Chapter 39: Halloween Eve
October 31st, Halloween eve.
Hogwarts Castle was decked out in a Halloween-limited theme, with pumpkin lanterns covering the torches on the corridor walls on both sides, house-elves starting preparations for the banquet early in the morning, and the air filled with a sweet and tempting pumpkin scent.
“Halloween originates from Celtic mythology. The Celts believed that the souls of the deceased would return to the human world on the last day of October, seeking substitutes to take their lives. The living feared ghosts and worried about being taken as substitutes, so they came up with many ways to deal with it.
“Some extinguished hearth fires and candlelight, hiding in the darkness to avoid them; some dressed as ghosts and demons to disguise their faces and scare away the spirits; others chose to appease the monsters by placing delicious food at their doorsteps for them to enjoy—this is also the origin of「trick-or-treating」…”
The morning was third year’s Muggle Studies class. Professor Levent combined content from the encyclopedia’s geography section to explain how the natural environment influences the lifestyle of surrounding residents, how it affects the bodies of indigenous people, and from this derived different cultural customs.
Unfortunately, wizards are not afraid of ghosts and monsters, so there is no custom of dressing up to beg for candy. The students were not very interested in the origins of Halloween.
At lunchtime, Godric Gryffindor’s Angelina kept complaining to her friends about her skin color issue. Her ancestors had developed dark skin to adapt to sun exposure, but now she doesn’t need to sunbathe—why can’t it turn white again.
Spinnet was speechless.
The last class in the afternoon was fifth year’s.
Godric Gryffindor prefect Percy arrived at the classroom early and sat in the middle front row seat.
Professor Levent is different from other professors; his random questioning has no obvious pattern—front and back seats have equal probability—and sitting in the front row makes it easier to copy the board. Rowena Ravenclaw students are more flexible thinkers and generally realized this.
As Percy had expected, by the time he arrived at the classroom, the Rowena Ravenclaw students were almost all there, generally gathered in the middle seats.
Percy also saw two Rowena Ravenclaw prefects, Penelope Clearwater and one boy.
Couldn’t remember his name.
Percy sat next to Penelope, and the girl looked up. The two smiled at each other.
Half a minute before the class bell rang, Professor Levent stepped into the classroom.
With the dropping temperature, Professor Levent’s clothing had thickened considerably. He was often seen in mid-length coats of various colors, with sweaters underneath, layered in a very stylish way. In the dull tones of autumn and winter, there was an indescribable liveliness. Some little witches had already started noting down these color combinations to study.
The students’ impressions of Muggles had unknowingly changed.
Professor Levent’s teaching method was very different. It seemed fast-paced, but he wasn’t rushed during the lecture, even somewhat leisurely: “We did a phase test last week. The graded papers were handed out last night—you should all have seen your mistakes. This class, we’ll go over the papers.”
Percy silently took out his paper; the multiple-choice scores were dismal.
Melvin took out the question booklet, which already had questions from four tests accumulated: “First question, correct answer is C. Raise your hand if you got it wrong.”
The classroom immediately fell silent, and hands shot up uniformly. Percy was among them, his expression calm and composed, not feeling ashamed because such scenes had repeated over the past few weeks.
“Mr. Hilliard, you explain why it’s C.”
“…”
He remembered now—he was Robert Hilliard.
Percy’s mind had wandered a bit.
This novel way of reviewing questions was unique to Muggle Studies class. Students replaced the professor to explain wrong answers, fully enhancing their initiative. To avoid embarrassment in front of the whole class, students with wrong answers would actively think and ask questions until they fully understood.
At first, the classmates resisted a bit, but now they treated it as a way to show off.
Two hours passed quickly.
Ten minutes before the bell, Melvin glanced at his wristwatch by raising his hand. He had just reached the last question, so he set down the question booklet: “That’s it for this class. If there’s anything you haven’t figured out, don’t just let it slide—review it after class and make sure you fully master the related knowledge points. Understand that test scores aren’t important; finding and filling gaps is the goal. If you have questions, discuss with classmates nearby first. If you can’t resolve it, come find me—I want to slack off.”
Laughter erupted from below immediately.
Melvin nodded: “Today is Halloween. Let’s end class early—head to the Great Hall sooner for desserts.”
“Long live Professor Levent!”
Melvin watched them cheer for the early dismissal, smiled, packed up the question booklet, and walked out swiftly.
Before class, he had received a letter—Wright had arranged to meet at The Three Broomsticks.
…
Castle fourth floor, Charms classroom.
Godric Gryffindor and Helga Hufflepuff first-year students were learning the Levitation Charm.
Professor Flitwick spent the first half of the class explaining the theoretical knowledge of the Levitation Charm: its invention origin, spell evolution, casting gesture, and classic wrong casting cases. The second half was handing out teaching aids—feathers—for students to practice casting individually.
The little wizards waved their wands circle after circle, chanting the spell over and over. Most students could only make the feathers tremble slightly; very few succeeded in levitating them.
Hermione was one of the very few.
Thanks to the candy Professor Levent gave that day, Hermione’s interactions with her roommates had become much smoother. She felt she had made friends.
Near the end of class, Hermione looked at the friends still struggling beside her and couldn’t help correcting: “The spell is Wingardium Leviosa, Harry—emphasize the ‘gar’ and drag it out. Make the casting gesture sharper, Neville—grip the wand and flick it with a shake. Don’t worry, you won’t blow up the feather like Seamus.”
“…”
Harry felt a bit helpless, said nothing, and practiced on his own, still chanting in his original way.
Seamus, with his soot-blackened cheeks, sighed, his eyes melancholic, feeling offended.
Only Neville nodded: “Thanks.”
Ron gripped his wand, tattered with the wand core beast hair exposed, growing increasingly irritated inside.
“It’s Wing—”
“Enough!”
Ron couldn’t hold back and shouted. Looking at her wide eyes, he paused, then continued with a straight face: “Two months since term started, and every Charms class is like this—it’s a nightmare. Can’t you just let us practice on our own?”
Hermione was stunned: “I… I was just trying to help.”
“You’d be helping by shutting up.”
“I thought we were friends.”
Hermione looked around at the others in a panic, seeking some approval.
Harry felt guilty and avoided her eyes, unsure what to say. He acknowledged Hermione as a friend but also hoped she would offer fewer pointers in the future.
Neville opened his mouth to say something, but before he could, the dismissal bell rang.
Once the bell ended, Hermione grabbed her schoolbag and hurried out of the classroom.
