Year 7: Meant to Be

Chapter 68: April 2018

With the arrival of April, Victoire and her friends discovered that the time for having a social life was long gone. N.E.W.T.s were coming, and they were coming fast. Victoire could scarcely believe that the time was almost upon them. Seven years of school – of sitting and listening to their professors talk, of reading their textbooks, of doing their assignments, of studying for tests – it had all been leading up to this one thing. The final assessment that would state in black and white what they had learned and what they had not learned.

N.E.W.T. was short for Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Test. Victoire had always thought of it as a bit of an exaggeration. It was a clever acronym, and it did a good job of making them seem like a big deal. But the truth was, Victoire was already nastily exhausted and the exams were still two months away.

"Ugh, why did I take Care of Magical Creatures?" Victoire demanded as she re-read the section of her textbook on dragons. There were so many different breeds of dragons out there, and it was impossible to remember them all, let alone keep straight which were carnivores and which were omnivores, and which had golden scales, and which could breathe fire and which couldn't.

"Because we all wanted to continue one of our N.E.W.T. classes together," Kara reminded her. "We thought it would be fun to still have one class in common."

"I should just forget about it," Victoire groaned. "I should just scrap this and focus on herbology and potions. They're the only N.E.W.T.s I really need."

"It'll look better on your transcript if you have three N.E.W.T.s though," Kara pointed out. "Whatever courses they're for. It'll look awfully bleak if you've only got two N.E.W.T.s to show for seven years."

Victoire knew Kara was right, but she was so tired of reading about dragons and about quintapeds, and about manticores and all the rest of them. She just couldn't see why the information even mattered. She would be spending all her time in greenhouses once she graduated. It wasn't as though she was going to run into a manticore in a greenhouse.

The rest of the seventh years weren't faring much better than Victoire either. Brianna had become so snappish that Kara and Victoire were almost afraid to talk to her most days for fear that she would bite their heads off. Caitlin and Adrian had developed a new habit of randomly jumping up from their studies and running laps around the common room for small periods of time before returning to their work. Raina had had a small meltdown which had resulted in her being suspended from using the greenhouses for her fertilizer experiments until further notice.

All the seventh years were so stressed out, and meanwhile the rest of the school was going about their lives, getting excited for the Easter holidays and the upcoming Quidditch game. Victoire longed for the days when her biggest concern was which sweater to wear to Hogsmeade and she suddenly had a newfound respect for Teddy and Billy when they'd been studying for their N.E.W.T.s.

On top of everything else, Victoire was also still Head Girl. Not only did that mean she had tons of extra responsibilities to see to, but it gave her less time than everyone else to study, as she had to be out patrolling the corridors. And now that she was back together with Teddy, working with Joe had become rather awkward.

"I hear you're back with him," he'd declared one evening as the two of them finalized the prefects' schedule for the upcoming week.

"What's that?" Victoire had muttered, looking up distractedly.

"With Lupin. I heard you got back together," Joe repeated himself.

"Oh," Victoire had said uncomfortably. "Yeah, I guess we did."

Joe hadn't said anything else, but Victoire had been able to feel the bitterness in his tone and in his expression. Victoire truly hadn't meant to use Joe. She'd liked him and had genuinely wanted their relationship to work. But she could see how to him, it seemed like he'd only been a filler, a placeholder, until Teddy was ready to take her back.

It was making it very difficult to collaborate with Joe these days. In the weeks following his discovery that Victoire and Teddy were together again, he'd become less communicative, more sullen, and altogether unpleasant to be around.

"Alright, so we've got Karen, Mia, Hillary, Summer, and Blaine locked in for Tuesday night rounds," Victoire said. It was late, and all Victoire wanted to do was go back to Gryffindor Tower and finish her most recent potions essay as soon as possible. It was due tomorrow, and Victoire really didn't want to have to stay up all night working on it. "We just need one more prefect to make six."

"Kay," Joe muttered. As was becoming more and more usual for him, Joe made no attempt to offer up any ideas of his own and instead just sat across from Victoire with a moody expression on his face.

