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The castle grounds were shimmering in the sunlight as though freshly painted; the cloudless sky smiled at itself in the placidly sparkling lake, the satin-green lawns rippled in a gentle breeze. June had arrived, but to the fifth-years, this meant only one thing, their O.W.L.s were upon them at last. The teachers were no longer setting them homework; classes were devoted to reviewing those topics their professors thought most likely to come up in the exams.
Betelgeuse was spending a lot of time muttering to herself and reviewing her notes feverishly. Scott Abberley, a fifth-year Ravenclaw with whom Betelgeuse had never talked with, had developed an irritating habit of questioning people about their study habits. "How many hours d'you think you're doing a day?" he demanded of the twins and Betelgeuse as they queued outside Herbology, a manic gleam in his eyes.
"I don't know," Fred replied. "A few —"
"More or less than eight?"
"Less, I s'pose," George interjected, looking alarmed.
"I'm doing eight," Abberley stated, puffing out his chest. "Eight or nine. I'm getting an hour before breakfast every day. Eight's my average. I can do ten on a good weekend day. I did nine and a half on Monday. Not so good on Tuesday — only seven and a quarter. Then on Wednesday —"
Betelgeuse was deeply thankful that Professor Sprout ushered them into greenhouse three at that point, forcing Scott Abberley to abandon his recital.
☆☆☆
"Curse-breaker is just a fancy title for grave robbers?"
Fred glanced up from his star map, blinking at Betelgeuse. They were sitting at the Gryffindor table, studying together, with George and Lee. The Black was starting to lose focus after hours of study. "A person of the male gender polyguised as a female can get pregnant?"
"Bel, what —? You know, it's actually a good question," Fred said, furrowing his eyebrow at the muttering Black.
"It's not part of the program, right?" Betelgeuse heard Lee worriedly ask George.
They received their examination schedules and details of the procedure for O.W.L.s during their next Transfiguration lesson. "As you can see," Professor McGonagall told the class while they copied down the dates and times of their exams from the blackboard, "your O.W.L.s are spread over two successive weeks. You will sit the theory exams in the mornings and the practice in the afternoons. Your practical Astronomy examination will, of course, take place at night."
"Now, I must warn you that the most stringent Anti-Cheating Charms have been applied to your examination papers. Auto-Answer Quills are banned from the examination hall, as Remembralls, Detachable Cribbing Cuffs, and Self-Correcting Ink are. Every year, I am afraid to say, seems to harbour at least one student who thinks that he or she can get around the Wizarding Examinations Authority's rules. I can only hope that it is nobody in Gryffindor."
"Please, Professor," a Hufflepuff student asked, "when will we find out our results?"
"An owl will be sent to you sometime in July," Professor McGonagall replied.
Their first exam, Theory of Charms, was scheduled for Monday morning. Betelgeuse had been sitting with Angelina after lunch on Sunday, taking turns testing each other. Meanwhile, Alicia was reading two years of Potions notes with her fingers in her ears, her lips moving soundlessly; Lee and George practised a few charm spells on a tiny cup while Fred stared at his star chart till his eyes blurred.
Dinner was a subdued affair that night. Fred and George did not talk but ate with gusto, having studied hard all day. Betelgeuse was even quieter than usual. Everyone was trying to do some last-minute studying, but nobody seemed to be getting very far. Betelgeuse went to bed early but then lay awake for what felt like hours. She would have loved to exchange a few words with her favourite person, but, alas, he was too far away to reach. She fell asleep with the awareness that the day after would have been a day to remember.
☆☆☆
None of the fifth years talked very much at breakfast the next day either. Betelgeuse was rereading Spellman's Syllabary for the last time, before the fifth and seventh years milled around in the entrance hall while the other students went off to lessons. Then, at half-past nine, they were called forward class by class to re-enter the Great Hall. The four House tables had been removed and replaced instead with many tables. They were all facing the staff-table end of the Great Hall, where Professor McGonagall stood facing them. When they were all seated and quiet, she said, "You may begin," and turned over an enormous hourglass on the desk beside her, on which were also spare quills, ink bottles, and rolls of parchment. Betelgeuse turned over her paper.
