Harmony Bond (Completed)

Chapter 17: A Snake in the House

The first week back after the holidays was the worst yet for assignments and schoolwork. Now that they were in the last months until OWLs, all professors seemed manic to stuff every last bit of information into them. Harry and Hermione also had an unusual, but not wholly unexpected development when they arrived back from the holidays. After their first Transfiguration class, Professor McGonagall asked them to stay after the rest of the class. Harry was nervous, but Hermione was curious. When they approached the professor's desk, she wore a strange expression that made them both wonder.

"Mr. and Mrs. Potter, please sit. I need to talk to you about your test results from the end of last session."

Hermione blanched as images of test failure flashed through her head and her stomach did flips. Harry's voice calmed her before true panic set in.

Really love? You would never fail a test. It's more likely that you scored higher than any student in the history of school and they want to award you.

Before Hermione could retort, the professor continued.

"Here are the results of your tests. You both did quite well, but there is an issue. I suppose it's not surprising, but it does leave us in a quandary. Mr. Potter, no offense, but your scores have never been as high as Mrs. Potter's. At least until now. Mrs. Potter scored top for her year once again, but you're only two points behind her due to one slight miss on your Transfiguration exam. I've looked at that question and your handwriting seems strangled, almost as if you were forcing something. Then, when I received the rest of the results, I decided to review each test and was quite startled. If I had seen the same results with anyone else, I would suspect cheating, despite the protections we put in place to prevent that. You see, in reviewing your tests, I find many of the answers to be nearly the same. The wording changes slightly, but the ideas and the order of the answers are identical. I think it is obvious that your bond makes separating the two of you for exams a near impossibility. I have a suspicion with my exam since it was one of the last one taken that Mr. Potter was perhaps trying to force his own answers and that is the reason for the change in his writing. Am I correct in my assumptions?"

Aw shite love, what do we tell her? I really tried to keep my mind on my own tests.

I know, I did the same. Even when I was ready to write my usual two feet of parchment answers, you were in my head and I had this feeling that I had done enough and moved on. And some of your insights on the questions were so fresh and interesting that I couldn't ignore them. I think we just need to tell her.

The silence caused the professor to raise an eyebrow as she looked back and forth between them. Harry gave Hermione a small mental nudge and she took the lead.

"Sorry professor, Harry and I were just conferring. You are correct in your assumption. We both tried to block each other out during the tests, but it's quite difficult to do so. Will this be a problem, especially with OWLs? Will it be considered cheating?"

"Well, it's not a problem for now. I've talked with the other professors and the headmaster and they all understand. Professor Babbling was actually quite excited that Mr. Potter has caught up completely in Runes. Professor Flitwick even suggested that we may want to save time and have you two test together, but I don't believe that is wise. The headmaster suggested that you might try working on your mind magics to block each other better, but even he isn't sure that would work. For now, we will continue with testing as we have been and all of the professors will allow for your unique link. If it continues the same up until OWLs, we will need to talk to the examination department at the Ministry to see how they want to handle you. Honestly, soul bonds are so rare that no one has experience in this regard. Anyway, you've got plenty to keep yourselves occupied. I wouldn't worry too much on this for now, but I did need to bring it to your attention."