It was the first week of July, which meant year end exams were right around the corner, when virtually every part of Vale usually turned into a madhouse.  It was also one of the few times when the Alpha students were able to enjoy watching the older students panic and race around like overly caffinated idiots.
	A lot of students were finding that their desire to enjoy the beautiful summer weather had actually put them at risk for failing their school work, and the number of procrastinators had sky-rocketed in June.
	Some students believed it was cruel to even have school in June or July, but in all fairness, the final trimester had few lectures, easy assignments, and a lot of self-study.  If a student were to take care to balance their school work with their leisure time, they could easily enjoy a fun summer and still accomplish everything needed to finish their assignments.
	However, many kids and teenagers liked to put fun ahead of study at all times.
	Despite his courseload, Ben had figured out the best way to make sure he stayed on-time with his assignments: play during the day and work all night with the aid of a sleep-compression spell, which halved the amount of sleep he needed.  He still needed to sleep (he usually did that between 6 AM and 10 AM), eat and shower; but he was well ahead of most of his classmates, who were just now realizing how much they'd put off.
	Ben was shaking his head as he stepped out of his bedroom and over three sleeping Beta students who'd been doing an impromptu cram session in the hall and hadn't won the fight to stay awake.
	The Beta Year cafeteria was buzzing with activity, as students, in an effort to conserve time, were practicing spells, studying, writing assignments, and eating all at once.  Once in a while, a student would spit out their eraser, as they'd forgotten to switch writing utensils for eating utensils.
	After a brief meal, Ben headed for his first class of the day, Potions.  Namina was writing two things on the board.  The first was the due date for the final assignment, which Ben was finished with, and the second was a notice that they should write down what subject they wanted as their year end final.
	Namina had mentioned that the finals could be in a mixture of the classes, but it was generally in the one subject that the student felt most comfortable about.
	Since the only other thing he had left in that class was to hand in his assignment (which he did), he took a while to decide on what his year end exam should be.
	He was doing pretty good in Attack Magic, as well as Necromancy and Enchantment, but he wasn't sure if he should do a mixture of those three classes or simply pick one.  Then again, everyone knew the fewer tests you took, the most strigent the grading got.  You had to really razzle-dazzle the teachers with three separate displays.  If you chose three different subjects, the grading was more lenient.
	In the end, Ben chose to challenge himself with one of each of his best subjects.  Since they would be minor challenges, he didn't really think much of them.

	=========================
	Vale Studies
	Chapter 3 - Year End Exam
	=========================

	Once he'd chosen, he left to meet up with his friends outside of the Library.  It was strange, but after the first two semesters, most of the group had managed to come back together.  It was largely because of the lowered courseload, but also because they, unlike most of the normal (1) student body, were working harder.  It didn't change the fact that they'd likely wind up in the same pinch next year.  Ben was doubly thankful that because of the increase of people around him, it was much less likely that any of his rivals would attempt to bother him.
	Edward, Alphonse, and Alexis were already waiting by the fountain in front of the library.  A student Ben didn't know ran past screaming and on fire.  Ben didn't bother to pay attention, since that was generally a prank the older students tried to play on the younger ones.  Besides, there hadn't been any explosion and there was no noise of crackling flames.
	"So, what did you wind up choosing?" Alexis inquired.
	"Necromancy, Black Magic and Enchantment," Ben answered, before inquiring, "what'd you take?"
	"I just chose Black Magic and Transmutation." Alexis replied, "Though, I've heard a lot from older students that Transmutation is one of the hardest Year End trials."
	"No kidding," Edward sighed, "but if you go entirely by the rumors, I'm done for."
	"Really?  I thought you two had a lot of potential." Ben inquired.
	"Potential doesn't really equate to patience." Alphonse explained, "Ed and I are both having trouble with the book."
	"IT'S SO BORING!" Edward shouted angrily, flailing his limbs wildly.
	Ben and Alexis both understood.  Of most of the courses, Transmutation was easiest in actual execution, but the Transmutation instructor, "Doctor" Vellian Crowler, the pale-skinned pointy-nosed blonde-haired semi-effeminite instructor of the Transmutation classes for the early years, refused to let students get away with simply transmuting things.
