Exam Complication

On Thursday, June 11th, the Defence Against the Dark Arts exam took place as scheduled.

The morning's written exam ended smoothly as always. For Skylar, the questions about defensive principles, the classification of Dark Arts, and the logic of countermeasures were less of an exam and more of a repetition of content he already knew by heart.

The real test came during the practical session in the afternoon.

In the makeshift examination room, only one invigilator remained— Professor Marchbanks, a senior examiner from the Wizarding Examinations Authority.

A blank, gold-framed portrait hung by the window, and heavy curtains draped in the corner. Inside, a Boggart Marchbanks sat solemnly in a wooden chair, holding parchment and a pen, clearly tools for recording scores.

The two had met at the House of Malfoy's Christmas dinner, so Skylar greeted them respectfully first, and then Marchbanks explained the exam questions and procedures.

"After I open the curtain, you need to concentrate as much as possible," she said, following the procedure. "Wait until Boggart understands your deepest fear, then use defensive magic to dispel it."

The moment the curtain was lifted, the air seemed to suddenly drop.

Boggart first transformed into Voldemort.

That eerily pale face emerged in the dim light, its scarlet eyes like congealed drops of blood, its gaze fixed firmly on Skylar. An invisible pressure surged forth like a tide, and the surrounding air rapidly turned cold, condensing into a thin mist.

Marchbanks's back stiffened visibly, and she instinctively tightened her fingers, her knuckles turning white, as she raised her wand slightly.

She had seen countless students like Boggart, but this was the first time she had felt such overwhelming pressure during an exam, almost like a real battle. She almost cried out in surprise.

However, Voldemort's form lasted only for a brief moment.

The next second, Boggart twisted, collapsed, and then reformed—

Morgan LeFéyt.

An ancient and desolate aura swept over us. The once Dark Empress, who reigned supreme on the Island of Avalon and looked down upon the world, reappeared in the mortal realm, carrying the supreme majesty of a ruler and the innate pressure of her ancient bloodline.

Marchbanks's breathing quickened noticeably, and her face flushed. Clearly, this imposter Morgan was putting considerable pressure on her. If she hadn't been certain that what she was seeing was a Boggart, she probably would have already collapsed to her knees.

What she didn't expect was that something even worse was yet to come; the real fear was yet to come.

Morgan's figure was swallowed by a deeper shadow, and in his place was Herpo.

That gaunt body stood there, yet it seemed as if countless invisible souls were gathering around it. It was a sense of existence that utterly disregarded life.

His eyes were filled with destruction and death, and just one glance from him made Marchbanks feel her throat tighten, as if she was about to suffocate.

She finally realized something even more terrifying.

These are all formidable enemies that Skylar has defeated!

The funniest thing is that I even wanted to rate this young man's Defence Against the Dark Arts!

Even as she was lost in thought, Boggart's transformation continued.

The Boggart itself began to appear unstable, and the edges of its form started to fluctuate violently. Then, all the figurative forms completely collapsed.

The silhouette of Voldemort, the aura of Morgan le Fay, and the shadow of Herpo were forcibly compressed, overlapped, and crushed, ultimately converging into an incomprehensible scene.

In the end, Boggart transformed into a chaotic black spatial rift.

It was neither a living being nor a specific enemy, but a churning void, its edges constantly swallowing light, the air around it emitting a faint yet piercing tearing sound.

Almost reflexively, Marchbanks raised her wand, the Protective Charm already on her tongue. Her heart pounded, and cold sweat beaded on her forehead.

What's this!

Skylar Malfoy, what kind of beings are you fighting against?

Marchbanks cried out silently in her heart. She simply couldn't imagine what this excessively young boy in front of her had gone through.

Skylar, standing directly in front of the crack, remained unusually calm.

He merely frowned slightly, as if assessing a less-than-satisfactory problem rather than confronting his fear. Then, he raised his wand, his tone calm to the point of indifference. "Riddikulus."

The moment the magic struck, the edge of the crack seemed to be forcibly covered with an inappropriate and comical shell. The darkness suddenly became unbalanced, emitting an absurd and discordant distorted sound, before rapidly collapsing and dissipating.

Boggart retreated back behind the curtain, as if he had been severely reprimanded, and made no further move.

A brief silence fell over the examination room.

Skylar put down his wand, his expression unchanged, as if everything that had just happened was perfectly normal.

But Marchbanks remained silent for a long time.

She stared at the empty ground, her chest still heaving. Several seconds passed before she found her voice.

"Skylar... your abilities have long surpassed the level of the exam. I can tell you now that you have absolutely passed." The voice was weak and listless, lower than she had expected.

Skylar nodded in acknowledgment and turned to leave.

The curtains fell again, but Marchbanks remained standing in the same spot, motionless for a long time.

Although Marchbanks is one of the core elders of the Pure-Blood Enlightenment Faction and possesses deep-rooted loyalty to those close to Muggle and supporting Dumbledore, however—

This test gave the Marchbanks a direct sense of the terrifying beings Skylar had faced in the Battle of the Department of Mysteries. Just how powerful must Skylar be to have been able to confront and directly clash with these beings?

She was never a stubborn old woman.

At this moment, she felt more resistant than ever to the idea of being enemies with Skylar, and even her long-held belief in the Pure-Blood Enlightenment Faction began to waver.

Once this idea takes root, it can never be easily erased.

While Skylar was taking his Defence Against the Dark Arts practical exam, something unnoticed was quietly happening on the other side of Hogwarts Castle.

