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Chapter 25: The Exams
"Harry, stop fidgeting. You're making me even more nervous." Hermione snapped at her best friend. Honestly, it was like the thought Voldemort was just going to waltz right through the Entrance and up to the third floor corridor himself with the way Harry kept pacing back and forth and glancing over his shoulder every few minutes. He sighed and sat down on the couch beside her, absentmindedly rubbing his scar.
"Our first exam is tomorrow, you should study a bit more."
"Nah, mate, don't listen to her. Hermione – didn't your parents teach you that you need a break after studying for so long?"
Hermione cooly regarded her other best friend, Ron. He was currently stuffing his face with chocolate frogs while reading a Quidditch magazine.
"Yes, they did teach me that. And I will take a break later this evening, but you and Harry have barely even studied at all, much less requiring a break from studying. Honestly, we have two practical exams and two written exams tomorrow; you need to prepare for it!"
Ron barely glanced at her before returning to his Quidditch magazine. Hermione huffed and grabbed up her books and marched up to her dorm room. "Fine. I'm going to be studying up in my room with no distractions. We'll see how tomorrow goes for you two." As she stalked up the stairs, she could hear her two best friends muttering. She placed her books on her bed as she changed into more comfortable clothes to study. Lavender and Parvati were gone and Hermione had seen Fay and Kellah together in the common room playing Exploding Snap. She was glad to be able to study in peace and quiet. Tomorrow was Charms and Transfiguration examinations, so there was plenty to study.
"Good morning, first years. We will be completing the written portion of the Charms exam now. You have been given special quills for this exam; they have been charmed with an Anti-Cheating spell. You have one hour to complete this exam. You may begin.
Hermione begin to furiously complete the exam in front of her. Much of it regarded the different wand movements necessary to complete a specific charm, the correct pronunciation of the charms, and the purposes or effects of the charms. Hermione finished the written exam in forty-five minutes and spent the rest of her time refining her previous answers. She didn't even glance over at her friends during the exam, but saw them afterwards. Ron looked a little grumpy from the early morning exam, but Harry was behaving the same as he had been for the last week – jumpy, agitated, and frustrated.
They walked together out of the hot, stuffy room towards the classroom where Professor Flitwick would have them individually complete the practical part of the exam. He had not told them which charms they would need to know for the exam, so Hermione had been furiously studying all of them for weeks now. She was the first of the three who went in the room to face Professor Flitwick, who handed her a pineapple.
"I want you to make this pineapple dance across the desks." he said simply.
Hermione took the pineapple, placed it on the desk and pointed her wand at it. With two quick flicks and a "Tarantallegra", the pineapple began to tap dance across the desks toward her waiting Professor.
"Excellent! Thank you, Hermione that is all. You can send in the next student – please do not inform them of the task."
"Yes sir, Professor. Thank you!"
She walked out to the other first years who hadn't completed the Charms practical yet. "You're up, Ron!" and she skipped away before he could ask her what they needed to do. She wouldn't defy her Professor, but she knew Ron would want to know what their task would be. She decided to grab an early lunch before studying for Transfiguration.
At two o'clock, the first-years gathered again to complete their written Transfiguration final. Some of the questions were similar to that of the Charms exam, such as incantations and wand movement. However, there were more questions regarding the theories behind Transfiguration, such as the reasons that the transfiguration may not work (inadequate concentration, poor wandwork, and mispronouncing the incantation). For the practical exam, Professor McGonagall had them transfigure a small field mouse into a snuffbox. Hermione concentrated very hard, clearly said the incantation, and watched as the mouse wavered in shape to form a rectangular, golden box, and where the whiskers had been she placed swirls of gold. She received one of Professor McGonagall's rare smiles as she was dismissed. She left the Transfiguration classroom to return to the Gryffindor common room in order to study for the next day's exams, Herbology and Astronomy.
The written portion of the Astronomy exam took place first that morning, while the practical portion of the exam would occur that evening at midnight. Luckily, that meant that the exams for the next day would be pushed back to the afternoon in order to let the first-years sleep before having to take another test. They were again given the same Anti-Cheating Quills as the day before and were told they had an hour to complete the exam. Hermione, much the same as the day before, began to immediately scratch out quick answers to the many questions regarding the rotations of planets, names of moons and stars, and the forms of the different constellations. This exam seemed to be mostly rote memorization, so she finished fairly quickly and was again able to make some adjustments to answers and clarify others in order to make sure that she could receive the highest possible grade. Once this exam ended, Hermione studied over her Herbology notes for the written portion of the exam which would take place after an early lunch.
