The Critical Assessment of Talents and Skills (5th Years) on Cascade Hall

The Council

August 23, 2007 10:07 PM

The Critical Assessment of Talents and Skills (5th Years) by The Council

The term was winding down and most of the older students could be found cramming for the impending exams that were just around the corner. Two days prior to start of the exams, four imposing figures whom represented the Council arrived to the school to prepare for the examinations. Nanette Langdon was the only female amongst the examiners, but she was probably the most ruthless of the bunch. In her sixties with her grey hair pulled back into an unbelievably tight bun, starched dark robes, and a sharp gaze that could scare even the toughest of wizards into behaving, Nanette was terrifying. Roland Ashburn was the youngest of the bunch and the biggest pushover of the four of them. Only in his early thirties, tall and angular in shape, Roland was hardly a threat to anyone. Bernard Starsky was elderly and hard of hearing. Nearly bald and bent awkwardly due to old age, many were scared of him, but not for the same reason as they may have been of Nanette. His appearance alone gave him a stern look and the fact that he seemed to always yell made him seem unfriendly. The final of the four was David Weatherby. He was a man of men. David was on the stocky side(though fit), with graying brown hair and intense green eyes. His well manners and strict but fair attitude made him the favorite of the group.

The exams would last only two full days, unless the student had electives. The core classes would be taken on the first two days. The written part of the examinations were to be taken in the morning, and the afternoon was reserved for the practical exams. The professors whom overlooked the written examinations would explain the rules carefully once all the students were seated in their respective chairs. As always, any forms of cheating would be an automatic failure of the exam and possible further consequences may follow. Once the rules were spoken, the Professors would then pass out the anti-cheating quills, papers, and then, finally, the exams. When the students finished their written exams, they were permitted to leave the Hall and wait until they were called alphabetically back for their practical examination. The examiners always made sure that the Potions and Defense Against the Dark Arts practicals were held on separate days as these two exams each held stress levels that were higher than the other exams. The Council felt that having these on separate days would lessen the strain on the students.

Those who had electives would take those the following days after the core examinations were completed. Each schedule was meticulously planned so as to prevent any student from having two examinations at the same time. Like the core examinations, the written exams were always in the morning while the practical exams were in the afternoon. Once the students have completed all of their exams, they were sent to their common rooms for some much needed rest and relaxation.

OOC: Alright everyone, post as you like. Make them good and detailed. And remember...have fun!

Subthreads:

Surviving (Tag Jake) by Jennifer Zucchero with Jake Santoro, Jennifer

CATS may very well be my favorite animal by Zack Dill with

More like 'Cranial Agitation for Terrified Students' by Mia Kerova

I might not make it through day one by Jenna Howard

0 The Council The Critical Assessment of Talents and Skills (5th Years) 0 The Council 1 5

Jennifer Zucchero

August 23, 2007 11:43 PM

Surviving (Tag Jake) by Jennifer Zucchero

Jennifer Zucchero couldn’t remember the last time she’d been this exhausted, both mentally and physically. She also realized that she’d probably never looked worse in her life- severe cases of nerves had a way of making her look wan and sickly, and today had been the worst she’d experienced in her life, even overtaking going and staying at the Santoro’s over the holidays, which was saying a lot. Still, no matter how awful she looked and felt, there was one encompassing fact that made her forget about it all.

She’d survived.

Alright, so maybe she’d only survived the first day so far, and she still had two to go. Which, of course, meant that she’d have another million pages to review before tomorrow morning. In fact, she probably should be heading off to start doing that now. However, despite the sensible (and overly stressed) academic side of her mind screaming that she needed to return to her common room or the library that she’d spent so many days burrowed up in, she still abstained. After all, it wasn’t like she was going to die if she took off a few minutes to rediscover her social life…well, not completely, at least.

Speaking of said social life, she spotted her boyfriend waiting across the room. She’d felt a bit bad, asking him to wait until she finished rather than head on back to get some of the rest that everyone in their year probably needed, but not quite bad enough to not do it. After all, it wasn’t like there were that many people between the two of them, and they hadn’t gotten to see as much of each other as she at least would have liked in the days before the exams started.

