Final Exam

A few days before the exam, Ladon finally returned to Hogwarts.

When Kyle returned to the common room after dinner, he immediately spotted Ladon standing on the windowsill.

It looked exhausted, with droopy eyes, and its body was visibly thinner. Its once beautiful feathers had become dull and grayish.

Upon seeing Kyle, Ladon raised its head and flapped its wings, trying to fly over. However, halfway there, it began to fall due to exhaustion.

Kyle quickly stepped forward and caught it.

"I remember this is your owl, isn't it?"

Cedric, looking at Ladon who had fallen asleep in Kyle's arms, asked in confusion, "How many letters did you have it deliver? How come it's so weak?"

"Just one letter... but I think it probably misunderstood me."

Kyle carefully placed Ladon on the sofa next to him, then took an envelope from its paw.

It was a reply, and the handwriting on the envelope was Newt's.

Clearly, Ladon didn't deliver the letter to Dorset and return as Kyle had instructed; instead, it flew directly to Newt, which explains why it took so long to return.

Kyle shook his head, somewhat amused and exasperated... This silly bird.

Tomorrow is the final exam, and to ensure they are in good mental condition the next day, the young wizards went to bed early.

Kyle ruffled Ladon's neck feathers, sat down beside it, and opened the envelope.

Inside was a short reply.

Kyle:

I was surprised to receive your letter from so far away. I've thought about what you said. The venom of the Swooping Evil is not corrosive and only targets the brain; it has no effect on plants.

However, I examined the wooden block you sent, and it does indeed contain traces of Swooping Evil venom. This is a very important discovery, and we will head to Hogwarts immediately once things are settled here.

(Your father asked me to tell you to stay away from dangerous things; Dumbledore is here for you.)

--Newt Scamander.

After reading the reply, Kyle closed his eyes and sat there silently, deep in thought.

Hagrid went to the Forbidden Forest that night not because he discovered them on a nighttime stroll, but because of someone else.

After venturing deep into the Forbidden Forest, he likely found the man and fought with him, which explains the two rows of messy footprints left next to the tree.

Unfortunately, the enemy had Swooping Evil, Hagrid forgot about it because of the venom's effects.

He forgot he had been to the Forbidden Forest and forgot everything that had happened during that time, which is why Hagrid didn't deliver the Christmas tree to the Great Hall on Christmas Day.

In his memory, Halloween had just passed not long ago.

Now everything makes sense.

And that Swooping Evil is most likely the one that escaped the net that the Ministry of Magic has been searching for.

The only question now is who poisoned Hagrid.

Are they wizards hiding their identities in the Hog's Head Inn? Or some rat lurking in the castle...?

Half an hour later, Kyle, still clueless, decided to give up.

Nothing in this world is difficult if you are willing to give up.

Just like the letter said, everything is Dumbledore. I'll be on vacation soon, so why bother with this?

Kyle stood up, picked up Ladon, and carried him back to the dormitory.

The exam began the next day.

The first test was Magical Theory exam, also known as a written exam.

To prevent cheating, no one is allowed to bring their own quill pens and ink; everyone must use the stationery provided by the school.

But this did not deter the young wizards from cheating.

Katie Bell of Gryffindor entered the classroom nervously. She had barely sat down when Professor McGonagall approached, ripped off her large red hair ornament, and said coldly:

"Miss Belle, that's not how you use the Transfiguration Spell."

The hair ornament wriggled in Professor McGonagall's hands and soon transformed into a piece of parchment covered in tiny writing.

Kyle, who witnessed the whole thing, clicked his tongue and silently gave a thumbs up in his mind.

Cheating with Transfiguration in front of Professor McGonagall... that's quite an outrageous move even in the entire Wizarding World.

Putting everything else aside, this courage alone surpasses that of 98% of young wizards; no wonder he's from Gryffindor.

Those who had written cheat sheets on their clothes also couldn't escape... Professor McGonagall simply walked around the classroom and dragged them all out.

As a senior professor and vice-headmaster who has been a prominent figure at Hogwarts for over thirty years, Professor McGonagall doesn't need any props; she can tell who's guilty just by looking at their expressions, and she can spot them every time.

While everyone else was answering the questions, she was still muttering to herself that Dumbledore shouldn't have put her in the first-year exam room.

This place is too unchallenging. Professor McGonagall thinks she should be proctoring exams for students in fifth grade and above, where the methods of cheating are much more sophisticated.

Potions, alchemical tools, hand gestures, spells—you name it, they have it.

Especially Potions... Baruffio's Brain Elixir and Clarity Potion are just the lowest-level stuff. It's said that at last year's NEWT, some students even used Felix Felicis, but she didn't see it.

In addition, it is not uncommon for people to attempt to sneak into the examination room using Polyjuice Potion and Disillusionment Charm.

Therefore, for professors, proctoring exams for students in fifth grade and above is like fighting a war without gunfire.

This might be torture for other professors, but it was different for Professor McGonagall; she absolutely loved the feeling of outsmarting her students.

Unfortunately, she was assigned to the beginner village this year.

An hour later, Professor McGonagall looked at the group of obedient freshmen below and complained again, "Albus really something, why did he have to make me a freshman... I would have been fine with being a junior."

After the written exam, there was a practical test. Professor Flitwick had the students go into the classroom one by one to see if they could make a pineapple ride Broomstick around the room.

Of course, the so-called "Broomstick" is just a wooden stick with feathers stuck in it.

This was no challenge for Kyle; he not only completed the task perfectly but also manipulated the stick to perform a classic Quidditch move.

Professor Flitwick gave him a perfect score on the spot.

Professor McGonagall asked them to turn the rabbits into brooches. The more exquisite the brooch, the higher the score. If the brooch still retained the rabbit's features, points would be deducted.

Kyle remembered that he also had a brooch, a Christmas present from Mikel, so he conjured up an identical one.

Professor McGonagall also gave him a perfect score.

The Potions test focused on Boil-Cure Potion, arguably one of the simplest Potions. Although Kyle brewed a perfect potion, he wasn't sure he would get a high score.

During the exam, Snape stood behind him almost the entire time, constantly shaking his head. It was obvious that he would find all sorts of reasons to deduct points.