"In 1990, Professor Flitwick's final exam had students make a tea set full of tea perform in midair, then pour the audience a cup."
"In 1989, Professor Flitwick's final exam had students make a banana waltz across a table."
"In 1988, Professor Flitwick's final exam was..."
"..."
At a little table in the farthest corner of the library, Eliana quietly finished reciting the first-year Charms final exams from the past six years, then declared with confidence:
"I asked older students from second through sixth year—of course, the older they were, the less clearly they remembered their first-year exams—but we can still draw a conclusion. Every year's exam takes a different form, but they're all testing the same thing!"
She lowered her voice, deliberately keeping them in suspense.
"What thing?" Ron was thoroughly lost. "They all have Professor Flitwick?"
Eliana and Hermione both snorted loudly. Harry didn't know why, but he joined in with a snort of his own.
"I might as well be giving a troll a logic puzzle." Eliana turned away and revealed the answer in a huff. "Every exam tests whether you can make something float and perform a series of complicated movements!"
"Isn't that easy for you?" Ron rubbed his face, baffled. "You made a bell dance in midair before."
A smile tugged at Eliana's lips, but she suppressed it. "No. That bell wasn't so much dancing as wobbling around. It's nowhere near good enough for the exam."
"How much does a bell weigh compared with a teacup or a banana? Different weights demand different levels of magical control."
"And if it has to perform complicated movements in midair, I'd guess the more complicated they are, the higher the score. But what counts as complicated enough? A few spins and bows won't cut it. We're talking at