Harry Potter : Bloodraven-Chapter 209: The Trial and the Turmoil (II) (CH - 229)

Midterms aren't as stressful as the final exams, so professors don't bother wracking their brains to make anything fancy and just patch together bits and pieces from past tests based on what was taught that semester.

Maverick did the same as well, and didn't go out of his way to make anything unique for any of the five grades he taught. As for the practicals, he kept it simple too—just a repeat of an exercise they had already done in class—and the students completed it all with ease.

And just like that, with time slipping away like water through your fingers, the last week of term was gone as well before anyone even noticed. All things considered, Quidditch was probably the only thing that made the semester feel exciting—otherwise, it was just classes, hanging out, and more classes.

Sure, a few soul-sucking demons—the Dementors—still flew overhead, but even that couldn't change the fact that this semester had been pretty uneventful. By Hogwarts' standards, that is.

Usually, there would be some attack on a student or a professor, and this year, a certain "dangerous" fugitive was supposed to break into the castle—but nothing of the sort happened.

Basically, it was just a normal ending to a normal semester, the kind one would see at any other school.

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Outside, the Scottish December air hovered just above freezing, and a fresh layer of snow covered the grounds. The very next morning after midterms, the castle was alive with movement—students dragging or floating their trunks toward Hogsmeade Station, their paths carving thin trails through the white.

Of course, not everyone left. Some stayed behind to spend the holidays at Hogwarts. It happens every year—usually Muggle-born first-years too enchanted by magic to part with it, even for a week or two. Then there were those with no home to return to, a quieter group who found the castle warmer than anywhere else.

For the last two years, Harry Potter had been part of that group, choosing Christmas at Hogwarts over the Dursleys' cold welcome. But this year, and different from how the original story went, he had decided to go back to Privet Drive. Or at least… that's what it looked like.

Knock.

Knock. Knock.

After breakfast that day, while the rest of the castle bustled with students packing their things for the holiday, Harry made his way to Maverick's office before heading to the train.