Ahem! Attention! A notice to all: this chapter will suck. Y'all know how I
already have the whole story written out in notebooks?? Well, I actually
need to make it longer, or you guys will be complaining. So, to make it
longer, one of the chapters I'm adding is this one. Before, I just had the
summary of the N.E.W.T.s on one page; now I'm dedicating a whole chapter to
them to make the story longer. But it isn't written. I'm going to think it
up as I'm typing.... I suck at that!! So this is going to be really boring...
Skip it if you want... Just kidding! No skipping... You have my permission to
skim through it though. Special thanks to my most recent reviewers: Draco
Malfoy is hot (I didn't even bother with the caps lock thing), Kim, and
PinappleCube (you are now my most faithful reviewer.). Thanks to all of
you!! Here's the next chapter: N.E.W.T.s
Two weeks after the part, the N.E.W.T.s were upon them. It wasn't altogether too difficult, as some of the rumors they'd heard had suggested.
The boys wouldn't let Hermione and study more than one hour a day in the week leading up to the exams; however, they was allowed to study as much as she wanted the day before. They maintained that the baby's health was to be put before grades.
Hermione and Luna both started crying the night before the big day.
"I'm so stupid!" Hermione whined into Draco's shoulder when they were all studying.
"Can you take it for me?" cried Luna into Ron's shoulder.
Draco and Ron both looked alarmed; they weren't used to having crying girls on them. Harry just sat in the corner, pretending to study.
"You're not stupid," comforted Draco awkwardly. "If you think you're going to do bad, look at me."
"You're so smart, though," sniffed Hermione. "I'm just a stupid, dumb, unintelligent, dim-witted, thick, mindless, silly, foolish, idiotic-"
"Whoa, Mione!" said Harry, putting his book down. "Calm down! I never knew there were so many synonyms for 'stupid.' And if you were stupid, you wouldn't know what all those words mean."
"Oh, you guys are no help!" she exclaimed.
Meanwhile, Ron was saying, "Luna, I can't take it for you; I'd do worse than you ever could do. Just see what I get."
Luna didn't reply. Maybe she hadn't said anything because she agreed in her mind that Ron wasn't all that brilliant.
Harry laughed.
"What?" said Ron. "You think I'm stupid?"
"Actually, yeah," said Draco.
Hermione and Luna decided their fiancés weren't comforting them, so they walked into Hermione's room to cry some more and study together.
"I'm telling you, women are scary," said Ron.
"Yeah, but sometimes they're- well, what can I say?" said Harry.
"Sexy, irresistible, and drop-dead HOTT!" Draco shouted.
"Calm down, man," said Ron. "What's wrong with you?"
"I have too much energy!!!" Draco exclaimed. "And I'm going to go insane. I can't wait until these things are over."
"Yeah. I can't focus," agreed Harry. "We have to do something. We've studied enough."
"No, no. We still have to study," said Draco. "If you ever want to get a job, that is. So, name the ingredients of a Hair-Thickening Potion."
"Sick! What kind of a loser would make a Hair-Thickening Potion?" exclaimed Ron.
"Some idiot," said Draco.
"Would that just be on your head?" asked Harry.
"Or on your ass or what?" said Ron, horrified.
"Shut up, Weasel!" ordered Draco. "No one, not even the biggest bastard in the world, would want to thicken hair on their ass!"
"Do you realize how stupid we are?" asked Harry. "Who talks about hairy asses?"
"Okay, okay," said Draco. "Just name the ingredients."
"I don't know," said Ron and Harry together.
"We're all so screwed," groaned Draco. "I don't know them either."
"What are you all going to do for your jobs?" asked Harry.
"We won't get jobs if we don't study!" said Draco.
"Calm down; you're starting to sound like Hermione," said Ron. "'We won't get jobs if we don't study!'"
"Fine, I'm just saying we should focus," he said. "So the ingredients are..." He checked the book and recited the ingredients.
"We should make a sentence thing to remember that," said Harry. "Like a 'C' for cut caterpillars. Let's see, er.... 'F' for flobberworm tail..."
