Harry Potter and the Secret Treasures

Ernie Macmillan from Hufflepuff had developed an irritating habit of interrogating people about their study habits.

“How many hours do you think you’re doing a day?” he demanded of them as they queued outside Herbology, a manic gleam in his eyes.

“I dunno,” said Ron. “A few …”

“More or less than eight?”

“Less, I suppose,” said Ron, looking slightly alarmed.

“I’m doing eight,” said Ernie, puffing out his chest. “Eight or nine. I’m getting an hour in before breakfast every day. Eight’s my average. I can do ten on a good weekend day. I did nine and a half on Monday. Not so good on Tuesday — only seven and a quarter. Then on Wednesday —”

If given the chance, he would go on endlessly, detailing how he managed to squeeze in his study time.

Judging from his appearance, if others had less time to review than him, he would get great satisfaction from the process of comparison.

This was not something to brag about. The key was not the amount of time, but whether all the knowledge points were fully grasped.

If Evan wanted, he could review for as long as he wished each day without any time constraints…

Additionally, he noticed that students who were actually very good at studying would deliberately say they did poorly when asked about their class assignments, and then start analyzing their shortcomings in front of students who were actually worse than them.

This happened repeatedly with Hermione, Harry, and Ron.

For example, her last History of Magic assignment received an Outstanding, but Professor Binns still pointed out some shortcomings. This made her very concerned, and she talked about it at length to Evan, Harry, and Ron, analyzing why she wrote the way she did.

Evan’s grades exceeded expectations, while Harry and Ron just passed, which was far behind Hermione.

Not surprisingly, when Hermione finished her serious analysis, Ron became very unhappy.

It just so happened that not long after, he took the initiative to bring up this topic again, and Hermione also liked to talk about it…

This was not to show off, Hermione was probably really nervous.

Of course, she was not on the same level as others.

Her slight, trivial worries were a cruel blow to Evan, Harry, and Ron.

Moreover, information about the examiners for the upcoming exams, who were staff from the Wizarding Examinations Authority, was circulating among the students, especially about the key figures. Many students from Wizarding families claimed to have close connections with these examiners.

From the way they talked, it seemed like these connections would make the examiners go easy on them.

Even Hermione was very concerned about this matter and wanted to know what kind of people they were.

Neville’s grandmother knew Griselda Marchbanks, who was the head of the Wizarding Examinations Authority.

“What’s she like, Neville?” asked Hermione at once after Neville said he knew Marchbanks. “Is she strict?”

“Bit like Gran, really,” said Neville in a subdued voice. “Wish I didn’t know her…”

“This is not a bad thing, Neville, maybe…”

“Oh, I don’t think it will make any difference,” said Neville, still more miserably. “Gran’s always telling Professor Marchbanks I’m not as good as my dad… Well … you saw what she’s like at St. Mungo’s… She’s the same as gran.”

The topic ended here. This was the first time Neville acknowledged that they had met at the Wizarding hospital.

Evan didn’t know what it was like for seventh years, but the fifth years were definitely getting stranger!

In aids to concentration, mental agility, and wakefulness, a flourishing black-market trade had sprung up among them.

Harry and Ron were much tempted by the bottle of Baruffio’s Brain Elixir offered to them by Ravenclaw sixth year Eddie Carmichael, who swore it was solely responsible for the nine “Outstanding” O.W.L.s he had gained the previous summer and was offering the whole pint for a mere twelve Galleons.

Ron assured Harry he would reimburse him for his half the moment he left Hogwarts and got a job, but before they could close the deal, Hermione had confiscated the bottle from Carmichael and poured the contents down a toilet.

“Hermione, we wanted to buy that!” shouted Ron.

“Don’t be stupid,” she snarled. “You might as well take Harold Dingle’s powdered dragon claw and have done with it.”

“Dingle’s got powdered dragon claw?” said Ron eagerly.

“Not anymore,” said Hermione. “Evan and I confiscated that too. Don’t forget your identity, Ron. You’re a prefect. You should know none of these things actually works. We…”

“Dragon claw does work!” said Ron. “It’s supposed to be incredible, really gives your brain a boost, you come over all cunning for a few hours — Hermione, let me have a pinch, go on, it can’t hurt —”

“This stuff can,” said Hermione grimly. “I’ve had a look at it, and it’s actually dried doxy droppings.”

This information took the edge off Harry and Ron’s desire for brain stimulants.

Evan did have some Invigoration Draught, but the two of them were not very interested in it. What they needed was something that made them smarter all of a sudden, capable of remembering all the key points of the exam, not a potion that would just keep them awake.

Amid this strange atmosphere of anxiety, they finally received their examination schedules and details of the procedure for O.W.L.s.

“As you can see,” Professor McGonagall told the class while they copied down the dates and times of their exams from the blackboard, “your O.W.L.s are spread over two successive weeks. You will sit the theory exams in the mornings and the practice in the afternoons. Your practical Astronomy examination will, of course, take place at night.

“Now, I must warn you that the most stringent Anti- Cheating Charms have been applied to your examination papers. Auto-Answer Quills are banned from the examination hall, as are Remembralls, Detachable Cribbing Cuffs, and Self-Correcting Ink. Every year, I am afraid to say, seems to harbor at least one student who thinks that he or she can get around the Wizarding Examinations Authority’s rules. I can only hope that it is nobody in Gryffindor. That would embarrass me. I hope you can rely on your own efforts and do your best to face this exam. You have your own futures to think about.”

“Please, Professor,” said Hermione, her hand in the air, “when will we find out our results?”

“An owl will be sent to you some time in July,” said Professor McGonagall.

“Excellent,” said Dean Thomas in an audible whisper, “so we don’t have to worry about it till the holidays…”

“Alright, you all go and prepare now. Evan, please come here for a moment. I’d like to speak with you privately,” said Professor McGonagall.

As expected, being the only student taking the exams ahead of his year, Professor McGonagall gave Evan some special instructions.

She trusted Evan’s abilities but wanted to ensure he took these exams seriously enough.

Evan’s eligibility for the exams was specially approved by the Wizarding Examinations Authority, and he only had this one chance. He wouldn’t be taking the exams again with the fourth-year students next year…

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