The Girl Who Never Lived¹ | h. potter

💎Chapter 15💎

But, as fate would have it, they were not screwed, because Quirrell appeared to be braver than they thought. After Quirrell's encounter with Snape, they expected the stone to be gone within a day. But it soon turned into days, and days turned into weeks and Quirrell had yet to break and help Snape.

They had also taken up the habit of listening extremely closely when they passed the door on the third floor. They would listen for Fluffy's growls, wondering if Snape had gotten in if they didn't hear them. Snape, however, only became more grouchy during their lessons, seeming to prove to the Gryffindors that he had not gotten past Fluffy yet. Quirrell, in turn, became more and more nervous each time they saw him.

In their own form of comfort, support, and motivation, Harry, Ron, and Ciara started doing small things for Professor Quirrell. Harry would send him kind, encouraging smiles, Ciara would leave chocolate frogs on his desk, and Ron would tell people off for laughing at Quirrell's stutter.

Hermione, on the other hand, seemed to be less focused on the Sorcerer's Stone, and more on the exams they were going to be taking.

The only problem was, the exams were-

"Ten weeks away," Ciara groaned as Hermione dragged her bag towards the table, setting it down with a loud THUD!

The boys, who had been dozing over their incomplete Herbology essays, jolted at the sound, waking up almost immediately.

'I didn't do it!' Harry shouted telepathically, making Ciara wince. He sent her an apologetic look, which she waved away before turning back to Hermione.

"Ten weeks," the girl in question snapped. "That's not ages, that's like a second to Nicolas Flamel."

"But we're not six hundred years old," Ron reminded her. "Anyway, what are you studying for, you already know it all."

"What am I studying for? Are you crazy? You realize we need to pass these exams to get into the second year? They're very important, I should have started studying a month ago, I don't know what's gotten into me. . . ."

" 'Mione, stop for a second. Slow down," Ciara said gently, "You're gonna work yourself into a panic attack over this."

"No, I will not," she said fiercely, "I will not stop. I need to study."

Ciara stared at her for a moment before relenting, "Fine, just make sure you're eating. I don't want you passing out because you want to ace a test."

Unfortunately, the teachers seemed to be thinking along the same lines as Hermione. They piled so much homework on them that the Easter holidays weren't nearly as much fun as the Christmas ones. It was hard to relax with Hermione next to you reciting the twelve uses of dragon's blood or practicing wand movements. Moaning and yawning, the group of four spent their free time in the library, trying to get through all their extra work.

Hence, why they were there now.

"I'll never remember this," Ron burst out one afternoon, throwing down his quill and looking longingly out of the library window. It was the first really fine day they'd had in months. The sky was a clear, forget-me-not blue, and there was a feeling in the air of summer coming.

Ciara barely glanced up from her book, Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them, as she continued reading the passage about Doxies.

DOXY (sometimes known as Biting Fairy)

M.O.M Classification: XXX

The Doxy is often mistaken for a fairy (see below) though it is a quite separate species. Like the fairy, it has a minute human form, in the Doxy's case this is covered in thick black hair and has an extra pair of arms and legs. The Doxy's wings are thick, curved and shiny, much like beetle's. Doxies are found throughout northern Europe and America, preferring cold climates. They lay up to five hundred eggs at a time and bury them. The eggs hatch in two to three weeks.