Chapter Summaries

Fred and George tested their magical armor and asked Vizet for advice before preparing to hand it over to Mr. Sharma. They discussed future plans involving planes and guns, while Neville shared how his recovered parents had supported his swordsmanship training.

• Fred asked Vizet to advise them, and Vizet recommended handing over the stable magical armor without further changes.
• Fred and George celebrated the prospect of studying a plane and planned to fly it to collect guns and bring them back.
• Fred and George asked Neville about his swordsmanship, and Neville offered to bring them books his parents had collected.
• Neville said his parents had practiced with him during the Christmas holiday, and Fred and George praised his progress.

As Hogwarts students faced exam season, Michael Corner read a Daily Prophet report about goblins protesting at the Ministry of Magic after the Gringotts incident. The friends speculated about the goblins’ motives, and Terry asked Vizet what he and Anthony had been discussing.

• Michael told Terry Boot and Chris Moen that reading newspapers eased his exam anxiety.
• Michael read a report describing goblins gathering in the Ministry of Magic atrium to protest sanctions and occupy the space.
• Terry and Michael discussed how the goblins had entered the Department of Mysteries and the Time Chamber, and wondered why they had acted mildly.
• Anthony Goldstein joined the group and asked what they were discussing.
• Terry asked Vizet what he and Anthony had been talking about.

Vizet and the others discussed students seeking dubious study aids for the O.W.L. Exams, including a dangerous counterfeit sold by Harold Dingle. The conversation revealed that Michael had eaten dried Doxie droppings believing they were dragon claw powder, and he tried to make his friends promise to keep it secret.

• Vizet explained that anxious students were buying questionable potions and ingredients to help with the O.W.L. Exams.
• Terry and Chris recounted Padma’s reaction to a faulty Soul Soothing Potion, which left her with roses breaking out on her face.
• Anthony said Hermione had confiscated dragon claw powder from Harold Dingle and revealed that Vincent Crabbe had eaten dried Doxie droppings sold as the powder.
• Michael realized that the powder his friend had tried was likely the same counterfeit, and the others figured out that Michael himself had eaten it.
• Michael demanded that Vizet and the others keep the embarrassing incident secret, while Anthony began teasing him about it.

Vizet organized a plan to warn Hogwarts students about fraudulent potions, while Voldemort questioned Carcas about Hogwarts and the approaching plan. Voldemort learned that Vizet had not recently met Dumbledore and asked Carcas to reveal Herpo’s whereabouts.

• Vizet planned to obtain potion samples from Snape so students could identify fraudulent ingredients and potions, while the prefects and Michael agreed to spread the warning.
• Voldemort returned to the Durmstrang Headmaster’s Office and found only Carcas there, with Herpo and Circe absent.
• Carcas reported that Dumbledore and Snape had shown no unusual behavior, and complained about Gryffindor students receiving detentions.
• Voldemort agreed that he would abolish Gryffindor and destroy the Sorting Hat after taking over Hogwarts.
• Carcas said Vizet had not recently delivered potions to or met with Dumbledore, and Voldemort pressed him about the nearing plan and Herpo’s whereabouts.

Voldemort tortured Carcas for refusing to answer him, then ordered him to report on Herpo and Circe. Carcas revealed that Herpo’s goblins had planted Magical Artifacts in the Ministry’s Time Hall and that Circe was bewitching Wizards and Muggles at a meeting in Canaan.

• Carcas avoided Voldemort’s attempt to recruit him and instead loudly cursed Herpo.
• Voldemort used the Cruciatus Curse on Carcas, then demanded that he answer questions directly.
• Carcas reported that Herpo was disciplining his goblin servants and that some goblins had planted Magical Artifacts in the Ministry’s Time Hall before being captured.
• Carcas told Voldemort that Circe was attending a meeting between Muggles and Wizards in Canaan and using magic to bewitch them.
• Voldemort ordered Carcas to alert him immediately if anything unusual happened at Hogwarts.

Fifth-years traded frightening rumors about the O.W.L. Exams, while Michael Corner grew increasingly anxious about the tests. Vizet offered to strengthen the Calming Draught Michael had brewed, and Michael hurried to write down his advice as the group approached Charms class.

