"Two more weeks," Ginny groaned, her voice muffled by the textbook she had face planted in on the table.
"No, one more day. One night really," Hermione amended, her eyes flying across the lines of the textbook that was levitating in front of her.
"What do you mean?" Ginny asked, her head popping up slightly.
"What do you mean?" Hermione replied with a grin.
"What are both of you talking about!?" Luna interrupted, flicking her wand so that the page turned in her floating textbook.
"Well I mean two more weeks until we're done with school," Ginny clarified.
"And I meant one more night until our first day of finals," Hermione promptly added.
"Tomorrow is Charms and Magical Creatures for me," Luna said idly.
"Charms and Ancient Runes for me," Hermione piped in.
"And just Charms for me," Ginny said, stifling a yawn.
"Oh, so you have the afternoon off tomorrow?" Hermione asked.
"Yeah. Thank Merlin…," said Ginny. She leaned back and twisted around in her seat to crack her back and stiff muscles: clearly, a consequence of sitting in the library for hours on end.
"Then you can get a head start on preparing for the DADA finals!" Hermione said cheerfully.
"I think we've studied enough for DADA. Besides, Bill said he was using our other practical exam as our final grade," Ginny mentioned.
"Yes, but he hinted that there will be an extra credit opportunity that we should really get ready for. We have to take advantage of-"
"We're all doing perfectly well in the class, Hermione," Ginny interrupted. "I'm not too worried about needing the extra credit."
"All right, fine," Hermione replied curtly. "I was only trying to help."
Ginny huffed and went back to the textbook resting on the table in front of her. Luna, oblivious to the tension in the room, began to hum idly to herself while she compared her notes to two textbooks. Eventually, the three Head Girls lit the tips of their wands so that they could still make out the words in the dying sunlight coursing through the window near them. It was only well after the stars had begun their cheerful twinkling and after Ginny began to snore loudly, slumped over in her chair, that they decided to call it a night and get some sleep.
The following morning was filled with pre-exam stress starting the moment they awoke and it infiltrated their once-relaxing breakfasts. Conversations were hushed over half-empty plates and mostly pertaining to whatever exam the students would be having that day, rather than gossip or plans.
The Charms exam came much too fast, but mercifully, it ended in just as much of a hurry. As per normal, Hermione instantly jumped into a recount of every question she could remember (which was most of them) before Luna begged her to be quiet over lunch so that she could review her notes on creatures. Hermione obliged so that she could go over her own notes in Ancient Runes and Ginny ate her lunch in blissful peace.
After lunch, Ginny walked with Luna down to the forest's edge for her exam, keen on getting a quick breath of fresh air herself, and wished her luck before turning back towards the castle and beginning to languidly climb up the grassy hills. There was a bout of laughter over a knoll to one side and with her ears pricked, she thought she could make out a distinct snort amongst the symphony of lighter voices. With a grin and no moment of hesitation, Ginny let her feet carry her towards the sound and once she rose above the crest, she found herself looking at Harry surrounded by a bunch of third years in their uniforms minus their black outer robes which were strewn about on the grass. All of them were staring at two students heaving and out of breath, apparently having just arrived on time after sprinting across the entirety of the castle grounds.
She smiled and quickened her pace down the length of the hill, only slowing down once she was close enough to see the faces of the younger students. A couple of them turned their attention to her rather than Harry- enough so that Harry turned to see what they were all looking at and gave her a warm smile, raising a hand holding a clipboard as a welcome.
"Mind if I watch?" Ginny asked, coming nearer.
"Not at all. It's not my final exam," Harry said with a smirk. A few students chuckled, but others were much too nervous to even let a smile flick across their faces.
"All right, now that we're all here-" Harry sent a good-natured pointed glance at the two latecomers "-we can get started."
Ginny snorted and muttered, just loud enough for the kids nearest her to hear, "I guarantee that you showed up late to at least a few final exams."
A few students near her chuckled softly and Harry grinned. "Do as I say, not as I do, Miss Weasley."
Ginny shrugged and fell silent, content to let him finish with his instructions.
"Okay, since third year focuses on dark creatures, your final exam will also be focused on dark creatures. Your exam will be a bit more... unusual than your others, and it was inspired by my third-year Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor, so do your best to make him proud." Ginny smiled warmly and suddenly knew exactly what was in store for these third years. "Your final exam will be a sort of obstacle course, which you can see has been set up behind you."
