Ink and Parchment ~ blood and bone

64

As it had a way of doing; life moved on.

The weight of Jormy’s death lessened as the months passed. She had days where it felt like she had just lost him, and days where she could smile happily knowing wherever he was Death would be watching over him, and perhaps he would finally be with Salazar. Daphne had helped her fix Jormy’s fang onto one of her ear-rings and Eliza never took it out, letting it dangle from her ear as a mark of pride for her fallen friend.

No one dared to ask about it which saved a lot of unnecessary questions. Although she was sure Jormy was a bit of an open secret at this point. No matter what they tried to say Slytherins gossiped and she was sure the fact that the basilisk had still been guarding the chamber had circulated the whole school twice over every single year that passed.

The weeks seemed to fly by almost unfairly, one month shifting into another as their last year at Hogwarts disappeared from them. And for the first time in a while Eliza set aside her plans for world domination – the NEWT exams had arrived.

To say everyone was stressed would be the biggest understatement Eliza had ever heard and she gained a newfound respect for her older peers. How anyone had taken their NEWTS when Eliza had been busy enacting her own brand of bullshit completely baffled her.

Her time-turner was confiscated to prevent cheating and that was when everyone really knew exam time was upon them. She found her court passed out in the common room many times, slumped over alchemy textbooks and transfiguration essays alike. They practiced duelling, stole Theo’s history of magic notes and Eliza revised so much she could barely think of anything outside of the periodic table and Gamp’s laws for the next few days.

She wished the wizarding world had energy drinks, but soon discovered that pouring pepper-up potion into black coffee did almost the exact same job. Unhealthy to a dangerous degree? Possibly. Ridiculously helpful? Indubitably.

“If someone dies none of us have to take our NEWTS” Blaise pondered one day as Draco tested Eliza on sixth years charm work “Draco I think you should have the honours”

“Why me?” he squawked, tossing the flashcards aside in righteous offence. Eliza gathered them up calmly and turned to Theo, silently asking him for help instead.

Blaise shrugged, herbology book balanced precariously on his face “You’re the most dramatic – people would probably believe you”

“Why can’t Daphne drop dead instead of me?”

“Merlin I wish” Daphne pleaded, surrounded by a mountain of past potions essays as she tried to memorize the most likely potions to appear on the exam. She had told them all she was still seriously considering becoming a healer and she would have to do incredibly good in potions to be accepted into the academy.

Lucky for them that Hogwarts still employed Severus Snape. Even though Slughorn was their potions professor, and quite formidable in his own right even he couldn’t deny that Severus was insanely talented.

It was also lucky for them that after seven years of knowing Eliza the man was a lot easier to bribe, some part of his stubborn dislike of them all having worn off under Eliza’s obstinate nature.

“I want to beat Eliza at History of Magic – none of you are allowed to die and take that away from me” Theo somewhat threatened, glancing up from his own textbooks to glare at them warningly. Draco let out a little squeak of terror and nodded his head vehemently.

“Of course Theo – wouldn’t dream of it Theo”

Blaise let out a distraught groan and finally removed the textbook from his face.