Now That’s Authentic!

Scrimgeour was extremely wary of Gandalf.

At first, he had only assumed Gandalf was a false identity Dumbledore had created. But even after Grindelwald had been released, his wariness of Gandalf had remained limited.

Dumbledore’s threat had always been there. Now, Dumbledore had merely freed the threat he had previously kept restrained. To Scrimgeour, that only meant changing the way he dealt with him.

But just as Lucius could tell that Gandalf was almost certainly not Dumbledore, Scrimgeour could too.

A wizard of unknown identity, possessed of vast capital, powerful enough to earn Dumbledore’s trust, and one the Ministry of Magic had never known anything about before—this threat was far greater than Dumbledore removing his own restraints!

The good news was that Dumbledore had not removed those restraints.

The bad news was that Gandalf did not seem inclined to restrain himself as Dumbledore had. Not only had he launched sweeping reforms at Hogwarts the moment he took office, he had also released Grindelwald and allowed large numbers of Muggles into the Wizarding World…

Scrimgeour had a feeling that the tactics that had worked on Dumbledore would probably not work on this Gandalf.

Sure enough, when he tactfully offered several suggestions—ones that could deepen the connection between the Ministry of Magic and Hogwarts—Gandalf gently but firmly rejected every one of them.

After the fourth rejection, Gandalf said bluntly:

"I said before that I would ensure Hogwarts students were not affected by matters outside Hogwarts that had nothing to do with their studies. That includes the Ministry of Magic."

Though he was still smiling, Scrimgeour could sense that the other man’s patience was nearing its limit.

As a Minister for Magic who had risen from the ranks of Aurors, Scrimgeour had considered testing the other man’s strength. But looking at the reporters around them, he knew this was neither the time nor the place.

Peaceful negotiations with Hogwarts probably would not go smoothly. In that case… it was time to proceed according to the original plan.

Scrimgeour continued exchanging pleasantries for a while before leaving with his subordinates. In truth, neither side had accomplished anything in the meeting, but he had learned Hogwarts’s stance.

A stance that, in Scrimgeour’s eyes, was compelling but exceedingly passive.

After seeing Scrimgeour off, and with the parents having already left after lunch, Adam returned to the Headmaster’s Office and reviewed the day’s events.

Everything had gone more or less as expected, including Scrimgeour’s apparent intention to further probe his attitude toward the outside situation.

Adam’s response was that he alone stood invincible, sweeping through the ages. The rest of them were merely destined to be brushed into the dust of history. Whatever tricks they had, they could bring them on.

The Order of the Phoenix, which appeared to be a secret organization but actually stood in the open; the Death Eaters, who seemed to be at the height of their power but still had to hide under Dumbledore’s deterrence; and Hogwarts, which currently claimed neutrality but whose true position remained unclear.

With the three sides locked in confrontation, land prices, which had already begun to fall, should be able to drop a little further, shouldn’t they?

Adam smiled faintly at the three contracts in his hand.

He was determined to acquire Hogsmeade. Though land prices were fluctuating now, he remained perfectly composed. As for Diagon Alley, he would buy any property the moment someone was willing to sell. To that end, he had Mundungus Fletcher keep watch at all times, giving him one percent for every deal he closed.

He had already bought the properties of three shops. When Fred and George graduated, they would not be left without storefronts.

After the Parents’ Conference, life at Hogwarts returned to normal. The young wizards had not experienced such ordinary school life in at least five years, to the point that they were somewhat unaccustomed to it—

"Ahhh! The Charms exam is tomorrow! There’s no time!"

"What? The exam papers have to be sent home for our parents to sign?! Why didn’t they tell us before the exam?!"

"Waaah, forget that stupid paper! There’s a Transfiguration exam the day after tomorrow too! Have you marked the key points yet?"

Hogwarts welcomed its first monthly exams in history. Such joyous cries filled every corner of the castle, and Adam could not help taking a deep breath as he walked through the grounds and sighing:

"Now that’s authentic!"

This was the kind of school life students were supposed to have!

Bang! Bang! Bang!

"Open the door! Open this door!"

Bang! Bang! Bang!

"Adam! Don’t hide in there without making a sound! I know you’re in the Headmaster’s Office!"

Filled with resentment heavier than a ghost’s, Klon and Uther deliberately chose a day when they could visit Hogsmeade to come settle the score with Adam.

Because Adam had claimed to be a natural Legilimens, neither students nor professors liked coming directly to see him anyway—yes, for some reason, even the professors believed him, including the several Heads of House who knew his identity—so this day was even safer.

(Professor Snape: No wonder that brat hadn’t been able to sense any emotions since the day he enrolled. That explains it…)

The door to the Headmaster’s Office opened with a creak. Klon charged in first and immediately saw Adam sitting behind his desk, smiling at them.

That familiar smile—the kind that made one’s back turn cold and teeth itch at a glance!

Klon immediately saw red and lunged at Adam with teeth bared and claws out—

"Ahhh—is it you?! Was it you who gave the professors that awful idea? Now we have exams every month, every three months, and every half year!"

Does anyone understand this? They used to have one exam a year, and now it had been multiplied, multiplied, multiplied again!

"Ahem, look at it this way—"

Adam rose and dodged Klon’s pounce, then reasoned with him:

"Before, the professors would assign mountains of homework before exams and force you to review everything you had learned. But now that there are exams, there won’t be so much homework, right?"

"Besides, regular exams are only written tests. Each subject is just one sheet of paper. Can that workload compare to the review assignments before finals? It’s not as if you can’t take exams. If you do the math, you’re getting a bargain!"

Klon stopped in his tracks. Thinking about it that way… it actually seemed to make some sense?

"But if this continues, sooner or later everyone will go from studying seriously to cramming only before exams, forgetting everything afterward. By the end of the term, the teachers will still have to force us to review through massive amounts of homework."

Bernard exposed what lay beneath Adam’s argument.

Klon: !!!

"Wrong. Not us, but you… ahem, them."

Adam shrugged.

"Even if someone realizes they can get through regular exams by cramming at the last minute, weren’t they cramming at the last minute before anyway? Cramming a little more is always beneficial. As for the professors updating the system and bringing back review homework, who knows how long that will take? You’ll graduate in two years. You might not even live to see it."

Klon nodded thoughtfully.

Bernard mercilessly exposed him again:

"Anyway, you definitely won’t see it, right?"

"Of course. I’m graduating this year, what do I have to be afraid of…"

Adam blurted out what he was really thinking.

Klon: !!!

"Ahhh, you demon! Die!"

In the end, Adam had to use two barbecue dinners to placate his ferocious roommates.