"What about… Derek?" Victoire suggested aloud. Then, realizing that she had Derek scheduled for Wednesday, she shook her head. "No, never mind, we can't make Derek round two nights in a row."

Joe grunted, and Victoire had no idea whether he was agreeing with her or trying to offer up a name of his own.

"Speak up if you have something you want to add," Victoire prompted.

Joe was being altogether immature and babyish. Just because Victoire had broken up with him didn't entitle him to act like such a child. Victoire was sick and tired of having to come up with these round schedules by herself, without any help from her supposed partner, the Head Boy. And she wasn't going to put up with it anymore.

Joe shrugged, and Victoire let out a scream of frustration.

"Merlin, would you just say something?" she demanded angrily, shoving the bits of parchment she'd been working with away from her. "Anything!"

Joe was silent for a moment as he regarded her and then he crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"What do you want me to say?" he demanded stonily.

"How about we start with words?" Victoire suggested, a small part of her relieved that he'd actually answered her with something other than unintelligible sounds. "I'd love some help finishing up this schedule, so that we can get the hell out of here."

"Why don't you just finish it on your own?" Joe said. "I know how you love just doing things on your own."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Victoire demanded, not liking the tone Joe had used.

"What I mean is that if I suggest we schedule Josh, you'll only point out that that's too many people from Hufflepuff. You'll come back and tell me that it needs to be someone from Gryffindor or Ravenclaw to avoid having a one house majority of power. I'll tell you it doesn't matter, and that all the Gryffindors and Ravenclaws have been scheduled too close to Tuesday to be fair. You'll say you don't want to redo the entire schedule, and I'll point out that if you'd made the schedule chronologically, we wouldn't be having this problem.

"Then you'll realize that Leanne would fit into the schedule perfectly, but I'd have to remind you that Leanne can't round on Tuesdays because of her remedial potions lessons with Professor Abbott-Longbottom. Then you'll get mad at me because I'm being contrary, and I'll insist that I'm just trying to point out the facts. Then you'll schedule yourself, even though you're scheduled to round twice already that week, and at our next meeting you'll complain about how you didn't have any time to study for herbology because you had to do so many rounds. But the truth is that you're just stubborn and difficult and it's better if I just stay quiet and let you make all the decisions because you're going to be the final word anyway."

"Well don't hold back," Victoire muttered when Joe was through. He'd said a lot. A lot that Victoire didn't agree with. She wasn't stubborn and difficult. She wasn't trying to give herself more rounds on purpose, it was just really hard to make a schedule to accommodate everyone's individual needs as well as the needs of the school. And if Joe would help her like he used to instead of sitting there and letting her struggle her way through it, then she wouldn't be facing the problems she was facing now. Neither of them had this much trouble creating schedules when they were still together.

"You wanted words. Those were words," Joe declared.

Having had quite enough of Joe and his attitude, Victoire shoved the schedule at him.

"Fine then," Victoire declared. "I give you sole control of the schedule from now on. You can make it without me, since I'm obviously terrible at it."

With that, Victoire pushed her chair back and got up, grabbing her things and leaving before Joe could argue with her.

She was just so tired. With N.E.W.T.s coming up, she didn't have the energy to deal with anything other than studying for her three classes. If it was just a matter of cranking out a rounds schedule once a week, she could manage that. But she didn't have the time or the will to spend hours arguing with Joe about such menial things as who's going to patrol the castle on a given night. And she was tired of having to fill the extra gaps. If Joe could minimize her extra rounds, she'd take that as a win.

"How was your Heads meeting?" Kara asked when Victoire stomped back into the common room and plopped herself at one of the study tables to finish her potions essay.

"I am sick and tired of Joe Saunders and his pouting," Victoire declared. "So, I broke up with him, so what? People break up all the time."

"Maybe you should have waited until the end of term to break up with him," Kara mused.

Victoire adamantly shook her head. "No way," she replied emphatically.

Victoire thanked the stars every day that she and Teddy had repaired things when they did. Not only was she so much happier with him than she ever was with Joe, but she didn't have to deal with the whirlwind of emotions she'd been feeling all year anymore. And this really wasn't a good time to be dealing with emotions. Victoire needed to focus and having the Teddy portion of her life straightened out was instrumental in that effort.

