No matter how busy everyone seemed, life at Hogwarts rolled on as usual.
To ensure the students could enjoy a stress-free Halloween and a delightful trip to Hogsmeade, the school decided to move the monthly exams up by a week—right before Halloween.
Fifth and seventh years plunged once again into a frenzy of revision.
Some students soon discovered that Professor Lupin's detentions were surprisingly relaxed. You could do your homework during detention, ask questions about any subject, and Professor Lupin would not only allow it—he could answer almost anything you threw at him.
Word spread quickly. The more studious students began to deliberately rack up minor infractions—losing a point here or there—just so they could attend detention, openly complete assignments from all their professors, or even prep for their O.W.L.s. Whenever they got stuck, they'd simply ask Professor Lupin for help and always received a nudge in the right direction.
It was a far more productive environment than huddling in the common room, heads buried in books.
Just as students were starting to look forward to Professor Lupin's detentions, he made an announcement after morning exercise: the daily run would now be part of the monthly assessment—a physical fitness test.
That very afternoon, a new notice appeared on the school bulletin board: Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry: Monthly Fitness Assessment.
The highlight? An obstacle course chase. Students would pair up with classmates from their year—one as the runner, the other as the chaser. Spells were allowed (no malicious curses, of course). If the chaser caught the runner before the finish line, the chaser earned ten points and the runner lost five. If the runner escaped, the runner gained ten points and the chaser lost five. And so on...
The students' first reaction? Professor Lupin had been thoroughly corrupted by Professor Holmes.
When Douglas heard the rumors, he snorted. "'Corrupted by me?' All I did was suggest a fitness test! Lupin and Sirius are the ones who ran wild with the idea." Not only had they borrowed Douglas's alchemical rats, but they'd also snatched some dark magical creatures from Defense Against the Dark Arts practical lessons. Tsk tsk. Ever since learning the truth, Lupin had grown more and more unpredictable.
The next day, during Defense Against the Dark Arts—
"Class, who wants to score well on this month's exams?"
The third-year Hufflepuffs exchanged glances. Secretly, they marveled at the professor's stamina; after a whole year, he still hadn't run out of motivational speeches for Hufflepuff before and after every exam.
Still, everyone responded in unison:
"Yes!"
"Absolutely!"
Douglas beamed, satisfied. "In that case, let's do a spot check on your recitations this lesson."
For a moment, the students nodded along:
"Professor's right!"
"Makes sense!"
Then realization dawned, and heads began to shake. Normally, only Justin Finch-Fletchley, the class representative, recited to Douglas. Everyone else recited to Justin. This term, Douglas had barely ever called on anyone at random.
Now, with a surprise recitation check, students shrank in their seats, eyes glued to their desks, hoping to go unnoticed.
It wasn't that they couldn't recite, but reciting to a classmate and reciting to the professor were two entirely different things. No one wanted to volunteer—except for Justin, who was waving his hand enthusiastically.
Douglas's gaze slid past Justin and landed on Ernie Macmillan, who was pretending to study his textbook.
"Mr. Macmillan, please recite everything in the textbook about vampires. If I recall, Mr. Finch-Fletchley's report said you've already memorized this section... Is there a problem?"
A collective sigh of relief swept through the rest of the class.
Ernie slowly stood up, his voice tentative: "Professor, do you mean all the content about vampires?"
The textbook, The Dark Arts: A Guide to Self-Protection, was used from first through fourth year without change. Content was spread out—vampires, for instance, were covered in both second and third year.
Douglas smiled, nodding. "Of course. Both second and third year content. After all, exams often revisit material from previous years. Actually, I'd only planned to ask for third year, but since you brought it up, you might as well do second year too."
Ernie opened his mouth, wishing he could bite his tongue—why had he asked?
But under Douglas's gaze, he began, stumbling: "...Uh... vampires are usually pale, and look haggard... They have fangs for biting through people's throats..."
He muddled through a long section, mixing second- and third-year content, sweat beading on his brow. In the front row, Justin's palms were slick with anxiety—he knew from experience that if Ernie failed, he'd be next in line for punishment.
Sure enough, when Ernie finally admitted defeat, he said, "Sorry, Professor, I've forgotten some of it!"
Douglas shook his head, disappointment in his tone. "No need to apologize. You're learning for yourself, not for me. I've said it again and again—these are the basics. I don't want you wasting your fifth year relearning things you should already know. Ernie, you know what to do, right?"
Ernie swallowed. This time, he dared not answer carelessly. "Professor, should I copy the section once?"
Douglas's smile didn't waver, but there was a dangerous glint in his eyes.
"Professor, I mean five times!"
"Or maybe ten?"
After Ernie forced out the last suggestion, Douglas finally looked away.
Catching Justin's worried expression, Douglas turned and smiled at him—a smile that sent Justin's head ducking.
"Justin, my class representative, what do you think?"
Justin took a deep breath, wiped the sweat from his brow, and managed a smile. "Professor, as class rep, I haven't done my job well. I'll punish myself with ten copies."
Douglas clapped his hands as if to dust them off, then said, "Five will do for you, Justin. But Mr. Macmillan, you're still on the hook for ten. Now, let's get back to today's lesson."
For the rest of the class, it wasn't just Hufflepuff's Ernie who found himself under Douglas's "special care." Any student who'd joined the Charon Detective Society or loudly claimed that Douglas had "corrupted Lupin" soon discovered that Douglas had a long memory—and plenty of creative ways to show his affection.
Time flew, and exam week arrived.
During this period, Hermione secretly coordinated with Harry—without telling Ron. She arranged for her cat, Crookshanks, and Harry to take turns watching Scabbers in his cage, day and night. She also found excuses to keep Ron from letting Scabbers out at all.
Since the incident with the Hippogriff Buckbeak, Hagrid had been keeping a much lower profile, thanks to help from Douglas and Lupin. He now joined the morning runs with students, chatting about magical creatures. In his spare time—when not patrolling the Forbidden Forest—he threw himself into studying the danger levels of various magical beasts. As Douglas put it:
"Hagrid, don't judge whether they're dangerous by your own standards. Let Fang decide."
Fang was Hagrid's massive boarhound. Despite his size, he was completely ordinary—and a notorious coward. If Fang bolted at the sight of a magical creature, that was all the proof Douglas needed that it was truly dangerous. He set learning goals for students based on Fang's reactions.
So, Hagrid gained a new responsibility: observing Fang's behavior. The result? For days, Harry and his friends couldn't find an opportunity to get any useful information out of Hagrid.
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