The Art of New Beginnings

Chapter Eighteen: Exam Season

Slytherin's euphoria at finally winning the Quidditch 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.

And yet 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.

Erica and Fred had taken to studying in any unused classroom they could get their hands on, studying far past curfew, and using the Marauder's Map to sneak around the castle and ensure that they didn't get caught.

Pansy and the others had been suspicious at first, until they had walked into the empty Transfiguration classroom one day to see all the desks pushed aside and Erica and Fred stood on opposite ends of the room, shouting questions at each other and jinxing one another whenever they got one wrong.

They left shortly after seeing Fred undergo the Jelly-Legs Jinx and collapse onto the ground after wobbling around for a few moments, and Erica's laughter as she refused to cast the counter-spell for a good few minutes. Nevertheless, Pansy still shot her strange looks whenever she would sneak in late, her eyes glittering in the dark light.

Even George could be spotted working every now and again; he and Fred were about to take their O.W.Ls (Ordinary Wizarding Levels). Percy was getting ready to sit his N.E.W.Ts (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 library, hence why Erica and Fred had taken to using unused classrooms. In fact, the only person who seemed more anxious than Percy was Hermione.

Erica and the others 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:

MONDAY

9 o'clock, Arithmancy

9 o'clock, Transfiguration

Lunch

1 o'clock, Charms

1 o'clock, Ancient Runes

"Hermione?" Erica asked cautiously, because she was liable to explode when interrupted these days. "Are you definitely sure that you've copied down these times right?"

Her own timetable looked nothing like this. Due to the nature of her lessons, it simply meant that she had to spend some time in isolation on the day of her exams, to ensure that she wouldn't cheat, but she would not sit them at the same time.

"What?" snapped Hermione, 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?" said Harry.

"No," said Hermione shortly. "Has either of you seen my copy of Numerology and Grammatica?"

"Oh, yeah, I borrowed it for a bit of bedtime reading," Ron rolled his eyes, and yet his voice was very quiet. 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.