The.afternoon.practical.was.not.as.dreadful.as.he.had.expected.it.to.be..With.Snape.absent.from.the.proceedings,.he.found.that.he.was.much.more.relaxed.
than.he.usually.was.while.making.potions..Neville,.who.was.sitting.very.near.Harry,.also.looked.happier.than.Harry.had.ever.seen.him.during.a.Potions.class.
.When.Professor.Marchbanks.said,..Step.away.from.your.cauldrons,.please,.the.examination.is.over,..Harry.corked.his.sample.flask.feeling.that.he.might.not.have.achieved.a.good.grade.but.he.had,.with.luck,.avoided.a.fail..
.Only.four.exams.left,..said.Parvati.Patil.wearily.as.they.headed.back.to.Gryffindor.common.room..
.Only!..said.Hermione.snappishly...I.ve.got.Arithmancy.and.it.s.probably.the.toughest.subject.there.is!..
Nobody.was.foolish.enough.to.snap.back,.so.she.was.unable.to.vent.her.spleen.on.any.of.them.and.was.reduced.to.telling.off.some.first鈥恲ears.for.giggling.too.loudly.in.the.common.room..
Harry.was.determined.to.perform.well.in.Tuesdays.Care.of.Magical.Creatures.exam.so.as.not.to.let.Hagnd.down..The.practical.examination.took.place.in.the.afternoon.on.the.lawn.on.the.edge.of.the.Forbidden.Forest,.where.students.were.required.to.correctly.identify.the.Knarl.hidden.among.a.dozen.hedgehogs.(the.trick.was.to.offer.them.all.milk.in.turn:.Knarls,.highly.suspicious.creatures.whose.quills.had.many.magical.properties,.generally.went.berserk.at.what.they.saw.as.an.attempt.to.poison.them);.then.demonstrate.correct.handling.of.a.Bowtruckle;
.feed.and.clean.out.a.Fire.Crab.without.sustaining.serious.burns;.and.choose,
.from.a.wide.selection.of.food,.the.diet.they.would.give.a.sick.unicorn..
Harry.could.see.Hagrid.watching.anxiously.out.of.his.cabin.window..When.Harry.s.examiner,.a.plump.little.witch.this.time,.smiled.at.him.and.told.him.he.could.leave,.Harry.gave.Hagrid.a.fleeting.thumbs鈥恥p.before.heading.back.to.the.castle..
The.Astronomy.theory.paper.on.Wednesday.morning.went.well.enough..Harry.was.not.convinced.he.had.got.the.names.of.all.Jupiter.s.moons.right,.but.was.at.least.confident.that.none.of.them.was.inhabited.by.mice..They.had.to.wait.until.evening.for.their.practical.Astronomy;.the.afternoon.was.devoted.instead.to.Divination..
Even.by.Harry.s.low.standards.in.Divination,.the.exam.went.very.badly..He.might.as.well.have.tried.to.see.moving.pictures.on.the.desktop.as.in.the.stubbornly.blank.crystal.ball;.he.lost.his.head.completely.during.tea鈥恖eaf.reading,.
saying.it.looked.to.him.as.though.Professor.Marchbanks.would.shortly.be.meeting.a.round,.dark,.soggy.stranger,.and.rounded.off.the.whole.fiasco.by.mixing.up.the.life.and.head.lines.on.her.palm.and.informing.her.that.she.ought.to.have.die.the.previous.Tuesday..
.Well,.we.were.always.going.to.fail.that.one,..said.Ron.gloomily.as.they.ascended.the.marble.staircase..He.had.just.made.Harry.feel.rather.better.by.telling.him.how.he.had.told.the.examiner.in.detail.about.the.ugly.man.with.a.warton.his.nose.in.his.crystal.ball,.only.to.look.up.and.realise.he.had.been.describing.his.examiner.s.reflection..