Broken: a Draco Malfoy Love Story

Chapter 36 - End of Examinations

A/N - NOTE that what was previously chapter 36 was added into the end of chapter 35. This change may have affected where you are up to so feel free to skim read over the previous chapter.
The following is a newly written chapter and the second to last for the story. Enjoy and leave some feedback xx

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Alexia exhaled, letting out a breath of relief as she placed her quill beside her Potions examination parchment. Finished. She looked over at the clock; ten minutes to go. She scanned over the exam, double checking she had answered every question and to her best ability. She was confident she had done exceptionally well in this OWL exam,and was very pleased with herself and all her studying. Although she still had the practical examination to go, she wasn't feeling nervous at all. In fact, she was looking forward to it.

When ten minutes was up and a bell rang signifying the end of the examination, the parchment was collected from each desk and the special anti-cheating quills were handed in. The students were then allowed to exit the examination room and head to the Great Hall for lunch.
Alexia's next examination wasn't until Wednesday evening for Astronomy. She spent Tuesday studying, revising for this exam and her upcoming Divination, Arithmancy and History of Magic exams. When night fell on Wednesday, the fifth years who took Astronomy made their way to the Astronomy Tower to complete their examination. It was a basic examination that anyone could pass as long as they had some common sense and remembered the name of each planet. They were to complete a blank star-chart with the precise positions and names of the stars and planets they were observing. The sky was clear making it even easier to fill the chart out. Alexia however, like usual, found herself captivated with the shimmery speckles in the sky and kept getting distracted while she completed it. Draco on the other hand was becoming distracted by movement in the Forbidden Forest. He gazed through his telescope, moving it down towards the clearing of the dense forest; Professor Umbridge with half a dozen other Ministry workers appeared, marching their way towards Hagrid's hut. Draco took his eye away from the telescope and looked around to see if anyone else had noticed. A few metres away, Harry Potter had his telescope directed in the exact spot Draco just had his.

A roar from Hagrid's cabin echoed through the darkness right to where the students sat at the top of the Astronomy Tower. Then, there was a sudden bang. The class gasped and looked over to Hagrid's hut where red jets of light were flashing across the grounds from Umbridge and the other wizards, colliding with the cabin.
From the castle, Professor McGonagall rushed over, "Leave him alone! Alone, I say!" She shouted, sprinting across the grounds and casting a powerful hex from her wand.
Hagrid came rushing out of his hut and immediately began fighting back.
The wizards continued sending spells towards Hagrid and some turned on him, firing stunning spells right at McGonagall instead, and successfully.
"Galloping gargoyles!" The wizard administering the exam shouted, forgetting about the exam completely. "Not so much as a warning! Outrageous behaviour!"
Below, Hagrid easily took out almost all the wizards Umbridge brought and headed for the Hogwarts gates, escaping the chaos and late-night attack. McGonagall was not so lucky.

The Astronomy Tower became silent; everyone was in shock.
"Well..." The administering wizard begun, "we may end the examination there for tonight. They will be marked with accordance and consideration of this event."
Alexia quickly scribbled some answers down on her chart and handed it in.
"Now, quick! Off to bed! No wandering or lurking." The wizard asserted.
Alexia found Draco and departed the tower down the long flight of stairs with the remaining students.
As they reached the bottom of the stairs Draco caught sight of someone, "Potter!" He hissed, watching as the boy furiously marched off in the opposite direction to Gryffindor Tower.
"Leave him," Alexia said, grabbing Draco's arm and pulling him close.
Draco stood, agitated, watching as Hermione Granger chased after Potter, telling him to stop.
"Draco, let's go." Alexia said in a soft voice.
After several minutes, Draco gave in. He relaxed his stance, and wordlessly turned away.