The Purist / DRAMIONE (COMPLETE)

Odious OWLs

Their OWLs came upon them with a vengeance, reducing Hermione to a fact-filled human and little else. She spent her days muttering to herself and was so tense that she had not managed to lay out elf clothes for days. Ernie Macmillan managed to terrify Ron by quoting the amount of hours he was putting in –

"How many hours d'you think you're doing a day?" He demanded of Harry and Ron while they were queueing outside Herbology one day.

"I dunno," replied Ron. "A few." 

This was a complete lie. Hermione had watched as Ron played chess against himself one evening.

"More or less than eight?" Ernie persisted. 

Hermione admired the Hufflepuff's work ethic.

"Less, I s'pose," Ron answered, looking alarmed. 

Hermione was very thankful for Ernie's input here because after that, Ron was next seen far from his chess set, with five years of notes spread about him (all borrowed off Hermione, of course.)

Draco had a different tactic altogether. Outwardly, he spread panic, still trying to keep his smooth, aristocratic façade.

"Of course, it's not what you know, it's who you know," he said loudly to Crabbe and Goyle outside Potions, mere days before their exams were about to start. "Now, Father's been friendly with the head of Wizarding Examinations Authority for years – old Griselda Marchbanks – we've had her round for dinner and everything..."

This panicked Hermione, who wondered momentarily who Draco was trying to scare. However, Draco confided later that he was simply attempting to make Crabbe and Goyle fail their OWLs. 

Hermione had no problem with this.

*

A flourishing black-market trade in aids to concentration, mental agility and wakefulness had sprung up among the older years. The Ravenclaw sixth-year Eddie Carmichael had attempted to sell a bottle of Baruffio's Brain Elixir to Harry and Ron, claiming it had helped him achieve his nine Outstanding OWLs. Harold Dingle had also tried to sell dried Doxy droppings as powered dragon claw. Draco had laughed for a full five minutes when she'd told him that.

"Honestly," he'd said, "how stupid can they get? I thought Potter had enough brains to produce a Patronus. How could he not tell that it was Doxy droppings?"

"I have no idea," giggled Hermione. It was the best part of her day, revising with Draco in the library. "Ron was very clearly convinced."

"He has absolutely nothing between his ears," complained Draco disgustedly. "Has he ever helped you with anything?"

"Not yet," confessed Hermione. "But I have high hopes."

"Very high hopes," murmured Draco.

*

Hermione could not even feel fully relieved when their final examination, History of Magic, was over, because Harry had collapsed midway through. She and Ron hurried to find him once the exam was over.

"Harry!" She exclaimed as soon as they'd found him. "What happened? Are you alright? Are you ill?"

"Where have you been?" Demanded Ron, probably annoyed that he couldn't miss the exam too.

"Come with me," Harry responded quickly. "Come on, I've got to tell you something."