Simultaneously, the students swiveled to look behind them and immediately broke out into loud chatter.
"It should be easy enough to see the order of obstacles- you're just working down them in a straight line- and I'm afraid I can't give you any more hints as to what is in store because Defense Against the Dark Arts relies on instincts and reflexes. You need to be able to defend yourself against whatever comes, without any preparation. So, you'll each take a turn at the course, one-by-one, and I'll score you as you go. Once you finish the obstacle course, you're free to leave. I'm going to set up a screen here so that you can't see what's going on behind it until it's your turn. Any questions?"
Pale, anxious faces stared back at him, but he appeared oblivious and gave them a cheerful nod.
"Good! Then take your last look at the course before I put up that screen."
The students all turned and tried to peer over their housemates' heads, memorizing the order of oddly shaped obstacles that apparently hid all sorts of dark creatures. Then, it was shrouded in a misty curtain and hidden from view.
"Any volunteers to go first?" Harry asked, maintaining his joyful tone. The students all took a hesitant step backwards and Harry cast his gaze across them patiently. Eventually, one student sighed resignedly and stepped forward with her hand held up.
"I'll go, Professor," she said.
"Brilliant! I grade easiest on the first few students, you know," he teased, trying to ease her nerves. But the rest of the students didn't quite catch onto the joking tone in his voice and were instantly filled with bitter regret.
"Off we go, Miss Truong!" Harry used his clipboard to gesture around the side of the curtain. "Ginny, I assume you can make sure that no one cheats and looks around the screen?"
"Sure," Ginny shrugged and positioned herself at the corner so that she could see both the waiting students and the course. Soon enough, Truong had begun to evade Red Caps and Grindylows, ignore HinkyPunks, freeze kappas, battle boggarts, and capture imps.
"Excellent use on the knockback jinx with the imps, Miss Truong," Harry said with a nod as the nervous girl emerged from the last obstacle. She gave a shaky smile and went back to collect her things.
Harry called the next student forward, and the exam continued. Save for one student who Harry had to step in before a kappa injured the poor boy, another breaking into tears in front of the boggart, and one being overwhelmed by the released imps, most students did quite well. A few even pulled off decent water-repellant charms before they waded into the pools so that their socks and shoes wouldn't come out squelching and soaking. At the end of the period, Harry took down the misty screen and began to clean up from the obstacle course.
Ginny, who was lounging in the grass while he was finished, rose from her seat to help him carry the creatures back inside.
"How was your final today?" Harry asked, levitating a cage full of tiny imps.
"Pretty good," she shrugged. "I had charms this morning."
Harry nodded and seemed on the fence about asking her something while he dried up a small pond that he had created and filled up just this morning. Then, he came to a decision and turned to face her again. "Bill invited me to come watch your DADA final tomorrow since I don't have a class until the afternoon. He said that he thinks I'd enjoy participating, whatever that means. D'you mind if I come?"
Ginny beamed and jumped to the balls of her feet. "That would be great! You should definitely come! Wait, did he tell you what it's going to be because he won't tell me anything!"
Harry grinned. "You know, I think he knew you'd ask me because he purposefully told me nothing."
She groaned, but wasn't surprised. "Oh well. You should still come though."
"Maybe I will," he said evasively.
A loud bang erupted to one side of him. "Damn," he swore. The floating cage containing the kappa had rammed into the stony wall in his lapse of concentration and now, the creature was growling and very clearly intent on getting its webbed hands on Harry.
"It seems happy," Ginny commented lightly with a smirk.
"Almost as happy as that one kid who I had to give a failing grade to," Harry responded, shaking his head.
"Which one?"
"The student that the kappa almost successfully attacked before I stepped in. And he followed the Grindylow's directions and didn't know what to do with the Red Caps. Plus, the imps also had a fun time with him."
"Oh yeah," Ginny said. "Is that the kid that got tripped by the imps three times in a row?"
Harry nodded solemnly. "The very same."
"Well, hopefully I do better than him tomorrow!"
