Ron looked at his textbook with a headache.
"Dragon Blood has twelve uses? That's incredible! How did Dumbledore discover that? Should we go ask Norbert?"
"Great, Ron," Harry replied without turning around. "I think Norbert will explain to you the only use of Dragonfire —to roast you to a crisp."
Ron held the quill pen under his nose, cradling it with his lips, and leaned back in his chair, staring at the ceiling. "Where's Hermione?"
"I went to the library to study with Silan."
"Does she really need to study? She's already memorized the textbook." Ron took the quill down, slammed it on the table, and said with certainty, "If you ask me, she just wants to spend more time with Silan."
Harry shrugged. "At least she told us what to focus on for the exam, otherwise I really wouldn't know what to do."
"Okay." Ron nodded in agreement. "We really have to thank her for that."
"Where are George and Fred?"
"They're probably sleeping."
"Aren't they worried about the exams?" Harry asked.
"Although I hate to admit it, their grades are actually quite good."
Ron flipped through his textbook idly, glancing at the points Hermione had circled, and casually replied, "If they just want to pass, they can just skim through it before the exam."
"I think what they're more concerned about now is how to make money."
Upon hearing this, Harry glanced instinctively at Ron's hair, and a question they had discussed earlier suddenly popped into his mind.
Were Ron and Silan really not switched at birth?
The shadow of the courtyard pillar had traveled halfway around, and the sun, like an egg yolk, slowly sank below the horizon.
The lingering sunlight, still somewhat reluctant to leave, gently tugged at the white clouds, making their delicate hands turn slightly red.
The young students lazily daydreamed while also studying diligently. As time slipped through their fingers, it left behind some marks of their growth.
Silan and Hermione emerged from the library, the last rays of daylight making their hair gleam.
Hermione, clutching her book, looked worried. "I really don't want to think what if Professor McGonagall tells me I failed?"
"It's alright, Hermione," Silan reassured her. "As far as I know, the first-year exams won't be too difficult."
"But I'm still a little worried..."
"Let's do a Divination then." Silan winked at Hermione and held out her hand.
"Divination?" Hermione asked, tilting her head.
Silan pointed to the top of the stairs. "Now, take my hand, close your eyes, and we'll take ten steps. If we stop right in front of the stairs, it means everything will go smoothly."
"There's such a thing as Divination?" Hermione, somewhat puzzled.
"Of course." Silan smiled at her and whispered, "This is my exclusive Divination."
Hermione smiled sweetly at his teasing, placed her hand in his palm, and closed her eyes trustingly.
"One, two, three, four, five..."
Silan counted as he led Hermione by the hand toward the stairs. After ten steps, he stopped.
"Alright, open your eyes."
Hermione was captivated by this little Divination trick, and her earlier worries and anxieties vanished completely.
As soon as she opened her eyes, she saw that she and Silan were standing right in front of the stairs. One more step and they would be going down the steps. The distance between them was now perfect, down to the last second.
"Are you relieved now?" Silan asked with a smile.
"Mmm." Hermione nodded happily. "Thank you, Silan."
The Divination was over, but Miss Granger didn't seem to be letting go.
"Don't worry, Hermione. You don't need to prove anything to anyone. All you need to do is believe in yourself."
Silan didn't say directly, "You'll definitely do well on the test" or "It's okay if you don't."
This made Hermione's heart pound like a drum.
Hermione studies so hard not only because of her personality, but also to prove to others that one can become a good wizard even if one comes from Muggle family.
Silan understood this very well.
Hermione didn't say anything more, because she knew Silan understood her feelings.
That's enough.
"Thank you, Silan."
The two walked down the stairs and parted ways when they reached the floor where the Gryffindor common room was located.
After saying goodbye, Silan did not return to the lounge, but went straight back to the Room of Requirement to continue studying.
Although the first-grade exams weren't difficult, getting a high score wasn't easy either.
His goal is to get as many "O"s as possible.
Time passed day by day, and soon the exam date arrived.
It's not time to enter the exam hall yet, so the students are all gathered outside, clutching their books and trying to read whatever little bit they can.
Harry and Ron were in the same exam room as him, and they were cramming next to him at the last minute.
"Oh my god, I haven't memorized the twelve uses of Dragon Blood yet!" Ron slammed his head against the wall in frustration.
Harry looked at Silan, who seemed relaxed, and asked, "How's your studying going, Silan?"
"Not so good." Silan shook her head. "I haven't slept much for the past few days, just read a few books."
[Silver Tongue: Proficiency +1]
Hearing his words, Ron and Harry were relieved.
Silan didn't study much, so I guess I'll get about the same score as him in the end.
The first exam was on Magical Theory.
Professor McGonagall was the proctor for Silan's exam. After all the students entered the exam room, Professor McGonagall scanned them with a serious expression.
"I'll say it again, you'd better not even consider cheating, or your exam results will be invalid!"
Some of the young wizards who were caught in Professor McGonagall's stern gaze looked guilty, while others grinned and gave up in despair.
After the Parchment exam papers were handed out, the bell rang at Hogwarts to signal the start of the exams.
"Good heavens, they're actually testing the twelve uses of Dragon Blood, and we have to write them all down!" Ron scratched his head, scribbling on Parchment with a quill.
He had reviewed this knowledge point countless times, and this time he wrote it down very fluently.
After he finished answering the question with a smug look on his face and was about to move on to the next one, he suddenly heard the sound of a page being turned next to him.
Looking over, I noticed that the quill pen in Silan's hand was shaking uncontrollably, as if she were having an epileptic seizure.
The "shush-shush-shush" sound didn't sound like writing; it sounded more like a great river flowing endlessly.
Silan quickly finished writing one page and immediately turned the page.
This made Ron gasp.
It feels like you've finally finished one question in an exam, only to find that the top student next to you has already completed the entire first page.
Professor McGonagall, who was on the podium, was also drawn in and stepped down with a frown.
That's incredibly fast.
She didn't suspect that Silan had cheated, because cheaters usually choose to do so quietly to avoid being noticed.
After watching from the sidelines for a while, Professor McGonagall returned to the podium.
Silan wrote so quickly for no other reason than the plenary session...
There wasn't a single question I couldn't answer; I could solve one after another as soon as I looked at them, and the answers seemed to pop into my head uncontrollably.
His writing speed is currently the sole limiting factor for him.
"I've finished answering, Professor."
After finishing writing, Silan checked the exam paper from beginning to end and raised her hand to signal.
"Ah... okay..."
Professor McGonagall hesitated for a moment before replying, "You may leave now. The rest of you, please continue answering the questions."
Seeing Silan hand in her paper and leave early, the students in the same exam room all felt immense pressure.
"Wow... Prewett's speed is terrifying."
"What's the use of writing fast? Wouldn't it be even more embarrassing to fail the exam?"
Some voices said sourly.
"Answer the questions quietly!"
Professor McGonagall glanced at the corner where the sound had come from, walked from the podium to Silan's seat, and glanced at his exam paper.
The paper was neat, but the handwriting was neither beautiful nor artistically distinctive. However, the size was uniform and the handwriting was exceptionally neat, as if it had been printed by Muggle machine.
For professors grading exams, this kind of exam paper is perfect; they can read all the words without any effort.
"This child is a really diligent student," Professor McGonagall thought to herself.
After the Magical Theory exam, the practical exams for each subject will begin.