C H A P T E R S I X T E E N
THROUGH
THE TRAPDOOR
I
n years to come, Harry would never quite remember how he
had managed to get through his exams when he half expected
Voldemort to come bursting through the door at any moment. Yet
the days crept by, and there could be no doubt that Fluffy was still
alive and well behind the locked door.
It was sweltering hot, especially in the large classroom where
they did their written papers. They had been given special, new
quills for the exams, which had been bewitched with an Anti-
Cheating spell.
They had practical exams as well. Professor Flitwick called them
one by one into his class to see if they could make a pineapple tap-
dance across a desk. Professor McGonagall watched them turn a
mouse into a snuffbox — points were given for how pretty the
snuffbox was, but taken away if it had whiskers. Snape made them
all nervous, breathing down their necks while they tried to remem-
ber how to make a Forgetfulness potion.
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