0350 Future Plans

Percy's face was pale, rendered speechless for a moment, while Penelope hung her head low, hot tears welling in her eyes.

Seeing them in this state, Bryan too lost the desire to speak.

Hatred can be inherited. Penelope came from a mixed-blood wizard family. Her father had personally experienced the dangerous situation muggle-borns and half-blood wizards faced in the wizarding world during the years Voldemort was active. As a father, he wanted nothing more than for his daughter to live in a society that was relatively stable and safe, and there was nothing wrong with that.

As for Percy, he was from the Weasley Family, one of the twenty-eight Sacred Pure-Blood family.

Though in Lucius Malfoy's eyes, the Weasleys were 'blood-traitors' and a disgrace to pure-blood wizard families - in fact, last year to cause trouble for Arthur, he had even slipped one of Voldemort's horcruxes into Ginny's book bag – But this attention also signified importance. There were plenty of ordinary wizard families in the Wizarding world, but Lucius wouldn't go out of his way to trouble each one. 

Wealth only represented one aspect of a pure-blood family's strength; intricate connections were far more crucial. With Percy's lineage, coupled with his own excellence, one could foresee his future development at the Ministry would be bright, so long as nothing went awry.

At school, this class division stemming from one's origins was greatly diminished, but when venturing into wizarding society, the cruel reality slapped one in the face.

Just like some time ago when Bryan himself had risen to fame, there were indeed some busybodies proclaiming that with Bryan Watson's exceptional prowess, he may even become Minister for Magic someday. But Bryan had only laughed it off as a joke.

Under the existing structure of wizarding society, he could never enter that circle, at best, he could only exert influence from the periphery..

Cornelius Fudge, Amelia Bones, Barty Crouch, and the key leaders of other important departments - their surnames had shone brightly in Wizarding world for hundreds, even thousands of years.

"Penelope..."

Percy's lips moved, as if to say something.

The silent, tearful young witch suddenly stood up and, under the astonished gazes of Harry and the others, covered her face and ran out of the Three Broomsticks.

Watching her figure swiftly disappear, Percy's face was ghastly pale, at a loss for what to do.

It wasn't that two people with differing goals could not be together. The real issue was what Professor Watson's words had just revealed - what was truly most important in his heart? Power? Personal future development? Or love?

Percy had long harbored resentment towards his father. He clearly had the ability to provide their family with a better life, needing only to change some of his stubborn, and ridiculous notions. Yet he had never done so, resigning himself to a mediocre life instead.

Now, Percy understood a little better.

He could feel the weight of many judgmental gazes upon him, each gaze seemingly mixed with blame. But he had done nothing wrong, had he? He only hoped to become more excellent, to ensure a more comfortable life for his future family.

Percy too left then, his departing dejected figure as if he was under the Imperius Curse.

Bryan shook his head lightly. He wanted to remind Percy not to forget those always by his side in pursuit of his goals, lest he end up with lifelong regrets. But by the looks of it, Percy seemed to have been into deeper thoughts. 

"Ah, a family gathering!"

Bryan stood up and approached Harry's table, patting Harry on the shoulder and smiling at Sirius, "This kind of leisurely life feels pretty good, doesn't it?"

"Indeed..." Sirius raised his glass to Bryan in a toast. "It's all thanks to you, Bryan."

"Professor Watson..." Ginny stood hesitantly and called out. "Percy, he..."

Not just Ginny and Ron, even Harry and Hermione had worried looks. They normally got along decently with Percy, but the way Percy looked when he left was worrying.

Bryan had blocked out their conversation at the end, so these young ones did not know what had happened.

"Did they...break up?" Ginny asked sadly. Though the Weasley siblings frequently teased Percy about his girlfriend, seeing him so heartbroken, they could not help but worry too. Ron had even momentarily forgotten his embarrassment upon encountering Professor Watson, and looked at him expectantly.

"No, not quite..."

Bryan gently shook his head.

"Percy and Penelope, well...they seem to have some disagreement regarding their plans for the future. I suggest you all do not interfere too much in this matter; leave the choice to the parties involved."

'Plans for the future?'

The youngsters blinked in confusion, not understanding what Professor Watson meant. But Sirius immediately nodded in understanding, his eyes reflecting memories and emotions. After all, as an adult wizard who had lived through his youthful days, he knew what that meant.

"Well then..." 

Looking at the silent crowd, Bryan playfully winked at the youngsters, "I won't disturb you all from enjoying a pleasant weekend here. I suppose I haven't been very popular these days."

Harry and Hermione immediately smiled sheepishly, while Ron ducked his head guiltily.

"Have a drink with us, Bryan," Sirius smiled. "They would love more of your guidance. In fact, I wanted to discuss something with you."

Meeting Bryan's inquisitive look, Sirius glanced at Harry with an affectionate smile.

"You see, I plan to take Harry away from his aunt and uncle's during the summer holidays. I've consulted Harry himself already, but err...I need your permission too, don't I? I don't have a spare place to house Harry and myself."

'Take Harry away from the Dursleys?'

Bryan looked at Harry, who was struggling to conceal his excitement, his brows furrowing slightly.

"Have you consulted Dumbledore about this?" 

"What does it have to do with Dumbledore?" Sirius scoffed dismissively. "James and Lily entrusted Harry to me - I'm his godfather. It's my right, isn't it? Since Harry has no objections, Dumbledore has no business interfering."

In this crowded public place, Bryan could not explain much. He pondered briefly for a moment and said.

"You should ask Dumbledore, Sirius. He may have some advice for you." 

Professor Watson's insistence caused a creeping sense of dread in the hopeful Harry. He suspected this matter of leaving the Dursleys might fall through. But then he thought - why would Dumbledore stop him from leaving the Dursleys? They didn't even know each other well. And as Sirius said, the Headmaster of Hogwarts had no authority over where he lived, did he?