She walked over to him, resisting the urge to try and do something about her likely wretched-looking appearance, if only because there was nothing she could do about it now. “Hey, thanks for waiting. How’d your tests go?” she asked with a smile once she was next to him. “Mine went pretty well, I think. I got the easy-looking examiner for the practical stuff, so that definitely helped some.”
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0 Jennifer Zucchero Surviving (Tag Jake) 48 Jennifer Zucchero 0 5

Jake Santoro

August 24, 2007 11:52 PM

Breathing by Jake Santoro

Jake was exhausted. His nerves were fried. His brain was fried. He only had one more day of this and that would be that. Well, aside from Muggle Studies, but he didn't think that one would be terribly difficult. But, he had spent the last month or so studying every lesson he had ever had from all the classes he's ever taken.

It was a lot to review and even more to remember. How had he not gone insane? Jake couldn't be certain, but he felt like he'd go absolutely manic at any moment.

When Jake had gone up to do his practicals, he was happy to find that he was working with the semi-old man. The man had been straight forward and strict, but not unfriendly. Jake hadn't done the best job with his transfiguration, but his charms had been pretty decent. All in all, Jake thought he had at least mastered an Average in everything. As long as he got a handful of CATS, his mother would be happy.

Jake sat against the far wall waiting for Jennifer to finish and only moved once he spotted her making her way over to him. He gave a tired smile to her, "No problem." Jake stretched for a moment before taking Jennifer's hand and nudging her to move away from the Hall. He'd seen enough of that place for the day. "Not bad, but I don't think I got any Os or Es. Probably scraped by with all As. Which is just as well for me." Jake answered. He knew he wasn't the brightest (not even close), so he wasn't going to pretend to be when around Jennifer. She already knew what she had gotten herself into.

"Anyway, what to do now?"

6 Jake Santoro Breathing 42 Jake Santoro 0 5

Zack Dill

August 27, 2007 10:48 AM

CATS may very well be my favorite animal by Zack Dill

Zack had been preparing for the CATS all year. By the end of winter, he'd even recruited the help of Zoey to help him review the material of most of his classes (she didn't take Runes, so she was only able to quiz him on the most basic things, but Professor Powell had a special Runes review anyway, so it didn't matter). By the time the test finally came to take place, Zack was more than ready for it. In some ways, it felt like his entire life led up to this moment, but that was a bit of an exaggeration. Only the past year or so led up to this moment. The whole of his life was leading up to the RATS, which weren't for another two more years.

He arrived the first day of the exams with only a quill, a pot of ink, and his wand. He would not cram in the last few minutes before the doors opened. In fact, he'd done very little direct studying in the last week, choosing instead to practice his practicals and get his techniques down. He could recite most of the assigned textbooks word for word by now, anyway. Looking at them again was not going to help and would just make him appear desperate. Zack was a genius and above cramming.

As it turned out, the quill was unneccessary and, in fact, confiscated. He was instead given a different quill. He wasn't entirely sure what the difference was, but suspected some sort of anti-cheating enchantment on it. He wasn't confident that he wouldn't get in trouble for casting a magic detection charm on it, so he just left it at an assumption.

There was nothing sacred or lucky about his first quill, though, so he didn't care one way or the other and just set to work once they were given the go-ahead. Zack breezed through the written exam, confident of all but the most obscure questions and, even those, he felt he had enough information to guess fairly accurately.

When he finished and double checked his answers, he raised his hand and turned in the exam. He then got his lunch, ate it, and waited impatiently for his name to be called for his practicals. Fortunately, it was alphabetically by last name, not first, and Dill got called pretty quickly, being the second called after the first four students had gone in.

The charms and transfiguration practicals were almost as easy as the written test. He cast the requested spells with the expected results. His only concern was that it took two tries to fully transfigure the glass vase into a cat and he hoped that his only partially successful first attempt wouldn't affect his grade enough to drop it down to an E instead of the much coveted O.

Care of Magical Creatures was less simple and, of them all, the practical that was giving Zack the second most anxiety. Potions was nothing to be concerned about but both COMC and DADA could have teeth and claws involved. At least COMC wasn't guaranteed to be an inherently dangerous creature which was the only saving grace that put its guaranteed creature as less scary than the DADA practical.

