William felt that although most of these young witches and wizards had rather shaky foundations—full of holes like a sieve... this was only their first monthly assessment, and there were still nearly two months before the exams.
If they could spend even an hour or so each day reviewing the syllabus seriously, even simple rote memorisation would be enough to bring their core-subject grades above a pass.
Besides, every beginning was difficult. To avoid crushing their confidence right from the start, William had deliberately limited the exam for students below fifth year to the compulsory subjects only. The difficulty level had also been carefully discussed with several professors and set at a relatively easy standard.
However, after observing for a week, William realised he had overestimated the self-discipline of teenage wizards and underestimated their talent for procrastination.
A large portion of students hadn't begun planning or revising. Instead, their first reaction was to gather together and complain.
They knew perfectly well that the decision had the unanimous backing of the Board of Governors and the professors. Their protests were meaningless.
From William's experience, their psychological journey would probably follow a predictable path:
First, complain for half a month while continuing to enjoy life.
Then, when time began to run short and complaints achieved nothing, panic and start revising frantically.
Finally, as the deadline loomed, despair upon realising they couldn't finish everything, pray to Merlin for a passing grade under their blankets, and curse the school for its cruelty.
While most students were in low spirits and full of resentment, someone clearly hadn't taken the news to heart at all.
Nymphadora Tonks.
---
That evening, William sat in his office, revising a long roll of parchment.
Knock, knock, knock.
He flicked his wand, and the dense writing on the parchment vanished instantly, leaving a blank sheet.
"Come in."
The door opened. Tonks strode in confidently, her half-human-sized alchemical puppet following closely behind.
"Good evening, Professor!" she said proudly, her hair a vibrant purple. "I've come to report in!"
Instead of responding immediately, William listened carefully.
Aside from Tonks's footsteps, the heavy metal puppet made no sound at all as it moved—no clanking, no thudding, like a ghost without a body.
"The silencing is perfect," William nodded. "Show me the invisibility."
"Watch this!"
Tonks waved her wand excitedly.
The runic circuit on the puppet's chest glowed faint blue. Its silver-grey body rippled like liquid mercury, colours shifting to blend seamlessly with the surroundings.
In the blink of an eye, it vanished. Only the faintest distortion in the air remained if one looked very closely.
"That's not all."
Tonks snapped her fingers. The puppet reappeared and began moving.
William didn't merely watch. With a flick of his wand, chairs, tables, and even the empty snake nest floated up and scattered themselves chaotically in its path.
The puppet moved with surprising agility, utterly at odds with its bulky appearance.
It twisted sideways, ducked, and even made a small jump—perfectly avoiding every obstacle. Only when it reached the wall without touching anything did William nod in approval.
"Excellent. You've not only stabilised the Disillusionment Charm, but clearly put work into the sensory circuits as well."
Tonks lifted her chin proudly like a peacock. "Of course! Aside from Auror training and detention, I've spent most of my time on this!"
"Very commendable dedication," William said casually. "How is your revision for the post-Halloween mock exams? They're aligned with N.E.W.T. standards. Confident?"
"Easy," Tonks waved dismissively. "I know that stuff inside out. At least an 'E', and with luck, maybe all 'O's."
"Ambitious. I like it."
William didn't press further. Talented students rarely needed much worrying about.
"Since the stealth function exceeds expectations, it's time for the next step: reconnaissance."
"Put simply, we need to transmit real-time visual information."
He tapped the puppet's smooth head. "You must allow the puppet's nonexistent 'eyes' to send what it sees across distance and display it for the user—on a mirror, or parchment."
Tonks frowned as confusion crept onto her face.
"It sounds complicated," William reassured, "but once you grasp the core logic, it isn't as difficult as it seems."
...
Half an hour later.
"As long as the runic array resonates with the receiving array, the image will synchronise."
After finishing his simplified lecture on a Hogwarts-style surveillance system, William sipped tea. "Understood?"
Tonks scratched her now-blue hair, eyes slightly unfocused. "Uh… mostly? Probably… maybe."
"Good enough. You can refine the rest yourself. Try it first, only come to me if you truly get stuck."
"Got it, Professor!"
She turned to leave with the puppet, then paused at the door.
William had already restored the writing on the parchment and resumed editing.
Curious, Tonks asked, "Professor, is that an advanced alchemy design?"
Without looking up, William crossed out a question. "No, it's your mock exam paper. This question about werewolf habits feels too easy. I'm thinking of replacing it with something harder."
"Since you know now, I suppose I should change it."
Tonks's smile froze.
"…Oh. Right."
She gave a dry farewell and hurried out of the office.
===================
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