"Who would drink this?" asked Ron.
"We already established that they'd have to be pretty retarded," said Draco. "So then 'E' for..."
And they took the first letter of every ingredient and got the letters C, F, E, G, K, D, and O.
"So we think of a sentence..." said Ron.
"Okay. 'C' is for cats," said Harry.
"Cats?" repeated Draco.
Harry shrugged. "First thing that popped into mind."
"Okay. So then 'F' for..." said Ron.
"Fuck you," said Draco.
"Uh... no."
"Okay, then just have it be cats fuck."
"Sick!" said Harry.
"Well, can you think of anything else?"
"Yeah.. How about cats feel?"
"Fine, fine," said Ron. "So, how about cats feel elephants?"
"Ron! That's almost as bad!" said Harry. "But, anyway, cats feel elephant guys. How about that?"
"Okay. Cats feel elephant guys, kangaroos, and what else?" said Draco.
"Kangaroos? That was random..." said Ron. "But then cats feel elephant guys, kangaroos, dogs, and how about ostriches?"
"This cat sure gets around...." said Draco. "Cats feel elephant guys, kangaroos, dogs, and ostriches."
"Wait, how do we even know this is going to be on the test?" asked Harry. "And even if it is, are we going to do this for all of the potions? That's more than a hundred! And how do we remember which sentence is for each potion?"
"Well, just remember cats have thick hair, then," said Ron. "So, for the Shrinking Solution..."
Five minutes later, they'd already given up.
"Okay, we just remember as much as we can remember. Enough of this crap," said Harry. "I'm going to bed. That'll help."
"Yeah, go to bed with Pansy," smirked Draco.
"You bastard," said Harry.
"Do you still like her?"
"None of your friggin' business."
"I take that as a yes."
"Cheering Charms!" said Harry loudly.
"I need one right about now," grumbled Ron.
* * * *
Meanwhile, in Hermione's room, both girls had regained their composure.
"Okay. We study calmly and rationally," sighed Hermione.
"Sexy, irresistible, and drop-dead HOTT!" they heard Draco shout.
"What are they talking about now?" Luna rolled her eyes.
"Not the N.E.W.T.s, I'm sure," said Hermione. "So, I'm pretty positive we know how to do 'Wingardium Leviosa.' Right?"
"Duh!" said Luna irritably. "What do you think I am?" A few seconds later: "Oh, sorry. I'm just so nervous."
"I know; it's okay," said Hermione. "Oh, my god. I can't stand Devon anymore. I feel like throwing up. What do you want to go over?"
"I know. Me too. It's sick. Let's do Self-transfiguration," said Luna. "I can't do that too well."
And for the next couple of hours until midnight, they all studied furiously, Luna and Hermione turning themselves into desks for a few minutes, and the boys putting Cheering Charms on each other.
The next morning was their Potions written exam.
"Watch this be the downfall of our professional career ambitions," said Harry.
"Did you just swallow a dictionary?" asked Ron.
"Shut up; Snape's coming," said Draco. "Good luck."
"I'm gonna need it," sighed Ron.
"You too," said Harry. "Here goes...."
They bent over their papers and studied the first question:
What is a Hair-Thickening Potion; what are its ingredients; describe exactly how one would brew it.
The boys looked up and caught each other's eyes, then hastily looked down, in case Snape saw them.
Harry scribbled on the corner of his question sheet: "Cats feel elephant guys, kangaroos, dogs, and ostriches."
Sighing very audibly, he started to formulate his answer.
At lunch, all five of them were silent at their separate tables. Books were open; their mouths moved without making noises. They were all forcing potion ingredients and methods for the practical exam into their heads.
"This shouldn't be too hard," said Hermione, calming herself more than anyone, as they walked to the classroom. "We're just brewing potions...."
"You might think so," said Ron. "You always brew perfect potions."
"Your test papers are on the desks," Snape said as they walked in. "You have the full afternoon for the exam. Begin."
Hermione studied the first question, gently massaging her stomach.