Not to mention, Teddy's daily letters of encouraging words and praise were just about the only thing keeping Victoire sane through everything. As if overnight, the insanely heavy workload that her teachers had been piling on since September had all but quadrupled. It was the same for all the seventh years. Not only were they still learning new material and would continue to right up until the end of May, but they were expected to revise everything. And by everything, it didn't just mean everything they'd learned since September, or everything they'd learned since their O.W.L.s. It meant everything they'd learned in that subject EVER.

Of course, much of what they'd learned over the years was pretty basic and ingrained in Victoire's head rather solidly. For example, in herbology, she didn't need to revise certain first year topics like the importance of sunlight and regular watering, because those were obvious now that she was a seventh year. However, when it came to certain plants she hadn't worked with in years, like the bouncing bulb, she knew she would need to read up on it again.

And there were SO MANY little topics like that that Victoire needed to revise. That everyone needed to revise, really. Victoire was horrified when she realized that she'd thrown out most of her notes from her first years at Hogwarts, having assumed that she wouldn't need them again. She also hadn't brought her beginning textbooks to school with her, and she found herself begging her younger cousins and siblings to borrow their copies so that she could skim through them and make notes of the things she'd forgotten in the years since she'd learned them.

It would have been a relief to Victoire that she was only taking three N.E.W.T. classes when some of her classmates were taking six or seven. Except that Victoire didn't have the time or the energy to feel such things as relief. Only stress.

Dearest Victoire,

I know that this is a difficult time for you. It wasn't that long ago that I was going through the same thing. My N.E.W.T.s were stressful, but I made it through, and I know that you will too. I know that you are strong enough not only to make it through, but to pass with flying colors.

The one thing that kept me sane throughout all my studying and all my revising my seventh year was you. Having you by my side was what kept me centered and reminded me that there is more to life than just exams. I know it must be difficult, being apart from each other right now, but I want you to remember that you have me, forever. All you have to do is get through this, and then we can be together always, just you and me, without anything else getting in the way.

I love you more than I can describe. Stay strong.

Teddy

Victoire wanted to cry after reading Teddy's latest letter. She wished more than anything that Teddy could be here with her, helping her through. It wasn't that she couldn't do this on her own – she absolutely could. But watching her friends – Kara with Johnathon, and even Brianna with Stanley – she found herself wishing she had that same tangible support. If she could just touch Teddy, just hold his hand, it would bring so much comfort.

One Friday afternoon, Victoire was just finishing up in potions class when Professor Abbott-Longbottom called for everyone's attention.

"Before you all leave today, I have a final announcement for you all," she declared.

Everyone was immediately alert. These days, anything any of their teachers said was listened to attentively. The seventh years were desperate for any information that might be useful, anything that might make taking their N.E.W.T.s a little bit easier.

"There will be a mandatory meeting for all seventh-year students tomorrow morning at ten o'clock," she informed them all. "This meeting will take place in the unused fifth-floor classroom just next to Mr. Clarke's office."

"What's it about?" May Enlow inquired.

Professor Abbott-Longbottom shook her head. "I am not at liberty to say," she informed them. "Just know that your presence is required should you want to sit your N.E.W.T.s this June."

The news of this mysterious meeting had all the seventh years abuzz with gossip. They all wanted to know what it was about, why it was so last minute, and why it was being held in an unused classroom on the fifth floor. Victoire speculated with her friends for a while that evening in the common room, but there wasn't even much time for that, as they still had tons of studying and assignments to get done.

The following morning, Victoire woke early enough that she had time to get a bit of breakfast before the mandatory meeting. She found that she was strangely nervous, though it was completely irrational. Whatever the meeting was, it couldn't be a bad thing. Though she found it odd that even as Head Girl, she still hadn't been clued in as to what was going on.

