Chapter Ten – Final Exam
The next many days went by with exams. The Hospital Wing was filled up with depressed students all the time. For many students the pressure of not failing was to big. Luna Lovegood saw her fellow class mates laying on the floor crying during studies, and losing all kind of faith in themselves. She had multiple times heard them say that they would not pass their O.W.L's and therefore not return for their sixth year at Hogwarts. Luna imagined how empty the school would be next year if none of them showed up; No sixth or seventh years, except Luna. She was the only one pathetic enough to stay.
Luna thought she did well in her final exams. She might not get Outstanding O.W.L's in anything, but she would be able to continue next year -at least she hoped so. She still had not figured out what she wanted to do with her life, but for now she wanted to finish school. After all there would go some years before she was done. Maybe she would have figured out her mind by then.
Luna went for a walk around the castle. It was a Tuesday mid-day in the end of June. She did only have one exam left before she would return to London on Friday. Unfortunately her final exam was in Potions, which Luna did not master at all. She had been very pleased when it was announced that Professor Horace Slughorn had taken over the class. She had never really liked Professor Snape, but of course she could not avoid him since she liked Defence Against the Dark Arts as well. She was not so happy for having Professor Snape teach her; She had always found something was odd about him. Evil. But she could not quite put a finger to it.
Luna ran into Neville Longbottom, a Gryffindor on his sixth year, in the corridors.
"Oh, hello, Neville," Luna said and forced a smile. She and Neville had bonded a lot last year when they both were in D.A. Now they did not see much to each other, even though they had been sitting in the same compartment on the Hogwarts Express in September.
"Hi, Luna. How have you been?" asked Neville. He looked pleased to see Luna. Luna felt she and Neville belonged in the same group of people; outsiders. Neither of them had many friends, but were both getting along with Harry, Hermione and Ron.
"I have been fine, thank you. I heard you continued Herbology!" Luna tended to speak of random things.
"Yes, indeed I did. Professor Sprout welcomed me with open arms after my 'Outstanding' O.W.L," Neville told.
"You got an 'Outstanding'? That is great, Neville! I am not so sure she will let me continue on N.E.W.T level though. Herbology is not what I am the best at," admitted Luna.
"I am sure you are not bad either," Neville cheered which made Luna smile.
"Thank you."
"Luna," Neville started. He looked a bit nervous, maybe even concerned. "Are you really okay?"
Luna looked directly into Neville's eyes, and he looked back. He, too, knew. She wondered if she would ever be able to keep a secret in this school, and why people all of a sudden cared so much about her.
"Yes, I am perfectly.." Luna began but cut herself off. "No. I am not." She could not lie to Neville. She did for a fact know that he had never lied to her. Neville did not deserve to be lied to.
Neville grabbed Luna around her shoulders, and pushed her into a hug.
"It just hurts so much," Luna said, beginning to cry again. Neville did not say a thing, he just held her. "I thought I could handle it, but obviously I can not. It is already my third time of crying today!" she admitted. Luna had not been speaking to anybody about Draco Malfoy since sitting on the staircase with Hermione. It felt nice to talk to Neville, even though she did not believe he understood her.
"You are stronger than you think, Luna. I have seen girls with heartache in my year that acted way worse. They would curse themselves, try to get invisible and so. You really are getting through this faster than you think." Luna pushed herself away from Neville and looked into his eyes.
"Really?" He nodded as respond. A low cough came from behind them. Both Luna and Neville turned their faces to see Draco Malfoy down the corridor they were standing in. that was the first time Luna saw him since she had broken up with him. Somehow she had managed not to run into him at all. He was just standing there, froze, glued to the floor, eyes on her. He did not look good; his hair was a mess, he had shadows under his eyes that screamed sleepless, and his school robes had been thrown on him. Luna could not help but feel a bit sorry for him. Maybe she had caused it? But then she reminded herself why she had broken up. She forced herself to look away from him.
"Bye Neville," Luna whispered, turned around on her heels, and left both boys starring at her.
"Luna, where have you been?" Cho Chang asked as Luna got back to the Ravenclaw common room.
"Out for a little walk, why?" It certainly was weird how she also cared now. She never had before.
"You had a visitor," one of Cho's friends, a tall red head, said. Luna felt her heart pump faster.
"Who?" asked she, but the worried expressions on their faces told her that her suspicions were right; Draco ha been here. Luna rushed up to the girls dormitory to get some sleep. She skipped dinner again -It did not feel right to eat. But Luna did not sleep. She was still awake, thinking to herself why Draco had visited, what he had wanted so badly to say, when the other girls entered the dormitory several of hours later. She pretended to be asleep, though. She did not want any more questions. Ironic how she had searched so hard for attention for all those years, and as she finally got it, she did not want it.
Wednesday morning was a mess. Luna had to wake up early to eat breakfast because her final exam in Potions was scheduled in the early hours. "It can take all day," Luna remembered Professor Slughorn say. She quickly but on her robes, and ran to the Great Hall. It was nearly empty except a few first years and her class mates in Potions. The rest of the students were probably still asleep. Also only Professor Slughorn, Professor McGonagall and Professor Sprout had joined them.
Minerva had a concerned look at Luna during the entire meal. Luna quickly finished. She took a glare at the clock. She still had an hour left. She walked back to the common room and got her books. She sat down and studied for forty minutes straight. She wanted to pass this subject, she had to. Not that she would take it at N.E.W.T level next year, but she wanted to proof that it was Professor Snape who was a bad teacher, and not her who was a bad student.
"Welcome to your O.W.L exam in Potions, dear friends. The recipes of what potions I would like for you to make me is right in front of you. There is no special time you have to finish in, just knock yourselves out," Professor Slughorn said twenty minutes later. Luna took a glare at the recipes. They looked hard, but not too hard. She could remember some thing, and was glad for the notes she had been writing all year.
Several of hours later a knock on the door interrupted the exam.
"Yes?" Professor Slughorn said to the door. It slowly went up, and in stepped Draco. Luna caught herself starring at him. He looked even worse than he had last night.
"I would like a word with Ms. Lovegood," said Draco, looking at Professor Slughorn, but then turning his face towards Luna.
"You, sir, are interrupting Ms, Lovegood's exam, just so you know it," Professor Slughorn reminded Draco.
"Yes, I know, and I am sorry. I just thought she would prefer speaking to me than doing the exam?" It was said as a question to Luna. Luna arose from her chair. Draco looked relieved.
"I have absolutely no intention of talking to you, and especially right now in the middle of such an important thing as my education," said Luna. She then sat down in her chair again. Draco looked quite hurt.
"Oh," he whispered. "Okay then." He left the room in silence.
"Continue, continue, continue!" commanded Professor Slughorn, but Luna had a hard time finishing up. Draco kept interrupting her thoughts, which made her think unclear.
She messed up in the last potion; it turned into some watery purple, instead of a fast blue. She did not do worse than many else, at least. One of her fellow class mates, whom Luna had never taught the name on, made her potion explode up in her face.
"Professor Slughorn? I am done," Luna said after a while. She was not truly proud of her work, but she had done her best.
"Good, Ms. Lovegood. Now, do you need a love potion, or maybe even an anti-love potion for that boy?" Luna looked at him in surprise.
"No thank you," she said. A few students behind here were giggling. Professor Slughorn actually looked a bit disappointed.