Year 3: Left Behind
Chapter 29: May 2017
With the arrival of May, the students of Hogwarts moved yet again into frantic studying mode. Exams were approaching, and most students had only just realized how much they had to catch up on to be ready in time. Molly of course did not have the same worries. She could have taken her exams in January and been fine. But since Molly had spent the better part of the term learning things much more advanced than her third year material, she felt it would be good at least to review what was going to be included on her exams. She didn't want to make any silly mistakes.
As Molly reviewed the material, she found herself thinking about what kinds of questions might be on the exams. She'd sat through two exam periods at Hogwarts now, and felt that she understood how they were compiled. She began writing a list, thinking that she might try composing answers to the questions she came up with as an extra form of revising.
As she looked at her list, she realized that some of these questions were quite brilliant. They should definitely be included in the exam, Molly decided. And as a Good Samaritan, Molly should probably give her professors her list of questions. Not only would it save them time coming up with questions themselves, but it would mean exams with some really good questions on them. Her professors would be so grateful, Molly thought.
MmMmMmMmMmM
Over the next week or so, Molly worked hard to compile a comprehensive list of questions. If she was going to do this, she was going to be thorough. She had to make sure to cover all the topics they'd learned over the course of the year without writing too many questions on any one topic.
That Saturday, Molly awoke early, ready with her lists of questions to start making the rounds on all her professors to share her ideas with them. So after a hearty breakfast, Molly headed up to the second floor to start with charms and Professor Flitwick.
"Good morning," Molly said brightly.
"Oh, Molly," Professor Flitwick acknowledged her. "I'm afraid I don't have time to chat today. I've got exams to write and review sessions to prepare."
"Actually, that's why I'm here," Molly said with a bright smile, entering the office and taking a seat across from her teacher.
"Was there a topic you wanted to review together?" Professor Flitwick asked confused.
Molly chuckled and shook her head. What a ridiculous thought. If Molly hadn't understood something they'd covered in class, obviously she would have gotten help with it long before now. She would never wait until exams were less than a month away to start understanding.
"No, I came to help with the writing of the exams," Molly revealed. "As I've been studying, I've been coming up with all these really great questions and I figured I'd share them with you. You could use them in the exam, and then you wouldn't have as much work to do in preparing them."
"That's very kind of you, Molly," Professor Flitwick said carefully. "But I'm not sure it's entirely appropriate."
"What do you mean?" Molly frowned.
"Well, given the fact that you're one of the students that's going to be writing the exam, it wouldn't be fair for you already to know what questions are going to be on it. It would give you an unfair advantage. Not to mention, you could leak the information to other students, and then they would have an unfair advantage as well."
Molly frowned. "I would never tell anyone anything about the exam," she insisted. "I would never leak the questions, even if I hadn't written them."
"Nevertheless, it still gives you an unfair advantage," Professor Flitwick pointed out.
Molly sighed. "But it wouldn't make any difference. I'm going to get an O regardless of whether you use my questions or your own."
"I still think I ought to write my own," Professor Flitwick insisted.
"Why don't you at least hear me out?" Molly insisted, determined to share her questions with her professor. She'd worked hard on them and couldn't just throw them away.
"Alright," Professor Flitwick said with a sigh. "Let's hear them."
Molly took a deep breath and felt her smile return, even as she read the first question.
"What is the difference between lumos, lumos duo, lumos maxima, and lumos solem? What type of situation would each be used in and how might a witch/wizard decide which spell is most appropriate to his/her situation?" Molly stated eagerly.
Professor Flitwick nodded. It wasn't quite the enthusiastic reaction Molly had been looking for, but at least it wasn't total rejection.
"Here's another," Molly said excitedly. "What is the difference between an orientation spell and a directional spell? How do the wand motions and incantations differ, and why is that the case?"
Professor Flitwick held up a hand then.
"Alright Molly, I think that's enough," she declared.
"What?" Molly asked in surprise, having already started mentally skimming the next question – which was a particularly good one, she had to admit. "Why? Don't you want to hear the rest?"
Professor Flitwick shook her head. "You've already come up with two of the questions I'd intended to use on the third year exam. Of course, they were worded a little differently than mine, but they were the same in content. Now I have to come up with different questions for both of those topics, which means more work for me."
"Why do you have to come up with new questions?" Molly frowned. "They're great questions."
"Because I can't have a student already knowing what questions are going to be on the exam," Professor Flitwick replied. "You're welcome to speculate, but this conversation we're having now isn't okay. I'm going to have to ask you to move along."