He drew back when the woman brought in the beast, terror seizing him at the sight of this most hated of animals. "Jarvey," he identified it, spitting its name like the curses it was spewing. He retreated, one terrified step at a time back toward the door, but his equal fear for his GPA made keep talking. In a quavering voice, he recited every single thing he knew about the creature, from the basics like what they eat, their usual behaviors, and their discrimination of gnomes, down to the more obscure details like mating habits and how to tell if they were sick, but his hand gripped the doorknob and his gaze watched the creature as if he expected to be mauled at any moment. Which he did, that being why he clung so tightly to his escape route.

"Are they dangerous to people?" the woman prompted when his information ran dry.

Zack swallowed hard and forced himself to shake his head, "No more than an ordinary ferret. It will bite and claw if threatened, but generally won't attack."

"Come here and walk him around the room as if you were using him to flush out gnomes in a garden."

Zack shook his head. "Nu-uh."

She frowned, looking nearly as frightening as the jarvey. Zack hadn't minded her sternness before, being perfectly confident of his abilities, but now it was different. "Refusal will affect your grade."

His eyes darted briefly toward her before returning to the beast. "Will I still pass?"

She didn't look like she wanted to answer, but she granted, "Depending on your written scores, you may pull an Acceptable."

Zack was confident of his written scores. "Great," he breathed in relief. "I refuse." Then, because he really did want at least an E, even in COMC, he added, "I can tell you how I would do it if I didn't have a teeth and claw phobia."

"Fine. Impress me." She sounded like she didn't think he could. Zack tried anyway, clutching to the doorknob for dear life the entire time.

Finally, she to the evil creature away and Zack sagged in relief. "Go on," she dismissed him, "Send in the next student." Zack did and returned to his dorm where he collapsed on his bed and let himself have his panic attack at being in the same enclosed room as a jarvey for so long. Suddenly, DADA did not seem nearly so scary.

Tomorrow would prove whether that was justified or not. After that, it was just Runes, Divination, and Muggle Studies, none of which ought to pose any problems.

1 Zack Dill CATS may very well be my favorite animal 40 Zack Dill 0 5

Mia Kerova

August 27, 2007 4:13 PM

More like 'Cranial Agitation for Terrified Students' by Mia Kerova

Mia sat against the wall opposite the entrance to Cascade Hall on the second day of the CATS exams. She was trying to get her bearings before she was called in for the second round of practical exams for the core classes. Her chin was resting on her knees and her eyes were shut giving off a fake appearance of calm. At least if no one was looking at her hands tapping a completely disconnected beat on her legs.

It wasn’t that she had much reason to be worried for many of her exams since she was a bright girl and she had been reviewing on and off since Christmas break and reviewing seriously since returning from the wedding in April. She should have been very confident in her abilities and maybe she could pluck a little luck from the name of the exams since she was very much a cat person, but try telling that to her.

Mia figured if she could get past this, the next day would be just fine. She wasn’t terribly worried about Muggle Studies as she figured she wouldn’t be. It was everything else that had her nerves shot and her stomach in a twisted knot that felt like someone was pulling it tighter with each exam rather than loosening it. She tried to encourage herself by recalling how the previous exams had gone and assuring that at least they were just water under the bridge at this point.

The written part for Astronomy had been easier than she expected. She picked up a liking for the class. Maybe the teacher was just better this time around. Leo told her that if she didn’t like a class, it was probably because she had a bad teacher. Transfiguration wasn’t too bad despite her shaking hands. She prayed the examiners could read what she wrote. Potions was the real trouble on day one. She would be confident about all of the ingredients to a potion except one or two and the one or two ingredients she wasn’t sure of threw her off for minutes at a time.

Mia went back in when she was called for practicals on day one. She forced herself to enter the hall with the most confident look she could pull up. It was pretty bad and her proctor caught on right away. At least it wasn’t the loud guy who she was sure was hearing challenged or that lady with the bun and the look. It was the Weatherby guy if she remembered right, though she was finding it hard to remember anything except what she needed for the CATS. She could barely remember what she ate for breakfast that morning.

“A little nervous are we, Miss Kerova?” He had a friendly attitude, but still just aloof enough to still have a strictness to him.

