A Professor of Magic at Hogwarts

Chapter 570: Examination at the Ministry of Magic

In the assembly hall, the sixth-year students were still undergoing their assessment.

They generally had a good foundation, and typically, they would have started practicing apparition around this time according to the normal yearly schedule. But with the appearance of the Little Lupin, they had advanced by almost half a year. So, when Wilkie Twycross spoke up to inquire, most of the students stood up.

For the Ministry staff, having the students perform apparition themselves was evidently more efficient. They only needed to stand by and record the results. There were a couple of minor incidents during the process, but the students remained relatively calm, mainly because they had already experienced this in their Defense Against the Dark Arts class.

Next up was the assessment for the Patronus charm. The specific steps involved Ministry staff guiding the students in apparition and then checking their physical condition to see if they had a strong adverse reaction.

"This is quite a burden for us," Wilkie Twycross said. "Everyone will take breaks after a few attempts. I have allocated two days for this." But with nearly a thousand students in line, it was a daunting task for the Ministry staff.

"If it wasn't to check on Cedric, I wouldn't endure this," Amos Diggory murmured softly.

After half a day, the Ministry staff were exhausted. The four heads of houses and Felix also stepped in to help, but Felix encountered an issue after just two attempts.

Wilkie Twycross hurried over. "How do you feel?" He observed the student's expression carefully.

"Very good," came the response from Cormac McLaggen, with his coarse, short hair.

"Oh, no," Wilkie Twycross grimaced.

"Why? What's wrong?" McLaggen asked, surprised.

Wilkie Twycross didn't answer immediately. He looked at Felix. "Mr. Harp, your apparition is very... proficient. The movement process is almost discomfort-free, which doesn't align with our testing criteria." He pointed to the side where Amos Diggory was guiding a sixth-year student into a wooden hoop. The girl hadn't even steadied herself before starting to retch.

"Marietta, are you alright?" her companion Cho Chang asked, concerned.

"I... *retch*," Marietta Edgecombe held onto the hoop, retching, causing Mr. Diggory to move away, covering his nose. Except for Autumn, no one seemed willing to get close to her.

"You see, we need that level of reaction to achieve our testing effects," Wilkie Twycross said, his face devoid of any unnecessary expressions, leaving Cormac McLaggen awestruck. "Oh, it's normal when you've seen it a lot; it doesn't seem strange anymore..."

"So, the goal is to evoke strong reactions as much as possible?" Felix asked with interest, while Cormac McLaggen shivered beside him.

"It doesn't necessarily need to be excessively strong..." Wilkie Twycross said, somewhat unnaturally.

By midday, the sixth-year students left the hall excitedly, chatting among themselves. The Ministry staff noted down their names and performances before allowing the fifth-year students to enter. Wilkie Twycross reiterated the instructions and then had the students disperse evenly, waiting for the staff to guide them in apparition.

As the professors maneuvered among the students, arranging them, Ron raised his hand when Wilkie Twycross approached.

Twycross walked over, slender and pale, looking like a gust of wind could knock him over. "What's your question, young man?"

The students belatedly clapped, some members from the front-line observation team cheered loudly for Harry. The crowd gradually quieted down, and Ron saw Wilkie Twycross waving to him. He walked over as Harry returned, squeezing out words through his teeth, "Need Neville

's Ear Muffs to give you a Daydream Charm?"

Ron forced a stiff smile and walked into the hoop. Wilkie Twycross chatted with his colleagues, "This is a Weasley, his brother and father work in the Ministry, you should know—Arthur is a good person; I've seen him a few times in the elevator, always greeted me... His brother is a workaholic; for a while, I thought he was on the night shift..."

Ron wished he could shut him up. He took a few deep breaths, trying to stabilize his emotions, his eyes fixed on the wooden hoop in the distance—"Boom!" He appeared inside.

Ron quickly touched his face. "Did I succeed? Hair intact? Eyebrows too? Fantastic!" He was ecstatic.

Lastly was Hermione. She gracefully performed the spell, appearing precisely at the designated location. The students applauded, and she retreated, blushing, into the crowd.

"Very good," Wilkie Twycross said loudly. "Excellent job, everyone. They displayed their magic excellently, and I'll discuss issuing certificates early with the Ministry... Additionally, as a professional guiding teacher, to prevent any misunderstandings, I must correct something. Their spellcasting actions were not standard."

"What do you mean?" Cormac McLaggen asked. "Did they do it wrong?"

"No, not at all. In fact, they did better," Wilkie Twycross shrugged. "For beginners, the most crucial aspects of apparition are to remember the three Ds: Direction, Determination, and Deliberation... Usually, we use spellcasting actions to plunge into a void."

Twycross finished his explanation and stepped into the nearest wooden hoop. He opened his arms, elegantly twirled in place, vanished amid the swirl of his robe, then reappeared in the hoop on the other side.

"Like this—channel your magic, elegant turn—this is the correct method—"

"Are you kidding me?" Ron exclaimed.

Twycross looked calmly at him, and Ron, intimidated, said, "Uh, sorry."

"No problem," Twycross said. "I'm just curious why you find it odd. Didn't the person who taught you apparition inform you of this spellcasting action?"

Harry, Ron, and Hermione immediately looked at Professor Lupin, who was staring at the ceiling, seemingly suddenly interested in the candle decorations above.

Draco Malfoy, not far away, also wore an astonished expression. He had faced the same confusion during his studies, but the professor hadn't mentioned it. He thought it was an error in the information he had seen...

Professor McGonagall gave Felix a stern look. The situation was quite clear—Felix must have omitted a rather important step, leading Harry and others to learn the magic without knowing the common spellcasting action for beginners. She glanced at Hermione; this student should have known, but the other two...

She pursed her lips and said, "Twycross, can the assessment continue?"

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