	According to "Doctor" Crowler, they needed to understand the fundamental changes they were creating, which meant they had huge books filled with dry text, self-inclusive slang and lingo, TERRIBLE examples and metaphors, and on top of that, Crowler set up TONS of lectures and tests; all of which led to Transmutation being some of the most _BORING_ ass courses one could take, despite the fact that Transmutation was otherwise a great choice for magical studies.
	Ben himself had to intermix reading Transmutation book with books he liked just to keep himself going, and he still needed three to four hour breaks just to try and grasp what the book was trying to say.
	"I used to brag that I could finish a course book in several hours.  That book ALONE took two MONTHS, and I'm STILL not sure I understand ANY of it!" Ed growled.
	"I had to use several spells of memorization and I don't get the jargon at all." Alexis admitted.
	Ben shuddered, "I still have nightmares about the section on Transmutation Mishaps."
	Everyone turned green at the mention of that section.  Six VERY LONG chapters had been devoted to the subject of transmutation mishaps.  Even Ben's ever-cheerful rival, Uzu, had looked traumatized by that section in the book.
	"Why did they add such graphic details to a book that was going to be read by children?" Edward groaned, bile rising in his throat.
	"I know we should be prepared for mistakes, but really..." Al added.
	"Necromancy is more palatable.  At least there you know what to expect." Ben said, coughing a few times as he swallowed his own bile back down.
	"Anyway, I've heard that the easiest course to pass is White Magic.  You just have to cast a few healing spells and that's it." Edward commented.
	Edward got whalloped by Azalyn's book.  The violet-haired girl, who happened to be taking the same Necromancy class as Ben, had just arrived to hear Ed's crack, "'Cast a few healing spells' indeed.  You wouldn't be able to tell a minor laceration from a wart without six guidebooks and three tutors."
	Ed glared at Azalyn.  Ben didn't know the full details, but they'd developed an animosity following something to do with a friend of Azalyn's, a girl named "Winry" or something like that.
	"That's true, but a lot of students think White Magic is an 'Easy 'A''." (2) Miyabi Kagurazaki commented as she arrived behind Ben.
	"Those same students never took a necromancy course." Azalyn noted, glaring angrily at Ed.
	"Yeah, I have to say, taking a necromancy course would probably change his attitude." Ben agreed.
	"Besides, haven't you figured it out?  This is Vale!  The greatest (albeit the only) magical academy in the entire world!  They aren't going to let slackers pass!" Alexis scolded Edward.
	"That's not entirely true.  We have tons of 'em." Edward commented, pointing to the panicked students in the distance.
	"He does have a point.  Not everyone comes to Vale with the same aspirations as us." Miyabi reluctantly agreed.
	"Besides, Ed does have a point that not all magic classes are the same.  Some are obviously going to be easier than others." Alphonse spoke up.
	"While not everyone would get the same jargon for the classes, I do have to admit that some ARE tougher than others." Ben joined in.
	"See?  There have to be slacker courses.  Transmutation is obviously the most difficult, so by default-" Edward began.
	"Hey, now.  Difficulty varies depending on the caster's skill." Azalyn piped up.
	"Actually," Alphonse interupted, "while that is true, we can place labels like 'most difficult' on certain courses.  Transmutation has the triple whammy of a strict teacher, tons of homework and a very dry textbook.  But, as Azalyn pointed out, white magic is a lot more than simply casting a spell."
	Azalyn nodded in agreement, "While you can simply cast a spell to heal a broken bone, it might not be set right, muscles or veins might heal inside the bone and the spell might ignore problems like bone fragments traveling in the bloodstream.  That's something you'd know if you pursued the white magic courses more heavily, Ed."
	Ed grimaced.  He hadn't really thought about the worst case scenarios for healing spells, but it made sense that more devoted students, like Alphonse and Azalyn, would know more about those sorts of things, "Sorry.  I guess since I'm following Transmutation and the Black Magic course so much more, I hadn't really considered that healing spells needed more than a general idea of what to do.  But what good would a necromancy course do?"