• Fifth-years asked upper-year students about the exams and spread both useful advice and bizarre rumors.
• Michael Corner told Anthony Goldstein and Terry Boot that examiners would distract students, a rumor he had heard through Zacharias Smith and Cassius Warrington.
• Terry Boot compared the rumored examiner behavior to Professor Snape hovering over students in Potions class, and Anthony told Michael to stop making himself paranoid.
• Michael Corner described a nightmare in which he failed to cast the Levitation Charm, turned an examiner's quill into a rooster, and was chased by it.
• Michael Corner said he had run out of store-bought Calming Draught, and Vizet offered to enhance the bottles Michael had brewed himself.

Vizet attended Professor Flitwick’s Charms review, where the class discussed exam preparation, Dementors, and the Summoning Charm. Flitwick then presented the O.W.L. exam schedule and began explaining its requirements, leaving the students focused on recording and understanding them.

• Vizet and the others took seats near the front, and Michael wrote down what Vizet dictated before Professor Flitwick began reviewing the Happy Charm and the Summoning Charm.
• Professor Flitwick reassured anxious students about the Happy Charm and suggested eating chocolate before the exam, prompting Megan Jones to worry about Dementors.
• Professor Flitwick explained that Dementors had seemingly disappeared and that The Daily Prophet had offered fifty Gold Galleons for reliable sightings; Vizet recalled the report’s date and earned five points for Ravenclaw.
• Professor Flitwick reviewed the Summoning Charm and explained that homework was not being assigned because class time would cover possible exam points.
• Professor Flitwick displayed the O.W.L. exam schedule and its requirements, gave the students time to copy them, and began reviewing the information aloud.

Professor Flitwick explained the two-week O.W.L. exam timetable and clarified that some practical exams would take place at the Ministry of Magic. He revealed that the final comprehensive practical exam would be held in a renovated interrogation chamber on the Ministry’s tenth floor.

• Professor Flitwick outlined the first week’s exams, including the elective subjects and the Friday Written Exams for History of Magic and Muggle Studies.
• He explained that Divination and Arithmancy would take place at the same time, and told Ernie McMillan to speak with him after class if he had chosen both subjects.
• Professor Flitwick set the Astronomy Written Exam for Tuesday morning and its practical exam for midnight, then clarified that the Astronomy exam would be held at Hogwarts Castle.
• He explained that the Written Exams for Defence Against the Dark Arts, Charms, and Transfiguration would take place at Hogwarts Castle, while the Transfiguration practical exam would be held at the Ministry of Magic.
• After students questioned the unusual exams, Professor Flitwick said the Transfiguration practical might differ from previous years and that the final comprehensive practical exam would cover more than Charms and Defence Against the Dark Arts.
• Professor Flitwick revealed that the Ministry had renovated its tenth floor and designated an interrogation chamber as the comprehensive practical exam room.

Professor Flitwick explained O.W.L. results, retakes, and anti-cheating measures, then dismissed the students. After class, Anthony suggested that the unusual exam arrangements were connected to the exchange of Education Investigators between the wizarding and Muggle worlds.

• Michael joked about cheating in the courtroom exam room, and Professor Flitwick warned the students not to gamble with their futures.
• Professor Flitwick told the students they could retake subjects graded P or below and that owls would deliver their results after July.
• Professor Flitwick explained that exam papers were protected by anti-cheating charms and warned the students against using cheating artifacts.
• Professor Flitwick dismissed the class and urged the students to maintain their condition before the O.W.L. Exam.
• Michael asked Anthony why the exam would be held in the Ministry of Magic courtroom, and Anthony connected the changes to the Paris Region Incident and the exchange of Education Investigators.

As the O.W.L. Exams began, Vizet helped his anxious dormmates relax before the fifth-years entered the Great Hall for their Herbology exam. The exam started after Vincent Crabbe’s prohibited Magical Artifacts were confiscated, leaving the students seated before their test papers.

• Anthony, Terry, Michael, and Chris showed their exam nerves at breakfast, while Vizet and Luna joined them.
• Fred and George offered their Auto-Correcting Ink, then joked that Ernie McMillan was training owls to intercept his report card.
• Vizet told his dormmates the ink was ordinary and suggested the joke had helped them relax; Chris and Michael left to recover from their nervous eating.
• Harry and Ron discussed the twins’ joke while Hermione reminded Ron to focus on the exam.
• The fifth-years entered the Great Hall, where examiners confiscated Vincent Crabbe’s prohibited Magical Artifacts.
• The examiners handed out the papers, turned over the giant hourglass, and announced that the students could begin.

