Harry's and Celeste's 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.
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 Weasley had been spotted working; they were about to take their O.W.L.s. 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 seemed more anxious than Percy was Hermione.
Harry and Ron had given up asking her how she was managing to attend several classes at once. Celeste who knew of the time turner, found it highly amusing. They couldn't restrain themselves when they saw the exam schedule she had drawn up for herself.
The first column read:
Monday
9 o'clock, Arithmancy
9 o'clock, Transfiguration
Lunch
1 o'clock, Charms
1 o'clock, Ancient Runes
"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?" said Harry.
"No," said Hermione shortly. "Have either of you seen my copy of Numerology and Gramatica?"
"Oh, yeah, I borrowed it for a bit of bedtime reading," said Ron, but very quietly. Celeste looked at him with amusement and the two tried not to laugh.
Hermione started shifting heaps of parchment. Celeste, Harry, Ron, and Hermione had plenty of opportunity to speak to Hagrid.
"Beaky's gettin' a bit depressed," Hagrid told them, bending low on the pretense of checking that Harry's flobberworm was still alive.
"Bin cooped up too long. But still... we'll know day after tomorrow, one way or the other..."
They had Potions that afternoon, which was an unqualified disaster for Harry and Ron. Try as Harry might, he couldn't get his Confusing Concoction to thicken, and Snape, standing watch with an air of vindictive pleasure, scribbled something that looked suspiciously like a zero onto his notes before moving away.
Celeste who got the potion to the perfect brewing was staring at the wall in boredom. She stared at Harry in amusement when she saw him struggling. But that soon turned to a glare when she saw Snape. She knew he was going to dock them both as much as he could. She hated him for it because she loves potions, just not the Professor.
Then came Astronomy at midnight, up on the tallest tower; History of Magic on Wednesday morning, in which Celeste scribbled everything Florean Fortescue had ever told her about medieval witch-hunts, while wishing she could have had one of Fortescue's choconut sundaes with her in the stifling classroom.
Wednesday afternoon meant Herbology, in the greenhouses under a baking-hot sun; then back to the common room once more, with sunburnt necks, thinking longingly of this time next day, when it would all be over.
YOU ARE READING
Anchor~ Harry James Potter
Fanfiction-- A girl who was born on the eight month to the house of black and Solatto, the month after the boy who lived, should their prophecy's align into an even bigger catastrophe? Celeste Solatto was just a girl, Harry Potter was just a boy. The two cl...