	"The best ways to understand how the body works and how it's supposed to look is either by examining a living body that's undergoing surgery, or by examining a dead body." Ben explained, "Since doctors can't always put off a surgery for an entire class to file in and look at what they're doing, the dead are the best examples you can use.  There's a saying that the body is an entire universe unto itself and that's pretty much true."
	"So, you just look at dead bodies?" Ed asked.
	"It's more than just looking at a dead body, Ed.  Figuring out what caused someone to die can help us find means of preventing it.  If it weren't for people willing to investigate the bodies of the deceased, there's a good chance every broken bone or disease would still be 'cured' with leeches." Azalyn admonished him.
	"Okay, okay, I get it." Ed said, waving his hands in a sign of forfeit in hopes of staying the barrage of verbal assaults, "But you have to admit that it doesn't get much creepier than the dead."
	Azalyn laughed coldly, "There are many things worse than a dead body, Edward Elric."
	"All of which I don't want to hear about." Ed responded.
	"Getting back to the point," Al spoke up, knowing that the group might continue to pick on his older brother if he didn't intervene, "Classes aren't even in their courseload.  From the verbal barrage, we know that White Magic isn't one of them, and neither is Transmutation.  So what are some of the easy ones?"
	"Black Magic, for one." Alexis stated firmly, "Once you can cast the spell, you just need control."
	"I guess Divination is fairly easy, once you have a grasp of how to get what you're actually looking for," Miyabi commented, "and you aren't trying to look at the future or past."
	Both Miyabi and Azalyn began laughing, but it shortly escalated into guffawing and got progressively 'worse'.  When they collapsed to the ground, it prompted Ed to ask, "What's so funny?"
	Waiting for the two laughing girls to calm down took a while, but the Miyabi was the one to finally answer Ed's question, but she still wasn't finished giggling, "You remember the chaos that erupted midway into the second semester?"
	A few seconds after that, the week in question came to mind for the rest of the group.  A large group of Beta year students suddenly began making wild proposals to students and staff or locked themselves into their dorm rooms, refusing to come out.
	"Some of the girls in the Divination course decided to make a bit of pocket money foretelling romances or test results." Azalyn continued.
	Ed, Al, Alexis and Ben all grimaced, recalling various UNfunny messes they themselves got into because of the "Romance Du Jour".  It wasn't until the Divination teacher (already knowing what would happen, but for some reason, unwilling to prevent it) forced the girls to openly confess and apologize to the entire student body.  After that, the girls in question were apparently moved to a secure location, given that they hadn't been seen since.(3)  Then again, a great deal of the student population hadn't found the confusion and hysteria very funny.  At least everyone had been refunded the money they'd paid.
	"Everyone kept calling me the 'Demon Knight of Vale' and asked me not to impale them!  I don't even wear armor!" Al complained.  He'd actually gotten off the easiest of the quartet, but he knew if he didn't complain first, he would be criticized as 'wimpy'.  Then again, for Al, who thought of himself as a very nice kid, the looks of horror and the constant fleeing of classmates was very disheartening.
	"I got french-kissed by Mayu." Ben said, spitting out of reflex at the memory.  He didn't mind the kisses on the cheek that two other girls gave him, but the memory of Mayu walking up to him and suddenly having her tongue in his mouth had firmly spoiled the memory of anything good that had resulted from that week.
	"I couldn't get into my room for two hours because of the love letters." Alexis growled, remembering how she'd had to remove the door to her room herself and either throw out or burn every love letter, since the janitor staff had gone into overtime trying to clean up the other messes that had been created that week.  She didn't even want to know how any of the boys had managed to get their letters delivered, nor did she want to know how many girls had written ones for her.
	"I got hit on by four guys." Ed commented, shivering.  Sure, he'd gotten hit on by a greater number of girls, but like Ben, the memory of anything nice had been ruined entirely by the memory of what had been disgusting.
	Of course, the quartet were none too happy that Miyabi and Azalyn had no bad memories of that week.
