novelhk Chapter 123 Final Exams in Progress
Chapter 123 Final Exams in Progress
Chapter 123 Final Exams in Progress (Part 2)
If theoretical exams are a mental ordeal, then practical exams are a comprehensive test of one's magic, skills, and mental fortitude.
It's clear that the following subjects will all require practical experience.
The Transfiguration classroom was emptied, leaving only rows of individual examination desks. Professor McGonagall, dressed in her most formal emerald green robes, stood with an expression as stern as a granite sculpture. Her sharp gaze swept over each student who entered.
"Mr. Hawthorne," Professor McGonagall's voice was clear and calm, "please come forward."
Karen walked to the empty table in the center of the classroom. On the table sat an ordinary-looking match.
"Your task: Transform this match into a silver needle," Professor McGonagall stated succinctly. "Scoring criteria: metallic sheen, needle sharpness, and the duration of the transformation must last at least until I indicate the end. Begin."
Karen drew his wand, his gaze calmly fixed on the small matchstick. His concentration was intense, every detail of the silver needle clearly etched in his mind: its straight shaft, its cold, silvery sheen, its sharp tip. He swung the wand steadily, reciting the incantation in a low, clear voice.
Under everyone's watchful eyes, the wooden grain of the match quickly faded, its color changing from brownish-yellow to a gleaming silver-white. It elongated and thinned, a point of cold light gathering at its tip. The entire process was smooth and stable, with almost no sign of magic dissipating.
A few seconds later, a near-perfect silver needle lay on the table, its surface smooth and gleaming with a genuine metallic sheen, its sharp point seemingly capable of piercing the air. It lay there quietly, its form stable.
Professor McGonagall stepped forward and gently tapped the needle with her wand, producing a crisp metallic sound. She examined the tip carefully and then used a testing spell to confirm its stability. A barely perceptible look of satisfaction flashed across her stern lips. She nodded slightly. "Very good, Mr. Hawthorne. Duration met. Next, Mr. Cruz."
Wesley nervously stepped forward, took a deep breath, and waved his wand as Cullen had done. The match twisted and deformed, eventually turning into a silver needle. Although not as delicate as Cullen's, it undoubtedly fulfilled the professor's request.
When it was Fabian's turn, his needle deformation was very standard, and the luster was also good, but the needle tip was slightly off-center and not sharp enough. Ernesto, on the other hand, did quite well, with good needle shape and duration, but the deformation process was not as smooth and fluid as Karen's.
After completing the Transfiguration assessment, the next lesson is Charms.
On the podium, Professor Flitwick stood on a pile of mats, with an encouraging smile on his face, but his eyes were equally serious.
“Mr. Hawthorne, please,” Flitwick said sharply. “First, the levitation charm, the target is this feather. I need it to float steadily a foot above the table for ten seconds, without any noticeable trembling or drifting.”
Karen nodded. He had already mastered the essence of the Levitation Charm. With a light flick of his wand, the tip precisely pointed at the feather: "Fludge Belaviosa!" The incantation was clear and fluent. The feather seemed to be gently lifted by an invisible hand, hovering steadily at the designated height, motionless, like a cloud frozen in mid-air. Ten seconds passed, and the feather remained stable.
"Perfect! Precise control!" Professor Flitwick clapped his hands happily. "Next, the Illumination Charm. Light your wand."
Then I need you to adjust it to its brightest setting, and then gradually dim it to the level of a faint firefly. This is to test your control over magic output.
Karen raised his wand again: "Flicker!" A bright, steady white light immediately emanated from the tip, illuminating a small area around it. Then, he focused intently on controlling the magical output; the light at the wand tip, as if adjusted by a precise knob, gradually and evenly diminished from dazzling brilliance, finally becoming a faint speck of light, like a firefly on a summer night, clearly visible in the dimly lit classroom. The entire process was seamless, without any flickering or jumps, only a smooth, fluid transition between light and shadow.
"Fantastic! Mr. Hawthorne! Your control of magic is exemplary!" Professor Flitwick praised loudly without reservation, drawing the attention of the other students waiting for their exams.
