This morning the look of the auditorium changed.
Yes, I think there has never been a time when the auditorium would be more scary than it is now - the four long academic tables were moved to other places early, and were replaced by single tables far apart. table. The number of braziers on the surrounding walls was obviously more than usual, and the lights illuminated the entire auditorium.
Even the enchanted ceiling above his head was simply glowing with white light at the moment, and even the clearly visible sky was gone.
However, if such a bright environment is paired with the solemnity and depression in the heart, the tension will be no less intense than the boundless darkness.
At present, the young wizards of several other grades have already gone to class. Only the students who need to take exams will gather in the foyer according to their classes, and then be sent to the auditorium completely out of order to sit down.
"Oh... please start quickly!" In a seat at the back of the middle, Ron held a quill and stared at Professor McGonagall at the front of the auditorium. "Start quickly, and then finish quickly... Seriously, this It feels terrible!"
No, to be precise, what he was staring at was actually the huge hourglass next to Mag. At this time, the end with accumulated gravel is still down, and it will not be turned around until Professor McGonagall thinks it is ready to start.
When all the students sat down one by one and became completely quiet, Professor McGonagall and the exam board proctor standing on the other side looked at each other.
"Dear students, the exam has begun."
As she spoke these words, with a flick of the wand in her hand, the large hourglass turned over silently.
As soon as he finished speaking, Ron hurriedly turned the paper in front of him to the front amidst the sound of the papers turning. These test papers have been cast with strict anti-cheating spells, as have quill pens, ink bottles and other test equipment. The examination board will not leave any room for students to cheat.
Of course, if someone really dared to cheat in such an important exam, the consequences of being found out would be quite serious.
"Well… "
The first question is simple. It asks to "write a spell that makes an object fly" and "describe the wand motion of the spell." For a question like this, I am afraid that any little wizard who has taken normal classes can easily write the answer.
But this was the first question that almost gave away points, which suddenly put Ron into a dilemma.
"Oh... Merlin, sir..." He slurred and muttered silently, "It's really terrible. Which curse should I put on it?"
In fact, in this exam, a small group of students really fell into the same predicament as Ron. And these students, without exception, are young wizards who have joined RA and practiced seriously.
"...Levitation Curse, Flying Curse, Hovering Curse, Feather Curse... No, theoretically speaking, the last Feather Curse cannot be regarded as 'flying'. In that case, the floating effect caused by the Obstacle Curse does not seem to be able to So...but..."
This question is only the first small question, and the answer space left is obviously not enough to fill in too much content. But no matter how small the space is, two or three incantations can still be written, which is enough to make it difficult for Ron, who wants to get good grades in the exam, to make a decision.
If you want to blame it, you can only blame it on the fact that the curse analysis information that Maka left for them was too detailed and exquisite, and Ron has actually worked hard for self-growth. His talent for casting spells was no better than Harry's, so in terms of theory, he spent more energy than Harry.
Therefore, even though he knew that most of the questions for this question would only require filling in the "Levitation Curse", he still had a series of unnecessary doubts.
Naturally, students with similar talents to Ron account for the majority, so when those RA members who have really worked hard to study Maca's stack of materials are faced with this exam that is related to the path of life, entanglement and hesitation become inevitable. towards.
"Oh! Let's just use the floating spell!" Ron suddenly paused his pen tip and shook his head vigorously, "What am I thinking about! This is the OWLs test paper..."
Yes, even if they hesitate, most of them will wake up. But wasting time has become a fact.
In the auditorium, Professor McGonagall and the invigilator were wandering quietly in the aisles. Most of them paid attention to the discipline of the examination room, but occasionally they would glance at the test papers of the little wizards. Soon, the invigilator, who didn't know much about the students at Hogwarts, noticed anything, but Professor McGonagall gradually discovered some abnormalities from some of the papers.
It can be seen that there are about a dozen students who have a similar situation in their papers-the answering speed is obviously lower than the average, but the accuracy and detailed level of some answers have exceeded the scope of OWLs.
It wouldn't be unusual if someone could answer questions as quickly and well as Hermione did, but it would be surprising for such a group of usually inconspicuous students to appear in such a similar state of answering questions at the same time.
