There's Something About Potter

Chapter 20

Unfortunately, Draco didn't get any chance to speak to Aria over the next five days; at least not one that would have given him enough time to talk to her properly without the rest of their housemates watching.

He decided to put off their confrontation until after the NEWTs were over.

It wasn't that long of a wait after all, and he figured that it was probably best for them both, especially given how Aria already looked completely on edge from all of the constant pressure of studying for their exams.

To be fair, none of the 7th years or 8th years were able to function properly that week.

And by the third day, everyone was so clearly exhausted that some students (mostly Hufflepuffs and a few Gryffindors) had even stopped caring about their appearance altogether, walking mindlessly around the castle with uncombed bedroom hair, ruffled clothing, and dark, ugly circles under their eyes.

It was amusing to observe how differently everyone seemed to be dealing with all of the stress.

For his part, Draco had been extremely antisocial that week.

When he wasn't holed up in a dark, secluded corner of the library, he isolated himself in his dorm room; staring off blankly into empty space as he went over his outlines over and over again in his head. Unlike the rest of his housemates, he was actually confident about his NEWT subjects, but the exam he was particularly anxious about was his last one — Magical Law, because it was widely known to be one of the most difficult of all the NEWTs.

Meanwhile, Pansy was literally drinking almost six cups of tea each day to stay awake and was stuffing her face with chocolates, all the while trying not to show anyone how much she wanted to break down. Zach, on the other hand, actually did have a nervous breakdown right before his Astronomy exam. The git had to be escorted out of the Great Hall because he started screaming about how he couldn't find his lucky quill. Luckily, McGonagall eventually allowed him to take the exam a few minutes later, but only after he had calmed down.

The day after that, during the NEWT exam for Arithmancy, Draco saw Hannah hyperventilating and having a panic attack of her own outside the entrance doors of the Great Hall. Luckily, Pansy and Neville were with her and managed to calm her down before the actual exam started — nevermind the fact that Neville didn't really look all that good either. In the days leading up to his Herbology NEWT, Neville had actually taken to ignoring everyone and walked around with a thick, enchanted earmuff on his ears, repeatedly muttering all of the notes he was trying to memorize under his breath.

And as for Aria—

Draco smirked to himself at the memory.

Other than that one time they took the same NEWT (which, ironically, was Potions) and she happened to be assigned to the seat behind his, Draco didn't get to see Aria much; and those few times he did manage to catch a glimpse of her, she looked surprisingly calm.

It wasn't until he saw her alone in the common room two nights ago (scaring the younger Slytherins by casting reducto at an empty firewhiskey bottle to make it shatter, repairing it, then making it shatter all over again) that Draco realised she was probably just as stressed over the NEWTs as the rest of them were.

Maybe even more.

When Aria finally stopped making the bottle shatter and let out an exasperated groan, slumping forward until her forehead hit the table in front of her with a loud 'thunk', Draco snickered and hurriedly slipped back into the 8th year boys' dorm before she noticed him watching her.

To Draco's annoyance, Morag was the only one among them who didn't look nervous about the NEWTs and just went about her daily routine like she usually did. Even Blaise, who would have normally enjoyed pestering Draco and Pansy out of their studying, was unusually quiet and grim-faced all week.