	"Okay, so Divination has it pretty easy, and so does Black Magic.  What else has it easy?" Alexis inquired, hoping to get her mind off of the frustration she felt over that week.
	"Enchantment is NOT easy.  It's not as tough as Transmutation, but we can rule that subject out right now." Ben responded.
	"Illusion requires a lot of control and focus, but it's not really that difficult once you grasp it." Azalyn noted.
	"Conjuration's tough, because you have to make all sorts of arrangments for the summoning.  And since Conjuration and Blue Magic are alike, we can pretty much lump them together." Miyabi commented.
	"Abjuration is mostly a contest of will and power." Alexis stated.
	"We should probably write this stuff down." Ed noted.
	"Probably." Ben agreed.
	The conversation drifted as the group began a walk around the campus.  They'd gotten hassled by the Walking Club (4), but since they didn't want to go the Inter-League level of walking, they'd all flatout refused to join.  "The Walk" as they'd dubbed it, was simply to talk, not for exercise or any sort of competition.
	Vale was actually very beautiful to look at when one took the time to appreciate the ever-moving view it offered.  Plus, there was the fact that the weather was always nice, unless they needed to water the plants.  Rain or snow was almost an event for Vale, given that the same magic that held it afloat also kept the weather nice and the wind mild.
	Ed and Al had to leave early, because Crowler's lecture was coming up and they needed all the extra credit they could get.  The snotty bastard had made attendance a large percentage of the grade, which meant that students had to show up to stand a decent chance of passing.  Miyabi needed to help an Alpha student that the teachers had asked her to tutor; Azalyn had made plans with her friend, Winry; and by the end of the walk, Alexis had to go finish a report.
	Ben sighed and wondered how different things would be once the next year rolled around as six students ran by, their clothes ablaze, and from the heat, crackle and authentic screams, Ben drew his wand to cast the water spell.(5)

	Ben looked at the scroll.  In some ways, he was glad they insisted on some of the old touches, but it wasn't really a necessity for him.  The scroll had his final exam times.  Necromancy was the first exam at 7:30 AM, taking placing shortly after he usually had breakfast (where they doing that on purpose?); next was Enchantment, which was at 1:00 PM; and finally, Black Magic was at 6:00 PM.
	The Necromancy Exam was taking place in Dungeon B-17.  Once he got there, he found he was the first exam taker to arrive.  Doctor Vincent Black, the Necromancy teacher for the first three years, explained his task.  He was to dissect a human corpse, removing six major organs and naming them before setting them aside.
	[And people think Necromancy is creepy.  How baffling.] Ben thought to himself sardonically.  He suited up, cast a fresh air spell around his head and went to work.
	He managed to keep his breakfast down, which impressed Doctor Black, but Ben had to restrain something else when he found out it wasn't a real human body at all, but rather a very impressive dummy.
	Of course, as he was leaving the dungeon, he realized the brilliance of the Doctor.  By telling Ben it was a very realistic dummy, he (or another student) would eventually spread word to the campus, which would get the more squeamish people more relaxed.  Ben was probably a bit off on his original theory that it was just a sick and twisted plot to switch the 'fake' bodies with real ones.  More than likely, it was half due to a lack of real corpses and half due to the fact that there were a lot of squeamish people who didn't like dissection that much.
	Lunch passed and with it, the word across campus was that the Necromancy final test used fake bodies.  Enchantment required Ben to enchant a weapon with a visible effect and use it on a practice dummy.  He managed to impress the professor by not choosing fire or lightning, and created a magical blade that, when it sank into the dummy, coated the wound and a good deal of the surrounding matter with a thick layer of frost.
	It was after his enchantment test that he found out that his scroll was actually magically updated to show the grade he'd earned and how well he did.
	Necromancy scored him on Confidence (8), Knowledge (10), and Handling (8), which should have left him with a solid B, but there was a (Punctuality +3) marked on the end, giving him an A.
	Enchantment had scored him on Enchantment Strength (9), Proper Rune Selection (8) and Originality (10), leaving him with an A-.
	He found Edward and Alphonse both looking at their scrolls as he approached the library.  The two boys didn't look too pleased.
