Bella and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Chapter Forty-One

My euphoria at finally winning the Quidditch Cup lasted at least a week. My head was healed thanks to Madam Pomfrey and I was back to my old self.  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. 

But we couldn't do any of that. The exams were nearly upon us, and instead of lazing around outside, we were forced to remain inside the castle, trying to bully our brains into concentrating while enticing wafts of summer air drifted in through the windows. Even Fred and George had been spotted working; they 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 Common Room in the evenings. In fact, the only person who seemed more anxious than Percy was Hermione.

The three of us had given up asking her how she was managing to attend several classes at once, but we couldn't restrain ourselves when we 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," I said cautiously because she was liable to explode when she was interrupted these days. "Er -  are you sure you've copied down these times right?"

"What?" Hermione snapped, 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?" Harry asked her. 

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

"Oh, yeah, I borrowed it for a bit of bedtime reading," Ron said, but very quietly. Hermione started shifting heaps of parchment around on her table, looking for the book. Just then, there was a rustle at the window and Harry's owl, Hedwig, fluttered through it, a note attached tightly in her beak.

"It's from Hagrid," Harry told us, ripping the note open and reading it. "Buckbeak's appeal - it's set for the sixth"

"That's the day we finish our exams," Hermione said, still looking everywhere for her Arithmancy book.

"And they're coming up here to do it," Harry said, still reading from the letter. "Someone from the Ministry of Magic and - and an executioner"

I looked up, startled. No way.

"They're bringing the executioner to the appeal!" I say, shocked. "But that sounds as though they've already decided, right?"

"Yeah, it does," Harry said, nodding slowly.

"They can't!" Ron howled, clearly angry. "I've spent ages reading up stuff for him, they can't just ignore it all!"

But I had a horrible feeling that the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures had had its mind made up for it by Mr Malfoy. Draco, who had been noticeably subdued since our triumph in the Quidditch final, seemed to regain some of his old swagger over the next few days. From sneering comments I overheard, Malfoy was certain Buckbeak was going to be killed and seemed thoroughly pleased with himself for bragging about it. It was all I could do to stop myself imitating Hermione and hitting Malfoy in the face on these occasions. And the worst thing of all was that we had no time or opportunity to go and see Hagrid, because the strict new security measures had not been lifted, and Harry told me he didn't dare retrieve his Invisibility Cloak from below the one-eyed witch.