days at Hogwarts

Hogwarts Castle, Transfiguration classroom.

"The exam will start tomorrow. As you can see, the specific exam schedule is as shown in the table. Your OWL exam will last for two weeks, one subject per day. Theoretical questions will be answered in the morning, and practical examinations will be conducted in the afternoon. The astronomy exam will be held at night..."

Professor McGonagall on the podium pushed up her black-framed glasses and looked at the whole class who were copying down the specific time and subjects of the exam. Her expression was serious: "Solemn reminder, it is strictly forbidden to bring any cheating items into the examination room, including but not limited to automatic answering feather pens, memory balls, cheat sheet sleeves, automatic error correction ink, etc. If you are found with such items, you will be treated as cheating, disqualified from the exam, expelled...

"Don't have any fluke mentality. Every year, there are a few students who think they can evade the search of the Wizarding Examinations Authority and avoid the sight of the invigilating professors. In the end, they are just being too smart. Everyone must be responsible for their own actions. I can only hope that this person is not from Gryffindor..."

Professor McGonagall sighed softly, her nose twitching slightly: "What you need to consider is not just a test, but your long-term future."

The young wizards in the audience were whispering about the exam arrangements and the students who had been caught cheating in recent years. However, the most severe punishment they had received was just repeating a grade, not expulsion.

"Okay, any questions?"

Hermione pursed her lips, raised her hand and asked, "Professor, when can we know the results?"

"Around mid-July, an owl will deliver a letter to you."

"That's great, now we don't have to worry about it before the holiday." Dean Thomas said in a low voice, and many little wizards agreed.

Exams are approaching, and students' anxiety has reached its peak. Young faces walking on the street are all filled with worry, and people from other grades will tacitly lower their voices when they see this, making the atmosphere even more solemn and depressing.

Some people are under high-intensity review pressure for a long time, and the mental tension leads to abnormal behavior and often strange actions.

When dining in the auditorium at night, Neville held a piece of whole wheat bread in his hand, his lips moving but no sound coming out. He would only take a bite after reciting a point from the spells class. It was said that he was using food to motivate himself.

The review effect is unclear, but the weight loss effect is good - memorizing is disgusting.

The others didn't go to such an extent of neglecting food and sleep. Harry and Ron agreed to study hard when they were reviewing and concentrate on playing when they were playing. They would never put pressure on each other in the dormitory or the auditorium, so their mental state was still okay.

The two of them had been studying hard for the whole day and had a rare chance to relax. They chatted and used food with relish to comfort their tired bodies and minds.

"Because I missed the ball from Davis before, I didn't have much confidence. Bradley suddenly came towards me out of nowhere. I entered a state of ecstasy on the court. At that time, I could hear my heartbeat and the sound of blood flowing. I thought I must stop him this time!"

Ron, holding a roasted chicken leg in his mouth, narrated vaguely: "It took me about a second to decide which direction to jump. Although he acted like he was aiming at the ring on the right, a voice in my heart said that he was pretending, so I took the risk and flew to the left... Well, if you hadn't caught the Golden Snitch in advance, my interception this time would definitely be one of the top ten of the year."

He paused, stared at Harry, and asked seriously, "What are you laughing at?"

"I'm not laughing."

"You've been laughing at me all the time, you never stopped!"

Several young wizards nearby turned their heads away, trying to keep their expressions serious.

Among the busy fifth-year students, Loren, who was leisurely cutting steak, stood out. He even had time to cut an extra portion for Hermione.

Because as early as three months ago, Professor Granger began to make a detailed and specific review plan for him and strictly supervised his review progress. He did not have to worry about the practical content of each subject. The theoretical knowledge that needed to be memorized depended on Professor Granger's streamlined notes.

Loren had worked very hard to slack off, but still managed to complete his review assignment ahead of schedule. In the days before the exam he only had to practice questions to keep up with his form. Although Hermione tried to memorize all the content in the textbook, she didn't assign him too many tasks.

There was nothing fun for Loren to do by himself, and he felt a little uncomfortable with the idleness.

"Excuse me..."