After the Herbology Written Exam, Hermione compared answers about collecting Bubotuber Pus with Neville, who described a potion he and Hanna had developed with Vizet’s help. The students praised Neville and Hanna’s work and said their Hogwarts Voice papers had helped them on the exam.

• Hermione worried that she had not written enough methods for collecting Bubotuber Pus and went to check her answers with Neville.
• Neville explained two collection methods and revealed that he and Hanna had developed a potion that increased Bubotuber Pus yield, with Vizet improving its formula.
• Neville said Professor Lupin had helped them apply for a patent and that they planned to sell the potion through M.
• Ron and Terry praised the potion’s earning potential and Neville and Hanna’s work, while Vizet credited them for perfecting the formula.
• Chris, Harry, and Ron told Neville and Hanna that their magical papers in Hogwarts Voice had helped them answer exam questions, leaving the pair flustered.

After the Herbology written exam, Vizet and his friends met Griselda Marchbanks, head of the England Wizarding Examinations Authority, who praised Vizet and questioned the students about the test. She left to meet Dumbledore, and Vizet reassured the others that the exam difficulty would not change now that the O.W.L.s had begun.

• Michael Corner pointed out that his essay on dittany had covered material from the exam, and Anthony teased him for mentioning basic first-year Herbology.
• Griselda Marchbanks greeted Vizet and asked whether the exam had been difficult; Vizet said it had been comprehensive and useful for assessing his studies.
• Marchbanks praised Vizet as an outstanding Wizengamot Youth Representative and questioned Neville, Harry, and Ron about the exam.
• Marchbanks said she had come early to catch up with Dumbledore, then walked off to find him.
• Anthony explained that Marchbanks led the England Wizarding Examinations Authority, and Neville said she was friends with his grandmother.
• Ron worried that Marchbanks might ask Dumbledore to make the exams harder, but Vizet assured him that the difficulty would not change after the O.W.L. exams had begun.

Harry and Ron neglected their Potions revision while playing Exploding Snap, but Hermione caught them and made them study after they claimed the game had been practice for handling accidents. On the third day of the O.W.L. Exams, Harry began the Potions Written Exam and recognized an unusual plant-identification question.

• Hermione missed lunch while revising Ancient Runes, so Harry and Ron brought food to her in the library.
• Harry and Ron played Wizard's Chess and Exploding Snap instead of revising, and the cards burned their eyebrows and damaged their notes and textbooks.
• Hermione confronted Harry and Ron, who repaired the damaged materials and claimed Exploding Snap had prepared them to handle accidents in the Potions practical exam.
• Hermione checked Ron's notes and then led Harry and Ron through a final review of Potions before dinner.
• Harry began the Potions Written Exam and reached a question asking him to identify plants, select Lovage, and provide the scientific name and alias of the other plant.

Harry and Ron finished their Potions O.W.L. feeling relieved, and Harry worried that Ginny might face harder exams in the future. As they praised the exam’s proctors, Snape overheard Ron calling Potions easy and confronted him.

• Harry and Ron left the Great Hall after completing the Potions written and practical exams, discussing how Vizet’s and Malfoy’s magical notes had helped them.
• Harry remembered Madam Marchbanks’s plan to increase the difficulty of future exams and worried that Ginny would face harder O.W.L.s.
• Hermione joined Harry and Ron, noticed Harry’s embarrassment about Ginny, and urged them to prepare for Care of Magical Creatures.
• Harry and Ron praised the Potions exam and joked that brewing was easier without Snape overseeing them.
• Snape appeared at the foot of the stairs and sarcastically asked Ron whether he had heard correctly that Potions was easy.

After Harry, Ron, and Hermione defended their comments about the Potions exam, Snape assigned Harry and Ron detention processing frogs with Transfiguration. Hermione explained how their disgust could help them practice, and Ron realized they had overlooked something.

• Harry, Ron, and Hermione told Snape that the Potions exam had not been especially difficult and that Harry and Ron expected decent marks.
• Snape assigned Harry and Ron detention in his office on Saturday, where they had to create tools with Transfiguration and process three barrels of frogs.
• Harry and Ron discussed the detention while climbing the Moving Staircase, and Hermione argued it could serve as useful Transfiguration practice.
• Hermione explained that Vizet's magical paper recommended mentally accepting the object to be transformed, and that resistance could make their practice more effective.
• Ron remembered his fear of spiders and then suddenly told Harry they had overlooked something.

