Chapter 147: The Exam
Outside the room, I was met by a girl whom I recognized by the bags under her eyes.
"Good afternoon. If I am not mistaken, Marina Rogataya?"
I looked at the girl with a slight smile, but she continued to regard me with an indifferent gaze.
"Have we met?"
The girl asked in a quiet, emotionless voice after looking me over from head to toe once more.
"You were the commission secretary when I received the rank of journeyman."
"Possibly..."
She nodded slowly.
"Did you fall in love with me?"
"Huh?"
I looked at the girl in surprise. She'd asked even that question with absolutely no emotion.
"No, you simply have a very memorable appearance."
"I see. You are here to take the exam for the rank of master?"
"Yes."
I nodded, and she immediately opened the door and let me inside, where a commission of five wizards was already waiting. To be precise, three wizards and two witches.
"Introduce yourself to the examination commission."
"Candidate for the title of master, Draco Black. Student of Filius Flitwick."
I did as Marina asked and respectfully nodded to the examiners.
"Examination commission, please introduce yourselves."
"Alexander Koshcheyev, Master of Charms and Spells, Master of Battle Magic, Master of Transfiguration, Master of Necromancy."
I blinked in surprise.
"William Edinburgh, Master of Charms and Spells, Master of Healing, Master of Numerology, Master of Astronomy."
"Christian Bale, Master of Charms and Spells, Master of Transfiguration, Master of Potion-Making."
The men introduced themselves, and now it was the women's turn.
"Agnet Weber, Master of Charms and Spells, Master of Demonology, Master of Chimerology, Master of Arithmancy."
I nearly coughed. No, I held no bias against such branches of magic, but having several masters of dark disciplines gathered at my exam at once... that was a little surprising, at least to me.
"Linda Clifford, Master of Charms and Spells, Master of Healing, Master of Light Magic, Master of Fire Magic."
"Secretary of the examination commission, Marina Rogataya. Examiners, please swear the oath."
Silence hung in the hall for a few seconds, the words of the oath still echoing, before Marina spoke again.
"Examinee, would you prefer to take the standard exam, or do you have a project prepared?"
"A project."
I nodded.
"In that case, proceed. You may take as long as you need."
"Pardon me, but may I use this room to lay charms and spells?"
I addressed the commission.
"Of course. However, are you certain? This room is already heavily enchanted, so laying anything else on it will be difficult..."
Koshcheyev asked with a slight smirk. He wasn't trying to offend me, though. He was warning me that if I failed, I would have only myself to blame.
"Yes, I am certain."
I nodded.
"The thing is, my project consists of universal charms that can be integrated into existing enchantments, granting rooms additional properties without disrupting the original charms."
"Hm... To begin with, could you tell us more about the charms themselves and what you tested them on?"
Weber asked.
"A brief background, if I may?"
I looked at the commission questioningly, and they nodded.
"I teach first through third years at Hogwarts in charms and spells, and I also lead a dueling club. This past school year, the Ministry of Magic could think of nothing better than to protect the school by surrounding it with Dementors."
The masters' eyes widened.
"However, inside the school itself, the children barely felt...
At the word "children," the masters didn't bother hiding their smiles.
"...the influence of those creatures. However, Hogwarts, like any other school, has a Quidditch stadium where games and practices are held, and it was already unsafe to be there. That forced me to develop a spell, or more precisely, a cascade of spells, that could be laid on a room to expand its dimensions and grant it the necessary properties. I succeeded. If you attended the dueling championship this year...
A couple of examiners nodded thoughtfully.
"...then you saw how the Great Hall of Hogwarts was transformed. Those transformations were made possible by the cascade of charms I developed. I laid slightly simplified cascades on empty classrooms near the Great Hall, creating two additional fields where teams could train. This allowed for a far more convenient schedule than in the days when they all had to share the usual Quidditch pitch."
"Well... I saw the result, and I must admit, such work is truly worthy of a master. However, I would like to make sure that you were the one who created that spell, so please... don't hold back."
Clifford moved her hand through the air, offering me the chance to begin. Well, I didn't make the commission wait any longer. Taking out my wand, I began creating magic that would be incredible to ordinary mortals...
*** The Same Room. The Masters. ***
"Colleagues..."
After casting Muffling Charms on the large table where they sat, Edinburgh addressed the other masters.
"...do you truly believe such charms could have been developed by such a young man?"
"I have my doubts as well, so I suppose that after the demonstration, we can ask him a few questions under truth serum. If he has nothing to hide, he'll agree."
Bale said, shrugging carelessly.
"Colleagues, we all know projects are rarely completed independently. Many candidates have presented projects where their mentors completed almost fifty percent of the work!"
Weber tried to calm her colleagues.
"And from what I can see, this young man has at least worked through everything to such a degree that casting such a complex cascade of charms presents him no difficulty. So in my opinion, he's worthy of the title of master."
