Midnight & Destiny | Harry Potter FanFiction

Capitulum Viginti-sex

The arrival of June sent the fifth and seventh year students into a study frenzy. OWLs and NEWTs were right around the corner. For some reason the end of the year exams seemed so much closer now. Common Rooms were now fully devoted to studying. Even Fred and George had given up testing their products to concentrate on their upcoming tests. That didn't stop members of the D.A. from still using the Room of Requirement though. Many had grown accustomed to being able to have 'everything they needed' at their fingertips.

As expected, no progress had been made in figuring out who had knocked Harry and Cho off their brooms during the Quidditch match but that didn't stop Sirius and Remus from entering full research mode to find out what had exactly happened. Well, actually Remus spent most of the time researching then relaying what he found to Sirius since the Defense teacher had classes to worry about in addition to study sessions with Harry every night. Sirius was helping Harry with History of Magic, Transfiguration and Charms while Remus covered Herbology, Astronomy, Potions, and Care of Magical Creatures. Divination was a lost cause so they didn't even bother with that subject.

Classes were now completely devoted to reviewing material that would be covered on the exams. Harry would write down everything mentioned in class before taking it to Sirius and Remus who would help him sort out his messy notes. He wasn't cheating. Harry refused to cheat. He wanted to do well on his exams on his own. Rearranging the notes helped Harry remember the material easier since they were now grouped according to what the material regarded. If Harry had a question on something, he asked but he never asked if it was on the actual test or not. He respected his guardians too much to even consider asking that.

Occlumency was put on hold for the time being although Professor Snape instructed Harry to continue practicing every night. "No doubt the intensity of the OWLs will leave someone like you mentally exhausted, Potter," Snape had said. "That is exactly the opportunity the Dark Lord would take advantage of. Merlin forbid our precious celebrity miss his exams because he was too daft to protect himself."

It was during the final Transfiguration class before the exams that the students were handed their timetables with details of the procedure for the OWL exams. Tests would be spread over two weeks. Theory would be covered in the morning while practical was in the afternoon except for practical Astronomy which would be covered at night. Precautionary measures were taken to prevent cheating. Examinations were covered with anti-cheating charms, Auto-Answer Quills, Remembralls, Detachable Cribbing Cuffs and Self-Correcting Ink were banned from the examination hall. Results would be sent by owl in July leaving everyone in suspense for weeks.

Charms Theory ended up being scheduled first thing Monday morning. The weekend before the tests everyone was frantically reviewing five years worth of information. The Gryffindors had learned early to avoid Hermione at all costs since she was determined to answer everything word by word as it appeared in the book. Harry had discovered quickly that Occlumency actually had some benefits. It was easier for him retain information than it had been in the past along with keeping information straight. It almost made those grueling hours with Professor Snape worth it. Almost.

Monday morning arrived too soon for a lot of fifth years. After an agonizingly slow breakfast, they had to wait outside the Great hall until half past nine. The four long tables had been removed and replaced with many tables that were facing the staff-table at the end of the Hall where Professor McGonagall was waiting. Everyone took a seat and slowly silenced. "You may begin," Professor McGonagall announced as she turned over an enormous hour-glass on the desk next to her that also had spare quills, ink bottles and rolls of parchment.

Harry turned over his paper as he inhaled deeply, forcing himself to remain calm. Getting worked up would only cause him to make stupid mistakes. He read the first question: a) Give the incan tation and b) describe the wand movement required to make objects fly. He grinned as started to write.