"That's an excellent idea!" Samantha beamed at Eve. "Yes, that is exactly the kind of thing I am looking for and you are right, practical applications would be so much better than just simply putting down questions that anyone could find the answer to in a book but that doesn't mean that they can actually perform the required exercise. I believe we should concentrate on practical applications as much as we possibly can. This will also give us Department employees more of a chance to interact with the people who are coming in and taking the exams, which could be a really interesting thing for us, as well. We are on the right track!"

Samantha thought for a minute. "We could start anywhere, but let's begin with a simple transfiguration exercise. The student's job is to conjure up a bunch of flowers. Now, the spell for that particular exercise is orchideous, but there is a certain hand movement involved in the conjuring of the flowers or it won't work properly. The secret is all in the hand movement. Students would have to demonstrate a profiency with that hand movement and prove that they can complete the exercise by actually doing it!"