Wren Winchester Exams (10/10) NEWTs Complete! Graded!

[addaellis]

O.W.L.s
Core
Astronomy ~ A

Wren did not really care about Astronomy. He didn’t really study for it, and had stopped going to class if he’d read the book and understood things well enough. He walked in knowing he’d scrape an A and was perfectly happy to spend his time reviewing more interesting subjects.

Charms ~ O

Wren had a head start on charms theory, studying it before he arrived at Hogwarts, but his ability in charms was probably best credited to laziness. He would have continued to use charms for everyday things, Underage Magic Trace be damned, if his grandmother hadn’t threatened to take his wand away. Thinking of spells he could be using instead of doing things by hand was at least good for review though! The practical was a breeze, and even though his written answers were concise, they definitely answered the question.

Defense Against the Dark Arts ~ A

Repelling dark creatures was well and good, but Wren much preferred lessons where they discussed how dark magic itself worked and how to defend or repair the damage from them. His work always reflected his interest in the particular subject-- some assignments were thoughtfully researched and articulated, others were the bare minimum of words slapped on the page. His written exam mirrored this, and while he spent a good minute making grossed out noises at the boggart, he did eventually manage to dispel it.

Herbology ~ E

Despite his usual curt demeanor and his general devil-may care attitude, Wren was surprisingly careful with any plants that passed into his care and never let a plant leave him worse for the wear. While he got plenty of practice with his friends Eion and Moira's talent for wilting things, years of leaving the most of the work to natural green thumbs Aspen, Nimbus, and Yukon had left him unaccustomed to doing everything alone. Three years of Herbology club helped, but he was a little pressed on time.

History of Magic ~ A

Wren always put maximum snark into his essays for History, but it did require him to at least know the content. While he enjoyed knowing where things came from, Wren couldn’t actually like history if only because his cousin August liked it. He decided in fourth year he wasn’t going to pursue the subject at the NEWT level and from there did the bare minimum to pass.

Potions ~ O

Perhaps it was spending summers avoiding his parents by going to his potioneer aunt’s place, or his soft spot for making and fixing things, but Wren took to potions with surprising care and pride. It was the only core class he attended every session without fail, and every assignment throughout the years was turned in with obvious, if unintentional, signs of effort and interest. While if in a rush Wren preferred to use magic to prep ingredients, he was remarkably adroit and willing to prepare potions by hand-- there were limitations to magic sometimes, and just as he had found reparo wasn’t the same as reconstructing a book cover by hand, he found using magic to quickly whip up a potion wasn’t quite the same as preparing each step and ingredient by hand. Each potion he ever turned in was done to the best of his ability, and his OWL potions were no exception.

Transfiguration ~ A

Transfiguration was honestly a fascinating subject, and inspired Wren to take Alchemy. But transfiguration was also a lot of work, and a bad habit of skipping the homework the first three years caught up; knowing by fifth year he wouldn’t be able to scrape an E to move onto advanced transfiguration, Wren instead focused his efforts elsewhere. His exam was taken mostly seriously but his hesitation with the kitten on the practical set him just a few points short of the requisite E.

Electives
Alchemy~ O

Between his interests in Potions and Transfiguration, Wren took to Alchemy with great fascination. He enjoyed the crafting and transmutation aspects, but by far his favorite part was figuring out solutions to alchemy puzzles. Drafting solutions to alchemy problems soon became the equivalent of walking around fiddling with a puzzle box. He blitzed easily through the written section and had fun with the practical.

Cursebreaking ~ A

Wren was generally more interested in placing enchantments or curses on objects than he was in really breaking them, but knowing how to break them was a start. He did like how many interesting spells they learned from cursebreaking. His exam answers were correct if rushed and under-explained, and his practical was simply and efficiently done.

Divination ~ O

Wren took Divination so he might have a better idea of how to parse things in legilimency, and because his best friend was a seer. Tarot decks and other forms of divination was pretty much half of his “aesthetic” and Wren demonstrated that the aesthetic was not just for show. While he thought Professor Somerset was a little kooky, he found her lectures easy to understand, and his interest and dedication to the subject definitely showed in the thoroughness of his exam answers.

Healing ~ E

Wren claimed his motivation for taking healing had been learning how to better injure, but a closer friend would have realized it was actually an extension of his soft spot for fixing broken things. As he continued in Healing, Wren found more challenge and entertainment in learning to heal than to hurt. His understanding and actual healing was superb, but his “bedside manner” fluctuated between silent and sarcastic if not downright insulting. He was extraordinarily peeved at points taken off for that, but hey, he wasn’t going to mince words for an exam.

Study of Ancient Runes ~ E

Wren’s interest in crafting magical items led him invariably to Runic Magic, and he joined the class in fourth year. It was a miserable summer and year catching up but he put a solid effort in, knowing it would be useful to his projects. Come fifth year he integrated much better into the class, and found that his diligence paid off. He didn’t care much for translations homework, but always put obvious research in any of the practical work and his effort. The exam was harder than he anticipated, but he was glad to do well enough to continue.

Wandless ~ A

Wren had taken Wandless for the specific purpose of not needing to go through the full range of motion to draw his wand every time he wanted to summon an object to him or turn off a light. He can definitely do that and a few other simple spells, but isn’t about to wander off without his wand and probably isn’t winning any wandless duels.

