you raise me up || harry potter

chapter 54

»»————-　song:　————-««

somebody that i used to know

★ gotye ★

❝ you didn't have to cut me off...

but you treat me like a stranger 

and that feels so rough no, 
you didn't have to stoop so low. ❞

♢ ♢ ♢

So far, all of Harry's exams had gone surprisingly well. Maybe it had to do with the fact that he had gotten such a head start on the curriculum when he had nothing to do after Snape all but kidnapped him last summer, but Harry could remember most of what he read about medieval witch hunts with unusual clarity. Astronomy and Herbology went pretty well, too. 

It was Potions Harry was worried about. His hands tended to shake around cauldrons; whether that was from years of Snape wearing down his nerves in class, or Harry's newfound reluctance to disappoint him, he wasn't sure. He dropped some of his ingredients onto the floor more than once, and he caught Snape glaring at him from across the room. To everyone else, Snape looked murderous. But Harry knew what he was trying to say:

Get yourself together, Potter. 

Harry gritted his teeth and clenched his fists briefly. "Get yourself together," he hissed inaudibly under his breath, and after a deep breath, proceeded with the next step. It was difficult trying not to succumb to the fumes of the Confusing Concoction gradually building in the classroom, which Harry suspected was the whole reason why Snape chose this particular potion to test them. Harry internally rolled his eyes. Petty as always.

The viscosity of the potion proved to be difficult for Harry to adjust. It took him the remaining fifteen minutes to adjust the ingredients around just to get the consistency right, and Snape thankfully seemed to be avoiding him until he got it right.

When Snape finally peered into his cauldron, he scribbled something onto grading paper and walked away wordlessly. Harry tried to suppress a grin; that was definitely an "O" he saw.

One glance told him Draco had done well, too. They caught each other's gaze, and for a moment, they held it.

Draco broke away first, busying himself with tidying up his workspace. Harry bitterly turned back to his own. He cursed Draco, he cursed Draco's parents, he cursed everything that drove them apart. Most of all, he cursed Voldemort.

Still, the sight of Ron and Hermione waving him over raised his spirits somewhat. He slung his bag over his shoulder and jogged toward them. "How'd you guys do?"

"Horrible," Ron moaned. "Maybe if Snape hadn't been breathing down my neck the whole time—"

"Maybe," Hermione interrupted primly, "Maybe if you had studied instead of trying to cheat off me like you always do, you would have done better."

Ron waved her off. "We can't all be as smart as you," he said casually. Hermione blushed. Harry looked at her curiously as Ron ranted on about Snape and how ridiculously unfair the exam was. 

"It wasn't too bad," Harry shrugged when Ron inquired how he did. "Could've been worse."

"Having Snape as your Head of House made you bonkers, mate," Ron said incredulously, shaking his head. 

Harry laughed. "Maybe," he conceded. It felt good to laugh. With most of his exams out of the way, and doing way better than he expected in Potions, a weight was lifted from his shoulders. The Defense final would be a piece of cake.