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Chapter 109: Fred, You Traitor
"Faster, faster—children, these are just some simple multiple-choice questions. There's no need to be so serious. Do you really like taking tests?"
At the podium, William was cheerfully making sarcastic remarks.
But the students below didn't even have time to fume—while it was true the test consisted entirely of multiple-choice questions, William had only given them half an hour to complete it. This was rushed even for typical students, let alone the ones caught this time.
A person's stamina is limited, even for a wizard. Most of the students who had been brought here had less-than-ideal grades, the type who got a headache just by looking at a test paper.
Even though William reminded them three times, when it was time to collect the papers, some students resorted to pleading, "Professor, please, just a little more time."
William kindly skipped over them and began collecting the papers from the students behind.
However, when William finished and turned back to them, these kids still had no intention of handing in their papers.
"Almost done, Professor, just a moment!"
'They can't finish a multiple-choice test in thirty minutes? I thought it was a pretty fair test when I wrote it.'
He then saw the others trying to suppress their laughter—he had been careless!
As expected, these kids in detention were far better at outwitting professors than the other students.
William made a mental note to himself, then quickly walked up to the podium—if he remembered correctly, there were some textbooks left by previous students inside it.
"Hmm, fourth-year... No... here they are."
He took out the dust-covered first-year textbooks, and from his bag, William also produced a few copies of a worksheet intended for the fifth-years—they were all first-year questions, but difficult even if you were copying directly from the book.
"I had no idea you were all so interested in test papers."
William walked over quickly as he spoke, placing the textbooks and worksheets one by one on the desks of the students still working.
"I'm very touched, and I've decided that no matter your scores, you shouldn't have to clean toilets—you don't need to do those test questions anymore. Tonight, each of you will complete two worksheets, open-book. If your grade is below an 'E', remember to copy the entire worksheet five times and bring it to me before your next detention."
"Alright, what are you waiting for? Move your desks and chairs to the back of the classroom. Two worksheets are no small task. If the detention period ends and you still haven't finished, you'll receive a failing grade."
William clapped his hands lightly.
"Off you go, gentlemen."
Several students who mistakenly thought they had single-handedly delayed the detention began moving their desks and chairs with their wands, grimacing. William walked back to the podium, picked up the stack of tests with an amiable smile, and began to read out the names one by one.
...
"George Weasley, hmm, a fail. I thought we had a good thing going—go report to Mr. Filch."
Laughter erupted from the students below—George was the third unlucky soul sent to clean toilets.
Even George himself looked bewildered, unable to believe the score. He had copied the answers several times before; how did he fail today?
"Fred Weasley, hmm, just barely Acceptable. You got one more multiple-choice question right than George. Congratulations, tonight you can continue copying the remaining lines, and by the way, you can help George finish his work. Honestly, you two even have similar handwriting."
When Fred's name was called, laughter had erupted again from the students, who were waiting for the fourth unlucky soul to be sentenced. Even George looked eagerly at his toilet-scrubbing partner—with Fred around, cleaning toilets wouldn't be so boring.
But the moment William finished speaking, the entire classroom fell silent.
As for George, his face twisted into a mask of agony. He looked utterly incredulous, with an expression that screamed, "How could you betray me?"
"Professor, there must be a mistake, right?"
Fred asked in surprise—he had already prepared himself to go scrub toilets, so how had it turned out like this?
"It is indeed a bit unbelievable—let me check again."
"No mistake."
After checking carefully once more, William confirmed the result.
Less than five minutes later, seven eliminated, unlucky souls walked out of the classroom in succession, looking speechless.
—
"George?"
"George?"
After his name was called several times, George finally snapped out of it and looked at the person calling him.
"Hurry up—the professor said he checked the time. If we don't get to Filch within a quarter of an hour, our detention time will be doubled."
"Let it be doubled! Merlin's beard, Fred betrayed us!"
"It's not like he wanted to. Look on the bright side, at least we're better off than those poor sods doing worksheets at the back of the classroom, right?"
Everyone instantly felt a bit better, and cheerful laughter returned to the group.
"But... didn't we just take a test?"
...
Silence, silence, and more silence.
—
"Alright, I trust that during that simple test, most of you have mastered the basic guidelines for copying. This is a good start. Next, each of you will come up and receive a stack of materials to write out. The Quick-Quotes Quills and parchment are all ready."
"I hope you check these materials carefully. If I find any problems during my review, then I'll regrettably have to send you over to Mr. Filch to be dealt with."
William called the students up one by one and distributed the materials. Only then did he sit at the podium and take out a third-year textbook to look through.
Test papers... with a little effort, you could always make more. Creating them was quite addictive—it both deepened his own research and ensured the work wasn't for nothing. Even if this knowledge was never used for lifting curses, someone would still appreciate the effort.
The sight of William preparing another test successfully terrified the students below. For a moment, the only sounds in the entire classroom, apart from the rustling of materials being checked, were the scratches of quills dancing across parchment.
"Knock, knock."
A knock on the door broke the classroom's silence.
"Come in," William replied without lifting his head.
"Professor, I'm here to report."
A head of fiery red hair appeared in the line of sight of every student in the classroom—most of them recognized him. This was the sixth-year Gryffindor prefect, Percy Weasley.
"You're a bit early, Percy. Find a place to sit for now. Later, you'll review the work they submit. No problem, right?"
"No problem, Professor," Percy replied confidently, which made William quite satisfied—as expected of a student so enthusiastically recommended by even Professor Binns. And Professor Binns could hardly recognize any of the other professors anymore.
'An internship certificate and a meager stipend from the school's budget in exchange for such an excellent inspector. Where else but a school could you find such a great employee for so little?'
William nodded in satisfaction and continued his work.