When it was Wesley's turn, everyone completed the test smoothly. If there was any concern about Wesley's performance in the theoretical exam, there was absolutely no need to worry about the spell practice exam. They were all very proficient in spells, proving that their exploration of the Forbidden Forest was worthwhile.
Finally, they arrived at the Potions classroom, where the air seemed to be frozen solid. Professor Snape, like a giant bat, glided silently through the examination room, his black robes billowing, his icy gaze like a tangible probe, sweeping over every workbench. The air pressure was so low it was suffocating.
Karen stood before his workbench, on which lay the core ingredients for the scabies medicine: a small pile of snake fangs awaiting grinding, four slow-moving slugs with tiny tentacles, and two sharp porcupine quills. A brand-new tin crucible rested on a small stove. He first put on thick dragon-skin gloves, carefully inspecting the materials and tools before him to ensure everything was in order.
"Independently prepare the scabies solution." Snape's voice was like a whisper, yet it reached everyone's ears clearly. "Scoring criteria: clarity of the solution, absence of smoke or odor, and efficacy. Any violation of safe operating procedures, such as not following the correct order, will result in severe point deductions or even failure." His gaze swept meaningfully over the several workstations.
Karen shielded herself from the suffocating pressure around her, focusing intently on the materials before her. After confirming there were no problems, she picked up the mortar and pestle, placing six portions of snake fangs into it and grinding them into a fine, even powder. The powder gleamed faintly with a cold light at the bottom of the mortar.
Next, he carefully poured four portions of the ground snake fang powder into the dry crucible. He lit the furnace and precisely controlled the flames with his wand. The bottom of the crucible quickly heated up, and the powder began to churn slightly under the heat. Karen watched intently, counting silently in his mind. After about ten seconds, the temperature inside the crucible reached the target, and the powder began to bubble and boil, its color changing to a uniform light gray. He waved his wand to indicate that heating was complete, letting the potion sit in the residual heat for a moment, awaiting further instructions.
The crucial next step arrived. Karen picked up the tweezers and grasped the first slug with tentacles. He decisively extinguished the flame beneath the crucible. In the instant the crucible was removed from the fire and the temperature began to slowly drop, he dropped the slug into the crucible. The moment the slug touched the liquid…
It made a soft "sizzling" sound and dissolved quickly. Without stopping, he added the remaining three slugs to the crucible after it was removed from the heat. The color of the liquid changed from light gray to a cloudy, earthy brown after the slugs were added.
Now came the most dangerous and error-prone step—adding the porcupine quills. Karen double-checked that the cauldron was completely removed from the heat and there was no heat source. He took a deep breath, picked up a porcupine quill with tweezers, and dipped it into the liquid. The moment the quill touched the surface, the liquid reacted violently!
Without hesitation, he immediately began stirring clockwise with the stirring stick, silently counting the rotations: one, two, three. As he stirred, the color of the potion changed visibly; the earthy brown quickly faded, and a clear, pure pale blue emerged as if awakened! By the fifth rotation, the potion had completely transformed into a stable, clear pale blue, emitting a gentle, slightly herbal steam. He swiftly waved his wand, completing the final shaping step.
He poured the finished product into a crystal bottle, sealed it, and placed it in the designated spot on the workbench. The liquid in the bottle was a textbook example of a perfectly clear, pale blue.
Snape silently slid to his side, picked up the crystal bottle, and examined it closely under the light. The light penetrated the liquid; there was not a trace of turbidity or impurity. He uncorked the bottle, brought it close, and sniffed it; there was only the standard herbal scent, no off-odors. Snape's cold face remained expressionless, but his gaze lingered for a moment on the worktable where Cullen had confirmed the addition of the porcupine quills after removing them from the fire. He merely nodded coldly, made a mark on the scoreboard, and turned to the next student. This silent nod was enough for Cullen to understand his assessment result.
Fabian finished as well; his potion was also a beautiful pale blue, very clear. He watched nervously as Snape inspected it, only relaxing when the latter nodded with a similarly cold expression. A thin layer of sweat had already formed on his back. Ernesto's potion was also acceptable, pale blue, but upon closer inspection, a very fine sediment could be seen at the bottom, likely due to incomplete dissolution of the slugs or uneven stirring.
