The Hybrid Child: Year One - Harry Potter Fanfiction

-Chapter Sixteen- The Beginning of Exams

The party celebration seemed to continue for the Ravenclaws over the next week before they all settled down to revise again. They had two full weeks of revision and then exams started in the first week of June. Lena, Marcus and Joshua continued to study in the library. Lena found herself looking out of the library windows at the sunshine and the school grounds, the blue sky with fluffy white clouds. She missed being outside but she wanted to pass her exams. She refused to be the only one in her year who would have to repeat a year. Not a chance. As a result, she continued to study hard until she could almost recite all her notes for each lesson off by heart.

The first week of June was when the exams began. The exam timetables were passed out. Lena scanned hers. There would be one theory and one practical for each lesson. The exams would continue through the week and then the first day of the next week before the first years was finished.

"Goodluck," Louis said as he passed Lena at the breakfast table.

"You too." She said, throwing him a smile.

After a hasty breakfast of fried toast and scrambled eggs, the first years waited in the Entrance Hall for everyone else to finish and then for the Great Hall to be ready for their exam. It was Charms Theory first, a two-hour exam. Ten minutes before ten 'o' clock, the first years were all led into the Great Hall where the house tables had been moved and single desks for each individual student had been placed in neat rows. Professor Audrey Weasley and Professor Flitwick moved the students to their desks. Lena was near the middle with the other 'L's. She could just see Joshua's head near the front if she leaned a little to the left.

On her little desk was a quill, an inkpot, a blank roll of parchment and a question paper which had not yet been opened. She stared straight at the front where a clock was positioned and rolls of spare parchment and piles of quills and inkpots were waiting if needed. Professors Flitwick and Weasley walked to the front of the room and faced the now prepared students. Professor Flitwick was stood on the desk so as to see over everyone's heads.

"You have two hours to complete the exam. Good luck!" He waved his wand and the clock started to count down. Lena turned her question paper over and started her exam. The questions were everything she had studied and learnt that year. Thanks to her notes, she was aware of the answers to nearly all the questions. She scratched away at her parchment. She ignored the soft footsteps of the two professors walking between the desks and keeping an eye out for cheating. Though Lena presumed the quills had anti-cheating spells on them. In just an hour and forty minutes, she had completed the exam. She flicked through her three rolls of parchment, ensuring her answers were as accurate as she could remember. She then waited with her arms folded and tapping her left fingers against her right arm, watching as the clock ticked the last few minutes. Lena could just see Joshua. His head was bent over his paper and his back was tensed. She didn't dare cast a glance behind her for Marcus in case someone thought she was trying to copy. She, therefore, waited until at long last, Professor Flitwick squeaked out across the Hall to put quills down. Professor Flitwick waved his wand to collect the rolls of parchment. Lena watched as her parchment flew through the air and joined the neat pile at the front of the Hall.

"You may leave." Professor Weasley said. Lena jumped up and turned. Marcus was squeezing past the other students to meet her.

"How did it go?" He asked.

"I don't know... That question about the wand movement for 'lumos' confused me." Lena ran a hand through her ketchup red curly hair as Joshua reached them. The three of them discussed the questions and answers as they waited out in the Entrance Hall again for the Great Hall to be sorted for lunch. After ten minutes, the doors opened again and the students poured in for lunch. Joshua waved goodbye to them as he joined the Gryffindor table. Lena and Marcus then poured over their Potions books, preparing for their practical at two in the afternoon while they ate cheesy pasta. Once they had eaten, they went to the library where they continued to revise for another hour before having to go to their Potions class. Professor Slughorn was waiting with the inviligators. They all took their seats.

"You have two hours to prepare me any potion that we have learnt this year. Remember what we have learnt and you will be fine. Good luck." Lena flicked through her Potions textbook. She had scribbled notes here and there, making adjustments and highlighting the titles of the potions they had already tried in class. Eventually, she decided on the cure for Boils, one of the very first potion concoctions the class had done. She got started, crushing snake fangs, building a fire under her cauldron and waving her wand. As she had to wait thirty minutes for it to brew, she prepared the next ingredients. When she returned to the cauldron, she continued with making the potion. After another twenty minutes, it was complete. She collected four samples, labelled them with her name and placed them on the desk. Professor Slughorn beamed at her.

"Well done, Miss Lupin. Collect your belongings and you may leave." Lena smiled her thanks at Slughorn. She vanished her remaining potion and packed up. As she did so, she glanced around the classroom. It was filling with smoke and steam from various cauldrons. There was a bad smell coming from one of the Hufflepuff tables and black smoke coming from a Gryffindor cauldron. At her own table, Marcus was stirring feverishly. His potion was grey. The invigilators were watching closely so she left the classroom without saying good luck in case she got caught. She waited in the common room for Marcus. As she waited, she studied for tomorrow's exams which were Defence Against the Dark Arts practical and Potions theory. She was halfway checking her notes for a DADA spell when Marcus came through the common room door looking very stressed.

"How did it go?" She asked him sympathetically as he threw himself into the chair beside her.

"Awful. My Babbling Beverage was supposed to be dark blue and it was still grey when I handed it in. I'm totally going to fail." Lena patted his arm.

"We've still got the theory to go yet." Marcus groaned.

"Tomorrow isn't it?"

"Yep." He heaved a heavy sigh and reached into his school bag, taking out his potions books.

"Better get revising then."