Exam week had begun, and an unusual silence had settled over the castle. The third-year students emerged from the Transfiguration classroom after lunch on Monday, each looking ashen-faced and dispirited. They compared notes and lamented the difficulty of the task Professor McGonagall had set them: to transform a teapot into a tortoise.
Most students' final transformations still bore traces of the teapot, such as a teapot spout, a handle, or a tortoise shell patterned with teapot designs.
Pansy followed Malfoy, stepping nervously to the front of the classroom. She drew her wand and cast the spell at the teapot before her.
She then watched, dismayed, as she turned the old teapot into a tortoise, only the tortoise's shell was shaped like a teapot lid.
Pansy anxiously watched Professor McGonagall, waiting for her score.
Professor McGonagall's face was expressionless, a sign that she was dissatisfied with most of the students.
The schedule was tight. After lunch, the students had to rush upstairs for their Charms exam, which involved the Tickling Charm. To Malfoy, the exam room felt like a mass drug-taking session, as many students cast the charm on their partners and dissolved into fits of giggles.
Malfoy and Pansy, as a team, put the former's acting skills to the test once again. Pansy's Tickling Charm had no effect, so Malfoy had to feign amusement, forcing himself to smile so Pansy would receive a good grade. Professor Flitwick never suspected a thing.
This was a relatively good outcome. One team had been too effective; Harry had gone overboard, leaving his partner, Ron, in fits of hysterical laughter. They had to take him to a quiet room for an hour until he could cast the Tickling Charm on his own.
Then the day's exams ended, but this was no time to relax. Instead, many students seized every second, cramming frantically for the three exams they would face tomorrow: Care of Magical Creatures, Potions, and Astronomy.
The next morning, Professor Grubbly-Plank, who had taken over from Hagrid, stood early at the edge of the Forbidden Forest. Clearly, this teacher was one who liked to take it easy. She simply told the students to observe the dung heaps created by giant dung beetles and then write a report.
"If it weren't for the unbearable smell, I'd say this was the easiest exam," Pansy complained to Malfoy after the exam, quickly casting a "Scourgify" charm on her clothes, even though she hadn't gotten a speck of dung on them.
"Many things in this world are fair. If you want an easy exam, you'll naturally have to pay the price somewhere else," Malfoy could only say.
However, this principle clearly didn't always hold true. Some exams were both difficult and subject to human interference.
The afternoon's Potions exam was an ordeal for most Gryffindor students. It was very difficult, and the ever-present Potions professor, Snape, paced around them. If Harry could have performed normally, he might have only managed thirty percent of his potential under the gaze of Snape's dark eyes.
Moreover, given the difficulty of today's exam, even a normal performance wouldn't have been enough.
During the brief moments when Snape wasn't hovering nearby, Harry saw the greasy-haired man whispering something to some Slytherin students.
He suspected Snape was helping them cheat.
Most students' potions were a mess, especially Neville's. He was no longer afraid of Snape himself, but perhaps he truly had no talent for Potions. Neville's cauldron was filled with a strange green substance. Harry glanced at Hermione's potion behind him; it was a sparkling purple, bubbling away and surrounded by rising mist, with a touch of magic.
The knowledge Harry had crammed into his head before the exam told him that Hermione had done almost perfectly.
But when it came to grading, Snape still stared at their potions with that pale face, his eyes filled with disgust.
As Harry packed up his equipment, he tried to casually walk past Snape and saw the parchment where he was recording the scores.
Many of the Slytherin students' potions were a mess, a black, bubbling blob resembling lava, yet Snape had given them very high marks. Hermione's potion, on the other hand, barely passed.
Just as Harry was about to see his own score, Snape's dark eyes met his.
"If you want to know your score in advance, I don't mind telling you right away, curious Mr. Potter," Snape said with a twitch of his lips, revealing a malicious smile, his tone sinister, as if enjoying this moment of power.
So Harry could only flee.
Harry would never know that every time Snape met his gaze, it stirred up waves in the cold man's heart. Every time he saw those almond-shaped green eyes, it was an agonizing struggle for Snape, always reminding him of those bitter and regretful memories.
But perhaps this was the only way he could remember the person he loved most, perhaps mixed with a trace of happiness. No one would ever know.
Then the students' exams continued into the midnight hours, as the Astronomy exam couldn't possibly be held during the day. The stars reflected in the dim night sky were what the students needed to focus on. Gazing at the dazzling stars overhead, Malfoy unconsciously thought of a quote.
"There are only two things in the world that can deeply shock our hearts: the brilliant starry sky above us and the noble moral law within us," Malfoy whispered.
This was a quote he quite liked. Perhaps some considered it a bit cliché, but even without deeply studying philosophy or understanding the true ideas of those philosophers, he still admired the quote.
"I think there's one more thing, and that's extraordinary intelligence," a ethereal voice suddenly came from behind Malfoy, entering his ears. A petite figure appeared before him. The faint moonlight poured down, seeming to coat the girl's light golden hair with a layer of silver. She wore a pair of carrot earrings and a necklace made of butterbeer bottle stoppers.
These iconic symbols clearly revealed the girl's identity: Luna Lovegood.
"This is where the third-year students are taking their exams. What are you doing here?" Pansy immediately walked over from her telescope, staring at the girl with a wary expression.
"I've already finished my exam," Luna replied easily, seemingly unaware of her hostility, her slightly protruding silver-gray eyes filled with a unique brilliance.
"I wandered here without realizing it. Aren't you finished yet?" Luna asked.
"We aren't as simple as you are!" Pansy said unhappily. The content of the third-year and second-year exams were completely different. Beneath her telescope was a star chart she had barely started, and she was still completely clueless.
"Those three students over there, no talking during the exam!" The invigilator's timely arrival finally ended the little interlude.
