For fifth-year students, this was the first time they had faced such an important examination. As the end of the school year drew nearer, their anxiety became increasingly obvious.
Besides using potions and potion ingredients, they found another way to ease their anxiety: seeking out upper-year students and hoping to learn the details of the O.W.L. examinations from them.
"During the exam, will the examiner stand behind you and just stare at you?"
"Of course! I suspect they can Apparate in there. They'll appear behind you at any moment, especially when you've let your guard down..."
"Just thinking about it is terrifying! What else did you encounter during the exam?"
"I heard that on the Charms written paper, you have to draw diagrams of seven wand movements. Is that true?"
"Only seven? I remember that when we took it, we had to draw twenty diagrams. You won't get any marks for drawing only seven wand movements."
"That's so scary! What did you draw? Can I borrow them and have a look?"
"If someone gets too nervous and accidentally casts a spell at the examiner, turning them into a teapot, would they be given a 'T' straight away?"
"That's a great idea! We should have tried it back then. What a shame!"
"So... you never experienced anything like that?"
"I don't think it would be easy to experience something like that. Besides... if you can turn an examiner into a teapot, doesn't that mean your Transfiguration is excellent? Shouldn't you get an 'O'?"
"That actually makes sense! Could you help me ask around some more? About the Transfiguration examiners, I mean..."
"Does the Astronomy exam really not start until the middle of the night?"
"Yes! If you accidentally fall asleep, ghosts will wake you up, and then you'll