A witch's heart [Draco Malfoy x oc]

Worth it

My very first exam was in care of magical creatures.

Neither Hagrid nor I had thought we would actually write one (since I was his only student) but it was fine anyways: my task was to take care of a newborn unicorn for one hour. Having worked with unicorns before, the exam ended up being pretty fun - unicorns, especially babies, were quite kind towards girls. I washed it, fed it, and put the baby to sleep before Mother-unicorn came along.

Hagrid nodded benevolently after seeing the sleeping unicorn. We were at Mother Ameras place, and I did a few nature studies while the foal was sleeping.
"Everything goin' fine?", Hagrid asked, sitting down next to me. I nodded. "Alright, then. Tea?"

Thanking him, I took the small, wooden cup which he had taken out of one of his endless pockets. Hagrid was nervous. He'd soon tell me about whatever occupied his mind, I was sure ... though I didn't know if i wanted to know.

"How's the prep' for the quest goin'? Have ye got everything ya need?"
I nodded. "I've got everything and everyone. We'll be going when the summers break starts."
"When will ye be back?"
"By school begin, probably." If we all survived, that is.

Hagrid kneaded his fingers and petted Fang.
It was actually a lot more nerve wrecking to feel (and see) how nervous somebody was than when you don't know and they just asked you out of the blue.

"So, Niela ..."

My head shot up from the painting. "Yes?"

"Read for yourself."
He handed me a letter. Frowning, I took it and unfolded the message; it was Tom's handwriting.

Dear Niela,
How are you doing? I know we wrote each other just a few days ago, but this is sort of an urgent matter. I'd like to talk to you at nine pm, at the headmaster's fireplace. I'm sure McGonagall will let you in, if you ask nicely. Good luck on your exams today!
Tom

It really must be something urgent if he wanted to talk face-to-face. I got why Hagrid was worried. But to see things positively, Tom had not said that there were bad news - just that there were urgent news. I really didn't feel like getting bad news today. Or any time soon, honestly.
"I'm sure it's not as bad as you think, Hagrid. He didn't say those news were bad news, did he?" Slowly, Hagrid nodded. "He didn't exactly say that."
"Then let's not worry until we know what happened."

Hagrid forced a smile. "You're right." He clearly thought I was wrong, but I probably looked as desperate as I was. "Would you like to stay until the mother comes back?" I looked at the young unicorn. It was sleeping peacefully.

Shaking my head, I stood up. "I have three more exams today. But please greet Mother Amera for me."
My teacher nodded. I waved him good bye and left the forbidden forest.

That went rather well, didn't it?
I guess.

I was feeling down again. Being positive about Tom's message was easy, since nothing was set in stone. There were multiple options to how that talk would turn out to be. Prophecies, however, always fulfilled themselves, one way or the other. So while neither my friends nor I were bound to die, innocent people would loose their lives in that river. No matter what sacrifice I made, I wouldn't be able to undo the damage that had been already been done. That thought alone was simply -
- depressing.
Hit the nail on the head, Agapi.

It was funny. I had not wanted to receive bad news, yet bad thoughts were already busy running through my head.

Don't worry too much about it. Concentrate on your exams.
You're right, I should.

+

There must be something wrong with my wand. Or with me. Perhaps both.

As expected, I was failing transfiguration. I couldn't remember what movement Draco had shown me for the life of mine. And why did the next question include the charm again? McGonagall was setting me up to fail.