PRETENDING TO LIVE~ {The Lestrange Daughter #2}

𝟒𝟔. O.W.L

Valentine stood with the rest of the students. Every fifth year was there, anxiously awaiting their Charms Theory O.W.L.s examination.

She spotted Draco and Liam through the crowd. Liam had his hand in Philips, her two followers standing with them, silent as ever. Valentine caught Draco's eye and he froze. He gave her a barley imperceptible nod but she just turned away and instead looked to where Leah was having the mother of all breakdowns.

"Oh, man, oh man!" Leah paced back and forth erratically. "This is too much! I'm totally going to fail and not even a little fail, a really BIG fail! I'm going I forget everything, I just know I am!"

"Snap out of it would you!" Blaze fell into her dramatics, grabbing her shoulders to hold her still. "We won't know until we try!"

"I'm too stupid for this! It's too much pressure! I even promised my parents that I'd study! I only looked a book like twice Blaze cause I'm dumb and stupid and damn I'm stupid!"

"Shut up!" Blaze shook her probably a little too roughly. "Do not let me hear you talk like that. You are not stupid!"

"You call me stupid all the time!"

"That's because I'm stupid too!"

"Blaze, I'm scared!" Leah cried woefully.

"We're all scared!" Blaze said firmly, eyes glassy. "But it's those of us with the strength to give it our all who succeed. You just have to believe in yourself, Leah. Believe that we can get out of this with our lives. Do you trust me?"

"Blaze...I trust you." Leah whimpered tearfully.

Blaze pulled her to his chest, embracing her tightly.

Valentine watched them, desperately trying to fight off the second-hand embarrassment.

...I cannot believe they just did that. In front of the entire fifth year. Does romance just slowly kill your ability to use basic logic and reasoning?

"Wow." Chloe blinked, tone suggesting she wasn't quite sure what she'd just seen. "Whenever I feel like I'm going crazy I'll just think about this and I'm sure I'll feel much better about myself."

"Yeah, I know this is super stressful and all," Anna said out from Chloe's side. "I mean, I've barely slept a wink the last three nights and I think I saw my dead grandma this morning at breakfast, but they're next level.

"They're morons." Valentine corrected her bluntly.

"...and now they're snogging." Said Chloe, face flushing bright red.

"Bloody hell." Anna cursed, covering her girlfriend's eyes with her hands.

"I've got this." Said Valentine.

She marched right up to Leah and Blaze, a dark and determined look in her eye, and pinched them both hard on the arm.

"Ouch!" Leah squawked.

"Hey!" Blaze winched.

"Do you mind?" Valentine hissed lowly. "Not everyone needs to watch a public display of a saliva exchange."

"Sorry..." Blaze's gaze widened in horror, now clearly embarrassed as he realised what he has just done. "It's the adrenaline."

"Or the hormones." Anna scoffed.

"Or the lack of brain cells." Valentine added.

"Please, stop talking." Blaze covered his face with his hands miserably.

"It's almost impressive." Said Chloe. "Imagine being so overdramatic that you cause a spectacle by acting out a clichéd scene between lovers in front of your entire year. You guys are wild."