The day after the end-of-year feast, the Young Wizards of Hogwarts, having finished breakfast, boarded the hogwarts express home.
Amanda dragged her large trunk, her face as indifferent as water as she followed Cho Chang, Marietta Eckmore, and Penelope into an empty compartment.
Just as they entered the compartment, the three seniors tacitly worked together to lift Amanda's luggage onto the rack before starting on their own.
Amanda paused for a moment, then stepped forward to help Cho Chang and Marietta Eckmore push their luggage onto the rack, one in each hand.
"Thank you, seniors."
"You're welcome," the three seniors said simultaneously, each reaching out to ruffle Amanda's hair.
Sitting down, Amanda pulled a notebook, a quill, and a bottle of ink from her wizard robe and began writing furiously with her head down.
Just a little more; she would be finished once she added the final details.
When Hermione entered the compartment, she saw Cho Chang and the others huddling together and chatting in low voices, while Amanda sat opposite them, head down and writing intently, her hair a mess from being ruffled.
Seeing the messy strands on Amanda's head, a smile tugged at the corners of Hermione's mouth as she gave the three seniors an amused look.
She put her luggage away and sat down gently next to Amanda, without making a sound to avoid disturbing her as she wrote.
Until a commotion outside the window caught her attention. Hermione leaned over Amanda to look out and couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.
Reaching out to tap Amanda's arm gently, Hermione spoke softly, "Amanda, look out the window."
Hearing her full name, Amanda pulled herself out of her study mode and looked up, nodding to Hermione first.
"Hermione, morning."
"Good morning. Look there," Hermione giggled, pointing at a scene outside the window, appearing to be in a very good mood.
Amanda turned her head mechanically. Outside the window, two Aurors in black robes were escorting someone off the hogwarts express.
And the person being led away was none other than this year's defense against the dark arts professor at Hogwarts, Gilderoy Lockhart.
Lockhart was still trying to struggle, but he had long since been rendered immobile by the Aurors' magic. He could only keep talking in an attempt to get them to release him.
"Let go! Let go! Do you know who I am? I am Gilderoy Lockhart! You can't do this to me!"
"I'm a celebrity! A celebrity! Do you have any idea how much I've done?"
"Shut up."
One of the Aurors flicked his wand, sealing Lockhart's mouth directly. Now, no matter how much he wanted to shout, he could only grunt.
"A celebrity, huh? 'How much you've done.' Taking credit for the good deeds of others and then using Memory Charms on them... There won't be any flowers or applause waiting for you, Mr. Celebrity."
"Only Azkaban!" the other Auror said loudly, as if intentionally shouting these words for everyone to hear.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. I knew he was a fraud... but I really didn't know he was a criminal."
Marietta Eckmore looked out the window with a look of utter disgust at Lockhart, who had instantly lost all his spirit upon hearing the Auror's words.
Cho Chang also watched him with cold eyes, saying softly, "Well, this does prove he has strengths in two areas."
Meeting the gazes of the other three girls, Cho Chang finished her thought.
"The thickness of his skin and his use of the Memory Charm."
Marietta Eckmore, Penelope, and Hermione couldn't help but burst into laughter.
Amanda looked away without expression and went back to writing in her notebook.
What happened to Lockhart had nothing to do with her. Based on her understanding of Ministry of Magic laws, Lockhart's crimes were enough to land him in Azkaban for a lifetime.
Seeing Amanda lower her head to study seriously, the other four young witches sighed helplessly and instinctively lowered their voices.
"That Auror who was shouting," Penelope pointed to one of the Aurors leading Lockhart away, "is a former senior from Ravenclaw House."
"He shouted like that probably to make sure all the students know Lockhart's true colors, right?"
Hermione took another look at the person Penelope pointed out and then looked away.
"Likely," Penelope nodded. "After all, there are probably still students who are fans of Lockhart."
"They need to see Lockhart for who he really is."
Marietta Eckmore snorted coldly. "What's there to admire about a guy who couldn't even teach a decent class?"