"Harry laughed and said, "I'm sure you will." Then he leaned down and kissed her lightly, ignoring the ensuing bang that meant the kappa had collided with the wall again.
As promised, Harry flooed to Hogwarts the following morning much earlier than he had originally planned to take part in whatever strange final exam Bill had planned for the seventh years. When he walked into their shared classroom from his office and peered over the staircase railing, nothing seemed out of the ordinary.
Bill was standing behind the desk, shuffling through a few papers and a large, blank chalkboard stood to one side. All of the desks were stacked against the wall and the room was magically enlarged for the class period, but all of that just meant it was something practical, which anyone could have guessed.
Harry walked lightly down the steps and Bill turned at the sound.
"Good morning, Harry!" Bill greeted him with a mischievous grin.
"Hey Bill," Harry replied.
"Glad you could make it today. Although, I'm not too sure some of the kids will be as glad." Bill's grin widened, knowing that his purposefully vague statement would only frustrate Harry more.
Harry rolled his eyes. "And I assume you won't tell me why that is?"
"Let's just say, I think you might take a few kids out of the running for extra credit."
Harry raised his eyebrows. "I see. And are you participating in whatever this is?"
"I wish," Bill said. "But I'll be grading the students."
"Riiight," came Harry's drawn-out response.
A few minutes later, the first few NEWT level students entered the room apprehensively, unsure of what to expect and some in desperate need of extra credit. Their apprehension did not dwindle in seeing Harry standing there beside Bill at the front of the class, apparently at complete ease and leaning against the desk. Of course, they had all been students at Hogwarts at the same time as Harry, but since he was not their professor, the shock of coming into close contact with him brought back a fair level of awe.
Bill smiled warmly at each student as they entered and they selected random spaces within the open classroom to loiter in clusters. All four houses were represented in the class, and with five minutes remaining before class began, the largest clump of students entered, including Hermione, Ginny, Luna, Thomas Murphy, and much to Harry's displeasure, Rowstock and Parkinson.
Harry gave them each a tight-lipped smile, then a more genuine grin as he walked over to the side of the classroom where the three Head Girls had stationed themselves.
"Any idea what he has planned?" Hermione whispered.
"Nope. Just that some of the kids might not be glad I'm here, whatever that means," Harry replied.
The bell echoed through the class and the students fell silent with a hushed expectancy.
Bill stepped forward, his red ponytail swinging jauntily against his back, and clapped his hands eagerly. "Welcome everyone, to your last ever Defense Against the Dark Arts class!"
A few students gave good-natured whoops, followed by chuckles rippling across the room.
Then, Bill got right to the point. "Rather than give you a stressful final as your last class, we're going to have a little competition and the top four students will get some extra credit. But, you will also be graded for a small assignment just on form, technique, responses, and all that." He drew small, casual circles in the air with his hand as he talked.
Hermione was biting her lip nervously beside Harry while Ginny was twirling her wand around her fingers. Harry studied the students to his side and, with a nostalgic pang, realized he had almost forgotten what it felt like to be on this side of a lecture.
"Now…," Bill grinned and paused, letting the suspense and drama hang in the air. "Any ideas as to what we are doing today?"
The students fidgeted uncomfortably and skillfully avoided eye contact.
"No?" Bill teased again.
"Get on with it!" Ginny said loudly, gaining a few appreciative chuckles, including from Bill.
"Okay, okay. As Miss Weasley says, I'll get on with it," Bill said, flashing a grin in her direction. He whipped out his wand and flicked it at the chalkboard so that a messy bracket was sketched onto its surface. "We're having a dueling competition!"
The class erupted into chatter, some excited and some nervous. Bill let them talk for a few moments before spreading his hands out wide and saying, "Settle down, settle down."
"Right. You'll be facing your opponent one by one and the first witch or wizard to get a solid hit on their opponent wins the round and moves forward to the next. Obviously, we are not using dangerous spells or anything that can harm your opponent. All clear?"
Everyone nodded enthusiastically and edged forward to see the bracket more clearly, all trying to find their names.
"I put the names on randomly with a few of the top students on either end of the board," Bill continued. "And an extra surprise for you all, Professor Potter here has volunteered to participate in the activity!"
Suddenly, Bill's vague warnings became very clear. Ginny snorted, but the rest of the class had mixed reactions to this news. Some were thrilled at the idea of facing him while others were decidedly less so.
