Glenn and Hermione still managed to escape safely. As for Snape turning Hogwarts castle upside down while chasing them—well, that wasn't their problem. In any case, Earth continued orbiting the sun, and time quickly arrived at the next day when they would take their practical exams for various subjects.
"Beautiful Pulverizing Charm casting! I really can't find any fault with it. As always, you both get Outstanding!"
Professor Flitwick excitedly stood up from his seat, using magic to restore the cup that had turned to powder back to its original form. Since he knew Glenn and Hermione's abilities far exceeded ordinary young wizards, he hadn't set any restrictive practical exam—letting the two freely demonstrate their skills. The results were, unsurprisingly, perfect.
Professor McGonagall, sitting beside him, also smiled at Glenn and Hermione, pulling two teapots from under the table and pushing them forward.
"My assignment for you is: transfigure these teapots into small animals."
"Any kind will do. I'll grade you based on how lifelike your transfigured animals are."
"Easy."
Hermione shrugged, then flashed a confident smile. She pointed her wand at the teapot without even intending to speak the incantation aloud.
White light struck the teapot. The brown teapot began spinning on the desktop, the white light dissipated, and the teapot's form shifted, finally becoming a little kitten that was dizzy from spinning too many circles.
The little kitten staggered unsteadily across Professor McGonagall's desk with wobbly cat steps, occasionally letting out adorable little mews. It tumbled over with a plop, its eyes turning into spirals.
Glenn, meanwhile—though Transfiguration was his weak subject—could still manage this level of spellcasting.
Reciting the transfiguration incantation, Glenn pointed his wand. The teapot spun and transformed into a small snake that fell straight onto the desktop. The little snake looked stunned from the fall, lying on the desk for quite a while before dazedly lifting its head, slowly swaying left and right while flicking its tongue, observing what exactly was happening around it.
It looked rather dull and sluggish.
Glenn felt helpless—he'd done his best to reach this level.
But getting an Outstanding shouldn't be a problem.
Professor McGonagall scooped up both little cuties, holding the kitten and snake in her hands while smiling as she observed these two transfigured creatures. Hermione's little cat made dissatisfied sounds, scolding in its sweet little voice while constantly twisting in McGonagall's hand, trying to break free. Glenn's little snake just glanced up at Professor McGonagall once before going still, simply coiling around her finger to take a nap—a pure lazy creature.
"Mm, excellent. You both did very well, especially Hermione. Your transfigured cat can already generate fairly active thoughts and movement commands, which is particularly impressive. Glenn's snake is slightly inferior, but it has the proper form and basic movements, so—you both get Outstanding."
Professor McGonagall placed the cat and snake on the desk. Before Hermione's little cat could escape, the old cat lady pointed with one finger, dispelling the transfiguration charms both had cast on the teapots, returning them to their original appearance and pocketing them.
"Very good. Everything's going smoothly so far."
Hermione felt secretly delighted, the little person in her mind vigorously pumping a small fist to cheer herself on.
"All the other courses are finished. Now there's only one most troublesome course left..."
Hermione stealthily glanced toward Professor McGonagall's right side. There, in that familiar black robe with that familiar sour face, Snape was coldly staring at the young girl and Glenn with his arms crossed and an unpleasant expression.
With two of the final three subjects completed, Glenn stopped thinking about other matters and turned his gaze to Snape, who had been silently glaring at them since they'd entered the room.
"Professor Snape, the Defense Against the Dark Arts practical exam can begin now."
Snape across from them glanced at Glenn sideways and silently stood up. Professor Flitwick and Professor McGonagall in the examiner seats exchanged glances, also standing and beginning to cast magic to clear the classroom's contents while casting Extension Charms on the space to expand the testing area.
Then they each moved chairs to the very edge of the area and settled down comfortably.
That's right—they planned to observe while preventing the situation from becoming uncontrollable.
At that moment, the space beside them fluctuated greatly, and Dumbledore's figure gradually materialized nearby. He snapped his fingers, conjuring a chair for himself, then conjured a long table. With a clap of his hands, a fruit platter and three teacups filled with tea appeared on the table.
"Albus, is this really alright? Severus is emanating a very dangerous aura. He definitely won't hold back now."
Professor McGonagall picked up a teacup from the table, took a sip, and spoke to Dumbledore with some concern.
"Minerva, you must trust those two children, and of course, trust Severus as well. They know what's appropriate and what isn't."
Hearing this, Professor McGonagall said no more, quietly watching the three people on the platform, waiting for the exam to begin.
"That's right, Minerva. You should have confidence in Glenn and Hermione. You know, that young girl Hermione single-handedly took down Peter Pettigrew not long ago. Good heavens, I can hardly believe it—she's only a third-year!"
Professor Flitwick touched the wand in his hand, looking at the two young wizards warming up on the platform with such sentiment.
"What was I doing in third year? I was still a novice at dueling back then!"
"And I'm very curious about Glenn's current strength. Severus has given me this perfect opportunity to observe. I'll definitely have to buy him a drink afterward."
Dumbledore listened to the conversation between the two professors beside him and couldn't help but smile.
He was equally looking forward to this duel.
..................................
On the platform, Glenn finished warming up and began pulling out weapons.
Snape had just said they should use their full strength. Except for the three Unforgivable Curses, which they wouldn't use, Snape himself would no longer hold back either.
Well, first his magically modified M500 revolver, then Hermione's...
"What are you doing? Put that away."
Snape's eye twitched as he finally spoke, interrupting Glenn's actions.
"The exam doesn't allow you to use things unrelated to the test."
"What about daggers?"
"...What do you think?"
"Acceptable."
"No, put it away."
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
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