Third-Year Final Exams

Under the clear, bright sunlight, the girl's cheeks and shirt were so white they were almost dazzling, making her seem to be glowing.

The girl looked a little depressed, carrying her notebook and walking with hurried steps, her long, fluffy brown hair flowing behind her.

Loren followed slowly behind her, admiring the scenery.

After taking several steps forward, Hermione suddenly turned around and stared at him, her fair face tense. "Why are you moving so slowly? Hurry up!"

"Oh."

Loren responded, but remained unhurried, his eyes not on the road, but focused on admiring the scenery.

Hermione simply put away her notebook, grabbed his arm, and dragged him toward the Castle: "Don't waste time! We still need to go back to the Castle to study!"

"Oh."

Hermione felt his gaze and looked back at him with a questioning look. She quickened her pace and moved forward slightly, and his gaze followed her. When she slowed her pace, his gaze moved backward as well.

Hermione sensed something was amiss and tentatively asked, "You never intended to ask about Hagrid's exam content in the first place, right?"

Loren nodded calmly.

Hermione frowned her beautiful brows. "Then why did you drag me out?"

"I think the sunshine is lovely today; you would look beautiful in it," Loren replied.

"..."

Hermione fell silent. She felt happy inside, but remembering that she had just been depressed, she felt she couldn't laugh now. She tried to put on a serious face and imitated Professor McGonagall's expression. "Loren, we have final exams coming up soon, we should study hard."

"Yes, I know."

"Don't do that again."

"Yes, I know."

"..."

If it weren't for the barely suppressed smile on the girl's lips, Loren would probably have been more convinced.

In the days that followed, they no longer limited their study space to the Library, but moved to the courtyard, the field, and even the top floor of the tower, which made Harry and Ron feel less pressured by studying.

When the moon was full in May, Harry and Ron, along with many other young wizards, buried the Animagus Secret Potion, though they had little hope of success, as the school year was about to end.

The sun shone brighter and brighter, and time flew by; before we knew it, it was exam week.

Monday morning's exam was on Transfiguration. After the written exam, Professor McGonagall checked the students' learning outcomes in the classroom. One of the questions was to transform a teapot into a turtle, and the patterns on the turtle's shell took a lot of time.

The exam lasted until lunchtime before the third-grade students finished and came out.

At the Great Hall table in the auditorium, the third-year wizards looked listless and pale.

"The turtle's tail I conjured up still looks like a spout, Professor McGonagall might fail me..." Dean sighed. "That's terrible, isn't it, Seamus?"

Seamus, who was usually very talkative, was surprisingly silent, which surprised those around him, who all looked at him.

Seamus's eyes flickered, seemingly oblivious to what had just been said. He looked at Dean with hopeful eyes. "It's normal for a turtle to exhale steam, isn't it?"

The surrounding young wizards fell silent.

Should turtles exhale steam? That's a good question.

Parvati broke the silence when he returned with the food. "The turtle shell I conjured up has willow patterns on it. Do you think that will get me points deducted?"

"I don't know, let's see how obvious it is." Lavender glanced at Hermione, who was looking distracted beside him, and casually asked, "Hermione, how did you do on your test?"

Hermione sighed dejectedly, "The turtle I conjured looks like a sea turtle, Professor McGonagall probably won't approve—"

Loren quickly stuffed a piece of lamb into her mouth. "Stop talking and eat properly. You still have to prepare for your exam this afternoon."

Hermione glared at him, then stammered as she swallowed the lamb in her mouth.

The surrounding young wizards fell silent again, remaining silent for a long time.

The afternoon exam was on Charms. Professor Flitwick's focus was on the Cheering Charm. He divided the students into pairs and asked them to cast the Cheering Charm on each other. Professor Flitwick graded their performances. Loren and Hermione were paired together, Harry and Ron were paired together, Seamus and Dean were paired together...

During the formal exam Professor Flitwick would call out names in the classroom, and the young wizards whose names were called would push open the door and demonstrate the Cheering Charm to each other in front of the professor.

Dean's expression was normal when he entered the classroom, but it became very strange when he came out. The corners of his mouth were sometimes up and sometimes down, and his face was droopy, as if he was both crying and laughing.

According to Seamus, he was laughing because he was under Cheering Charm, and he was crying because he was worried about his grades.

"Next group, Harry Potter and Ron Weasley!" Professor Flitwick's high-pitched voice rang out from the classroom.

Ron glanced at his partner and said seriously, "Harry, remember what we agreed on: if someone fails to cast the Cheering Charm, the other person has to pretend to be laughing happily!"

"Yes!" Harry nodded emphatically.

Loren watched their figures disappear behind the classroom door, while Hermione mumbled over and over again the key points of the Cheering Charm.

I don't know why, but I have a feeling that things are going to go wrong for them.

A few minutes later, Harry helped Ron, who was laughing so hard he was almost crying, out of the classroom. Ron was clutching his stomach, his shoulders were shaking, and his mouth was tightly shut, with the sound of boiling water constantly escaping from between his lips, "Kukuku..."

Loren asked, "What's wrong with Ron?"

Harry replied somewhat embarrassedly, "I was too nervous, and I used the Cheering Charm too forcefully..."

Loren wanted to watch a little longer, but Professor Flitwick's urging voice rang out:

"Next pair! Hermione Granger and Loren Morgan!"

The test on the second morning was about Care of Magical Creatures.

On the sun-drenched field, Professor Hagrid shouted out the exam requirements:

"There's a big bucket of Flobberworm here. Everyone will get one later. To pass the test, you must ensure that the Flobberworm is still alive one hour later!"

As he said, even if Fang came, he could easily pass the test. The young wizards almost cheered. Flobberworm could live for months if left to its own devices, so this was the easiest test they had ever taken.

Having received their respective caterpillars and leaves, the young wizards scattered throughout the area, enjoying a rare moment of relaxation.

The Potions Master exam went smoothly in the afternoon, except for Harry, who was being watched by Professor Snape. We had Astronomy exam late at night, and A History of Magic exam on Wednesday morning...

The Herbology exam took place during the hottest part of the day, and many people got sunburned. The young wizards had itchy necks when they returned to the Common Room from the Greenhouse.

Nevertheless, everyone longs for this time tomorrow, when everything will be over.