Time slowly passed, and gradually, eliminated young wizards began to appear. They collapsed from mental exhaustion in the castle and were dragged by the Sphinxes to a mist-free compartment on the castle's top floor to recover.
These eliminated students didn't completely lose their chance to join the club. After this assessment ended, he would announce three regular ways to join the club, though those methods would be relatively more difficult compared to this assessment.
With deep black eyes, Evans's gaze pierced through the water dungeon and basement floor, observing everything happening in the castle above.
Although in this state he could only see the magical power fluctuations within those young wizards and couldn't know exactly what was happening, he could roughly grasp the assessment's progress.
The seal fragments had been collected almost completely. In at most another half hour, this group of young wizards would be able to face his final challenge.
He hoped they had collected enough items by now.
Suddenly, a burst of intense magical radiance drew Evans's attention.
In his vision, the large pit nearby suddenly lit up with light. Accompanied by a cry of surprise, the light erupted from the pit, hitting the water dungeon's ceiling, and took several seconds to completely dissipate.
Turning off the Thestral's eyes, Evans stood up and came to the edge of the pit to look down.
He saw Hermione sitting on the ground holding a book, while nearby, the round Nana lay sprawled beside the hatch door, looking very satisfied.
It was clear that her unauthorised expedition had yielded rich rewards.
"Professor Kahn!" Looking up and seeing Professor Kahn overhead, Hermione's face showed delight as she quickly said: "I thought this was part of your assessment earlier, but I didn't expect..."
"It's fine; let me help you get out first."
Evans drew his wand and first cast a Levitation Charm on Hermione, who was sitting on the ground. Watching her slowly float up, he narrowed his eyes and pointed his wand at the round Niffler.
"Accio Nana."
Nana, who had been lying on the ground enjoying herself, didn't react to what was happening before being sucked up by a great force and then caught by a pair of strong hands.
Meeting Evans's somewhat grim gaze, Nana's movements became stiff as her little paws hugged her bulging belly.
But she couldn't prevent what happened next.
Grabbing the Niffler's legs, Evans shook her downward, and countless gold and silver tableware fell from Nana's pouch, piling up into a small mountain on the ground.
After the tableware finally stopped falling, Evans placed the somewhat dizzy Niffler back on the ground and spoke softly:
"I see you haven't been studying for quite a while?"
Seeing Nana's expression suddenly become incredibly stiff, the corner of Evans's mouth curved into a cold smile.
"Perfect. After today's assessment ends, those three should have some free time."
"How about I send you to their box for some remedial study?"
By the time Hermione slowly floated out of the pit, this was the scene she witnessed.
The tableware that Nana had taken after the assessment ended lay quietly scattered on the water dungeon floor, while the Niffler was now hugging Professor Kahn's leg with teary eyes, pleading for something.
"No point in begging. My decision is final, and you've been neglecting your studies far too long."
Hearing this, the last glimmer of hope in Nana's eyes slowly faded. She collapsed to the side like she'd lost all her dreams, becoming a useless Niffler doll.
Looking amusingly at the drama queen sprawled on the ground, seeing that Hermione had floated out, Evans waved his hand, dispelling the Levitation Charm on her and letting her stand firmly on the ground again.
"Professor Kahn!"
As her feet touched the ground, Hermione's first instinct was to step forward, but having grown accustomed to the feeling of the Levitation Charm, she nearly stumbled to the ground.
With a wave of his wand, a breeze caught Hermione, who was about to fall. She stood in place for two seconds to recover before running to Evans's side, her expression very urgent, holding a book in one hand while gesticulating frantically with the other.
Before leaving that room, she had learnt some incredible news from that lady.
"Um, that, that..."
Seeing the girl who obviously had a lot to say but didn't know where to start, Evans said gently:
"Don't rush; speak slowly."
Swallowing, Hermione finally calmed her inner excitement, organised her words slightly, and quickly spoke:
"Professor! I think I met one of Hogwarts' founders, Lady Helga Hufflepuff!"
"Mm, I know."
"...Huh?"
"So, she taught you a bunch of ways to heal magical creatures and plants, then gave you a book of recipes?"
Taking the book Hermione handed him and flipping through it briefly, Evans's expression became incredibly strange.
It recorded a bunch of weird magical dishes, with their uses and consumption guides noted at the end.
But this was Hufflepuff's little surprise?
So your legacy was to train a cook?
"Oh right, Professor!" Hermione seemed to suddenly remember something, slapping her forehead and pulling two items from her pocket to place in Evans's hands, looking at him expectantly.
"That lady said if I showed you this, you'd let me join the Magical Creatures Club. And she also gave me something, telling me to hide it well, but I think you should see it."
Taking the items from Hermione's hands, Evans looked carefully, and a flash of surprise crossed his eyes.
One wasn't anything special. It was a badge with a waving badger painted on it, along with text identical to the previous signature.
Helga Hufflepuff
What surprised Evans most was the second item Hermione gave him.
It was something like an astrolabe, but with five different pointers. One pointed at Hermione with a book symbol painted on the pointer, while the rest slowly rotated, apparently not having found their targets.
Evans could see clearly that among the five pointers, one had a small goblet painted on it, rotating slowly with the others as if searching for some treasure.
Looking deeply at the goblet-like pattern, Evans handed the astrolabe back to Hermione and said softly:
"I approve of your joining the club. Keep this thing safe. Try not to show it to anyone."
"I'll tell Headmaster Dumbledore about this. We might need to borrow this item recently, and I'll notify you when the time comes."
"No problem, Professor!"
Putting the astrolabe back in her pocket, Hermione showed a brilliant smile.
"Come on, let's go see how the other members' assessments are progressing."
With that, Evans placed his hand on Hermione's shoulder.
The next second, a silver-white arc flashed, and both disappeared from the spot.