"But Professor!" one Ravenclaw shouted over the din. "That's not fair. He's not even a student!"
Bill nodded his head in acceptance before responding with a smile. "True, but he is only a year older than you. But, don't worry, he won't be entering the contest until the second round and if you end up going against him, I'll grade you much easier."
Ginny was impervious to the Ravenclaw's objections and immediately turned to Harry with a smirk. "You're on, Potter."
Harry rolled his eyes. "We're on opposite ends of the bracket."
She glanced at the board and saw his name at the bottom and hers at the top on one side. "Then I'll see you in the semifinals," she taunted back.
Hermione scoffed assuredly. "And I'll see you in the finals, Harry."
Ginny scowled and crossed her arms.
"I appreciate the vote of confidence, Hermione," Harry said, smiling despite himself.
Hermione opened her mouth to retaliate with a defiant smirk, but Bill cut her off before she had the chance.
"We have to get started now or we may run out of time! I don't know how long these will take. Let's have… Rowstock and Murphy, front and center please. Everyone else, to the sides of the class."
Everyone except the Slytherin and the Hufflepuff retreated to the walls and on Bill's count, the competition was off. Within a few minutes, Murphy hit Rowstock in the chest with a jinx that glued his shoes to the floor and Bill declared him the victor. Murphy undid the jinx and the two shook hands before Bill called forward the next pair. Parkinson advanced in his duel, as did the three Head Girls and soon enough, Luna was battling Murphy in the most peculiar way. In between bouts of furious spell firing, dodging, and deflecting, she would ask him about his day and what he was planning on having for lunch. Murphy smiled as a response, but tried to tune her out, thinking that it was a distraction tactic. But after knowing Luna for a few years now, Harry realized that she was just genuinely curious and had not thought that maybe asking him in the middle of a duel was not the best time.
Either way, Luna skillfully managed to trap Murphy in a giant bubble with the Ebublio jinx and the duel was called.
Now, it was Harry's turn to enter the fray and when Bill called him forward, the class sucked in a breath. But, Parkinson was already striding forward to take his place without Bill needing to read the pairing off from the chalkboard.
"Merlin's beard," Harry swore under his breath. "Of course it's him."
Hermione grinned sympathetically as Harry pushed himself off the desk he was sitting on and withdrew his wand from the loop on his leg.
"Do something weird to him!" Ginny hissed before he made it to the center.
Harry smiled but made no reply, choosing instead to walk towards the Slytherin with his hand extended. Parkinson shook it with a scowl and slitted eyes.
When Bill got to three, as expected, Parkinson launched into a spray of attacks, choosing to shout the curses and spells rather than use nonverbal incantations. Harry lazily flicked them aside, still filtering through what spell to use on him. Eventually, when he had decided, Harry began to fight back.
In between two of Parkinson's messy spells, Harry thought Calvorio! and twisted his wand just so. A purple light streamed from his wand and luckily for Parkinson, he leaned sideways at just the right time so that the curse only scathed him. But unluckily for Parkinson, it hit him well enough that half of his head was now bald, making the class erupt into laughter.
Parkinson reached up to pat his partially bald head and his scowl deepened. Harry shrugged with a slightly apologetic grin, but waited until Parkinson had raised his wand again to go on the offensive. Parkinson sent one last curse hurtling towards Harry, which he flicked away, and Harry retaliated by thinking Orbis! and spinning his wand, leaving Parkinson to let out a screech of surprise as the ground beneath him began to swallow him up like quicksand. Harry lifted the spell half a second later so that Parkinson was stuck in the stone down to his knees and the Slytherin swore loudly.
"Well done Parkinson, but looks like Potter got the best of you this time," Bill said amicably.
Harry grinned and quickly undid the spells, bringing Parkinson back to his feet like he was on a muggle elevator, then regrowing the hair on the left side of his head. All the while, Parkinson was seething at his chance to best his most hated Professor.
Harry stepped forward and patted him on the shoulder with a murmured, "Well done." Then he figured it would be best to let the Slytheirn stew in peace and he returned to the side of the class while Bill called up the next pair of duelists.
"Nice one," Ginny said to Harry with a smile. "Though I would have turned the rest of his hair red and gold while you had the chance."
