His disdain for mediocre education has made him ignore most of the theoretical parts of knowledge taught in school. His defence against dark arts and ancient runes knowledge was vast as he has been learning it from the age of five and most of the stuff he experimented was based on these subjects. But he has ignored subjects like magical history, arthimancy, herbology and potions. His family has specialised potioneers, so he has never felt the need to invest time to learn the subject itself. His knowledge in astronomy was passable and though he has extensive knowledge of charms, it was focused mostly on hexes and jinx.
After the death experience, O'Shea realised that he was too dependent on his family and previously he only wanted to follow the knowledge that his family has stored. But now, he have decided to learn the basics of magic taught here at Hogwarts as the main curriculum still followed the original idea implemented by the four archmages. He felt somewhat conflited in attending some of the classes but in his defense, Hogwarts has quite a few subpar teachers for subjects like knowledge of magical creatures, magical history, divination and there was no one teaching an important subject like alchemy.
On the other hand, from a student's point of view, he came to realise that every head of the house was an excellent teacher particularly Filius Flitwick whose mastery may exceed the common high wizards of his family.
Now that he has planned to extend his stay in wizarding world outside, he needed credentials to establish an identity apart from his family. Even though it seemed difficult at the moment but in the long term, scoring good in O.W.L.S. and N.E.W.T.S. will allow him a lot of freedom in acquiring a ministry job. It will lead him to a variety of pathways filled with varied branches of knowledge.
With chaos spreading all around, it was the best time to enjoy the resources British ministry of Magic has kept hidden for so long. Yes, his target was to become an Unspeakable from the department of Mysteries.
It was a boring job quite away from the limelight of war but all this fighting and subsequent capture of death eaters will go as long as 1984, according to the memory of that dead politician. By that time, around seven years ahead, he will be easily enclosed as a senior employee in the department and enjoying access to all kinds of deep and mysterious knowledge without fearing about anyone watching him over the shoulder.
Scoring good in O.W.L.S. may be difficult for others but for him, it was comparatively easy as he had limited theoretical knowledge but his practical skills were top-notch. So, learning charms according to the prescribed syllabus was a walk in the park, but it was potion-making actually which turned out to be his sore lacking skill.
So, he decided to turn his inability in an opportunity. Learning Potions was easy as Slytherin's house head was Horace Slughorn, and he also have in his sight three genius potioneers, Snape, Belby, who was a fourth year from Slytherin and last but not the least Lily Evans, my next target.
Horace Slughorn was a braggart and pompous in nature but his teaching skills were not to be questioned. With a bit of prodding and flattering, he agreed to give some extra classes and refered me some outdated books and journals to quickly build my basics in potions. I planned to learn the foundations of potion making from Slughorn before spending some time bonding...I mean, learning from Snape and Belby. Lily Evans, I planned to approach last before O.W.L.S. but in this case I think Lady Luck favoured me.
Surprisingly, extra classes with Slughorn helped me get acquainted with Lily Evans without any hardwork on my part and that too without any plotting..erm, I mean planning. In future, she might turn out to be a formidable witch after continuous fights with death eaters but that was a story of a different day. Today she was a muggle born witch, sharp but limited in her knowledge of the wizarding ways. Most importantly, she didn't have the protectors around her, James Potter and Sirius Black as they would have outright rejected her meeting with a Slytherin pureblood.
I met Lily Evans when she was asking Slughorn some questions related to advanced potions. So, I requested Slughorn for her information despite knowing it and he was very happy to comply. We shook hands as Slughorn introduced us.
After she left, Slughorn said to me,
"Ah, you are too anti-social, Wyllt, you should go out and make some friends. How long are you going to be packed in a room, boy?"
"I have spent too much time on my own Professor. If I really went and accompanied someone they will doubt my intentions. After all, the wars have divided us too deeply. Noone trusts anyone these days, professor."
"This war, what a tragedy! That's a very sad thing to happen, really sad. Let me help youto the end. Why don't you come to my Slug club meeting this weekend now that Hogsmeade visits are banned, I was planning a last party before the exams begin. Come over this weekend, you will come to know the outstanding witches and wizards of your generation in my club. Maybe they will give you a hand in your career in future. After all, it is always nice to have some connections, my boy."
"Thank you sir. I will definitely be there."
That week turned out to be quite a lucky one for O'Shea. As he went back and entered the Slytherin dungeons, Bloody Baron told him that Snape was looking for him. This news exhilarated O'Shea as this talk to Severus will decide the results of his first plan after using the skills of the dead politician.
He knew Snape would have tried to collect information about his family business and it would never yield any dark secret. What a joke as a hidden superpower would his family be if some seventeen years old boys could dug out their true capabilities? He expected Snape to meet him along with his coterie, maybe try to threaten him for some detailed information but it seems like he was a true loner and wanted to discuss private matters alone.
After dinner that day Snape met me in hallways and said,
"I wanted to ask your opinion on a few matters before deciding."
"If it's about specifics of the job offer, I can arrange a meeting with my family or if it's something else I will try to answer."
"I have asked around about your family business. It's reputed and have a long history. I also came to know that your family is pureblood, have a seat in nearly all wizarding council and governing bodies but it doesn't associate with other families of our group. My question is simple."
He fixed his hawk like visage on me and asked with clenched teeth,
"Are you planning to join Dumbledore or will you remain on our side? If you want to join Dumbledore, I would rather have my mother away from this job."
"These type of decisions are not taken by me. My elders decide what to do in or who to support in the wizarding councils or Wizengamot. I can neither inform nor interfere in that decision making. As far as war is concerned, we won't be joining either side but if you are specific about Dumbledore, that much I know about. We won't be giving help to him in any capacity."
"If your family changes position, I.."
"This decision has been finalized long ago. Regardless of circumstances, we won't be supporting of Order Of Phoenix or Dumbledore. If that is your worry you can be rest assured."
"Alright then, if what you say is correct then she will go to the hills. I have thought about your offer and talked to my mother. She has agreed and I do too. "
"Fine, I will send an owl to the family."
We parted ways after entering the dungeon and entered our dorms seperately.
A few days later, I made myself presentable, checked out my handsome face in the transfigured mirror and went to attend my first Slug club gathering.