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Time flowed like the silent waters of the Black Lake, slowly drifting toward late June amidst coursework, Quidditch, the occasional "minor accidents," and the faint anticipation of the long holiday.
The sky over the Scottish Highlands finally shook off weeks of continuous rain, revealing bright sunshine, but the atmosphere inside Hogwarts Castle grew tense in stark contrast—final exam week had arrived.
The library was packed, and the usual playfulness in the common rooms was replaced by countless figures with furrowed brows, clutching their textbooks.
On this day, it was time for the Defense Against the Dark Arts practical exam.
The corridor outside the classroom was crowded with third-year Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw students waiting in line.
Finally, the classroom door opened from the inside.
Professor Lupin stepped out and stood at the front of the line. His gaze slowly swept across the faces, which were either nervous or expectant, and he cleared his throat.
"Ahem—quiet, everyone."
The commotion in the corridor died down immediately.
He carefully confirmed the number of students before speaking: "The content of this school year's Defense Against the Dark Arts practical exam is inside this classroom. The rules are simple: do your best and demonstrate the knowledge and coping skills you've learned this semester."
He paused, his tone slowing with a clear sense of reassurance. "Remember, safety first. If you feel you truly cannot handle it, you may choose to give up; there is no shame in that. I will grade you based on your process and performance during your attempt. So relax and treat it as a special practical lesson."
These considerate words allowed many students to quietly breathe sighs of relief.
"Alright," Professor Lupin stepped aside from the doorway, "now, line up, maintain order, and come in one by one."
After saying this, he took the lead and turned back into the classroom. The door closed gently behind him, sealing off the scene inside.
The students looked at each other, exchanging glances. Who would go first? During this brief hesitation and mutual shrugging of responsibility through their eyes, the crowd shifted—
Lynn looked back and found that he had been "humbly yielded" to the very front of the line, facing the tightly closed classroom door.
The classmates behind him tacitly maintained a small distance, their gazes falling squarely on his back.
Lynn: "...?"
He turned around to look at the students behind him, his face filled with speechlessness. "Seriously, is this necessary?"
"Go for it, Lynn! Get us off to a good start!" shouted a Hufflepuff boy who was usually quite active.
"We believe in you; you're the one who won a Special Contribution Award!" another girl whispered in agreement.
"Good luck!" More people joined in with a chorus of cheers that were practically meaningless but impressively synchronized.
Lynn's mouth twitched, feeling that these guys simply wanted to watch the show. He shook his head, raised his hand, and knocked three times—neither too lightly nor too heavily.
Knock! Knock knock!
"Professor, I'm coming in," he called loudly.
There was a moment of silence inside. Just as Lynn suspected Lupin might not have heard and was preparing to knock again, Lupin's voice came from within.
"Come in."
Lynn pushed the door open and entered, closing it behind him.
The originally neat rows of desks and chairs had been cleared away, leaving a large open space in the center of the classroom.
Along one wall of the classroom stood over a dozen large picture frames, each painting looking like an independent window.
The paintings did not contain static landscapes or portraits, but rather lifelike magical creatures:
Blood-stained Red Caps, Horned Grindylows, Gnomes sticking their butts out while causing trouble in a vegetable garden, Ghouls floating in the air... and so on.
It covered almost all the common dark or troublesome creatures they had studied in theory this semester.
Lupin stood beside these portraits. He signaled for Lynn to approach and then explained:
"The exam content is as follows: choose one of the creatures represented by these portraits. Then, enter the simulated environment corresponding to the portrait and 'defeat' it, or at least successfully deal with the threat it poses. I will grade you based on your choice, strategy, use of spells, and final result."
He explained some precautions in detail, such as how the inside of the portraits were special spaces imbued with powerful protective magic that could simulate the characteristics and environments of the creatures while controlling damage to a certain extent, making it basically safe.
Finally, Professor Lupin's tone became a bit subtle. He cleared his throat and added, "...Um, try not to cause excessive, irreversible damage to them. After all, the students following you still need to use them."