History of Magic was scheduled for Wednesday. The students needed to complete a paper on witches. Influenced by the sweltering weather, the examinees' emotions also became agitated. They kept looking around, but that didn't make the boring knowledge jump out of the books and into their brains.
"Some small, blue-skinned elves engaged in many life-and-death struggles with an evil witch. That hateful witch explored forbidden powers, wanting to create life and manufacture a creature similar to those elves, hoping to infiltrate their ranks to achieve her plan of conquering the elves. But in the end, she was exposed. Also, this witch had a ferocious pet cat…" Pansy freely unleashed her imagination on her parchment, turning the History of Magic exam paper into a manuscript for an adventure novel.
The poor wizard was even gender-swapped into a witch by Pansy's pen.
"It's called sacrificing for art!" Later, when the grades were announced and Malfoy asked about Pansy's exam paper, Pansy replied, shaking her head.
The fantasy story created by a Muggle successfully deceived Professor Binns, the ghost, into giving it a high score, something even Malfoy hadn't anticipated.
Of course, that was all in the future. The Defense Against the Dark Arts exam on Thursday quickly followed. Just when they thought Snape would be invigilating for Lupin, an unexpected person appeared before them.
"Professor Dumbledore!" Many students exclaimed in surprise. They were currently standing on the edge of the Forbidden Forest, the scorching sunlight warming their bodies.
"Although your Defense Against the Dark Arts professor has resigned, he still asked me to oversee the exam he left behind." Dumbledore pushed up his half-moon spectacles, smiling at the students.
All the students cheered. They didn't have to face Snape's gloomy face anymore!
This exam was very unusual. It was an obstacle course-like exam outdoors in the sunlight. The students had to wade through a pond with Grindylows, traverse a series of potholes filled with Red Caps, walk creakily through a swamp, ignore the wrong directions given by a Hinkypunk, and then climb into an old chest to fight a new Boggart.
Malfoy still just ignored the Boggart in the old chest. It was exam equipment, and blowing it up would make things difficult for the later examinees.
Not long after Malfoy climbed out of the chest, Pansy also crawled in, letting out bursts of screams. She quickly rushed out, throwing herself onto Malfoy in shock, rubbing her head desperately against his chest.
But when Malfoy asked Pansy what she saw, she remained silent, only a faint sob escaping her throat.
It seemed that it was always difficult for the female teammates to overcome their inner obstacles. Hermione also didn't do well in this part, even though she had performed flawlessly in the previous parts, she still lost her composure at this hurdle.
"I won't fail, I won't fail." Hermione muttered to herself, trembling as she came out of the box, her eyes seemingly losing focus, repeatedly telling herself that everything just now was an illusion.
Just now in the box, she saw Professor McGonagall pointing to a failing exam paper with her name on it, looking at her sternly, her eyes filled with disappointment.
As for the last exam subject, it was their respective elective courses. Malfoy had to go to the Ancient Runes classroom to receive Professor Babbling's assigned assessment, while Pansy went to the Divination classroom.
The Divination exam was held in a classroom in the tower. The curtains were drawn, the light was dim, and a fire was burning in the fireplace. Even though it was already summer, the room was still like this, filled with an uncomfortable smell. Professor Trelawney, wearing her pile of enormous and intricate ornaments and a pair of glasses, was sitting at the front of the classroom, staring straight at every student who approached with her somewhat hollow eyes, while a shining crystal ball was placed on the table in front of Trelawney.
"Relax, child." Trelawney said gently. "Don't be nervous. Every seer needs to calm their mind before performing divination, so that they can get the correct results." Trelawney said with a smile, a few wrinkles squeezing out of the corners of her eyes, making her look very kind.
"Strictly speaking, this is not an exam, just a test. I am very tolerant of my students, so you don't have to worry." She continued.
But Pansy still sat on the chair, trembling as she looked at the crystal ball in front of her, wrinkling her small nose from time to time. The smell of incense made her very uncomfortable, and she fidgeted uneasily, feeling that the surrounding atmosphere made her a little scared.
"Okay, Professor." But Pansy still did as Trelawney said, stood up from the stool, and leaned over to look at the crystal ball. The swirling white mist kept rising, blocking Pansy's vision.
"I see it!" Pansy said in surprise. Vaguely, she still saw something blocked by the swirling smoke.
"What do you see? Child?" Professor Trelawney asked in a low voice.
"Two goblets." Pansy said very certainly. She really saw it.
"Anything else? Child." Trelawney pressed.
"And a broken table." Pansy continued to answer.
"Oh, let me think." Trelawney returned to that mystical look, muttering to herself.
"Two goblets? A minor seeing goblets in a crystal ball?" Trelawney murmured to herself, her eyes, magnified by her glasses, looking somewhat puzzled.
"That's a really strange omen." She said.
"Ah!" Pansy suddenly screamed, retreating a few steps in a panic, knocking over the chair behind her, making a clattering sound.
"Dear, what else do you see?" Trelawney urged, which made her very interested.
"The goblets are broken." Pansy replied weakly, then asked, "Is this an ominous omen?"
"Things breaking are never a sign of success. The things you hope for will be hindered." Professor Trelawney's voice became hoarse.
Then she pushed the frame of her glasses on the bridge of her nose, her gaze turning scattered: "But this is not a bad thing, you will avoid a bloody disaster."
"Is that so." Pansy patted her chest in fear, relieved and breathed a sigh of relief.
"Good luck." Trelawney said kindly, hoping that her predictions could bring luck to everyone, even if it often went against her wishes.
After Pansy walked out of the classroom, Trelawney inadvertently glanced at the crystal ball again, and then exclaimed in panic: "Poor child, it seems you still can't avoid it." Her eyes were full of sympathy.
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