"We're not arguing that he's worthy..."
Koshcheyev shook his head.
"...but if he lied to us and didn't develop the cascade himself, is it worth awarding him the title?"
"I suppose..."
Weber looked at the man, narrowing her eyes slightly.
"...we'll only learn that when we question him under the serum. And for now, I suggest you continue watching how this young man works. It's quite a pleasant sight... though I still notice small flaws in his wand movement."
"You're right, colleague..."
The secretary of the examination commission watched all this with an unreadable expression, not interfering in the conversation in any way. But rather interesting thoughts spun through her head about how she should perhaps take a closer look at the new master. And she had no doubt the boy would become a master today. Perhaps in the future he would be useful to her or her House.
Though...
No...
The secretary shook her head.
...someone like that wouldn't be used so easily. And throwing herself at him wasn't an option either. Beneath a fairly convincing illusion were lipstick marks in three different colors. Which meant he wasn't lacking for female attention.
Still, it might be possible to simply try to strike a deal. Perhaps that would even be better...
"Phew..."
I sighed and wiped the sweat from my face.
"Is that all?"
"No..."
I shook my head, answering Koshcheyev.
"It's simply one of the breaks I built in as a precaution so the wizard casting the charms could catch his breath, loosen his wrist, and walk around a little. After all, if you work on charms for too long, basic physical limitations force you to make mistakes. Yes, it varies by person, but..."
I shook my head again.
"It's better to eliminate such factors, and for that, a five-minute break is more than enough."
The masters nodded thoughtfully. After five minutes, during which I stretched my wrist and walked around the room, carefully examining my work for mistakes, I continued casting the cascade of charms.
I only finished a couple of hours later. True, I had to stop once more to rest a little, but that didn't matter.
"That's all..."
I sighed with relief.
"Now all it takes is a wave like this, and the room will transform..."
I made the gesture, and the room really did grow larger, while the teachers' table ended up in the middle of a green field.
"Very good. Can the room be turned into something else?"
"Yes..."
I nodded.
"But that'll take about half an hour. The thing is, this cascade doesn't allow you to create just anything, only what's been programmed into it. So if, say, instead of a Quidditch pitch with variable weather, you need to create... a library, or, say... a beach..."
I looked around.
"Then the embedded template would need to be replaced. The new template would need to be calculated, but that's quite simple."
I removed the bag from my shoulder and took five scrolls from it, which I sent to each of the examiners using Levitation Charms.
"Here are the necessary data for creating the spell, as well as calculations for recalculating the embedded template."
"Hmm..."
"Mr. Black, we are impressed by your mastery; however, such a complex project..."
Weber shook her head.
"...you must understand, it's very difficult to believe you created something like this. Therefore, we propose that you undergo verification."
"Serum?"
I raised an eyebrow.
"Yes."
The girl nodded to me.
"I don't object. However, even without serum, I'll say that seventy to eighty percent of the charm cascade belongs to me. Master Flitwick and certain other Hogwarts teachers acted mostly as consultants, or else I simply gave them my calculations to check."
"We believe you, but..."
I nodded in understanding.
"Secretary Rogataya, be so kind as to bring the serum."
"At once."
The girl left the office, returning a couple of minutes later with a small vial and a glass of water. She dripped several drops into it in front of the commission and handed it to me.
After drinking the water with the serum in one gulp, I felt an overwhelming urge to answer questions with nothing but the truth. Of course, overcoming the effect wouldn't have been difficult, but that definitely wouldn't go unnoticed. After all, I wasn't a master of mental magic.
"Draco Black, did you yourself carry out the project with which you came to defend the title of master?"
"I carried out seventy to eighty..."
"This... is a rather unexpected result."
Koshcheyev looked at me thoughtfully.
"Still, I think after this, no one will have doubts."
He nodded to the secretary, and she took a step forward.
"Honorable commission, I ask you to vote whether Draco Black is worthy of the title of master."
Five wands rose upward, and a light burned on each.
"Does anyone here consider Draco Black unworthy of the title of master?"
This time, not a single wand rose.
By unanimous decision of the commission, Journeyman Draco Black is hereby awarded the title of Master of Charms and Spells. Your regalia will be delivered within the week. I must remind you that as a master, you are now responsible for training students to at least the rank of journeyman.
I nodded to the secretary.
"You may leave the room."
"Thank you, Secretary, and members of the examination commission, for your time."
I nodded with deep respect and gratitude.
"We hope..."
Weber took the floor.
"...that you will not stop here, Mr. Black, and that one day you too will sit at this table, administering exams to candidates."
"I will devote every effort to that goal."
Nodding again, I left the classroom, and only once I was outside...
"Hurraaaaaah!"
I jumped, pumping my fist in the air.
"I did it!"
Flitwick merely laughed quietly as he watched me, pride evident in his eyes.
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