	"Something wrong?" Ben asked.
	"That stupid Crowler docked a ton of points off our final." Edward growled.  Ben glanced at their scores on Transformation.
	The categories for scoring was Efficiency, Accuracy, Stability, Creativity and Effort.  While both boys got high marks on Accuracy, Efficiency and Stability; the scores for Creativity and Effort were totally low-balled, leaving both of them with barely a C-.  Of course, had they both chosen three subjects to get tested on, they probably would have done better.
	"What did you guys make?" Ben asked.
	Edward pulled out two photographs, "I made the Whorizard.  Al made the Cheetah."
	Ben nearly flinched at the images of the statues, since the scale made them out to be at least twelve to fifteen feet tall.  The Whorizard looked, metallic coloring aside, almost alive, with gout of flame coming from her mouth, her tail-flame and wings were molded beautifully and the girl herself was quite pretty, despite showing the common Whorizard temper.  The Cheetah was similar, with fine wires making her look like her fur was bristling, and Ben could see the variation in metals to make the spots on her fur.
	"I think this is a travesty!  You two were brilliant to make these!" Ben protested.  He sure as hell couldn't have made better statues, even if he'd had instruction.
	"Yeah, but Crowler thinks we weren't being original by choosing pokegirls." Ed huffed, "And unfortunately, we've already talked with a teacher.  No matter how we protest, Crowler's grade stands."
	Ben sighed.  The work they'd done was excellent and it was a real insult that Crowler wouldn't accept it was such.
	"I'd heard some of the older students say he tends to have favorites that always get good grades and tends to bash 'slackers', like me." Edward explained.
	"Well, at least it wasn't as awful as taking a Necromancy test in the morning." Ben replied, "So, how was the Black Magic test?  I hear it's pretty hard to get anything resembling praise out of Professor Maudlin Bunhead."
	"You got that right.  She may be hot, but unless you've got some wicked new take on a spell, you'll only get a B if you can cast the spell with good control.  Luckily, you're actually graded by three teachers." Edward responded.
	Ben nodded, then grew curious as he turned to Alphonse, "What was the White Magic test like?"
	"Pretty tough.  You're given an illusion of an injured person or pokegirl and you have to identify all of their injuries.  And it can get really extensive if you're only taking that test." Alphonse explained.
	"Ouch.  I think Miyabi and Azalyn were only taking White Magic and Necromancy." Ben commented.
	"Actually," an exhuasted-looking Miyabi responded, "I only took the White Magic test."
	From her exhuasted appearance, slumped shoulders and still twitching writing hand, Ben was sure glad he hadn't chosen that test.
	"I've never seen anyone who's ass got kicked that badly." Miyabi commented.
	Alphonse grew curious, "Who was your victim?   Mine was some Octopussy named Umberlee."
	"Some jack-off named Benjamin Fury.  Since they didn't show what he was doing before hand, I'd have to say he was probably trying sexually assault a Quillara before he took on a squad of Slicers and maybe a Whorizard." Miyabi commented, "107 puncture wounds, 26 lacerations, 16 gashes, 2 severed limbs, a partially severed head, and about 37 assorted injuries that overlapped.  And that's before the concussion, poison, bruises, and burns.  I had to document EVERYTHING, _AND_ suggest the priorities for stabilizing him.  I think it would take about three professional white mages to keep him alive.  There'd need to be a whole hell of a lot of luck for him to pull through."
	"If he did survive, he'd probably be a trophy profile for those who managed to save him." Alphonse commented.
	"That's true.  In any case, I managed to get an A." Miyabi stated, sighing with relief as she stretched, rolling her head.
	Azalyn arrived, shuddering.
	"Necromancy test, right?" Ben inquired, noting that the shuddering grew worse, "You do know that they have mocked-up dummies for that, don't you?"
	"Say what?" Azalyn asked, her left eye twitching.
	"You don't think they'd be able to get dissectable corpses for the younger students, do you?  Please, the parents would have a field day chewing out the necromancy instructors." Ben explained.
