Chapter 335 Mars And The Dark Temple
Hermione's advice to Ron also applied to Harry.
Unless Harry excelled far above the others and was impeccable, he would never be treated fairly by Snape.
Snape would not miss any opportunity to give Harry a zero, especially considering his recent state of mind. Even if he gave zeros to all of Gryffindor, Evan wouldn't be surprised.
After dinner, the students hurried back to their Common Rooms, not to relax but to begin preparing for the upcoming exams.
Second-year students had Potions, Herbology, Charms, and Astronomy. Third-year students and above had Care of Magical Creatures, Divination, Muggle Studies, and other courses.
Evan saw Fred and George sitting in a pensive corner. They were studying how to use quills to cheat in hopes of making a difference.
The next morning, Evan took the Charms exam, and Harry attended the Care of Magical Creatures exam overseen by Hagrid. Everyone felt quite good.
Professor Flitwick was a very kind teacher. He always gave young wizards the highest possible grades.
The situation was even better with Hagrid; his test involved taking care of the Horned Slugs. To pass the exam, the Horned Slugs had to still be alive by the end of an hour.
As Horned Slugs thrived better when left alone, it was the easiest exam any of them had taken.
But in the afternoon Potions class, the situation took a sharp turn. For all Gryffindor students, it was a disaster.
The second-year Potions exam was on the Pustule Potion, the third-year on the Confusion Concoction, and Snape had been lurking around Gryffindor, ignoring the actions of students from the other three Houses.
It wasn't hard to imagine the students doing their best to recall the recipes and preparation steps, with Snape, dressed in a black robe, looming over their heads like an eagle with a smirk on his face and a look of gloating, anticipating their failure.
He also wrote in his notebook from time to time, moving the quill in a circular motion. How bad would it be? It could only be described with one word: dreadful!
Except for Evan, Snape didn't spare any of the Gryffindor students.
He simply glanced at the potion Evan prepared.
His potion displayed a light green color, and an opaque mist appeared, the color was perfect and flawless.
Snape said nothing and directed his gaze straight to Colin's work.
Wednesday morning meant Herbology. The exam content was helping the Mandrake extract juice. Everyone did well. As long as they were bold enough, they would act as fast as needed, and there would be no problem.
Staying in the greenhouses under a scorching sun was not comfortable. When they came out, everyone's necks were burning.
Then came Astronomy at midnight; all wizards below the fifth year participated.
They donned their cloaks, climbed to the highest tower, gazed at the night sky, and charted it on their own astrological map.
Since last year, Mars in the sky had been very bright.
Although Evan could recite all the meanings Mars represented, he still couldn't make much sense of this course.
Similar to Divination, textbooks had limited support in this course. The essence of Astrology lay in summarizing the past and understanding the mystery. Astrologers had given different meanings over thousands of years of continuous observation.
This also meant that to excel in this course, he needed to carefully read most of the books in the library.
In addition, one had to possess great insight to comprehend the signs of the planets.
This might be easier for the Centaurs. However, for human wizards, it was exceedingly challenging to do so.
Let's consider the unusual Mars in the past two years as an example. This red planet has been linked to different meanings in various historical periods. It is worth mentioning the need to combine the positions of other planets, changes in the star map, the energy it emits during oscillations, and so forth.
Evan was unsure if others had this ability. Nevertheless, he could not do it. He could only hasten to sketch the planet's position on the astrological map tonight.
While observing the planets, the Centaurs in the Forbidden Forest were also watching.
"A portent of Mars..." The elderly voice resonated deep within the mysterious temple. "War is approaching. Will the Centaurs be forgiven this time?"
In the outdoor chamber atop the temple, the Centaur elder gazed silently at the stars.
Before him stood a statue of a strange creature. Its immense body was exceptionally spectacular, most of it shrouded in darkness, its exact form unclear.
Amidst the dimness, the huge statue seemed vaguely discernible and appeared to be split in half.
No one knew what had occurred there. At the top of the statue, a dimly glowing red gem shimmered, echoing the bright Mars in the distant night sky.
"Foolish Centaur, I'm about to return to the world..." the Centaur elder's voice had just faded when a strange voice sounded. "Weep and tremble, you cannot change a thing, pride will destroy you!"
The red light on the statue flickered a few times, and the temple returned to tranquility.
In the faint starlight, one could see the wrinkles on the Centaur elder's face deepen, and his sighs echoed in the temple for a long time...
For those not taking the Ordinary Wizarding Level exams and the Exhausting Advanced Wizarding exam, if they passed the Thursday exam, their difficulties would end.
For first and second-year students, Thursday morning's Defense Against the Dark Arts exam would be the final one. Third-year students and above also needed to prepare for Divination and Arithmancy.
Sirius' meticulous preparation clearly impressed everyone. Unlike other subjects, Professor Lupin suggested conducting some sort of obstacle course outside, under the sun. He prepared a significant number of shadow creatures, including Kelpies, Red Caps, a Boggart, and more, far beyond expectations, and it wasn't clear where he had found them.
Based on their age, students had to face varying numbers of shadow creatures.
Second-year students had to wade through a deep pool containing a Grindylow, cross a series of holes filled with Red Caps, navigate a swamp while ignoring misleading directions from a Hinkypunk.
The final challenge was facing an old trunk with a Boggart inside. Third-year students and above had to participate. Young wizards of the first and second year could choose freely.
If they managed to defeat the Boggart, they could earn extra points.
"Well done, perfect score!" When Evan emerged from the trunk, he saw Sirius gazing at him with a smile.
Evan did not leave immediately; he wanted to observe others' performances.
The third-year exam was imminent, and he wanted to cheer for Hermione.