can you stop going on about the Grim? This is ridiculous." Hermione was speechless.

"My dear." Professor Trelawney took Hermione’s hand and studied the lines on her palm. "From the moment you stepped into my classroom, I sensed that you lacked the qualities required for Divination. You may be young, but your heart has already withered, like that of an old maid. Your soul is as dry as the pages of these books—these books you study so diligently."

As her words fell, Hermione’s breathing grew more and more rapid.

She stood up and walked straight out of the classroom. She had truly had enough of Divination and no longer wanted to waste time on it.

"Did I say something wrong?" Trelawney asked in confusion.

"No." Aaron shook his head. "You only said what I’d wanted to say but never had. Besides, Easter is almost here. Your prophecy has come true—Hermione will leave us. But that may not be a bad thing for her."

Sure enough, Hermione did not appear in Divination Class for the following week.

But even with one elective gone, the remaining four still left her overwhelmed.

Aaron, by comparison, had it much easier. A duplicate was practically a cheat tool.

Aside from the four electives, he had assigned more than half of his required classes to his Thoughtform as well.

It would delay the Secret Chamber renovation plan a little, but it did not matter much. At this stage, they only went there to practice magic anyway.

The Quidditch final began on Saturday: Gryffindor versus Slytherin.

Since Slytherin was currently ahead on points, the Gryffindor House Team had to take a lead of fifty points before catching the Golden Snitch if they wanted to win the Quidditch Cup.

The score gap between the two Houses kept swinging back and forth around the fifty-point mark. In the end, Harry seized his chance. During the dozen or so seconds when Gryffindor was sixty points ahead, he used the Firebolt’s speed to snatch the Golden Snitch ahead of Draco.

After seven years, Gryffindor had finally won the Quidditch Cup.

Wood was so excited that tears filled his eyes. He felt he had no regrets about graduating now. The other team members huddled together as well, roaring in victory.

The other Gryffindors were even crazier. The instant Harry caught the Golden Snitch, they rushed onto the pitch. Even Percy, who was usually especially serious, bounced around in excitement. Professor McGonagall clutched the Gryffindor banner as she wiped away tears of joy. The scene was practically comparable to the liberation of a nation.

"You lost." Aaron looked at Draco’s furious expression and teased, "Feeling especially unconvinced?"

"It’s not fair." Draco slammed his fist against the wall. "He was riding a Firebolt. It’s much faster than a Nimbus. I was just that close."

"In a way, it’s perfectly fair." Aaron spread his hands. "In past years, Slytherin always crushed everyone with superior equipment. Now that the situation’s reversed, you can’t accept it. While Slytherin’s prosperity has turned into decline, Gryffindor has risen after hitting rock bottom."

Draco snorted. "Over a hundred people hugging each other and crying. Aren’t they ashamed?"

"When you get carried away, you’re no better than they are." Aaron laughed. "They’ve been suppressed for seven years. It’s only natural for them to let it all out once."

"But we lost our eight-win streak." Draco said regretfully. Then he seemed to think of something, and his expression improved. "They can only be happy for now."

"What do you mean?"

"Hagrid lost the case. That Hippogriff was sentenced to death, and it’ll be executed before the end of the term."

Aaron frowned slightly at that and turned toward Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Rubeus Hagrid, who were surrounded by a crowd of Gryffindors on the pitch.

"A word of advice: don’t bring that up in front of them. Otherwise, you’ll definitely get beaten up. And if you go crying to Mr. Malfoy afterward, I won’t be able to stay out of it."

"You wouldn’t stand up for them over that, would you?"

"What do you think?" Aaron rolled his eyes. "Rubbing salt in their wounds would make you deserve a beating."

"Fine, fine, fine, I get it. I promise I won’t provoke them, all right?"

"You’d better not."

In Gaius’s Secret Chamber beneath the Slytherin Common Room, Aaron soaked comfortably in a hot pool, his face written with one word: satisfied.

Abei was swimming in a larger pool. It was quite a sight—a dragon doing dog paddle.

"Not bad." Aaron communicated with his Thoughtform through their minds. "In just a few months, you turned the base into a simple palace and even built hot spring pools. As expected of me!"

"This is the charm of magic—the result of using Water-element Magic Arrays together with Fire-element Magic Arrays." The Thoughtform chuckled. "But it would be best to have Jeans send over some high-quality Magic Crystals. Otherwise, we’ll have to rely on our own magic to power some of the base’s functions. You can’t expect me to be a giant power bank, can you?"

