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nTime is gradually advancing towards October.

nOne month into his career, Felix has settled into the intense teaching routine and has become comfortable with it.

nIn Years 3 and 4, Felix ran a few practical activities in the classroom to stimulate their interest, and I have to admit that the young wizards are quite brainy, as they have only learned the first set of basic magic runes, i.e. so they can manipulate the golem to perform basic actions, and able to play with them.

nThe girls’ “dance group” and the boys’ “blood combat” were extremely popular now.

nFelix also discovered a talent called Cedric, a fourth-year student from Hufflepuff, who developed a wonderful idea to use it – which is passing notes in class.

nIn History of Magic class, the lesson was probably really boring, so Cedric manipulated the golem to wander around the classroom and pass notes to his best friend. Several drowsy young wizards were stunned at the sight, and the golem bounced over to the feet of one young wizard – who was asleep and drooling.

nCedric gave a small flick with his wand and the golem jumped up with a jolt, knocking its small fist on the little wizard’s knee.

n” Thud!”

nThe sleepy little wizard suddenly woke up and subconsciously kicked out, and the golem took straight off, passing through Professor Binns’ body and smashing into the ground.

nProfessor Binns, the only player at Hogwarts OZ, who had been immersed in his teaching world for decades, snapped in a rare fit of anger, “Rembert, for disrupting class, ten points off for Ravenclaw!”

nThe honest Hufflepuff stood up and stated that his name was not Rembert, nor was he a Ravenclaw, and he was then detained.

nSuch gossip spread through the school instantly, and by the next day, there were already those who couldn’t wait to try and replicate the feat, which was swiftly suppressed by a cadre of campus mobsters led by Professors McGonagall, Snape, and Flitwick.

nThe twin brothers were unlucky enough to be deducted fifty points by Professor McGonagall, plus three additional weeks of detention, for manipulating a magic golem into fighting with a lizard, a transfiguration prop, in Transfiguration class.

nAt the dinner table, Professor McGonagall politely reminded Felix not to indulge his students, which led him to re-affirm in class that they should not practise the magic golem in any other class but his, or he would take back the teaching aids.

nThe young sixth-year wizards were still struggling with their “handicapped” magic golems. They don’t have the same perfect teaching aids as Year 3 and 4, and they have to draw out 30% of the runes by themselves.

nThis makes Year 6 a very bizarre place to visit, as you can often see the oddball golem with disabled legs, crawling on their hands, and many young witches have to sign a series of unequal treaties – such as writing their homework for the younger students – in order to borrow their favourite golem from them.

nThe fifth and seventh-year students, however, have the most comprehensive range of golems, although theirs is a ‘trial version’, judged by theoretical grades for the experience time, and not everyone can get their hands on one.

nAt weekends, the students meet at various school locations, look at each other knowingly, and engage in a battle with their magic golems.

nTheir moves and tricks were so skilful that they seem to have trained hard in private.

nWhenever this happened, a group of young wizards would quickly gather around them to watch and comment on the battle.

nSome of the first and second-year wizards, who didn’t have golems but were very keen on the subject, and a few from Muggle families, with serious faces, were analysing the strengths and weaknesses and trying to predict the outcome of the fight.

n“Who’s the strongest, it’s definitely Fireboy, who can stop him when he does his Phoenix transformation move!”

n“Ice Girl’s Ice Storm is also very strong, right, it directly freezes the opponent into an ice sculpture!”

n“Guys, I have to remind you that lightning is strongest when it’s in its natural state.”

n“Hia, Hia, Hia …”

n“But I do think that the slashing type of magic golem is really sinister.” A second-year male wizard said, his words drawing unanimous agreement.

nSudden flu swept through Hogwarts in early October as the temperature began to change drastically, alternating constantly between hot and cold.

nThe young wizards lined up to check in at the school clinic, and Madam Pomfrey was kept extremely occupied, making a supply of the tonic that exceeded high demand – even though it would make one’s ears smoke and make them look a little funny.

nAs Halloween approached, the professors’ lectures were routinely rubbing off the heat.

nProfessor Flitwick inserted an unscheduled “Halloween special” in which he taught the young witches a spell to ward off spirits.

nProfessor McGonagall’s object of transfiguration in class was a vampire mask, which students walked around wearing that day.

nProfessor Snape’s lecture was unchanged: a conventional antidote to poison. However, he hinted in one class that he would “accidentally” drip expired poison into a student’s pumpkin juice at a Halloween dinner.

nHarry and Ron shuddered.

nProfessor Hap, currently the most popular among the students, was no exemption to this. He presented a new creation to the class, a golem in the shape of a ghost doll, with a large head, a small body, a heavy black eye, and jagged teeth on its miserable white face.

nIt looked ugly and cute.

nWith a wave of Felix’s wand, the ghost doll opened its mouth and spat out a stream of black smoke, blackening the faces of the young wizards in the front row.

n“I said at the beginning of the school year that there would be a test before Halloween and that the first place in each grade would win a mystery prize. It can be revealed now – a magic golem from my private collection.”

n“It’s limited, exclusive, and has upgraded power, so … what are you waiting for?”

n“There’s still half a month left, work hard!”

nThe group of young wizards wailed as they reviewed the ancient runes.

nHermione felt a little sorry when she heard the news, she was only in her second year and wasn’t allowed to take the test.

nBut the ghost doll was something she had watched the professor craft, and it was the first time she had seen an Alchemy product go from nothing to something, from material to finished product. She had to take her assistant work back to the common room in order to earn the right to watch from the sidelines.

nThe young wizards tsked at the sight of Hermione grading a thick pile of papers. A few of the Gryffindor ancient rune scums (led by Wood) begged Hermione with a formal look on their faces to give them a pass.

nThey were sternly refused by Hermione, who had a stern face.

nIn just over a month, the young witch had already gained a certain amount of “prestige” throughout the school, especially among the senior students who had chosen Ancient Rune. Her elegant handwriting often appeared on their papers.

nProfessor Hap’s handwriting, on the other hand, appeared much less frequently.

nHarry and Ron looked at the papers in her hand and were somewhat thankful, as they aren’t the one who correcting them as it’s by no means easy to correct them, even though most of them were choices and short sentence translations.

nHermione is enjoying herself, though, “I can learn a lot.” She told the pair so, and with her memory, after marking a paper a few dozen times, it pretty much imprinted itself in her head.

nIs this the school tyrant’s realm? The young Gryffindor wizards looked at each other.

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