Brew a Babbling Beverage correctly; pour a sample in a vial; label it clearly with the potion name and your name; place it to the side of your working area; proceed to number 2.
She closed her eyes, willed herself to remember the Babbling Beverage, and remember she did.
"Fluxweed," she whispered to herself. She set to work.
That night, Hermione, Draco, Harry, Ron, and Luna skipped dinner in the Great Hall and brought up food to the Head Dorm.
"I failed that," said Harry, chewing slowly on a roll.
"Let's not dwell on the past," said Hermione. "We have Charms tomorrow!"
"Can you believe her?" asked Draco.
"Ron, honey, what's the incantation for the Vanishing Spell?" asked Luna.
"Why are you asking me?" replied Ron.
"It's 'Evanesco'," said Hermione. "I'm full; I'm going to my room to study."
"Me too," agreed Luna, standing up and following Hermione.
"Hey, it's us three trying to study again," said Harry.
"Very observant today," quipped Draco.
"What are we doing first?" asked Ron, bringing a forkful of mashed potatoes to his mouth.
"Hmmm... how about the Silencing Charm?" suggested Draco.
"I never got that one," said Harry. "Okay."
And I needn't explain that they studied for about five hours and then went to bed. And the next day, they did the same for Transfiguration. And the next was devoted to Defense Against the Dark Arts, by far the easiest for Harry.
On Thursday evening, when they had finally finished all of their testing, Hermione said, "You know, I don't think I did bad on that."
They all rolled their eyes.
"And you were the one crying your eyes out on Sunday night," said Draco.
"How about we don't talk about this until we get our scores?" asked Harry.
And Dumbledore managed to get the five friends' scores out early.
Even with all the stress on her (can you believe she was eight months pregnant and did all of this?), Hermione managed to pull off the highest scores Hogwarts had ever seen and an Outstanding on all four subjects.
Draco, who'd changed his mind and taken Defense Against the Darks Arts, got an Exceeds Expectations on it and Charms and Transfiguration and an Outstanding in Potions.
Harry, of course, had received an Outstanding in Defense Against the Dark Arts and Exceeds Expectations in everything else, including Potions, oddly enough. He suspected James had something to do with that.
Ron had pulled off an Acceptable in everything, expectedly, not to say he was stupid (no!! we'd never say that!!)
Luna's scores were half Acceptable, half Exceeds Expectations.
Harry never got to asking Pansy what she got; he didn't really care if she was stupid. Stupid people were awesome.
Friday night was the graduation ceremony.
James had to see this; he was in his Invisibility Cloak, standing at the back of the Hall.
All of the Seventh Years sat in chairs in the Great Hall; separate house tables weren't needed. They were learning to mix in with each other; after all, that was how it would be in the real world. Awards were currently being given out.
"To Miss Hermione Granger," Dumbledore announced, "goes a plaque that will remain always in the Hogwarts trophy cabinet for the best grades, on average, for her seven years here. And also, perfect scores on O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s."
Hermione started crying; everyone was clapping for her. She walked up to Dumbledore to receive her certificate.
When all the special awards were handed out, Dumbledore paused. "I believe that Hogwarts has very much been changed these seven years. In a sense, these seven years have been different from all the years I have seen. In these seven years, we have seen the rise of Lord Voldemort and many other tragedies. But we have celebrated many joys, also. Some people have lived up to their expectations in life and have gone far beyond already, at their young age. Some people have learned to live life as it is thrown at them and have fun and deal with whatever comes their way. One of the people I am speaking of, of course, is Harry Potter."
Everyone clapped again. Harry just sat there, absorbing it all. And finally he smiled.
"Yes, of course, Mr. Potter has changed the face of Hogwarts forever. And not unlike his father, gotten into trouble many times." Harry grinned. His father was hearing this; Dumbledore had said that on purpose. Of course, no one else knew James was back there, let alone alive.
"And so," continued Dumbledore, "we compiled a new award. This goes to Mr. Harry Potter for the record number of detentions and house points ever docked."
Most people burst out laughing, Harry one of them.
