Chapter 157: An Interesting Study
Chapter 157: An Interesting Study
More young wizards gathered in the courtyard, watching the group of examiners from a distance with awe.
A few seventh-year students cried out in surprise when they saw Machi Ban's wrinkled face.
"She's back again!"
"It's still mostly the same people."
"To be honest, every time I come, I feel like a troll being gawked at", Toffey grumbled.
Felix smiled and said, "These people are eager to see their Norns Goddess."
"I am not a goddess of fate, I'm a wizard", Felix replied.
It was bound to be a long day, especially for the fifth and seventh-year students, but Felix had done his part, and the rest was up to them.
At 9:30 AM the next morning, the Wizard Level Examination officially began.
The spacious Great Hall was transformed into an examination hall for the theoretical test, while several small rooms adjacent to the Great Hall were set up for practical assessments.
The morning was dedicated to theory, and the afternoon to practice, with the entire process lasting two weeks.
Felix took a quick glance during a break from teaching other grades. The Great Hall was completely silent, with only the sounds of quills scraping parchment and the fine grains of sand trickling through the hourglasses. He then turned to teach the sixth-year young wizards.
Felix strode into the classroom carrying a stack of parchments.
"Today, we will announce the final exam results."
Top students like Percy, Penelope, and Jeffrey held their breath, as if awaiting their fate.
"There are 33 exam papers in total: 12 excellent, 17 good, and 4 pass." Felix read out the overall scores. "Congratulations to all of you!" He distributed the papers.
The male and female wizards in the audience clapped vigorously, whispering to each other with delight.
"Of course, I must add one more thing—"
The students quieted down, looking up at Professor Hep.
"These scores do not include the practical bonus points. If we factor in these extra marks... I need to make a correction: 15 excellent, 18 good."
On their papers, a new line of handwriting appeared, indicating the practical bonus points for the 'Practical Runes' assessment. The evaluation grades were adjusted accordingly.
The wizards were overjoyed, and the classroom erupted in a loud celebration.
"This class, we will go over the exam papers, and the next practical class will continue as scheduled."
...
With two fewer grades to teach, Felix had a lot more free time, which he spent entirely in the Library.
It wasn't until the morning of the weekend that he saw his Assistant's figure.
She was writing an essay.
"Which professor is so inhumane to assign homework after the final exams?" Felix thought to himself as he watched her busy figure.
With less than two weeks left in the school year, professors generally did not assign homework to lower grades.
In the evening, he finally got his answer.
The young witch excitedly told him, "Professor, didn't you suggest I look into the relationship between wands and wizards? And you recommended the book 'Wand and Wizard'?"
"That's right", Felix replied.
"I skimmed through it earlier and found it very interesting. In fact, I became fascinated. Once the final exams were over, I finally had the time."
Hermione said, "I want to write an essay on it, not for publication—just for fun."
Felix asked with interest, "Have you finished it?"
"Just a part of it. A lot of it is copied material, and it hasn't formed a complete thought yet." She pulled out a stack of parchments from her bag and handed them to Felix. "It's got my notes and annotations, and some scattered ideas, so it might be a bit messy..."
"That's fine."
Felix said, "You can take a break and do something else, like watch a movie." He picked up the 'half-finished essay' and started reading it.
Hermione skillfully opened a small projector, rummaging through a box to find her favorite film reels.
After hesitating between 'Wuthering Heights' and 'Tom and Jerry,' Hermione ultimately decided to watch something light, as the former was too heavy for her.
Felix cast a Silencing Charm on himself and began reading slowly. He soon realized that this was indeed a casual essay, containing wand data of some of the young witch's friends.
For example, Harry Potter's wand: eleven inches, holly, phoenix feather, flexible and supple.
The young witch's notes read: "Holly, a rare wand material, generally believed to have defensive properties, symbolizing endurance and persistence, as well as death and rebirth. Suitable for those who need to overcome irritability and emotional impulsiveness."
"Phoenix Feather, difficult to tame."
She had underlined "overcome irritability and emotional impulsiveness" twice.
"But a holly wand often chooses wizards who share dangerous experiences and have strong spiritual pursuits, and its specific performance will align with the core material."
"A holly wand with a phoenix feather core is extremely difficult to manufacture, as their different characteristics can lead to significant conflicts. However, once this combination is formed, nothing can stand in its way."
Hermione had underlined the last sentence and added a question mark, possibly indicating disagreement or doubt.
The essay also included Ron Weasley's wand: fourteen inches, willow, unicorn hair.
The young witch's notes read: "Willow, another rare material, possessing healing power (?), suitable for casting silent spells."
"Unicorn hair: strongly repels dark magic, very loyal, and usually most compatible with its first owner."
She had underlined "very loyal" and "most compatible with its first owner", adding a small note: "Matches Ron and Neville's situations. Ron's old wand came from his brother Charlie, and Neville's old wand was inherited from his father. Both had unicorn hair cores."
Felix was somewhat surprised to see that, besides Ron Weasley, there were still people using old wands these days.
And they were from two famous wizarding families?
What were their parents thinking?
The name Longbottom wasn't just any name. Although not a symbol of pureblood, the Longbottoms had produced many distinguished wizards and were generally well-regarded.
The essay also included Hermione's own wand: fourteen inches, vine wood, with a dragon heartstring core.
Below were somewhat messy notes: "Vine wood wands typically choose wizards with lofty goals and foresight. They often do things that shock their friends who think they understand them."
Felix smiled lightly, sensing that Hermione Granger wasn't entirely calm when she wrote this.
He flipped through the pages, finding examples of her classmates and entries copied from the book Wands and Wizards.
To his surprise, he also saw Hermione's speculation about her own wand: Professor Hep, between twelve and fourteen inches, ebony, core unknown, possibly phoenix feather or dragon heartstring.
Next to it were two small letters, which Felix deduced as an abbreviation for dark magic. Had she seen some dark magic books in the Mind Chamber, leading her to rule out unicorn hair?
"Ebony wands are striking in appearance and are well-suited for offensive magic and Transfiguration. They choose wizards who have the courage to be themselves, who don't follow the crowd, are independent, or who feel like outsiders. Their owners often ignore external pressure and have strong convictions."
She had heavily marked "ignore external pressure" and "have strong convictions."
This essay used some reference materials but, in her opinion, was still quite important, carrying a prophetic and explanatory nature.
(End of Chapter)
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