Affronted and offended that her ideas weren't welcome in her charms professor's classroom, Molly stood up and left. If Professor Flitwick didn't want her help, she would find someone who did.
In a huff, Molly stomped upstairs to Professor Derlid's office on the fifth floor. Perhaps he would appreciate her assistance with the final exam questions.
"Good morning Molly," he greeted her before she had a chance to announce her presence. He didn't even look up from what he was working on.
"Good morning Professor Derlid," she replied. "Can I come in?" She decided to go with a less aggressive approach than with Professor Flitwick.
"Have a seat," Professor Derlid waved at the chair across from him. "Was there something you wanted to talk about?"
"There was actually," Molly nodded. "Have you written the third year's final exam yet?"
"Not exactly," Professor Derlid replied hesitantly. "It's – "
"Well great," Molly interjected. "Because I had some ideas for some questions you could include."
"Did you?" Professor Derlid said in surprise. "That's not really – "
Before he could reject Molly like the charms professor had done, she launched into the first question.
"For example," she began. "What is a boggart and how can one be sure that this is what they are facing? How can it be destroyed, and why is it important to know that it is a boggart before attempting this?"
"That's great Molly, but – "
"Here's another," Molly interrupted, sensing the less than enthusiastic tone. "When using the seize and pull charm, why is it important to keep a firm grip on your wand? What are the benefits and disadvantages of using this spell in a duel?"
"I'm sorry Molly, I feel I need to stop you there," Professor Derlid insisted. "I'm afraid I can't use your questions."
"Because it would give me an unfair advantage?" Molly asked bitterly.
Professor Derlid shrugged. "Well yes, but that's not the reason. The exam is going to be a practical one. So there won't be any written questions."
"Oh," Molly muttered. She hadn't been expecting that answer, but of course it made sense and really she should have predicted as much after spending the last few months working on the practical aspects of the course. "Right, well I suppose I won't take up any more of your day then," she decided.
"You had some really great ideas though, Molly," Professor Derlid insisted. "If I was writing a written exam, they're exactly the kinds of questions I'd be using."
"Thanks," Molly replied. She forced herself to smile, mostly because she didn't want Professor Derlid to feel bad, and then she returned to the hallway.
She supposed she could try another Professor. She'd lost a good amount of the energy she'd started off the day with, but she wasn't ready to give up. So she headed down to Professor Tonks' office to try her luck with transfiguration.
"Professor?" Molly asked, almost timidly, as she stood in her professor's doorway.
"How can I help you today, Molly?" Professor Tonks asked pleasantly.
"Actually, this is about how I can help you," Molly declared. "Have you written the third year exam yet?"
Professor Tonks shook her head. "I've been working on my review sessions mostly," she admitted. "Once I had those sorted I was going to base the exam questions on how they went."
"Well," Molly said, a smile returning to her face as she sat down and pulled out her transfiguration questions. "I was doing my revising, and I came up with some questions I thought you might consider using when you finally do write the essay."
"Oh?" Professor Tonks asked, seemingly interested.
Molly nodded, excited to be getting a positive response finally. "Want to hear an example?" she asked.
"Sure," her transfiguration professor agreed readily.
Molly cleared her throat before reading off the first question. "Okay, this one is pretty basic," she admitted, suddenly feeling self-conscious. "What are the basic principles of inanimate to animate transfigurations and how do they differ from animate to inanimate transfigurations?"
"Very well-worded," Professor Tonks praised Molly. "I appreciate the comparison aspect. What else have you got?"
Practically bouncing in her chair, Molly moved on to her second question. "How does the weight of the object to be transfigured affect the transfiguration process? How does the weight of the desired result of the transfiguration affect the transfiguration process? How do these two affect each other? Does this change when dealing with animate transfigurations as opposed to inanimate ones?"
"That is quite the question," Professor Tonks said, sounding impressed. "Can I see the rest of that list?"
Molly handed it over willingly, and waited with baited breath as her teacher scanned the remainder of the questions.
"This is very well done," Professor Tonks admitted. "May I use this in my review session?"
"Of cour – wait, what?" Molly furrowed her brow. "Review session? This was for the exam."
"Well I can't very well use these questions on the final exam," Professor Tonks replied. "But I'll need questions to practice with in the review, and these are perfect."
"But why can't you use them on the exam itself?" Molly insisted.
"Why does it matter?" Professor Tonks frowned. "I have to come up with two sets of questions either way."
Molly shrugged. She wasn't entirely sure what it was about the review session that was putting her off, but she'd really wanted to see her questions in the exam.
