MrBlackWing
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✭ Chapter 102 ➜ Final Exams ✭
🕑 Added 2025-05-15 18:03:21 +0000 UTCA few days before the exams, Stella finally returned to Hogwarts.
When Kyle returned to the common room after dinner, he spotted her perched on the windowsill. The owl looked exhausted — her eyes drooping, her body visibly thinner, her once-beautiful feathers now dull and gray.
Upon seeing him, Stella lifted her head and tried to fly over, but halfway through, she began to fall from exhaustion.
Kyle rushed forward to catch her.
"That's your owl, isn't it?" Cedric asked, standing nearby as Stella fell asleep in Kyle's arms, "How many letters did you make her deliver? Why is she so weak?"
"Just one... but I think she misunderstood my instructions."
Kyle carefully placed Stella on the nearby sofa and removed an envelope from her claws.
It was a reply letter, with Newt's handwriting on the envelope.
Instead of simply delivering the letter to Dorset and returning, Stella had flown all the way to find Newt himself. No wonder it had taken so long. Kyle shook his head with a mix of amusement and exasperation — silly bird.
The final exams were tomorrow, and to ensure they'd be in good shape, the young wizards went to bed early.
Kyle stroked the feathers on Stella's neck, sat down beside her, and opened the envelope. Inside was a brief reply.
— — — — — — — — — — — — — —
Kyle:
I'm surprised to receive your letter from so far away. I've thought about what you mentioned - the Swooping Evil's venom has no corrosive properties and only affects the brain, having no effect on plants.
However, I examined the wood block you sent, and it definitely contains traces of Swooping Evil venom. This is a very important discovery. As soon as things wrap up here, we'll head straight to Hogwarts.
(Your father asked me to tell you to stay away from dangerous situations - leave everything to Dumbledore.)
—Newt Scamander.
— — — — — — — — — — — — — —
After reading the reply, Kyle sat there with his eyes closed, silently contemplating.
Hagrid's trip to the Forbidden Forest that night hadn't been because he caught them wandering after hours — it was because of someone else.
Hagrid must have ventured deep into the forest and encountered this person, leading to a confrontation. This would explain the two sets of messy footprints near that tree. The other person had possessed a Swooping Evil, and its venom had caused Hagrid to forget the entire incident.
He'd forgotten everything about his forest trip and what happened during that time. That's why he hadn't delivered the Christmas tree to the Great Hall on schedule — in his memory, Halloween had only just passed.
Now everything made sense.
And that Swooping Evil was likely the same one the Ministry had been searching for — the one that got away.
The only remaining question was the identity of Hagrid's attacker. Was it one of those disguised wizards from the Hog's Head, or perhaps a rat hiding in the castle...
Half an hour later, Kyle decided to give up, having reached no conclusions.
Nothing is difficult if you're willing to give up. As the letter said, everything was in Dumbledore's hands. He was about to go on holiday anyway, so why worry about it?
He stood up, carried Stella, and returned to the dormitory.
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The next day, exams began.
First was the Magical Theory exam — the written test.
To prevent cheating, students weren't allowed to bring their own quills and ink — they had to use school-issued supplies.
But this didn't discourage the young wizards from attempting to cheat.
Katie Bell from Gryffindor nervously entered the classroom, and shortly after sitting down, Minerva approached her, yanked off her large red hair accessory, and coldly said:
"Miss Bell, that's not how we use Transfiguration."
The accessory writhed in her hand, transforming into a parchment covered in tiny writing.
Kyle, who witnessed the whole thing, clicked his tongue and gave a mental thumbs-up. Using Transfiguration to cheat right under Professor McGonagall's nose was quite audacious, even by wizarding standards.
The sheer courage alone surpassed that of 98% of young wizards — truly worthy of Gryffindor.
Those who had written cheat notes on their clothes didn't escape either. Minerva needed only one walk around the classroom to catch them all.
As a senior professor and Deputy Headmistress who had commanded Hogwarts for over thirty years, she needed no special tools — she could identify the guilty simply by their expressions, catching them without fail.
When everyone began answering questions, she quietly complained that Dumbledore shouldn't have assigned her to the first-year exam room. It was too unchallenging — she believed she should be supervising fifth-year students and above, where the cheating methods were far more sophisticated.
Potions, alchemical devices, gesture-based spells — they had everything.
Especially potions. Baruffio's Brain Elixir and Wideye Potion were mere basics. Rumor had it that during last year's N.E.W.T.s, someone had even used Felix Felicis, though she hadn't witnessed it herself.
Attempts to sneak into exam rooms using Polyjuice Potion and Disillusionment Charms were also common.
For professors, supervising fifth-year and above students was like fighting a smokeless war. While other professors found it torturous, Minerva was different — she relished the battle of wits with the students.
Unfortunately, this year she was assigned to the starter village.
An hour later, Professor McGonagall looked at the well-behaved first-years below and complained again, "Really, Albus, why must I supervise first years... even third year would have been better."
After the written exam came the practical tests. Professor Flitwick had students enter the classroom one by one to demonstrate making a pineapple ride a broomstick around the room.
Of course, the "broomstick" was just a stick with a feather stuck in it.
The task proved effortless for Kyle — he not only met all requirements perfectly but also made the stick execute a classic Quidditch maneuver.
Professor Flitwick gave him full marks on the spot.
Professor McGonagall's exam required students to transform rabbits into brooches. The more elegant the brooch, the higher the score, with points deducted for any lingering rabbit features.
Kyle recalled the brooch Michael had given him for Christmas and transformed the rabbit into an exact replica.
Professor McGonagall also awarded him full marks.
The Potions exam focused on brewing a Boil-Cure Potion, one of the most basic concoctions. Despite crafting a flawless potion, Kyle remained uncertain about his score.
Throughout the exam, Snape hovered behind him, shaking his head — clearly determined to find any excuse to deduct points.