	"So, it was just a really gross dummy?" Azalyn asked.
	"Well made, wasn't it?" Ben inquired.
	Azalyn shuddered.
	"I always figured they'd tell the first student that and then use real corpses on the other students to get them over the fear of dead bodies." Edward said.
	"I think they wait until we're in Delta year to pull that." Ben responded, "Then they can swap them back and forth and see who can tell the real corpses from the fakes.  Besides, why do you think Vale has deals with special effects studios?  Zombie movies have been making real people look dead and dummies look real for a long time."
	"I don't think they'd waste that much time.  Besides, that idea is sick." Miyabi responded as Alexis arrived, looking curious about the conversation.
	Ben shrugged, "Maybe.  I'm just putting up possibilities, I don't claim to read minds like those wannabe know-it-all schmucks in Divination courses.  You know the ones.  The ones who are always confident that they know everything you're thinking."
	"Man, I hate them." Edward growled.
	"Yeah, like that loser, Kyoji Mujo or whatever." Alexis joined in, "His eyes are always wide, like someone just shoved a tree branch up his ass, and he's always grinning like a moron."
	"I've heard he thinks he has some sort of 'absorbtion' power that works on conjured monsters.  He claims he can 'steal' them." Azalyn responded.
	"PFFFFT!  He's lying his ass off.  Any REAL conjurer knows you can't 'steal' a summoned creature.  You can learn to summon it yourself, or you can summon something like it, but you can't STEAL a summon." Miyabi scoffed.
	"Yeah, but then again, he's a whiny tagalong to a bunch of other whiny kids, like that smarmy jackass who's parents bought him three pokegirls and he thinks that'll keep him from getting his ass kicked during the next break." Ben noted.
	Alexis glared at him, "Planning something?"
	Ben just grinned, "Let's just say our year as Thetas should be a LOT quieter."
	"Oh no you don't!  I want a piece of that chauvinistic twerp too!" Alexis said.
	"And like hell are you beating up Kyoji without me!" Azalyn stated firmly.  Ben wasn't quite sure what Kyoji had done to earn Azalyn's ire, but it had to be serious.  Azalyn hadn't shown any sign of hatred towards any other student.
	After toying with some ideas of what to do with Kyoji and the other schmuck that they all intended to find out the name of, Ben found more time had passed than they all had originally believed, and had to hurry to his final test.

	Though Invocation/Evocation and Black Magic were both generally taught in a classroom, they were practiced in a special open-air arena that regenerated itself.  Unfortunately, Namina hadn't been quite correct when she'd listed three places that students of all grades could be at simultaneously, since this arena was used for ALL Invocation/Evocation/Black Magic tests.  Then again, since it was the only exception and only for two tests, it was understandable that it wouldn't necessarily apply to most students, and it didn't apply at all to Alpha year students.
	Of course, because all students who had chosen to take Invocation/Evocation and Black Magic as their year end final were there at the same time, it meant that the time listed on the scroll was a highly ambitious one, since there was still a large ragtag mix of students still ahead of Ben.  A group directly in front of Ben kept arguing over the spells that would be best to get good marks.  One was of the opinion that explosions could impress the judges with the right manipulation, but another said that fire spells were too often used.
	A Delta Year stepped out into the field at the behest of the instructor.  Ben noted that there were three judges who were the active black magic instructors.
	On the left end was the pleasant, if diminutive, Vivi Magus, who's face had been cursed to be a formless shadow, while his glowing yellow eyes were the size of large eggs.  He taught Thetas and Deltas.
	Next in the middle, was Maulin Bunhead, a rather pretty woman with long dark brown hair, but her face was as blank and rigid as a professional poker player's.  She taught Alphas and Betas.
	The last one was perhaps the most welcome sight, Lucca Durnclaw, a woman with short violet hair who was nice to any student who generally tried.  Unfortunately, she taught Gamma and Sigma-level black magic.(6)
	Wendy, Ray, Uzu and Mayu all arrived just a few minutes after Ben did, and the guys were about as pleased to see each other as they were to see Ben.  Wendy's expression was different towards Ben, but she showed her distinct dislike for Ray, Uzu and Mayu.  Mayu kept making goo-goo eyes at Ben, either having missed or ignored the declaration about the false prophecies.
