Orphic » Sirius Black

Chapter 17 - Ordinary Wizarding Levels

Pranks didn't cease by the end of May, but were put to a halt as time for examinations rounded the corner.

Juniper hadn't slept at all. And when she got to the common room very early in the morning, she thought she was hallucinating.

She stopped on the last step of the stairs and watched the scene almost frozen. Maverick was sitting in front of the statue of Rowena Ravenclaw, surrounded by fifth and seventh year Ravenclaws. Margaret was also there, circling around the statue and throwing some flower petals on the floor. Tiny candles were lit carefully around the house founder, one of which Maverick had taken into his hands, lifting it in the air as he said his prayers.

"Oh sweet Rowena, in these difficult times, grant us the sharpness to understand, the ability to retain, and subtlety to interpret. Give us grace and abundance to speak, direction to progress, and perfection at the close. If you can, of course."

It was such a weird scenario she had in front of her, that she didn't notice when Judson came out of his dorm and stood next to her, the same exhausted expression on his face. However, he wasn't surprised by the actions of his fellow house members.

"I've never seen Maverick pray before," Juniper pointed out, "And now he's leading a group into praying to Rowena Ravenclaw."

"Yeah, well, examinations." Judson shrugged, and watched as a group of seventh years preparing their N.E.W.T.s left little pieces of parchment with wishes and prayers at the feet of the statue. "I think he's getting paid, though."

The exams were not what Juniper expected.

Calypso, the beautiful brown owl her mother owned, landed graciously in front of her breakfast the first Monday of examinations and left a package on her lap. Juniper opened it as Judson fed the bird some scrumbles of pie, and found a tar of chocolate chip biscuits and a letter wishing her good luck on her exams.

"These are amazing!" Judson exclaimed before taking another bite of the biscuit Juniper had shared with him. "Tell your mum I'm expecting more of these when I see her again." Juniper laughed and rolled her eyes. She knew her mother couldn't have made those. Cassia Callister was not a good cook, but she meant well.

But even with her mother's encouraging words and food, Juniper felt like her brain could explode at any moment. She took deep breaths as they entered the exam classroom, Charms being their first O.W.L. ever. Why was it so scary? It's not like their futures depended on it.

However, Juniper did great. Amazing, in fact. Once the exam started, Juniper knew exactly what she had to do, the answers coming to her in a divine moment of inspiration. The practical part went even better, and Juniper felt very proud of herself when the examiner implied she was one of the best he had seen in years.

At night, though, they were required to form a line by alphabetical order for their Astronomy practical exam, so Juniper was left alone waiting at the front while the rest of her friends were scattered throughout the tower. At least that's what she thought, because suddenly Dawn wasn't standing next to her anymore, yet someone else was.

"Hey, June," said the husky voice of Sirius, who managed to convince Dawn to swap places for a while.

"Oh, great, perfect timing," Juniper exclaimed as she extended her notes towards his chest. "Ask me questions."

Sirius scowled, and pushed his head a bit to the front. "What?"

"Yes, ask me questions."

"Alright. Let's see." Sirius raised his hand to his chin and thought for a second. "What's your favourite colour?"

"Not that!" Juniper hit him in the arm with her telescope. "Ask me something about Astronomy. Like how many moons Jupiter has, or how to pinpoint the precise location of stars and planets."