The Forgotten Twin

Chapter 16

Over the next few weeks it was finally time for exams. It was sweltering hot, especially in the large classroom where they did their written papers. They had been given special, new quills for the exams, which had been bewitched with an Anti-Cheating spell.

There were practical exams as well. Professor Flitwick called them one by one into his class to see if they could make a pineapple tapdance across a desk. Professor McGonagall watched them turn a mouse into a snuffbox — points were given for how pretty the snuffbox was, but taken away if it had whiskers. Professor Snape had them make a Forgetfulness potion by memory, which Delilah thought everyone was making too much of a fuss about, it wasn't that hard.

Delilah did the best she could, and was confident that she had done very well, despite not sleeping. Harry had seemed really nervous, and whenever she asked him about it he said, "Not now," or "Exams," which Delilah thought was unlikely. As much as he wouldn't admit it, he was decent at school, and had never failed a test.

Also Ron and Hermione didn't seem worried at all, which for Hermione was normal, but even she was usually slightly worried. Ron, on the other hand, was almost always frantically studying, hoping to remember something.

The very last exam was History of Magic. One hour of answering questions about old dead wizards who'd invented self-stirring cauldrons and they'd be free, free for a whole week until their exam results came out. When the ghost of Professor Binns told them to put down their quills and roll up their parchment, Delilah couldn't help cheering with the rest, even Hermione was cheering, though only half-heartedly.

"That was easier than I expected," Daphne admitted as she, Pansy, and Delilah left the exam. Draco was doing something with Crabbe, Goyle, and Zabini. "There wasn't even anything about the Werewolf Code of Conduct or the uprising of Elfric the Eager."

"I don't see why you care about History of Magic, it's utterly pointless," Delilah pointed out.

"I agree with Delilah, what's the point? We're just learning about mostly dead people," agreed Pansy.

Daphne looked aghast. "Well, it helps us to not repeat it and builds our understanding of our world."

"But what does that have to do with the fact that the Werewolf Code of Conduct happened in 1525?" Pansy argued.

"1637," corrected Delilah.

"Whatever, but why?"

Daphne paused. "I guess the dates don't matter as long as you know the general time period and context, but it can help you understand what else happened around the same time. For example, the ministry also banned all magical creatures other than wizards from carrying wands, which I don't fully understand, to be honest, but they had their reasons."

"You should replace Binns, it would be much more interesting, not that that's hard." Delilah caught sight of Harry. "I'm going to go talk to my brother." She left them to talk to Harry.

Delilah had noticed that Harry, Hermione, and Ronald were sitting by the lake talking.

"Hey guys, what's going on?" she asked.

"Hey Delilah, we're talking about the exams, at least, I'm trying to, but Ron doesn't want to," Hermione answered.

Harry shot up, looking anxious, "We've got to go see Hagrid," he ran down to Hagrid's cabin while Hermione, Ronald, and Delilah ran after him, confused. They finally caught up with him at Hagrid's door.

"Don't you think it's a bit odd," said Harry, scrambling up the grassy slope, "that what Hagrid wants more than anything else is a dragon, and a stranger turns up who just happens to have an egg in his pocket? How many people wander around with dragon eggs if it's against wizard law? Lucky they found Hagrid, don't you think? Why didn't I see it before?"