Chapter 366: Griselda Marchbanks
The next day was Thursday. After breakfast, Kyle and Kanna walked out of the Great Hall together, ready to head to Transfiguration class. When they arrived at the classroom, they found Professor McGonagall already waiting outside the door, effectively blocking their entrance.
"Miss Prince, would you please go in first?" she said, gesturing to Kanna.
"Yes, Professor McGonagall." Kanna nodded and walked into the classroom without hesitation.
Then Professor McGonagall turned to Kyle, guiding him into the adjacent hallway. She smiled warmly as she began, "Do you remember the paper you submitted to me a month ago?"
"You mean the Transfiguration Today Most Promising Newcomer Award?" Kyle asked, a bit surprised. "Is it time already?"
"Not quite," Professor McGonagall replied, her smile widening. "But I have some inside information... good news, actually. Hulse, the Editor-in-Chief overseeing the Newcomer Award, is a friend of mine. I happened to ask her about it in a recent letter, and while she didn't say anything outright, she dropped a hint... Madam Marchbanks really appreciates your paper."
"Madam Marchbanks..." Kyle repeated thoughtfully. "Is she the Lady Marchbanks from the Wizarding Examinations Authority?"
"I didn't expect you to know about her." Professor McGonagall looked a bit surprised. Madam Marchbanks, after all, was over 120 years old and seldom seen. She only visited Hogwarts at the end of each school year to oversee the O.W.L. and N.E.W.T. exams for fifth and seventh years. Most younger students hadn't even heard of her.
"Charlie mentioned her once," Kyle explained. "He said that after the O.W.L.s, he saw Professor Dumbledore personally escorting an elderly woman out of the school. Later, he told us it was Madam Marchbanks, who's been with the Ministry of Magic for a century and was even Dumbledore's examiner when he graduated."