Linsey Grey-Cavendish’s OWLs
Core Classes
Astronomy: While Linsey didn’t mind the subject matter, she very much minded the hour at which it was being taught. While it was interesting, and her aunt stressed the implications of ‘archeoastronomy’ had in Cursebreaking, she found that when it came time for OWL prep she couldn’t justify putting in as much of her effort here when she was planning to drop the class after Fifth Year. That said, she also refused to tank the class and the OWL, and kill her grade point ~ Exceeds Expectations
Charms: Besides being the basic building blocks of all things learned at Hogwarts, Linsey inherited her mother’s talent for the subject, which became apparent when she started taking the class as a First Year. The magic comes almost as easily to her as breathing. When it came time for the exam, Linsey took as much of it wandless as the examiners would allow her to, because she was so comfortable with the subject matter. Needless to say, she aced this OWL ~ Outstanding.
Defense Against the Dark Arts: This was a subject with which Linsey was particularly squeamish, being she didn’t like inflicting harm upon others, even if it might someday save her life. Her godmother explained to her what happened at the train station at Hogsmeade when she was a student, and how she’d been unable to cast a spell to save her own life, and how narrowly she avoided death. When it came to the OWL, Linsey aced the written portion, the practical exam proved she could cast defensive charms with her usual level of facility, however when it came to casting offensive hexes and curses, her natural squeamishness showed through and ensured they weren’t as a close to the mark as they honestly should or could have been. It was the boggart test that nearly did her in, as it took the form of a black box which engulfed the Fifth Year Ravenclaw and started slowly crushing her as all the sides contracted around her. While she managed to drive the boggart off, the experience landed her in Hospital Wing overnight ~ Exceeds Expectations
Herbology: Being friends with Tam has given Linsey an appreciation for plants she might never have had otherwise, and while at first she thought she might not have appreciated the class, she found she rather liked getting her hands dirty, and the feeling of having accomplished something by the end of a project. She tackled her classes with her usual level of detail, and her class notes were liberally decorated with illustrations of the plants as well as the procedures used in handling them. The written exam was a breeze for the Fifth Year, and she handled the practical portion with the level of care she did her Healing Arts exam ~ Outstanding
History of Magic: As with Art History, Linsey found the subject of the history of magic to be very interesting, though she was found wishing the two subjects could dovetail more, as she wondered how the two fields interacted with and perhaps influenced each other. It also helped her having Professor Powell as her teacher here as well as in her Ancient Runes class, as she rather liked him and appreciated his approach to handling the classes. When she wrote this OWL, Linsey’s memory for dates and names held her in good stead, allowing her to comfortably polish off the exam itself and the extra credit essay ~ Outstanding
Potions: Linsey approaches Potions as being a glorified cooking class, and as anybody who knows her can attest, she knows how to cook. For her, learning and following the recipes to fabricate various potions, with the more difficult ones viewed simply as a challenge for her to work out. The Ministry examiner watching her work saw her assembling a Draught of Peace with as much comfort and ease as if she were making a batch of shortbread cookies. She had little issue with either the written or practical exam ~ Outstanding
Transfiguration: This was one of those classes where Linsey did quite well with the written side of the material, but had distaste for the practical, owing to the amount of spells requiring dire things being done to living creatures. Linsey resolved this by doing her utmost to do as little harm as possible, and being able to undo what harm she might cause as quickly as possible. As a result, she became quite proficient with the class exercises. The final OWL exercise of Vanishing the Kitten was one she found especially repugnant, and she took good care to bring the kitten back quickly and unharmed. She has since found a forever home for the lucky kitten with one of her younger Housemates ~ Outstanding
Elective Classes
Art: Linsey is an artist, and has always been so. She tried sneaking into Professor Hawthorne’s class when she was a First Year, giving proof to how much she wanted to be there. She found art theory and history an endlessly fascinating subject, but where she truly flourished was with the level of artistic expression and the passion she put into her assignments. Aside from studying things like names and dates, the rest of this OWL was an easy ~ Outstanding
Cursebreaking: Core of the cluster of classes Linsey started with when she was studying to be a Cursebreaker, this class challenged her, and she answered the proverbial bell. Figuring out how to unravel various enchantments pushed the Fifth Year to be more creative in her application of her skills and talents. Even though she has since decided this was not a career path she wished to pursue, Linsey was determined not to either tank the class or her grade point, and so she devoted more time and attention to this OWL than she might otherwise ~ Exceeds Expectations
Healing Arts: This was taken as part of a troika of classes she was taking when Linsey was planning to be a Cursebreaker. Since her Third Year, her career plans changed, so while it wasn’t a priority, she had no plans to sluff off either. This proved to be a difficult class for Linsey owing to the amount of knowledge she needed to have along with the spellwork required to succeed. She did well on the written portion of the OWL, and her natural compassion for others helped raise her grade on the practical exam ~ Outstanding
Study of Ancient Runes: This was the last of the classes Linsey picked up when she was planning to be a Cursebreaker, and one of the more interesting ones. The Norse runes they were studying were actually rather similar to the Ogham runes she was already familiar with, so this helped her studies immensely. For her the study of language was another art to be embraced, as it expressed concepts and intents the writer was seeking to communicate. She enjoyed figuring out lines of script and found the writing assignments to be fun. For Linsey, this OWL was another easy ~ Outstanding
Wandless Magic Practice: Linsey was surprised at how easily and quickly she was able to become used to not needing a wand to cast magic; in some cases it was easier for her to shape spells to her intent with the deft gesture of a finger than it was a wand. At the end of the exam, she said the examiner, “Well, that was a nice review of the material, so when’s the actual exam?” ~ Outstanding
Wizard Law: This was a class Linsey took at the insistence of her father, who wanted to make sure she took classes allowing her to earn a living if all her other plans failed. It is also a class where her magical talents have no impact upon her final grade. She worked hard to do well in this class, and her raw intelligence and problem-solving ability served her well, remembering precedents, points of order, and other legal principles. While her OWL legal case was well-written and well-presented, the panel of examiners were not swayed by her passionate plea for clemency for her fictitious client ~ Exceeds Expectations
