Chapter 672: O.W.L. Examination (Part 3) (Edited)

After the Defense Against the Dark Arts exam, Fish and the others finally had some free time.

Since Ancient Runes was scheduled for Friday and no other fifth-year Gryffindor students were taking it, except for Hermione, they had three consecutive days off with a two-day weekend.

Of course, everyone except Fish used those three days to study for their upcoming exams.

No exams, no classes, no homework—Fish spent the three days running around the castle, getting to know all the examiners.

As soon as they could, the elderly wizards and witches gathered around Fish, petting him, feeding him, and complaining among themselves about the lack of talent among the younger generation, expressing envy and jealousy towards Professor McGonagall.

Three days still weren't enough for Fish, and he hadn't even had enough fun before the exams started again.

The busy students felt like the three days had flown by in the blink of an eye as they approached the second week of O.W.L. exams with great anxiety.

On Monday of the second week, they had the Potions exam.

The written exam in the morning was nothing out of the ordinary, and Fish finished it quickly and handed in his work. He also passed the practical exam in the afternoon with a good grade.

However, compared to his astonishing performance the previous week, Fish's potion-making was more ordinary this time. With the strict requirements and procedures of Potions, Fish had little room for extra effort.

On the other hand, without Professor Snape's sarcastic comments, Harry, Ron, Neville, and Seamus, who were usually the target of his ridicule, performed better than usual in their practical exams.

Other students, including the Slytherins, were also more relaxed with their potions, and some, like Harry and the others, even excelled in their exams.

But on the second day, it was Fish's turn to shine in the Care of Magical Creatures exam.

The first question of the practical test required the candidates to accurately identify a hidden Knarl among a dozen others.

Knarls are highly suspicious creatures with spines that possess various magical properties. They go crazy if they believe someone has tried to poison them. The normal procedure is to feed them milk one by one, and the candidates must find the spines based on their reactions as they feed them.

But when it was Fish's turn, there was no need for all that. Upon Fish's command, the group of Knarls divided into two groups, all lined up as if waiting to be inspected by Fish.

The second question was about demonstrating how to deal with Bowtruckles.

This question wasn't difficult—just catch some wooden turtles and feed them.

When it was Fish's turn, the Bowtruckles took out their own fruit and fed it to Fish.

Then came the task of feeding and cleaning the Fire Crabs.

Despite their name, Fire Crabs looked like large turtles but had crab-like shells naturally adorned with jewels. They had a very bad temper and would emit flames from their mouths at the slightest provocation.

The other candidates were cautious when feeding and cleaning them to avoid irritating the Fire Crabs and getting burned by their flames.

When Fish approached the Fire Crabs, they all behaved so well that they didn't even spark, let alone produce flames.

The last part involved choosing from a pile of food to feed the sick unicorns, and somehow the examiners managed to make the Forbidden Forest unicorns genuinely sick.

When Fish saw how sick his friends looked, he cured them without saying a word.

After such an exam, the candidates were fine, but the examiner in charge of the test started doubting their own existence.

On Wednesday, there was a combination of Astronomy and Divination, and Hermione, of course, took the Arithmancy Divination exam.

In the morning, there was a written test on Astronomy theory, and neither Divination nor Arithmancy were written exams. They were practical exams in the afternoon, followed by a practical Astronomy exam at night. They had to fill in the exact positions of the stars and planets observed that night.

There was nothing remarkable about the Astronomy exams, and with Fish's sharp memory and eye for detail, he had no trouble passing both exams.

And then came the afternoon Astrology exam...

"Aren't Divination exams supposed to end with a cup of tea? Why do we have to read crystal balls, tea leaves, palms, and birth charts?"

(ﾉωﾉ)

Fish sat in front of Professor Tofty, his eyes wide with curiosity.

"What kind of exam is tea?" The old professor looked at the innocent Fish with an astonished smile. "It's just a preliminary exam to decipher tea leaves."

"But that's how Fish did his Divination exam before, and Sybil gave him an Outstanding!" Fish replied with a serious expression.

(??ˇ?ˇ??)

Professor Tofty: "..."

He didn't even need to ask Professor Trelawney; he had already guessed what was going on.

In this case, Professor Tofty could only shake his head helplessly and then explained to Fish, "If it were a regular Divination exam, I could simply give you an Outstanding, but it's an O.W.L. exam. You have to follow the rules."

"Okay then..."

(`ω´)

Fish clasped his hands together and reluctantly looked at the crystal ball on the table.

Although Fish spent the Divination class either sleeping or having tea with Professor Trelawney, he still did his assignments for the class. So whether it was the crystal ball or the tea leaves, or reading palms or birth charts, Fish still knew how to interpret them.

And to be able to see the crystal ball, tea leaves, birth chart, and Professor Tofty's palm, Fish had cast the [Owl's Wisdom] spell on himself...

Fish didn't know if adding perception to himself would help with Divination reading, but he added it on a whim.

At least Fish didn't say that Professor Marchbanks should have died last Tuesday, like Harry did next to him...

Professor Tofty's reaction showed that he was more than satisfied with Fish's results.

Thursday was the last day of O.W.L. exams, with Muggle Studies, a subject no one in Gryffindor had chosen, in the morning, and History of Magic, the subject that induced the most sleepiness at Hogwarts, in the afternoon.

The History of Magic exam was as boring as Professor Binns' class. Combined with the blazing afternoon sun shining through the Great Hall windows, it made the candidates drowsy, and the buzzing of a wasp outside the high windows made everyone uneasy.

Fish finished his exam quickly and was the first to rush out of the Great Hall, while the others remained seated until the hourglass on the podium ran out, marking the end of their O.W.L. exams.

As soon as the exams were over, all the students ran out of the castle cheering, rolling in the grass, jumping into the Black Lake to swim, or grabbing their brooms and flying around the Quidditch pitch...

Of course, the girls were more inclined to surround Fish and get their hands on him...

In short, everyone let off steam from the recent past.

Once the O.W.L. exams were finished, Professor Marchbanks and the others didn't leave because they were also in charge of the N.E.W.T.