"Go up there," grinned Ron. "You deserved that."
Harry reluctantly dragged himself up there. Smiling broadly, he accepted his trophy.
Yes... I know you all hate me... I've been so busy (as explained in previous Author's Note chapter). I'm getting to work right away on typing the next chapter... That one I have to think up too (at least most of it)!! Hope you liked this one. I've g2g write now!! Don't keep me waiting. Peace out!
Two weeks after the part, the N.E.W.T.s were upon them. It wasn't altogether too difficult, as some of the rumors they'd heard had suggested.
The boys wouldn't let Hermione and study more than one hour a day in the week leading up to the exams; however, they was allowed to study as much as she wanted the day before. They maintained that the baby's health was to be put before grades.
Hermione and Luna both started crying the night before the big day.
"I'm so stupid!" Hermione whined into Draco's shoulder when they were all studying.
"Can you take it for me?" cried Luna into Ron's shoulder.
Draco and Ron both looked alarmed; they weren't used to having crying girls on them. Harry just sat in the corner, pretending to study.
"You're not stupid," comforted Draco awkwardly. "If you think you're going to do bad, look at me."
"You're so smart, though," sniffed Hermione. "I'm just a stupid, dumb, unintelligent, dim-witted, thick, mindless, silly, foolish, idiotic-"
"Whoa, Mione!" said Harry, putting his book down. "Calm down! I never knew there were so many synonyms for 'stupid.' And if you were stupid, you wouldn't know what all those words mean."
"Oh, you guys are no help!" she exclaimed.
Meanwhile, Ron was saying, "Luna, I can't take it for you; I'd do worse than you ever could do. Just see what I get."
Luna didn't reply. Maybe she hadn't said anything because she agreed in her mind that Ron wasn't all that brilliant.
Harry laughed.
"What?" said Ron. "You think I'm stupid?"
"Actually, yeah," said Draco.
Hermione and Luna decided their fiancés weren't comforting them, so they walked into Hermione's room to cry some more and study together.
"I'm telling you, women are scary," said Ron.
"Yeah, but sometimes they're- well, what can I say?" said Harry.
"Sexy, irresistible, and drop-dead HOTT!" Draco shouted.
"Calm down, man," said Ron. "What's wrong with you?"
"I have too much energy!!!" Draco exclaimed. "And I'm going to go insane. I can't wait until these things are over."
"Yeah. I can't focus," agreed Harry. "We have to do something. We've studied enough."
"No, no. We still have to study," said Draco. "If you ever want to get a job, that is. So, name the ingredients of a Hair-Thickening Potion."
"Sick! What kind of a loser would make a Hair-Thickening Potion?" exclaimed Ron.
"Some idiot," said Draco.
"Would that just be on your head?" asked Harry.
"Or on your ass or what?" said Ron, horrified.
"Shut up, Weasel!" ordered Draco. "No one, not even the biggest bastard in the world, would want to thicken hair on their ass!"
"Do you realize how stupid we are?" asked Harry. "Who talks about hairy asses?"
"Okay, okay," said Draco. "Just name the ingredients."
"I don't know," said Ron and Harry together.
"We're all so screwed," groaned Draco. "I don't know them either."
"What are you all going to do for your jobs?" asked Harry.
"We won't get jobs if we don't study!" said Draco.
"Calm down; you're starting to sound like Hermione," said Ron. "'We won't get jobs if we don't study!'"
"Fine, I'm just saying we should focus," he said. "So the ingredients are..." He checked the book and recited the ingredients.
"We should make a sentence thing to remember that," said Harry. "Like a 'C' for cut caterpillars. Let's see, er.... 'F' for flobberworm tail..."
"Who would drink this?" asked Ron.
"We already established that they'd have to be pretty retarded," said Draco. "So then 'E' for..."
And they took the first letter of every ingredient and got the letters C, F, E, G, K, D, and O.
"So we think of a sentence..." said Ron.
"Okay. 'C' is for cats," said Harry.
"Cats?" repeated Draco.
Harry shrugged. "First thing that popped into mind."
