May arrived, and Hogwarts officially entered exam preparation month.
The atmosphere inside the castle grew palpably tense. The library was packed to the brim, and students clutching heavy textbooks could be seen in every corner of the common rooms.
Maurise had already experienced this frantic environment during his first year, so he remained entirely unbothered.
The Chamber of Secrets incident was officially closed. A few days prior, an official notice had been pinned to the bulletin boards. It vaguely stated that the attacker had been apprehended and the school was completely safe once more. Naturally, the notice completely omitted Maurise's name, only highlighting the final, peaceful result.
However, it was more than enough to put the students' minds at ease, allowing them to redirect their focus back to their impending exams.
In other excellent news, Professor Sprout's Mandrakes had finally reached full maturity. Professor Snape had spent a mere few hours brewing the Restorative Draught, successfully reviving all the Petrified students.
Predictably, the newly revived victims were entirely bewildered. They had essentially gone to sleep and woken up to find finals looming over them.
To make matters worse, Professor McGonagall had arranged a grueling schedule of special catch-up classes for them. They were expected to cram months of missed coursework into a few short weeks.
Truly, they had his deepest sympathies.
Of course, none of this concerned Maurise in the slightest. He had absolutely zero anxiety regarding the exams. Given his current academic mastery, he could confidently score perfect marks without opening a single textbook. He possessed absolute confidence in that regard.
---
One afternoon, while Maurise was leisurely browsing the library aisles, Harry and Ron suddenly tracked him down.
"Maurise!" Harry called out urgently. He dragged Ron briskly through the narrow aisles, coming to a halt right beside Maurise.
The library was usually a sanctuary of silence. Their loud arrival immediately drew annoyed glares from a few nearby Slytherin students.
Harry completely ignored the glares and got straight to the point. "Maurise, Hagrid told us that you were the one who found the Heir of Slytherin. Is it true?"
Ron nodded vigorously beside him. "Hagrid didn't want to say anything at first, but you know how he is. He is terrible at keeping secrets."
Both boys stared at Maurise intently, terrified of missing a single detail.
Seeing their anxious expressions, Maurise answered candidly. "Yes, Hagrid was telling the truth. I also took care of the monster hiding in the Chamber."
"So it really was you," Harry muttered, his expression incredibly complicated.
Previously, when Harry had learned Hermione was in danger, he had been desperate to take action. Maurise had firmly told him not to act rashly. As it turned out, Maurise had quietly slipped away and permanently eliminated the Heir and the monster all by himself. Harry honestly had no idea how to process his current emotions.
"You went completely alone?" Ron's eyes bulged in disbelief. "Single-handedly? I mean, you should have called us, Maurise! That was the Heir of Slytherin! Just think about it. If we had gone together, we could have helped!"
"Ron is right," Harry added in a hushed tone. "We are friends, Maurise. You should have at least warned us."
"The situation escalated incredibly quickly," Maurise replied with a helpless sigh.
He knew perfectly well that in the original timeline, Harry Potter and his friends were supposed to discover the Chamber and slay the Basilisk. However, things had changed, and it really did not matter anymore.
If this had happened last year, Maurise might have been slightly hesitant, terrified of drastically altering the plot. But as his personal magical power grew, his apprehension completely vanished.
So what if he disrupted the timeline? It wasn't as if the heavens were going to strike him down with a bolt of lightning. In fact, if the opportunity presented itself, he genuinely wanted to test his current limits against Voldemort in a direct confrontation.
The very thought of it was rather thrilling.
"Speaking of which," Maurise turned his attention back to Ron, "how is your sister doing?"
"She is still in the hospital wing," Ron sighed, his expression darkening noticeably. "Madam Pomfrey said her life force was severely drained. She needs time to recover slowly. Mum and Dad are worried sick."
Ron knew Ginny had been involved in the Chamber of Secrets incident and had her life force siphoned, but he remained in the dark regarding the specific details.
"Can you please tell me exactly what happened, Maurise?" Ron pleaded. "I need to know what Ginny went through."
"Of course."
Maurise provided a concise summary of the events. As he listened, Ron's face grew increasingly grave.
---
Mid-May, Friday.
At precisely six o'clock in the evening, Maurise knocked on Professor McGonagall's office door. He had received a formal notice requesting his presence for a brief meeting.
Pushing the door open, he was slightly surprised to find Hermione already seated inside.
Professor McGonagall sat behind her heavy oak desk, her expression perfectly composed.
"Excellent. Both of you are here," she gestured toward the empty chair. "Please, take a seat, Mr. Black."
Maurise sat down next to Hermione and whispered, "What is going on?"
"I have no idea," Hermione whispered back. "Professor McGonagall merely stated she had an important matter to discuss with me."
Her voice carried a faint tremor of anxiety. She looked as though she feared she had broken a severe school rule.
Professor McGonagall cleared her throat, offering a rare, faint smile. "Relax, you two. I merely called you here to discuss the matter of your third-year elective courses."
Hermione instantly let out a massive sigh of relief, while Maurise looked on thoughtfully.
"I have reviewed both of your elective selection forms," Professor McGonagall pulled two rolls of parchment from her drawer and flattened them on the desk. "You both managed to place a checkmark next to every single elective course offered by the school."
Hermione's cheeks flushed a vibrant pink. "Yes, Professor. I wish to learn as much as I possibly can."
Professor McGonagall nodded slowly. "While I strongly advise against such a heavy workload, if you are truly determined, the school will not deny your request. However, I must warn you, it will be incredibly exhausting."
"I don't mind at all," Hermione stated with absolute resolve.
Maurise stroked his chin and spoke up cautiously. "Actually, Professor McGonagall, if we were to attend every single elective, there simply aren't enough hours in the day to avoid severe scheduling conflicts."
"I am very glad you noticed that logistical impossibility, Mr. Black," Professor McGonagall cast him an approving look. "That is precisely the core issue we face."
She leaned forward, looking highly intrigued. "If it were up to you, how would you resolve this scheduling dilemma?"
Hermione immediately fell into deep thought, her brow furrowing.
Maurise, however, answered instantly. "The solution is quite simple. Just exempt me from a few of my core classes. My current academic progress in those subjects has already reached the fifth-year level at a minimum. Forcing me to sit through the second-year curriculum is entirely meaningless."
Yes, this was his brilliant, pragmatic solution.
He firmly believed that a premier institution for magical education ought to offer a certain degree of academic flexibility. This was especially necessary for students whose capabilities vastly exceeded the standard curriculum.
"Fifth-year level?!" Hermione gasped loudly before realizing she had lost her composure. She quickly lowered her voice. "Are you actually being serious, Maurise?"
Professor McGonagall also stared at him, her eyes widening in genuine astonishment.
"Well, perhaps with the exception of History of Magic," Maurise stated calmly. "But last year, during our final exams, Professor Snape secretly slipped me the fifth-year O.W.L. Potions exam. I achieved a near-perfect score."
"That is a severe violation of testing protocol," Professor McGonagall said, adjusting her square spectacles. "I believe I need to have a very serious conversation with Severus."
"...Er, right."
Maurise suddenly realized that he had just inadvertently caused a massive headache for his beloved Potions professor.
He sincerely hoped Professor Snape wouldn't hold a grudge.