Chapter 437: Exam Ends
Chapter 437: Exam Ends
After the exam began, they were called into the Great Hall by house. The Great Hall had been rearranged, with single desks and chairs set up facing the Faculty Desk at the far end. The seating arrangement seemed random, likely to prevent cheating. By the time Liam took his seat, half of the desks were already occupied.
Once everyone was seated, Professor Mcgonagall, standing by the Faculty Desk, announced the start of the exam. Liam immediately flipped open his exam paper.
The first question, he knew the answer. The second question, the same. The last question, he still knew the answer. Liam realized that he had accumulated a significant amount of knowledge, and the exam questions were much easier than he had expected. After repeatedly reminding himself to be careful and not get overconfident, Liam began writing on the exam paper with his quill.
By the time he finished, the sand in the hourglass had barely reached the halfway mark. This made Liam somewhat suspicious that he might have missed something, especially since in his previous life, he had heard of people with lower Iqs not noticing that there were questions on the other side of the paper.
After checking twice, he confirmed that everything was correct. The rest of the time, Liam had to pass in a state of boredom. Just like the College Entrance Exam, leaving the exam room early was not allowed unless there was an emergency.
"These questions were easier than we thought", Hermione said after the exam, finding Liam at the dining table. Due to the exams, the lunch seemed to be a notch better than usual. Hermione spoke as Liam was stuffing a delicious piece of roasted lamb into his mouth. "I felt I got everything right, but I couldn't help checking them many times. And for question 18, I might have overdone it a bit—"
"Relax, you did great", Liam interrupted after swallowing the lamb. "Now, hurry up and eat. You have the practical exam this afternoon."
At the door of the small room next to the Great Hall, the Study Group members, Hufflepuff Prefect Hannah Abbott, was the first to be called in for the practical exam. The round-faced, blonde girl grumbled, "I knew it would be me first. Every time it's alphabetical, I'm always the first."
Waiting was the most torturous part. Hermione and the Greengrasses went in together, but none of the students who had finished came back, so Liam had no idea how Hermione did. During the wait, many students were muttering spells and practicing wand movements, sometimes accidentally poking others in the back or eye.
Finally, Liam heard Professor Flitwick call his name. His assigned examiner was a stern-looking, gray-haired old lady with hawk-like eyes, reminiscent of Neville's grandmother.
"Please cast a spell on this cup according to my instructions. You can earn extra points if you demonstrate any special techniques", the examiner explained the rules as soon as Liam stood in front of the table.
Liam used the silent spell technique to cast the Levitation Charm, Color-Changing Charm, and Growth Charm. As he was allowed to leave, he saw the examiner nod in satisfaction.
After a tense evening, Liam smoothly passed the Transfiguration exam the next day, both the theory and practical sections. For a high-level Alchemist, the exam questions were almost too simple. However, it wasn't the same for others. Hannah was so nervous during her exam that she dropped her wand, and the floor inexplicably produced several ostriches. It took a few minutes to get them out.
The following exams went smoothly. Liam easily passed Herbology on Wednesday, thanks to his Nature Magic, and Dark Magic Defense Class on Thursday, where he earned extra points for his Crab Physical Patronus. However, this didn't draw too much attention, as more young wizards were able to produce Physical Patronuses this year than in previous years.
However, Professor Umbridge, the Dark Magic Defense Class teacher, was not pleased. After all, the Patronus is the bane of Dementors, and all Dementors in Britain are employed by the Ministry of Magic. This made the young wizards' attitudes toward the Ministry of Magic quite predictable.
After finishing his Ancient Runes exam on Friday and a busy weekend, Liam took his exams in Potions, Arithmancy, Care of Magical Creatures, and Astronomy throughout the new week. Unlike in the original story, with the Weasley Twins still around, there were fewer pranks at the school. Umbridge, naturally, didn't want to stir up trouble during such an important time by trying to fire professors.
"Finally, I can give up Arithmancy, Care of Magical Creatures, and Astronomy", Liam said wearily as he returned to the Common Room after his Astronomy exam. Even though the exam content wasn't difficult for him, two weeks of continuous testing had left him mentally drained.
Their last exam was History of Magic, which was scheduled for the afternoon. Since it was only a written exam, Liam slept in the next day and didn't wake up until around nine in the morning.
When he went downstairs, he found many classmates in the Common Room reviewing their notes. Hermione's three-and-a-half-foot-thick notebook copies were in front of many students, but Liam thought it was too late to study them if they hadn't been diligent before.
"Here, I brought you some food", Hermione said as she handed Liam two sandwiches wrapped in a handkerchief after he sat down next to her. "Just one more exam, and we'll be done. I hope I do well this time."
"You will", Liam replied with a big smile.
At two o'clock in the afternoon, the fifth-year students entered the Great Hall and sat down in front of their upside-down exam papers. The students were all calm, as the long preparation and continuous exams had finally come to an end. Once this exam was over, they could get some much-needed rest and relax for a while.
Professor Binns, as usual, did not appear to proctor the exam. Everyone was exhausted and just wanted to finish the long ordeal quickly.
"Turn over your exam papers", Professor Marchbanks said from the front of the Great Hall, immediately flipping over the large hourglass. "You may begin."
The exam questions were not simple memorization tasks. For example, the fourth question asked, "In your opinion, did the Wand Code contribute to or help better control the Goblin Rebellions of the eighteenth century?" This was much more challenging than the fifth question, which asked, "How was the International Statute of Secrecy violated in 1749, and what measures were proposed to prevent similar occurrences in the future?" The fourth question required a discursive answer without a straightforward solution.
These types of questions were scored based on the number of points addressed, and examiners would grade based on the completeness of the answers. There were many such questions, each requiring a substantial amount of historical evidence to support the arguments. Each question could be considered a mini-essay.
Liam felt his head buzzing before he had even answered half the questions. Fortunately, he persevered and managed to complete the entire exam.
While checking his answers, he occasionally looked up at the hourglass at the front of the hall and glanced at Harry, who was sitting in front of him. If he remembered correctly, in the original story, Harry saw Voldemort capture Sirius Black during this exam.
Now, Liam was most concerned about whether Harry would see any visions this time. Despite Harry's previous dreams, Voldemort still seemed to be following the historical pattern and planning to target the Prophecy in the Department of Mysteries.
However, nothing happened. Liam answered the last question about the Giants' expulsion and waited until Professor Marchbanks instructed everyone to put down their pens and start collecting the exams. Nothing out of the ordinary occurred, and Harry did not receive any signals from Voldemort or collapse in pain as he did in the original story.
What was Voldemort planning? As he walked out of the exam hall, Liam frowned, feeling out of place among the relieved students. He realized he was in a fog, and this uncertainty was deeply unsettling.
(End of Chapter)
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