Modification || T. Riddle || Completed

Chapter 33: Home

Chapter 33: Home

June was here, and with it, it had brought its wonderful weather. Hogwarts' grounds were luminous under the bright sun, and the clear azure sky was distinctly visible in the shining waters of the lake as the vibrant looking lawns rippled occasionally in the warm breeze. June, on the other hand, also brought about something else; something the older years at Hogwarts had been dreading for some time: their mock NEWTs were at last upon them.

Although they were only mock exams, the pressure was still on. Estela wanted to achieve top grades, and didn't let the fact that they weren't real exams throw her off. Everybody else seemed to be taking them seriously too. They would even receive their results by owl post just like the seventh years. It was a time for pupils like Estela to shine – to show their skills and to see if they could handle their real exams.

What was even more daunting was the fact that real examiners would be present to oversee their practical exams, which made it seem even more real. It would surely be great practice for next year.

Teachers were no longer giving them homework, lessons were cancelled and devoted to revising, and the intensity of the atmosphere around the school purged Estela's mind of nearly everything apart from her exams. She spent a lot of her time muttering to herself, and was rarely seen anywhere but the library. She hadn't even dwelled on her argument with Anthony in Hogsmeade, but knew she would have to face them sooner or later.

"As you can see," Professor Slughorn said from the front of the Great Hall, "your examinations are spread out over two successive weeks. You will sit theory papers in the mornings and the practicals in the afternoons. Your practical Astronomy examination will, of course, take place at night. There is no reason not to do your very best," he went on to say, "these exams will show you what it will be like to sit your final exams next year."

"Professor," said Brett Daniels from the Hufflepuff table, waving a hand in the air, "when will we find out our results?"

"An owl will be sent to you sometime in July, just like the seventh years" said Slughorn.

Estela imagined sitting in her bedroom at home in about six weeks' time, waiting for her results. Then the sudden thought crossed her mind that she may not even be at home at that time. Who knows when she would return from Albania? Would an owl reach her all the way out there? She decided not to dwell on it too much and would worry about it when the time came.

Their first exam, Theory of Charms, was on Monday morning. Eve Meadows had agreed to test Estela on Sunday evening, but she seemed to regret it almost instantly. Estela was very agitated and kept snatching the book out of her hands after she had answered to make sure she got the answer completely correct – word for word. It disheartened Eve and caused her to panic even more when Estela did, in fact, state precisely what was written in the textbook.

In the meantime, at the other end of the Common Room, Estela noticed Cayra was practically swimming in two years' worth of notes with her hands covering her ears to block out the noise as her eyes ran along the parchment, her mouth mumbling as she read.

Dead Capron was rocking back and forth on the floor, cradling his knees whilst surrounded by a mass of papers and charts.

Meredith Fox was sipping wine by the fire, a blank expression on her face as though she'd just completely given up studying.

Estela didn't want to stay up too late for the fear that she would be too tired for the exam the following morning, and so she went to bed as early as she could. But as she lay there wide awake, facts and incantations running around wildly in her head, she knew that she was not the only one who had trouble falling asleep, although none of them spoke. But slowly, one by one, they fell asleep.