“Just a bit.” Well that was a lie. Mr. Weatherby chuckled.

“Everyone gets nervous. We have a few breakdowns every year. Some students run out of the room screaming. Others just pass out on the spot. You don’t feel lightheaded do you?” Mia shook her head, hoping the feeling wouldn’t suddenly overcome her now that it was mentioned. “Good. You just wait until the RATS. Now let’s get you started then.”

When it came to the practical exams, again she was fine save for a small set back or two, except for Potions. The minutes she was unsure of something made a huge difference. Mr. Weatherby sat quietly watching Mia and at the parts where she struggled with her Shrinking Potion, he made no attempts to give her a hand. He just waited for her next move. He was nice enough before and after the exam, but during the testing it was all business from this guy.

She looked at her potion when she was done as did the proctor. He gave her a small nod and asked if she was finished. Mia nodded back. Mr. Weatherby marked something down before looking at her again and dismissing her. She saw him ladling some of her potion and letting it spill back into the cauldron before jotting something else down. She hoped it was a good sign.

And now she was back outside Cascade Hall after a night of final reviewing, waiting to be called back for practicals for Charms, Care of Magical Creatures and Defense Against the Dark Arts, all of which the written was simple enough, especially Charms. She found she had a knack for spell work that was getting her through her student career very nicely. She heard her name and her eyes shot open with a weary look at the Hall. Mia took a final deep breath and got up.

She entered the Hall again and saw Mr. Weatherby finishing final thoughts on the previous student. He smiled professionally as she walked in.

“Still nervous, Miss Kerova or have we calmed down some?”

“I’m okay. Still not lightheaded.”

“Good, good. Let’s begin. Get your wand out.”

For Charms, she had to show off a few spells, enlarging a fork and a spoon, changing their colors and making them waltz around the hall. Care of Magical Creatures had her identifying a Clabbert, saying what wizards used to use it for and why. No problem there. And then for Defense Against the Dark Arts, Mia described a few dark creatures and had to attack and defend herself from an enchanted dummy.

“Thank you.” Mr. Weatherby said as Mia successfully halted the dummy. She was thankful that part was over because the dummy had gotten a nasty stinging hex past her shield charm earlier on and her arm hurt whenever she lifted it to attack or protect. “You’re all done for today. Have a good afternoon.”

“You too.” And with that, Mia pocketed her wand and left the hall with a great sense of relief. She felt the weight of exams lift from her so quickly, she may have floated out of Cascade Hall for all she knew.

0 Mia Kerova More like 'Cranial Agitation for Terrified Students' 0 Mia Kerova 0 5

Jennifer

August 30, 2007 5:46 PM

Always important by Jennifer

“Well, just passing’s more important than anything,” Jennifer replied, mind half on the conversation and half back in the examination hall. She knew those tests at least were over now, and there was nothing she could do, but still…had she double checked the answers for silly mistakes like stirring the potion counterclockwise rather than clockwise? Had she made sure to label each of the stars correctly, and check that she was in the proper hemisphere and season? Had she…

You’re going to drive yourself completely insane if you continue like this, she reminded herself. You can fret about tomorrow’s tests, but not the ones you just took. So stop it. Now.

So she dragged her mind back into the situation at hand, glancing up at Jake just as he finished his last question. “Hmm?” She asked at first, before things clicked, and her eyes widened. “Oh, Merlin. Wow. I’d forgotten that there really are activities outside of eating, sleeping, and studying for a moment. I really these tests to be over and done with. But, anyway, I don’t really mind what we do. Whatever you want’s fine.”

Fighting an urge to yawn because of the tiredness that suddenly hit her, she wrapped an arm around his waist, and leaned her head onto his side. “So, are you and your family planning to do anything interesting over the summer?”

0 Jennifer Always important 0 Jennifer 0 5

Jake

September 01, 2007 11:27 PM

Only if I wish to live by Jake

"Yeah, but I'm sure you've gotten all Es." Jake commented. Jennifer was intelligent. He knew that she was the sort that would do everything in her power to get top remarks even if she nearly killed herself doing. But Jake knew she'd be one of the people at the top of the class. Her and Zack probably.

