The Hogwarts Emerald

Chapter 358: Level Test and Buckbeak

June is almost here, and for fifth years, that means only one thing: the Ordinary Wizarding Level Examinations are finally here.

The castle grounds gleamed in the sun as if they had been freshly painted. The cloudless sky smiles at the reflection in the sparkling lake. The silky smooth greenery undulates gently in the breeze.

But no one appreciated this scene, as everyone was reviewing desperately. Ada put away her lazy attitude and started to do exercises over and over again. The twins also stopped telling jokes and started to memorize their lessons diligently.

Professors no longer assign homework to fifth-year students, and class time is devoted entirely to reviewing questions that teachers believe are most likely to appear on the exam.

This atmosphere of fanatical struggle affected everyone, and many lower grade students were also motivated to start reviewing seriously.

During this time, the black market was booming among fifth- and seventh-grade students, selling things that could help people focus, refresh themselves, and stay awake.

These black market transactions increased the workload of the prefects and made Percy furious. Ada even checked all the boys' and girls' dormitories with her wand and confiscated a lot of useless Bafe brain stimulants and the so-called "Dragon Claw Powder".

Instead of spending this time on this, it would be better to brew a bottle of Fuling potion, which would at least be more effective.

As the exams approached, many people's behavior became very strange, using various "performance arts" to relieve themselves. Although Ada said "it's a small scene, don't panic", she spent more time reviewing than anyone else.

Five minutes of charging, five hours of reviewing, Ada's desperate reviewing made Hermione stunned. There are always people who are better than you, and they also work harder than you. So Miss Beaver began to follow her predecessors and spent more time studying.

This made it difficult for the twins, Harry and Ron. The four boys looked at each other, sighed together, then picked up their books and started reviewing.

The exams finally came. The Ordinary Wizarding Level exams lasted for two weeks, with theory in the morning and practical in the afternoon. The practical exam in astronomy would be held at night.

Furthermore, no cheating methods known to the wizarding world can be used during the exams, including memory balls, cheat sheets, and automatic error-correcting quills (ink). The punishment for cheating students is also extremely severe.

The first exam was the Theory of Charms, scheduled for Monday morning. In the Great Hall, Dumbledore stood with a group of old wizards, and the examiner was Griselda Marchbank, who was older than Dumbledore.

Griselda Marchbank was also once Dumbledore's examiner. Dumbledore, who was taking the final wizarding level exam at the time, left a deep impression on the old lady.

At half past nine, the exam officially began. The four college tables in the auditorium were moved away and replaced by many single desks, all facing the staff table at the end of the auditorium.

After Professor McGonagall turned over a huge hourglass, the students got their test papers and began to answer the questions.

The content of the test paper was not complicated, and it was not much harder than the final exams of previous years. It was still mainly about answering the names of spells and standard wand swinging movements, with occasional questions about the year a certain spell appeared.

In the afternoon, the fifth graders lined up and walked into the small room next to the auditorium, waiting to be called to take the practical test. Because of the alphabetical order of their surnames, Ada was at the very back of the line, with only the twins and a few others behind her.

In the following days, except for the astronomy test which was held at night, the other tests were similar. The students were exhausted, and they kept memorizing knowledge points or waving magic wands every day.

The examiners kept scoring, and occasionally they would sigh when someone performed very well. Among them, the examiners were most impressed by Ada.

Ada showed the examiners what standards and norms are. Although Ada has her own casting habits and she does not have to follow the standard wand movements, it does not mean that she has completely forgotten the standard movements.

Except for Herbology, Ada performed amazingly in all practical exams. The examiner, Griselda Marchbank, gave her a very high evaluation, saying that Ada's performance reminded her of Dumbledore. When the old lady said this, her dentures almost flew out of her chest.

When the two-week level test was over, everyone realized that everyone around them had lost a lot of weight. Happiness returned to Hogwarts. No need to face exams, no need to worry about grades for the time being, everyone was laughing and singing.

In the ocean of joy, Harry, Ron and Hermione were not happy at all. They saw Cornelius Fudge on the playground.

The Minister was wearing a pinstriped cloak, and a fierce-looking man followed behind him. Today was Buckbeak's last appeal, but the Minister showed up at Hogwarts with the executioner. The appeal ended before it even began.

After the Minister said a few words of concern to Harry, he took the executioner and members of the Dangerous Creatures Disposal Committee to Hagrid's hut.

Although they were very angry, Harry, Ron and Hermione could do nothing. They could not change the minister's decision or the outcome of the trial.

When the three dejected people didn't know what to do, they happened to see Ada and three others walking out of the castle and moving towards Hagrid's hut.

When Ada came closer, the three of them found that Ada's left arm was covered with thick plaster and bandages. Harry and the other two could swear to God that Ada's left arm was fine at noon, how could it be injured after not seeing her for a while?

Hermione also discovered that the tall man next to Ada was someone she had seen before. He seemed to be Ada's cousin. Why did he come to Hogwarts? Was he here to care about his cousin?
Confused, Harry, Ron and Hermione followed the Minister and his party, as well as Ada and her cousin, all the way to Hagrid's hut.

At this time, Dumbledore and Hagrid were standing in the open space outside the cottage. There were a lot of huge pumpkins growing on the ground. Buckbeak, the hippogriff, was tied in the middle of the pumpkins.

Dumbledore warmly welcomed Fudge's arrival and introduced to Fudge the extra-large pumpkin grown by Hagrid.

Hagrid's face was full of reluctance and anger. The final appeal had not yet come to a conclusion, but Fudge had already brought the executioner McNeill to Hogwarts. They were ready to execute Buckbeak.

"What a nice day," Fudge said, looking at the Hippogriff not far away. "What a pity...what a pity..."

These words were like rubbing salt into Hagrid's wounds. The eleven-foot-tall half-giant acted as aggrieved as a child, but Fudge still refused to give up.

He continued, "As you know, Albus, the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures requires that a witness be present at the execution of a crazed Hippogriff. I was just coming to pay my respects to Black when I was asked to leave."

"It's not time yet," Dumbledore said leisurely, "Come, I'll introduce you to some other interesting things!"

Hagrid wanted to say something but didn't know how to express it. At this time, Ada and her group also arrived at the cabin. The tall Henry Rosier first looked at Hagrid in surprise, and then looked at Dumbledore and Fudge.

"Mr. Minister, Mr. Principal, please allow me to introduce myself. I am Henry from the French Ministry of Magic..."

"The French Ministry of Magic?" Fudge interrupted. "What are you doing here? If you have any official business to discuss, you should go to London."

Dumbledore did not speak, but looked across the crowd at Ada, who responded by slightly raising her bandaged and plastered left arm. With just this one subtle movement, Dumbledore confirmed his guess - reinforcements.

"It's like this, sir. We were originally going to London, but the people there told us that it would be better for us to come here." Henry explained. He looked so serious now that he really looked like a bureaucrat.

Another person who came with Henry took out two documents from his briefcase and handed them to Fudge. After seeing Fudge open the documents, Henry continued, "We want to extradite a hippogriff. I hope the minister can agree to our request."

Fudge frowned as he flipped through the document. This document was completely reasonable and legal, but they made such a big fuss just to extradite the Hippogriff. What did they mean by this?
Thanks to book friend Luoyue Ruzheng for the reward, thanks to book friend Futu Xuan for the reward, thanks to book friend Toronto Xiaowulang for the reward, thanks to book friend Ye Dan for the reward
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(End of this chapter)