"Senior Allie, the finish on your work is excellent, and the details are..."
Lucian spoke in a low, friendly voice as he chatted with the Ravenclaw girl.
Meanwhile, the students who had already finished were stealing glances, trying to read Lucian's expressions to gauge their opponents' scores and estimate their own chances of winning. Seeing Lucian smiling and chatting so warmly with her, a wave of unease swept through the room.
Leman, who was also watching, felt a pang of worry. He couldn't help but feel that Professor Shafiq's decision was a bit reckless—just handing over the authority of the examination to a student like that.
Aside from a certain Potions professor who was notoriously "partial" to his own house, most professors at Hogwarts didn't care much about house rivalries—especially Professor Shafiq, who was famous for being laid-back and essentially "quiet quitting" his job.
Normally, the qualifiers would be perfectly fair, based strictly on merit. Whoever was best at Alchemy got the spot.
But Lucian, the temporary examiner, was a student. Leman knew all too well that Slytherin's reputation wasn't exactly stellar among the other houses. If there was any bias...
Leman could accept losing to someone more skilled, but he couldn't stand the thought of losing out on an opportunity because of an examiner's prejudice.
Checking the clock and seeing the three hours were up, Lucian stood and announced, "Time's up. Everyone, please stop what you're doing."
One student who hadn't quite finished looked devastated—he had been so close. A few others, who had finished just in the nick of time, rushed to the podium with their work, though they didn't have much hope. Finishing late usually meant a lower score.
After carefully inspecting the final few projects, Lucian looked over his scoring sheet and finally called out a name:
"Leman Selwyn. Highest score. You've earned the spot for the Tri-School Exchange."
Hearing his name, Leman froze for a second before a wave of pure joy washed over him.
He'd made it! Lucian had officially judged his alchemy to be the best!
Suddenly, a sharp voice cut through the air:
"I object to these results!"
A Slytherin student stood up, his loud voice drawing everyone's attention. "Professor Shafiq didn't leave any specific requirements for the competition. Grafton, how exactly did you grade us? What were the standards? You can't expect us to just take your word for it!"
Lucian raised an eyebrow, but before he could say a word, Leman—still riding the high of his victory—snapped into action. He stood up instantly and barked back:
"Travers! Professor Shafiq personally appointed Grafton to run this exam. You have an objection? Are you questioning the Professor's judgment?"
Leman gave Lucian a confident, reassuring look, then went right back to shutting down his fellow Slytherin.
Bias? Prejudice? Leman thought. Lucian isn't that petty! Can't you see he made a perfectly fair and objective decision?
Watching the "righteous" Leman, Lucian found the whole thing quite amusing. It didn't matter what country or era you were in—people's opinions always changed the moment they benefited from the system. This senior looked all dignified and honest, but he sure was quick to shut down dissent when it favored him.
"Thor Travers," Lucian said, looking down at his clipboard. "The imbalance between the air and earth elements in your Elemental Sphere exceeded 0.8%. And during the refinement of the Lionfish spine powder for your Fire-and-Water-Resistant Cloak, you didn't use the Crystal Extraction method..."
Lucian listed off the deductions one by one. His tone was calm, but he spoke with a level of professional confidence that left no room for doubt.
Ignoring Travers' pale face, Lucian continued, "None of those issues were present in Leman Selwyn's work. Furthermore, he finished five minutes and forty-seven seconds faster than you did. Travers, do you still have an objection?"
The classroom went silent. Even though the room was full of upperclassmen, they were completely cowed by Lucian's presence.
Travers' face flushed bright red, then went white. He couldn't argue back because everything Lucian said was 100% accurate. Under the weight of everyone's gaze, he felt a wave of unbearable embarrassment. Without even packing up his things, he turned and hurried out of the room.
With the results official, the rest of the contestants began packing their gear to leave.
Once the room had mostly cleared out, Allie leaned in close to Lucian, her bright eyes searching his dark green ones. Confused by the look, Lucian was about to ask what was wrong when she spoke up.
"Selwyn definitely knows more about alchemy; he deserved the win," Allie said. "But I actually wanted to talk to you about something else."
Lucian felt a small sense of relief. He appreciated a senior who was reasonable and wouldn't harass him about "house loyalty" or some other nonsense. This was a competition to find the most skilled person, and he wasn't about to let office politics "stain" the results.
"Lucian, you're going to Beauxbatons for the exchange, right? Well... I heard the girls there are very beautiful, and that they bathe in a special spring..."
Lucian's lip twitched almost imperceptibly. Is the legend of the Fountain of Beauty really that powerful? Or are girls just universally obsessed with becoming prettier?
"I hear you, Senior," Lucian said with a slight smile. "Would you like me to bring back some of that spring water so you can... 'research' its magical properties?"
Allie beamed at him, delighted that Lucian had put it so "professionally." Her opinion of this younger student went up another few notches.
"Hehe, that would be great! Thanks! And good luck at Beauxbatons—go win the whole thing!"
---