An old classroom, nestled in the shadow of a tower, had been emptied of its desks and chairs beforehand. The door slammed shut behind us with a dull thud.

Luna Lovegood stood in the center of the classroom.

She was still wearing those crooked carrot earrings, her expression so calm it was almost dreamlike, as if she had no idea she was trapped there.

Rolf Scamander leaned against the door, muttering incantations as he reinforced the door with at least three kinds of magic to ensure no one could enter.

Anthony Goldstein, who had just finished his Defence Against the Dark Arts practical exam, stood on the other side, blocking the path to the window.

"Don't be nervous, Lovegood," Rolf spoke first, his tone deliberately slow, carrying a kind of insincere gentleness, "We just want to talk to you."

Luna tilted her head and looked at him, her silver-gray eyes clear and ethereal.

"Your emotions are in turmoil," she said earnestly. "Like Niffler trapped in a glass bottle, going around and around, not knowing where the exit is."

Rolf's lips twitched.

"Has she always been like this?" he asked Anthony in a low voice.

"Yes," Anthony sighed.

At Ravenclaw House, Luna Lovegood, the "Loony," was not a very popular person, and there were even many instances of her being ostracized and bullied, which is why she eventually sided with the Slytherin -led Sleeping Dragon Society.

Rolf took a step forward, closing the distance between them, and said, "You know what? Your bloodline... is very special. So special that even you yourself aren't aware of it."

Luna blinked. "I know."

This time, it was Rolf's turn to be stunned.

You know?

"Hmm," Luna didn't look at him, but instead spoke to herself, her eyes unfocused, "You're talking about the 'Child of Nature,' right?"

Her mind was filled with memories of every moment she spent with Skylar, until the image stopped at the moment Skylar gave her the Magic Blood Potion, which awakened her completely.

At that moment, she proved herself, and was no longer the "Loony" others had described.

She is Skylar's "Child of Nature"!

Suddenly, Luna raised her head, her silver-gray eyes no longer glazed, and her scrutinizing gaze fell on the two of them. Her tone was still gentle but carried a hint of certainty, and she uttered something puzzling. "You're two minutes late."

These words caused the air to freeze for a moment.

Rolf's pupils contracted sharply.

"What did you say?"

"I said—" Luna tilted her head, as if recalling something, and said in a nonchalant tone, "I knew you would come, but not too soon, not too late."

She glanced at the doorway, then at the window, as if confirming something, and said softly, "This location is perfect; we won't be disturbed by passersby."

Anthony's expression changed slightly, and he subconsciously tightened his grip on his wand.

Rolf forced himself to remain calm and said with a cold laugh, "Don't try to fool me with your tricks. Dumbledore isn't at Hogwarts right now. A large number of professors have been reassigned to proctor the exams, and your good friend Skylar Malfoy is still in the exam hall right now!"

The words had barely left his mouth--

A subtle magical fluctuation emanated from the classroom door.

The tightly closed wooden door was calmly pushed open from the outside.

The footsteps landed on the ground, neither hurried nor slow.

A figure that was all too familiar walked in from outside the door.

A green robe with silver trim, exuding a cold and aloof aura.

"Malfoy?" Anthony exclaimed.

Luna's eyes lit up.

"Ah," she said softly, "You've come."

The figure did not respond to her.

Just standing there, like a silhouette cut out of reality.

"You—" Rolf's voice trembled slightly, and he almost blurted out, "Impossible! Shouldn't you be in the exam hall? Why are you here?"

In that instant, he could hardly believe his eyes; everything before him seemed unreal.

The plan to surround Luna was meticulously calculated and planned.

At this point in time, neither Dumbledore nor Skylar could possibly be here.

Suddenly, as if he had thought of something, Rolf quickly regained his composure, narrowed his eyes to scrutinize the newcomer, and a confident smile returned to the corners of his mouth.

"Conjuring Spell?" He scoffed. "It's enough to scare people, but do you think a soulless substitute—"

The intelligence he possessed indicated that Skylar possessed extraordinary talent in Transfiguration. In his view, the Skylar before him was likely transformed using Conjuring Spell, since he was 100% certain that Skylar's true form was currently in the examination hall.

To rule out the possibility that Skylar was absent from the exam, the family head Hermann, even arranged for a portrait of a deceased family elder to appear in the examination hall. Only after confirming that Skylar himself was present in the examination hall with his wand would Rolf arrive.

The whole thing couldn't possibly go wrong.

But before he could finish speaking...

Skylar drew a wand from inside his robes.

The magic wand stood out prominently under the light.

Both Rolf and Anthony recognized it—this was not Skylar's wand, which they had both seen Skylar use in public before—it was an unusually long wand made of Vine Wood, said to be fifteen and a half inches long.

The wand before them was particularly peculiar and highly recognizable: its color was between silver and dark, with subtle, flowing patterns of light on its surface, as if light and shadow had been forcibly twisted and merged into one.

Moreover, its carvings and craftsmanship are quite different from Ollivander's elegant and understated style, and are instead closer to Gregorovitch's rugged and exquisite Germany style.

This is naturally the "Light and Shadow Wand" that Skylar commissioned from Gregorovitch during the previous summer vacation. It combines two completely different cores and is the world's first and only double-core wand.

This wand was not registered with the Ministry of Magic and had never appeared in any public setting. In other words, the existence of this wand was one of Skylar's top secrets. If Skylar used this wand to cast some kind of magic that should not be discovered by outsiders, there would be no way to investigate or track him down.

Rolf's throat tightened.

He suddenly realized something—

This is not an illusion.

This is a "second Skylar" with full spellcasting capabilities.

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