Future Nostalgia / Harry Potter Fanfic

Exams and Animal Murder

The euphoria at finally winning the Quidditch Cup lasted at least a week. Even the weather seemed to be celebrating; as June approached, the days became cloudless and sultry, and all anybody felt like doing was strolling onto the grounds and flopping down on the grass with several pints of iced pumpkin juice, perhaps playing a casual game of Gobblestones or watching the giant squid propel itself dreamily across the surface of the lake.

But they couldn't. Exams were nearly upon them, and instead of lazing around outside, the students were forced to remain inside the castle, trying to bully their brains into concentrating while enticing wafts of summer air drifted in through the windows. Even Fred and George were spotted working; Sienna didn't even have to force them. Percy was getting ready to take his N.E.W.T.s, the highest qualification Hogwarts offered. As Percy hoped to enter the Ministry of Magic, he needed top grades. He was becoming increasingly edgy and gave very severe punishments to anybody who disturbed the quiet of the common room in the evenings. In fact, the only person who'd seen more anxious than Percy was Hermione.

Estella couldn't understand how Hermione wasn't curled up in a ball from exhaustion; she'd taken one fewer class than Hermione and was ridiculously stressed. Harry and Ron had given up asking her how she was managing to attend several classes at once, but they couldn't restrain themselves when they saw the exam schedule she had drawn up for herself.

"Hermione?" Ron said cautiously because she was liable to explode when interrupted these days. "Er, are you sure you've copied down these times right?"

"What?" snapped Hermione, picking up the exam schedule and examining it. "Yes, of course I have."

"Is there any point asking how you're going to sit for two exams at once?" asked Harry.

Estella let out a small chuckle, and Hermione huffed at her, "No. Have either of you seen my copy of Numerology and Grammatica?"

"Oh, yeah, I borrowed it for a bit of bedtime reading," said Ron, but very quietly. Hermione started shifting heaps of parchment around on her table, looking for the book. Just then, there was a rustle at the window, and Hedwig fluttered through it, a note clutched tight in her beak.

"It's from Hagrid," said Harry, ripping the note open. "Buckbeak's appeal-it's set for the sixth."

"That's the day we finish our exams," Estella commented as she finished her Arithmancy review for the first time without having to look at previous examples.

"And they're coming up here to do it," replied Harry, still reading from the letter. "Someone from the Ministry of Magic and an executioner."

Estella and Hermione looked up.

"They're bringing an executioner to the appeal! That means they've already made their decision!"

"Yeah, it does," said Harry slowly.

"They can't!" Ron howled. "I've spent ages reading up stuff on him; they can't just ignore it all!"

*********

Exam week began an unnatural hush fell over the castle. The third-years emerged from Transfiguration at lunchtime on Monday, limp and ashen-faced, comparing results and bemoaning the difficulty of the task they had been set, which had included turning a teapot into a tortoise. Estella found it much easier to do using wandless magic, which Professor McGonagall commented on in a proud tone. She at least knew she'd passed that exam.

Hermione irritated the rest by fussing about how her tortoise had looked more like a turtle, which was the very least of everyone else's worries. Estella didn't mention that hers had as well.