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'Thank Merlin that's over,' Ron said. 'And I thought our Potions OWL was bad. Charlie and Bill weren't kidding when they said how tough their NEWTS were...'

'Yeah,' Harry said, feeling his stomach churn. If he didn't get at least an 'Exceeds Expectations' in Potions, Defence Against the Dark Arts And Transfiguration, then he could forget about becoming an Auror.

'I can't remember whether I used 13 Sophorous beans in the Draught of Living Death,' Hermione began.

'We've just been through the exam,' Ron snapped. 'We don't want to relive it...'

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'I thought this week would never end,' Ron said with a groan, as he slumped into the armchair in front of the fireplace in the Gryffindor Common Room. He glanced over at Hermione, who had buried her nose in the Standard Book of Spells.

'Mental,' he muttered, shrugging his shoulders. 'Do you want to play Chess...?

'Sure...'

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Ron took Harry's Knight with his Bishop, glancing up at Hermione as she closed the Standard Book of Spells, snatching up A Beginners Guide to Transfiguration and rifling through it.

'Are you still looking up answers? Seriously, you need to relax,' he said and she slammed the book shut, glaring at him.

'Our NEWTS will define our futures...'

'You're starting to sound like McGonagall,' Ron said and she scowled, gathering up her books and storming up to the girl's dormitory.

'Well done,' Ginny said, glaring at Ron as she followed Hermione upstairs.

'See?' Ron said, with a shrug. 'Mental. It's still your move...'

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'You okay?' Ginny asked, as she pushed open the dormitory door.

'Yes,' Hermione replied without looking up from her book and Ginny closed the door, sitting on the end of her bed.

'Ron's an annoying git,' she said. 'What's even more annoying is, he's not always wrong...'

'Gin...'

'You need to stop, Mione. You're the brightest student in your year and you've been revising non-stop for the last two weeks. You can't have done anything more than you did. It's time to put the books away for tonight...'

'...I guess you're right,' Hermione said with a sigh, closing the book and putting it on her bedside table.

'...well,' Ginny said, standing up and heading towards the door. 'G'night, Mione...'

'Gin...' Hermione said, as she opened the door. 'Thank you...'

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Harry looked up from helping himself to eggs and bacon as, with a rush of wings, Owls poured into the Great Hall. A dark brown Tawny Owl swept down towards Ron, dropping a copy of the Daily Prophet in from of him. Pushing aside his plate, Ron unrolled the paper, Harry catching sight of the headline.

Protest outside Ministry of Magic over calls to abolish Statute of Secrecy

'What's that?' Harry asked, leaning over his shoulder and Ron snorted.

'Bunch of loonies,' he said, folding up the paper. 'They think that the Statute holds us back and we shouldn't be hiding from the Muggles. Like I said, loonies. D'you want to go into Hogsmeade later...?'

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Harry, Ron and Ginny hurried through Hogsmeade, wrapped up in coats and scarves as they made their way towards Honeydukes. As soon as they arrived, Hermione had announced that she was going to Tomes and Scrolls, saying that she would meet them later. Pushing open the door, Ron lead them inside, taking off his gloves as he looked around at the displays of sweets. Digging through his pockets, Ron pulled out a small handful of coins and Harry felt a stab of guilt as he watched him sorting through them. Shoving the coins back in his pocket, he grabbed a pack of Bertie Boots Every Flavour Beans and some Pepper Imps, while Ginny picked up some Fizzing Whizzbees and a Sugar Quill. Choosing some Ice Mice and Peppermint Toads, he followed Ron and Ginny towards the counter. A few minutes later, they left the shop with their purchases stuffed into their pockets.

'It's bloody freezing,' Ron said, pulling his scarf tighter around his neck. 'Come on, let's go to the Three Broomsticks...'

'Potter,' a voice drawled and they turned to see Draco Malfoy strolling towards them with his hands shoved into his pockets.

'What do you want, Malfoy?' Ron asked and he smirked.

'You still haven't given up on becoming an Auror, Potter,' Malfoy said, ignoring Ron's scowl. 'You've got as much ambition as your Father...'

'Push off, Malfoy,' Ginny said and his smirk deepened.

'If I'm lucky, you'll get yourself kille...urk...'

His sentence faltered with a gurgling choke as Harry drew his wand, casting the Tongue-Tying Curse.

'Potter,' a sharp voice snapped and they looked round to see Professor McGonagall storming towards them. Producing her wand, she flicked it towards Malfoy, who coughed as the curse was removed.

'Follow me, Potter,' she said, fixing him with a stern stare...

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'I'm very disappointed in you, Potter,' McGonagall said, as she closed the door to her office.

'Malfoy said my Dad...'

'That's enough,' McGonagall snapped. 'There is no excuse for attacking another student. 20 points will be deducted from Gryffindor. Now, there are only two days left of term. Stay out of trouble. Do I make myself clear?'

'...yes, Professor...'

Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed it. Any reviews, comments or constructive criticisms are very welcome.