#49 - Section 49

He buried his head in the basin, took a couple of gulps of chicken blood brandy, and then went to the plate for a couple of bites of venison, occasionally sputtering sparks from his nose.

He looked somewhat silly and cute, but after what happened to Cho Chang, none of the girls dared to approach him.

No one wanted to be the next victim; they decided to wait until they were more familiar with him before getting too close.

Baby dragons are not easy to raise. They have strong digestive systems and need to eat every half hour. Later, they would need to prepare enough food based on its appetite, since Ethan couldn't really come over to feed it every half hour.

After Onyxia had eaten and drunk her fill, Ethan asked the Room of Requirement for a lair suitable for a dragon.

With Onyxia on his shoulder, Ethan led the girls into the glowing doorway.

It was an astonishingly large rocky cave, very dry, and Ethan could feel waves of heat rising from below.

[Thank you, Fuhon, for the update request ticket! Thank you, Master!]

Chapter 74: End-of-Term Exam Week

The first week of June was exam week at Hogwarts.

Written exams, the so-called magical theory exams, came first. All subjects except for Flying were tested in two days, followed by practical exams for the next three days.

To prevent cheating, no one was allowed to take Pep-Up Potion during the exams. Using it to aid learning was fine, but using it to cheat on exams was definitely not allowed.

As for the more advanced Felix Felicis, the thing that was banned in advanced competitions, it was not included in the list of prohibited items this time. However, no one would likely drink something as extravagant as Felix Felicis for end-of-term exams.

In addition, quills and ink did not need to be brought; they would be provided in the exam hall.

The first exam was on Charms theory, proctored by Professor Flitwick himself.

"Mr. Donahue, I think you should go and change your robes, don't you think?"

Abbott Donahue, a first-year Gryffindor student, had just arrived in the classroom with a group of young lions and hadn't even sat down when Professor Flitwick called his name.

"Sorry, I'll go right away!"

Abbott Donahue, his face flushed red, hurriedly ran out of the classroom.

His wizard robes were covered in cheat sheets written in invisible ink. He thought he could activate them with magic when the proctor wasn't looking, but he didn't expect to be discovered before he even started.

Ethan could only say that Professor Flitwick was too kind. If Snape were here, he would definitely be disqualified from the exam and have house points deducted.

Although Gryffindor's house points had rebounded somewhat since Quirrell returned to teaching, they were still undeniably at the bottom of the four houses.

With Abbott Donahue as a living example, the students were all trembling, afraid of being caught themselves.

But as Professor Flitwick made his rounds, no one escaped.

Special glasses that could reflect the answers in the wearer's eyes were brought back from Hogsmeade by older students.

Compared to Ethan's Pep-Up Potion, this didn't require any effort to study; you just wore them during the exam. But it could only fool first-year students.

Because all five students wearing these glasses were caught. You aren't Harry Potter wearing a hammer's glasses, and these things get confiscated every year.

There were also more advanced methods, using Transfiguration to turn cheat sheets into accessories, but these also didn't escape Professor Flitwick's eyes.

As a seasoned professor who had taught at Hogwarts for over twenty years, what tricks hadn't he seen? These first-year wizards were too amateur compared to the older students.

They were using things that could be seen through at a glance.

Older wizards had endless supplies of potions and alchemical tools, codes, gestures, and other bizarre ways to pass answers.

He had even caught someone taking the exam using Polyjuice Potion. If he hadn't disguised himself poorly, he really wouldn't have noticed.

With Professor Flitwick setting an example, everyone behaved much better in the following exams, especially in Potions, where no one cheated.

And the next day, in History of Magic, Ethan saw that more than half of the students were cheating, and the process was quite simple and crude.

Defense Against the Dark Arts wasn't much better; Quirrell didn't care at all.

Astronomy was something Ethan really wasn't interested in, so he naturally didn't do very well, so he referenced Cassandra's answers.

Two days passed in a flash. Four exams were taken on the first day, and three on the second.

Next was the more difficult practical part. If you didn't know something on the written exam, you could guess on a multiple-choice question, and if you got close on a short answer question, the professor might give you some points.

But if you didn't know something on the practical, you were out of luck.

For the Transfiguration exam, when Ethan and the others entered the classroom, there was a Golden Snitch on the teacher's desk.

The exam was to transform a teacup into a Golden Snitch, and the score was based on how well you did.

Compared to turning a matchstick into a silver needle at the beginning of the year, this was much more difficult. You have to know that the Golden Snitch, whether it is its round body or its wings, is covered with fine lines. It is not easy to perfectly replicate it.

Ethan thought that Professor McGonagall was targeting Gryffindor because McGonagall was a Quidditch fanatic, but Gryffindor really didn't deliver this year.

After losing to Slytherin, they lost to Hufflepuff, only narrowly winning against the Ravenclaw girls' team (mostly girls).

These little wizards below are all new blood who can enter the Quidditch team next year. Everyone, be serious, Gryffindor really can't afford to lose.

Everything was normal before, even if it changed strangely, it still changed, didn't it?

Only when Seamus went up, everything changed, and Professor McGonagall was on full alert.

Bang!

Unsurprisingly, there was still an explosion, and golden fragments were scattered all over the classroom.

At least the color changed, indicating that Seamus still had some Transfiguration talent, but his explosion talent was too high, overshadowing his other talents.

When it was Ethan's turn, there were no problems at all, and he easily got an O.

The Potions exam required brewing a Shrinking Solution, which was quite difficult.

In the past, it was done in pairs, but during the exam, it was done individually.

Daisy roots (chopped), shriveled figs (peeled), caterpillars (sliced), a drop of rat bile, a little leech juice.

