Sunday, nine in the morning.
The long-awaited fifth-year practical assessment finally began.
In the corridor, as Professor Holmes had instructed,
the students from the four Houses formed one line per House.
There were nearly twice as many Hufflepuff students as those from the other Houses.
Besides the fifth-years, some older and younger students had also come to watch.
They stood some distance away.
Douglas explained the assessment rules:
"This assessment is very simple. You won't need to deal with any Dark creatures or duel anyone.
I and your Seventh Year schoolmates have set up four passages inside.
Each passage contains spells that have appeared in OWLs over the years. Of course, they're all ones you've studied...
You needn't worry about how powerful these spells are. As long as you defend yourselves properly, most won't cause you any serious harm.
All you need to do is use what you've learned to break those spells...
Anyone who gives up or fails will either walk out themselves or be brought out by a seventh-year..."
At that point, a Slytherin student asked:
"Professor, what if we encounter a spell that we're only supposed to learn in fifth year?"
Douglas praised him:
"An excellent question!
The spells in the passages are arranged in order, from fourth-year to fifth-year material.
If you encounter fifth-year spells you haven't learned yet...
that can only mean you're doing very well...
One thing I must remind you of is that you can't choose spells you're good at. After all, the spells you're assigned in your OWLs are random too.
So the first person to enter might fail, or they might break several spells in succession.
Those who enter afterward will continue from the progress you've made.
If a particular spell stumps every student in a House, your assessment ends there.