Even though students prayed repeatedly, they couldn't stop the arrival of June.
This also meant the arrival of exam month.
Regular students' exams would be scheduled first, and once they were done, the O.W.L. and N.E.W.T. students would take their exams.
Fortunately, the latter two exams were managed by the Wizarding Examinations Authority, which meant that Tewell only needed to invigilate the remaining five grades.
However, according to Professor Flitwick's complaints, many young wizards attempted cheating during exams every year, with various tricks being used.
Particularly notorious were the self-answering quills; the confiscated ones could cover an entire headmaster's desk! The professors' response was simple: they prepared anti-cheating quills in advance.
But for Tewell, there was a permanent solution to deal with the students—Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom.
Thanks to the spacious classroom, Tewell could test an entire grade at once.
With a wave of his wand, little imps appeared above the heads of the third-year students.
No need to worry; this time it was his magic at work, so the students wouldn't be exhausted during the exam.
"As you can see, when you came in, I didn't conduct any checks on you, but—"
He sharply scanned the group of subtly excited students.
"The imps above your heads are your individual invigilators. If caught cheating, not only will your scores for this course be cancelled,"
he paused, his gaze piercing, "I will also permanently bar you from my advanced classes, even if you score full marks in the O.W.L.s!"
"Honestly facing your own inner self, this is the first thing I learned at Durmstrang," he continued. "I believe Hogwarts students can manage at least this much, right?"
Tewell wasn't exaggerating; understanding one's inner self was indeed fundamental in learning Dark Arts, to resist temptation.
But to the students' ears, this exam instantly turned into a contest between two schools, and not cheating became the key to school honor!
The Weasley twins exchanged a glance, realizing that if they still wanted to attend the advanced classes, they had to take action!
So they quickly rummaged through their pockets:
A bunch of cheating quills;
Notes written on their robes with invisible ink;
Parchment that displayed the correct answers;
...
Tewell watched in astonishment as the students pulled out one cheating tool after another, even some girls lifted their skirts to clean off the marks on their thighs.
If he didn't check, would these students' cheating methods reach the sky?!
Tewell collected these items one by one, summoning an hourglass with annoyance.
"Exam time is two hours," he distributed the papers to the students, "No whispering, no looking around—yes, I mean you two Weasleys!"
"No early submissions allowed; once you're done, stay quietly in your seats. Now, let the exam begin!"
...
Monitoring the theoretical exam was simple; with the imps' help, Tewell only needed to sit at the lectern and read. However, after two hours, he stood up promptly.
"Exam's over; everyone stop writing."
Amidst the students' groans, all the papers were neatly placed on the lectern.
"Good Lord, I forgot about the compatibility of the general unlocking charm with the weather hex!"
"Is it the Tarantallegra Dance or the Tarentallegra Dance? I hesitated for so long and still wasn't sure."
"I think I've been hit with the Memory Charm; I didn't even write down the aftermath of the spell."
"Heh."
The true underachievers watched the top students complain, wishing they could escape the classroom immediately if it weren't for the upcoming practical exam.
"Alright, first up are the Ravenclaw and Gryffindor houses, grab your wands, yes, just your wands," Tewell directed the students methodically.
"The rest of you, stay seated and wait. Once they're done, it'll be your turn."
He partitioned the seats and the classroom floor with golden membranes, but this time the membranes were much thicker, not only blocking sight but also sound.
However, when the students saw these membranes, they immediately sensed something was wrong, especially as the ground began to soften, their expressions changing with the professor's words.
"Do you all remember the last thing I said during our first class together?"
Davis remembered vividly and promptly replied, "Come back for another round of combat in a year, to test everyone's progress?"
"Correct," Tewell nodded with a smile, but to the students, that smile seemed much more ominous.
A year ago, they had ambitions to showcase their strengths before Professor Fawley at the end of the school year.
But now, a year later, they had only one thought in mind—"Professor, go easy on us!"
Tewell laid his wand across his chest.
"Same as last time, it's me against all of you, but please use all your strength. Don't give up until you've exhausted all your magic." "Otherwise, I will mercilessly fail you in this practical exam!"
"Professor, but we can never beat you with our abilities!" George cried out, feigning innocence.
"Don't worry, your grades won't be based on defeating me. See those imps above your heads? They'll record your performance, and then I'll grade you accordingly."
"So, don't—"
"Faint!"
Just like the first class, Davis attacked Tewell preemptively again.
"Professor, how did I do?" he asked proudly, raising his wand but also ready to dodge Tewell's counterattack.
However, Tewell dodged the spell with a slight tilt of his head. "Not bad, but your aim could be better with some more practice."
This time, as Tewell waved his wand, Davis looked down only to realize the rope was gone.
Just as he wondered, a bundle of rope extended from the ceiling, tightly binding him.
"And don't rely on fixed thinking patterns to measure magic; even pigs learn to adapt when faced with traps. Your thinking surely isn't that rigid, right?"
Since it was an exam, Tewell didn't hoist him up but allowed the twins to untie him.
"You'll have many chances in this battle. The only way it ends is if none of you can lift your wands."
"So, let the exam officially begin!"
Hearing this, the students breathed a slight sigh of relief.
If it was like last time, even after a year of training, they wouldn't stand a chance against the professor.
Just one pressure spell was enough to render them helpless!
But this time, they could keep returning to the team, so their performance should be better than last time, right?