Black Truth [READ DESCRIPTION]

chapter forty

Chapter Forty: School Year's End

Harry stared glumly at his breakfast, only half-listening to Hermione reminding him of last minute facts and tips.

"Hermione, I'm going to fail anyway with Snape grading me."

Ron shot his friend a sympathetic look. "Look, Hermione, Snape will grade him the same whether he's right or wrong."

Harry ignored the ensuing argument as Hermione couldn't fathom a teacher grading someone wrong when they answered the question correctly, and Ron interjecting that this was Snape so of course he would do something like that.

Harry stretched his fingers as he looked down at the final question. Ensnared in a protective no-cheating bubble, he was only vaguely aware of his classmates. Some were still scribbling furiously on the written portion of the exam. Only Draco and Hermione had started the practical. Considering that those two would most likely finish way before the time limit, he figured he would have enough time to finish.

Define both positive and negative concentration and state how each would alter the effects of an invisibility potion.

Harry bit his lip absently as he began to write. A negative concentration would cause an alteration on the potion's effects, most often the opposite. But there was something different about the effect of having a negative concentration in an invisibility potion. Obviously it didn't to the reverse because that would just make you visible again… it was something about disappearing and… not wearing off! That was it!

The effects of a negative concentration for any of the ingredients of an invisibility potion causes the user to lose whatever the potion is applied to instead of merely turning it invisible.

The afternoon exam for Monday had Harry and Ron heading for Divination while Draco and Hermione took their Arithmancy exam.

Draco nearly groaned when he saw the prediction he had to make. This was another 'locate the derivative of theta' problem. And that would dictate his life span. Of course it would come out to have conditions, so it wouldn't be a worthwhile calculation anyway. And as he scanned the parchment, yes, that was the second question: Is this an exact calculation? Why or why not?

Harry sat staring at Ron's palm in silence as Professor Trelawney watched them. Ron had already written his prediction for Harry, which sat on the table, face down, next to them. Harry frowned slightly and began to write.

Ron's life-line is very short. He will die exactly four weeks from now at my wedding. From the line over his thumb, I can see that he will get very drunk and endanger the life of one with a very strong Inner Eye (shown by the intersection of lines across the fingertips) and kill himself in grief, as shown by the perpendicular line running towards his palm from his life-line.

Harry sat back satisfied, having completely disregarded anything factual about palm reading he might have known. And if he was lucky, Professor Trelawney would read it and think the one with the very strong Inner Eye was hers. That way she wouldn't come to the wedding.

The Care of Magical Creatures exam took place in a classroom on the second floor. Harry took a seat behind Draco and turned over the parchment on the desk which activated the no-cheating bubble Hagrid's untidy scrawl covered the first few lines of the paper.

Describe any magical creature you wish in a completely developed essay.

Harry blinked and began thinking of which magical creature he should write about. His eyes fell on the outline of Draco in front of him and he smiled as he began to write.