By the way, these candidates are all Harry, Ron, Neville, Hannah, Ernie and other young wizards who usually have a good relationship with Maka. Among them, it is difficult for McGonagall not to notice.
"Did Maka, the kid, do some extracurricular training for them?" Professor McGonagall said to herself, half happy and half worried, "This is really surprising... But, I'm afraid it will be too late..."
Just as Professor McGonagall had worried, when the exam time ended and the test papers were collected by the invigilator to the staff table in front of the auditorium like leaves blown by the wind, several young wizards stood up wailing. Come.
"Oh, no -" Ron was naturally one of them, "There are still a few questions - there are still a few questions that have not been completed! Merlin's stinky socks are about to be finished now -"
However, no matter how "finished" it is, it's just a matter of a written examination on Charms. At first, Maka only gave them a detailed analysis of magic spells, but did not give them theoretical analysis materials on other subjects.
Even though Ron and the others were howling miserably in the morning, in the afternoon, they got a taste of the sweetness.
After lunch in the auditorium, which temporarily returned to normal, the candidates were taken to the small hall next to the auditorium to take the afternoon practical test in batches in alphabetical order.
Hermione was at the front of the batch and was called to the auditorium very early to complete the test, and she did not return to this small hall after the test.
Ron and Harry looked at the students around them and found that they were all extremely nervous. Some muttered spells to themselves, some waved their wands randomly, and some even almost poked others in the eyes without paying attention... It can be said that almost no one was calm.
Seeing that he was not the only one who was nervous, after comparing the left and right, they actually relaxed a lot.
"Harry, I think it's your turn soon..." Ron touched the wand in his arms and patted Harry's elbow gently. "How are you? Are you sure? Now I think about this morning. I didn’t finish answering the test paper, and I felt very guilty..."
"Confirmed? Who can say that they are sure? Didn't you see that even Hermione walked in with trembling hands?" Harry said with a grimace, "Finish what you have to do, and don't do anything else-"
Before he could finish speaking, the side door leading to the auditorium was opened again.
"Pansy Parkinson... Padma Patil... Parvati Patil..." the little Professor Flitwick appeared behind the door screamed, "and, Harry Potter!"
"Good luck to you, mate!" Ron slapped Harry on the elbow again.
"The same to you!"
Harry gave him a not so stiff smile, and then walked towards Professor Flitwick with heavy steps as if he were going to the execution ground.
"Professor Tofty's place is vacant, Potter!" Flitwick, standing by the door, pointed to a table in the far corner.
Most of the examiners and invigilators working at the Wizarding Examination Authority are former professors, and some of them are even quite famous in their own right. After the original magic school retired, these highly respected old professors were selectively rehired to the examination bureau to shoulder heavy responsibilities. They were indeed a group of wizards worthy of admiration.
"Is this Harry Potter?" Old Tofody looked at the roster on the table and took a good look at him from the top of his glasses, "The famous Mr. Potter?"
"Uh... yes, hello." Harry nodded slightly cautiously.
"Relax, don't be so nervous -" Old Tofti smiled kindly, and then said tremblingly, "Then, please let this small wine glass do a few backflips for me, be careful not to break it."
Specific and clear test requirements like this were obviously much easier for Harry than theory. Since the glass wine glass is fragile, it is obviously safer and more effective to control it with a floating spell.
As the tests continued, Harry discovered that Maka's spell analysis could be used in many places. After he completed all the steps quickly and accurately, the old Professor Tofty opposite nodded with great satisfaction.
Of course, the content of the practical test varies from person to person, and the difficulty will also vary depending on the severity of each examiner.
When Ron was called to face an expressionless old witch, his heart immediately sank.
"Ron Weasley?" The other party tapped the name list with her fingertips, and before raising her head, she already said her test requirements, "Did you see the water and the cup? Use this cup of water to put five Every cup is filled.”
When Ron heard this, he looked at the five glasses on the table in confusion and started thinking hard. There is no doubt that the first question here is obviously quite difficult.
He hesitated for a long time holding the wand, and then hesitantly pointed the tip of the wand at the glass filled with water.