(end of chapter)
"Faster, faster—children, these are just some simple multiple-choice questions. There's no need to be so serious. Do you really like taking tests?"
At the podium, William was cheerfully making sarcastic remarks.
But the students below didn't even have time to fume—while it was true the test consisted entirely of multiple-choice questions, William had only given them half an hour to complete it. This was rushed even for typical students, let alone the ones caught this time.
A person's stamina is limited, even for a wizard. Most of the students who had been brought here had less-than-ideal grades, the type who got a headache just by looking at a test paper.
Even though William reminded them three times, when it was time to collect the papers, some students resorted to pleading, "Professor, please, just a little more time."
William kindly skipped over them and began collecting the papers from the students behind.
However, when William finished and turned back to them, these kids still had no intention of handing in their papers.
"Almost done, Professor, just a moment!"
'They can't finish a multiple-choice test in thirty minutes? I thought it was a pretty fair test when I wrote it.'
He then saw the others trying to suppress their laughter—he had been careless!
As expected, these kids in detention were far better at outwitting professors than the other students.
William made a mental note to himself, then quickly walked up to the podium—if he remembered correctly, there were some textbooks left by previous students inside it.
"Hmm, fourth-year... No... here they are."
He took out the dust-covered first-year textbooks, and from his bag, William also produced a few copies of a worksheet intended for the fifth-years—they were all first-year questions, but difficult even if you were copying directly from the book.
"I had no idea you were all so interested in test papers."
William walked over quickly as he spoke, placing the textbooks and worksheets one by one on the desks of the students still working.
"I'm very touched, and I've decided that no matter your scores, you shouldn't have to clean toilets—you don't need to do those test questions anymore. Tonight, each of you will complete two worksheets, open-book. If your grade is below an 'E', remember to copy the entire worksheet five times and bring it to me before your next detention."
"Alright, what are you waiting for? Move your desks and chairs to the back of the classroom. Two worksheets are no small task. If the detention period ends and you still haven't finished, you'll receive a failing grade."
William clapped his hands lightly.
"Off you go, gentlemen."
Several students who mistakenly thought they had single-handedly delayed the detention began moving their desks and chairs with their wands, grimacing. William walked back to the podium, picked up the stack of tests with an amiable smile, and began to read out the names one by one.
...
"George Weasley, hmm, a fail. I thought we had a good thing going—go report to Mr. Filch."
Laughter erupted from the students below—George was the third unlucky soul sent to clean toilets.
Even George himself looked bewildered, unable to believe the score. He had copied the answers several times before; how did he fail today?
"Fred Weasley, hmm, just barely Acceptable. You got one more multiple-choice question right than George. Congratulations, tonight you can continue copying the remaining lines, and by the way, you can help George finish his work. Honestly, you two even have similar handwriting."
When Fred's name was called, laughter had erupted again from the students, who were waiting for the fourth unlucky soul to be sentenced. Even George looked eagerly at his toilet-scrubbing partner—with Fred around, cleaning toilets wouldn't be so boring.
But the moment William finished speaking, the entire classroom fell silent.
As for George, his face twisted into a mask of agony. He looked utterly incredulous, with an expression that screamed, "How could you betray me?"
"Professor, there must be a mistake, right?"
Fred asked in surprise—he had already prepared himself to go scrub toilets, so how had it turned out like this?
"It is indeed a bit unbelievable—let me check again."
"No mistake."
After checking carefully once more, William confirmed the result.
Less than five minutes later, seven eliminated, unlucky souls walked out of the classroom in succession, looking speechless.
—
"George?"
"George?"
After his name was called several times, George finally snapped out of it and looked at the person calling him.
"Hurry up—the professor said he checked the time. If we don't get to Filch within a quarter of an hour, our detention time will be doubled."
"Let it be doubled! Merlin's beard, Fred betrayed us!"
"It's not like he wanted to. Look on the bright side, at least we're better off than those poor sods doing worksheets at the back of the classroom, right?"
Everyone instantly felt a bit better, and cheerful laughter returned to the group.
"But... didn't we just take a test?"
...
Silence, silence, and more silence.
—
"Alright, I trust that during that simple test, most of you have mastered the basic guidelines for copying. This is a good start. Next, each of you will come up and receive a stack of materials to write out. The Quick-Quotes Quills and parchment are all ready."
"I hope you check these materials carefully. If I find any problems during my review, then I'll regrettably have to send you over to Mr. Filch to be dealt with."
William called the students up one by one and distributed the materials. Only then did he sit at the podium and take out a third-year textbook to look through.
Test papers... with a little effort, you could always make more. Creating them was quite addictive—it both deepened his own research and ensured the work wasn't for nothing. Even if this knowledge was never used for lifting curses, someone would still appreciate the effort.
The sight of William preparing another test successfully terrified the students below. For a moment, the only sounds in the entire classroom, apart from the rustling of materials being checked, were the scratches of quills dancing across parchment.
"Knock, knock."
A knock on the door broke the classroom's silence.
"Come in," William replied without lifting his head.
"Professor, I'm here to report."
A head of fiery red hair appeared in the line of sight of every student in the classroom—most of them recognized him. This was the sixth-year Gryffindor prefect, Percy Weasley.
"You're a bit early, Percy. Find a place to sit for now. Later, you'll review the work they submit. No problem, right?"
"No problem, Professor," Percy replied confidently, which made William quite satisfied—as expected of a student so enthusiastically recommended by even Professor Binns. And Professor Binns could hardly recognize any of the other professors anymore.
'An internship certificate and a meager stipend from the school's budget in exchange for such an excellent inspector. Where else but a school could you find such a great employee for so little?'
William nodded in satisfaction and continued his work.
(end of chapter)