"It wouldn't be ethical for me to have a student write their own exam," Professor Tonks said then. "I'm testing your knowledge as much as the other students' and just because you're a straight O student, it doesn't give you special privileges."
Molly nodded. She'd heard it from Professor Flitwick, she probably would have heard it from Professor Derlid, and now she was hearing it from Professor Tonks as well. She couldn't help her professors write their final exams. The exams had to be fair for everyone.
"I understand," Molly nodded, taking the questions back. "I'll just throw these away."
"I would still love to use them in review," Professor Tonks insisted, "unless you'd prefer surprise questions in the review session, as a challenge."
"No," Molly shook her head. "I feel confident I know the material. I suppose you could still use these for that."
Molly passed the parchment back to Professor Tonks and then pushed her chair back and stood up.
"I'd better be getting to lunch," she said, realizing how late it had gotten. "I'll see you in class."
"Thanks for this, Molly," Professor Tonks waved the parchment of questions in the air. "I really appreciate it."
MmMmMmMmMmM
As Molly sat in the Great Hall for longer than she usually would, she contemplated her morning. If three of her Professors had already rejected her questions for the exam, Molly felt confident the remainder would as well. It was disappointing to Molly, realizing that all her work had been for nothing. Well, not for nothing, but for close to nothing. Only Professor Tonks had taken a copy of the questions, and even then, only for the review session.
Molly wondered if it was even worth it to seek out her other teachers. They would all probably say the same thing. They would be polite. Professor Abbott-Longbottom probably less so, as she was getting tired of Molly's constant hanging around the after-hours potions lab in the hopes that her teacher would need help with something. So Molly decided she wouldn't bother. After lunch, she'd just head to the library and continue her studying. She could re-read her arithmancy textbook. It would be a great use of the afternoon.
MmMmMmMmMmM
"Molly?"
Molly looked up in surprise. As decided back in the Great Hall, Molly was sitting in the library, re-reading her arithmancy textbook, and suddenly Professor Thicket was there, practically breathing down her throat.
"Professor!" Molly exclaimed in surprise. "Can I help you with anything?"
"I'm hoping so," Professor Thicket nodded, whispering. Madam Maxwell wasn't far, and wouldn't tolerate loud speech, especially at this time of year. "I was talking with Professor Tonks, and she said you'd written all the questions for her third year review session. I wondered if you had done the same for ancient runes?"
"I do have a list of questions I wrote up while I was revising," Molly confirmed, reaching into her bag and producing them. "Did you want to take a look?"
"If you wouldn't mind," Professor Thicket nodded, taking the parchment and scanning it quickly.
Molly shifted uncomfortably in her seat.
"Why, these are wonderful," Professor Thicket declared. "Very insightful and well thought out. Is there any chance – and I hate to ask, really I do, I'm just so behind in my work – is there any chance I might use these in our review session?"
"Sure," Molly shrugged. They might as well go to some use, after all.
"Thank you," Professor Thicket said gratefully, his face lighting up. "You've really helped me out here, Molly, I appreciate it."
As her ancient runes professor left, Molly reconsidered her previous decision to spend the day re-reading her arithmancy book. If Professor Thicket had been this grateful for the questions, maybe one of her other teachers would be too. It wasn't for Molly to make that decision for them.
Packing her things up, Molly left the library and began making her rounds to the remaining professors. Professor Longbottom was grateful, but said he'd already written his review questions. Molly got the feeling from Professor Abbott-Longbottom that she'd accepted the list of questions out of politeness, but probably wouldn't use them. Professor Binns didn't seem to notice Molly's presence, and Professor Scalar didn't read them over, just told Molly to leave them on his desk and he would read them over later.
Professor Brunwell was the only Professor apart from Professor Thicket who seemed genuinely relieved to have Molly's help with review session questions. He even made a move as if to give Molly a hug, which she backed away from, successfully conveying the message that she didn't want to be grabbed by her professor in an awkward display of emotion.
When Molly finally headed down to the Great Hall for dinner, after her busy afternoon, she was feeling pretty good. She hadn't helped everybody, but she'd helped some of her professors, and she felt good about that. All in all, it had been a good day, and Molly could honestly say that her efforts had been fruitful.
And honestly, Molly realized that she was almost glad that her Professors would be writing their own questions for the final exams. If they'd used Molly's questions, the exams would have been incredibly boring. Everything would have been extremely predictable, and Molly's answers would have been written already in her mind weeks in advance. This was, there would be an element of surprise.
Molly looked forward to writing her exams that June. And even more, Molly looked forward to how well she was going to do on them. She was ready. She was prepped. She was pumped.