Chapter 235: Flowers in Full Bloom and Interview Assessment

The dinner party officially started.

Ron said excitedly to Hermione as he stuffed a chicken drumstick into his mouth.

"Is what Professor Swan just said true? I'm a little doubtful about my ears. Can you win glory for the school and get gold Galleons just by playing wizard chess?"

"Hermione, could you help me confirm if this is what you mean."

Looking at Ron's excitement, Hermione smiled.

Of course she understood why Ron was so excited. After all, this good friend had always been good at wizard chess.

In the first grade, he successfully cracked Professor McGonagall's chessboard.

I would play wizard chess with others whenever I had nothing to do.

Now that playing wizard chess can bring honor to the school, Ron is of course eager to give it a good performance.

"It's just what you think, Ron. Professor Swan just said that this is the new 'Let a Hundred Flowers Bloom' program launched this year."

Hermione took a sip of pumpkin juice to moisten her throat and continued, "The purpose of this plan is to cultivate all-round talents for Hogwarts."

"As long as you have a skill, whether it's wizard chess, Gobstones or broom racing, as long as it's a competition openly recognized by the wizarding world, as long as you have the ability to participate, the school will let the professor accompany you to participate in these international competitions and win glory for the school."

Ron swallowed the chicken in his mouth and said loudly, "If you ask me, Professor Swan is a genius. He can always make all students play to their strengths."

"If I can win the grand prize in the wizard chess tournament, my mother will never say that I am wasting my time on playing around again."

"Are you going to participate in the wizard chess competition?" Hermione encouraged, "Then you better try your best."

"You should know that the Wizard Chess Tournament is a competition that all wizard chess masters in the magical world will participate in. It is completely different from the chess you usually play in school."

"You can't fall behind in your studies either. Of course, I believe you can take care of both."

"Ron," Harry also offered advice, "Didn't Professor Swann say that students can form interest groups on their own?"

"With your level, you can definitely form a wizard chess group and practice more with your team members. This will make it easier for you to participate in the wizard chess competition."

"Do you know when the next competition is?"

"Of course," Ron said with a beaming face. "The next Wizard Chess Tournament will be held in March next year in the UK. I have been paying attention to this information and now it finally comes in handy."

"You'll have plenty of time to prepare," said Harry, "and you can even challenge Professor McGonagall to a game of chess."

"I heard from Professor Swan that she is a famous wizard chess master. If you can beat Professor McGonagall, you will definitely get a good ranking."

Hermione agreed, "Professor McGonagall's teaching duties are much easier now. I'm sure she will be willing to help you."

Professor McGonagall wants to see students bring honor to the school more than anyone else.

Ron gritted his teeth and said, "Can I beat Professor McGonagall? I will try my best."

"By the way, is there any competition you guys want to participate in?"

Hermione frowned in thought.

To be honest, she has always focused on studying and has not paid attention to various competitions in the wizarding world.

At the moment, I really can’t think of any competition suitable for me to participate in.

What's more, this year I signed up for all elective courses except divination.

If it weren't for the magical props Professor McGonagall had just given him, he wouldn't have been able to take so many classes at the same time.

My schedule is extremely tight and I have to use every day as if it were two days, leaving me with no extra time to participate in those competitions.

"As for me," Hermione hesitated, "I won't participate in any international competitions."

"But I have an idea to take the 'interview test' mentioned by Professor Swann in the History of Magic and Astronomy classes."

"Interview assessment!" Ron said exaggeratedly, "This is too difficult."

“This needs to be approved by the professor first.”

"Then, all professors in the same subject will interview you at the same time, and the interview will cover all the knowledge points of this academic year."

"Although it's difficult, once you pass the interview, you can stop taking these two courses and don't do the homework for these two courses. You can save time for other courses." Hermione said firmly.

"Moreover, after passing the course, you don't have to take the final exams for these two courses. You can get an O (excellent) grade directly, which is still a good deal."

Ron smacked his lips. "I can't envy you enough. I can't envy you enough."

"Harry, what are your plans?"

Harry glanced at the professor's chair and said softly, "Professor Snape said that the third-year Potions class is no longer meaningful to me."

"I am more confident in my spell skills."

"So, I am going to take part in the interviews for both Charms and Potions."

"Professor Swan said that my Transfiguration skills are not good enough, so I have to squeeze out more time to practice Transfiguration."

"As for international competitions, I plan to participate in the Magic School Potions International Championship next April."

"Honestly, I want to quit the school Quidditch team and make more time for myself."

Harry glanced at Wood in the distance cautiously: "But this is just a thought. I'm afraid that Wood will be angry."

"This is his last year at school, and he must be thinking about winning the championship again."

"I don't mean to discourage you, Harry," Ron said, shaking his head, "you are still a long way from Krum's level."

"If we want to win the championship, we have to rely on the Chasers to widen the gap."

He changed the subject: "However, it is not without a chance. Two Chasers of Durmstrang have graduated, and one Beater has also graduated."

"With them replacing new players, we still have a good chance of winning the championship."

Ron counted on his fingers: "The Keeper is Wood, the Chasers are Fred, George, and Cedric, the Seeker is Harry, and the Beater is Roger Davis."

"Except for the lack of a power hitter, this is our dream team."

"Too bad... Marcus the Troll has graduated."

"Ron," Hermione said in a low voice, "Don't you know? Marcus failed too many subjects and is being held back."

"Look, he's sitting at the Slytherin table now."

"Merlin's big pants!" Ron glanced around and found that many students were pointing in Marcus' direction.

He turned his head and said in horror, "The professors are serious!"

"I thought this was just the professor's way of scaring us last year so we could study harder."

"This is too scary. It seems I really need to study hard."

"I don't want to repeat a grade. Not only will it be embarrassing, but my mother will definitely beat me to death."

"Hermione, you have to give me a hand, please."

When the last piece of dessert disappeared from the plate, Dumbledore declared the dinner over.

The students followed their house teams and headed towards their respective common rooms.

A lot has happened today and they can't wait to have a good rest.

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