Jake gave a tired chuckle to Jennifer. "Yes, there's actually a whole world outside of these walls. Can you believe it?" Jake joked. He couldn't blame her though for reacting like that. Every fifth year had been holed up in his or her dorm room or trapped in the library for hours on end with no spare time to be had. Jake couldn't wait for the C.A.T.S. to be over with so that he would never have to think about them ever again.

He wrapped an arm aorund her shoulder, making them ever more pronounced as a couple. "Yeah right." Jake commented. "The wedding was enough for us for awhile. We won't be doing anything aside from visiting mis abuelos like we do every summer." It was such a routine, but after Paco's wedding, Jake was more than willing to do the usual than have to do something extravegant.

"Anything fun planned for you this summer? Spending it with your mom or your dad?"

6 Jake Only if I wish to live 42 Jake 0 5

Jennifer

September 02, 2007 12:16 AM

Surely you don't think you did <i>that</i> poorly by Jennifer

“Maybe. I hope I did that well, but you never know,” Jennifer replied with a shrug, trying to sound nonchalant about it, though her slight blush gave her away. She always felt a little embarrassed talking about grades and such with anyone else. She put a major emphasis on them, of course, but she never would have labeled herself as competitive about it. Still, this was Jake. They talked about almost everything, so this wasn’t new.

She rolled her eyes at him when he laughed. “Oh, way to find amusement in my turning into Zack Dill. Such a kind, supportive boyfriend you are,” she said, her voice a bit annoyed, though her grin managed to make it sound much less harsh, and she didn’t let go of him like she would have if truly miffed.

“The wedding did seem a bit hectic,” Jennifer agreed. “Though, of course, my idea of hectic and yours are more likely than not pronouncedly different. In any case, you should have fun. Be sure to say hello to Anita for me when you see her, alright?”

Jennifer thought for a second, trying to remember precisely what the last letters from her parents had said about her schedule. “Well, my dad’s getting married, so at least for the beginning, I’m going to be with him in Brazil.” She looked up at him. “The wedding’s going to be really small, more of a civil ceremony than anything else, which is why I didn’t invite you, in case you were taking it personally.” She kissed him on the cheek, and then continued. “The wedding’s at the end of June, though, and I think after it I’m going to be headed off to the UK with my mother for the rest of the time.”

Talk of Brazil brought Jennifer’s thoughts to another subject she’d probably be dealing with over the summer- Felipe. She had continued to exchange letters with him some over the course of the school year, though less and less as they got into it and, over the past few months, nothing at all. They’d both gotten busier, she supposed, and, if she were to be entirely honest, she felt a little disloyal to Jake every time she wrote, silly though that may have been. Still, more likely than not, she was going to see a great deal of him this summer, and she figured she should probably warn Jake about that first, just in case he decided to go irrationally jealous on her again, though he had gotten much better with that whole thing cleared up.

“You know,” she started off slowly, looking away, “for the month or so I’m in Brazil, it’s pretty likely I’m going to have to spend at least a little time with Felipe, if only because there’s only so much you can do in Brazil when most of the people your age are still at school. He knows about you, and there’s not going to be anything going on between us, of course, but...well, I thought you might like to know.” She was starting to babble again. That was a bad sign. So she forced herself to shut up, and waited for Jake’s response.
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0 Jennifer Surely you don't think you did <i>that</i> poorly 0 Jennifer 0 5

Jake

September 03, 2007 10:43 PM

Well, one never knows by Jake

Jake was tempted to roll his eyes at her reply. She was always being modest about such things. Jake didn't really understand why, if he had been getting awesome grades, he'd be sure to say it outloud all the time. Jennifer was more reserved than that and always seemed to claim the opposite for things. Like now, 'hoping' she did well, but knowing her, she most likely did.

"Hey now, I'm very supportive" Jake pressed. "Not only would I be dating the hottest girl in school, but also the smartest." Jake commented. He knew there were stories of school romances where a jock would never even look at someone like Jennifer if she were the top of the class. Why, Jake didn't really know the answer to that. Looks or something. But Jake thought he had it pretty good, despite how stressing it had been prior to the two of them actually committing.

