Chapter 49 Chapter 49

Evan kept the diary with him at all times, as there was still the threat of Tom Riddle controlling another person to retrieve it, but he never opened it.

Thanks to Evan's caution, there were no attacks in the castle.

Four months have passed since Justin was petrified.

Almost everyone seems to think the attacker has given up.

One day, during breakfast, Evan overheard Professor Sprout and several students talking about the nearly matured mandrakes.

This brought great joy to people.

Hufflepuff is no longer avoiding them, and Peeves grew tired of mischief. Newspaper sales were rising, and attention was turning to the upcoming Quidditch match between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff, which will determine this year's Quidditch Cup winner.

Evan saw all the third-year students sitting in the common room, looking dejected on Easter Sunday.

"The school has asked us to choose a subject for the next year."

Harry and Colin entered with a list of course offerings, "It seems we have to add more subjects."

"Professor McGonagall told us to take it seriously," Hermione said, giving Harry and Ron a serious look, "This will impact our future."

"I don't want to, but I want to give up Potions," said Harry.

"Impossible!" said Ron, sounding dejected, "If we could drop core classes, I would have dropped Defense Against the Dark Arts."

"But that course is extremely important," Hermione said, surprised.

"With Lockhart, I haven't learned anything," Ron said.

Wizarding families' children received owls from their families telling them what to choose. This made the decision difficult for some students like Neville, who couldn't make up his mind.

As for Harry, who grew up in a Muggle family, he received no advice.

In the end, he closed his eyes and randomly pointed his wand to choose a subject.

"You can't do that, Harry," Hermione said quickly stopping him.

"Do you have any better ideas?" Harry asked, frowning.

"We can choose it all, the school didn't say it's not allowed, right?" Hermione said, uncertainly.

"Yes, but I don't want to do that," Harry quickly shook his head.

"Divination class seems interesting, you should choose that," Evan suggested while reviewing Harry's list, "It intrigues me, and I'd like to go over the material if you get the chance."

"Evan's advice is excellent as Divination can help you see the future," Percy said, after hearing that the mandrakes would soon mature, appearing back to normal, "The choice of subject depends on what you want to do in the future."

"They always say choosing Muggle Studies is stupid, but I personally believe that wizards should have a comprehensive understanding of Muggle society, especially if they want to work closely with Muggles. For instance, my father did so and handles things related to Muggles. My brother Charlie loves nature, so he chose Care of Magical Creatures and now works with dragons. So choose classes that will help you in what you want to do."

Percy's advice didn't have much impact as beyond Quidditch, Harry didn't know what he wanted to do.

"Professor McGonagall wants our choices by tomorrow, so think about it, Harry," Hermione said while going through all the subjects, "You too, Ron."

"You sound just like my mum!" Ron said, frowning.

Eventually, Harry and Ron chose the same subjects. They figured that even if the lesson was dull, they could endure it together.

Just as they finished writing their choices, they saw Hermione rushing in.

"I found out who was expelled from the school fifty years ago."

Hermione lowered her voice and said, "It was Hagrid, Hagrid opened the Chamber fifty years ago."

"That is impossible," said Harry hastily as he stood up.

"I wish it weren't him, but the evidence I found was concrete," Hermione said. "Since I couldn't find anything in the library, I wrote to the editor of the Daily Prophet and asked for help."

"What did he say?"

"He sent me a newspaper from fifty years ago," Hermione said as she pulled out a newspaper. "Look here, it says that Hagrid was expelled from school after a serious accident."

"We already knew that Hagrid was expelled!" said Harry, reluctant to accept the truth.

"Look at when it was reported, Harry," said Hermione. "There was an article reporting Myrtle's death and shortly after, this article about Hagrid's expulsion."

"Perhaps there is no connection between the two," said Harry, distressed.

"But after Hagrid's expulsion, the attacks stopped," sighed Hermione. "What could be serious enough to expel a student from school? Think about it, the last time we saw Hagrid was in Knockturn Alley."

"He was just buying potions to get rid of the slugs," said Harry, raising his voice. "Hermione, Hagrid would never intentionally harm anyone!"

"He certainly wouldn't, but what about the creatures he has?" Hermione hesitated. "Hagrid likes to have dangerous creatures, and he thinks they're all wonderful. Think about the three-headed dog and the dragon. Should we go ask Hagrid about these things?"

"That would be a pleasant visit. 'Hello, Hagrid, have you recently put anything terrifying in the castle?'"

"That's not funny, Ron. I think..."

"No, Hermione! Hagrid must be innocent, I trust him," said Harry stubbornly.

The four fell silent, the atmosphere tense, and for a moment, no one spoke.