Chapter 491: Exam Week
Chapter 491: Exam Week
The arrival of June signaled the onset of exams for the students.
Professors no longer assigned homework and even used class time solely for reviewing what they deemed essential.
Last-minute cramming was crucial, and students had to force themselves to study diligently, including Fred and George, who buckled down to avoid failing grades.
In truth, as long as one's brain was functioning and they were willing to put in the effort, passing the final exams would be a breeze, especially since the professors had already highlighted the key points.
As the exam dates loomed closer, everyone had to spend an excessive amount of time cooped up in the stuffy castle studying, and tempers began to flare.
Percy Weasley was a prime example, as he was about to take his Ordinary Wizarding Levels (O.W.Ls). He strictly punished anyone who dared disrupt the peace of the common room in the evenings.
There were always a few unfortunate souls who loved to provoke authority, and they ended up as sacrificial chickens, with the current "chicken" undergoing interrogation in Professor McGonagall's office.
"There must be a mistake with this exam schedule!"
Fred, George, and Lee Jordan exclaimed after looking at Albert's exam schedule: "Are you sure you didn't copy these times wrong?"
The trio found it absurd that Albert had twelve subjects to take exams for, and his schedule read:
Monday:
9 a.m.: Transfiguration. 9 a.m.: Arithmancy Afternoon: 1 p.m.: Charms. 1 p.m.: Ancient Runes
...
"How can you possibly be in two exam rooms at the same time?"
"Do you really plan to use 'cloning' to take the exams for you?"
"Of course," Albert replied nonchalantly to the Weasley twins' questioning.
"Are you sure your brain can handle it?"
"Of course, it's not that difficult!" Albert tapped his finger on his head and smiled, "You guys should be worried about yourselves. If you fail, you'll definitely be held back."
"There he goes again."
The threat of being held back held little weight.
In reality, only a small number of students were actually held back each year.
Aside from the unlucky souls caught cheating during the exams.
"I'm going out for a walk. Good luck, you guys!" Albert stretched lazily, preparing to take Tom out for some exercise. The chubby cat had been inactive lately, and his physique was expanding horizontally, growing rounder by the day.
Of course, the main reason was that Percy didn't want Tom in the common room, believing that his presence would distract everyone.
Lately, things had been rather dull, with no interesting incidents to spice up their lives.
According to intelligence gathered from Hermione, Harry had indeed not gone to Dumbledore to expose Snape.
As for Quirrell, after drinking the unicorn's blood, he had quietly gone into hiding, biding his time for the perfect opportunity to strike.
Or perhaps he was just too busy.
After all, preparing five sets of exam papers was no easy task, even for a theoretical genius like Quirrell.
However, one thing was certain: the unicorn's blood had not revitalized Quirrell. His complexion remained poor, as if he had just recovered from a serious illness.
Albert had been tempted to get Quirrell admitted to the school hospital so Madam Pomfrey could treat him.
Unfortunately, for the sake of the upcoming plot developments, he forcefully suppressed the urge to meddle.
Time ticked by, and the exams were now imminent. Fifth and seventh-year students would be taking their exams ahead of the other students.
Two days before the O.W.Ls, Albert spotted Dumbledore escorting a group of examiners into the school, including a few familiar faces.
"You get nervous, too?"
Albert looked at Isabelle, finding it a bit surprising.
"Of course," Isabelle replied as they strolled slowly by the lake, watching the figures disappear through the castle gates, "After putting in so much effort, everyone hopes to get good grades."
"With Legilimency, getting full marks should be a breeze for you."
"Would you use Legilimency to cheat and get full marks?" Isabelle countered.
"No!"
Indeed, geniuses had their own brand of pride.
Although Albert claimed he wouldn't, he didn't really think so. While he wouldn't use Legilimency to cheat, he did have a more advanced method of cheating—his system panel.
Of course, he had also put in the effort to study.
As a result, despite being a cheater, Albert rarely boasted about his grades.
"Aren't you all prepared? Or are you aiming for full marks in every subject?" Albert teased.
After all, he had been helping Isabelle review in the past few days, so he was well aware of her capabilities.
In the second week of June, the fifth and seventh-year students began their early exams.
The Great Hall had been rearranged, and fortunately, there weren't many students in those two grades. Aside from the written exams, the school managed to squeeze in all the practical exams into the Great Hall, restoring it to its original state before mealtimes, so much so that everyone barely noticed anything unusual.
Except, perhaps, for the fact that after breakfast, while the other students went to class, the seventh and fifth-year students loitered aimlessly in the entrance hall.
In the third week of June, the other students' exam week also commenced, and they had only one week to complete their exams.
