In Hogwarts's Arena, scattered high walls and dug trenches now covered the surroundings, filling the place with all kinds of obstacles one might encounter in real combat. Quite a few magical creatures had also been released and hidden among them.
While the candidates were making their pre-exam preparations and the test had yet to begin, the candidates' parents occupied the best viewing positions in the stands above the practical field. The parents took this exam, which concerned the wizards' future career choices, very seriously, but since exams like Herbology and Astronomy could not be watched on-site, only a test like Ancient Magic had both enough space to accommodate parents and enough spectacle to be worth watching.
So although this kind of combat course had initially been boycotted by some parents worried about the young wizards' safety, after an entire semester of it, people had grown used to the activity. It had even become deeply popular with Hogwarts's other residents, making it the most popular event after the traditional competitive sport of Quidditch.
That was why, despite it being a workday, everyone had put down their work and gathered here to cheer the candidates on.
What disappointed the audience but made the parents and candidates breathe a sigh of relief was that Mr. Allen Harris had not been permitted to take part in this kind of exam involving duels between candidates and had instead been directly awarded an O. No one thought there was anything shady about it. In fact, if they had not done this, that would have been far too dark for the other candidates...
In the stands, Sirius Black of the Order of the Phoenix sat side by side with Arthur. Before the match began, each of them held a palm-sized television and chatted together. This little gadget,