Jily | I Can't Love Him

Filthy Little Mudblood

The four house tables in the Great Hall were gone. Instead, there were more than a hundred smaller tables, all facing the same way, at each of which sat a student, head bent low, scribbling on a roll of parchment. All that could be heard was the scratching of quills and an occasional rustle as somebody adjusted their parchment. It was exam time.

Sunshine was streaming through the high windows onto the bent heads, which shone chestnut and copper and gold in the bright light.

"Five more minutes!" Professor Flitwick's head moved between the desks.

A black-haired, sun-kissed boy with round glasses was straightening up, putting down his quill, pulling his roll of parchment towards him so as to reread what he had written. James Potter yawned hugely and rumpled up his hair, making it even messier than it had been. Then, with a glance towards Professor Flitwick, he turned in his seat and grinned at a boy sitting four seats behind him.

Sirius Black gave James the thumbs-up. Sirius was lounging in his chair with ease, tilting it back on two legs. He was very good-looking; his dark hair fell into his eyes with a sort of casual elegance James's could never have achieved, and a girl sitting behind him was eyeing him hopefully, though he didn't seem to have noticed. And two seats along from this girl was Remus Lupin. He looked rather pale and peaky and was absorbed in the exam: as he reread his answers, he scratched his chin with the end of his quill, frowning slightly.

A small, mousy-haired boy with a pointed nose sat three rows away. Peter Pettigrew looked anxious; he was chewing his fingernails, staring down at his paper, scuffing the ground with his toes. Every now and then he glanced hopefully at his neighbour's paper.

"One minute left!"

James was now doodling on a bit of scrap parchment. He had drawn a Snitch and was now tracing the letters 'L.E.' He looked fondly across the hall to a red-headed girl pouring over her exam.

After reading her answers for the third time, Lily Evans placed her roll of parchment on the desk confidently, perfectly squaring her quill alongside it. Lily twisted in her seat, stretching her back as she looked around the Great Hall.

Catching her eye, Marlene McKinnon winked. Marlene sat impatiently waiting for the exam to finish, her leg bouncing energetically as she tightened her blonde ponytail atop her head for the hundredth time. Three seats across from Marlene sat Jackie Johnson. Resting her chin on her palm lazily and gazing out of the large windows at the clear sky, occasionally blowing a loose strand of curly hair out of her eyes.

On the far side of the hall, Mary MacDonald sat folding spare parchment into a paper crane. She was very pretty; with porcelain skin and orphic white-gold hair that flowed down her back, stopping in a pristine line at her waist. Similarly to Sirius Black, the boy behind Mary sat mesmerised, his jaw hanging open slightly.

"Quills down, please!" Squeaked Professor Flitwick, the small Charms Professor. "That means you too, Stebbins! Please remain seated while I collect your parchment! Accio!"

Over a hundred rolls of parchment zoomed into the air and into Professor Flitwick's outstretched arms, knocking him backwards off his feet. Several people laughed. A couple of students at the front desks got up, took hold of Professor Flitwick beneath the elbows and lifted him back onto his feet.

Finishing the crane, Mary enchanted it and pushed it delicately into the air. It soared around the Great Hall, flapping its wings gracefully, completing three summersaults before landing neatly on the empty desk of Alice Fortescue—a quiet, patient girl. A pink tinge painted Alice's cheeks as she quickly forced the crane into her rucksack.

"Thank you... thank you," panted Professor Flitwick. "Very well, everybody, you're free to go!"

James hastily crossed out the initials he had been embellishing, jumped to his feet, stuffed his quill and the exam paper into his bag, which he slung over his back, and stood to wait for Sirius to join him. Students hastily collected their things and flooded out of the Great Hall. The five girls met in the Entrance Hall and began chattering excitedly as they made their way towards the locked oak doors. A few metres behind them, the Marauders were sauntering out of the exam.