	The silence was awkward as the Delta Year student conjured a lightning storm.  Mayu leapt at Ben and clung to him a few seconds after the roll of thunder from the first lightning strike, making it quite clear to everyone present that she had come up with the idea after the lightning strike.  The look of restrained anger on Wendy's face just served to make the situation even more awkward.
	"EEK!" Mayu cried seconds too late and in a tone that utterly failed to indicate any sort of terror or fear.  And just like she failed to mask her groping, Ben failed to hide his revulsion.  He also completely failed to stop himself from yelping as Mayu tried to get a little farther than girls her age ought to.
	Ben backed away and accidentally bumped into another person that he knew, Fred Masters.
	"Watch it!" Fred barked angrily.  Ben apologized, which Fred nodded, indicating he accepted, before returning to his brooding and leaving Ben to focus on how creepy Mayu was being.
	Ray seemed to be enjoying the scene, Uzu looked weirded out, and Wendy was beginning to grow red in the face.
	Luckily for him, the scroll hadn't been too wrong about the time he was due up, as Maudlin called his name, which brought him running.  As he passed the older students, he became curious as to whether or not they were just watching to plan their own works or seeing how other students fared.
	Maudlin was telling Vivi and Lucca something as Ben entered the arena.
	"Ben, do you know how things work?" Lucca inquired.
	"Not really." Ben responded.
	"While higher year students get to pick their own spells to cast, Beta Years have essentially a recognition test.  We each tell you a spell to cast and you cast it as best as you can at whatever you want." Vivi explained, motioning to various targets and debris that now seemed littered around the arena.
	Ben nodded in understanding.
	"Show me Fire." Lucca instructed.
	Ben focused his mind and pointed his wand at a nearby straw target.  It exploded into flames that consumed the straw quickly.
	"Show me Lightning." Vivi told him.
	He focused again and targetted a large rock.  As lightning struck it, the rock cracked and spewed dust and bits of debris into the air.  The end result wasn't very impressive, but then again, it wasn't like basic lightning could do much to rock anyway.
	"Show me Ice." Maudlin declared.
	He chose another straw dummy and with a jab of his wand, it became wrapped in ice.
	"Well done." Vivi declared.
	Ben nodded as they called for another student, and he exited on the far side of the arena.
	Once he was safely in his room, he found his final grade on his scroll.  Apparently each of the teachers gave their own grade, and his was just BARELY a B and not a B-.
	So he had two 'B's and an 'A'.  Not bad for having started a month late.

====================================================================

	(1) - Normal for Vale, anyway.
	(2) - "An Easy A Class" is slang for a class that can be passed simply by attending.  Vale has no such classes, but some schools do have classes or courses which are deemed as that simple.  I personally recall accidentally taking several classes in high school that amounted to this standard.  One in particular was "Personal Money Management", which was SUPPOSED to teach us about how to develop credit, write checks, figure out interest, and how to structure one's finances to pay for cars or houses so that you didn't get shafted.  It ACTUALLY amounted to was the teacher routinely walking in LATE, giving the SAME short lecture at the start, and then he would leave us to read magazines.  I think there were a total of four assignments in that class and none of them took me more than ten minutes.
	(3) - Actually, the "girls" in question were staff members under the cloak of powerful illusions.  This is done as part of an elaborate plot run every year by the staff to keep students from other courses from pestering divination students about 'cheap' things like romance, test scores, and secrets; but also to teach divination students not to abuse their powers for such petty means.  All of the student body is led to believe (and since there is no other evidence to prove otherwise, forced to believe) that the girls were not even enrolled in the divination course at all, which generally keeps most students from hating all diviners.  They tend to focus all of their anger on the "tricksters".
	(4) - There are two things that have always bothered me about running/jogging/walking clubs and/or teams.  How do you really compare?  And why is it still necessary to prove how fast and far you can run/jog/walk?
