Professor McGonagall approached her work with the same seriousness and meticulousness as she would her classes.
"Now, professors, please report on the progress of the final exam questions." Professor McGonagall tapped her quill with her wand to take notes.
"The final exams for Charms are ready," Professor Flitwick began, his hair, which looked somewhat comical as if it had been gnawed by a mouse. "As in previous years, the exams will be held in a large classroom, to allow for space to swing wands."
Professor McGonagall nodded and looked at Snape.
Snape was Professor McGonagall's student when he was in school, and even now that he's a professor, he wouldn't dare to be disrespectful in her presence.
Seeing Professor McGonagall looking at him, Snape said, "The Potions exam is all ready, but the cauldrons used for the exam still need some time to be cleaned."
"Herbology..."
"The Care of Magical Creatures has also..."
After all the professors had finished reporting on their course progress, Professor McGonagall glanced at the meeting minutes and made a summary and arrangements.
We need to allocate an extra exam room for Charms, as some of the cauldrons used for Potions exams are too old and need to be replaced.
Professor McGonagall wrote a note and handed it to Snape: "Please go to the warehouse and get it."
Snape took the note, frowned, and asked, "What about the Defense Against the Dark Arts?"
At this point, all the other professors turned to look at McGonagall.
Everyone knows Quirrell is Death Eaters now, and he's currently in St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, but Defense Against the Dark Arts exams are still coming up.
Professor McGonagall's eyes flickered, and she pursed her lips with a composed expression. "The Defense Against the Dark Arts is almost over... um... I mean, there still needs to be an exam."
"But who will set the questions?" Professor Flitwick asked.
Some professors who have taught at Hogwarts for a long time know that this position was cursed by Voldemort and have witnessed the fate of several professors.
This made them hesitant to take on anything related to the course.
Professor McGonagall was aware of this as well.
That's why she was in a dilemma.
"I'll do it, Professor McGonagall," Snape offered.
The professors' astonished gazes flickered over him twice before they quickly averted them. But everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
Things have finally been resolved.
"Oh, Severus ..." Professor McGonagall hesitated, perhaps out of concern for him, "But you already have Potions to attend to."
"It's alright," Snape said softly. "I don't think anyone here knows more about Dark Magic than I do."
After saying that, Snape let out a strange laugh from his throat, "The students have been doing quite well lately, which has made things a bit easier for me."
"So you should be able to manage, Professor McGonagall."
"Well... thank you for your help, Severus." Professor McGonagall nodded.
Snape's mention of Dark Magic caused a silence to fall over the room, creating a somewhat oppressive atmosphere.
"Haha, speaking of the young wizards' homework, I also have something to say." Professor Flitwick carefully touched the hole in his hair. "Recently, many first-year wizards have indeed been completing their homework quickly and well."
Professor McGonagall frowned and asked, "Could someone be selling homework?"
She has extensive teaching experience and has seen this kind of thing before.
"No, no," Professor Flitwick waved his hands repeatedly, "It's because someone is selling these quill pens."
He took out a quill pen and handed it to Professor McGonagall.
"The design of this thing is simply ingenious. It can automatically check spelling, and Writing Charm is very effortless. I remember it was sold by Prewett and Weasley."
Upon hearing these two surnames, both Headmaster McGonagall and Snape's expressions turned strange.
"Isn't using this kind of quill pen to do homework a bit of a shortcut...?" A professor sitting at a distance raised his objection.
Snape turned his head sharply, and his gaze made the professor shrink back in fright.
"It's just a quill pen; the school rules don't say you can't use it." McGonagall picked up the quill pen and looked at it. When she noticed the magic circuits and Ancient Runes on it, a hint of undisguised appreciation appeared in her eyes.
Professor McGonagall closed her eyes, concealing her expression, and said calmly, "Besides, it's a good thing that the quality of students' assignments is improving. Our purpose in assigning homework is to improve students' academic performance, not to torment them or increase their burden."
"That's the end of it." Professor McGonagall handed the quill back to Professor Flitwick, concluding the matter decisively. "We'll be using standardized anti-cheating quills during exams. Students have done nothing wrong by using these quills to improve efficiency during regular classes. This matter need not be discussed further."
"Yes, yes..."
Having finished discussing these matters, Professor McGonagall chaired the meeting and moved on to the next agenda item.
She took a Wooden Box riddled with small holes from the cupboard in the room and placed it in the middle of the table.
Then, waving his wand, he split the Parchment into countless small strips, each listing the exam room for each grade.
Professor McGonagall used Levitation Charm to float the note in the air, and then showed it to all the professors.
"We will now draw lots to determine which exam room each professor will be proctoring."
All the professors sat up straight and took out their wands.
This was the part they were most looking forward to.
Everyone was eager to participate, their hearts pounding with excitement.
This is an annual source of amusement for the professors.
After all the professors had read the notes, Professor McGonagall waved her wand, and the notes, like a flock of birds, fluttered their wings and disappeared into the perforated Wooden Box.
"Professors, please get ready."
3.
2.
1.
"A note Accio!"
The light from numerous Accio instantly filled the room, illuminating the faces of all the professors.
"Haha, that's great, fifth grade!" Professor Flitwick swung his short legs and wiggled his upper body happily.
The frustration of having a hole burned in my hair has long since disappeared.
Professor McGonagall opened the note in her hand.
Looking at the sign that read "First Grade" for the exam room, I felt a little helpless.
It looks like this year's exam proctoring will be quite boring.
Despite Hogwarts' many efforts to prevent cheating, such as requiring students to use anti-cheating quills and prohibiting them from bringing their own Parchment and ink...
But every year during final exams, professors always manage to discover some bizarre and outlandish cheating methods.
For example, using Transfiguration Spell to turn cheat sheets into small trinkets on clothing and smuggle them into the exam room, using Disillusionment Charm and Polyjuice Potion to sneak into the exam room beforehand, and writing cheat sheets on the desk... A few years ago, she even saw a student drink a bottle of Felix Felicis before the exam...
Potions, Spells, alchemical tools... a wide variety of things, everything imaginable.
The most important job of a professor when proctoring exams is to outwit these little wizards and catch them cheating.
This was arguably the most interesting thing about the otherwise tedious process of proctoring exams.
Therefore, every year at this time, professors have to draw lots to decide which grade they will proctor.
If you were to draw a fifth-grade student like Professor Flitwick, you'd be considered lucky.
Fifth-grade students have already learned a lot about magic, and their methods of cheating are much more sophisticated.
For professors, proctoring exams is more interesting; they're never bored throughout the entire session.
First-year students tend to use rather crude cheating methods and lack strong mental fortitude. Someone with Professor McGonagall's extensive teaching experience can tell who's cheating just by looking at their expression.
It was too easy for her.
Professor McGonagall shook her head, banishing these thoughts from her mind, and then gave a few more instructions.
"Alright, that's all for today. I wish all the professors a successful exam proctoring session."
The professors all laughed; after all, their vacation was about to begin.
After the meeting, some professors gathered together and shared their experiences in catching cheaters.
Harry and Ron were fretting over their study materials. "Good heavens, who can possibly remember all this stuff?"