"Alright, let's leave it at that for now. I still need to stop by Zonko's Joke Shop to prepare some teaching aids. If they don't have enough stock, I may need to make a trip to Diagon Alley too!"

With those words, Professor Watson promptly took his leave, leaving the dumbfounded group sitting there looking at each other.

"Prepare teaching aids?" Harry opened and closed his mouth, puzzled. "At Zonko's Joke Shop?"

For the rest of the time, Professor Watson's last words became the focus of their discussion. Even Sirius couldn't think of what kind of teaching supplies one could find at a joke shop. However, they had planned to visit the shop that afternoon to buy some Dungbombs for protection.

But when the rowdy group arrived at Zonko's Joke Shop and pushed open the door, they were stunned to see Fred and George inside, stamping their feet and 'howling' in distress.

"What's going on?" Sirius was the first to recover, rushing over to grab the twins. "What happened?!"

"Professor Watson!" George cried out indignantly. "He bought all the Dungbombs in the shop!"

...

<<<<WEEKS LATER>>>>

...

Once the Easter break was over, bidding farewell to the joyous festivities and leisurely days, the atmosphere at Hogwarts School suddenly became much tenser and charged with palpable anxiety. The reason for this shift was the impending O.W.L.S (Ordinary Wizarding Levels) and N.E.W.T.S (Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Tests) examinations, which loomed ominously on the horizon, mere two months away. These pivotal exams held the power to largely determine the fate and future prospects of most aspiring young wizards.

Harry had already spent nearly three years at Hogwarts, but in his first and second years, he didn't feel this tense atmosphere too strongly. However, this year was different as Ron's three brothers, Fred, George, and Percy, were all facing these two crucial exams. To a certain extent, Harry could also sense this anxious ambiance.

Sirius had been under a lot of pressure recently too, as the Defense Against the Dark Arts class was also an important subject of these exams. Apart from the half-year when Professors Lupin and Professors Watson covered the class, the teaching standards for this subject at Hogwarts had been notoriously poor, plagued by a succession of incompetent teachers.

Sirius, however, was not one to simply coast by and collect a paycheck, merely going through the motions without genuine investment or dedication. Although he had initially taken up this teaching position primarily to help the Dumbledore. he clearly wouldn't let the label of incompetence fall upon himself.

Especially during mealtimes at the staff table in the Great Hall, there was always an unfriendly colleague who would make pointed remarks, cloaked in seeming nonchalance, expressing concerns and doubts about the potential exam results of a particular class this year. These veiled barbs and thinly-veiled jabs infuriated Sirius immensely, stirring a simmering rage within him.

Consequently, he poured a tremendous amount of effort and time into meticulously preparing comprehensive materials and detailed lesson plans, all with the singular goal of helping the fifth and seventh-year students achieve success in the upcoming exams. This unwavering dedication and laser-focused determination were the reasons why Harry and his friends could hardly find opportunities to have private conversations with Sirius lately, as the new professor's every waking moment seemed consumed by his educational responsibilities.

Ultimately, Percy and Penelope broke up, according to the information from Ginny. She told them that once, after taking Professor McGonagall's Transfiguration class and heading to the Great Hall, she saw Percy and Penelope brushing past each other in the corridor. Both looked pale, avoiding each other's gaze without even a greeting.

Moreover, Percy stopped attending Professor Watson's physical education class after that day.

This incident made Hermione very angry. One evening, after they finished observing the planetary orbits and descended from Hogwarts's tallest tower, the Astronomy Tower, Hermione fumed, "Percy—I can't believe it, was he just using Professor Watson? Dropping the class simply because he didn't get Professor Watson's recommendation letter?"

"He's been under a lot of pressure lately –"

Ron mustered the rare courage to meet Hermione's furious gaze, attempting to pacify her anger with a measured response.

"Since Professor Watson refused to write him a recommendation, whether he can get into the Ministry now depends entirely on himself. This has been his goal all along; Percy has been planning for this almost since he first entered Hogwarts,"

"But that doesn't mean he can –" Hermione's words trailed off, as she had been ready to unleash a torrent of criticism upon Percy's actions, but Ron's remarks made her swallow the words on the tip of her tongue.

"– and besides, he just recently suffered an emotional setback. I mean, he's running low on energy, and from what I can see, Professor Watson's physical education class is mostly useful for burning off our excess energy,"

Harry felt a sudden urge to remind Ron that his use of the pronoun "our" was not entirely accurate, considering that Ron himself had already quit Professor Watson's physical education class two weeks ago.

"Two weeks!" Harry's exclamation reverberated through the corridor, nearly causing poor Neville, who had been walking ahead of them, to tumble down the stairs in a clumsy display of imbalance.

"What?" Neville steadied himself against the cool stone wall, rubbing his sprained ankle with a bewildered expression etched upon his features, his eyes darting between Harry, Hermione, and Ron, seeking an explanation for Harry's outburst.

Harry glanced at Hermione and Ron, realizing they were also looking at him curiously.

"Don't you remember!" Harry hastened to explain. "It's been another two weeks. I mean, it's been a month since Professor Watson's physical education class started. He said at the beginning of this class that the first phase would last a month, and then there would be some changes!"

"Which means—" A flush of delight spread across Hermione's rosy cheeks, betraying her true thoughts. "We don't have to—"

Hermione's words trailed off because she noticed Ron grinning at her.

"I think it would be quite good to stick with it," Neville said thoughtfully as he stopped before the Fat Lady's portrait, turning to look at them.

"No one's stopping you from continuing, Neville," Ron said, pursing his lips. "Come on, move aside. I reckon you've forgotten the password again."

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