Ron sighed as he dropped his bag on the floor and flopped down into his favourite squashy chair by the fire in the Gryffindor common room. If he had known how difficult his N.E.W.Ts were going to be, he would never have taken them in the first place. It made studying for O.W.Ls seem like a wonderful summer holiday. He was already behind in his homework and Hermione's unsympathetic tone still rang in his ears.
"You and Harry need to take things more serious you know, Ron. It's not all fun and games you know!" She had told him before strutting off superiorly to cover his prefect duties for him once again. He was grateful to her for being so helpful in that department, even if he couldn't help but wonder why.
"I think Hermione has started to feel sorry for us." Said Harry's voice. Ron turned to see Harry drop in the chair next to him and start digging in his bag for something. "Remind me again why we thought it would be a good idea to take Potion N.E.W.T! Snape wants fourteen inches out of us!" Harry moaned, pulling out his nowhere near finished homework.
Ron couldn't even be bothered to respond. He had no idea either. He still was completely bewildered by the fact he had passed Potion O.W.L, let alone got a grade good enough to make Snape give in and offer all three of them a place in his N.E.W.T class, considering how much Snape despised them all.
Ron rubbed the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes. They were itching with fatigue and the call of his lovely warm four-poster bed in the boy's dorm was sounding more and more appealing.
"You're not listening to me, are you?" Harry's voice drifted to his ears again. Ron opened his eyes and looked at him.
"Sorry mate, no." He said truthfully. Harry frowned slightly.
"Everything okay?" He asked. Ron shrugged.
"Not really. I'm considering chucking it all in and selling my organs for money" He told him. "How much do you reckon I'll get for my kidneys?"
"Those kidneys? Not much I'm afraid." Harry teased, laughing. "Don't worry about it, I'm sure Hermione will get us through it, or die trying. She hasn't let us down yet."
"Well, there's a first time for everything" Ron said, sceptically as he raked his fingers through his hair. "C'mon, let's just get this done. I don't want to listen to her whining and saying 'I told you so' if we're still here when she gets back" He said as he picked up his quill. Harry nodded, picking up his quill too.
"So, what are the main ingredients in a shrinking Potion?" Harry asked, frowning down at the homework assignment and pushing his glasses back up his nose. Ron sighed.
"No idea" He said honestly, shrugging again. This was going to be a very long night.