Midnight Protector | Harry Potter FanFiction

TWENTY ONE

In years to come, Harry would never know how he had managed to make it through the next week and a half without a mental breakdown. Sirius wasn't talking to him, Remus was dying, Ron and Hermione wanted answers that Harry wasn't ready to provide, Remus was dying, the N.E.W.Ts had arrived, and—of course—Remus was dying. No matter what Harry had thrown himself into, his mind always returned to Remus' revelation.

How could it not?

It was only because of Remus' pleas that Harry attempted to take his N.E.W.T.s although his preparation location had changed to the Marauder Quarters. Ron and Hermione hadn't questioned the change but Harry could feel their curiosity growing with each passing day. It was hard to keep Remus' condition a secret but Harry knew that it would only distract them as much as it was distracting him. Hermione had enough on her plate and Ron couldn't afford to be distracted.

The N.E.W.T.s were spread out similar to the O.W.L.s except that the tests began earlier and ran later. Harry and Ron had lucked out for the first week, having exams every other day, unlike Hermione who had nearly a full schedule. It was one of those times that Harry was glad he hadn't overloaded on classes. He had no idea how Hermione was able to successfully keep half of the information straight but Harry did know from years of experience to never underestimate what Hermione could pull off.

The theoretical exam for Charms began early Monday morning, providing an extreme wakeup call to all of the seventh years to exactly how difficult the N.E.W.T.s would be. In addition to the regular exam questions, there were abstract questions that could be answered any number of ways. Ironically, those were the questions that Hermione couldn't stop talking about with a smile on her face, much to everyone else's annoyance since everyone wanted to push the five hour exam out of their minds.

The practical exam for Charms was even more intense. Right after lunch, the seventh years were called in groups of five for an hour long physical exam of spells ranging from Wingardium Leviosa to Expecto Patronum. Each spell was critiqued as well as the casting technique. Silent casting was obviously preferred but there was no penalty for vocalizing the more difficult spells. For those at the beginning of the alphabet, they lucked out by being called right away. Harry and Ron, on the other hand, had to wait several agonizing hours until it was their turn. By the time Harry heard his name called, he had run through nearly every spell he could remember...multiple times.

The exam itself, in Harry's opinion, was completely different from the practical exam. There were no abstract questions or short essays to write. It was just Harry and his wand. You either cast the spell or you didn't. There was no time to second guess yourself. All Harry had to do was what the elderly wizard standing in front of him told him and before he knew it, his exam was over. It had been a little awkward when he had been asked to cast his Patronus since everyone had stopped what they had been doing to watch Midnight, Moony and Prongs jump out of his wand but it could have been worse. The anomaly with Harry's Patronus wasn't exactly a secret.

By the time Ron was finished, dinner had already started. As they entered the Great Hall, a quick look around was all it took to notice Hermione's absence. It wasn't surprising since she had her Ancient Runes exam early in the morning. Harry would bet his Firebolt that she was reviewing with Remus. She had been ecstatic when Remus had offered his assistance even though he admitted that his knowledge of Ancient Runes was a little rusty.

Out of respect for Hermione and desire to avoid being hexed, Harry and Ron kept their distance from the Marauder Quarters for the night. It was hard to focus on seven years of Transfiguration when your brain was exhausted and overloaded but neither Harry nor Ron were talented enough in the subject to miss valuable time studying. Professor McGonagall had been extremely blunt on how demanding the both tests would be and, if the Charms exam was anything to go by, Harry knew he would probably need as much time as he could get.