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As the OWLs drifted frighteningly close, the fifth year students became panicked. Everywhere you looked you would find students with their noses stuck in their books trying to cram all the information they've been taught over the past few years into their heads.
Veronica found herself revising with the Golden Trio on most days, even if that meant she was constantly distracted by the presence of Harry.
After their kiss, they didn't talk much and went back to their respective common rooms, where they both ended up talking about what had just happened to either Ron and Hermione or Ernie and Hannah. Hannah was overjoyed and loudly squealed once she'd been told, insisting that Veronica and Harry were a match made in heaven.
Despite the obvious excitement that both the teens felt and the blossoming feelings they have for the other, they did little about it. They had yet to bring up the events of the kiss since it happened but didn't feel awkward around each other either. In fact, it was the exact opposite.
They were now seen together even more than before, and when around they were always insanely close to one another, almost as if there was a gravitational pull keeping the two of them united at all times.
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One of the only times they were dragged away from their studying, was when there was a Quidditch match on at the weekend. Veronica, Harry and Hermione had obviously turned up to show support for Ron during the final championship match, but Hagrid had shown up to whisk them away.
The half-giant had brought them deep within the Forbidden Forest with only the brief explanation that he wanted them to do him a favour.
The three of them were confused, up until they came across a clearing in the middle of the Forest and standing in front of them was a large, overbearing yet child-like giant. Hagrid called him 'Grawp' and quickly explained that he was his half-brother and had found him when he was with the other giants in the mountains.
Grawp was an impressive figure, standing way above them in height, but still managed to strike fear in Veronica as she stood behind the two Gryffindors.
Hagrid explained to the students that he needed to make sure someone looked after Grawp if he was unable to, which was beginning to look more and more likely as the days went on due to Umbridge's obvious hatred towards the Care of Magical Creatures professor.
The meeting with Grawp was cut short by the arrival of the centaurs who were less than pleased at the giant's arrival in their forest, and also had some choice words to say about Firenze, who was turning out to be a pretty good Divination teacher despite what they said about him.
Gryffindor won the match, making them the Quidditch champions yet again, although it didn't trigger the same amount of cheerfulness in Harry as it usually did due to the ban imposed on him and the fact that his broom was still confiscated, nevertheless, there was a brief celebration for the team's achievements anyway.
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The weeks of the OWL exams had come around too quickly for Veronica's liking, but she had to admit that it wasn't as difficult as she first believed they would be.
She was pretty confident that she'd passed all of the exams she'd taken so far, and maybe even aced a few of them. The theory exams were easier than the practise exams that she was sure of, but it was obvious that the practice and the DA had helped her immensely.
One exam that Veronica knew she failed was Astronomy, this was due to the fact that halfway through the practical, the students were distracted by the commotion outside.
Hagrid's house on the edge of the grounds was alight, flames high as the easily recognisable figure of Dolores Umbridge surrounded by ministry officials attempted to arrest Hagrid for his half-blooded nature.
Their spells are bouncing straight off of Hagrid's large frame as he punches and pushed his way out of their grasp, his roars echoing across Hogwarts. Still, the officials were determined to capture him as they carried on shooting spells in his direction. Even as McGonagall marched out of the castle to stop them, she was hit with a spell that made her unconscious and fired her limp body away from the crowd.
Hagrid managed to get away, but by this point, the exam was almost over and any attempts by the examiners to return to normal conditions were useless as the fifth years angrily discussed what they had witnessed. It was safe to say that none of the fifth years was going to get anywhere close to full marks on their Astronomy exam.
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It was getting close to the end of the year and OWL exams were almost over. The fifth-year students had already started relaxing even though they still had History of Magic that afternoon.
Veronica was standing outside the Great Hall with the Trio, remaining quite quiet due to all the information in her head that she was trying to remember. The others were in the same boat as her, though she was sure Hermione had no need to panic - just like all of the previous exams.
Just before they were due to enter the hall, Harry had frozen for a few seconds, his hand clutching his forehead. Veronica only noticed the pause because she was standing just behind him, so once his body had relaxed and his hand fell down to his side she gripped it, causing him to look over at her.
"Everything okay?" she asked quite casually, hiding the slight concern she had for the boy. He looked at her nonchalantly and nodded, "Yea, I'm fine," and then quickly changed the subject, "Can't believe this is our last exam!".
She grinned enthusiastically and agreed with him, excited to be able to spend more free time with him once they have no work to catch up on.
The conversation was cut short by the examiners opening the doors and inviting the students to take their seats in the hall. With a final squeeze of each other's hands, they part ways towards their seats, ordered alphabetically.
The exam wasn't going very well for Veronica, the questions oddly specific which highlighted her lack of key knowledge of the history of magic. She had almost given up when a painful scream came from behind her, near the back of the hall.
Along with the rest of the students, she swivelled in her chair and saw that Harry had collapsed onto the floor in an uncomfortable position as if he'd just fallen off his chair. His hand was once again gripping his forehead tightly as he let out small whimpering noises following the scream.
The examiner led him out of the hall, presumably to take him to the hospital wing, ordering the students to get back to their work. Mostly, people followed the instructions but for the rest of the time Veronica couldn't get Harry's writhing body out of her mind and as soon as the exam had finished she sprinted out of the hall looking for the boy, Ron and Hermione following behind her.
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YOU ARE READING
Undistinguished (H.P.)
Fanfiction[adjective] lacking distinction; unexceptional. Veronica Green is a simple and average half-blood. Hidden in plain sight and blending into the background are what she does best. Until her fourth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, wh...
