Warriors || FRED WEASLEY FF

CHAPTER 79

I sat in the Gryffindor common room, my eyes glued to the textbooks, the glow of the fireplace casting a warm, flickering light across the pages. It had been weeks since Fred and George had left Hogwarts, and the castle seemed quieter without their endless pranks and spontaneous laughter. I missed the chaos they brought, the unpredictable moments that made even the dullest days at Hogwarts exciting.

I found solace in my friends. Lee Jordan, always up for a joke, often tried to fill the void the twins had left. Hermione, ever the diligent student, kept me grounded and focused on the upcoming OWLs. Anushka was a constant source of comfort and support. And then there was the Golden Trio—Harry, Ron, and Hermione—who provided a sense of normalcy amidst the turmoil of the wizarding world.

"Alright, Ashwini, let's review Potions again," Hermione said, pulling me back to the present. We were seated in a quiet corner of the common room, our books and notes spread out before them. I nodded, forcing myself to concentrate.

The days blurred together, filled with study sessions, brief moments of laughter with Lee, and long hours in the library. I and Anushka would talk about our plans here, about he things which would happen and I tried to ignore the beat of my heart whenever I think about the thing whcih will happen soon. 

One afternoon, after a particularly grueling Quidditch match—where Ron had played spectacularly and Gryffindor had emerged victorious— I found myself in Transfiguration class. Professor McGonagall was teaching Animagus transformations, a topic that fascinated me. 

"Ashwini, could you stay behind for a moment?" Professor McGonagall's voice broke through the end-of-class bustle. exchanged a curious glance with Hermione before nodding and packing up my things. "And Miss Grange, please do inform Ms Ku- Sharma to visit me." 

Hermione nodded and walked out of the class. 

Once the classroom had emptied, McGonagall gestured for me to follow her. We walked silently through the corridors until we reached McGonagall's office.  

"Biscuit?" She offered gesturing to her desk which has a plate of biscuit. 

"No thank you" I shook my head gently with a smile. 

"Minnie? You called me?" We heard Anushka's voice as she entered the office. 

"Yes Ms Kumar." McGonagall sighed tired from stopping Anushka to call her like that but she wouldn't. 

"Please, sit," McGonagall said, indicating a chair in front of her desk. We sat down. 

"Professor?" I ventured.

McGonagall's stern expression softened slightly. "I wanted to speak with you about your and Anushka's practical exams. Due to unforeseen circumstances, you can't as you know."

We nodded. We can't use the wand just yet. 

"However," McGonagall continued, "a highly qualified witch will be taking your place. I have complete confidence in her abilities to conduct your exams fairly."

Ashwini nodded, trying to hide her disappointment. "Who will it be, Professor?"

"You both know Tonks and Vivian?," McGonagall asked. We nodded. "So they will be talking for your practical exams seeing as both of them are metamorphmagus, it would be very easy for them to switch up as you two and do the practical exams." 

"Brilliant!" Anushka beamed up at her. 

"yes, it's brilliant" I nodded. "But there won't be any problem right?" 

"You don't worry about that Ms Kumar, I trust them, they have been my students too. Vivian will take place as you Ashwini and Tonks will be as you Anushka" 

"Thank you, Professor," Ashwini said quietly.

McGonagall gave her a rare, reassuring smile. "I know it hasn't been easy with everything going on, but you've shown remarkable resilience on your theories. Keep focusing on your studies, and you'll do brilliantly."

We left McGonagall's office with a relief as we got to know the news, we walked to the common room to find Hermione and the two boys sitting in the sofa. 

"Everything alright?" Hermione asked, looking up from her notes.

I sighed. "Yeah, just our practical exams and that someone else will take part as us. You know metamorphmagus" I said quietly.

"That's good to know, you already do good in your theories and it will be better in practical now" Harry nodded. 

I passed them a smile, looking over at the noise of argument to see Ron and Anushka playing the wizard chess, Anushka saying how stupid he is to do that step and she killed him. Ron groaned flipping the chess and sat back down. 

I sniggered at them, getting back with Hermione to study. We spent the rest of the afternoon studying. As the days until the OWLs grew fewer, I threw myself into the work with even more determination.