"That was my thought as well." Aaron nodded slowly. "But exam week is almost here. We’ll wait until next term."

"That makes sense."

"Anything else we need?"

"There is, actually." The Thoughtform tapped the armrest of the throne. "It needs a name. Now that it’s become a palace, we can’t keep calling it a secret base or a Secret Chamber. It’s too crude. So I was thinking of naming it…"

"Divine Thunder Hall." Aaron beat him to it. "It may seem like plagiarism, but it really is a good name. And considering the magic cast upon this palace, it fits the theme."

The Thoughtform smiled. "The main body always knows what his duplicate is thinking."

Aaron shrugged and silently opened the system’s mission panel.

Help Harry Potter find the enemy who murdered his parents; Mission Reward: 500 Magic Points; Accepted

"Ahh!"

Aaron sighed softly. The reward was a little small, but every little bit counted.

He had diligently signed in for half a year and accumulated 1,800 Magic Points. As long as he completed this mission and kept at it for another month or so, he would be able to buy the Nika Mask.

Then he would command a ninja army with absolute loyalty, one that feared neither pain nor death. Just thinking about it made his blood surge.

Exam week began on Monday and ended on Saturday.

None of it was a problem for Aaron. Exams? Anyone with hands could handle them.

He passed nearly all his required subjects—Transfiguration Class, Potions Class, Defense Against the Dark Arts, History of Magic, Herbology, and more—with full marks. But there was a minor complication with the elective exams.

He had no problem with Care of Magical Creatures, Muggle Studies, Ancient Runes, and the like, but Divination required a bit more care.

Professor Trelawney called the students into her office one by one, had them observe a Crystal Ball, and perform Divination according to Unfogging the Future.

Everyone who came out looked mysterious. No matter how they were questioned, they refused to reveal even a word about the exam.

Aaron stood on the stair landing, quietly practicing on a notebook the Forbidden Magic Array that only a Holy Magus could use.

The elemental power invoked by this magic was ten times stronger than that of an ultimate Magic Array, and it had corresponding variations as well. But Weihert had not taught it to him yet. He would probably only have a chance to learn it after the holidays.

Harry and Ron stood in front of him, both looking nervous and worried.

"I suddenly think Hermione was right. She’s just an old fraud." Ron said disdainfully.

Harry nodded as well, clearly agreeing.

"Whether they’re top students or poor students, everyone reacts this way to classes they don’t like." Aaron shook his head. "I think Professor Trelawney genuinely has real skill. You just can’t see it."

"Easy for you to say!" Ron rolled his eyes. "We don’t have your kind of talent. In her words, half of our Heavenly Eye is blind, and the other half is blocked by a thick fog."

"I think so too." Harry said seriously. "If her Divination is really that good, she could just grade us based on the results. Why make us do all this extra work?"

Aaron’s mouth twitched, and he was utterly speechless. Using Divination to grade students? You really dare to imagine that.

"Ron Weasley." Professor Trelawney’s voice came from the top floor.

Ron’s face fell as he climbed the silver ladder.

He did not emerge until more than twenty minutes later. Then he gave Harry a helpless look. "I don’t even know what I said."

"Harry Potter."

"See you in the Common Room." Harry took a deep breath and climbed the ladder.

Aaron was the last one. As he waited quietly, Professor Trelawney’s voice suddenly came from upstairs. It was hoarser and sharper than usual.

"Tonight he will return. Tonight, the one who betrayed his friend, the one who became a murderer, will break free of his chains. Innocent blood will flow. The Dark Lord will rise again with the help of his servant, stronger and more terrible than before…"

"Holy… shit…"

Aaron hurriedly closed his notebook and rushed up the silver ladder.

When he entered the Divination classroom, Professor Trelawney was rubbing her throat. Harry Potter stood beside her, his face pale and completely bloodless.

Aaron looked at Harry. When Harry gave a faint shake of his head, Aaron’s heart sank further.

That prophecy had most likely been made by Professor Trelawney while she was unconscious, but such prophecies were often highly accurate.

"Gaius, I don’t think I called you up yet, did I?" Professor Trelawney frowned in confusion. "But never mind. It’s your turn anyway."

"All right, child, we’ll stop here." Trelawney sighed at Harry. "I’m a little disappointed, but I believe you did your best."

Harry walked out in a daze. As he passed Aaron, he paused slightly. "You heard it too?"

Aaron nodded, hesitating before he said, "Actually, Divination isn’t always accurate."