"That's right—it's me!" Jon Hart entered with a smile.
Astoria's small cottage was already familiar to him; he had already visited it several times before.
However, during those earlier visits, they had been deeply troubled by Astoria's blood curse. The atmosphere had been tense and emotionally strained, nothing like the relaxed atmosphere of the present moment.
At least for Astoria Greengrass.
Now the curse within her soul had completely vanished. The person she loved had suddenly become the youngest Headmaster in Hogwarts' history, and her mother, who had been trapped in Azkaban, had returned.
Everything had improved—or at the very least, it was moving steadily in a better direction.
"You should really get more rest," Jon said with a smile, gently stroking Astoria's pale golden hair. "Look at you—you're exhausted."
Astoria blinked and took a mirror from the drawer. After looking at her reflection, she couldn't help but pout.
"That won't work," she shook her head. "I've already missed many important lessons. If I don't work hard now, my O.W.L.s results will be terrible. Last year my sister got one O and three E. I can't possibly do worse than her!"
As she spoke, the girl clenched her fist in determination.
"Go for it! Maybe you'll even get ten O's!"
"You're teasing me again..."
For most wizarding families, the results of the O.W.L.s (Ordinary Wizarding Levels) were extremely important. Under normal circumstances, those scores would influence a young wizard's future career plans and development.
Having grown up in a wizarding family, Astoria had naturally been influenced by that way of thinking.
Of course, Jon didn't quite agree with it. In his opinion, what truly mattered was what you actually learned, not how many certificates one obtained.
In fact, ever since the order expelling him from Hogwarts had been issued, his own student career had already come to an end.
...
Inside the room, Astoria read her books while chatting with Jon.
For example, as the O.W.L.s approached, some rather 'interesting' situations had begun to appear among the fifth-year students.
Madeleine from Slytherin had become increasingly nervous as the exams drew near. She often muttered to herself while alone, constantly whispering something under her breath. In the end, her friends had dragged her off to see Madam Pomfrey.
And Madeleine wasn't the only one behaving strangely.
Melinda Bobbin from Ravenclaw had started asking others about their study schedules, only to follow up with rambling, barely coherent remarks.
"How many hours do you usually revise each day? On Monday I studied for nine and a half hours. Tuesday wasn't very good—only seven hours and fifteen minutes. Then Wednesday... As for me, on average I revise about eight hours a day!"
There were even worse cases.
Andrew Kirk from Gryffindor had been telling anyone who would listen that his father had known the head of the Wizarding Examinations Authority for years, so his results were guaranteed to be outstanding.
"Do you think something like that could really happen?" Astoria asked worriedly.
"Of course not," Jon said with a smile, shaking his head. "Professor Griselda Marchbanks from the Wizarding Examinations Authority has been responsible for magical examinations since the late nineteenth century. Even Professor Dumbledore was tested by her back in the day. Although I've never met her personally, I've heard she's a very strict witch—but also a very fair one."
Astoria seemed to relax after hearing that.
"You'll stay for lunch with us, right?" she asked, blinking at Jon. "My sister makes really delicious sandwiches."
"I certainly would like to try your sister's cooking," Jon said as he lightly pinched her cheek. "But I still have other things to deal with later. I'm really sorry."
"Alright..." Astoria looked slightly disappointed. "Then during the rest of the holidays, you must come visit me more often. I'm sure my sister and mother would both welcome you."
"Of course," Jon nodded without hesitation.
"Then goodbye."
Astoria pouted.
Jon bent down and kissed her goodbye.
"Goodbye."
"Have a safe trip."
Then he quietly stepped out of Astoria's cottage and gently closed the door behind him.
He took the ugly phoenix out of his pocket and gave it a shake.
"Fawkes, wake up... It's time for us to go back to Hogwarts."
...
Ten minutes later, Jon Hart reappeared inside Hogwarts Castle.
Although he had only been away for less than half a day, the place seemed to have erupted into chaos.
"Professor Minerva McGonagall has arrived. She wants to know how you plan to deal with the temporarily vacant positions of Potions teacher and Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. After all, there's still more than a month left in the term!"
"Professor Rubeus Hagrid is here as well. His hut was badly damaged in the recent battle, and he's hoping someone can help repair it. Also, he wants to arrange a new home for his brother."
"An official from the Ministry's Wizarding Examinations Authority came by. They hope Hogwarts can begin preparing for the O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s examinations that will take place in a month."
Listening to the portraits chattering all at once, Jon sighed.
"Didn't I ask you to tell them that I went to the Ministry this morning to attend the interrogation of a group of suspected Death Eaters?"
"Of course we did," Phineas Black said seriously. "But that interrogation was supposed to end at eleven this morning, Jon—and now it's already twelve fifteen."
"Alright," Jon said helplessly, shaking his head. "I think the Headmaster deserves a little private time. Oh, by the way, Phineas—I have a task for you."
"Hm?" Phineas raised his head curiously.
"Go investigate something for me," Jon said seriously. "Andrew Kirk, a fifth-year Gryffindor student. Find out who his father is."
"What did he do?"
"He dared to spread rumors that questioned the fairness of the O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s examinations. That deserves to be dealt with," Jon declared righteously.
"Understood. That's a small matter. I'll investigate right away."
Phineas disappeared from the portrait.
Jon then shifted his gaze toward another portrait.
"Armando, please contact Professor Minerva McGonagall and inform her that I've already returned to Hogwarts Castle," Jon said softly.