Lucy Riddle and the Boy Who Lived

N.E.W.Ts

Chapter Twenty-Four

She couldn't stop thinking about what she'd learned from the diary. It could be useful . . . she thought Dumbledore and Harry should know all the information she had learned.

Harry was walking towards the boy's dormitory when Lucy sped up to him, pulling his arm towards the fat lady's portrait.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! What do you think you're doing? I have class! With Snape," Harry complained. "And I don't think he'll like it if I —"

"Harry, be a doll and shut up."

He clamped his mouth shut. Lucy dragged him up to the headmaster's room. She didn't even say the password. Before she even came up to the gargoyles, they had already opened the door. Professor McGonagall was leaving the room.

"Hey there you two, what are you doing?" McGonagall asked.

"That's what I want to know."

"Shut up, Harry."

"Ow!"

McGonagall raised her eyebrows. "If you're looking for Dumbledore, he's not in his office. I just checked. He'll be out for a few days, I believe. You can talk to me if you want."

Lucy led the two to an empty classroom and began telling them everything she knew. McGonagall was nodding her head the whole time, occasionally asking questions. It was only Harry who wouldn't keep quiet.

"LUCY, DO YOU EVEN KNOW WHAT THAT THING IS? IT IS THE DIARY OF —"

"HARRY, I BLOODY KNOW. IT SAYS IT ON THE FRONT COVER, OKAY?"

"Harry, let the girl talk."

When she finished, McGonagall didn't say a word. Lucy didn't tell them about the letter. She believed her mother wanted only her to see it. There wasn't much about the prophecy either.

"I need to tell Dumbledore this. I think he'd want to know about it," McGonagall said. "Get O's on your O.W.L.S, Harry. Lucy, your N.E.W.T.s are today, incase you didn't know."

"Okay, thanks Professor."

McGongall left the classroom, and that's when Harry exploded.

"What was she talking about? You're taking N.E.W.T.s? Hermione isn't even taking those yet!" Harry shouted.

"Oh, yeah, I forgot to tell you guys . . ." Lucy trailed off. "I'm actually sixteen."

Harry fainted.

Lucy loomed over his body. She nudged him with her foot. "Are you dead? If you are, would you haunt me if I get revenge and stomp on your nose?"

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When she went to her first class, — Snape's — she was greeted with a greasy-haired man and a large roll of parchment. She took out her white, feathery quill and placed it in front of her.

"You may begin your N.E.W.T.s," Snape said in his slow, monotone voice.

She took a look at every question and answered it faster than the speed of light. She'd have to thank Hermione for that one. Lucy already knew the answers to the questions, but Hermione had made the lot stay in the library all day to study for their tests. Now Lucy was able to read one word and answer the question.

She was done with fifteen minutes left to spare and decided to daydream. Voldemort was starting to get on her nerves. He dared leave her for nearly sixteen years, and he had the audacity to try and touch her face? Who did he think he was?

Her face doesn't like people touching it — only Bellatrix, Rodolphus, and Dolohov could or else they'd ground her for eternity. That has happened before when she was five years old. She would smack their hands away, and they locked her in her room for at least a month. They all took turns sending the food into her room, and Dolohov gave her a bucket the first day, eventually installing — ha, wizards don't do that manually — a bathroom inside her bedroom after the accidentally spilled the dirty bucket all over himself.

Snape smacked the back of her head with his black leather book. She rubbed her skull, cursing at him mentally. Lucy slouched in her chair and decided to check her answers really quick. Then she looked around and noticed Angelina and Katie in the room also.

Lucy was glad to have friends in here. She hasn't played in a single Quiddich game yet. It wasn't the time to do it. She still needed more practice.

Lucy threw a ball of parchment at the two girls. They looked up and smiled at her. Angelina mouthed the words: I will beat you up, right here, right now.

Katie: Come at me, bro.

Snape hit them on the side of the head too, but they didn't care. There was only several minutes left, and it wasn't like they were interrupting anything . . . yet.

Lucy waited until Snape stopped the test, and said, "Accio tests," before jumping out of her chair and throwing her parchment at the Potions master. He barely caught it along with the rest of the thirty some rolls zooming right at him.

It was a quite sight: Professor Snape being attacked by pieces of parchment.

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"I think I got an answer wrong on Arithmancy," Hermione whined. "I'm going to fail. That's it — I won't get any O's and —"

"Hermione, Lucy's taking N.E.W.Ts," Harry Potter blurted out.

"WHAT?" Hermione and Ron shouted.

"How is that possible? I mean, I should be taking N.E.W.Ts right now —"

Ron sang, "Lucy's smarter than Hermione; Lucy's smarter than Hermione —"

"Guys," Lucy interrupted. "I'm sixteen. I had a fake birthday basically all my life, but I am sixteen; not fifteen . . . sixteen."

"That makes more sense." Hermione let out a breath.

Lucy pretended to be offended. She placed a hand on her heart. "Oh, so you think I'm not smart, huh?"

"Basically."

The lot laughed at Hermione's serious face.

"What?" Hermione cried. "I'm just telling you the truth!"

Lucy placed a Silencio spell on her. Hermione moved her mouth, but no words came out of it. Harry flicked a pea at Ron, which bounced off his nose. Ron put a pea in his mouth and spat at Harry. It went on like that for the entire dinner.

Hermione didn't talk to Lucy when they headed to their rooms.

"Come on, Hermione! It was just a joke!" Lucy pleaded after her. She wondered if this was how Hermione's boyfriends were going to be like in the future.

Hermione slammed the door in her face.