Jake smiled, "It was definitely hectic. Usually, it's only us younger kids around the house during the holidays. You had the lucky treat of meeting the entire family in a short amount of time." Jake mused before adding, "And, I can tell Anita hello for you. She may start to owl you though, if you give her the opening to do so." That may have sounded like a warning, but Jake would leave it at face value.

He was surprised to hear about her dad's wedding and briefly wondered why she had never brought it up before. Weddings were large and boisted about in Jake's family. Perhaps he simply assumed that that was what it was like for all families. Clearly, he was wrong. "Oh, well, that's alright. Congratulations to your dad, though. Getting married, how fun." Jake commented, though he wasn't sure how well Jennifer would take another person in her life. She seemed to have been closer to her dad than her mom.

A visible frown appeared on Jake's lips and his body tensed ever so slightly when Jennifer mentioned Felipe. He knew, of course, that whatever had been between the two of them had long since ended and that the two of them were friends, but... Jake couldn't quite repress that angry little feeling that bubbled in the center of his chest. Jealously, possession, anger. They were emotions he knew well and had been working on since the romantic relationship between himself and Jennifer had formed... He obviously needed more work.

"Oh, well...okay." Jake finally answered her in a quiet and slightly reserved voice. Though, he did do a good job of keeping his voice from showing any emotions that may give him away.

6 Jake Well, one never knows 42 Jake 0 5

Zack Dill

September 04, 2007 11:15 AM

Though I may decide in two years that RATS are better by Zack Dill

Day two was looking promising. Despite the Jarvey encounter the previous day, Zack had slept well and, if he'd had any dreams at all, he couldn't remember them. He was struck by the sudden certainty that he was forgetting one of the names of aconite while he ate his breakfast, but he had time to go back to the library and double check that he knew them all. Wolfsbane, he knew, and monkshood, but was there a fourth? A brief investigation did not reveal one, so he decided he was letting the anxiety get to him and he stopped worrying about it.

The written for Potions and DADA was as easy as the written for Transfiguration, Astronomy, Charms, and Care of Magical Creatures. Easier, really, because there were only two subjects today instead of four. He finished, checked his answers again, and went to get lunch.

He returned to the waiting area for the practicals and began pacing. Potions would prove no difficulty. Of them all, Potions was by and large his favorite of the subjects that were not Astronomy. Not that he had gotten far enough in normal school to have actually taken Chemistry, but it seemed like how he would imagine a Chemistry class would be like, and that gave it an aura of scientificness that subjects like, say, Charms, utterly lacked. Of course, ingredient names like 'frog eyes' and 'rat spleen' did rather detract from the scientific nature and put it firmly back into the almost medieval-esque magical realm. Zack just tried not to think too closely about what he was handling.

His name was called and it was one of the men this time. The oldest looking of them. Zack was kind of glad it wasn't the lady again, given how his COMC practical went. He was really glad when he was brought to the potions area first. That went off without a hitch, as the brewing instructions were provided and clearly written. It was a moderately complex potion and Zack was pleased to be able to show off how well he could plan ahead so that the steps that came quickly together would not pose a problem.

Then it was DADA time, something Zack had been carefully not thinking about all day. He reassured himself that it would not be a jarvey, so it could not possibly be as bad as COMC's practical.

Zack yelped and jumped out of the way as the first hex was fired at him. Then he got the presence of mind together to pull his wand and put up a magical defense. When he was instructed to do more than throw up shields, Zack reluctantly went from solely defensive to defensive and offensive spells.

The reluctance stemmed from his relative skills (he was much better at defense than offense) rather than any compunctions he might have felt about shooting jinxes at an old man. The guy was an examiner, after all, and probably far better at defense than Zack would ever be. So, he put in the effort and he hoped that counted for something as everything he did bounced harmlessly off the guy's own shield.

"Now disarm me," the man ordered after a little while. Zack cast expelliarmus and was vaguely surprised when no blocking spell was raised and the wand actually did fly out of the man's hand. Zack tried to catch it as it came toward him, but he fumbled with the stick (if it had been round like a Snitch, he wouldn't have had a problem, but it was long and thin and slid right through his fingers) and eventually dropped it. Blushing, he picked it up and handed it back to the examiner.

The man nodded and moved over to a closet. Zack felt his stomach clench and his grip on his wand grew tight and sweaty. This was the part where the fangs came into play.