The written Herbology exam took place in the same large, stuffy classroom. Questions regarding the way in which a student should be destroyed ("Easy!" thought Hermione, "you just have to shoot Incendio at them. I wonder if I should write down that you should stay far away because of the needles shooting at you from the plant? I will – I'm sure Professor Sprout wouldn't mind extra information."), what a severing charm was used for ("Diffindo is used to cut things with a wand – so much more simply than using different knives" she thought again) and a multitude of questions regarding the different plants they had encountered that year, such as the bouncing bulb, puffapods, dittany, and aconite. There was even a bonus question regarding the venomous tentacula; Professor Sprout had allowed them to observe this plant from a distance. The bonus question asked how to determine if the seeds you had were of this plant or not ("Oh!" thought Hermione, "I remember! They rattle when perfectly still.")
The practical exam was rather easy, at least for Hermione. They were led one by one into the greenhouse with Professor Sprout. She then asked them to identify each plant that she pointed out and to give as much information about them as they could remember. She had a list in which she would either scratch notes about what they had said or simply gave a check mark on a list she had. Hermione finished in record time, even giving as much information as she knew about each plant. Ron and Harry complained about the exam in the common room that evening, saying that no sane person could ever remember all of the different plants and their descriptions. However, Neville had pulled Hermione aside and has asked her about a few of the plants to make sure he had correctly identified them.
"You're much better at Herbology than you realize, Neville. You even added some information that I had forgotten!"
Neville blushed at her exclamation and mumbled something about his favourite subject and finding the plants relaxing. Hermione smiled at him again before returning to studying for the practical exam for Astronomy that would occur that evening at midnight.
"Come on Ron, Harry – Wake up!" Hermione was busy trying to stir her sleeping friends in order to walk up to the Astronomy Tower. It was 11:30, and they had to walk with a Prefect so that Filch would not try to give them detentions for being out past curfew.
"Five more minutes, Hermione…." Ron muttered as he curled back into himself on the couch. Hermione sighed and pointed her wand at her friends and uttered, "Augamenti" and watched as the stream of water splashed on each other their heads. They awoke quickly, sputtering.
"What was that for Hermione?!" they exclaimed as she quickly said a drying spell for them.
"You weren't waking up and we have to leave now for our exam! Now come on!"
Hermione walked off to the door of the common room where the rest of the first years were laughing at what had just taken place. She could hear Ron and Harry grumble at her, but she assumed they would prefer this to sleeping through the exam. When they made it to the Astronomy Tower, Professor Sinistra handed out blank star and planet charts and had the students fill them out with the different names of each star, planet, and moon visible that evening with their telescopes. There was no set time limit for this exam, so once Hermione had finished, she packed up her telescope, handed in her exam, and went back to the Gryffindor Tower to grab some much needed sleep. The next day's exams included Potions and Defense Against the Dark Arts.
The written portions of the two exams were back-to-back since they had started later that day. First, Defense Against the Dark Arts examination was administered. Due to the awful stutter and the agitation of Professor Quirrrel, Hermione had to mainly teach herself from her book and manage with the notes she was able to decipher from her Professor. The written exam had them describe the different creatures that they had studied throughout the year, including gnomes, doxies, imps, gargoyles, and hags. Hermione wondered about the lack of questions regarding the different spells that they had learned this year and immediately understood that she would have to display her abilities regarding these spells later during the practical exam.
There was a few minutes of a break in between the two written exams as the papers were collected and new proctors were bought in. The Anti-Cheating charm was refreshed on the quills in order to maintain the honesty of the students and they were given another hour in order to finish the Potions exam. The first question regarded the twelve uses of dragon's blood. Although they had not yet delved into the potions requiring the use of dragon's blood, it was incredibly important to understand the uses of this very magical substance. There were some questions that were similar to that of the Herbology exam since many of the ingredients used in Potions were found in the greenhouses of Professor Sprout. They also had to discuss the different effects of not following the instructions of a potion and how to possibly fix a potion that had been prepared inadequately.