Although this was potion brewed just a few weeks ago, the entire assessment site was still somewhat chaotic, with all sorts of problems emerging.

After all, one had to kill the mice to get the bile, squeeze the leeches for their juice, and cut up the caterpillars oneself. For those clumsy little wizards, this was a nightmare.

But for Ethan and his roommates, it was no problem at all; they were among the first to finish.

Although Snape didn't give grades in class, an 'Outstanding' should be guaranteed.

For the Charms exam, Professor Flitwick took everyone directly to a classroom with a small dueling platform.

As a former dueling champion, Professor Flitwick's assessment was quite hardcore; he directly had them duel.

Practical experience reveals true knowledge. He didn't want his students to be useless show-offs who would fail at crucial moments; that wouldn't do.

Harry was the first to go up, and his opponent was Draco Malfoy. The two were evenly matched, but Harry ultimately won with his signature Expelliarmus.

Next was Ron against Goyle. These two were a bit of a joke; in the middle of the duel, they dropped their wands and started a fistfight.

Professor Flitwick, who was watching from the side, turned green with anger. He was the Charms professor, but these two unlucky kids were fighting with their fists during his Charms exam. Wasn't that saying that charms were less useful than fists?

Was it indirectly saying that his, Flitwick's, teaching level was inadequate?

Immediately, Professor Flitwick waved his wand to separate the two and kicked them out, not wanting to say another word.

The grades of these two can be imagined.

After another two groups, it was Ethan's favorite part: girls fighting.

Unfortunately, there were no hair-pulling, face-slapping, or clothes-tearing segments, which reduced the watchability by more than one level.

"Hermione Granger versus Cassandra Vole!"

Soon, Professor Flitwick announced Hermione and Cassandra's names.

Now it was all Gryffindor versus Slytherin, and these two houses were the most serious when fighting.

Moreover, Professor Flitwick also grouped them according to their usual grades, trying to choose two with similar abilities, so that something could be seen.

"Densaugeo!"

"Expelliarmus!"

"Impedimenta!"

"Avis!"

"Petrificus Totalus!"

"Finite Incantatem!"

Back and forth, the strength was more than one level higher than the previous few groups of little wizards. Most of the time, Cassandra launched attacks, while Hermione dodged or used protective spells.

Professor Flitwick also nodded repeatedly as he watched. These were the students he had taught. What were the previous ones? Especially those two embarrassing things.

"Densaugeo!"

Seizing an opportunity, while Hermione was dodging, Cassandra flicked a white light from a tricky angle, hitting Hermione's head.

In the surprised eyes of all the little wizards, Hermione's front teeth grew at an alarming rate, crossing her lips and growing towards her chin until they reached her collar before stopping. (Normally, it should have knocked off her chin, but in the original work, the teeth just protruded. In this book, it is set that only a deeper understanding of this magic and changing the direction can achieve lethality.)

With her front teeth grown like this, she naturally lost the ability to cast spells. Hermione didn't know how to cast silently, so she could only step down.

But before leaving, Hermione's eyes wished she could kill Cassandra. It was always the front teeth; did these people only know about front teeth?

Although Ethan had guessed the result, he didn't expect Hermione to leave the stage in this way.

He just didn't know if Cassandra's wave was intentional or accidental.

Hermione's combat ability could only be considered average.

Although she was a top student and could quickly learn various spells and potions, she was still a bit lacking when it came to actual combat, a classic theoretical player.

And Cassandra's combat talent was beyond doubt. This time, she didn't even exert much effort; she wasn't as serious as when she fought Ethan last time.

After watching a few more waves of girls fighting, in the end, Gryffindor still had three little boys and two little girls without opponents. There was no way; Gryffindor had more people than Slytherin.

"Neville Longbottom versus Ethan Yardley!"

Ethan cast a questioning look at Professor Flitwick.

Professor, are you serious?

Me fighting Neville?

Professor Flitwick looked at the platform, completely ignoring Ethan. For his proud student, Ravenclaw's genius, wouldn't it be a one-sided victory no matter who he fought here?

If he gave a normal grade, Ethan's opponent would probably get a 'T'. (Terrible)

And Professor Flitwick also knew about Neville's situation. He studied very hard, but because he was hit by a memory charm when he was young, his brain was a bit slow, and learning magic was more than one level slower than others.

It was estimated that he could only get a 'Passable' or a 'Dreadful' in the end. (Passable is failing, Dreadful is very bad)

So fighting Ethan couldn't be graded normally. It would be better to give this opportunity to Neville, so that he could at least say it was because his opponent was too strong, and he could get an 'Acceptable'.

Looking at Neville, whose legs were still trembling opposite him, Ethan sighed.

"Expelliarmus!"

A red light accurately hit the wand in Neville's hand, causing it to fly into his own hand.

He could only do this. If he really used Expelliarmus to aim at Neville, his current state would be no different from being hit by a truck.

After all, the Disarming Charm also had a knockback effect.

[Thanks to boss fuhon for the update ticket, thank you boss!]

Chapter 75: Quick Clearance

Friday's Defense Against the Dark Arts class was the final practical exam.

In this exam, Quirrell behaved quite perfunctorily, each person answering a question from his textbook, and that was it.

Although it was very perfunctory, the little wizards were happy!

They just liked this kind of exam.

It was just that after the exam, Quirrell stopped himself again.

"Mr. Yardley, please wait a moment."

"Sorry, Professor Quirrell, I have an appointment with a friend to go to the library."

Saying that, Ethan was about to leave. Now it was almost time for Voldemort to go find the Philosopher's Stone and then face off against Harry. What did he want from himself?

Ethan didn't want to get involved; there was no benefit.

The thing he promised Dumbledore was only one last step away from being done, and he didn't need to intervene.