https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-295-The-Thing-You-Worried-About-Happens-in-April/13460597/
Chapter 294: Mock Exam
Chapter 294: Mock Exam
The next morning, Felix was having breakfast in the Great Hall.
“Flap, flap!”
A newspaper-delivering owl landed on his table. He gave the owl a Knut and casually opened the newspaper. Before he could read the contents, a second and a third owl hopped onto the table, jostling each other and clattering the dishes.
“Congratulations, Professor Hup,” Lupin said from beside him, pointing to the headline of the opened newspaper—“Youngest St. Mungo’s Medical Badge Recipient!”
Felix politely replied, “Thank you—oh!” He dodged a beak from an irritable owl and extracted the letter tied to its leg. But soon, seven or eight more owls arrived, flapping their wings and eyeing Felix intently, urging him to take the letters quickly.
He drew his wand and tapped the rim of his cup. All the letters from the owls flew over to him, and he deftly caught them in his hand. He told Lupin, “Actually, I received the badge a while ago. They just announced it now.”
The owls drank some orange juice and snatched a couple of biscuits before flying off. The table was a mess, but Felix decided not to eat anymore. He gathered the letters together.
He first glanced at the Daily Prophet, which featured a photo of him receiving the St. Mungo’s Medical Badge. He was standing with a group of healers who looked much older, with the St. Mungo’s Magical Medical Association logo in the background. Felix stood in the middle, smiling gently, holding a blue-green shield-shaped badge with a serpent staff in the center and a light green 'M' in the background. Dorothea Boham was standing beside him.
Next, Felix began opening the letters one by one. Most were from the healer community, including greetings from new healers and invitations to exchange ideas from more established healers. He collected these letters, planning to take the time to reply to each one.
One letter with a gray cover caught his attention. It was from the Ministry of Magic. The letter praised his outstanding contributions in the field of memory damage treatment and awarded him the Order of Merlin, Second Class.
At the bottom of the official document was a long list of signatures from current Wizengamot members. He recognized several familiar names—Amelia Bones, Barty Crouch, Tiberius Ogden, Griselda Marchbanks, Albus Dumbledore, Cornelius Fudge…
“Order of Merlin, Second Class, not bad,” Felix said. He had thought Fudge would delay the process indefinitely.
The award ceremony was scheduled for two weeks later, giving him plenty of time to make arrangements.
As he left the Great Hall, Felix saw a short, plump witch in pink clothing. He frowned but said nothing. Umbridge didn’t come often, but her presence was hard to ignore. Her presence was even more noticeable than the resident Aurors, Tonks and another male Auror.
Many young wizards knew that a senior Ministry of Magic official who loved wearing pink had appeared at the school, sometimes accompanied by two Aurors, sometimes alone, and always with a smile that seemed more suited to a little girl.
Umbridge kept a low profile. She stood with Filch, and when Felix looked over, Mrs. Norris ran up to him, rubbing against his feet.
“Lorises, you look much better,” Felix said. The cat’s once-rough fur was now smooth, and she had gained some weight, making her eyes less prominent and less strange.
“Meow~”
Mrs. Norris purred lazily, but her voice was as unsettling as ever.
Umbridge turned around and saw Felix. She quickly turned away, whispering to Filch, who loudly responded, “Professor Hup… you asked the right person. He’s a good man…”
“Quiet!” Umbridge hissed, glancing nervously back at Felix, who was smiling at her. She hurriedly handed Filch a bag, gave him some instructions, and left.
“What did she ask you to do?” Felix asked as he approached.
Filch spat, “She wanted to gather information about the professors and you. She was being sneaky, asking me to plant some detectors around the school. When I asked her who it was for, she wouldn’t say.”
“Give them to me, Mr. Filch,” Felix said. “I’ll ask Minerva. By the way, do you still have enough of Mrs. Norris’s tonic?”
"Enough, enough, we still have some left from before", Filch said with a red face, "I also asked Madam Pomfrey to make a new batch, just in case I made a mistake... Look at how beautiful Mrs. Norris is now, not a single young wizard who makes a mistake can escape!"
"Cough, cough!" Felix cleared his throat, "If you have any questions, just let me know. I need to go, I have a class..."
...
Seventh-year Ancient Runes class.
Felix scanned the students below, "Try to focus, everyone. We are simulating the N.E.W.Ts exam. Although you've done well over the past few months, you should still approach it with respect."
The wizards below laughed and chatted until he reminded them, "Ten minutes left." Then, the students began their final checks.
Sunlight filtered through the tall windows, casting dappled light spots on their exam papers. The tall Marcus hunched over his narrow desk, mimicking the conditions of the N.E.W.Ts exam. His head was tilted low, his eyes scanning the entire paper quickly, occasionally using his quill to modify his answers. His other hand was busy fighting with his acne.
Jeffrey, Penelope, and Percy had finished their exams early, but Percy was still frowning as he checked his answers until the very last moment, when he finally relaxed and smiled in satisfaction.
"Time's up. Everyone—quills down, papers to me."
Dozens of exam papers fluttered toward Felix, who placed them on the podium. A palm-sized magical automaton immediately jumped onto the stack, holding a golden quill, and began grading the papers.
Penelope sighed, "It's amazing to see the progress. Professor's magical automaton can now grade exams for him."
Percy nodded, "You know how powerful my advanced magical automaton is. It has only stored a bit over a hundred books so far, but it can instantly provide me with any information I need."
Penelope said regretfully, "Unfortunately, I didn't sign up for the dueling competition. Missing this opportunity means I'll graduate next year without it."
"Alright, everyone, we need to wait a few minutes", Felix looked at the class, "I'm glad to see you all finished your exams. Normally, this exam would take a whole morning, but our simulation only lasted two hours... and a bit less."
"Because of your thinking classroom!" Wood exclaimed loudly. He had every reason to be excited. From being a complete Ancient Runes failure to finishing the exam early, it had only been a few months.
And, at the very least, he was sure to get an E, and if he was lucky, he might even get an O.
Wood's comment earned a round of applause, with two boys whistling and cheering.
Felix waited for the classroom to quiet down, then smiled, "Knowledge is there, but not everyone will learn it. We have some time left, so let's chat... What are your plans after graduation, have you decided?"
"I'll help out at home", Jeffrey said.
"Ministry of Magic", Percy said eagerly.
"Uh, I haven't decided yet... but Woodmill United has invited me to join their Quidditch team as a reserve player, and I've been thinking about it", Wood scratched his chin.
Many others were still undecided, but they shared their aspirations—
"I want to go to Gringotts!"
"I think traveling and seeing different countries' magic would be great..."
A few minutes passed, "Alright, let's see your results." Felix picked up the exam papers and began flipping through them. "Hmm..."
The students watched Professor Hup intently, the classroom was silent, not even a rustle of paper. They listened carefully to every word he said.
Felix announced the results, "Everyone passed! No one scored below an E, and there are twenty-three O's."
A Hufflepuff wizard shouted, "When the real exam comes, everyone getting an O isn't impossible, Professor! Hogwarts might have a new legend!"
Felix chuckled, "Legend... is it you, or me?"
"Of course... it's all of us!" the boy winked, and the classroom was immediately filled with a happy atmosphere.
(End of Chapter)
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