Chapter 71. End of Semester
The day of the final exams.
The first exam was in Charms. Professor Flitwick watched as each student went in and out of the classroom. Only after Lynn entered was he informed of the exam's content.
A pile of shattered glass shards lay before Professor Flitwick. He said to Lynn,
"Use the Repair Charm to fix this cup. I look forward to your performance, Belloc."
Lynn nodded, drawing his wand. He felt no tension during this exam; the Repair Charm, extremely useful in everyday life, was one he had mastered to perfection.
"Reparo!."
He waved his wand at the glass shards.
The shards immediately rose from the table like soldiers receiving a general's command, automatically returning to their original positions before shattering, ultimately forming a complete cup.
Professor Flitwick looked at Lynn's work with satisfaction, praising,
"Perfect! A superb Repair Charm! I'll give you the highest score, Belloc."
"Thank you, Professor." Lynn bowed in gratitude and left the classroom.
The Potions exams that followed were no problem at all.
Not only was Snape the Head of House of Lynn's own house, but the two worked together seamlessly in Potions class.
The fact that Lynn had been helping Snape with his potion supplies since Raphael's accident was enough to earn him a big O on his report card. (His detentions were served in Snape's office.) As for
History of Magic, Professor Binns, while not a great lecturer, made these purely textbook-based exams a piece of cake for Lynn.
In the afternoon, Professor McGonagall was in charge of proctoring two exams.
Since Professor Fawkes had been bedridden at St. Mungo's Hospital for the remaining three months of the semester, Professor McGonagall had been teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts for the rest of the term, and naturally, she was also responsible for proctoring the exams.
For most young wizards, the Transfiguration exam is the hardest to get a good grade on at the end of the year.
This isn't just because Transfiguration is a more difficult spell to master, but mainly because Professor McGonagall is much stricter than the professors of other courses.
Before the exam even started, Professor McGonagall looked at Lynn and said, "Belloc, you've given me quite a bit of trouble this year."
Her tone wasn't accusatory; it sounded more like teasing at this time.
Lynn smiled sheepishly.
"I'm young and didn't know any better. I've caused you trouble this year. Please forgive me in the future."
Professor McGonagall certainly didn't mean to make things difficult for him. She pointed to a beetle on the table and told Lynn about the Transfiguration exam.
"Transform it into a button. The more exquisite the button, the higher your score."
Such Transfiguration was a piece of cake for Lynn. The button he conjured was not only exquisitely designed, but the patterns on it were also clearly visible.
His performance far surpassed his peers, and rightfully, Professor McGonagall gave him the highest score.
After Lynn finished his Transfiguration exam, he didn't leave immediately but instead asked Professor McGonagall some questions about the Animagus.
"Professor, while looking at advanced Transfiguration in the library, I discovered a type of Transfiguration magic called Animagus. This magic includes a type of innate Animagus, the Metamorphmagus. I'm very interested in it. Can it be learned later in life?"
Lynn didn't ask directly what he wanted to know; that would be too obvious.
As a professor, Professor McGonagall was naturally pleased that Lynn still had such a strong interest in Transfiguration after the exam.
"No, any talented wizard can learn Animagus Transfiguration, but the Metamorphmagus is different. You either have it or you don't; it can't be learned later." "
Then, besides changing their appearance, can the Metamorphmagus transform into animals?" Lynn didn't dare try this experiment himself, fearing irreversible consequences.
"No," Professor McGonagall denied. "The Metamorphmagus can only transform within the realm of 'humans.' Forcibly transforming into an animal would have very serious consequences."
Lynn felt a lingering fear; thankfully, he was too timid to experiment.
"Can someone born with the ability to transform into a Metamorphmagus also learn to transform into an Animagus?" Lynn looked at Professor McGonagall expectantly. Of course, he wouldn't be satisfied with just Metamorphmagus; shouldn't he have all the adult forms?
This question was a bit tricky. Professor McGonagall thought for a moment and then shook her head.
"There's never been such a precedent. The probability of someone possessing Metamorphmagus is extremely low, and learning Animagus is incredibly difficult. Therefore, I've never heard of anyone mastering both Transfiguration simultaneously."
Lynn said goodbye to Professor McGonagall with some disappointment. The next exam was the Defense Against the Dark Arts test; they would see each other again soon.
The subsequent exams were uneventful and posed no challenge for Lynn.
After all the exams were over, Hogwarts entered a period of revelry for the young wizards.
Those with good grades
took advantage of the week to relax. Those with poor grades also indulged themselves.
Even Lynn, with nothing else to do, started playing wizard chess with Cedric and Ian by the Black Lake.
Ian and Cedric were both skilled wizard chess players, while Lynn, who had little experience with chess, was a complete novice and was utterly defeated by them.
Eventually, the black and white pieces started making excuses, not wanting Lynn to direct them anymore, which infuriated Lynn so much that he almost smashed them to pieces.
When the results came out, unsurprisingly, Lynn received O's in all his courses. He was the only first-year wizard to get all O's, which earned Snape a lot of face. Coupled with Slytherin's consecutive House Cup victories this year, he became even more assertive in front of the other professors.
Not only that, but the system also gave him a surprise after the results were released:
"Your performance at Hogwarts has been recognized by all the professors. First-year subject talent points +1!" [
Your Dark Arts talent has reached the normal stat cap. The awarded Dark Arts talent points are now free points. If you wish to allocate more points later, please use Legendary Points.]
[You have obtained the title: Slytherin's Top Student]
[Slytherin's Top Student Title Effects: 1. The Head of House will show you double the care!
2. All Slytherin students with lower grades than you, as well as lower-year students from other houses, will show you double the respect!
3. Your learning efficiency will be doubled!
4. There will always be people who suspect you of doing something bad!
Note 1. This title effect only takes effect while it is equipped.
Note 2. This title will disappear when you are no longer the best student in your year.]
At the end of the first year, Lynn's attribute panel is as follows:
[Name: Lynn Belloc]
[Title: Despicable Kidnapper, Newcomer (disappears upon entering the second year), Slytherin's Top Student.] [
Magic Power Index: 4 (Naturally increased by 1 point)]
[Free Points: 2]
[Constitution Points: 3]
[Magical Talents:
Dark Magic 7,
Transfiguration 5,
General Spells 5,
Herbalism 5
, Attack and Defense Spells 5
, Astronomy 5,
Potions 4
, Bloodline Inheritance 2,
Alchemy 2,
Ancient Runes 2,
Divination 0
...]
[Bonus Talent: Metamorphmagus]
[Main Quest: Receive a reward from the corresponding course instructor.]
[Reward: Adaptive magical talent and effects +1.]
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(End of Chapter)