It's often said that after Easter, final exams quickly follow, and that statement truly holds no falsehood.
Hogwarts exams are in mid-June, with little difference in exam times across the grades. Of course, written exams are staggered, with Professors from the school invigilating separately.
The weather in June was very stuffy and hot, and it was even more uncomfortable for everyone to be squeezed into the classroom for exams.
Written exams began at 9:30 AM, with Charms being the first subject. Students needed to sit in their assigned seats. Professor McGonagall was the invigilator.
Everyone looked very nervous, but Albert didn't seem to care much; he just found it novel. Hogwarts exams reminded him of his university exams in his previous life.
On the desk were new quills, ink bottles, and parchment provided by Hogwarts specifically for the exam. It was said that the quills, ink, and parchment all had anti-cheating spells on them, but in Albert's opinion, these so-called anti-cheating spells were nothing special.
As the biggest cheater among the current examinees, these items were certainly ineffective against him.
After everyone was seated and quiet, Professor McGonagall announced the start of the exam. Then, she inverted a large hourglass on her desk and placed it beside her.
The moment Albert opened his exam paper, he found a new task appearing on his panel:
In the Name of Genius.
You are the recognized genius student among this year's new students. As a genius, you should achieve results commensurate with a genius to prove your strength. Achieve excellent grades in all exams and tell everyone with facts that so-called exams are nothing more than this.
Reward: 1400 experience.
Albert couldn't help but curl his lips, his gaze falling on Katrina, who was in the fourth seat of the third row to his right. That fellow had already started writing answers after reading the questions.
He looked down at the first question on the exam paper:
a) Write the spell that makes objects fly;
b) Describe the wand movement.
...
"Hmm, it's even simpler than expected."
Half an hour later, Albert had written all the answers on the parchment. He then spent five minutes checking them to ensure there were no mistakes, after which he lay down on his desk and went to sleep.
There was no other way; the exam lasted a full two hours!
However, the Slytherin student behind Albert was immediately taken aback when he discovered that the person in front of him had actually started sleeping.
Even Slytherin students knew a few things about Albert Anderson. He was said to be a genius, excellent in academics, and also skilled in Quidditch. Catching the golden snitch in the match against Slytherin made countless Slytherin students gnash their teeth. It was said that many people wanted to cause Andersontrouble, but they all ended up getting humiliated. Not long ago, he even caused a big stir.
No one would believe that he couldn't do the exam paper; the only explanation was that he had already finished it.
Already finished the exam?
Was this exam really that simple?
The Slytherin student looked at his own exam paper, then looked up at the person lying on the desk in front of him, and began to wonder if their exam papers were different?
Probably sensing someone approaching him, Albertlooked up, and what greeted his eyes was a displeased Professor McGonagall.
Albert picked up the inverted parchment, raised his hand and pointed at it, indicating that he had finished the exam paper.
Professor McGonagall picked up the exam paper, glanced at it, silently put it back on the desk, and said nothing more, letting Albert continue to lie down.
As for submitting the paper early?
That would affect other people's exams; it was impossible unless there was a special reason.
"You slept for over an hour? Are our exam papers different?" After the exam ended, Fred and George each wrapped an arm around Albert's neck, complaining.
"Here, the exam paper." Albert handed the exam paper he had brought out to George. "It felt pretty simple."
"Simple?" Lee Jordan said weakly.
"As long as you paid attention in class, took notes, and reviewed them a few times after class, you'd definitely get an excellent grade easily." Albert showed an expression that clearly implied it was because they hadn't reviewed seriously.
The three of them simultaneously reached out and covered Albert's mouth to prevent him from saying anything that would hurt them.
In the afternoon, there was also a practical Charms exam. Professor Flitwick called them into the classroom one by one in alphabetical order, so Albert was again the first. The exam involved enchanting a pineapple to tap-dance across a desk.
In reality, it was a test of the Dancing Feet Spell and control over the spell. Of course, this didn't stump Albert; he did it with ease.
