On the first Sunday of June, the long-absent Dumbledore finally returned to Hogwarts.
At dinner, he walked into the auditorium with a group of old wizards and witches.
The sudden appearance of these visitors immediately drew the attention of the nearby students.
"Who are they?"
"I guess they're the examiners..."
"I know, that's Professor Marchbank... the most senior employee of the Wizard Examination Board at the Ministry of Magic."
A buzz of discussion rose in the auditorium.
Kael's eyes fell on Dumbledore's hand right away...
Thankfully, although those hands were still dry and wrinkled, looking like straw wrapped in a layer of skin, they hadn't turned black, and there were no odd rings on the fingers.
Kael let out a sigh of relief and then looked at the wizards who came with him.
Professor Tofty, a shaky old wizard who appeared the oldest, yet was actually just a hundred, was considered young among this group. Last year he supervised Kael's exams in Charm and Herbs.
Then there was Professor Marchbank, who didn't look much changed, possibly because the wrinkles on her face were already numerous, like a spider web, making any extra lines undetectable.
However, she seemed in good spirits, chatting and laughing with Dumbledore.
"The journey was quite pleasant. We've visited many times before…" she said loudly, sizing up Dumbledore, "I heard you wanted to compete with Cornelius for Minister, is that true?"
"I think you must have heard wrong." Dumbledore replied, "My only wish is to be a good principal for Hogwarts, and I don't have the energy to take on other jobs now.
"Honestly, just the affairs at school have left me somewhat overwhelmed, sometimes I'm even grateful I withdrew from the International Confederation of Wizards... That decision lets me sleep two extra hours every day."
"Albus, you're still young, you can't always think of lazing around..." Professor Marchbank said disapprovingly.
The expressions around them suddenly became rather intriguing.
While it might be justified considering Professor Marchbank's age of over 130, most people still found it odd to hear, especially after seeing Dumbledore's graying beard, leaving them speechless, unsure what to say.
"You're right." Dumbledore nodded repeatedly, "How about a cup of tea, or perhaps you'd like something to eat?"
"Tea is fine, we've had food on the road…" Professor Marchbank said.
"Alright."
Dumbledore accompanied them to the staff lounge.
The students in the auditorium, however, were in uproar. The presence of Wizard Examination Board officials here brought an inexplicable sense of crisis.
No one rested well this night; everyone tried to seize every moment to revise their lessons, keeping the lights in the common room glowing until dawn.
The next morning, the first exams for fifth and seventh years began.
While having breakfast, Justin clung to a book, muttering to himself, while not far away Susan and Hannah quizzed each other on the contents of "Standard Spells," checking if there were any mistakes.
"What's your test today?" Kael sat down beside Cedric.
"Charm." Cedric replied.
As exams approached, even Cedric seemed very nervous, his jam spread almost thicker than the bread.
"Good luck." After breakfast, Kael patted Cedric's shoulder and went to class.
The sixth-year exams began a week later than fifth and seventh year ones, allowing everyone to finish on the same day.
But to prevent anyone from cheating for the fifth years, professors watched them strictly, marking names thrice per class to ensure no one would leave the classroom.
Especially students like Kael and Conna with excellent grades… throughout the Transfiguration class, Professor McGonagall nearly sat beside them.
After class, some corridors leading to the O.W.L. exam sites were directly blocked off, with lines drawn on the floor by wand. If anyone crossed them, they would be noticed immediately, prompting a response.
In just one morning, three students were punished, each losing twenty points… If it's a sixth-year student, the penalty would be higher, potentially leading to detention.
In the following days, Kael's treatment remained unchanged; each class, professors intentionally came close to him.
To ascertain he wasn't transformed by someone using Polyjuice Potion, they would assign a heap of tasks to check if his charm skills had changed.
"It's obvious they're the ones being tested, yet why do I feel like I'm sitting in the exam hall?" After the last Transfiguration class on Friday, Kael couldn't help muttering.
This week, he had to demonstrate numerous high-level charms every day, going over nearly everything he'd learned before, some even not found in textbooks.
For instance, just now in Transfiguration class, Professor McGonagall had him demonstrate three-stage Transfiguration Magic, which even seventh years hadn't progressed beyond the second stage.
"If I were a professor, I'd do the same." Conna glanced at him seriously, "Preventing you from secretly helping a fifth-year student take the O.W.L.s."
"Who would I even help…" Kael shrugged, "It certainly wouldn't be Harry and Ron; they can't afford my appearance fee."