In the Melancholy Moonlight

Chapter CLXXXII: O.W.L. Exams

LUCY:

Saturday, June 1 was the full moon. The hypothermia candies made my mind foggy and weakened my magic, so I'd opted to go without them for the month.

I missed them dearly. I woke that morning with a raging fever, so overwhelmed by my surroundings that I knew I wouldn't be able to get out of bed that day. I reached for my wand and charmed my curtains shut, careful to make sure they'd block both light and sound, and tried to gather my thoughts.

I would lose a day of studying — no, two days, I needed to sleep the whole next day — but perhaps that was for the best. Cedric had always told me never to cram studying into the day before an exam, and since I would need to sleep the entirety of Sunday, maybe that same principle would apply. Whether it would apply or not, I couldn't risk the hypothermia candies having any lingering side effects, so my decision was made.

As far as my feelings about O.W.L.s, I was prepared for the worst but hoping for the best. I'd always worked hard in school, and I'd been working harder than ever since returning from winter holiday. As terrifying as it was to know that the next two weeks would be indicative of the past five-plus years of my learning, I was trying to be optimistic the way Cedric had always tried to be.

He had much more going on than I did, being both Quidditch Captain and a prefect with a St. Mungo's internship on the horizon, and I was still amazed by the poise with which he'd always handled whatever had been thrown his way. I'd asked him how he handled it all once right before he took his own O.W.L.s, and he'd just laughed and said that appearances could be deceiving. He admitted that he was nervous, terrified even, but that he was trying to focus more on the fact that he'd done his best than whatever the results would be.

"Does that even help?" I'd asked, laughing. "I mean, I know you'll get Outstanding across the board, but if you somehow got a T, would you really be content with 'Well, I did my best' and leave it at that?"

He had grinned. "I would be upset, of course, but every failure just points out a way you can improve. You shouldn't beat yourself up for every mistake, no matter how large or small the mistake might be. If you focus on learning and growing from your mistakes, they'll start to feel more manageable and less catastrophic."

"Wouldn't it be nice to just, you know, try to avoid mistakes all together?"

"It would be nice, but unfortunately the world doesn't often work that way. Nothing can be perfect, but I want to believe that everything can be good."

That thought was the last coherent one I had as I slipped off into a feverish sleep. I was stirred from it an unknown amount of time later when the curtains parted. I was too out of it to move, too out of it to even open my eyes.

"Sweet Merlin, her enchantments are nearly impenetrable," Hermione muttered. "I can see why you and Ginny asked for my help. Her magic amazes me."

"Mhm," Harry murmured softly. It was his hand I felt on my forehead a second later. He retracted it a second later with "Yeah, Gin, you were right, she's burning up. D'you have the—"

Ginny swore under her breath. "That blanket I charmed for her birthday to adapt to her body temperature? She's already sleeping with it." I felt a gentle tug on the blanket I was practically cradling under my covers because of how nice the cold felt through the thin fabric of my pajamas. "Feel that? It's freezing. And—"

"And she's still burning up," Harry finished, sighing.

"We can't win," Ron said.

Hermione's voice was firm. "We will."

~

Sunday, June 2 was spent sleeping. After we returned from the forest, of course.