"Okay. So then 'F' for..." said Ron.
"Fuck you," said Draco.
"Uh... no."
"Okay, then just have it be cats fuck."
"Sick!" said Harry.
"Well, can you think of anything else?"
"Yeah.. How about cats feel?"
"Fine, fine," said Ron. "So, how about cats feel elephants?"
"Ron! That's almost as bad!" said Harry. "But, anyway, cats feel elephant guys. How about that?"
"Okay. Cats feel elephant guys, kangaroos, and what else?" said Draco.
"Kangaroos? That was random..." said Ron. "But then cats feel elephant guys, kangaroos, dogs, and how about ostriches?"
"This cat sure gets around...." said Draco. "Cats feel elephant guys, kangaroos, dogs, and ostriches."
"Wait, how do we even know this is going to be on the test?" asked Harry. "And even if it is, are we going to do this for all of the potions? That's more than a hundred! And how do we remember which sentence is for each potion?"
"Well, just remember cats have thick hair, then," said Ron. "So, for the Shrinking Solution..."
Five minutes later, they'd already given up.
"Okay, we just remember as much as we can remember. Enough of this crap," said Harry. "I'm going to bed. That'll help."
"Yeah, go to bed with Pansy," smirked Draco.
"You bastard," said Harry.
"Do you still like her?"
"None of your friggin' business."
"I take that as a yes."
"Cheering Charms!" said Harry loudly.
"I need one right about now," grumbled Ron.
* * * *
Meanwhile, in Hermione's room, both girls had regained their composure.
"Okay. We study calmly and rationally," sighed Hermione.
"Sexy, irresistible, and drop-dead HOTT!" they heard Draco shout.
"What are they talking about now?" Luna rolled her eyes.
"Not the N.E.W.T.s, I'm sure," said Hermione. "So, I'm pretty positive we know how to do 'Wingardium Leviosa.' Right?"
"Duh!" said Luna irritably. "What do you think I am?" A few seconds later: "Oh, sorry. I'm just so nervous."
"I know; it's okay," said Hermione. "Oh, my god. I can't stand Devon anymore. I feel like throwing up. What do you want to go over?"
"I know. Me too. It's sick. Let's do Self-transfiguration," said Luna. "I can't do that too well."
And for the next couple of hours until midnight, they all studied furiously, Luna and Hermione turning themselves into desks for a few minutes, and the boys putting Cheering Charms on each other.
The next morning was their Potions written exam.
"Watch this be the downfall of our professional career ambitions," said Harry.
"Did you just swallow a dictionary?" asked Ron.
"Shut up; Snape's coming," said Draco. "Good luck."
"I'm gonna need it," sighed Ron.
"You too," said Harry. "Here goes...."
They bent over their papers and studied the first question:
What is a Hair-Thickening Potion; what are its ingredients; describe exactly how one would brew it.
The boys looked up and caught each other's eyes, then hastily looked down, in case Snape saw them.
Harry scribbled on the corner of his question sheet: "Cats feel elephant guys, kangaroos, dogs, and ostriches."
Sighing very audibly, he started to formulate his answer.
At lunch, all five of them were silent at their separate tables. Books were open; their mouths moved without making noises. They were all forcing potion ingredients and methods for the practical exam into their heads.
"This shouldn't be too hard," said Hermione, calming herself more than anyone, as they walked to the classroom. "We're just brewing potions...."
"You might think so," said Ron. "You always brew perfect potions."
"Your test papers are on the desks," Snape said as they walked in. "You have the full afternoon for the exam. Begin."
Hermione studied the first question, gently massaging her stomach.
Brew a Babbling Beverage correctly; pour a sample in a vial; label it clearly with the potion name and your name; place it to the side of your working area; proceed to number 2.
She closed her eyes, willed herself to remember the Babbling Beverage, and remember she did.
"Fluxweed," she whispered to herself. She set to work.
That night, Hermione, Draco, Harry, Ron, and Luna skipped dinner in the Great Hall and brought up food to the Head Dorm.