The Transfiguration exam was the next day. The written exam was also not difficult. After Professor McGonagallsaw Albert effortlessly transform a mouse into an exquisite silver snuffbox marked with the Hogwartscrest, she no longer pursued the matter of him sleeping during the exam.
The more exquisite the box, the higher the score; Albert's artwork received a perfect score, which, of course, meant 'excellent'.
If the box still had mouse whiskers, points would be deducted. Fred had complained about this, as his ashtray still had faint traces of whiskers, leading to a deduction.
What Albert found more interesting was the practical Potions exam.
The assessment required brewing a Forgetfulness Potion within two hours.
This wasn't actually a difficult task, as there were only a few Potions brewed throughout the entire school year. But... brewing it under Snape's close and unannounced watch was not easy.
Whenever Snape appeared behind a student without warning, he would add a negative buff to the person, causing that student's heart rate to quicken, hands and feet to falter, and sometimes even leading to operational errors.
...
The last exam was History of Magic, which was a rather boring exam. Albert had specifically reviewed the so-called key points before the exam, and there were no surprises in his answers, so he passed the exam steadily.
When Professor Binns told them to put down their quills and roll up their answer parchments, a cheer erupted in the classroom.
The exams were over; they were finally free and could relax and play for a whole week until the exam results were announced.
"Come on, I'll treat you to butterbeer to celebrate." Albert called his roommates to leave before Katrinacame over.
"Going to Hogsmeade?" Lee Jordan asked softly.
"No need, I've already ordered it by owl post."
"Owl, you mean that one?" Fred pointed to an owl flying towards them, which dropped the package it was carrying in front of Albert.
"What's this?" Fred picked it up curiously, pulling out the card on top and handing it to Albert.
"It must be a book," George said with certainty.
"Why?"
"Packages of this shape usually contain books."
"Can I open it?" Fred looked at Albert.
"Open it." Albert glanced at the card, and George had indeed guessed correctly. The book was called 'Complete Guide to Basic Runes', sent by MacDougall, and it was said to have just been published.
A pop-up app: Mimi Reading, a perfect replica of the old version of the book-chasing artifact that allows changing sources.
After the final exams, everyone spent their pre-summer vacation school days leisurely.
Slytherin ultimately defeated Hufflepuff Team, even in a crushing victory, but they were still out of contention for the Quidditch Cup.
Why did Slytherin lose to Gryffindor?
The culprit behind all of this was a first-year, which infuriated most Slytherin House students.
And, worst of all, they might not only lose the QuidditchCup but also the House Cup.
Currently, Gryffindor still leads Slytherin House by a slight margin of fifteen points, with only a few days left until the end-of-year feast.
Albert wasn't too concerned about these matters. He was reading a book under a tree by the lake. Not far from him, the Weasley Brothers and Lee Jordan were using branches to poke a giant squid basking in the warm shallow water.
During this period before the holidays, the four of them often came here to pass the time, and occasionally they would discuss how to get revenge on Filch and those who tried to cause them trouble.
"Something wrong?" Albert closed 'Complete Guide to Basic Runes' and looked up at Katrina, who had appeared before him.
"I'm ready." Katrina glanced at the book in Albert's hand and asked curiously, "Why didn't you go to Ravenclaw?"
"Why should I? I have friends here and I'm doing quite well." Albert nodded towards the three by the lake. "At least, better than you."
"I have friends too." Katrina understood the meaning of Albert's words and glared at him, dissatisfied, as if he was implying she had no friends.
"Shall we go to Ravenclaw Tower now?" Albertchanged the subject. Just as he was about to stand up, he noticed four Slytherin students walking towards them from a distance. After their eyes met, Albert knew these four were up to no good.
Katrina noticed the momentary change in Albert's expression, turned her head to look at the four older students walking towards them, and frowned slightly, saying, "You seem to be in trouble."
"Trouble? I don't see any trouble," Albert said indifferently.
