Everlasting (H.P x fem.reader) YEARS 1-4

Year Three: Chapter Sixteen

3rd person POV:

Harry's euphoria at finally winning the Quidditch Cup lasted at least a week. Even the weather seemed to be celebrating; as June approached, the days became cloudless and sultry, and all anybody felt like doing was strolling onto the grounds and flopping down on the grass with several pints of iced pumpkin juice, perhaps playing a casual game of Gobstones or watching the giant squid propel itself dreamily across the surface of the lake.

But nobody could truly relax, though. Exams were nearly upon them, and instead of lazing around outside, the students were forced to remain inside the castle, trying to bully their brains into concentrating while enticing wafts of summer air drifted in through the windows.

Y/n, even with all the work, had been the most relaxed Harry had ever seen her, unlike everyone else. She kept giving lazy grins to anyone who was in her direction, a pride blooming in her chest at the moved they named after her.

"The L/n"

It was hard for the sort of thing to not make you a bit proud.

But besides her, even Fred and George Weasley had been spotted working; they were about to take their O.W.L.s (Ordinary Wizarding Levels). Percy was getting ready to take his N.E.W.T.s (Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Tests), the highest qualification Hogwarts offered. As Percy hoped to enter the Ministry of Magic, he needed top grades. He was becoming increasingly edgy, and gave very severe punishments to anybody who disturbed the quiet of the common room in the evenings.

In fact, the only person who seemed more anxious than Percy was Hermione.

Harry, Y/n, and Ron had given up asking her how she was managing to attend several classes at once, but they couldn't restrain themselves when they saw the exam schedule she had drawn up for herself.

The first column read:

Monday: 9 o'clock, Arithmancy 9 o'clock, Transfiguration Lunch 1 o'clock, Charms 1 o'clock,  1 o'clock Ancient Runes

"Hermione?" Ron said cautiously, because she was liable to explode when interrupted these days. "Er -- are you sure you've copied down these times right?"

"What?" snapped Hermione, picking up the exam schedule and examining it. "Yes, of course I have."

"Is there any point asking how you're going to sit for two exams at once?" said Harry.

"Hermione, I know your brilliant and all, but that's not physically possible," said Y/n, her brows raised. "Do you need to double check your times or something?"

"No," said Hermione shortly. "Have either of you seen my copy of Numerology and Gramatica?"

"Oh, yeah, I borrowed it for a bit of bedtime reading," said Ron, but very quietly.

Hermione started shifting heaps of parchment.

Harry, Y/n, Ron, and Hermione had plenty of opportunity to speak to Hagrid.

"Beaky's gettin' a bit depressed," Hagrid told them, bending low on the pretense of checking that Harry's flobberworm was still alive. "Bin cooped up too long. But still...we'll know day after tomorrow -- one way or the other --"

They had Potions that afternoon, which was an unqualified disaster. Try as Harry might, he couldn't get his Confusing Concoction to thicken, and Snape, standing watch with an air of vindictive pleasure, scribbled something that looked suspiciously like a zero onto his notes before moving away.

When Snape had gotten to Y/n, he couldn't seem to find anything wrong with her potion besides a slight shade difference and furiously scribble something and swept away, muttering something under his breath.