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Chapter 1170: The Worst Subject
🕑 Added 2024-07-10 20:50:03 +0000 UTCIn other words, if the O.W.Ls exam results were converted to a hundred-point system, ninety-nine points would be unacceptable to Hermione.
There was nothing more to say about this; Hermione had always been like this, and everyone was used to it!
If she weren't this way, she wouldn't be Hermione!
Hermione’s bad mood persisted for most of the weekend, though Evan, Harry and Ron found it quite easy to ignore as they spent most of Saturday and Sunday, along with Neville, Parvati, Lavender and others, studying for Potions on Monday.
For most students, this was a difficult exam.
Especially for Harry, it was the exam to which he was looking forward least, as it reminded him of Snape.
As expected, the Potions written exam was really difficult.
As soon as the exam on Monday morning ended, the Great Hall was filled with wailing.
Even Evan didn't answer a few questions very well. Recording all those complex potion ingredients wasn't easy, let alone remembering their preparation methods, the timing for adding them to the cauldron, and the required heat.
When brewing potions in class, Evan always followed the process described in the book and hadn’t memorized them all.
Perhaps because the written exam was so difficult, the practical exam in the afternoon wasn't as dreadful as everyone had feared.
It went smoothly. With Snape absent from the proceedings, many people found that they were much more relaxed than they usually were while making potions.
Evan even noticed that Neville also looked happier than he had ever been during a Potions class. When Professor Marchbanks said, “Step away from your cauldrons, please, the examination is over,” his potion turned into a normal color, which was probably the first time in five years.
"Not bad!" said Harry with a sigh of relief as they headed back to Gryffindor common room. "Without Snape's influence, I think I did better than usual. I mean … I may not get a very good grade, but at least I’ve passed!"
"Me too."
"Thank goodness that old bat wasn't around," Ron said hopefully. "Ever since that showdown with Sirius in the Great Hall, I haven't seen him. Maybe he's sick because of the anger!"
Hopefully, Snape seemed to have left Hogwarts, and Evan wondered if he had gone to Voldemort!
Leaving at such a sensitive time surely meant something significant.
Otherwise, today was the Potions exam, and there was no reason for Snape not to show up.
After two consecutive failures in Norway and the Ministry of Magic, Voldemort must now have realized that he was not strong enough.
What was he going to do next?
To increase his strength, besides investigating the secret of the Elder Wand, he might use that evil magic to transform himself into an evil god.
Dumbledore said that they still had time, because no matter what, Voldemort was still missing something crucial.
As for the wand, Voldemort should have just noticed that his wand didn't work well against Harry, and that Dumbledore's magic was unusual. With his level, he would soon realize that it was because of the wand, and then start an investigation.
In terms of becoming an evil god, Voldemort would need enormous power and countless flesh and blood, not considering the help of the evil god statue.
Although everyone in the Wizarding world was on edge, Evan hadn't heard of any mass casualties...
"Anyway, the hardest exam is over. Only four more left," said Parvati Patil wearily.
“Only!” said Hermione snappishly. “I’ve got Arithmancy and it’s probably the toughest subject there is!"
Nobody was foolish enough to snap back, so she was unable to vent her spleen on any of them and was reduced to telling off some first years for giggling too loudly in the common room.
Tuesday was the Care of Magical Creatures exam, which was actually not too difficult.
Students were required to correctly identify the knarl hidden among a dozen hedgehogs. The trick was to offer them all milk in turn: knarls, highly suspicious creatures whose quills had many magical properties, generally went berserk at what they saw as an attempt to poison them.
In addition, they had to demonstrate correct handling of a bowtruckle, feed and clean a fire-crab without sustaining serious burns, and choose, from a wide selection of food, the diet they would give a sick unicorn.
Hagrid might have shown them too many messy and dangerous animals over the years, but they still had contact with other magical creatures, especially since Evan, Harry, Hermione, Ron, Colin, and Ginny often helped him prepare lessons, they knew a lot about some common magical creatures and how to interact with them.
Hagrid accompanied the students throughout the exam, highly enthusiastic. When no one was paying attention, he kept talking to Evan and the others about Grawp's recent progress, even inviting them to visit Grawp when they had time...
Since he came into contact with Umbridge, Grawp seemed to have become a big boy overnight and had really grown up a lot.
Wednesday morning was the Astronomy theory exam. Since they had to wait until evening for their practical Astronomy, the afternoon was devoted instead to Divination, while Hermione had Arithmancy.
To be honest, Divination was probably Evan’s worst subject.
Even by low standards, he did very badly!
For four hours, he was staring at a blank crystal ball in a daze, and he lost his head completely during tea-leaf reading.
It was useless. He could not make a divination at all. There was no hope at all.
But in Evan's opinion, his examiner, Professor Marchbanks, probably didn't understand much about divination and prophecy either.
So, he quickly resorted to the usual trick for Divination exams: making things up!
The key was his own demeanor. Evan mimicked Professor Trelawney's manner when making a real prophecy, as if he were suddenly possessed by a mystical force. He deliberately rasped his voice and made some vague predictions that, in fact, he himself did not understand.
Professor Marchbanks obviously didn't believe it. She had seen too many students like this in the past few decades of exams!
Evan's performance was not bad, but to be honest, it was far from the real charlatan...
What Divination exam? This was an acting exam.
Evan noticed the expression on Professor Marchbanks’s face and knew that he couldn't go on like this. He had to resort to Wandless magic to add some flair to his act, creating some light and eerie sounds.
To his surprise, this immediately had an effect. Everyone in the Great Hall turned to look at him. They didn't know Evan could perform Wandless magic, which was indeed quite extraordinary. They genuinely believed Evan had triggered some celestial phenomenon, as described in many books about divination and prophecy.
In the end, even Professor Trelawney, who was supervising the exam, came over to Evan, wailing loudly, and proclaimed that he had opened his third eye.
Things seemed to be getting out of hand. Evan quickly muttered some vague statements about the terrifying form of an evil god and then snapped out of his trance. He looked up to see Professor Trelawney trembling with excitement, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and swore never to do that again...