As the two spoke, the four Slytherin students had already walked over.
"Look who we have here, the famous Mr. Albert Anderson." One of the Slytherin students grinned with ill intent.
"If I were you, I wouldn't cause trouble right now." Albert raised his hand and pointed behind them.
"Who are you trying to fool with that trick? Do you think we're idiots?" Someone stared at Albert, sneering disdainfully.
"Perhaps we should cooperate with him." Someone rubbed their fists, ready for a fight.
"That would make you even dumber." Someone had already drawn their wand.
"I've practiced; fighting a few of you bare-handed is no problem." Albert motioned for Katrina to stand aside. "Besides, I'm not alone."
"You actually intend to bully a first-year in front of Professor Babbles." Katrina couldn't help but frown, suddenly feeling that these four were a bit foolish.
No, it should be said that Albert was deliberately using words to mislead them. He wanted these four to make a move so that Professor Babbles would coincidentally see four older Slytherin students bullying a Gryffindorfirst-year.
What would be the outcome?
Katrina could guess without even thinking.
George and his two friends by the lake also noticed the change here, and they had already drawn their wands, ready to come and help with the fight.
However, the three of them slowed their steps, hid their wands behind their backs, and prepared to watch a good show.
The four Slytherin students clearly didn't believe Albert's childish nonsense. They probably thought Albert wanted to distract them and then ambush them.
So, they made their move.
One of them directly lunged at Albert, intending to use his size advantage to pin Albert to the ground and give him a good beating.
The latter merely dodged to the side and tripped the opponent with a kick.
Another, holding a wand and preparing to cast a spell, was disarmed by Albert first. The wand flew high and, quite coincidentally, landed in front of Albert, who caught it with his hand.
"Stop it, what in the world are you doing?" Professor Babbles, seeing this scene, went from momentary shock to anger.
The two who had already drawn their wands and were about to use curses on Albert froze in place.
"Professor... we just came to..."
"Do you think I'm blind?" Professor Babbles stared at the four, coldly delivering her final verdict: "Twenty points from Slytherin, for each of you. I'll tell Severus; perhaps he should give you a few days of detention so you don't bully first-years in school right after exams."
The four's faces immediately darkened.
"Good morning, Professor Babbles." Albert smiled and greeted the Ancient Runes Professor.
"You probably didn't receive my note, did you?" Professor Babbles appraised Albert, then nodded and said, "Come with me, I have something to tell you."
"Alright, Professor." Albert spread his hands helplessly towards the four Slytherin students. "I told you."
Before Albert left with Professor Babbles, he turned back to the girl and said, "Oh, by the way, Katrina, let's postpone that matter for now!"
"You bastard, give me back my wand!" The Slytherinstudent's nose almost twisted out of shape when he saw Albert actually leaving with his wand.
"Oh my, what did I just hear?" Fred looked at the grim-faced Slytherin students with a mocking tone. "Now, Slytherin is at the very bottom."
"You bastards, just you wait."
"Let's go, let's go back and tell everyone this good news!" Lee Jordan laughed heartily. "Now, Slytherin is completely done for."
"Yes, let's go back and tell everyone!" Fred finished, and returned to the common room with his roommates, leaving a stunned Katrina and the Slytherin Housestudents with distorted expressions.
In the afternoon, students passing through the Entrance Hall quickly noticed the change in points. Slytherin's points were suddenly deducted by eighty, instantly making them the bottom house. Coupled with the publicity from Fred and his friends, the four Slytherin House students instantly became infamous. Causing trouble for a first-year in front of a Professor, the result was, of course, a point deduction.
Those four Slytherin students instantly became 'heroes' in the mouths of countless people. Slytherin students naturally didn't give the four 'traitors' any good looks. Due to their 'brainless actions', Slytherin directly lost its last chance to compete for the House Cup.
Of course, Snape's face was also very dark. After all, to be directly pointed out by a Professor that several older students from his own house shamelessly bullied a first-year—was that not caring about face at all?