	(5) - Many might point out that Ben didn't use a wand for the last chapter.  That's because he hadn't realized the benefits of one yet.
	(6) - For those wondering, Journeyman Black Magic is handled by another teacher who is busy elsewhere.

	Next Time on Vale Studies: 
	Theta Year

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	The One Omake To Rule Them All:

	Professor Minerva McGonagall sighed as she made several red marks on a student's paper.  Stupid Ministry of Magic.  If they'd just let Gargamel Goyle and Tonsilectomy Crabbe graduate, she wouldn't have to put up with their lackluster spelling, writing, grammar, punctuation and intellect.  As it was, their sons were about to enter Hogwarts and if the fathers were any indication, the entire family line would never make it past the first year.
	Suddenly, she heard a strange noise, sounding partly like a low-flow toilet flush, someone clapping their hands on a jelly-filled donut hard enough to make the jelly shoot out and a roll of thunder.  First, she checked the bottle of Fire Whiskey in her drawer.  Since that was still there, she could go curse whatever the hell had just made that noise, knowing that the fifth year Ravenclaws were getting mighty uppity.
	It was only when she entered the hallway that she realized what had made that particular noise.  The Headmaster was finally back.  She hurried to the statue, muttering, "Filthy Sock", and dashed up the flight of stairs.  She opened the door to find Albus Dumbledore looking directly at the door, as if he'd expected her (which he had).
	"Albus, what are you doing here?" Minerva asked.  It'd been a good six or seven days since she'd seen him, but his vacations usually ran long far more often than they ever ran short.  In fact, this was the first time she'd ever seen him return from a vacation early.
	"Minerva, I'm afraid Voldemort has escaped." Dumbledore said seriously before tilting his glasses forward, "I need you to summon five pre-teens," his eyes twinkled as he finished his sentence with a dramatic aire, "with 'attitudes'."
	"Right away, Zordo-er, I mean, Albus." Minerva answered, before turning and leaving, muttering under her breath that she was too old to be pulling this 'gopher' shit that Albus' Snorkack, Alpha 5, used to do.  Albus should have just gotten another, but he muttered something about constitution penalties and that losing another familiar to old age was a bitch for his Eich Pee.
	Soon, Harry Potter, Hermoine Granger, Ron Weasley, Neville Longbottom and Luna Lovegood were standing before the headmaster.
	"Ah, good, I see you five fit the profiles nicely..." Albus said as he turned around, then frowned.  With a wave of his wand, poor Neville was transformed into an asian woman, Ron found his hair and skin both turning black, and Luna spat out the gum that had just appeared in her mouth.
	"I am NOT going to be the gum-smacking bimbo." Luna protested.
	"You've all been selected to be the finest warriors the magical world knows, the 'Hogwarts Rangers'." Dumbledore explained, before pointing to Harry, "The Strangely Overconfident And Accepting White Guy Who Makes Friends Wherever He Goes Regardless Of Race, Age, Or Gender."
	Harry looked confused as he suddenly had a golden coin that had what looked like a lemon drop on it.  Albus motioned to Hermoine, "The Overly Brainy Nerd."
	Hermoine looked angry, then noticed she too was holding a golden coin.  Her glare turned venomous as she noticed it showed a side shot of her in an unflattering robe that resembled a muu-muu, wearing overly-thick glasses and carrying a stack of books so large even she was offended by the unrealistic size.  Albus waved briefly at the now asian "Nina" Longbottom and black Ron Weasley, before muttering in a bored tone, "The Ethnic Diversity"
	Both Ron and "Nina" found golden coins in their hands.  Ron's had a Jazz Musician on it, while "Nina"'s had Bruce Lee's image on it. Albus happily pointed to the now-preening Luna, "and the Available Hottie."
	Luna grinned at her coin, which had her in a cabaret outfit.
	"And now," Albus said, turning and hurling a curse at a snickering man who was standing in a corner, typing away at a laptop.  The previously hidden man let out a cry of "BARF" and fell to the floor.  Albus' eyes twinkled once more and both the laptop and the now-charred idiot were gone, "we can end this retarded omake."

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	A-kun