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Chapter 568: The Exam
Chapter 568: The Exam
As June arrived, the atmosphere within the castle grew tense and exciting once more, not only due to the upcoming final task of the Triwizard Tournament but also because of the approaching holiday season.
For most students, they hadn't left the castle for an entire year because of the Christmas Ball.
Consequently, their anticipation for the holiday this year far exceeded any other time.
Kyle received another large batch of books, and this time, Cedric, Autumn, and Cona joined in.
They wrote a long list of potentially useful spells on parchment and handed them to Kyle.
"The Directional Charm is definitely useful, I guarantee it," Cedric said. "It can make the wand always point north, and since the Quidditch field is just north, it means that as long as we follow the wand, we can find the place where the cup is hidden."
"Are you sure the direction in the maze will be accurate?" Autumn argued. "Don't forget that the scenes the champions experienced in the first task were completely different from what we saw."
"But it's still a reference, isn't it?" Cedric said. "Knowing the direction is better than knowing nothing."
"You're right," Autumn glanced at him. "But if a Directional Charm can find the correct path, then this task might be too easy. I don't think Professor Dumbledore hasn't considered such an obvious issue."
"So the Destruction Charm is more important. When the time comes, we can blast through the hedges and not be affected by the maze, just keep moving forward."
"I don't think a Destruction Charm can destroy those hedges that make up the maze," Cedric whispered.
This wasn't the first time they debated which spell was more useful, and everyone had their reasons, as if they were participating in a competition. The person Kyle agreed with would win, and the winning side would usually be triumphant for a whole day, only to continue the debate the next day, enjoying the process.
To get some peace, Kyle had to choose both spells.
After all, it was just a matter of words, and he had basically seen all the spells recommended by the two of them.
Cona, on the other hand, provided potions.
Baffe Brain Potion, Clarifying Potion, various antidotes, healing potions, stamina potions, hazardous corrosive potions, and the fireproof potion that Snape used during the protection of the Philosopher's Stone, all were sent one by one to Kyle.
In the end, she even brought a bottle of golden Felix Felicis... but Kyle didn't accept it.
One reason was the fear of being hunted down by Snape. With Cona's current abilities, it was obvious that she wasn't yet capable of brewing Felix Felicis, and the source of the potion was apparent.
Those ordinary potions would only cause Snape to be slightly annoyed at most, and he would just deduct a few points.
But Felix Felicis was different. Even Snape wouldn't be able to brew this potion easily. It was almost like it had a label that said, "For Cona's Use Only."
If Kyle accepted it, he estimated that even Professor Dumbledore might not be able to handle the situation.
Moreover, his trunk already had a bottle of Felix Felicis from Cona.
It was a Christmas gift from Snape to her in their first year, but at that time, Cona was prone to losing things, so Kyle offered to help her keep it safe.
However, when he wanted to return it later, Cona refused, insisting that it was her gift to Kyle... but Snape probably didn't know about this yet.
Another reason was that Felix Felicis would definitely be banned in an important event like the Triwizard Tournament. The role of the judges wasn't just to score but also to observe whether the champions had taken Felix Felicis or not.
After Kyle's explanation, Cona reluctantly put the Felix Felicis away.
With less than a week to go, the competition was fast approaching.
Fred and George had been observing Ludo Bagman for over half a month.
However, whether he discovered them or for some other reason, he hadn't met with Kakaroff again until the day before the third task.
One on the ship and the other on the Quidditch pitch, this was their daily routine.
Although Fred and George were disappointed, they had to temporarily halt their actions.
The exam week had arrived.
No matter how indifferent they were to grades, if they wanted to survive the break without any mishaps, they had to score at least a passable grade.
And with it came the O.W.L.s.
For fifth-year students, at least during this week, even the upcoming Triwizard Tournament couldn't divert their attention from their textbooks, or rather, they had to force themselves to focus on their studies.
...
The day before the competition, the Great Hall's lunch tables were bustling.
Cona was oblivious to the surrounding chatter, as she was engrossed in a thick book, searching for something.
The error-free version is available at 69 Book Bar! 6=9+Book_Bar's first novel.
Autumn sat beside her, also with an open thick book in front of her.
"I didn't expect the O.W.L.s to be so much harder than the usual end-of-term exams... Yesterday's Transfiguration exam had so many mistakes."
"Oh, it's true. Multi-Form Transformation has three key points to watch out for, but I could only remember two. If I don't make it into the advanced class because of this..."
"Relax, Autumn, don't be so tense," Cedric handed her a cup of pumpkin juice.
"That's how the O.W.L.s are. The difficulty might make you feel a bit uncomfortable.
"I felt the same way. I thought I had made a lot of mistakes and was so nervous I couldn't sleep... But when the scores came out, they weren't as bad as I thought.
I heard that the Wizard Examination Administration Bureau has a separate scoring standard for O.W.L.s, which is different from our usual end-of-term exams."
"But I did make mistakes," Autumn didn't seem much more relaxed, and now she didn't even feel like eating, constantly feeling like there was more to memorize, wanting to read a bit more before the next exam started.
Cona felt the same way, even though she was eating, her eyes never left the book's content.
As for Mickey and Ryan... They had completely entered a silent state, sitting there in a daze, as if they had lost their souls, trying to stuff steak into their nostrils.
However, Kyle didn't have this problem. That morning, when he went to the classroom with Cona, he was informed that as one of the champions of the Triwizard Tournament, he didn't need to take the O.W.L. exams.
"They were originally going to arrange a special exam for you after the Triwizard Tournament, but I don't think it's necessary.
Professor Marchbanks, who was over a hundred years old, stood at the door and said, "I've seen your previous scores... At least during my tenure as the examiner, no one has scored higher than you, including Dumbledore."
"And the article you wrote for 'Today's Transfigurations' was, to be honest, worthy of full marks even in the N.E.W.T. Transfiguration exam."
"So, do what you want, whether it's preparing for the third task or relaxing and enjoying the scenery... You don't need to waste time on parchment."
With Professor Marchbanks' special permission, Kyle spent the morning sitting in the spacious common room.
To be honest, it was quite boring.
(End of Chapter)
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