On the final day of all the exams, Tver spent the entire day accompanying the students preparing for their O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s.
This had become the single most time-consuming task on his schedule lately.
Even ordinary exams were enough to make some students break down from nerves. Now, faced with tests that could very well determine their future, nervous students were everywhere.
Or rather, it was impossible to find a single student who wasn't nervous.
"I'm pretty confident I can get… wait, how many subjects am I taking again?" Percy stood at the doorway, his lips trembling.
"Don't be nervous. As long as you don't reveal anything you shouldn't, everything you've learned in class is more than enough to handle the examiners," Tver said, amused, as he reassured him.
If even a top student like Percy reacted like this, it went without saying how the others felt.
So Tver stayed by the entrance of the Great Hall, comforting students as they waited their turn. The Hall had been converted into an examination venue, and students entered one by one according to their subjects.
That said, Tver had great confidence in this year's students, more confidence than they had in themselves.
Based on past experience, students usually lost marks in practical sections.
They rarely had opportunities to apply magic in real situations. Most of their practice consisted of repeatedly casting spells.
Honestly, that kind of training reminded Tver of how he had learned English in his previous life, plenty of drills, but almost no chance to actually speak.
Now, after several years of adjustment, even though there were still many theory-heavy courses, the proportion of practical training was far higher than before.
The faint looks of surprise on the examiners' faces were proof enough that this cohort's performance had genuinely exceeded expectations.
Among those examiners were even elderly figures who had once invigilated Dumbledore's exams.
They had seen generation after generation of students pass through. While this class didn't produce anyone who could rival Dumbledore, their overall quality surpassed every cohort before them.
That was exactly what Tver wanted to see.
Change in the wizarding world wasn't something he alone should push forward. Wizards themselves needed the strength to face that change.
Tver wasn't a babysitter. What he cared about was the overall interests of wizardkind.
If a few individuals ended up destitute because they lacked ability, he wouldn't spare them a glance.
No, he might even watch coldly as they were gradually eliminated by this new society.
After the last group of students finished their exams in high spirits, Tver joined them for dinner in the Great Hall, which had been restored to its usual state.
It was one of the few remaining chances to spend time with the seventh-year students, so he thoughtfully sat down at the students' long table.
Surrounded by the lively crowd, Tver kept a faint smile on his face, listening to them talk about amusing moments from the exams and their hopes for the future.
He couldn't help wondering what expressions they would wear if they knew he planned to overturn the secrecy laws.
Still, he didn't stay in the Great Hall for long. After dinner, he took his leave.
He still had a pile of exam papers waiting to be dealt with.
But on the way back to his office, Tver caught sight of a strange figure.
"Draco, what are you doing here?"
Draco was holding a cup in his hands. A thin wisp of steam still rose from it, though not much warmth remained.
Seeing him here wasn't strange. What was strange was why he was standing outside Lupin's office.
Draco looked at Tver in surprise and delight, lifting the cup openly to show it to him.
"I came to look for Professor Lupin. Professor Snape asked me to deliver this… potion to him."
He leaned his head back slightly, clearly repelled by the smell wafting from the cup.
Tver shook his head with an amused smile.
Even though Lupin had already made it clear that he wouldn't be staying on at Hogwarts after the school year ended, Snape still tirelessly hinted at his werewolf identity in every possible way. Now he had even gone so far as to send a student to deliver Wolfsbane Potion.
As if he were afraid no one would notice.
Honestly, Snape's petty behavior was childish to the point of being almost endearing.
The real issue was that people feared werewolves because they didn't understand them.
Some outstanding upper-year students had long noticed Lupin's oddities, but out of trust in Dumbledore and genuine fondness for Lupin, they had never spread the matter around.
What Snape was doing now felt more like a child trying to tattle through roundabout hints.
"Is Professor Lupin not in his office?" Tver stepped forward and knocked on the door.
"I've been waiting here for almost twenty minutes, but Professor Lupin never came to open it," Draco replied obediently.
He had originally planned to come and ask about his exam results, or rather, to find out whether his scores were higher than Potter's.
Hearing this, Tver fell silent as he stared at the tightly closed door.
Tonight was the full moon.
Lupin just happened to be away from his office, and he hadn't taken the potion.
Which meant that tonight was likely the night Sirius Black would appear.
In Tver's memory, many events this year no longer lined up with the plot he remembered, and that had already planted a seed of doubt in his mind.
Over the past few years, he had gradually realized that he was most likely in the world of the original Harry Potter novels, not the film series he remembered so clearly.
On top of that, his very presence had already begun to introduce unknown changes into the wizarding world.
Blindly following the original plot was no longer an option.
Still, there was no need to worry. He already had enough composure and confidence to deal with these changes.
Draco looked at Professor Fawley, who had fallen into thought, with some confusion.
"Professor… did something unexpected happen?" he asked carefully, not wanting to interrupt the professor, yet unable to suppress his curiosity.
"It's a good thing," Tver said as he came back to himself, smiling as he took the cup from Draco's hands.
"Come on. Let's go sit in my office."
Draco immediately put his curiosity aside and followed closely behind the professor, slipping into the familiar office with practiced ease.
After sitting down and taking a few sips of pumpkin juice, he still couldn't hold back his curiosity.
"Professor, aren't you worried about Professor Lupin being a werewolf?"
"Why should we be?" Tver asked in return.
"He's a werewolf."
"So what? Outside of their transformed state, werewolves are no different from ordinary wizards. Hasn't everything you've seen this past year taught you that?" Tver explained patiently.
This kind of prejudice against magical creatures wasn't something that could be erased overnight. It required long-term, subtle influence.
And, ultimately, Draco would have to understand it for himself.
Draco nodded reluctantly.
He had grown up receiving the most traditional wizarding education, and his disdain for magical creatures ran deep.
If Lupin weren't genuinely a good person, he wouldn't even address him as "Professor."
If his father ever found out, he would probably think Draco had gone mad.
The thought made him laugh inwardly, accompanied by a sudden, exhilarating sense of rebellion.
But that wasn't what Tver wanted.
"Draco, if you want to become someone who stands above others, you must learn to view all of your subordinates as equals," Tver said.
"Whether they are werewolves, vampires, giants, or any other kind of magical creature."
"They are allies who help uphold your position, not servants to be ordered around."
Holding his cup, Tver looked at him with a meaningful gaze.
Whether Draco could truly grasp this would determine his future ceiling.
The words left Draco momentarily flustered.
Yet faintly, he felt as though he were standing before an important choice.
"Someone who stands above others… Is that what you want me to become?"
"That's up to you, Draco," Tver replied calmly, meeting his gaze. "My role is to teach you. What kind of person you choose to become has always been your own decision."
Draco took a deep breath.
"I don't know if I can do it," he said, meeting the professor's eyes with resolve. "But the one thing I can promise is that no matter what I have to do, no matter what ideas I need to change, I'll work hard for it."
In truth, he had never really thought about what kind of person he would become in the future.
As the heir to the Malfoy family, becoming the head of the Malfoy house was simply the natural course of things.
He neither looked forward to it nor resisted it.
But now, it felt as though a seed called ambition had quietly taken root in his heart.
...