"If he had real skills to teach, that would be one thing, but he doesn't. We can't exactly follow him and learn how to make up stories and use Memory Charms."
"To apply for a professorship at Hogwarts without the ability to teach... his character is truly as bad as it gets."
Hermione added, her disdain for Lockhart reaching its peak.
In her view, Lockhart's behavior was undoubtedly a disservice to the Young Wizards, the future of the Wizarding World, and a stain on the image of Hogwarts Professors.
"Our Amanda teaches much better; everyone who attended her lessons gave rave reviews."
As she spoke, Hermione couldn't help but reach out and ruffle Amanda's hair a couple of times. It was fluffy and felt wonderful to the touch.
Having been called by her full name and had her head ruffled again, Amanda looked up once more, just as she finished what she was writing.
Closing the notebook, Amanda's deadpan gaze swept over Hermione and the other three.
The four girls were already used to Amanda's gaze.
At first meeting, Amanda's inorganic-like gaze might be frightening.
But after learning what kind of gentle, battle-scarred interior lay beneath Amanda's "indifferent" shell, no one cared about her stare anymore.
Facing her gaze, her friends only felt heartache and reassurance.
"I hope the school can find a defense against the dark arts professor for next year," Cho Chang said, resting her chin on her hand.
Cho Chang watched Hermione opposite her subtly embracing Amanda's waist, blinked, and said with her chin in her hands.
"A different defense against the dark arts professor every year... I hope the school can still find someone."
Marietta Eckmore shook her head, privately marveling at the boldness of this junior as she watched Hermione's actions.
Penelope coughed twice and looked away slightly. "I hope they don't just find someone to be the defense against the dark arts professor, but that whoever they find actually has some real ability."
"I have to take my O.W.L.s next year..."
Exhaling deeply, Penelope seemed to already envision her busy schedule for the coming year.
To her surprise, however, before that busyness could even begin, it was about to be instantly resolved.
With Hermione's arm around her waist, Amanda glanced down at her hand. Her heart skipped a beat, but she showed no reaction as she looked up and tucked her quill and ink bottle back into her wizard robe pocket.
At the same time, Amanda reached out and handed the notebook she had just finished writing to Penelope.
"Senior Penelopa, this is for you."
Amanda's voice had no inflection, yet everyone present found it very endearing.
Penelope paused, took the notebook, and looked at the cover curiously. "For me? What's in here? Can I open it?"
"Of course," Amanda nodded. "This is a gift for you, Senior Penelopa. Inside are all the key points for the O.W.L.s Exam."
"Since I wasn't sure which electives you chose, Senior Penelopa, the content for all elective courses is in there."
Penelope swallowed hard and carefully opened the notebook.
Point after point of knowledge and cautionary notes were listed in the notebook, written concisely and clearly. No wonder she could summarize several courses in a single notebook.
"The first half covers key knowledge points and notes related to the practical exams."
Amanda explained methodically, "The second half is exam question reasoning and predictions."
After a two-second silence, Amanda added, "Based on my analysis of past O.W.L.s Exam written and practical exam content."
"Neither the written nor the practical portions of the O.W.L.s Exam have been updated in a long time. The questions are basically selected from a few fixed sets of content."
"They just scramble the content and rearrange the combinations each time."
"Through probability calculations and human psychological analysis, I've written the most likely exam directions and question formats for the next O.W.L.s Exam in the second half."
"The estimated accuracy is about eighty-five percent."
Describing her analysis and summary process with a steady pace, Amanda fixed her gaze on Penelope.
"However, given that one should study seriously and strive for excellence, and since there's still a long time before the O.W.L.s Exam..."
"I suggest you memorize all the knowledge points in the first half of the book to be safe, Senior Penelopa. Then, just before the exam, focus on the predictions in the second half for intensive reinforcement."
"Merlin's predictions..."
Cho Chang murmured, staring blankly at the notebook in Penelope's hands.
"Exam content... can actually be predicted in advance?"
It took Marietta Eckmore some effort to find her voice again, sounding quite incredulous.
