Chapter 48: My Name is Tom, and I'm a Study Genius

"Dong, dong, dong!"

"Come in!" Professor Flitwick's high-pitched voice echoed from his office. When he saw the visitor, he wore a slightly embarrassed smile. "Yodel, I haven't finished modifying the broom yet, but I have some progress..."

"Professor, I'm not here for a broom. I'd like you to evaluate my learning progress."

"Not here for a broom? That's good to hear. What do you want me to examine?" Professor Flitwick was surprised, staring at Tom. "You want me to test you on something?"

"Professor, I've self-studied the entire semester's curriculum already. I'd like to request you to give me a set of questions to assess my self-study." Tom respectfully made his request to Professor Flitwick. He couldn't afford to be disrespectful; if Professor Flitwick refused the assessment, it could set him back six months. Besides, Tom was confident in his own abilities, and being a gifted wizard named Tom seemed perfectly normal.

This was the most unusual request Professor Flitwick had ever received. He looked at Tom, somewhat speechless. Did he think final exam questions were that easy to come up with? Each time, a legitimate professor had to rack their brains for a whole weekend to create the questions—not too simple, not too difficult, with enough differentiation in difficulty, yet within the scope of the curriculum. Creating such questions was difficult!

The most agonizing part was that he had to write them himself. In an era without computers, it was a nightmare. Modern people probably couldn't understand the struggle of scientists in the 20th century who didn't have Word to help them.

For instance, Professor Jack Heatherington of Michigan State University published an influential paper in 1975. However, the problem was that he used "We" as the first-person pronoun throughout the paper, but the author's name was only one person, so according to the rules, if you used "We" as the first person but had only one author's name, the paper couldn't be published. Professor Heatherington needed to change all the "We" to "I". The issue was that back then, there was no Word with a simple find-and-replace function. He had to type every single word of the paper himself...

So, he had a brilliant idea. He listed his Siamese cat as the second author of the paper and called it "F.D.C. Willard." The paper even came out under the name of this cat, and it turned out to be quite influential. This cat now had a paper under its name, and it had a considerable impact. Many people's impact factors throughout their lives might not be as high as this cat's.

Oh, and I don't recommend others follow this method because immunologist Polly Matzinger did the same thing and got permanently banned by the irritable editor of the journal...

"You can show me all the spells in the books." Flitwick decided to conduct a preliminary assessment.

Tom started with the Fire-Making Spell and demonstrated one spell after another mentioned in the "Standard Spells for First Years." Some he had drawn, some he had grasped during self-study, and others Hermione had taught him. They all had one thing in common: it had been a long time since he had made progress with them.

Flitwick's expression gradually became astonished. When Tom cast the final spell and opened a small lock, he couldn't help but applaud. "Excellent! Although some need more practice, you truly know them all!"

He took out a piece of parchment and a small box from his desk. "Here, make this box run around the table."

Tom followed his instructions. Although it stumbled a bit, the box indeed moved around on its four little legs. Then, Professor Flitwick handed him a parchment with the questions from last year's final exam.

After Tom finished writing, an hour had passed. Professor Flitwick took the parchment and started grading it. He graded it quickly, and in less than five minutes, he handed it back to Tom.

"Very impressive. Taking the practical test into account, you'll just barely make it to 'Outstanding'!" Professor Flitwick appeared delighted. However, strangely enough, Tom's Charms proficiency hadn't broken through to Level 1 despite passing the assessment. Tom was a bit puzzled, but before leaving the office, Professor Flitwick stopped him. Flitwick took a small notebook from his desk and made it float towards Tom.

"This is my insights into the second-year textbook 'Standard Charms for Second Years,' along with my teaching outline for the second year. Since you've already mastered the first-year knowledge, there's no need to waste any time. Take a look in advance." Professor Flitwick smiled with satisfaction. He hadn't seen such a talented and diligent young wizard in a long time.

Tom accepted the little notebook, bowed to Professor Flitwick, and left his office. When he returned to the common room, it wasn't lunchtime yet. He glanced through Professor Flitwick's insights roughly. When he went to eat, his Charms proficiency had reached Level 1, and at the same time, many other spells had also reached Level 1.

Now he understood the key to breaking through various theoretical knowledge. However, he didn't rush to ask other professors for assessments because he didn't have as much confidence in the remaining subjects. For example, Snape's Potions class—if you didn't have confidence and rushed to request an assessment, it was no different from courting death.

But the most important reason was that most spells only required a Level 1 proficiency in Charms. He understood that what he should focus on right now was familiarizing himself with these spells and practicing them to improve their proficiency. After all, his most proficient spell, the Lumos spell, had only 17% proficiency, which meant a mere 17% success rate for wandless casting.

After Halloween, it was November, and in the Scottish Highlands, November was as cold as an ice rink—it could freeze you to death. During this time, Tom would think about Hogwarts. The school was located in southern France, and November wasn't that cold there. The lovely young witches at the school would do everything to dress up beautifully...

But the cold weather couldn't extinguish the enthusiasm of young wizards—although this enthusiasm wasn't for studying but for Quidditch. On the first Sunday of November (November 3rd), Tom received his broom. Professor Flitwick had taken nearly two months to modify it.

Of course, for those who often buy figurines and custom keyboards, this operation should be common. For example, a certain game company's mechanical keyboard, ordered in June, hadn't been shipped as of August.

Tom held the broom and examined it. He watched as his magical inventory was updated:

**Flying Broomstick - Seven Stars Sweep (Modified)**

With Professor Flitwick's modifications, this broomstick could instantly accelerate for one second, with a cooldown time of one minute.

This skill seemed decent, but the duration was too short, making it somewhat underwhelming in other positions. However, it was a good improvement for a Seeker.

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(End of this chapter)