As he said this, his gaze seemed to inadvertently sweep across Lynn's face.
Hearing this, Lynn immediately felt that his image had suffered a serious and unjust insult.
His eyes widened, and his voice was full of misunderstood "grievance": "Professor! Am I that kind of person?! I have always loved magical creatures and advocated for peaceful coexistence... (omitting several boasts)... How could you think that?!"
Professor Lupin looked at him expressionlessly.
He thought to himself: 'If Dumbledore hadn't "unintentionally" mentioned during a chat last time that a certain student habitually chooses "thorough purification" when dealing with "sensitive magical items," I might have believed your innocent act.'
Of course, he would never say those words out loud.
Seeing that the Professor just stared at him silently without responding, Lynn tactfully dropped the act.
He turned his gaze back to the row of portraits, scanning them quickly. Red Cap? Too weak. Grindylow? Troublesome in the water. Gnome? No challenge at all. Ghoul? Disgusting...
His gaze finally landed on a frame in the corner depicting an old-fashioned wardrobe—a Boggart.
Last time in class, that Boggart had hidden in the cabinet and refused to come out, making him miss the chance to see his "greatest fear," which he had been somewhat brooding over.
This time, in a controlled exam environment, it was the perfect opportunity to try.
"Professor, I choose the Boggart." Lynn pointed at the portrait and made his decision.
Professor Lupin nodded.
He waved his wand, and the edges of the portrait depicting the wardrobe lit up with a faint glow as the portal activated.
Following Lupin's instructions, Lynn walked up to the portrait and deactivated the [Absolute Evasion] effect.
Once prepared, he stepped into the portrait.
The surrounding scenery shifted.
In the center of the room stood that familiar large wardrobe.
Facing the wardrobe, Lynn was curious: What would the Boggart turn into?
Creak—
The wardrobe door was pushed open from the inside.
A cloud of black mist suddenly surged from the depths of the wardrobe, instantly filling the area. As the black mist dissipated, the scene before him caused Lynn's pupils to shrink suddenly.
On the floor lay three lifeless "corpses."
They were Edgar, William, and Ollie.
Their faces were deathly pale, their eyes tightly shut. They were wearing Hogwarts school robes, but the robes were stained with what looked like blood and dust, and they were sprawled on the ground in various unnatural positions, motionless.
The scene was terrifyingly realistic; even the few freckles on Edgar's face, William's glasses that had slid to the side, and Ollie's slightly furrowed brow were clearly visible.
Even though he knew it was fake—that it was the Boggart's transformation—the visual and psychological impact at that moment was direct and violent.
A surge of rage flared up from the depths of Lynn's heart, rushing straight to his head.
Lynn waved his wand. "Ridicu... Ridicu... Dammit! F*ck!"
Whoosh—!
Fiendfyre ignited out of thin air around him, instantly sweeping through the entire portrait space. The flames mercilessly engulfed the three realistic "corpses" and the old wardrobe behind them.
The fire came quickly and vanished just as fast.
Once the flames dissipated, let alone the Boggart and the wardrobe—even the floor seemed to have been scorched smooth. It was as clean as if it had been treated with the most thorough cleaning charm—the destructive kind.
Outside the classroom, the waiting students seemed to faintly hear a muffled sound, and then everything returned to silence.
Outside the portrait, Lupin, who had been observing the internal situation: "..."
He looked silently at Lynn, who had a look of "that felt better" on his face, and at the excessively clean space, falling into several seconds of speechless silence.
Then, expressionlessly, he picked up his quill and decisively drew a large "O" on Lynn's report card.
But business was business.
"Because Lynn used excessive force and destroyed teaching equipment during the exam, ten points from Hufflepuff."
Lupin put away his quill and looked at the empty portrait, sighing inwardly. He was already starting to think about how to explain to the next students that the "Boggart option is temporarily closed."