Many people heard what Kael and Professor McGonagall were talking about, but for those who haven't even dealt with a snail, it's evident they aren't qualified to participate in such high-level topics.
More importantly, they couldn't understand it, so it was better to continue wrestling with the snails on their desk.
The two lessons quickly passed, and by the end, only Kael and Conna had completed Professor McGonagall's task.
As a reward, Professor McGonagall not only gave both of them ten points but also exempted them from their homework.
Only those two didn't have to write homework, while everyone else had to practice the charm overnight and write a five-foot-long essay, due the next afternoon.
In an instant, nearly everyone in the classroom couldn't help but complain, believing the homework was too much, and it was only then that most realized the terror of fifth grade.
Last year's homework was three feet long, and now it directly became five feet, practically doubling in length.
Before, they only heard people say fifth grade was the scariest year, and now they finally witnessed it.
Especially Mikel and Ryan, who were almost crying.
Having lots of homework wasn't the issue, but the problem was that Kael didn't have to write it... how different was that from taking away their reference answers?
The afternoon consisted of two back-to-back Charm classes, and like Professor McGonagall, Professor Flitwick also emphasized the importance of the fifth-grade exams before class, stating that for everyone to perform at their true level, they must work harder than before.
And when class ended, everyone nervously looked at him, and Professor Flitwick did not disappoint them, assigning a heap of homework.
Perhaps because the next Charm class was the following morning, the time was too short, so Professor Flitwick's homework only required three feet.
But judging by the students' expressions, they didn't seem happy at all.
By dinnertime, almost all the fifth-year students uncharacteristically quieted down, even Mikel, who loved the lively atmosphere, didn't speak. He took a few bites of his food silently and immediately ran to the library.
In one day, a total of eight feet of homework meant they had no time to waste.
Cedric looked at all of this, appearing quite calm... as someone who'd been through it, he'd experienced it all.
However, he was often like Kael, belonging to that small group of students exempt from homework.
And this was just the first day.
In the following days, fifth-year students finally understood what the O.W.L. year meant. An average of ten feet of homework per day was just the basic routine, and there was a plethora of charms to practice.
Even the typically relaxed Divination class became burdensome. Professor Trelawney required everyone to record their dreams and make a complete prophecy based on "The Dream Oracle"... at least three times a week.
Their time in the library increased each day, and their once-favorite Wizard Chess and Exploding Snap cards were forgotten in the corner.
Once, Kael even heard a chess piece complaining in the corner of the common room, saying it had collected a lot of dust and no one came to clean it.
Because of this, nearly half the students' Divination homework turned out to be eerily similar... even in their dreams, they were catching up on library assignments.
In this situation, Kael seemed a bit laid-back. Being exempted from most assignments, his time in the library hadn't increased; in fact, it had decreased significantly... oh, and Conna was the same.
In the vast common room, they were the only fifth-years who could leisurely play a game of Exploding Snap, and many people looked on with envy.
On the weekend, when Kael woke up, he found he was the only one left in the dormitory... Mikel and Ryan had already gotten up early to go to the library, leaving only two empty beds.
Unexpectedly, he had become the last one to get up... Kael felt a bit unaccustomed to it for a moment.
He walked out of the dormitory and immediately saw Conna sitting in an armchair. She seemed to have been waiting for a while, with a tall stack of Exploding Snap cards on the table.
After having breakfast in the auditorium, the two of them went together to the Room of Requirement on the eighth floor.
"Are you ready?" Kael opened the box and asked.
"I've been ready for a long time." Conna jumped into the box skillfully.
It was still the familiar little room.
But this time, the feeling was noticeably different. With Kael accompanying her, she no longer needed to worry about any Fire Dragons.
The place wasn't large, and she had essentially seen it all during her last visit, so her gaze turned directly to the door.
"Follow me..." Kael noticed her thoughts and directly pushed the door open and walked out.
In the next moment, Conna was stunned.
While she had imagined that a place where you could keep a Fire Dragon wouldn't be small, she didn't expect the area outside the room to be so vast!
She stood on tiptoe but still couldn't see the end.
"You didn't move the Forbidden Forest in here, did you?" Conna asked instinctively.
"No, no..." Kael shook his head, "It's smaller than the Forbidden Forest, probably just about half its size."
As he spoke, Kael skillfully extended his arm, grabbed a sneaky Niffler, and casually tossed it into the bushes beside him.
But Conna didn't notice this, as her attention was entirely captured by the magnificent scene before her.
She was surprised to find that there were multiple obviously different climates here. Right in front of her was a lush forest, but next to it was an endless desert, and opposite that was a world covered in falling snowflakes.
Each area was separated by just a small path, making it feel like the distinct squares on a Wizard Chess board.
At this moment, a shadow suddenly appeared overhead.
Then Conna saw it, a Fire Dragon dozens of feet long was diving down from the sky, finally stopping in front of them.
It was the same one they'd seen before, the Fire Dragon that had scared Ron into fainting.
Conna instinctively felt a bit of fear, but Norbert didn't even glance at her.
After landing, Norbert, with a head as big as a table, directly butted into Kael's arms as if it was acting coquettish.
Even though he was prepared, Kael was still knocked five or six meters away.
"What a drag..." Kael rubbed his chest and said to Conna, who was holding back laughter, "I've reminded it many times, but it obviously hasn't listened once.
When you come here in the future, remember to be careful. Getting hit by it isn't pleasant at all."
Conna couldn't laugh anymore, looking nervously at the massive creature dozens of feet tall, she secretly decided that if Kael wasn't with her, she'd never come here alone.
"Is this really a Fire Dragon?" she couldn't help but ask.
"What else would it be?" Kael patted the scales on Norbert's head, "It certainly isn't a tabby cat..."
If it could change its appearance, that might actually be possible; after all, who has ever seen such a docile Fire Dragon... Conna muttered in her heart.
Kael looked at her somewhat apprehensive appearance and smiled, "Do you want to touch it?"
"Can I?"
Conna's eyes lit up, as she'd never had the chance to get close to a Fire Dragon before.
"Of course, no problem. Don't worry."
With Kael's reassurance, Conna gathered her courage and gently placed her hand on Norbert.
The Fire Dragon's scales weren't as smooth as she imagined, and the touch was warm, like touching the walls next to a fireplace.
Kael then took her onto Norbert's back.
Sitting on the dragon's back, Conna smiled happily, feeling something she never had before... very novel.
But Norbert wasn't happy, it snorted, spitting out a small puff of fire, but because Kael was also there, it couldn't move recklessly. It could only keep swaying its tail, making a banging sound on the ground, expressing its discontent.
...