Chapter 32
The day after their discussion in the library, Harry and Ron received a notification about their upcoming exams.
That evening, Albert and Hermione were practicing the Disapparition spell at the table. Albert was patiently helping Hermione, offering tips to help her master the charm perfectly.
Suddenly, Harry and Ron burst in, still catching their breath from running. Before they could settle, they began recounting their encounter in the Forbidden Forest earlier that night.
They had indeed come face-to-face with Voldemort, who was draining blood. But since no one caused any trouble this time, Harry and the others met the unicorn slightly earlier than in the original book. Although the unicorn had been seriously wounded, it was still alive and now recovering in the centaur tribe. Moreover, the centaurs had delivered a grim prophecy.
"The centaur prophecy said Voldemort would return," Harry said, a trace of excitement in his voice. "They saw it all in the stars. I thought Snape just wanted the Sorcerer's Stone for wealth, but it turns out he planned to give it to Voldemort in the Forbidden Forest to help him come back."
"Please, don't say that name," Ron muttered, trembling.
But Harry continued passionately, "Once Voldemort gets the Sorcerer's Stone and storms the castle to kill me, that prophecy will come true completely."
"Harry!" Albert raised his voice, cutting Harry off. "As far as I know, all prophecies are vague and open to many interpretations. You shouldn't be so sure about any clear answer, especially since Dumbledore is here at the castle. I don't think anyone can just rush in and kill you. There's a test in less than a week, and right now, the most important thing is to get to bed early and be in good shape tomorrow. Worrying won't help."
Together, they climbed the stairs and headed back to the dormitory to rest.
Time wouldn't slow down just because someone was anxious about Voldemort's moves. As the week went by, Albert's final exams for his first year at Hogwarts began.
Exams were among the most annoying and frightening parts of a student's life—but they were also an inseparable part of it. This had always been true, everywhere. Even at a magical school like Hogwarts, it was no different.
Fortunately, Albert came from a country where exams were frequent and rigorous in his past life. This kind of review before first-year exams at Hogwarts was simply easy compared to the weekly and monthly tests he had taken while preparing for high school entrance exams before.
So, when he sat in the exam hall with a fresh quill—after a charm was cast on it to prevent cheating—he felt confident.
The biggest difference between Hogwarts exams and regular ones was the inclusion of practical magical tests.
Each professor had different requirements. For example, Professor Flitwick asked them to enter the classroom one by one and perform a musical dance on the desk. When Albert read about this in the book, he always wondered: what role did this musical dance have in the annual exam?
Next came the Transfiguration exam. Albert watched Professor McGonagall as students transformed a mouse into a shiny, gleaming cup. The more beautiful the cup, the higher the score; if mouse hairs remained on the cup, points would be deducted.
Albert took a plain dark brown mouse and cast his spell. Within two minutes, the living, moving mouse transformed into a large, sparkling cup—far from a small one. Professor McGonagall nodded approvingly, clearly pleased by Albert's work since he was the fastest to complete the task.
In the underground Potions classroom, Albert brewed the Forgetfulness Potion following the instructions carefully. Luckily, Harry distracted Snape completely; otherwise, the professor's piercing gaze from behind would have unnerved him and caused trouble.
Harry seemed to be having a rough few days, suffering from the same pre-exam anxiety Neville often showed. But overall, everyone was fine, and the review sessions had been thorough and serious. At least Ron and Hermione felt confident heading into the exam room.
The last subject was History of Magic. As long as they spent another hour answering questions like who invented the Self-Stirring Cauldron, they would be free—and could relax and play for a full week until the results were announced.
When Professor Binns's ghost told them to put down their quills and wrap up their exam scripts, Albert couldn't help but cheer quietly with the other students.
"This is much easier than I thought at first," Hermione said as they followed the crowd out into the sunny grounds. "I didn't really need to memorize the 'Werewolf Code of 1637' and the story of the Goblin Rebellion."
"I told you during review, but you didn't believe me," Albert said. "Those events involved complex political and historical games that affected the power structure of the wizarding world today. Such complex questions wouldn't be used to test first-year students."
Hermione kept reviewing the exam content repeatedly, reminding Albert of the anxiety he once felt facing top students in his previous life. Finally, she quieted down after Albert's persistent urging.
They slowly walked down a gentle slope and collapsed under a tree by the lake. There, a giant squid lay basking in the shallow warm water while the Weasley twins and Lee Jordan gently played with its tentacles.
"I never understood why a squid would live in a freshwater lake like this. What do you think?" Hermione nudged Albert with her elbow.
"Maybe because it has magical creature blood, like a Kraken or something. But to be honest, every time I see this, I think of fried squid. I guess such a big squid must be very old, and the only thing you can do is cut it into pieces and make meatballs."
"Oh, I remember. The squid meatballs we had at the school restaurant last time were really delicious."
As Albert and Hermione exchanged thoughts, Harry suddenly sounded troubled, "My scar's hurting. It's hurt before, but not as often as now."
"You should go to the hospital and see what's wrong," Hermione suggested.
"I'm not sick," Harry replied. "I think it's a warning that danger is coming."
"But Professor Dumbledore is here, and Hagrid wouldn't betray him. No one can get past the big dog-guardian, Fluffy. So there's no need to worry. Maybe your scar is hurting because you're just too nervous."
"That's true," Hermione convinced him. "You stayed up last night reviewing Disapparition notes, then suddenly remembered we already passed the exam."
Harry sat silently, as if deep in thought. Suddenly, Albert and the others jumped up, worried about Harry's condition, and ran with him toward the castle.
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