After the Astronomy exam, the students were somewhat exhausted.

However, most of the young witches and wizards, upon returning to their respective common rooms, didn't immediately collapse into bed for a good rest. Instead, they seized the last bit of time to review their Potions and Herbology notes.

The Potions exam was scheduled for the next day, with Professor Snape as the invigilator, and...

"Elena? You're an invigilator?"

Hannah Abbott stared wide-eyed, incredulously looking at the silver-haired little witch standing next to her cauldron.

Just that morning, the two of them had been sitting side-by-side, completing the Potions written exam. Who would have thought that after only a lunch break, when they reappeared in the Potions classroom, Elena had become an examiner.

"I've been assisting with Potions practicals for all grades as a teaching assistant this semester. Professor Snape thought it would be better for me to help share the load rather than waste potion ingredients..."

"Miss Abbott! Please refrain from conversing with the invigilators!"

Before Elena could finish her sentence, Snape's voice, permeating through the mist filling the classroom, drifted over.

"Also, may a certain invigilator pay attention! The Forgetfulness Potion hasn't been brewed successfully yet. I trust you haven't forgotten the instructions I gave before the exam so quickly... Recording the potion-making procedure doesn't require speaking, does it?"

"Alright, alright."

Elena nodded rather helplessly, casually corrected the order of potion ingredients that Hannah had placed on the table, ready to go into the cauldron, and gave the little iron lady an encouraging wink, before continuing to walk around the classroom.

This afternoon's Potions practical was arguably the most relaxed exam for the young witches and wizards.

Everyone had to memorize the "Potions Operating Regulations" and the "Self-Inspection Management Regulations," which gave these little guys an incredibly solid foundation in practical skills. Even Neville Longbottom, who was slightly clumsy, rarely made any major mistakes anymore.

On the other hand, compared to the older students who had been intimidated by Severus Snape's cold demeanor, this batch of young wizards and witches had always held the outwardly cold but inwardly warm Potions professor in high regard, completely unaffected by external opinions.

After all, besides Snape, no other professor would take them on field trips to the edge of the Forbidden Forest during class. Nor would any professor actively brew borscht and bake cheese snails in class to teach students... although Snape repeatedly emphasized that this was only to prevent these little dunderheads from wasting potions or brewing poisons.

"Look at your knife when slicing valerian root, not the cauldron."

Snape stood behind Harry, pretending to record the boy's operating procedure. His thin lips barely moved as he said, almost whispering in his usual disdainful tone, "Look away for a few seconds. The water in the pot won't disappear. I don't want to fish a finger out of the cauldron later... Relax a bit, just like you usually do –"

Because of Elena's presence, Harry Potter was clearly putting more effort into Potions.

At first, he was just trying to find information about his mother, but as he performed well in Potions, it quickly became a positive cycle. Learning is like that: when someone is interested, they also possess talent.

On the other hand, when facing Lily's child, especially one who showed considerable potion-making talent, Severus Snape's initial resistance evolved into a complex emotion.

After two semesters together, although Snape still wouldn't talk about anything related to James Potter, he proactively told Harry many stories about Lily when tutoring him in Potions in private.

Over time, Harry naturally respected and grew closer to his mother's childhood sweetheart, now his Potions professor and Head of Slytherin. Rumors were unreliable; he only believed what he saw and felt.

Even in the early days, when Snape occasionally made sarcastic remarks, Harry didn't care at all – according to Elena, that was only because Professor Snape had higher expectations of him than others.

Having experienced neglect in the Dursley family, Harry Potter particularly cherished the feeling of being cared for now. He felt a sense of inexplicable peace whenever Professor Snape was around.

Therefore, Harry had long decided to perform well in the Potions exam and not disappoint Snape.

By the end of the exam, Harry had successfully become the first wizard to complete the Forgetfulness Potion, surpassing Hermione Granger, who was universally acknowledged as the second-best in the class, in both completion and speed.

Judging from Snape's expression, everyone else besides Harry would most likely get an "e" (Acceptable) at best.

This made the little beaver unhappy again, and she ate several ice creams for dinner to vent her frustration.

However, the following exams completely became the stage for Elena and Hermione.

Herbology was tested on Wednesday morning.

Elena naturally maintained her advantage in theoretical knowledge, thanks to the vast original question bank, and like all the previous subjects, she completed all the exam papers for the four grades in one exam period.

Hermione Granger also showed no weakness, perfectly finishing the dual tests for the first and second grades.

As for the practical competition in the greenhouse, it ended with the physically strong Elena winning slightly, but surprisingly, Neville Longbottom and Hannah Abbott almost squeezed into the top two positions.