Wesley was in a panic. After adding the slugs, he noticed the cauldron temperature seemed to be dropping too quickly. In his haste, he didn't completely extinguish the flames and grabbed a porcupine quill to add it! Just as the quill was about to touch the liquid, Snape appeared behind him like a ghost, his icy voice like a viper's hiss: "Out of the fire! Fool! Are your eyes just for show?"
Wesley jumped in fright, nearly dropping the porcupine quill into the cauldron. He hurriedly tried to move the cauldron away, but his movement was too forceful, and the still-warm rim burned his hand. He cried out in pain, but in his panic, he still threw the porcupine quill into the liquid. Instantly, a small plume of pungent, yellowish-green smoke erupted from the cauldron, and the liquid turned a murky, unsightly dark green, bubbling ominously.
Snape frowned in disgust, waved his wand to clear the smoke, glanced coldly at the failed potion, drew a heavy cross on the scoreboard, and wrote "Major violation: Not off fire plus porcupine quills".
Wesley looked dejected; it seemed he would have to wait for the second assessment.
After leaving the Potions classroom, everyone comforted Wesley, urging him to compose himself, as he still had a practical assessment in Astronomy class that evening.
A cool breeze blew across the top of the astronomical tower under the night sky, and a huge telescope was pointed at the star-studded heavens. Professor Sinister was already standing there, waiting for everyone's arrival.
"Mr. Hawthorne," she said with a smile, "please use this telescope to locate Venus and describe its current phases. Also, on the provided star chart, draw a diagram showing the relative positions of the Moon and the three stars of Orion's Belt tonight."
Karen adjusted the telescope's focus and angle. Soon, Venus, the planet she needed to observe, came into view. After confirming it again, Karen accurately described its current phase to the professor.
Then, he picked up the drawing board and star chart, looked up at the night sky, and then looked down to precisely mark the position of the moon on the star chart, and used straight lines and angles to indicate its distance and orientation relative to the three bright stars in Orion that were aligned in a line.
Ernesto also performed admirably; his familiarity with the night sky allowed him to locate and draw the planets very quickly. Fabien took a little time to determine the aspects of Venus, but ultimately his description was correct, and his drawing was generally accurate. Wesley, on the other hand, fiddled with the telescope for quite some time.
Although not as fast and accurate as her three roommates, she still successfully completed the assessment task.
The next day, in the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, the entire space was magically expanded to simulate a dimly lit, rubble-strewn, and shadowy "abandoned corridor." In a corner, a small humanoid creature wearing a tattered pointed hat, radiating blood and malice—undoubtedly Red Hat—was staring greedily and cruelly at the entrance with its small, scarlet eyes, emitting a low growl from its throat.
Professor Snape stood silently at the edge of the shadows, just as he had in the Potions classroom the day before. His greasy black hair clung to his pale cheeks, and his black robes almost blended into the gloom.
"Cruz," Snape's voice was like a whisper, yet it clearly penetrated everyone's ears, carrying his characteristic, slippery sarcasm, "Your turn. Walk through this corridor to the exit. Banish or evade that little troublemaker. Let me see how well you've mastered Defense Against the Dark Arts, as well as Potions?" He slightly raised his chin, pointing to the restless red hat, a faint sneer playing at the corners of his mouth. "Any method is acceptable. Reach the exit. Begin."
The students around Wesley, especially those who had witnessed his Potions test the day before, looked at him with a mixture of pity and curiosity. Snape had clearly chosen Wesley to go first on purpose, wanting to see him humiliated.
Wesley, however, showed no fear; a smile even crept across his face. Having survived a life-or-death battle with the giant spider, this restless red-hatted creature seemed as harmless as a garden goblin to him. If it were a theoretical test, Wesley might have been worried, but in real combat, it was simple.
He drew his wand and strode into the simulation area, his posture as relaxed as if he were taking a walk.
Enraged by his provocation, the man in the red hat let out a piercing scream, grabbed a sharp pebble, and pounced on him with such speed that it created a gust of foul wind!
"Watch out!" someone outside the stadium exclaimed.
However, Wesley simply glided lightly to the side and backward, and in the instant the red hat missed its target, he pointed his wand steadily, the spell clear and powerful: "Obstacles!"