Harry smirked. "The thought did cross my mind," he admitted.
Hermione went on to easily beat a Ravenclaw girl while Ginny hit a Hufflepuff boy square in the chest within a few minutes and they were each onto the semifinals with class barely being half over.
"Welcome to the semifinals-" Bill glanced down at his grading sheet "-Hermione and Luna!"
The two girls stepped forward with similar bashful smiles, not wanting to seem too eager at dueling the other. But when Bill counted them down, all hints of coyness disappeared and jets of light were dancing between the two as they weaved in and out of each other's paths. Luna managed to stay on even ground for the first minute or so, but then Hermione gained the upper ground from all of the different textbooks she had read and her extra hands-on experience. Eventually, Luna skidded backwards across the floor by one of Hermione's powerful spells.
The two girls shook hands and Luna congratulated her with a genuine smile, both returning to the side of the class just as Harry and Ginny were preparing for their duel.
"You're going down, Potter," Ginny hissed through one side of her mouth.
Harry snorted. "In your dreams, Ginvera."
"Harry and Ginny, you're up next!" Bill said and once he realized what he had said, his eyebrows shot up. "This should be fun," he added much quieter.
Harry walked to one side of the open classroom and Ginny walked to the other.
Bill began to count down. "Ready… And…. Begin!"
Unlike the other students, Ginny didn't instantly start barraging Harry with countless spells to break through his defense. Instead, both ended up standing on the balls of their feet, poised for action and grinning at each other. After a few seconds of silence, Ginny sent a hex at him which he waved away. Then she sent another which he sent rebounding back to her.
Ginny cocked an eyebrow at him and teased, "Planning on fighting back any time soon?"
"Maybe," he shrugged.
Ginny smirked and fired another two jinxes. Harry fired off a hex immediately after hers and she dodged instinctively out of the way.
Ginny sighed with her wand still held up and at the ready. "Quit going easy on me just because I'm your girlfriend!" she said in a flash of fake annoyance.
A few students chuckled, but most were too focused on the match. Both Harry and Ginny were too focused to notice.
Harry shrugged, but capitulated and began to fight back. Soon, the two were locked in a fast-paced light show with spells being shot every second and while Ginny's reactions were good, her grasp of spells paled in comparison to Harry who had memorized his extra Defense Against the Dark Arts books years ago. Ginny found herself having to put up shield charms so often that she couldn't get as many spells off herself and when she did take it down to aim at Harry, his spell hit her first and she felt her limbs freeze mid-motion.
"Well done, well done!" Bill's voice sounded above the clapping. Harry grinned and unfroze his girlfriend so that her arms fell back to her sides with a dejected slap.
"Good match, Gin," Harry said with a lopsided grin and he held out his hand out to her.
She snorted and took it over-enthusiastically, shaking it violently up and down. "I let you win."
Harry rolled his eyes. "Sure," he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
"I didn't want you to look bad in front of all these kids."
"Uh-huh," Harry nodded, trying and failing to keep a straight face. "How kind of you."
Ginny grinned. "I know."
Hermione then approached them in the middle of the room and Harry realized he would now have to fight her in the finals.
"I'll be rooting for you, Hermione," Ginny said, smirking.
"No 'good luck' for me?" Harry teased.
She tossed her hair over one shoulder. "Nope!" Then, she walked over to where Luna was watching at the side of the room. Other students were busy placing bets while Hermione stood close to Harry so no one else could hear what they were saying.
"Don't go easy on me," Hermione warned.
"I was about to say the same to you," Harry replied.
Hermione rolled her eyes. "I mean it."
"So do I."
She smiled then retreated to the far end of the classroom, fingering her wand between two hands, and Harry made his way back to the other end. The classroom fell silent and he could feel each student sucking in an apprehensive breath. Tension seeped into every crack of the room, so taut it was ready to snap at any moment. It was so silent that every squeak of a shoe, every rustle of a cloak, and every slight sniff of a student sounded as loud as a horn.
"Ready…," came Bill's steady voice. "Set… Begin!"
