E X A M S A N D B U C K B E A K "It was like, this boggart, searched her whole soul, and found something she had kept deep down within her."
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THE WINNING OF THE HOUSE 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 into 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 they couldn't. The 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.
Even Fred and George Weasley had been spotted working; they were about to take their OWLs (Ordinary Wizarding Levels). Percy was getting ready to sit his NEWTs (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 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 timetable she had drawn up for herself. The first column read:
Even Aurora began to become worry about her best friend.
"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?" Hermione snapped, picking up the exam timetable and examining it. "Yes, of course I have."
"Is there any point asking how you're going to sit two exams at once?" Harry said, turning his head to Aurora who just shrugged her shoulders.
"No," Hermione said shortly. "Has either of you seen my copy of Numerology and Grammatica?"
"Oh, yeah, I borrowed it for a bit of bedtime reading," Ron said, but very quietly. Hermione started shifting heaps of parchment around on her table, looking for the book. Just then, there was a rustle at the window and Hedwig fluttered through it, a note clutched tightly in her beak.