A powerful, invisible force field struck Red Hat with pinpoint accuracy! He was sent flying backward with a scream, as if hit by a giant hammer, crashing heavily into a pile of rubble a few feet away, the stone in his hand flying from his grasp. Red Hat struggled to his feet, but Wesley had already calmly walked past him, not even glancing at him again, heading straight for the exit marker. The whole process was swift and efficient, taking less than a minute.
A deathly silence fell over the sidelines; you could hear a pin drop. All the students watching were stunned, including many Slytherins. Professor Snape's facial muscles twitched almost imperceptibly. He paused for a few seconds before delivering his assessment in a voice colder than usual: "-Objective achieved. Next, Mr. Brian."
Fabian adjusted his glasses and calmly walked into the arena. The red-hatted girl had barely scrambled to her feet when Fabian's wand flashed: "Flash!" An extremely intense light, like a miniature sun, erupted instantly, illuminating the entire simulated corridor as if it were daytime.
The light enveloped the red-hatted creature with even greater precision. This low-level dark being utterly averse to bright light, it let out a mournful scream, clutched its eyes tightly with its tattered sleeve, and cowered in a corner, trembling, completely devoid of any aggression. Fabian calmly bypassed it, passing by with ease.
Snape, expressionless: "Exploiting weaknesses, efficient. Pass."
As Ernesto entered, Red Hat had just recovered slightly from the glare of the bright light and staggered, attempting to attack again. Ernesto didn't even bother to chant the incantation; with a barely concealed flick of his wrist, a silent "Legs Freeze!" struck precisely. Red Hat's legs instantly snapped shut and stiffened, and with a thud, he collapsed to the ground, flailing his arms in vain and howling. Ernesto stepped over him as if he were an inconvenient obstacle, his gait elegant and indifferent. A glint flashed in Snape's eyes: "Silent spell, accurate. Excellent."
It was Karen's turn. He stepped into the dimly lit corridor. Red Hat, seemingly enraged by the three before him, charged forward with a furious roar. Karen's eyes remained calm and unwavering. Just as Red Hat was about to pounce, Karen's figure slid half a step to the side like a ghost, while his wand made an extremely subtle, almost imperceptible motion beside him. A faint but precise gust of air stirred up dust and gravel from the ground, smearing Red Hat's face with pinpoint accuracy. Red Hat immediately coughed uncontrollably, his vision blurred, and he spun aimlessly in place. Karen, like his three roommates before him, silently swept past it, reaching his destination.
Professor Snape stared at Cullen, then glanced at the other three, and finally his gaze settled on Red Hat, who was still struggling in the rubble.
His sallow face was expressionless, but the taut jawline betrayed his inner turmoil. The composure, precision, and efficiency displayed by these four first-year students far surpassed their peers, even exceeding many upperclassmen. He finally managed to squeeze out a few cold words through clenched teeth: "Alright, you can leave now." Then, without looking at them again, his black robe billowed as he turned to the next group of students waiting for their exams, leaving behind a chorus of suppressed gasps and whispers.
The final flight lesson exam took place at the Quidditch pitch. Mrs. Hooch blew her whistle, and the students, riding school broomsticks, had to navigate a simple obstacle course featuring low arches, serpentine slaloms, and unexpected small obstacles, primarily testing their basic flight control...
Reaction speed and balance.
This was undoubtedly Karen's weakest section of all the tests. However, he had put a lot of effort into it beforehand, and he took off steadily, completing the entire test smoothly with an excellent score.
Wesley, like a harpy galloping with boundless energy, though lacking in elegance and with wild, sweeping movements, flew fast and steadily thanks to his excellent athleticism and enthusiasm. He skillfully navigated all the obstacles, even executing a stylish mid-air turn, earning Mrs. Hodge's praise of "full of vitality!" Fabian and Ernesto also passed smoothly; Fabian's movements were precise and cautious, while Ernesto's were more casual and stylish.
As the last student stepped off the broom and Mrs. Hodge drew the final checkmark on the scoreboard, the entire Quidditch pitch seemed to relax. The intense exams that had lasted for several days had finally come to an end.