#264 - Baseline test
Although Anduin's inspection and explanation were very detailed, his efficiency was also very high. In just over half an hour, he had inspected all the male and female dormitories.
After completing the inspection, Anduin turned to look at the prefects who had been following him.
"Did you see that clearly? This time, I personally demonstrated the standards for personal and dormitory housekeeping with examples. From tomorrow onwards, except on weekends, the prefects of each year must conduct housekeeping inspections on the students of their respective years every morning at 7:30."
"Using the year as a unit, those who meet the standards will be taken to the Great Hall for meals. If even one person in the year fails, the entire year group will not be allowed to leave the common room."
"Today is the first day, so I'll let it slide. Starting tomorrow, if I find anyone outside the common room whose housekeeping doesn't meet the standard, I will deduct points from the corresponding year. And you, as prefects, must lead by example. If any non-standard areas are found on you, the penalty will be doubled."
Anduin, with a stern face, instructed the prefects loudly. His voice was loud, not only to explain to them but also to let the young wizards in the corridor hear.
When establishing such standards, they must be strict and harsh enough, otherwise, it will be difficult for them to form a habit.
"Yes, Head." Since Joy had replied to Anduin like this yesterday, the prefects had followed suit and started calling him that.
"Alright, now head to the Great Hall for meals. Students in grades 2-7, return to the common room before 9 o'clock to prepare for the placement test. Velen, after lunch, take the first-year students to familiarize themselves with the castle and identify the locations of various subject classrooms and the library," Anduin shouted to everyone.
The young wizards, who had been standing for half an hour, finally relaxed when they heard they could finally disperse.
The first-year students were even more so, because according to Anduin, they didn't have to come back for an exam on a weekend, and they even had a seventh-year student taking them on a tour of the castle.
Immediately, the young wizards were like ducks released from a cage, swarming out.
"Everyone, stop!" Anduin, seeing their actions, shouted with a grim expression, "You've already forgotten what I said yesterday. We are Slytherin, not Fish-therin. Don't you remember two in a row, three in a column? And who told you to jump around?"
Hearing Anduin's roar, everyone's hearts tightened, and they quickly gathered together in a line. With so many people moving together, it was like a long snake composed of a human stream, winding forward.
Anduin at this time was like an instructor, closely following beside them, his eyes sharply inspecting the flow of people.
"The people in front, don't go so fast. The people behind you can't keep up."
"Look straight ahead when moving, don't look around, and don't whisper to each other."
"Give way to pedestrians at intersections and stairwell corners. If you can't keep up with the team in front, just take it slow. No one is rushing you."
As the human flow moved, Anduin carefully reminded them from the side, educating them in practice.
The pedestrians encountered along the way, whether professors or young wizards from other houses, all looked at this long human flow with strange eyes.
They were all curious about what was going on with these Slytherins. They were all so tense, not even speaking, and dressed so neatly on a weekend.
The young wizards in motion, being watched by others as if they were strange animals, felt a little embarrassed, but they didn't dare to lower their heads or speak. Many of them blushed with embarrassment.
After arriving at the Great Hall, the Slytherin wizards circled the Slytherin table for a full circle. After everyone was standing in front of the table, they all sat down to eat at Anduin's command of 'Sit' and 'Eat'.
At the same time, during the meal, if anyone laughed and joked, whispered to each other, used their hands to take food, or even made the sound of cutlery cutting the plate too loud, they would receive Anduin's stern gaze.
The strange scene on the Slytherin table was particularly glaring compared to the sparsely seated tables of the other houses. Even the professors eating at the staff table couldn't help but glance over here frequently.
Especially the little lions at the Gryffindor table, who were pointing and gesturing towards the Slytherin side, and occasionally a burst of strange laughter would come out.
Anduin saw all of this, and he also saw the somewhat tangled emotions of the little snakes beside him, but he didn't care.
Embarrassed? When they see Slytherin's disciplined performance in the future, they will be the ones who are embarrassed.
After finishing breakfast, Louis, who had finished the prefect meeting for Slytherin, also returned. At this time, the Slytherin group split into two, one group followed Anduin back to the common room, and the other group was the first-year students, who followed Louis to tour the castle.
After returning to the dungeon, the Slytherin group sat on the new long benches and quietly looked at Anduin on the steps, waiting for the arrival of the exam.
"I know that being looked at by others with strange eyes just now will make you feel very embarrassed," Anduin said directly.
The sitting young wizards looked at each other at this time, and some nodded in agreement.
"But you must remember that being different and not caring about the eyes of others is itself a characteristic that Slytherin should have. People are born different. The strong do not need to explain to the weak, and what you have to do now is to learn how to become strong, understand?" Anduin's voice was low and gentle, and he smiled slightly.
"Yes, Head," the young wizards replied quickly, thoughtfully digesting Anduin's words.
"Okay, now the placement test officially begins. For the first test, we won't do a practical exam. It's all written. Answer the questions carefully!" After Anduin finished speaking, he snapped his fingers, and a stack of test papers, quills, and ink suddenly appeared in front of all the young wizards.
After a while, only the sound of pen tips scratching parchment was left in the stone hall.
Anduin stood quietly on the high platform proctoring the exam. For each subject's exam, grades 2-5 were only given forty minutes, and upperclassmen only needed to test on the subjects they passed, with one hour of exam time for each subject. The corresponding subject representatives did not need to take the exam.
As soon as the time was up, Anduin would cast a spell, and the test papers for the corresponding subjects in front of them would disappear, and then they would continue to the next subject. Including elective courses, middle and lower grade wizards actually only needed to test nine courses each, and upperclassmen had to test a maximum of 6 courses and a minimum of 3 courses.
At lunchtime, Anduin once again organized everyone to go to the Great Hall for meals together. After lunch, they rested for an hour, and then continued the exam in the afternoon. The first-year students who had returned from touring the castle were ordered by Anduin to remain quiet and then quietly returned to their respective dormitories.
