Chapter 427: Final Exams

After leaving the classroom, Kyle felt a rush of relief. Hearing Professor McGonagall's earlier comments, he had expected the assessment for the Most Promising Newcomer Award to be challenging, but it had turned out to be surprisingly easy.

When Kyle reached the classroom upstairs, the Charms exam had already begun. Professor Flitwick looked up, startled to see him.

"By Merlin's beard! What are you doing here? Hasn't Professor McGonagall found you yet?" Flitwick trotted over, pointing back toward the second floor. "Hurry to the room next to the library. Someone is waiting for you there…"

"I was just there, Professor," Kyle replied.

"What?" Professor Flitwick paused. "You've already met Professor Marchbanks?"

"Yes," Kyle confirmed, "and I passed. She told me to join the exam, and she said it would be fine if I came now."

"Well, it is fine," Professor Flitwick said with a smile, reassured. "In fact, the exam hasn't properly started yet. But you didn't actually have to come, you know…"

Kyle didn't reply. Though Professor McGonagall had said the same, everyone else was taking the exam, and with the castle empty, he'd be bored if he went back early.

Together, they entered the classroom, and Kyle smoothly completed the exam.

After dinner, students hurried back to their common rooms to cram for the remaining exams. But by lunchtime the next day, following the grueling Potions exam, the atmosphere in the castle had plummeted. It was as if the castle had been overtaken by Dementors.

"That was awful," Mikel finally burst out with a sigh. "I couldn't think straight with Snape looming behind me, I messed up so many steps, and my potion turned the wrong color. And on our way out, he wrote something in his notebook. I'd bet ten Galleons it was a zero."

His complaints struck a chord with the students nearby. Everyone seemed to have had Snape watching over their shoulders, with a look that suggested he wouldn't mind if they all failed.

Thankfully, the Care of Magical Creatures exam in the afternoon was far more enjoyable. Somehow, Hagrid had gotten hold of a bucket of Fire Crabs, and he told them that to pass the exam, they only needed to figure out what the Fire Crabs liked to eat.

Three types of food were laid out on the field, all options from the Fire Crabs' diet. They could have guessed blindfolded and still passed—by far the easiest exam they'd ever taken.

Kyle even had plenty of chances to chat with Hagrid throughout the test.

"Thanks for the tonic, Kyle," Hagrid whispered. "There are some Spiders in the Forbidden Forest that've been feeling a bit under the weather lately and could do with a tonic."

"So how are they now?" Kyle asked.

"Much better," Hagrid said happily. "They look no different from before—they're perfectly healthy."

"That's good," Kyle said, pleased.

Hagrid didn't even glance at the Fire Crab in Kyle's hand and immediately awarded him full marks.

For the Astronomy exam in the middle of the night, everyone trudged drowsily to the top of the tallest tower, grumbling all the way that it should have been scheduled last, so they could get a good night's sleep without worrying about the next day's exams.

The History of Magic exam on Wednesday afternoon was the hardest of all. The classroom was stuffy and hot, with no breeze through the closed doors and windows. Fortunately, it would soon be over, and once they made it through tomorrow, they'd be rewarded with two full months of vacation.

The penultimate exam was Divination. Early in the morning, Kyle went to the Divination classroom and discreetly placed a brand-new crystal ball in the corner, right in front of Professor Trelawney. The exam took forever, as each student spent about ten minutes inside, making Divination the longest test, stretching from morning till noon.

When Professor Trelawney finally emerged, Kyle hurried back into the classroom, only to find that Trelawney hadn't made a single true prediction all morning. The crystal ball was still spotless, with nothing recorded on it. Kyle sighed, picked it up, and slipped it back into his pocket. That was ten Galleons... Wonder if I can get a refund…

By the time Kyle arrived in the Great Hall, it was already packed. Everyone was excited, gathering in groups and chatting animatedly, eagerly awaiting the end of the afternoon's exams. Kyle sat down between Kanna and Cedric, who were discussing the O.W.L.s.

"How did they go?" Kanna asked. "Were the questions difficult?"

"A bit tougher than usual," Cedric admitted, "but nothing you haven't studied before. Don't worry, you'll definitely pass next year. It's the N.E.W.T.s in seventh year that are really brutal. Quite a few of the seventh years haven't been sleeping at night—just cramming nonstop for their exams."

"What about their exams during the day?" Mikel, who was sitting nearby, asked. "How can they still function without sleep?"

The lack of sleep from the Astronomy exam had already left him groggy; he couldn't imagine going several days without rest.

"They just power through," Cedric said. "Or take some Pepperup Potion the night before. Though most potions are banned during the Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Test, Pepperup is allowed as long as it's taken early enough."

Their last exam was Defense Against the Dark Arts. Professor Lupin had set the most unique test yet: an outdoor obstacle course near the Forbidden Forest. They had to navigate through a forest with Fwoopers, wade through a swamp full of mischievous Imps, and find a thicket where three Bowtruckles were hiding. Failing to locate all three Bowtruckles within the time limit, or accidentally harming them, meant losing points.

"Well done, Kyle!" Professor Lupin beamed as Kyle emerged from the course. "Full marks!"

Kyle was the first to score perfectly.

Mikel, who had entered the course with him, was still struggling at the first hurdle. Affected by the Fwooper's disorienting song, he was spinning in place, jumping around as if warding off invisible threats. Finally, he collided with a tree and snapped back to his senses, his face flushed red from embarrassment.

Later, Kanna also completed the course and, like Kyle, earned a perfect score.