Just before ten o'clock, Victoire and her friends filed into the fifth-floor classroom to find that most of their classmates were already there. A wizard that Victoire recognized, but couldn't place, stood at the front of the room with professors Tonks, Longbottom, Flitwick, and Abbott-Longbottom – that is, all four Heads of House.

On the stroke of ten, Professor Longbottom called for silence and introduced the wizard.

"This is Professor Cunningham," Professor Longbottom introduced. "He is the Head Examiner for the Ministry of Magic and is here today regarding your upcoming N.E.W.T.s. I urge you all to listen to everything he has to say."

Victoire immediately realized why she recognized the man. He'd been one of the examiners when she'd taken her O.W.L.s. Which of course, happened at the same time as the N.E.W.T.s, and thus were probably overseen by the same board of examiners.

"Good morning students," Examiner Cunningham greeted them. "I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate you all on reaching this point. Your N.E.W.T.s are extremely important and anyone who plans to sit them is doing a very important thing. I will also take this opportunity to remind you that N.E.W.T. level exams are completely optional. You are not required to sit them to graduate, and if you choose not to take them, there are plenty of jobs that do not require those qualifications."

Victoire tried not to grimace as she thought about the kinds of jobs Cunningham was referring to. Of course, there were jobs that didn't require a N.E.W.T. qualification. But if Victoire wanted to work in a greenhouse, a N.E.W.T. would mean the difference between working as a researcher and working as a janitor.

The Head Examiner went on for a little while longer, explaining about the N.E.W.T.s, their significance, the manner in which they would be carried out. While in some ways the N.E.W.T.s were similar to the O.W.L.s, they were also very different. There would still be written and practical components for most of the classes, but they would be much more holistic and less tailored to individual topics that they'd learned.

Finally, Professor Cunningham reached into his robes and began to withdraw dozens of vials of some kind of bright blue potion.

"For those of you who intend on taking your N.E.W.T.s in two months' time, I would ask you to come forward, and under the supervision of myself and your Head of House, drink this potion," he declared.

"What's it for?" Sara Pucey demanded. "What will it do?"

"Suffice it to say that it is an anti-cheating device," Professor Cunningham replied. "Over the next two months, any spells you may attempt to increase your capacity for knowledge, or your memory retention, will be nullified. This goes for any such spells you have already worked on yourself. The potion takes time to take effect, which is why we ask that everyone intending on writing their N.E.W.T.s take it far enough in advance to ensure it had taken full effect."

"Why didn't we have to take a potion like this for our O.W.L.s?" Greg Lipson demanded.

"You were all underage when you sat your O.W.L.s, and therefore your bodies were not matured enough to handle the potion. Instead, for O.W.L. students, we employ other measures, including quills spelled with anti-cheating charms. We will continue to employ those same measures for your N.E.W.T.s, but we also require that you've taken this potion."

"What if we refuse?" Stewart Gray wondered.

Professor Cunningham shrugged. "Then you forfeit your right to write your N.E.W.T.s, I'm afraid."

There were a great deal more questions that followed Stewarts. People wanted to know why this was the first they were hearing of this potion, why it was happening so suddenly, why they weren't being given time to think about it, whether it was even safe.

Professor Cunningham, with the assistance of Professor Longbottom, answered all their questions and assuaged most of their fears. Victoire, though trepidatious – Teddy had never mentioned such a potion – did not feel in any way that her teachers would ask her to take a potion that would have harmful effects. So, shouldering the responsibility that had been given to her by her teachers by being appointed Head Girl, Victoire stepped forward and volunteered to be the first to take the potion.

Drinking the potion was like drinking fire. It burned the back of Victoire's throat as it went down, but as it settled in her stomach, the burning sensation went away, and she found she felt about the same as before she'd taken the potion.

Encouraging the rest of the seventh years to drink the potion too, Victoire stepped out into the corridor. N.E.W.T.s were even bigger than she'd realized. With all the stress and all the studying, she'd gotten so caught up in things that she'd forgotten one thing. N.E.W.T.s were optional. She was doing this because she wanted to be. And none of this was going to be for nothing. When it was all over, she was going to be glad she'd gone through it. She'd carry those N.E.W.T.s with her for the rest of her life.