She lowered her eyes to the first question: a) Give the incantation, and b) describe the wand movement required to make objects fly.
Betelgeuse had a fleeting memory of two young red-headed boys levitating a bucket of water and making it land on their younger brother's head. Smiling slightly, she bent over the paper and began to write.
"Well, it wasn't too bad, was it?" Alicia asked two hours later as she, Angelina and Betelgeuse stood in the Entrance Hall. They were soon joined by Fred, George, and Lee, and the six of them ate lunch with the rest of the school. Then they trooped off into the small chamber beside the Great Hall, where they were to wait until called for their practical examination.
Betelgeuse was one of the first called forward in alphabetical order. She smiled and embraced the twins tightly. Fred planted a sweet kiss on her forehead. "Go kick their ancient arses, Lady Black," George spoke, smiling brightly.
With her head held high, Betelgeuse marched towards the chamber. She had to be examined with three other students, John Atkinson, Miranda Babbs, Anthony Bochanan.
"Professor Tofty is free, Black," Professor Flitwick squeaked. He pointed Betelgeuse toward what looked like the very oldest and baldest examiner, who was sitting behind a small table in a far corner.
"Black, is it?" Professor Tofty asked, consulting his notes, and peering over his pince-nez at Betelgeuse as she approached. "As in Sirius Black?"
"Yes," Betelgeuse replied curtly with a hardened expression on her face. She was waiting for the calumnies about her uncle, but Professor Tofty just smiled encouragingly. "That's it," he said in his quivery old voice, "no need to be defensive. Now, if I could ask you to take this eggcup and make it do some cartwheels for me."
When Betelgeuse exited the Great Hall, she had a good feeling about her exam. Her Levitation Charm was impeccable, and the rat she was supposed to be turning orange shifted to a bright peach colour.
There was no time to relax that night — they went straight to the Common Room after dinner and submerged themselves in studying for Transfiguration the next day. Betelgeuse perfectly wrote the definition of a Switching Spell during her written exam, and she managed to vanish her iguana. Miranda Babbs lost her head and somehow managed to multiply her ferret into a flock of birds, causing the examination to be halted for ten minutes.
They had their Herbology exam on Wednesday, which went decent, considering Betelgeuse's disdain for the subject.
On Thursday, Defence Against the Dark Arts. Betelgeuse was sure she had passed the written exam in flying colours, and in the afternoon, she had no trouble performing all the counter-jinxes and defensive spells her examinator asked of her.
"Oh bravo!" Professor Tofty cried when Betelgeuse demonstrated a perfect Boggart Banishing Spell. "Very good indeed! Well, I think that's all, Black — unless —" He leaned forward a little. "I heard, from my dear friend Tiberius Ogden, that you can produce a Patronus? For a bonus point —?" Betelgeuse inclined her head nobly, raised her wand, silently casting the Patronus Charm. The silver Thunderbird erupted from the end of her wand and soared the length of the room. All the examiners looked around to watch its progress, and when it dissolved into silver mist, Professor Tofty clapped his veined and knotted hands enthusiastically. "Excellent! A silent charm!" he said. "Very well, Black, you may go!"
Betelgeuse uncharacteristically almost skipped out of the Great Hall. Unless she was very much mistaken, she had just achieved an 'Outstanding' O.W.L. On Friday, her friends had a day off while Betelgeuse sat her Ancient Runes exam; it went smoothly, and Betelgeuse was elated.
"How were the runes?" Fred asked as she sat beside him.
"They succumbed to my charm," Betelgeuse replied, making the boy laugh.
"How could they not?" Fred asked, tucking a long black strand of hair behind her ear.
"A-alright, enough of the lovey-dovey stuff. We're trying to study here!" Lee said with a trace of amusement in his voice.
Betelgeuse leaned against Fred, smirking. "Jordan, how is proceeding the wooing of Johnson? Have you been exercising your pick-up lines?"
"Shut it, Black!" Angelina hollered from across the room.
