𝐏𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐬

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟑𝟎

We received their examination schedules and details of the procedure for O.W.L.s during their next Transfiguration lesson.

"As you can see," Professor McGonagall told the class while they copied down the dates and times of their exams from the blackboard. "Your O.W.L.s are spread over two successive weeks. You will sit the theory exams in the mornings and the practice in the afternoons. Your practical Astronomy examination will, of course, take place at night. Now, I must warn you that the most stringent Anti-Cheating Charms have been applied to your examination papers. Auto-Answer Quills are banned from the examination hall, as are Remembralls, Detachable Cribbing Cuffs, and Self-Correcting Ink. Every year, I am afraid to say, seems to harbor at least one student who thinks that he or she can get around the Wizarding Examinations Authority's rules.I can only hope that it is nobody in Gryffindor has asked the Heads of House to tell their students that cheating will be punished most severely — because, of course, your examination results will reflect upon yourselves." I looked up. "However, that is no reason not to do your very best. You have your own futures to think about." She looked around the classroom. 

"Please, Professor," said Angelina, her hand in the air, "when will we find out our results?" 

"An owl will be sent to you sometime in July," she said.

"Excellent," said Kenneth in an audible whisper, "so we don't have to worry about it till the holidays." 

"O.W.Ls," I said, hyperventilating. "O.W.Ls!" We were sitting outside near a tree. Yes, I told them I wasn't going to freak out, but I did. Fred shook his head. 

"What is it with you these days?" he asked as he flipped boredly through his Transfiguration book. Alicia, Katie, Angelina, and I were they only ones actually studying. Kenneth Towler and Lee Jordan were playing with the leaves that had fallen, Fred was flipping boredly through his Transfiguration book and George was grumpily writing Snape's essay. 

"Can you help me finish this essay?" groaned George to me. 

"No!" I said indignantly. 

"Just the conclusion, please!"

 "No!" I repeated. 

"Fine," George said sniffing loudly. 

"Fine," I said as I snatched the quill and parchment from George. 

"You're honestly the best person I've ever met, Selene," George said. 

"Can you read this book and tell me what happens?" Fred asked eagerly. 

"No," I sharply said. "Oh come on," Katie said. "It's not that bad." 

Kenneth scratched his hand.

 "It is for me," he said grimly. "I can barely do anything." He shot Fred a nasty look.

 "Fred, you didn't have to put  Bulbadox powder in his pyjamas, causing his skin to break out in boils!" Angelina said hotly.

 "Well, I did," Fred said with a grin. "It was epic, you should have-" 

There was an uproar from us. "I think I'd rather watch squids," Katie said; Angelina shook her head violently; Alicia gagged and said, "It's worse when we saw him in the hospital wing," and I stared disgusted at Fred. "

You two are such troublemakers," I said. "Don't you want to become something big in life?" Fred and George shrugged.

 "I mean," George said, looking at Fred. "We did want to open a shop." 

Alicia perked up. "What shop?" she asked eagerly. 

"A shop with prank stuff, I s'pose," Lee said. "You'll give me a discount right?"

 Fred and George nodded. "With all of you," Fred said. Angelina grimaced. 

"I don't think I'll be coming to your most frequent customer," she said. 

"Me neither," Katie and Alicia agreed. I shrugged. 

"I don't think I will be either," I said. 

"Why not?" asked Kenneth. "It sounds awesome. Except if there was any Bulbadox powder." He shuddered. 

"I'm probably going to have a pretty busy life," I replied vaguely. "Healer, Auror, working at Uncle Florean's ice cream parlour, at Aunt Faye's library." I counted all of them off my fingers.

 "You could work at our shop too," Fred added.

 "I'll see," I said absentmindedly. 

Our first exam, Theory of Charms, was scheduled for Monday morning. Fred agreed to test me after lunch on Sunday but regretted it almost at once. I was very agitated and kept snatching the book back from him to check that I had gotten the answer completely right, finally hitting him hard on the nose with the sharp edge of Achievements in Charming.  

"Why don't you just do it yourself?" he said firmly, handing the book back to me, his eyes watering. 

"I can't!" I cried aggravated. 

"Okay, let's try it again," Fred said distinctively. 

Meanwhile George was reading two years of Charms notes with his fingers in his ears, his lips moving soundlessly; Kenneth was lying flat on his back on the floor, reciting the definition of a Substantive Charm, while Lee checked it against The Standard Book of Spells,Grade 5; and Katie and Alicia, who were practicing basic locomotion charms, were making their pencil cases race each other around the edge of the table. 

Dinner wasn't the best thing. Fred and George kept urging me to eat my dinner, which was forgotten in front of me. Katie looked up from the newspapers. 

"Oh, my goodness," she said faintly, staring into the entrance hall. "Is that them? Is that the examiners?" We all whipped around to see. 

"Shall we go and have a closer look?" said Fred. We all nodded and hastened toward the double doors into the entrance hall, slowing down as they stepped over the threshold to walk sedately past the examiners. I thought Professor Marchbanks must be the tiny, stooped witch with a face so lined it looked as though it had been draped in cobwebs; Professor McGonagall was speaking to her very deferentially. Professor Marchbanks seemed to be a little deaf; she was answering Professor McGonagall very loudly considering that they were only a foot apart. 

"Journey was fine, journey was fine, we've made it plenty of times before!" she said impatiently.  

None of the us fifth years talked very much at breakfast next day either. Alicia was practicing incantations under her breath while the salt cellar in front of her twitched, Katie was rereading Achievement in Charming so fast that her eyes appeared blurred, and Lee kept dropping his knife and fork and knocking over the marmalade.Once breakfast was over, the fifth and seventh years milled around in the entrance hall while the other students went off to lessons. Then,at half-past nine, we were called forward class by class to reenter the Great Hall. The four House tables had been removed and replaced instead with many tables for one, all facing the staff-table end of the Hall where Professor McGonagall stood facing them. 

When they were all seated and quiet she said, "You may begin," and turned over an enormous hourglass on the desk beside her, on which were also sparequills, ink bottles, and rolls of parchment. I took a deep breath, thought You can do this, and turned over my paper. Threerows to my right and four seats ahead, Angelina was already scribbling on her test. I lowered my eyes to the first question's choices: a) Give the incantation, and b) describe the wand movement required to make objects fly. The answer hit me so quickly that I doubted if no one was talking. It felt like someone just answered in my ear. Smiling slightly, I bent over the paper and began to write...