She's the Girl | A Marauders Love story

Chapter 48

NEWT's

Hailey dropped her head on the table. She had thought a practice exam was stressful, but the real exams had shown her just how stressed she could be. James rubbed circles on her back with his thumb.

"You're going to do great, Hailey. You're prepared, and you do well with standardized tests. You're set up for success."

Hailey looked up.

"No I'm not. I don't do well with stress, and this is stressful. If anything, I'll do worse because I'll work myself up about it and freak out during the exam."

James sighed and stood up, offering Hailey his hand.

"Let's go."

Hailey stared at him.

"What?"

"You need to cool off. I promise when we get back I'll help you study to your heart's desire, but you need to stop stressing for a minute."

Hailey agreed with James. She did need to cool off, but that would be giving away precious study time. She needed all the studying she could possibly fit in to her crammed schedule if she wanted to pass. She looked at James, deciding if she should follow him. He waited patiently as she decided. Finally, she nodded and took his hand. James smiled and pulled her out of her chair, kissing her forehead. They packed up their books quickly and left the library. James led her to the seventh floor and into the corridor where the Room of Requirement was located. He paced back and forth three times while Hailey watched, then led her through the door.

As soon as she walked into the Room of Requirement, she felt calm. It had turned into her bedroom in Greece, minus the windows. She could smell the sea salt in the air, and immediately felt comforted. She and James sat on the bed and Hailey put her head on James's lap, letting him run his hands through her hair.

"Thank you, James." She said quietly. James nodded.

"Of course. I'm not going to let you stress yourself into insanity. This seemed like something that would help you to calm down." He said, smiling down at her.

"I think you know me best, to be honest. My mom is a close second, but you just get me." Hailey admitted. "I'm sorry I lost my temper with you last semester." She said. James made eye contact with her.

"You weren't the only one that made a mistake that night, Hailey. We both got mad and said things we didn't mean."

"I know, I just feel bad about what I said. I really do want to marry you, you know."

"I want to marry you too, Hailey."

"Then I guess we're stuck with each other." She sighed dramatically. James chuckled and kissed her nose.

"I guess so. I'd rather be stuck with you than anyone else, though."

"Don't let Sirius hear you say that. He might murder me in my sleep to get rid of the competition." Hailey teased.

"Don't worry, I won't let him."

"I'm very comforted." Hailey said, closing her eyes. She felt at home with James, and her surroundings were only making her feel calmer. "I love you, James."

"I love you too, Hailey."

~~~~~~~

Hailey put down her quill and sighed. She had officially finished her last NEWT exam. This one was Defense Against the Dark Arts, which she was confident about after the study group she and the Marauders had started.

She saw a few other students put down their quills, looking as relieved as she felt. This was it, her last exam as a Hogwarts student. She was officially done. Just a few weeks and she would be back home, ready to start her life. She waited until the Professor called for quills down and watched her paper fly to the front of the room. She made eye contact with James and smiled.

When they were allowed to leave, Hailey quickly grabbed her bag and walked out of the hall. She, James, Sirius, and Remus walked around the grounds, enjoying their freedom.

"We're adults now, guys." Sirius said. "We're basically done with school."

"This is kind of crazy, isn't it? It feels like we just started our seventh year, and we're almost finished now."

"It's so crazy that this whole adventure is almost over." Hailey said. Remus nodded.

"I'm sure we'll all still be friends after. We're the Marauders. Nothing's going to tear us apart. And we can all join the order together and be best friends still."

Hailey nodded.

"I got an internship at St. Mungo's. It's not a official or anything, but if I pass all of the necessary NEWT's, I basically have a secured job." She said, carefully watching their reactions. James smiled widely and picked her up, spinning her around.

"That's wonderful! It's exactly what you wanted, too!" He kissed her, still smiling. Hailey couldn't help the smile that came to her own face.

"Alright, let us congratulate her too." Remus said happily. James put Hailey down only for her to be picked up by Sirius, who was yelling something so loudly Hailey couldn't make out what it was. When she was safely on the ground, Remus hugged her.

"Congrats, Hailey. I'm really proud of you." He said geniunely. Hailey thanked him, smiling. She knew Remus was worried about getting a job with his condition, but she was happy that he had put that aside for her, even just for a minute.

"Thanks guys."

"This is great for you! I can't believe you didn't tell me before. Do Lily and Marlene know?" James asked. Hailey laughed.

"It was hard keeping it from you guys, especially because James was sitting next to me when I got the letter from them. And Lily and Marlene know. They helped me submit my application."

"I guess this is really the start of our new lives." Sirius said. Hailey nodded.

"We're going to have to be responsible adults now. Be all mature."

"We'll get married and settle down and be all boring." Sirius said, giving James a look that Hailey found highly suspicious.

"Yeah. Anyway, how are you guys feeling about the Order?" She asked.

"I'm excited to join. I think they need as many people as possible right now, and I'm glad to give as much as I can." Remus said. James and Sirius scowled.

"Mum can't avoid us after graduation, we'll be seventeen and out of school, she'll have to let us join." James said. Sirius nodded.

"Besides, we're going to join eventually, with or without their permission. We're just trying to give them the chance to let us."

Hailey looked at them skeptically, knowing neither of them would ever go against Mrs. Potter's wishes.

"Right."

"Hailey! You know we would."

"I actually doubt either of you would."

"Remus!"