"I failed that," said Harry, chewing slowly on a roll.
"Let's not dwell on the past," said Hermione. "We have Charms tomorrow!"
"Can you believe her?" asked Draco.
"Ron, honey, what's the incantation for the Vanishing Spell?" asked Luna.
"Why are you asking me?" replied Ron.
"It's 'Evanesco'," said Hermione. "I'm full; I'm going to my room to study."
"Me too," agreed Luna, standing up and following Hermione.
"Hey, it's us three trying to study again," said Harry.
"Very observant today," quipped Draco.
"What are we doing first?" asked Ron, bringing a forkful of mashed potatoes to his mouth.
"Hmmm... how about the Silencing Charm?" suggested Draco.
"I never got that one," said Harry. "Okay."
And I needn't explain that they studied for about five hours and then went to bed. And the next day, they did the same for Transfiguration. And the next was devoted to Defense Against the Dark Arts, by far the easiest for Harry.
On Thursday evening, when they had finally finished all of their testing, Hermione said, "You know, I don't think I did bad on that."
They all rolled their eyes.
"And you were the one crying your eyes out on Sunday night," said Draco.
"How about we don't talk about this until we get our scores?" asked Harry.
And Dumbledore managed to get the five friends' scores out early.
Even with all the stress on her (can you believe she was eight months pregnant and did all of this?), Hermione managed to pull off the highest scores Hogwarts had ever seen and an Outstanding on all four subjects.
Draco, who'd changed his mind and taken Defense Against the Darks Arts, got an Exceeds Expectations on it and Charms and Transfiguration and an Outstanding in Potions.
Harry, of course, had received an Outstanding in Defense Against the Dark Arts and Exceeds Expectations in everything else, including Potions, oddly enough. He suspected James had something to do with that.
Ron had pulled off an Acceptable in everything, expectedly, not to say he was stupid (no!! we'd never say that!!)
Luna's scores were half Acceptable, half Exceeds Expectations.
Harry never got to asking Pansy what she got; he didn't really care if she was stupid. Stupid people were awesome.
Friday night was the graduation ceremony.
James had to see this; he was in his Invisibility Cloak, standing at the back of the Hall.
All of the Seventh Years sat in chairs in the Great Hall; separate house tables weren't needed. They were learning to mix in with each other; after all, that was how it would be in the real world. Awards were currently being given out.
"To Miss Hermione Granger," Dumbledore announced, "goes a plaque that will remain always in the Hogwarts trophy cabinet for the best grades, on average, for her seven years here. And also, perfect scores on O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s."
Hermione started crying; everyone was clapping for her. She walked up to Dumbledore to receive her certificate.
When all the special awards were handed out, Dumbledore paused. "I believe that Hogwarts has very much been changed these seven years. In a sense, these seven years have been different from all the years I have seen. In these seven years, we have seen the rise of Lord Voldemort and many other tragedies. But we have celebrated many joys, also. Some people have lived up to their expectations in life and have gone far beyond already, at their young age. Some people have learned to live life as it is thrown at them and have fun and deal with whatever comes their way. One of the people I am speaking of, of course, is Harry Potter."
Everyone clapped again. Harry just sat there, absorbing it all. And finally he smiled.
"Yes, of course, Mr. Potter has changed the face of Hogwarts forever. And not unlike his father, gotten into trouble many times." Harry grinned. His father was hearing this; Dumbledore had said that on purpose. Of course, no one else knew James was back there, let alone alive.
"And so," continued Dumbledore, "we compiled a new award. This goes to Mr. Harry Potter for the record number of detentions and house points ever docked."
Most people burst out laughing, Harry one of them.
"Go up there," grinned Ron. "You deserved that."
Harry reluctantly dragged himself up there. Smiling broadly, he accepted his trophy.
Yes... I know you all hate me... I've been so busy (as explained in previous Author's Note chapter). I'm getting to work right away on typing the next chapter... That one I have to think up too (at least most of it)!! Hope you liked this one. I've g2g write now!! Don't keep me waiting. Peace out!