Ernie MacMillan from Hufflepuff came over at some point, patted Loren on the shoulder, and asked mysteriously with an anxious glint in his eyes, "How many hours do you review a day?"

Another mentally ill child.

Loren was a little amused, and after a moment's thought, he replied, "About 16 hours."

"What!?" Ernie's eyes widened in disbelief. "16 hours? That's twice as long as mine. Impossible. How did you do it?"

"Oh, it's very simple. Suppose we only sleep 6 hours a day, and spend hours on eating, going to the toilet and other trivial matters. The rest of the time can be used for review."

"..."

Ernie frowned. He had clearly come here to show off that he reviewed for eight hours a day and made others feel anxious, but now he was the anxious one.

16 hours, according to this person's arrangement, it seems really possible...

"16 hours is still considered a short time." Loren said slowly, "Do you know the time converter? It is said that some people can review for 48 hours a day, and some people use the Buffy brain-stimulating agent to stay awake and review for 22 hours a day..."

The anxiety on Ernie's face was growing, his breathing became a little rapid, and he turned around and hurried away.

It can be seen that Hufflepuff will have one more test-taker who will stay up late to review tonight.

Just as Loren was laughing happily, a noisy discussion came from near the hallway.

"Oh my god, is that them?"

"Someone from the Wizarding Examination Authority!"

All the young wizards who were about to take the exam put down their cutlery and cast their curious eyes towards the door of the auditorium.

Professor McGonagall walked in slowly with a group of elderly wizards and witches. Perhaps to take into account their hearing impairment, the professor spoke even louder than usual in the classroom and could be heard from a long distance away.

Parvati and Lavender let out small gasps when they saw the witch in the middle.

"She looks two hundred years old!"

"Maybe more..."

Neville put down the bread in his hand and introduced in a low voice: "That's Professor Griselda Marchbank."

Loren and Hermione looked over curiously and noticed the witch walking in the middle. She looked short because of her hunchback, and her face was covered with wrinkles like a spider web, but her silver hair and the smile she gave to the little wizards made her look kind.

Professor Marchbank, one of the witches still alive who appeared on the Chocolate Frog card, textbook compiler, Wizengamot member, and current chief examiner of the Wizarding Examination Authority. Compared with these honors and identities, she appears in newspapers more because of her identity as a long-lived wizard.

As early as the last century, Professor Marchbank was already the chief examiner and had even invigilated Dumbledore's Charms exam.

Many people suffered from insomnia that night. The common room was crowded with fifth and seventh grade students. Everyone wanted to seize the last minute to review, but the more anxious they were, the lower their efficiency and the slower their progress.

"Don't carry it anymore, go back and rest early."

"But I've only recited it for the third time..."

"Keep your spirits up, your mind will be more flexible during the exam..."

Loren pushed Hermione upstairs and urged her to have a good rest. He also went to bed early and fell asleep soon.

A good night's sleep.

The next day at breakfast, the fifth grade students seemed a little silent. Some of the little wizards chanted spells while eating, and the seasoning bottles in front of them rotated and vibrated.

Loren had an open copy of "Spell Achievement" at hand. He glanced at it and asked Hermione, "Please explain the definition of a spell."

Hermione barely thought about it and answered immediately, "A spell is a form of magic that is controlled by humans. It affects the real world in an unnatural way. It is usually performed by wizards chanting spells and using specific casting gestures..."

"Perfect answer!"

However, Hermione was still a little anxious. She took the book next to her and skimmed through it. Finally, she complained dejectedly, "Oh, no, I forgot to explain the types of spells. This will probably cost me about two points."

Parvati beside him fell silent, and the salt shaker in front of him trembled.

Breakfast time was over, and the other little wizards went to class as usual. The examiners, led by Professor Marchbank, closed the auditorium and set up the examination room. The fifth and seventh grade students were moved to the entrance hall, where they walked around the room with books in their hands, muttering to themselves, waiting for the examination to begin.

Half past nine in the morning.

Gryffindor's fifth year class, Loren and Hermione's class, was called into the Great Hall.

