taking control

Chapter 25: Disappearing Act

Chapter 25: Disappearing Act

With a full week of May already under their belts, Hermione absolutely insisted that Harry buckle down and study for the upcoming exams. Knowing how much exams meant to her, Harry decided to give in to her pleas. After all, it would be good to review all the material they had covered over the past year. When she proceeded to hand him a schedule that would basically take up every free moment he had up until the exams, however, Harry balked.

"I'm sorry, Hermione, but there is absolutely no way I'm going to follow this schedule," Harry told her. His eyes flicked momentarily to Ron who was nodding emphatically in agreement.

With her hands on her hips and her eyes narrowed, Hermione said, "You can't expect to pass your exams if you're not willing to put in the work. If you had agreed earlier, I could have spread it all out for you, but, as it is, we have to just cram as much in as we can."

Harry had to resist the strong urge to roll his eyes. "Hermione," he started, pausing to make sure she was listening to him. "I don't need to cram. I already know the material. Some extra time to refresh that knowledge would be nice, but I don't need all this." He waved the parchment holding her schedule back and forth.

She glared at him for a moment and took a deep breath as if she was going to start on a rant. Instead, she exhaled and shook her head. "All right," she said, and the words looked as though they pained her. "When would you like to revise then?"

Harry noticed out of the corner of his eye that Ron's eyes bulged out when Hermione backed down. Then, just as swiftly, his eyes narrowed into a calculating gaze focused on his girlfriend. Did Ron know something?

Harry put the matter out of his mind as he put his head together with Hermione to work out a schedule that he found to be much more reasonable. After they had finished, Ron leaned over and glanced through it briefly before sitting back and looking at Harry. "Much better. Can't have our seeker too tired to get on his broom, can we?"

"How can you be worried about Quidditch with exams coming up?" Hermione demanded threateningly. "You should really consider having fewer practices to give everyone more time to study."

"Are you barmy, woman?" Ron retorted. "We can't cut down on practices. The cup is almost ours."

"Oh, who cares about a silly cup?" Hermione protested.

"Silly?" Ron gasped. "Silly?!"

"Yes, silly!" Hermione returned. "Honestly, Ron, what is a silly little cup going to do for you? You need to learn the material so that you're not behind next year. Your N.E.W.T. results will determine what jobs you can get after school."

"Quidditch is not silly!" Ron nearly shouted. Harry was just starting to back away when Ron turned to him and said, "Help me out here, Harry."

Harry shook his head, not wanting to get involved in their argument, but it was too late.

"Tell him that exams are more important," Hermione insisted.

Harry sighed, looking back and forth between them. "You're both right. Exams are important which is why we are not adding any extra practices; however, Quidditch is also important, and we will not be cutting back on practices either." With a mischievous smirk he added, "Now kiss and make up, or whatever it is you do nowadays."

They both stared open-mouthed at him for a moment before coming to their senses. Ron turned to Hermione and quirked an eyebrow, but she just harrumphed, stuffed her books in her bag, and stormed out of the common room.