The door opened and closed quickly, giving him only a momentary glimpse at what was inside. That hadn't been Professor O'Leary, had it?

"What did you see?" the man prompted.

"Tall, humanoid," Zack described. "Pale skin." No. Not O'Leary. There had been teeth. Two very sharp teeth. "Fangs. A Vampire."

"What do you do when you see a vampire on the hunt?"

"Scream and run," Zack answered honestly. For his grade, though, he added, "Garlic helps fend them off, too."

The man nodded again, his lips twitching slightly at Zack's first answer, though whether in an aborted frown or smile, Zack couldn't guess. "Unless help is nearby, screaming will not do you much good. Running, however, is an excellent response, especially if you don't happen to have an garlic on you. You're free to go. Send in the next student."

With one final uncertain look at the closet (had the man even locked it?), Zack moved toward the door, keeping his wand in hand and eye on the closet, just in case. Hand on the knob, he felt it was his duty to add, because he was quite sure the man hadn't locked the closet, "He's secure in there, right?"

"Very vigilant, but between the two of us, Mr. Dill, our demonstration vampire today is a dummy. He's quite secure."

Oh. "Okay. Good. I'll . . . go get the next student."

COMC was definitely the worst. Sure, there was still Muggle Studies, Divination, and Runes left to go, but none of those ought to prove a problem. Muggle Studies and Runes were straight forward and any mundane appliance that they might need to run for the practical was probably something Zack had more knowledge about than the teacher. He doubted his ability to make an accurate reading in Divinations, but he wasn't going to be tested for accuracy, just procedure and that he felt confident about. The electives would be a breeze.

1 Zack Dill Though I may decide in two years that RATS are better 40 Zack Dill 0 5

Jenna Howard

September 04, 2007 1:03 PM

I might not make it through day one by Jenna Howard

The morning of CATS was one of the most surreal experiences Jenna had ever had. Everything from the past five years, all the knowledge she had gleaned – or hadn’t gleaned – culminated in this. This was the beginning of the insane testing that would probably determine what she did for the rest of her life.

And good Merlin, she had forgotten her name.

No, she couldn’t allow herself to get nervous, everything just got worse that way. She had to retain some sort of composure about these things, couldn’t let it get the best of her. She was going to screw up DADA horribly, and she would probably excel at potions, just as always. There was very little she could do to change that fate, so there was no reason to get worked up about it.

Sitting in the back corner of the room, she rolled her quill between her fingers as the general rules of test-taking were explained.

“Let’s get this over with,” she muttered with a sigh.

First off was Astronomy, which had never posed too much of a problem for Jenna. She tucked a strand of brown hair behind her ear as her quill scratched the parchment. Matching the various moons with their respective planets was easy, and yes, Pluto was the satellite that had recently lost its status as a planet. A cosmic year is the amount of time it takes the Sun to revolve around the center of the Milky Way, which is about 225 million years. Right.

Next off was Transfiguration, which was not as easy. At least she could wing the writing part easier than the practical bit she’d have to do this afternoon. She didn’t know how she was going to manage to get an Acceptable in that… probably she’d get a Troll. Or maybe they’d have to make up a new grade for her horrendous level of Transfiguration skill.

She shook her head. “Calm,” she mouthed, coaching herself, “calm.” Surprisingly, Jenna did remember some of the theory behind switching spells, although transfiguring live animals was completely lost on her. Oh, she hoped she’d get an Acceptable. Not that she planned to continue with Transfiguration, she’d been counting down the days until she could drop the class ever since she remembered. But she hoped to get at least an Acceptable in all her classes – save for DADA. There was no hope for her in that class, and she would readily admit it.

Then came Potion – hallelujah. If she could nail an Outstanding in any class, it would have to be Potions. Really, the gray-eyed girl didn’t understand why so many people found it to be so difficult. Cheerfully she scribbled away long, meticulous answers. She was particularly proud of her description of Hellebore.

Hellebore is used in Draughts of Peace, and there are several varieties of Hellebore. The name comes from the Greek words 'elein' (to injure) and 'bora' (food), which indicates that hellebore is poisonous. In some belief systems, it's been believed to be a purgative, sometimes of bad things generally, used for things like protecting livestock from evil spells, and (in powdered form) for invisibility.