Harry and Ron realized that good Potions O.W.L. results could qualify them for Snape’s N.E.W.T. classes, which Harry needed to pursue his goal of becoming an Auror. The students traveled to the Ministry of Magic for their Transfiguration practical exam, and Snape briefly paused to look at a black door on the way down to the exam floor.

• Ron regretted that he and Harry had done well on their Potions exam because they might have to continue studying Potions with Snape.
• Hermione reminded Harry that becoming an Auror required five N.E.W.T. certificates and that Potions was essential, so Harry accepted that he needed Snape’s class.
• The O.W.L. students traveled by Portkey to the Ministry of Magic for the Transfiguration practical exam, and Professor Sprout gave potions to students who felt ill.
• Percy Weasley greeted the group, guided them through Wand registration, and Professor McGonagall led them past the Department of Mysteries toward the tenth underground floor.
• Snape slowed briefly to gaze at the black door before following the students down the stairs.

The students arrived at the Wizengamot courtroom for their O.W.L. practical exam and faced Ministry officials, reporters, and a tense interview segment. Professor McGonagall’s handling of the interviews suggested they were part of the exam, leaving the waiting students to wonder what pressure their own tests would bring.

• Percy Weasley led the students to the Wizengamot courtroom, where Minister Amelia Bones, Ministry officials, and reporters were waiting.
• Ludo Bagman enthusiastically greeted the students, while Percy Weasley formally reported their arrival to Amelia Bones.
• Reporters interviewed the students as Professor McGonagall allowed the questioning to continue, and Vizet concluded that the interviews were part of the exam.
• Professor McGonagall called ten students, including Lavender Brown and Harry Potter, and led them into the modified exam room for the practical test.
• Anthony Goldstein, Terry Boot, Michael Corner, and Chris Moen speculated that their practical exams would test them under pressure, and Michael worried that the Charm to Repel Weapons would not help with Transfiguration.

Harry finished his Transfiguration practical exam and was confronted by Rita Skeeter, while Vizet and the next group began their exam in a magically simulated battlefield. The chapter left Vizet and the other students facing their practical tasks amid the chaos.

• Harry, Ron, and Hermione discussed how their practical exam had reminded them of detention and agreed that Snape helping them was less believable than Snape blowing up the Ministry of Magic.
• Rita Skeeter questioned Harry about whether any practical examiners were Muggles, and Harry's surprised reply confirmed her suspicion before she left to write her story.
• Professor McGonagall called Vizet and the next group into the exam room, where they found Griselda Marchbanks and unfamiliar examiners in Muggle suits.
• Griselda explained the practical tasks, which included vanishing junk, transforming objects, and attempting a precisely specified bonus transformation.
• Griselda changed the exam room into a realistic battlefield, and a simulated shell crashed near Michael, frightening him despite causing no real harm.

During the Transfiguration practical, Vizet remained unfazed by a simulated Muggle war and impressed the examiners with a silent Vanishing Charm. He then transfigured a desk into a Phoenix, astonishing everyone watching.

• Shells shook the candidates as Ernie McMillan and Megan Jones completed the Vanishing Charm question, while Chris Moen, Anthony Goldstein, and Terry Boot worked on transfiguring their desks.
• A shell made Anthony Goldstein's nearly formed Sheepdog revert to a desk, and he steadied himself before trying again.
• Vizet silently vanished all the clutter with one spell despite a shell passing close to his face, astonishing his examiner.
• Vizet silently transfigured his desk into flames that formed a Phoenix with golden claws and fiery red feathers.
• Griselda Marchbanks and the unfamiliar figures in suits gathered to look, and Vizet said the Phoenix could be considered real for as long as the Transfiguration lasted.

Vizet impressed Griselda Marchbanks and the examiners by transforming a Phoenix whose tears healed David Morris's wound, then completed the bonus challenge by shrinking it into a precisely measured gear. After passing the practical exam, Vizet asked David whether the test was designed to assess the stability of Transfiguration.

• Griselda Marchbanks praised Vizet's Phoenix, and David Morris introduced himself as a physicist who was fascinated by the magical creature.
• Vizet wounded David's arm with a spell, and the Phoenix healed it with its tears, leaving no scar and causing little pain.
• Griselda Marchbanks told Vizet that his performance deserved an 'O' even without the bonus question, but Vizet chose to continue.
• Vizet shrank the Phoenix into a tiny gear, which David measured and confirmed met the requirements without any flaws.
• Vizet asked David whether the exam had been designed to test the stability of Transfiguration.