The empty and spacious auditorium has been rearranged. Four long desks from the college have been moved to the wall and stacked up. Sets of single desks are neatly arranged. On the desks are feather pens and ink bottles for exams, a blank test paper, three sheets of parchment for answering questions, and a piece of draft paper.

"Tsk, there's no need to verify identity or conduct a body search before entering the examination room. I wonder if the seniors can drink the polyjuice potion to take the exam for them..."

Loren muttered.

Professor McGonagall, who was standing in front of the guest of honor, looked dark. She glanced at him and turned over the hourglass on the table next to her: "The exam begins!"

As soon as he finished speaking, many ink dots suddenly appeared on the blank test paper, as if seeds sprouted and grew into vines. The ink dots extended into words, forming the test questions.

Loren raised his head and glanced at Hermione in front of him on the right. She had already started writing furiously, and the quill pen was making a rustling sound from the excessive force.

Shaking his head and smiling, Loren began to read the first big question.

[Reading question (15 points): The levitation spell refers to a spell that can make an object fly or float. The most popular levitation spell was invented by the wizard Jarrus Hobart in the 16th century. After several centuries of widespread dissemination and optimization by many outstanding wizards...

(1) Write the incantation of the levitation spell and explain the meaning of the words.

(2) Describe the action of waving a magic wand.

(3) Can the levitation spell be used on the human body? Why? 】

Seeing the reading material and question format of this question, Loren felt inexplicably familiar with it.

"Wingardium Leviosa..."

Loren began to answer while reciting in a low voice. He heard other candidates in the examination room also reciting in a low voice. Some of them could not remember the casting movements when answering the second question, so they took out their wands and gestured. Sometimes, things that the brain cannot remember can be remembered by muscle memory.

Seeing the ink bottle on Seamus' desk floating up, Professor McGonagall coughed twice, signaling these people not to be too presumptuous.

After the theoretical exam, the auditorium was transformed back into a restaurant and all the students in the school had lunch together.

"Alas, I seem to have missed a point in the analysis of the principles of the Happy Spell. The space it left for me is too small to fit it in."

Hermione looked at the steak on the plate and sighed worriedly, "Have you written out the spell to break the hiccups? I don't know whether I should write it or not. I seem to have written too much. There is also the twenty-third question..."

Harry and Ron frowned and looked at each other, quickly reaching a consensus. They picked up their plates and moved further away.

If this continues, lunch will lose its flavor!

Loren didn't want to listen to her nagging, so he found the right moment and stuffed a piece of pork ribs into her mouth to stop her from talking about the endless test questions.

……

There was no need to hang around the lobby in the afternoon. The young wizards were driven into the room to the right of the main guest seats in the auditorium, lined up in a long queue, and were called away in alphabetical order of their names.

The student in front was muttering spells, demonstrating spellcasting movements, and occasionally poking someone in the back, or being poked in the back by someone.

"Why do we have to queue up when numbers are called in order?"

Loren looked up at the crowded serpentine line in front of him, then pulled Hermione to sit at the small table next to him.

Then immerse yourself in reviewing with the little witch.

After reviewing the spells he had learned in the past five years, Loren looked up at the team again. The winding snake-like team had disbanded, and the students were sitting around the door. The room was no longer so crowded.

"Hermione Granger, Anthony Goldstein, Gregory Goyle and Daphne Greengrass..."

Hermione took a deep breath, clenched her wand, and nervously followed several students from other colleges out of the small room.

Students who had already finished the exam were not allowed to return to the exam room, so Loren had no idea how she had done, but it was definitely not bad.

For the next half hour, the students in the front were called one by one, picked up their wands, and walked into the examination room with trembling calves.

"Next group, Pansy Parkinson, Padma Patil, Parvati Patil, Harry Potter!"

"Next group, Ron Weasley..."

"Next group, Loren Morgan..."

It was Loren's turn. He walked into the examination room and consciously came to Professor Flitwick who was standing at the door.

"I'm sorry to disappoint you, Loren. The professor can't give the exam. Let me see. Professor Marchbank is free now..." Professor Flitwick winked at him. "Good luck to you."