Amanda nodded with certainty, her voice still without any fluctuation. "Yes. The Wizarding World's exams are too unchanging. Based on fixed knowledge points, combined with probability and psychological calculations, one can deduce the exam content."
The same method wouldn't work in Amanda's original world.
Because they change the examiners every year, and you never know...
How many years beyond the syllabus the exam you're taking will be. It could be one year, two years, or even five.
Usually, it's two years beyond the syllabus, and occasionally five.
As for not being beyond the syllabus at all, or only by one year... if you encountered that, it was truly a stroke of luck.
Hermione took a deep breath, removed her hand from Amanda's waist, and placed both hands on her shoulders.
"Since you can do this, whatever you do, do not let Harry and Ron know. Also, you can give them the knowledge summaries, but you absolutely must not give them the exam predictions."
Hermione didn't doubt for a second that if Harry and Ron found out about this, they would definitely beg Amanda to predict their exams so they could slack off on their studies.
And given Amanda's "personality," she was unlikely to refuse them.
Studying shouldn't just be for exams. So, for the sake of her two best friends' learning, Hermione told Amanda in advance not to give them the exam predictions.
Hermione wants Harry and Ron to study hard, Amanda instinctively concluded, nodding with a cold expression.
"Alright, I won't tell them."
Their conversation ended, and Penelope finally came back to her senses.
"Amanda! Thank you so much, you've helped me immensely!"
Penelope stood up happily and pulled Amanda's small head tightly into her embrace.
"You're welcome," Amanda responded, her voice muffled.
After being held for a good ten seconds, Amanda was finally released by Penelope.
The first thing Amanda did after being released was to take a sharp breath of air.
The hogwarts express slowly pulled away. It was quite a while before Harry and Ron opened the compartment door and walked in.
"Where did you two sit?" Hermione asked, glancing at their empty hands.
"We were sitting in Fred and George's compartment."
Harry explained, sitting down next to Hermione with Ron.
Hermione leaned her head on Amanda's shoulder, closing her eyes contentedly.
"I mentioned it to you last year and you agreed. You're coming to France with us for a trip, no problem, right?"
Turning her head to rest her chin on Amanda's shoulder, Hermione looked at her with sparkling eyes.
"No problem."
Amanda agreed in a flat tone. Since she had promised Hermione before that she would go with her, she would certainly go if she could.
Besides, now that she knew this world wouldn't be destroyed and there were no Enforcement Agents, she didn't need to worry about the safety of those around her.
Listening to Hermione and Amanda discuss their holiday plans, the others couldn't help but start chatting with each other as well.
Cho Chang was going back to her homeland for the summer. Apparently, her grandmother was homesick and said that when one gets old, they should return to their roots.
Marietta Eckmore was going on a business trip to the United States with her mother, who worked for the Ministry of Magic. Her mother would be working while she went sightseeing.
"Sigh... you all get to go out and have fun."
Penelope rested her cheeks in her hands dejectedly. "I'll just be staying home to review. I need to prepare properly for the O.W.L.s Exam."
Amanda blinked and said slowly, "Senior Penelopa, as long as you remember all the knowledge points in that notebook, you can get an 'O' in the O.W.L.s Exam regardless of what's on the exam."
"Considering your own knowledge base and level, Senior Penelopa, I estimate it won't take more than two weeks. You'll have time to relax."
Penelope nodded thoughtfully. "If Amanda says so, it must be true... Then maybe I can plan a short trip for myself."
Harry couldn't help but feel a bit envious watching everyone share their summer plans. Ron, sitting next to him, patted his shoulder.
"Don't look so glum, Harry. If you're unhappy at the Dursleys', just run away. Run away to my house."
"You found out last summer—my family welcomes you with open arms."
"Thanks, Ron," Harry smiled gratefully, though he silently added to himself, But I can't keep bothering your family.
Summer was a rare time for their family to be together... as long as he could bear it... he would endure it and try not to intrude.
On the other side, Hermione was quite satisfied now that it was settled that Amanda would go to France with her.
She wrapped both arms around Amanda's waist and rested her head on her shoulder. Since there was still a long time before lunch, she could catch up on some sleep.
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