A Potter Secret

Stress

          "Isabella, come on!" Cedric calls. "Come on, please! Let's play! I'm leaving tomorrow!"

Isabella shakes her head, turning towards her books. "I have to study, Cedric. I'm sorry. I need to be ready for my N.E.W.T.'s. I don't have time!"

"Just take a five-minute break!" Cedric pleads. "You look exhausted. You're overworking yourself. Take a break."

"I can't," Isabella insists.

"Izzy!"

"No!" Isabella shouts. "Stop it! I have to work, Cedric. Stop interrupting just because you want to play some idiotic game!" Isabella pushes him out the door, slamming it in his face before turning back to the table. Tomorrow, Isabella starts taking her N.E.W.T. exams. Amelia decided that Isabella would be taking them over four days, leaving about four tests each day. She's been studying for the past three weeks almost nonstop.

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Severus walks into Isabella's room and sees her asleep over her books. He picks her up and she stirs, opening her eyes. "No, papa. I need to study more."

Severus sets her down, tucking her into bed. "You need a good night's sleep before your exams." Isabella curls up under the blanket, falling asleep instantly. Before going to bed himself, Severus does one last check to make sure he has plenty of dreamless sleep for Isabella. It's going to be a long week.

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Day one. Isabella sits in a cleared classroom with Amelia. Everything is cleared from the room. Amelia begins to administer the exams to the bright-eyed six-year-old. As each exam drags on, it's easy to see the exhaustion set in. Amelia tries to ease her load by keeping her sequestered. She has food delivered and lets Isabella take breaks throughout the tests.

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Day two. Slightly pale, Isabella tests through the day. It's hard on her but she makes it through, falling asleep before she can even leave the room.

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Day three. Isabella is tired but she makes it though the day. The hours are showing on her face and in her posture.

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Day four. The day seems to drag on for Isabella as she takes her final exams. As Amelia calls time on the final exam and takes up the test, Isabella finds the energy to crawl to the corner of the room and curl up on a bean bag. She's asleep in an instance. Amelia smiles at her and transfigures a blanket, covering her. Amelia moves back to the desk and starts grading the final exam. She was shocked when, even after three days of exams, Isabella had managed to get perfect score on all of them despite her exhaustion. This was completely unheard of and Amelia knew that there was no way Isabella would have cheated. Not while being raised by Severus Snape.

Just as she finishes grading, she hears a soft knock on the door. Amelia opens it and sees Severus waiting there. "Is everything alright? Isabella wasn't in her room."

Amelia nods. "Everything's fine; I was just finishing grading her exams. She barely had the energy to move over to the beanbag before falling asleep. She's gonna need a lot of rest to get her energy back."

Severus smiles at seeing Isabella curled up under a blanket. "How did she do?"

"She's amazing, Severus. She'd managed to get a perfect score on all of her exams!" Amelia explains. "Every question, even the trick questions, were answered correctly."