Obsidian & Bronze {Fred Weasley}

30. The Black Lake

The days complied themselves into one. The means of time slipping so elegantly, the sunrise no longer an indication of a new day but rather a new light source in which we used to read, and in the same way, as the sun dipped below the horizon, robbing us of the subtle winter rays, we would simply move to a fire side or beside a lamp and continue to study there.

Sleep, although something we craved, was a priority that slowly slipped and soon was something we hopelessly evaded as we let the lines between each day blur, our only comfort found when catching short and solace moments of often interrupted slumber before immediately returning to the subject at hand.

I had pushed myself beyond the point I even released I was capable of, striving to achieve whatever I could at every given opportunity, clinging onto the hope of passing with the highest grades available and refusing to abandon my goal of being authorised access into my chosen advanced classes for the year that would follow.

And now, as the exam drew to a much needed close, it was evident that in fact we had chosen the wrong thing to worry about, if we thought the process of taking the exams was stressful, it was nothing in immediate comparison to restlessly awaiting our results in the weeks that would follow.

"I can't believe it's over" Harry yawned, stretching out his entire being and shaking his aching hands, the rest of us doing the same as I studied my blistered and throbbing fingers, blue and black ink stains trailing across my skin.

Hermione, Ron, Harry and I had finished our last exam paper for the year, the final one having been a two hour potions paper in which Snape threateningly paced the length of the hall, his eyes refraining from leaving the four of us the entirety of the exam.

"Seriously if I see the world effervescence one more time I'm going to cry" Ron groaned as he stifled a yawn, rubbing his fingers along his likely throbbing temples.

Hermione and I chuckled as we lazily wandered up to the Gryffindor common room, Harry and Ron trailing closely behind as the four of us all fought the urge to collapse from exhaustion in the middle of an empty corridor.

We wandered into the common room silently, to find Fred and George exactly where they said they would be after they had finished their final exam that morning, waiting for the rest of us to arrive.

"Finished" Hermione announced gleefully, drawing the twins' attention to the back of the room as they noticed our arrival.

Fred immediately leapt to his feet and ran over, crushing every ounce of my being as he pulled me into a warm embrace, lifting me off the group and allowing my legs to secure themselves around his waist.

He pulled back slightly to look at me, a goofy grin plastered across his face, as he removed one of his hands from the small of my back to brush away a piece of hair that had dropped from my bun and tuck it loosely behind my ear.

"They're over. You did it" He whispered, allowing his forehead to drop against mine as we both instinctively closed our eyes, a gentle smile tugging at my lips as he fingers drew soft lines along my lower back. "I'm so proud of you"

I sunk further into his arms, savouring the smell of hickory and the warmth of his embrace, fighting the urge to drift off as I closed my eyes and dropped into his shoulder, and soon he started carrying me over to the sofa he had just stood from, bending down until my back came into contact with the cushions.

He chuckled slightly, noticing my hazy and exhausted state as he sat next to me and pulled me into his side, allowing my head to drop onto his chest as he hung his arm around my shoulders and placed his chin above my head. He didn't say a word, just silently allowed me to drift off in his arms, forgetting about the month we had just endured.