Next to you

Chapter 16

The return to Hogwarts was quite traumatic for Oscar, because he had totally forgotten that the exam season was coming. He didn't even have time to catch up with his friends about their holidays, that they had to fully immerse in studying. Luckily all them were on the same boat so they had decided to create study groups. Yetao and Keyu were in charge of teaching most of the subjects, while the others tried their best to accumulate enough knowledge from them to pass exams.

Besides the standard sixth year subjects, Yetao also had to pass the flying exam. Oscar was sure that Yetao would have no problems, but he had noticed that Yetao seemed quite nervous since their return from the holidays. When Oscar asked him why, Yetao said that his anxiety came from the fact that Professor Zhennan was still away for his mission and that the Headmaster refused to talk to him about the research of the dark wizards until the end of the exams. Oscar tried to reassure him telling him to just focus on the exams for now and not to worry about anything else, but it didn't work so well.

During breaks Yetao would always go to Professor Zhennan's studio hoping to find him there, but he always came back with a disappointed expression. Oscar felt powerless because he didn't know how to help him. The only thing he could do was try to distract him by asking him questions about some spells or help to make some potions.

The others instead were as desperate as Oscar was. Well, Oscar was an average student. He wasn't excellent, but at the same time he wasn't so bad. He knew that he could do better, but he preferred to spend his energy in Quidditch rather than in studying. On the other hand some of his friends, namely Caelan and Mika, were so hopeless that even with Yetao's tutoring they weren't getting any better. At some point Yetao had even lost his patience and left them on their own.

After the first day of exams, the boys took a night off to rest their minds and bodies. They were peacefully chilling and chatting with each other in the Great Hall.

"I'm so tired and it's just the first day." Mika said with a loud groan.

"I want this torture to end." Caelan complained.

"Come on, guys. We can survive this. We'll feel amazing after exams end." Wu Yuheng said with a smile.

"Oh right, Taotao. You have your flying exam tomorrow, right? How are you feeling?" Fu Sichao asked.

Yetao, who was lost in thought, recovered when he heard his name. "Y-yeah, tomorrow, right. I'm fine I guess." He answered.

"Are you okay?" Zhou Keyu asked him, worried.

"Yeah, I just need to rest. I think I'll go to sleep. See you tomorrow." He said and stood up to leave.

Oscar got up to follow him and caught with him in the hallway. "Taotao, wait." Yetao turned to look at him and visibly relaxed when he saw his face. "Are you sure you are okay? You are not nervous for the exams, am I right?"

Yetao smiled at him. "I'm fine and no, I'm not nervous for the exams. It's the wait that is consuming me. I need to talk to Professor Zhennan."

"I know. But don't worry, he'll come back soon." Oscar said, trying to reassure him.

"I hope so. Say sorry from me to the others. I don't want them to worry about me." Yetao answered.

Oscar nodded. "They worry because they care about you."

"I know they do." Yetao sighed. "I'll go now. Good night, Oscar."

"Good night, Taotao. Good luck with the flying exam. I want a full report tomorrow." Oscar said. Yetao offered him a thumbs up and then he left. Oscar frowned. He wished he could do more to alleviate Yetao's anxiety. Seeing him so troubled was heartbreaking for him.

Oscar came back to the Great Hall. When he reached his friends, their chatting stopped. "What?" He asked.

"You know Oscar, we were wondering how your holidays were. We still haven't got the chance to talk about it." Caelan asked.

"I had fun with Taotao. What about you guys?" He asked back.

"So, nothing happened?" Caelan continued ignoring his last question.

"What do you mean?"

"You two, under the same roof, spending a lot of time together, alone." Mika added.

"There were also my parents and my cousins." Oscar answered.

"That's not the point!" Fu Sichao said in frustration. "Did anything happen between you two?"

Oscar tried to collect his thoughts to remember what happened during holidays, but the only things that happened between him and Yetao were making cookies together, sharing a bed for one night and almost kissing before the holidays. He was totally not going to tell them about the last two things. "We made cookies."

His friends groaned, well almost all of them. "I knew it! You owe me 10 galleons." Zhang Jiayuan said with a triumphant smile to Fu Sichao, who lowered his head in defeat.

"Wait, you placed bets on us?" Oscar said in disbelief.

"Of course we did. I was the only one who was sure nothing would happen, but Fu Sichao didn't agree, so we made a bet. The others didn't participate. What a pity. I would be rich by now." Jiayuan continued. Oscar was speechless.

"Listen, it's a while you have been dancing around each other. We are getting tired of watching you two. We had hoped this could be a good chance to spark things between you two. What a disappointment." Fu Sichao said.

Keyu rolled his eyes. "Oscar, don't get us wrong. We all have noticed that there is something going on between you and Yetao. We are just curious and worried. We don't want any of you to get hurt." He said.

Oscar sighed. "I know you guys are worried about us and I'm really thankful for this. It's just that this is not the right timing. Taotao is dealing with a lot of things lately. I don't want to further burden him. I want him to be fully ready to accept... whatever it's going on between us."

The boys smiled at him. "Whatever will happen between you, we'll be here for the both of you." Keyu answered.

"Thank you guys." Oscar smiled back at them. He was truly lucky to have them in his life.

After the end of the last exam of the last day of the exam season, Oscar was enjoying his well-deserved freedom in the Clock Tower Courtyard with his friends. The last exam was the potions one, Oscar's worst subject. Even so, thanks to Yetao's tutoring he managed to complete the potion Professor Ning Jing assigned him without incidents. He was sure he did pretty well in all the subjects. Hopefully he would get good grades this year. Speaking of Yetao, he was rigidly seated by the fountain, watching every passing person in the hallways of the courtyard. Oscar could feel from afar how tense he was. Now that exams were over, he would finally get the answers he was waiting for.

"I can't do this anymore. I'm going to see the Headmaster." Yetao said at some point, standing up.

"I'll go with you." Oscar proposed looking at him. Yetao seemed hesitant to accept Oscar's request, but eventually he nodded. Their friends wished them good luck. They knew more or less what was going on, so they were happy that Yetao had Oscar by his side.

They had almost arrived at the Headmaster's office, when they saw Professor Zhennan coming out of it. "Good, you're here. I was going to look for you." He said with a serious expression. He looked so tired. "Come in, we need to talk." From the tone of his voice, Oscar could feel that this talk would be pretty meaningful.

Yetao nodded. Then he noticed Zhennan looking at Oscar, probably questioning his presence. "He is coming with me." Yetao said.

The Professor sighed. "Okay then. Let's go."

Oscar looked at Yetao. His face was focused and determined. Oscar took his hand, holding it tightly. "Come on."

"Let's go."