This time, Harry was the first to react and he instantly set three spells in quick-succession barreling towards Hermione who just managed to block the first two before sending the third rebounding back at Harry. He dodged his own spell and deflected Hermione's next. Their wands whipped through the air in a blur of movement, each skillfully blocking the others' spells before sending their own back in flying colors.
Hermione sent the crumpled up paper from a nearby rubbish bin barrelling towards Harry to try and block his sight, but he quickly parted them so that the balls of paper flew towards the sides of the classroom, accidentally hitting a few of the spectators. Harry grinned and instantly retaliated by sending the now empty tin bucket hurtling towards her. She transfigured it into a paper airplane and it lazily flew to the ground in sweeping strokes.
They battled furiously and silently, neither using verbal incantations, so only the sounds of fidgeting students and their own pounding hearts filled their ears. One of Hermione's jinxes scraped Harry's forearm, stinging the skin; but, it was Harry who managed to hit Hermione full-on first. Her wand went soaring out of her hand and into Harry's, who caught it grinning amicably and the students broke out into cheers. A few coins were exchanged hands furtively.
Hermione pursed her lips, but walked forward and took her wand back from Harry.
"Well done," she said and gave him a quick hug.
"You too," Harry replied.
"Brilliant! Excellent job to you all!" Bill said loudly, quieting the other students slightly.
Hermione and Harry went back to the side of the room so that Bill could stand in the center.
"Miss Granger gets five points of extra credit and ten points to Gryffindor. Miss Weasley and Lovegood each get three points extra credit and five points to each of your houses. And everyone who made it to the second round gets three points to each of your houses!" Bill said and he let the excited side conversations grow for a moment before retaking control of the room.
"And we still have about twenty minutes left in class," he said over the roaring noise.
The students slowly began to quiet down to let him finish.
"So, now you can challenge anyone in this room for some extra practice until the bell rings."
A Slytherin student's hand shot in the air.
"And yes, that includes me," Bill said with a small smile.
The student grinned sheepishly and let his hand fall back to his side.
"You're on Bill!" Ginny instantly called.
He smirked at her and inclined his head to accept the challenge.
"Off you go!" he said, letting the class loose.
Most students paired up with their friends, but one Ravenclaw approached Hermione while their friend shyly approached Harry, saying that they wanted to see how they would fare in a real duel.
"These are all real duels," Harry said kindly, but hopped off the top of the desk all the same.
"But with someone more experienced than just a student," she clarified with a blush creeping onto her cheeks.
"Okay," Harry said and followed the girl to an open space near one side of the room.
For the next twenty minutes, Harry took turns dueling different students who asked him, never going at his full potential like he did with Hermione, but still trying to give the students a decent example of what a duel in the 'real world' would be like. By the time the bell rang, most of the students had left the classroom and had already said their good-bye's to Professor Weasley, leaving only Harry, Hermione, and Ginny still in the room.
"How was that for a final exam period?" Bill asked cheekily.
"Definitely more fun than Charms," Ginny replied.
"Good. And to be honest, I'm just relieved that no one got hurt or had to get sent to the hospital wing," Bill said. He flicked his wand and erased the bracket from the chalkboard, leaving it blank and smeared with dust.
"That's always a sign of a successful class," Ginny responded, the corners of her mouth twitching up.
Hermione grinned, then turned back to Bill. "Want to come to lunch with us?"
"You go ahead. I need to clear up all of my papers before Harry needs the classroom for the afternoon. Do you want me to leave the desks how they are or put them back in rows?"
"Er… you can just leave them like this," Harry replied. "I have a group of fifth years this afternoon and it'll be a practical exam too."
"Not a duel though?" Bill asked, grinning widely.
Harry smiled back in return. "No, not a duel. I'm afraid it'll be rather boring compared to this."
"Ah well, finals can't all be fun!" Bill said, turning away from them and gathering a small mountain of papers in his arms. "I still have to grade all of your written exams from last class, so I might just grab a snack from the teacher's lounge as my lunch."
"Well, have fun!" Ginny said, waving to her brother over her shoulder and swinging her bag over one shoulder.
Bill gave a small smile. "I'll try." Then he watched the three walk out of the room, already talking animatedly with their hands flying through the air.
Another chapter done! Thank you all for reading! I hope you enjoyed and as always, I would love to hear your thoughts.
Next chapter comes Hogwarts graduation! See you next week!