History of Magic was scheduled for Wednesday afternoon.

Having participated in the compilation of "Hogwarts History," Hermione Granger obviously had the strength to clash head-on with Elena in terms of memory of this content – and that was indeed the case.

Unlike her previous retreat, Hermione chose to take on the challenge of completing the exam papers for all four grades in this course, just like Elena, instead of her original plan of only taking the first and second grade papers.

As she finished the last major question, "How was the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy violated in 1749, and what measures were taken to prevent such incidents from happening again?" Hermione put down her quill, quickly scanned the four papers, confirmed that there were no omissions, and then quickly raised her hand.

"Professor Binns, I'm done!"

At this time, Elena, sitting to her right, was still buried in her exam paper, diligently completing her third-year History of Magic paper, and the hourglass at the front of the examination room, used to time the exam, still had a little more than a third of the time remaining.

Looking at Elena's slightly trembling silver hair, Hermione breathed a long sigh of satisfaction.

Finally...

She had defeated Elena Caslana head-on for the first time...

The gap between the two was not as big as she had imagined...

"Tsk,果然是计算姬,简直就是作弊嘛！" (Tsk, as expected, it's a calculating machine, it's simply cheating!)

Casting a glance at Hermione, who was radiant, Elena couldn't help but twitch her lips. So much time and so many events, normal people would at least need a recall process, while this little girl next to her directly read the question and completed the output.

Most importantly, thanks to the previous high-intensity transcription of documents, Hermione Granger's hand speed was obviously faster than hers, and if nothing went wrong, this little girl's answers would probably be more accurate than hers.

As Professor Binns' ghost told them to put down their quills and roll up the parchment with their answers, Elena shrugged.

"Okay, you win this subject."

"There's one last course, Defense Against the Dark Arts. I can't beat you there."

Hermione shook her head gently, without much excitement.

Compared to other subjects, her performance in Defense Against the Dark Arts, which emphasized practical magic, had never been outstanding, and if it involved theoretical exams, with four papers against two, she had no chance of winning.

Elena glanced at Hermione, scratched her cheek, and said calmly.

"Oh, that course... I didn't sign up for the skipping-grade test."

"Huh? Aren't you the best at Defense Against the Dark Arts? I remember Professor Apocalyps valued you very much."

Hermione looked at Elena in surprise, asking with a face full of incomprehension, "Even Astronomy, which you dislike the most, you signed up for the written exams for all four grades. Why Defense Against the Dark Arts..."

"Well... it's just that I didn't sign up... If you pass two grades, you win."

Faced with Hermione's question, the mixed-blooded little Veela's expression stiffened, and she waved her hand somewhat awkwardly, not intending to explain too much – such a course with different questions every year was too difficult for her.

Although the question setter was now Grindelwald, if she went directly to Grindelwald to leak the questions, Dumbledore would definitely know that same night, so taking the exam would be equivalent to taking it for nothing, and she would not be recognized by the school.

On the other hand, Elena really didn't think much of the Dark Arts defense knowledge taught by the previous professors.

Compared to how to effectively defend against Dark magic, she was actually more interested in how to effectively counter those righteous people who tried to hinder the Dark Lord's actions, and the textbooks and past exam questions did not write about this aspect.

Of course, there was another more important reason – she had a more important task in the exam for this course.

Thursday morning, after the Defense Against the Dark Arts written exam ended.

With only one practical exam left, the little wizards and witches were obviously very excited. After waving their wands a few times to complete Professor Apocalyps' final assessment, they would be free, and they could easily play for more than a week until the exam results were announced.

Many first-year students had already begun to imagine how to indulge themselves for the next week, how to happily watch the older students taking the O.W.L. exams, or those older students who had not yet completed their exams.

In this pleasant and relaxed atmosphere, Otto Apocalyps, the professor in charge of the Defense Against the Dark Arts course, led the young wizards and witches to the corridor on the right side of the fourth floor of the castle, the corridor that was forbidden to enter.

"Professor, this is off-limits..."

Hermione raised her hand timidly, looking at the old wizard in front of her.

"Oh, that's right. But that was a few months ago, but not anymore now."

Grindelwald explained with a smile, casually pointing to the dark corridor behind him, his eyes shining.

"The practical exams for Defense Against the Dark Arts throughout the school are all the same. In groups of three, go through this corridor and try to reach the room at the end as far as possible – don't worry, the content and difficulty of the assessment will be different for different grades."

"At the same time, depending on your performance, you will also earn certain points for your respective colleges."

"Next, I will explain the rules in detail, as for Elena, you go and prepare first..."

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Chapter Two, Oh my!!!

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