Chapter 638: Brewing
Chapter 638: Brewing
"This exam was too rushed. At least in terms of the quality of the questions, it’s not as impressive as the exams from previous years", Hermione began her critique during lunch. "For instance, some key points were repeatedly mentioned, while others were barely touched upon. I even noticed that Question 27 is identical to a question from the 1943 N.E.W.T. exams."
"In summary", Hermione concluded after listing all the issues she had identified in the exam, "at least from the written part, this exam was indeed easier than a regular exam, theoretically making it easier to pass."
"You mean this exam was easier than a regular one?" Ron’s eyes widened as he opened his mouth slightly. "I don’t see it that way. When the exam bell rang, I had only finished a bit more than half of the questions, and I’m not even sure my answers were correct. This exam was incredibly difficult, with a lot of questions covering material I haven’t even studied yet."
Harry nodded in agreement, still feeling the aftereffects of the exam. He had spent an hour and a half answering all the questions he could, but the remaining half-hour was spent staring blankly at the ones he couldn’t figure out. For those questions, he either couldn’t understand them at all or had no idea how to approach them.
"Aren’t you supposed to do some pre-reading?" Hermione asked, looking at Harry and Ron, who both stared at her blankly. "You mean you haven’t even looked at the Seventh Year textbooks?"
"It’s only the start of Seventh Year", Ron defended himself. "I didn’t expect the exam to cover so much Seventh Year content. That’s why I had so many questions I couldn’t answer."
Hermione was speechless after Ron’s response, so she simply shrugged and continued eating her vegetable salad.
After a short break following lunch, the practical exams began. Since there were few students and professors participating, the Great Hall was divided into several sections using magically conjured wooden walls, each section dedicated to Transfiguration and spell-casting.
Liam felt he had done quite well, perfectly executing all the magic the examiner required. However, others weren’t as fortunate. Underprepared students produced a variety of strange-colored smoke, foul odors, and even a few crows. The worst was Seamus, who, while using the Vanishing Spell, accidentally exploded the mouse he was supposed to make disappear, scattering its remains across the table.
"I’m sure I’ve failed this exam, and probably the next one too. Did you see how the mouse’s tail ended up in the professor’s hair?" Seamus complained incessantly after the exam, as he returned to the Common Room.
"The next examiner might not be the same professor", Dean Thomas patted Seamus on the back, trying to comfort him. "Besides, these professors are all over 90 years old. I doubt they’ll remember your face by the end of the semester."
Harry and Ron were sitting listlessly by the fireplace, watching the flames flicker. They both knew they had performed terribly in the exam.
"Do you think I can get at least 50 points in Transfiguration?" Ron asked, poking the charcoal in the fireplace with a fire poker. "I think I did pretty well with the practical part. The professor asked us to turn a glasses case into a gecko, and I managed to do it."
"Sure, but you need to convince the professor that a creature as long as your leg is a gecko", Harry raised an eyebrow. Seeing Ron’s near-tearful expression, he added, "But at least you did better than me. My gecko was missing four legs."
When people are having a bad day, they often feel better knowing they’re not alone. Ron perked up after hearing Harry’s account. "Taking the exam this early was too much. I think I need another year to be ready for this. There’s a lot of material I haven’t even covered yet."
"From what I can tell, only Liam and Hermione from Gryffindor will pass this exam", Harry said, watching a few classmates stand up, looking dejected as they headed to their Astronomy exam. "But even if we do poorly, it’s a good thing. At least we’ll know what level we need to be at to pass."
"Let's focus on preparing for the final exam. At the very least, we can't mess up that one", Ron said, pulling out a textbook from his Backpack to start reviewing. "By the way, Harry, do you know where Liam and the others have gone?"
"No idea", Harry shook his head. "I haven't seen them since dinner. They said they were going to the Alchemy Lab to do something. They're busier than any of us here. Besides their studies, they have a ton of other stuff to do. They're probably working on something for the Order of the Phoenix or the Ministry of Magic."
"It would be great if we could do something like that someday", Ron sighed, flipping open his textbook. "But for now, let's focus on the textbook. We should do our best with what we need to do first."
As Harry and Ron began to immerse themselves in their studies, Liam was busy in the Alchemy Lab, crafting a crucial Elixir. With his gestures, a glassy pink Flame burned brightly in the air above the Lab. Above the Flame, a bronze helmet floated upside down, spinning continuously, surrounded by a myriad of mysterious symbols in various colors.
The helmet was filled with a golden liquid that bubbled like molten gold. Golden steam slowly rose from the surface of the liquid, drifting out of the helmet's opening and spreading throughout the entire Lab.
"Why are you using a helmet to brew your potion?" Hermione, watching the golden mist continuously spewing from the helmet, found it hard to understand. They had many cauldrons, from tin to gold, and even a complete set of traditional Chinese ceramic cauldrons. It wasn't as if they couldn't find a suitable cauldron.
"I don't want to, but this spell requires the container to be as ancient as possible. The older the container, the better the potion's effectiveness. I believe the helmet I got from King Thranduil, left behind by the Two Trees Era Elves, is the oldest container I can find."
"You need a container, but that's a helmet!" Hermione pointed out.
"You're right, but in the past, soldiers' helmets were often used as containers for cooking, drinking, and even washing clothes. So, this helmet can be considered a container. Besides, when I cast my spell, I can feel that this is the right thing to use."
As he spoke, the golden liquid in the helmet suddenly spurted up like a fountain, rising more than half a meter before falling back into the helmet. Liam immediately stopped talking and picked up a bottle of black liquid from the table, walking toward the helmet.
The black liquid seemed to be alive, continuously forming tentacles that tapped against the bottle's walls. Each time the black liquid's tentacles touched the bottle, several golden runes would appear, blocking them.
"Cycle of Life and Death, Eternal Rebirth", Liam murmured the spell, pouring the Elixir, made from Mummy's Black Water and Orc Wraiths from The Lord of the Rings, into the helmet.
Instantly, the liquid in the helmet calmed down. In front of Liam and the others, the liquid's color rapidly faded, turning into a dusky silver, forming a perfect mirror.
After a while, the liquid in the helmet began to change again, starting to rotate and forming a small vortex.
"Ha, it's done!" Liam said, gesturing at the glassy pink Flame beneath the helmet. The Flame immediately transformed back into its original Rose Madonna form, flying into Liam's hand. "Now we just need to let it sit for a day. We can come back and finish the final step after our exams tomorrow."
(End of Chapter)
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