#760 - Harry's Doubts (asking for monthly ticket recommendation ticket)

Meanwhile, the candidates, using conventional spells for the outdoor survival trial and lacking the various alchemical equipment they had in the dungeon, quickly found themselves in trouble.

They might be skilled at using outdoor survival tools to make food, set up camp, stay alert, identify directions, drive away dangerous creatures, and so on, but when it came to chasing fugitives, they were somewhat at a loss.

Only a small number of candidates were able to flexibly use the tracking methods from 《Tactical Training》, capturing traces of the enemy with only basic tracking spells and visual observation.

Most of the rest were just guessing, picking a suspicious direction and chasing after it, and if they found nothing, they would come back, just like a rabbit running around aimlessly.

Among them were some particularly stubborn individuals who chased after a false direction, even intruding into the trial areas of other candidates.

And for these disorganized students, Anduin decisively eliminated them in advance, saving them from continuing to embarrass themselves.

So, although it was said to be three days of outdoor survival, people were actually being kicked out early every day, and by the last day, there were only ten or so candidates left in the Forbidden Forest.

These were all students who persisted in diligent training, and they had also used the techniques Anduin taught in class to catch the tails of their targets.

In the end, only 7 members were able to successfully complete the capture mission, the rest of the candidates either ran out of time or couldn't beat the constructs playing the fugitives.

Faced with this extremely dismal pass rate, whether it was the 7th-year students who participated in the final exam, or the other students, Aurors, and professors, they all felt Anduin's strictness.

"So, these are the only graduates who will be able to obtain the Tactical Training certificate?" Amelia asked, looking at the 7 students who had just been brought back to school, looking battered and exhausted.

She was not actually satisfied with this result. Amelia had been watching the performance of the candidates during the trial, and in her mind, the performance of the last dozen or so people was quite good.

It was just a pity that the enemies Anduin arranged at the end were ridiculously strong, even more difficult to deal with than the Dark Wizards that formal Aurors had to face, and those candidates had endured three full days of hardship.

Such a harsh pass rate made her feel sorry for those candidates, and she even wondered if Anduin was deliberately making things difficult?

Originally, the Ministry of Magic's Examination Authority had arranged for people to come and invigilate to prevent professors from being soft-hearted and giving students a back door, but Anduin was so good that the exam he set was so difficult that even the invigilators couldn't stand it.

Faced with Amelia's slightly dissatisfied questioning, Anduin still shook his head indifferently, "No, this only proves that they have passed the third exam. The subjects for the first two exams have not yet been released. I will send the final grades back to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement via 'Magical Fax' in a few days. I remember Fudge equipped you with this type of office communicator."

"You..." Seeing Anduin's still stern face, Amelia could only shake her head helplessly, "Well, alright, but I think the last dozen or so candidates who persisted until the last day were all quite capable. Give me their names."

Although Anduin insisted on his high standards, Amelia had her own ideas.

"It's up to you to decide how many people to recruit, but I still advise you not to open the floodgates too wide," Anduin reminded earnestly.

"You know, this is only the first class of graduates who have studied Tactical Training. As time goes on, the quality of the graduates will definitely get better. Don't miss out on even better talents because there aren't enough positions."

Amelia couldn't help but remain silent for a while after hearing this. She knew that what Anduin said was indeed true. When she observed the little wizards' exams a few days ago, she discovered many good seedlings. When these children grow up, they will probably be even better than the wizards who passed the final exam now.

"Understood, I will consider it carefully, but the Ministry of Magic is indeed short of manpower right now, and expansion is inevitable. You can provide the list first, and I will select them in detail." Amelia was obviously persuaded by Anduin, but considering the recent complaints from the Aurors in her department, she had to balance things out.

"Alright, I'll send you the list later, and I'll also note their past classroom performance and evaluations. The rest is up to you to consider." Anduin knew Amelia's difficulties, so he didn't try to persuade her further.

At this point, the end-of-year exams for the 1991 school year at Hogwarts finally came to an end, and what awaited the students next was the end-of-year ceremony.

As for the results of the final exams, according to past practice, they would be sent to the students by owl post in a few weeks.

Of course, since the Silver Flash Charm, this process has also been simplified. Students can see their grades in the Silver Flash Charm system a week after the summer vacation starts.

And this end-of-year ceremony, although it was held very grandly, the little wizards' interest was obviously not in it.

This was mainly because everyone had already been partying for three whole days in the previous two days, and there was still a live broadcast of outdoor survival to watch at that time.

In addition, the little wizards of this school year were indeed too tired. They had been tossed around by all kinds of training subjects for so long, and they had long been looking forward to going home for the summer vacation to enjoy themselves. The end-of-year banquet even seemed a bit redundant in their eyes.

However, there was one thing that everyone was paying attention to at the banquet, and that was the ownership of the House Cup.

Due to Anduin's intervention this year, the heavy training and the popularity of the Ruins Dungeon made the number of violations of school rules at Hogwarts much lower than in previous years, so the scores of the four houses were not particularly far apart.

However, due to the foundation laid by Anduin for Slytherin, the Snake House still dominated with scores significantly higher than the other houses.

As a result, when Dumbledore finally announced the awarding of the House Cup, he actually pulled a trick. He gave Gryffindor House an extra 100 points for outstanding contributions, giving the Lion House the House Cup for this school year.

This change naturally made the little lions of Gryffindor ecstatic, but it also made the Slytherin students very unhappy, and of course, that included their head of house, Snape.

"That damn old codger, he's being biased!" Snape looked at Anduin with dissatisfaction, and then complained incessantly, "Look, the house you painstakingly managed back then was actually taken away by him with this excuse. Isn't this favoritism?"