After lunch, the practical portions of both exams took place. First was Defense Against the Dark Arts. As Hermione expected, Professor Quirrell simply had them demonstrate each of the spells and jinxes he had taught them throughout the year. First was the verdimillious charm, which produced green sparks. While the first years had only been taught to produce the sparks, Hermione knew from reading in other books that, if properly used, this charm could light up a room with green light or would reveal Dark objects in rooms. The next spell that was required was a similar charm, vermillious. This charm produced red and orange sparks, but it did not have many uses besides the sparks, though. The only jinx that Professor Quirrell had them demonstrate was the Knockback Jinx. He placed three ceramic vases on a desk and asked that they only use the charm on the middle one. This would ensure that they could contain the spell to a specific area and could also use enough force to knock over the heavy vase. After this exam, the first-years prepared for the much-dreaded Potions practical exam.
Professor Snape strode into the Potions room quickly, his robes billowing behind him. Given the nature of the potion, they had a limit of two hours to complete this potion. As with many potions, Professor Snape simply waved his wand at the chalkboard and the instructions appeared.
1. Add two drops of Lethe River Water to your cauldron
2. Gently heat for 20 seconds
3. Add 2 Valerian sprigs to your cauldron
4. Stir 3 times, clockwise
5. Wave your wand
6. Leave to brew and return in 45-60 minutes
7. While your potion is brewing, add 2 measures of Standard Ingredient to the mortar
8. Add 4 mistletoe berries to the mortar
9. Crush into a medium-fine powder using the pestle
10. Add 2 pinches of the crushed mixture to your cauldron
11. Stir 5 times, anti-clockwise
12. Wave your wand to complete the potion
Hermione quickly began gather the ingredients for her potion. Professor Snape, meanwhile, hovered over all their shoulders, breathing down their necks, and making slight tutting noises, as if he disagreed with their actions. Hermione understood that he was simply trying to frighten them, which unfortunately worked tremendously on Neville. Although he managed to finish his potion without melting his cauldron, Hermione could see that the potion was the wrong colour and consistency. She was careful to follow the instructions on the board as close as possible. At the end, she knew she had handed in an O-level potion, but she just hoped that Professor Snape would grade her fairly – although she had never done anything to him, he seemed to simply have a hatred for all Gryffindors, especially for Harry, Ron, Neville, and herself.
As the trio walked back towards the Gryffindor common room, Hermione began to discuss studying for their final exam which would occur the next morning, History of Magic. Ron immediately began to complain, "Come on, Hermione. Take a break, play some Exploding Snap or Wizarding Chess with us! You've been studying for months for this exam, just take a few minutes to relax!"
"Well….maybe I could take a break until dinner and then just study afterwards..." she relented. She was tired after taking so many exams, and she had been studying for History of Magic more than any other first-year. She sighed, still wondering what the Sorting Hat had seen to place her with the brave Gryffindors rather than the studious Ravenclaws – she was not sure she agreed with the placement at times, but she was glad that she had made such good friends in Ron, Harry, and Neville.
After dinner, Hermione kept her promise to herself and began to review again for the next day's exam. Luckily, History of Magic was only a written exam and so after tomorrow morning, they would be done with testing for the year. She studied until about 9:00 that evening, and then readied herself for bed. Lavender and Parvati were not worried for the next day's exam and were discussing different ways to do their hair and began to experiment with makeup. Hermione sighed, at times wishing she was so carefree about classes and grades, but also proud of how much better her marks were. She fell asleep quickly, excited for the exam and the lack of stress that will come when the exam was completed.
"Okay, students. This is your final exam. You have been given your quills and you have one hour to answer the questions. You may begin now." Hermione, as usual, immediately began to answer the questions. She had been studying up until the proctor had begun speaking, looking over information on the Gargoyle Strike of 1911, the uprising of Elfric the Eager, the Werewolf Code of Conduct on 1637 – where no one showed up to sign the Code of Conduct because no one wanted to admit to being a werewolf – among other substantial occurrences in wizarding history.
Who defeated Emeric the Evil in the Middle Ages? Hermione hardly needed to think about this question before she had her answer of Egbert the Egregious.