"Such a lovely, sweet-tempered girl," George said, very quietly, flipping through his Potion book.
On Monday, Betelgeuse found herself taking the Potion exam. The written exam revealed itself to be challenging, but she was positive she had got full marks on the question about Polyjuice Potion. The afternoon practical followed, and Betelgeuse brewed her potion with meticulous precision.
"Step away from your cauldrons, please; the examination is over," Professor Marchbanks ordered. He gave her a warm smile. "I see you have inherited your father's gift for potion-making."
"Have you examined my father, sir?" Betelgeuse inquired.
"Oh, yes, charming boy, brilliant in Potions." He gave her another bright smile before walking further to examine other students.
Betelgeuse was determined to perform well in Tuesday's Care of Magical Creatures exam, even though her love for the subject had gone lost long ago. The practical examination took place in the afternoon on the lawn on the edge of the Forbidden Forest; students were required to correctly identify the Knarl hidden among a dozen hedgehogs. The trick was to offer them all milk in turn: knarls, highly suspicious creatures whose quills had many magical properties, generally went berserk at what they saw as an attempt to poison them. They then had to demonstrate correct handling of a Bowtruckle; feed and clean a Fire-Crab without sustaining serious burns, and choose, from a wide selection of food, the diet they would give a sick unicorn. When Betelgeuse's examiner smiled at her and told her she could leave, Betelgeuse did not waste any time and marched back to the Castle.
Why half of the creatures we study are repugnant beasts?
The Astronomy theory exam on Wednesday morning went splendidly. Betelgeuse was assured she had got the names of all of Jupiter's Moons right. They had to wait until evening for their practical Astronomy. All was quiet; the only noises were the rustle of parchment, the occasional creak of a telescope, and the scribbling of many quills. Betelgeuse completed the Constellation of Orion on her chart without even blinking.
The following afternoon Betelgeuse took her Arithmancy exam, while Fred and George had their Muggle Studies test. The last, History of Magic, would begin shortly after, and Betelgeuse was thoroughly exhausted.
"Turn over your papers," Professor Marchbanks said from the front of the Hall, flicking over the giant hourglass. "You may begin."
The exam went slowly. Too slowly. Betelgeuse wrote down answer after answer. She was endlessly grateful for the long hours of reading with her companion the ancient tomes in the Black library during summer. And finally, the O.W.L.s. ended. Betelgeuse, Alicia, and Angelina made their way outside and sat down under the enormous tree near the Black Lake.
"It's finally over!" Alicia squealed.
"This deserves a party," Angelina proposed, "Black, you and the twins should organise one of your most wicked ones!"
Betelgeuse nodded; they all needed a well-deserved party. "I will talk with Fred and George, but I am not certain I will be able to organise it personally. I want to check on Professor Lupin first," she commented, getting lost looking at the rough water surface that hid the black depths of the lake.
"Why?" Angelina, baffled, asked.
"I simply desire to ask him about extra credits for next year," Betelgeuse smoothly lied with a posed tone.
"Black, you are a nightmare," Alicia joked.
If only the two girls grasped what Betelgeuse had come to know.
☆☆☆
Betelgeuse made her way towards Professor Lupin — Moony as she had called him on a few occasions when she had found herself alone with the man — after dinner. The preparation of the most epic Gryffindor party ever organised was in motion as the Black arrived at his chambers. She knocked three times on his door and waited for a reply.
Nothing came.
Betelgeuse frowned. She opened the door and looked inside; Lupin was not there. However, inside the room was The Marauder's Map, opened and carelessly abandoned on the professor desk. Betelgeuse scowled; why did he leave it unattended?
She strode over towards the Map and studied it. A cold tremor ran down her spine when she found Remus Lupin's name in the Shrieking Shack, together with that of Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger. Snape's dots were approaching the derelict shed on the map.
Betelgeuse narrowed her grey eyes at the two additional names. She whipped her wand from her back pocket and turned around. The Black ran out of the room in the direction of the Whomping Willow, knowing what to do to circumvent its security.
The names she had read made her pick up her pace, both in frantic distress and murderous rage.
Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew.
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