"Oh? Now the house has become something I painstakingly managed?" Anduin looked at him with amusement, "Haven't you always attributed the success of the Snake House to your effective leadership?"

"Besides, you should also know the reason why the headmaster did this. Speaking of which, if you were still a student, he might even secretly give you extra points."

"Hmph..."

Snape naturally knew that Dumbledore was doing this to give points to Harry and others for assisting in the capture of Voldemort, but he was still a little upset.

Then he couldn't help but instigate Anduin, "But that guy was caught by you single-handedly. Don't you feel resentful? If I were you, I would definitely protest to the old guy."

"Don't!"

Anduin had no idea what Snape was up to, and quickly distanced himself.

"I'm not the Slytherin Head Boy now, and I'm not their head of house anymore. What does this have to do with me? Besides, those kids did contribute a lot. It's no big deal to give them some points to encourage them. If you have any objections, go talk to the headmaster yourself."

"You guy, how can you be so ungrateful?"

Seeing that Anduin was unmoved, Snape immediately became angry, but he also knew that what the other party said was true. Compared to luring Voldemort, the mere House Cup was nothing.

However, Snape, who valued honor, couldn't help but mutter to himself, but when the students of his own house cast inquiring glances, he turned a blind eye, obviously not planning to stand up for them on this matter.

Anduin next to him didn't pay any more attention to Snape, just leisurely enjoying the delicacies of the banquet. Since Kiki had gone to the Hogwarts kitchen to give some guidance, the elves in the school had obviously improved their cooking skills.

During this time, Anduin felt that a gaze was always lingering on him. When he looked back along the gaze, he found that it was Harry, who had a look of apprehension on his face.

Anduin understood when he saw this, and his mouth moved silently a few times. Then, Harry in the distance seemed suddenly startled, but quickly nodded at him as if in response.

After the end-of-year banquet, Anduin didn't rush back to the Leona, nor did he leave Hogwarts. Instead, he returned to his office and quietly waited for someone.

Sure enough, it wasn't long before the door of the office was knocked, and the figure who walked in was Harry.

"Professor, I came here as you asked. Is there something you wanted to see me about?"

Harry, who had just experienced the end-of-year banquet, was like a lion who had completed a hunt, and hadn't yet shed the excitement left behind by partying with his friends.

But when he saw Anduin, he couldn't help but maintain his composure. But this was also the norm. No one could calmly talk to Anduin after witnessing Anduin's godlike descent and killing a Dark Lord.

"It's obviously you who have something to find me for," Anduin smiled warmly at Harry. He had noticed earlier that the other party seemed to have something he wanted to ask him.

"You can't hide anything from you, Professor?" Harry scratched his head awkwardly. He didn't expect the other party to be so perceptive. "It's like this, I've unlocked all the blind boxes you gave me."

After speaking, Harry took out the items he got from the blind boxes, which were a rune disc, an old-fashioned pendant, and a black and white photo.

Not long ago, Harry was influenced by Hermione's interpretation of power, and tried to directly use attack spells to open the last layer of the blind box.

As a result, he didn't expect this idea to be correct. After repeatedly charging up and casting spells, the blind box was actually opened. Such a simple and unexpected process made him feel very sudden.

But when he saw the things inside the blind box, the doubts in Harry's heart became more and more numerous, and he became more and more curious about the relationship between Anduin and his parents.

Therefore, he wanted to ask Anduin several times, but that was when the other party was busiest, and he couldn't see him even once all day.

And today, at the end-of-year banquet, just as Harry was hesitating whether to muster up the courage to find Anduin, he received a telepathic message from Anduin.

"So fast? As expected of Lily's child, it seems your talent is no worse than your parents'." After seeing the items in Harry's hand clearly, Anduin nodded knowingly.

"Presumably, you have a lot of doubts in your heart after seeing these things. I promised that when you solve all the riddles, I will answer them for you, so ask whatever you want."

Harry nodded happily when he heard this, and then looked at Anduin uneasily, "Professor, are the items in the blind box all related to my parents? What kind of people were they? What is your relationship with my parents?"

"Also... I can recognize my parents in this photo, but who are the other people?"

Faced with Harry's barrage of questions, Anduin shook his head helplessly, "It seems you have a lot of questions in your heart. It's my fault for hiding it from you for so long."

Then Anduin said to himself, "But I'm not the kind of person who likes to be sentimental, and I'm also afraid that after you know my relationship with you, it will affect your studies."

"The items in your hand are indeed related to your parents. It should be said that they were all things your parents gave me back then."

"My parents gave them to you?" Harry became even more curious after hearing Anduin say this.

"Yes."

After responding, Anduin first picked up the rune disc.

"This rune disc was the Christmas gift your parents gave me eleven years ago. It was also it that led me into the world of Runes. Don't look down on its simple functions, but it was thanks to it that I was able to develop one rune after another during my student days, and then open the path of an alchemist."

"Being able to use it to solve the puzzle so quickly proves that your foundation in Runes is good. If there is a chance in the future, I can also guide you to study Runes."

"And this pendant..."

Anduin looked at the pendant engraved with a doe pattern, and a trace of emotion couldn't help but rise in his heart. So much time has passed?

"This pendant, although it looks dilapidated, is a testimony to when I met your mother, and it is also a symbol of our friendship. It even saved my life." Anduin paused and continued.

"At the same time, this is also the first alchemical item I came into contact with. Although the function is very simple, I spent a lot of effort to analyze it back then."

Speaking of this, Anduin didn't know why, but Snape's figure suddenly appeared in his mind, and the scene of his first encounter with the Death Eaters and Sirius eleven years ago appeared.

After shaking his head to clear his mind, Anduin looked at Harry with firm eyes, "Your mother is an excellent wizard, scholar, husband, and mother. You must remember this. She is more worthy of respect than most people in the world."