On Monday, before lunch, the third-year students stumbled out of their Transfiguration class, looking disheveled and dejected, their steps lacking their usual vigor.
The students compared their results with one another and lamented the challenging exam content.
For the Transfiguration exam, they first had to complete a written test before taking turns performing the practical exam set by Professor McGonagall: transforming a teapot into a turtle.
It was common knowledge that the practical exam for Transfiguration was usually difficult, especially when it came to transfiguration spells that turned inanimate objects into living creatures.
Although they had learned and practiced this in class, many students struggled to execute this transfiguration spell effectively during the exam.
As they had never attempted to transform a teapot into a turtle before, it was evident who among them had a solid grasp of the transfiguration spell.
Albert noticed that most of his classmates encountered some issues when they attempted the transfiguration, such as turtles exhaling steam, retaining teapot spouts for tails, or shells adorned with patterns.
Albert's transformation was flawless; his turtle was indistinguishable from a real one, and it even walked along the lecture platform. Everyone could tell from Professor McGonagall's smile that she was highly satisfied with his performance.
Lee Jordan didn't hold back on teasing Fred and George, whose turtles exhaled a bit of steam. Although his turtle wasn't as perfect as Albert's, it was still well-done, which earned him some glares from students whose turtles had various flaws. Lee was always asking for it with his loose tongue.
The exam for Arithmancy involved filling in charts, specifically completing a table on a piece of parchment provided by Professor Vector. It was a lengthy task, and anyone who hadn't done their homework was in for a rude awakening.
The afternoon exam for Charms was similar to Transfiguration, with a written test followed by a simple practical assessment.
As expected, Professor Flitwick tested them on cheering charms.
However, things didn't always go according to plan during practical exams, and two Hufflepuffs ended up in fits of laughter after casting cheering charms on each other.
Fred added to the post-exam amusement by solemnly declaring that they had been hurting each other, which drew chuckles from the students.
Albert finished this exam in a mere ten minutes.
The following morning, they had Care of Magical Creatures. The exam was simple; candidates had to identify a Shrake hidden among a group of hedgehogs.
Shrakes and hedgehogs looked almost identical.
They took turns feeding them milk.
Well, Shrakes were highly suspicious creatures, and they couldn't drink milk either.
If you tried to feed milk to a Shrake, it would assume you were trying to poison it, and its magically charged spines would stand erect.
That afternoon, they had Potions.
A Potions exam overseen by Snape was bound to be a disaster.
Imagine Snape standing next to you, notebook in hand, watching your every move as you brewed potions, always looking ready to fail you.
Several Hufflepuffs fell under Snape's scrutiny, and it nearly led to a significant mistake in their Wake-Up Potions.
At midnight, they had Astronomy, and everyone headed to the highest tower. They had to observe the stars and then mark the positions of the stars, planets, and even constellations on the blank star charts provided.
This was one of the few practical exams, but as long as they had diligently completed the post-class assignments, achieving a high score wasn't too difficult.
The History of Magic exam took place on Wednesday morning, and it wasn't challenging to get a high score as long as one had memorized the key knowledge. Albert found the exam a breeze and quickly finished the paper.
Wednesday afternoon was Herbology, where they had to tend to the plants in the greenhouse under the sun. This exam tested their patience and perseverance more than any other.
On Thursday morning, they sat for their Defense Against the Dark Arts exam. Quirrell's exam was as boring as his lectures. They had to answer questions about how to respond to certain magical creatures and write down the appropriate spells and precautions. The exam left several of Albert's roommates dissatisfied, feeling that they hadn't been able to showcase their true abilities.
In the afternoon, they had Divination and Muggle Studies.
The Muggle Studies exam required them to name and explain the use of items in a painting.
Well, this was another straightforward exam.
However, the problem with this exam was that wizards weren't very familiar with Muggle items, so the answers sometimes included oddities that invited ridicule about wizards' ignorance of Muggle affairs.
As for Divination, the exam was also simple. Each student went to Professor Trelawney's classroom to observe a crystal ball. In essence, Professor Trelawney asked them to attempt a prophecy.
"Hello, dear," she said gently, "What do you see?"
"I see Professor Quirrell leaving us forever," Albert replied, leaning over to look into the crystal ball. Instead of making a prophecy, he pretended he had already made one.
"Professor Quirrell?"
"He's dead."
Albert pretended to look at the crystal ball again, "I also see Harry Potter, they seem to be in a dark place."
"What a sad story, I suppose we'll know the outcome soon, won't we!" Professor Trelawney gazed into the crystal ball, seeing only swirling white mist.
In truth, Professor Trelawney couldn't be sure if Albert had prophetic abilities, and this situation presented her with an opportunity to find out.
(End of Chapter)
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