XV. ASKING FOR HELP

666 23 1
                                        

"We're in this together, always."

_______________

In years to come, Lily will never quite remember how she managed to get through the exams when she half expected You-Know-Who to come bursting through the door at any moment.

Yet the days creep by, and there is no doubt that Fluffy is still alive and well behind the locked door.

It's swelteringly hot, especially in the large classroom where they do their written papers. They've been given special, new quills for the exams, which have been bewitched with an Anti-Cheating spell.

They have practical exams as well. Professor Flitwick calls them one by one into his class to see if they can make a pineapple tap-dance across a desk. Lily can do that quickly, Charms are quite easy for her.

Professor McGonagall watches them turn a mouse into a snuff-box - points are given for how pretty the snuff-box is, but taken away if it has whiskers.

Lily fails her Transfiguration exam because she somehow turns her mouse inside out. The whole classroom erupts into shrieks of fear and disgust. Lily quickly stands up and moves away from the meaty, bleeding mouse, hoping it can be salvaged.

Professor McGonagall lifts it with her wand and, after giving the girl a concerned look and taking away too many points than Lily is comfortable enough to say, she, unfortunately, throws it in the dustbin.

Snape makes everyone but Lily nervous, breathing down their necks while they try to remember how to make a Forgetfulness Potion, which is quite ironic. Lily makes it quite quickly, glad that she has something to take her mind off of the Transfiguration accident. Maybe she can even drink the potion after it's done to forget about it.

The back of Lily's head has been having stabbing pains ever since her trip into the Forest. Everyone thinks that she has a bad case of exam nerves, but the truth is that Lily is terrified of being alone. Especially in the dark.

When the corridors are empty, even in broad daylight, Lily finds herself running through them so Quirrell won't catch her.

She's been terrified of what might happen if she's alone with him. During Defence Against the Dark Arts, she stays as far away from him as possible. He doesn't seem to notice or he pretends not to. Either way, Lily doesn't want to find out.

Maybe it's because they didn't see what Lily had seen in the Forest, but Ron, Hermione and Harry don't seem as worried about the Stone as Lily. They're so busy with their revision they don't have much time to fret about what Quirrell (or in their opinion Snape) or anyone else might be up to.

Their very last exam is History of Magic. One hour of answering questions about batty old wizards who'd invented self-stirring cauldrons and they'll be free, free for a whole wonderful week until their exam results come out.

When the ghost of Professor Binns tells them to put down their quills and roll up their parchment, Lily can't help but cheer with the rest.

"That was far easier than I thought it would be," Hermione says, as they join the crowds flocking out onto the sunny grounds.

"I needn't have learned about the 1637 Werewolf Code of Conduct or the uprising of Elfric the Eager."

Hermione likes to go through their exam papers afterwards, but Ron says it makes him feel ill, so they wander down to the lake and flop under a tree. The Weasley twins and Lee are tickling the tentacles of a giant squid, which is basking in the warm shallows. Lily still can't believe she's looking at a giant squid.

Invisible: the Philosopher's StoneWhere stories live. Discover now