Harry Potter's Pen Pal

Chapter 15

Finally, at noon, they went down to the Great Hall, followed by Slytherin House and Harry's friends from the other Houses. There, they found the students staying for the holidays, which, given the Yule Ball and the contest between Harry and Granger, was a lot more than usual. There was another table, much smaller, where Granger was already sitting, talking in low voices with Weasley. The staff were already present, a range of different expressions on their faces. Only Severus seemed disinterested in the proceedings.

McGonagall straightened when Harry and the Slytherins entered. "Ah, Mr. Potter," she said briskly. "We will begin the test when you have eaten."

Harry nodded and joined his House at the table.

Fifteen minutes later, he was seated across from Granger. McGonagall stood, causing the excited whispering to stop abruptly, and marched over to the two. She then placed two long scrolls of parchment in front of them.

"You may begin," she said once they had their tests. "Mr. Weasley, sit down."

Weasley scowled but marched over to the table, sitting between Brown and McLaggen.

Granger instantly dipped her quill into the parchment and started writing. Harry, however, read over the questions before beginning.

(I am REALLY bad at tests, so I'm leaving it to your imaginations.)

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Three hours later, Harry was boredly eyeing the clock. He had finished half an hour earlier, and Granger hadn't gotten halfway through the test. She had an incredibly frustrated look on her face.

Harry glanced around the Hall. A majority of the Gryffindors had gotten bored ten minutes in and had vanished; only Weasley, Lee Jordan, Dean, and Seamus remained. The same happened with the Hufflepuffs, minus Cedric Diggory and Neville, half an hour later, and all the Ravenclaws except Luna two hours in. Harry had allowed the Slytherins to leave as soon as he'd finished, but his boyfriend, adopted brothers, and the fourth-year Slytherins had stubbornly remained. All of the staff remained as well, except for the Muggle Studies teacher, Sprout, Sinistra, and Hooch, who had probably gone to keep an eye on the rest of the student body.

An hour passed in the most brutally boring manner Harry had ever experienced. Finally, McGonagall said, "Quill down, Miss Granger."

Granger jumped, then looked horrified. Harry assumed it was because she hadn't finished a test. It took a great effort not to burst into laughter.

"Poppy, if you will," McGonagall said, her expression as stern as always but her eyes warm. Madam Pomfrey -- McGonagall, Harry corrected himself -- stood up and walked over to her wife.

Ten minutes passed as the two women whispered over the test. McGonagall began to look astonished as she looked over Harry's test. The mediwitch just looked faintly amused.

Granger began pacing and wringing her hands together. Her expression was pale. Harry merely sighed, causing muffled snickers from the remaining Slytherins.

McGonagall and her wife looked up at the two of them after a moment. "Mr. Potter has gotten every question correct," she said faintly.

Granger blanched. "That's impossible," she breathed.

"It's true, Miss Granger," the mediwitch said briskly. "You, I'm afraid, only answered a fourth of the ones you answered correctly. Which means Mr. Potter has the higher grade."

"What!" Granger shrieked, causing Harry to wince. "Only a fourth-! That's impossible!"

"Miss Granger," McGonagall sighed, rubbing her forehead.

"Potter must have cheated!"

"I would be a Squib if I had," Harry said coldly, causing Remus to whimper and half the people in the Hall to cower. He pulled out his wand a cast a Lumos. "We took a vow, Granger. I still have my magic, as you can see."

Granger gaped at him, pale. Then her eyes rolled up into her head and she collapsed to the floor. Which caused roars of laughter from the Slytherins and Sirius. Remus swatted him.

Junior Marauders/The Black Knights:

King: Anguis/Scales (Harry)

Queen: Amber/Red (Tom)

Rooks: Alpha/Moony (Remus) & Shere Khan/Stripes (Regulus)

Knights: General Shen/Albino (Draco) & Prince/Snarl (Severus)

Bishops: Samwise/Fuzzy (Neville) & Redbeard/Bandit (Seamus)

Higher Pawns: Morgan/Radish (Luna; seer); Grim/Padfoot (Sirius; Guard); Oberon/Flame (Fred; Creator); Puck/Sparky (George; Creator); Shadow/Don (Kingsley, Recruiter); Blackbeard/Tarzan (Dean, Creator); Venom/Strike (Blaise, Stealth); Khepri (Skeeter, Spy); Hathi/Gray (Winston, Wandmaker) Howl/Loyal (Cedric, Sleeper); Kaa/Regal (Viktor, Sleeper); Siren/Blaze (Fleur, Sleeper); Scarlet/Nuts (Charlie, Dragon Trainer)

Lower Pawns: Storm (Minerva McGonagall-Pomfrey); Thunder (Poppy McGonagall-Pomfrey)

Minerva's Animagus form is a tabby cat, and Poppy's is a Thunderbird. I was going to name Minerva's Lightning, but her cat looks more like a stormcloud.