The events that took place in the dungeons with Harry and the others somehow spread like wildfire throughout the school, causing a massive uproar.
Everyone quickly learned that two remarkable first-year students had successfully thwarted Professor Quirrell's plot to steal Dumbledore's secret treasure.
For a while, the school was abuzz with discussions. However, many people were puzzled as to why a Slytherin would team up with two Gryffindors to go on an adventure.
Then, more details emerged: before their mission, the young wizards hadn't known who was after the treasure. Daphne had entered the dungeons voluntarily to clear Professor Snape's name. In the end, she was recognized by an ancient wizard's artifact from a mirror, and with this artifact, she defeated the villainous Quirrell.
Daphne's reputation within Slytherin skyrocketed instantly: of noble birth, wielding mysterious magic, and boldly facing dangers to defend the honor of her House, she had also gained the loyalty of a rare magical creature. This was the epitome of what Slytherin students admired.
In no time, Daphne's reputation rivaled that of Harry Potter when he first entered school, before he was "demystified."
To be honest, even if Slytherin students themselves had to choose a villain between Quirrell and Snape, they would pick Snape. Quirrell simply lacked the aura of a proper antagonist—he was too much of a nobody.
The story of Daphne and her companions' adventure in the dungeons helped to lift the cloud of anxiety that had been hanging over the school due to the looming threat of final exams.
However, it couldn't prevent the exams from arriving.
After the initial excitement, the students had to return to their dull notes and prepare for the upcoming tests. But this time, they finally had a story to comfort themselves with during study breaks.
While the young wizards at Hogwarts were busy preparing for their final exams, Rhys was not idle either. On the surface, it seemed he was in a coma, lying unconscious in the hospital wing long after Harry and Ron, who had been admitted later, had already recovered and been discharged.
In reality, that was Rhys' simple illusion clone while Rhys was spending his days immersed in his secret chamber, studying the Philosopher's Stone he had obtained and brewing various potions.
In his efforts to treat the crazy Ravenclaw, he had concocted over a hundred different potions and had even collected a key ingredient for her treatment.
It wasn't until the morning after the final exams had ended that Rhys, who had appeared to be in a deep coma, finally woke up.
The timing was so suspiciously perfect that Professor McGonagall briefly wondered if Rhys had staged the whole thing just to avoid taking the final exams.
However, when Rhys proactively requested to take the make-up exams as soon as possible, her doubts vanished completely, leaving only guilt for having unjustly suspected a good student.
"Don't worry too much; the professors will arrange a make-up exam for you—just don't go drinking any strange potions this time," Professor McGonagall said, uncharacteristically gentle as she offered Rhys a few words of advice before leaving the hospital wing.
Not long after McGonagall left, Daphne walked in carrying a box of sweets.
"I brought you some of your favorite pastries. You finally woke up, but the exams are already over," Daphne said, her suspicion about Rhys never fully dissipating.
However, Rhys's acting had been so convincing that she eventually believed he had genuinely been unconscious—at first, to provide an alibi, and later, due to physical exhaustion from that intense battle.
It was clear that Rhys was unwilling to admit that he was the green-robed wizard from that day, and Daphne tacitly chose not to bring up the subject again.
"Thanks!" Rhys eagerly accepted the basket of sweets from Daphne and rummaged through it to find his favorite treat. After waking up, Rhys had a newfound appreciation for sweets, which he felt would become a lifelong love.
After stuffing a piece of cheesecake into his mouth, Rhys displayed a satisfied expression.
"Professor McGonagall has organized a make-up exam. You'll need to attend it."
"Hmm, the exam shouldn't be too difficult for you... Wait a minute, who did you just say needs to attend?" Rhys swallowed the Basque cheesecake in his mouth, then pointed at Daphne.
"You."
Daphne: "Me?!"
"The Polyjuice Potion we brewed last time should still have some left, right? You can just take the exam for me!" Rhys plucked a few hairs from his pillow and handed them to a bewildered Daphne.
Daphne: "!?"
"The final exam, you take it for me. I have a lot on my plate, and I need to focus my energy on potion-making," Rhys explained, looking at Daphne with hope that she would help him deal with the extremely annoying exams.
It's not that Rhys couldn't take the exam himself, but he felt it would be a waste of time—time that could be better spent on other things rather than on an entire day of exams.
Daphne pouted—her instincts told her that Rhys was planning something big again but had no intention of involving her, which made her quite unhappy.
So Daphne straightforwardly declared: "No way! How could a student take an exam for someone else?"
Ah! It seems like she is a student of honor and strictly adhered to the school rules!
Rhys just looked at her silently.
'Do you think I don't know what kind of person you are?!'
After a few seconds of pretending, Daphne, feeling awkward herself, stopped her performance.
She quickly added that while taking the exam for Rhys wasn't impossible, he would have to include her in his next plans.
Now it was Rhys's turn to feel troubled.
He genuinely didn't want to involve Daphne in treating Ravenclaw because it was extremely dangerous. Treating the current Ravenclaw would be like pulling a tiger's teeth and planting new ones without anesthesia.
However, with some preparation, it might not be impossible.
For Daphne, witnessing this 'treatment' firsthand would be an incredibly valuable experience.
After carefully weighing the pros and cons, Rhys finally decided to agree to Daphne's request.
"I guess I can do that."
"⊹⋛⋋( ՞ਊ ՞)⋌⋚⊹ Really?!" Daphne jumped up with excitement, nearly knocking over Rhys's basket of sweets.
She knew that Rhys had been focusing most of his energy on that matter throughout the semester, and now she finally had the chance to get involved!
And so, when the make-up exam started, "Rhys" walked into the classroom that the professors had set up for him, right on time.
Exams at the magic school generally consist of two parts: a written test and a practical exam.
As "Rhys" stepped into the examination hall, the professors smiled warmly and informed him that he could arrange the order and content of the exams as he liked.
Without hesitation, "Rhys" went straight through the practical exams for Charms, Transfiguration, and Potions all in one go.
After completing the practical exams, "Rhys" received the written test papers from the professors. He then sat down and worked on them for the entire afternoon.
Aside from occasionally sipping 'water' from a flask, he didn't take any breaks, not even to use the restroom.
Unlike the practical exams, which were identical to the final exams, the written tests had different questions—the professors had replaced them with questions from last year's exams.
This presented a challenge for Daphne—ehm*—"Rhys," but it didn't prevent him from achieving exceptionally high scores.
As soon as he finished a paper, the professors would take it and grade it on the spot, so by the time he completed all the exams, his scores were already out.
Rhys was the last to take the exams, but his results were the first to be released.
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Read 12 Chaps ahead of WN—Patreon.com/HornyFBI