Yes, this was definitely Outstanding material. She smiled, pleased with her work.

And so ended the writing section of day one. She felt a bit lightheaded, and drank some pumpkin juice to curb the problem, but for the most part she was okay. This was going to be the easier of the two core days of testing anyway. Charms and DADA promised to be her demise. At least her grades in Care of Magical Creatures had been pretty decent as of late. And she only had one elective to draw out the testing process, and that was Ancient Runes. She hadn’t been doing horribly in that class, either.

When she was done with her bowl of New England Clam Chowder, she was one of the last of the fifth years still eating. She put her spoon down with a sigh; time to subject herself to the madness of the CATS once more.

“Howard, Jenna,” they called her name. Mr. Ashburn was a young man, and from what she had garnered from the gossip of upperclassmen, and easy way to an Outstanding. She only wished she had him tomorrow, when she would be tested on subjects she found considerably harder.

“I knew your cousin Isaiah from school, how is he these days?” Mr. Ashburn asked, way too conversationally for a serious time like this.

Jenna tensed at the sound of her cousin’s name. Nobody outside the family knew this yet, but the information would certainly get out by summer. Her cousin had convinced the family to invest in some bogus wand-making company. Five months later, the better part of the family fortune and Isaiah, and his girlfriend, Lenny, were nowhere to be found.

The worst part about it was that she had spent the past summer with them, had trusted them, and they had said nothing to her. They had used her to sustain her family’s trust, nothing more. And they had almost convinced her into being a Muggle lover, like them. And she hated herself for it. True, she was no elitist, but she had no interest in Muggle life, not anymore, anyway. And now that her family had been bumped down to the middle class life, they no longer had the status and fortune to send her to study with the Potions experts in Cairo, as had long been her ambition. Not that the trip to Cairo had ever been a sure thing, but now the chance was completely taken from her. Now she’d have to be like Jordanna, and home that she could marry well, and that her husband would take kindly to her love for Potions.

And he asked how her cousin, Isaiah was doing these days.

“Just dandy,” she said coolly, and he took the hint and backed off.

Her Transfiguration practical went miserably, but it was something she had to expect. The brunette knew it would be completely idealistic to think that she could manage to vanish the whole of her marmot. The skeleton was still left when she was done, and it was rather disturbing, really. Feeling a bit queasy, she looked away as Mr. Ashburn vanished the rest of the marmot away himself.

The rest of Transfiguration went much the same, and it was downright embarrassing. Why wouldn’t he just let her take the Dreadful and get on with it?

Next came Potions, and it definitely boosted her confidence. Here, she was in her element, Jenna was in control. Nobody could slice their salamander as efficiently and neatly as she did – or at least, that was how she felt. This was relaxing, heck, this was fun. She smiled to herself, never looking up at her work, or at the very pleased Mr. Ashburn.

“Your cousin was also a superb Potion-maker, if I recall,” he said, and Jenna supposed he was just trying to comfort her after her Transfiguration fiasco. She stopped pouring in a vial of blue liquid abruptly.

“I’d like to think we’re not very alike,” she commented darkly, returning to her work. For instance, Jenna – for better or worse – mostly played by the rules to get what she wanted. She was a Crotalus, after all. As for her cousin, well, she didn’t think he’d stop at anything to feed his own ambition.

Last of all came Astronomy. Ashburn took her into a small room she had never seen before. Dark, and charmed to look like the night sky, it was empty, save for a telescope, and a packet.

“All you have to do is chart everything listed on the first page of the packet, and then you are free to leave,” he instructed her, and Jenna nodded, stepping forward. She hoped Ashburn didn’t try to make conversation this time. He had almost made her mess up her Potions practical, and that was her best subject.

An hour later, and it was all done. It probably would have been a good idea to do some extra studying for Charms, DADA, CoMC, or Ancient Runes, even, but her head was just too exhausted. She didn’t even remember her head hitting the pillow.

Thank Merlin, day one was over. And if she was lucky, she would never have to see Mr. Ashburn again.

0 Jenna Howard I might not make it through day one 46 Jenna Howard 0 5