Harry spent the rest of the week and the weekend reviewing for his OWLs. He was determined to do well on his exams, even in the subjects he hadn't studied until recently. He arrived at the Ministry on Monday both nervous and excited. He wanted to prove to everyone that he was not just a mediocre wizard by getting good scores. He just imagined the looks on Dumbledore and Snape's faces if he got O's in most subjects, especially potions!
He knew Monday would be grueling as it was his first day back in a school type setting as well as he had 7 written exams to take. He made sure to pack himself a nice lunch along with a few snacks in an old lunchbox of Dudley's he had charmed to be refrigerated and larger on the inside than the outside. He thought taking a Star Wars lunchbox was amusing. He was able to shrink it and keep it in his bag along with all his notes for that particular day's subjects. He also had packed a shrunken change of clothes so that he could escape as his Jim Grim persona if the Order somehow tracked him down.
He apparated to the designated arrival point in the Ministry 30 minutes before his first exam. He made his way to the magical testing area, careful to take the stairs to avoid the spells on the elevators. He smiled cheerfully and made his way to Madame Marchbanks who was waiting at the front of a large room. He was glad to see he was not the only one there. He didn't recognize any of the other students and was hoping to make some new friends. He checked in with the wizened witch and she told him he could take any seat available but preferably not next to anyone else as to discourage peeking. They would take one exam and then get a 10 minute break to check in any additional students and allow for those not taking the exam to leave. If they finished early they could turn in their exam and then go into an adjoining room to do as they wished without disturbing the other students.
Harry breezed through the History of Magic test and even took extra time on the 4 essay questions at the end. When he was done he still had 30 minutes of the 90 min exam left and after checking his answers again he handed in the test feeling very confident and was the first student in the adjoining room. The room was comfortable with tables and arm chairs and a few sofas. There was a bathroom as well as a table with water to drink.
Harry had to wait 10 minutes before anyone else joined him in the waiting room.
"Hi I'm Anna," she said with a smile at Harry. "Whoa it's going to be a long day today!"
"I'm Harry," he told her hoping to avoid last names. "I think it's going to be a long week."
"Oh are you taking all the exams?" She asked with shock.
"Yeah, you have to when you are retaking your exams." Harry told her with a shrug. "I had an exam interrupted and didn't think I did too well on the others either so I requested to be retested. To do that I have to take every exam, even the ones I haven't taken classes in."
"Wow, that sounds harsh." Anna said. "I'm home schooled so these are my only exams. I'm taking History, Runes, Politics and Astronomy today and then Herbologry, Healing, Charms, Fine Arts, and Human Languages. How are you going to pass the language exams if you've never had classes?" She asked
"I love to read and have picked up Latin fluently and am almost fluent in Gaelic. I also am fluent in Gobbledygook as I am friends with several goblins and have picked up the basics of Mermish but am not fluent yet. I plan on learning French, Egyptian and maybe Portuguese as well as Fairy and Troll so I can get my NEWT in both subjects as well." Harry told her with a shrug.
"It would be so neat to learn Gobbledygook," Anne said with a grin. "I think the goblins are fascinating but most wizards are too pigheaded to pay any attention."
"Yeah, I was muggle raised so all the prejudice here against magical creatures and the blood supremacy issues seem so stupid to me." Harry told her honestly.