What was the reasoning for giving Uric the name of "Oddball"? Hermione stifled a giggle at this question – while Ron and Harry consistently confused Uric and Emeric, they could not have been more different. Uric the Oddball, a Ravenclaw, had been known to wear a jellyfish as a hat, have fifty pet Augureys (a mournful bird somewhat like a phoenix and a vulture mixed, which continually moaned when rain was approaching – this moaning one rainy winter caused Uric to believe he had died and become a ghost and tried to walk through walls, which gave himself a concussion), and, for three months, listened to the song of the Fwooper (a brightly coloured African bird whose song actually drives the listener insane). When he attempted to produce these findings to the Wizard's Council, he presented his findings in nothing but a toupee, which the Council later recognized to be a dead badger.
Who invented the Self-Stirring Cauldron? Gaspard Shingleton (Sometimes Hermione was glad that she had not been born into the wizarding world, what with names such as these that appeared on their exams and of people she had already met).
Hermione continued through the exam, quite happily, until Professor Binns called for the all quills down and summoned the exams to herself. Hermione gathered her things into her bag as the rest of her classmates cheered. She walked out to the grounds with Ron and Harry to enjoy some sunshine and discussed the exam, "That was far easier than I thought it would be. I needn't have learned about the 1637 Werewolf Code of Conduct or the uprising of Elfric the Eager."
She knew that neither of the boys were likely to comment on the exam, besides being excited that it was over, so she was not surprised when Ron commented that discussing exams once they were completed made him feel ill. She couldn't even pretend to be angry with him, she was as excited as the rest of the first-years that the exams were completed. As they settled underneath a tree near the lake, they watched Ron's twin brothers and Lee Jordan tickling the tentacles of the Giant Squid, who was currently basking in the sunlight in the shallow water. Hermione giggled at their attempts while Ron rolled his eyes, but Harry was still looking agitated and rubbing his scar. Hermione looked at him, concerned, but Ron didn't seem to notice that his best friend was not as happy as the rest of them. At least, he didn't seem to care as much.
"No more studying – you could look more cheerful, Harry, we've got a week before we find out how badly we've done, there's no need to worry yet." Hermione rolled her eyes at Ron's words – honestly, he couldn't understand people's emotions at all. Hermione was about to ask him what was really bothering him when Harry exclaimed, "I wish I knew what this means! My scar keeps hurting – it's happened before, but never as often as this."
Hermione began to worry more – she didn't know much about scars and curses, but she had done some research the summer before attending Hogwarts after finding out that someone had survived the killing curse. While she didn't understand what his scar was, she knew it wasn't ordinary, but didn't know how to fix it. She assumed the only person at Hogwarts who would be able to help would be their Healer, so she suggested to Harry that he go to Madame Pomfrey. Harry, aggravated, refused – "I'm not ill; I think it's a warning…it means danger's coming…" Hermione's brow furrowed, thinking about what danger could be coming. The only possibility was Snape and Voldemort getting the Stone, but how was that possible? They had continued to listen at the door, and they had continued to hear Fluffy snoring inside. It did not appear that Professor Quirrell had buckled under the ever-watching eye of Snape, so surely his obstacle was still safe? She glanced at Ron, but her other best friend was simply dozing in the sunlight, apparently to warm or to sleepy to be bothered by his best friend's agitation. He glanced over sleepily to Harry to try and help him calm down.
"Harry, relax. Hermione's right, the Stone's safe as long as Dumbedore's around. Anyway, we've never had any proof Snape found out how to get past Fluffy. He nearly had his leg ripped off once, he's not going to try it again in a hurry. And Neville will play for Quidditch for England before Hagrid lets Dumbledore down."
This seemed to calm down Harry a little bit. He leaned against the tree, a bit more relaxed, but still looking troubled – "I just feel like I've forgotten to do something, you know?"
Hermione immediately understood. She had been feeling that way ever since exams started.
"I know exactly what you mean, Harry. It's just these exams, that feeling will calm down soon. In fact, last night I woke up in a panic and began shuffling through my Transfiguration notes for almost an hour before I realized that we had already finished that exam."
Harry nodded, but still didn't seem convinced. Hermione shrugged her shoulders and continued to watch the antics of the Weasley twins and Lee Jordan, who were now playing with a Fanged Frisbee – they must have snuck that past Filch, as those were banned at Hogwarts. Hermione was just beginning to doze off in the sun when suddenly Harry jumped to his feet, with a wild look in his eyes.