Wandlore ~ O

Wren’s best memory as a child was watching his grandmother make his wand. It tapped into his quiet passion for fixing and making things, and was the closest thing Wren could find close to enchanting objects. He took wandlore for as much an interest in materials and their magical properties as he did an interest in making wands, and his exam reflected a thorough knowledge of the subject.

 

[MJ Spooks]

Astronomy ~ A
Charms ~ O
Defense Against the Dark Arts ~ A
Herbology ~ EE
History of Magic ~ A
Potions ~ O
Transfiguration ~ A
Alchemy ~ O
Cursebreaking ~ A
Divination ~ O
Healing ~ EE
Study of Ancient Runes ~ EE
Wandless ~ A
Wandlore ~ O  

[addaellis]

NEWTs

CORE
Charms ~ E

Wren’s ability with Charms was particularly tied to his laziness-- anything outside of crafting, Quidditch, and divinations that he could do with a spell was done with a spell. This afforded him great practice and familiarity at least, and made the practical a breeze. He did quite well with nonverbal spells, as if the spell didn't even require a word, he was even more inclined to use it.

Defense Against the Dark Arts ~ A

Wren only continued DADA because he couldn’t continue cursebreaking, and he wanted to take something that furthered his understanding of dark arts. He found himself disturbed by some of the material in NEWT level DADA--dementors and unforgivable curses-- and put in the effort to understand these dark arts, if only so he would never be caught off guard by them. He learned quite a lot and this time but with so many other, happier, things to attend to like Quidditch and Culinary Club and friends, his treatment of the subject was inconsistent.

Herbology ~ E

Wren hates actually maintaining a garden, but hates someone messing it up even more. And since the world is full of incompetents, he has to at least know the material. After spending so much time with Aspen, Yukon and Nim, Wren felt almost obligated to give the exam good effort. He had, after all, never let a living creature leave his care worse for the wear, and he wasn’t about to let some plant ruin that record.

Potions ~ O

Wren jumped into NEWTs able to keep up to date on much of the latest in Potions research and always took every opportunity to practice his potions technique on a new project. For the written portion his answers were clear, concise, and precisely written so as not to waste a single sentence, and his practical was neat, efficient, and exactly performed so as not to waste a single movement.

ELECTIVES
Alchemy~ O

Alchemy was again treated as a fun puzzle-solving class, which Wren adored. He would gladly spend all day thinking through an interesting alchemy conundrum to come to the simplest effective solutions--it also beat thinking about any real-life drama or grief. His proficiency with potions theory and methodology helped greatly here as well.

Divination ~ E

Wren’s dedication to the aesthetic of divination paid dividends in his study of legilimency already, but he continued to pay attention and put effort into not only performing the divinations but interpreting them correctly. While he was no seer, Wren did quite well in divination and knew enough to know when to turn to a proper seer for additional insight. His exam was mostly flawless, aside from a single fortune where he overlooked a simple interpretation in favor of an overly complicated one. A few minutes after the exam, he realized the more elegant interpretation and was very disappointed, knowing he’d just missed the O.

Healing~ E

With the hurt that had come to Nim and Aria the summer prior, not to mention scraps in Quidditch, Wren found plenty of motivation to study healing well. He did particularly well with complex cases that he thought were interesting, but his refusal--or perhaps inability--to communicate not sarcastically in simple cases hurt his final score. The actual spellwork and potions were were outstanding. Once he was sure it was just his talking, Wren could care less: He wasn’t going to be a healer, and he needed the people he treated to be alive, not unoffended. He treated the exam exactly the same as every other healing class: precisely and deftly cast, callously and acerbically spoken.

Study of Ancient Runes ~ E

Wren disliked the translational side of Runes but had stuck through with it because of Runes’ usefulness in crafting and enchantment. His patience was rewarded when they started studying runic spells and staves and he learned as much as he could. Given his excellence in divination it was ironic that runic divination was not Wren’s strongest suit, but that didn’t deter him from continuing to mess with and practice it. If anything, his effort and familiarity paid off and helped him scrape the E instead of an A.

Wandless Magic ~ A

Wren had considered not continuing Wandless Magic after mastering the everyday charms, but realized in sixth year that the practice sessions were an excellent time to practice wandless legilimency. He paid much more attention after that, and became not only much better at legilimency but at wandless magic. He still wasn’t winning any duels without his wand, but Wren figures he’s better off trying to win a fight with information and strategic manipulation rather than fancy wandwork anyways.

Wandlore~ O

Wandlore was Wren’s closest analogue to fixing, crafting, and building magical trinkets, and if his attention to the detailed maintenance of his broom and wand were not enough evidence, the occasional offer to repair or maintain his friends’ trinkets did not go unnoticed. His experience interning at Ollivander’s the summer before seventh year only confirmed and strengthened his interest in wandcraft, and he returned to NEWT preparations with greater insight as to how to apply all the wandlore they learned, and a clear motivation as to where he was going with wandlore.

 

[Cinnabun Gryffie]

Charms - EE
Defence Against the Dark Arts - A
Herbology - EE
Potions - O


Alchemy - O
Divination - EE
Healing - EE
Study of Ancient Runes - EE
Wandless Magic Practice Class - A
Wandlore Studies - O