Hermione's bad mood persisted for most of the weekend, though they found it quite easy to ignore as they spent most of Saturday and Sunday studying for Potions on Monday. Allison had written down summaries for every conceivable topic, had made flashcards with important words, and lay wide awake at night, reciting manuals for different potions, simply because she was determined to pass and prove Umbridge wrong.
Something of Hermione's eagerness must've swapped over to her, at least that's what Ron suspected when Allison skimmed through her Potions book during dinner Sunday evening.
The written exam proved itself to be as difficult as Allison had expected; she could, however, give a seemingly satisfying answer to every question, especially to the one about Polyjuice Potion: She could describe its effects extremely accurately, having taken it illegally in her second year. The taste of Pansy Parkinson was still very present in her memories.
The afternoon practical was not as dreadful as she had expected it to be. With Snape absent from the proceedings Allie found that she was much more relaxed than she usually was while making potions, not constantly distracted by his judging look or his insults.
When Professor Marchbanks said, "Step away from your cauldrons, please, the examination is over," Allison corked her sample flask feeling that this had been a quite successful exam, at least one that wasn't gonna get her a failing grade.
"Only four exams left," said Parvati wearily as they headed back to Gryffindor common room.
"Only!" Hermione said snappishly. "I've got Arithmancy and it's probably the toughest subject there is!"
Nobody was foolish enough to snap back, so she was unable to vent her spleen on any of them and was reduced to telling off some first years for giggling too loudly in the common room.
The practical examination of Care of Magical Creatures took place in the afternoon on the lawn on the edge of the Forbidden Forest, where students were required to correctly identify the knarl hidden among a dozen hedgehogs (the trick was to offer them all milk in turn: knarls, highly suspicious creatures whose quills had many magical properties, generally went berserk at what they saw as an attempt to poison them); then demonstrate correct handling of a bowtruckle, feed and clean a fire-crab without sustaining serious burns, and choose, from a wide selection of food, the diet they would give a sick unicorn.
Allison could see Hagrid watching anxiously out of his cabin window but gave him an encouraging smile once her examiner let her go.
The Astronomy theory exam on Wednesday morning went extremely well, it had been one of the easiest exams so far, though they had to wait until evening for their practical Astronomy; the afternoon was devoted instead to Divination.
Allison had gone into the exam with a bad feeling; trying to see something in one of Trelawney's white crystal balls had never once before worked for her wherefore after staring into the greyish fog for a good five minutes without seeing even the slightest bit of information on her examiner's future, she told Allison to move on to tealeaf-reading.
Fortunately, Allison had composed a story around some easily recognisable symbols beforehand which the Professor seemed to believe, and even though she switched up the fate and sun line on her palm, the hand-reading assignment went quite well.
"Well, we were always going to fail that one," she overheard Ron say gloomily as she left the examination room - he and Harry were sitting in the niche of a window next to the marble staircase, waiting for her.
"At least we can give it up now," Harry replied.
"Exactly," said Ron, "from now on, I don't care if my tea leaves spell die, Ron, die - I'm just chucking them in the bin where they belong."
YOU ARE READING
WE'LL TAKE ON THE WORLD ; h.j.p.
Fanfiction─ "i won't let go with you by my side, the calm, the storm we'll face it all." She had read about love all her life. Never had she imagined she would ever experience it herself, especially with dark forces rising to power and a war approaching fast...
