Chapter 2: O.W.L.s
The next morning Harry was awakened by the sound of Ron shouting, "I did it! I DID IT! YES! HARRY GET UP! OUR O.W.L. RESULTS ARE HERE!" Harry froze; he had completely forgotten about the O.W.L. results! He shot straight out of bed and ran downstairs, ignoring the ghoul banging on the pipes, and found Ron clutching two envelopes, one of which had already been hastily torn open. "Harry here quick open yours!" he cried, shoving the other envelope into his hand. Harry slit it open quickly, then shut his eyes as he pulled out the piece of parchment; if he didn't pass the right ones, if he didn't get them, he wouldn't be an Auror...
He looked down at the parchment...then screamed with happiness.
Defense Against the Dark Arts : Outstanding
Potions : Outstanding
Charms : Outstanding
Transfiguration : Outstanding
Divination : Acceptable
Care of Magical Creatures : Outstanding
Astronomy : Exceeds Expectations
History of Magic : Acceptable
Herbology : Outstanding
"Ron! RON! I've made it! I'm on my way to becoming an AUROR!" shouted Harry. "Me too!" cried Ron, "I got five Outstandings! It's unbelievable! We made it!" They jumped about and cheered for quite some time, and then Ginny brought down her own personal stash of Honeydukes chocolate, and they celebrated happily despite the fact that it was still early in the morning and they were gorging themselves with sweets.
"Wait till Hermione gets here, her envelope is here too!" said Ron, "I wonder what she got?" "Probably 'Knows Everything' on all of them," said Ginny wryly, and they all laughed. "Harry, I've just thought of something wonderful," said Ron with a grin. "What's that?" asked Harry. His grin grew even wider, "NO MORE DIVINATION!" They both screamed with laughter and delight, and Ginny frowned at them, "I can't wait till my sixth year so I can quit Divination. What a fraud of a subject..."
Quite suddenly the front door opened, and in strode Mr. Weasley with Hermione, "Hullo!" she said, then noticed the celebration. She gasped, "The O.W.L. results...! They're in?!" Ron threw her envelope to her and she ripped it open with the savagery of a person who hasn't eaten in days. Her eyes ran across the paper at lightning speed, and she said, "Well...I expected that to be a little better." Ron and Harry exchanged glances, then got up to see what was wrong. Her eyes began to tear, "I thought I'd do a little better than this..."
Defense Against the Dark Arts : Outstanding
Potions : Outstanding
Charms : Outstanding
Transfiguration : Outstanding
Arithmancy : Exceeds Expectations
Care of Magical Creatures : Outstanding
Astronomy : Outstanding
History of Magic : Outstanding
Herbology : Outstanding
Ancient Runes : Outstanding
Her lips puckered with welled up emotion, "I thought...I thought..." Ron and Harry gaped, "What's the problem?" "I thought I did so much better than that on my Arithmancy exam. I studied two hours a night for months!" She began to sob a little, and although Harry understood Hermione's need to be...well...Outstanding, Ron on the other hand, grew red in the face. "You...are...complaining...when...I...got...this?!" he hissed, his fist shaking as he clutched his paper. "Hang on then," said Harry, "what did you get?"
Ron passed him his paper as he continued to fume at Hermione, who could only say, "Well I'm sorry Ron, but I just thought I was better than that..." Harry looked down at Ron's parchment.
Defense Against the Dark Arts : Outstanding
Potions : Acceptable
Charms : Outstanding
Transfiguration : Outstanding
Divination : Acceptable
Care of Magical Creatures : Outstanding
Astronomy : Acceptable
History of Magic : Acceptable
Herbology : Outstanding
"Not too bad Ron," said Harry, "I mean, five O.W.L.s is pretty darn good when you look at it." "O.W.L.s in eh?" said Mr. Weasley, who had been putting away his cloak, "Well let's see them then Ron." He looked down at the parchment and lit up, "Very good Ron! Five O.W.L.s! Not bad at all! Your mother will enjoy this quite a bit! Could work on the other subjects a bit though, but all in all a job well done! I know you studied hard!" He patted Ron on the back happily as he went upstairs to show them to Mrs. Weasley. "See Ron? You're fine," said Hermione, "But I...I..."
"Now Ron, calm down," said Harry, picking up on his rage. "She-she- she's COMPLAINING!" snarled Ron, "ABOUT NINE O.W.L.S! I-I-I...!" "Ron it's just a personal thing I'm sorry!" said Hermione. "Ah, just let it go Hermione," said Harry, "how about some breakfast? Anybody? Come on Ron let's go eat," he said hastily, trying to push him toward the kitchen.
"Ronald Weasley!" shouted a voice from upstairs. Ron froze, "Uh-oh." Mrs. Weasley came running downstairs, and at first Harry thought Ron was a goner, but then... "Oh congratulations Ronald! This is wonderful news! Five O.W.L.s! Terrific! Bill and Charlie will be so pleased! Fred and George, on the other hand..." she trailed off. "And Percy! He'll want a word with you too!" she said. Harry let out a sigh of relief; luckily Percy had made up with his at one time estranged parents over the summer, and they were now on speaking terms once again...although Harry still thought him a git.
"And Harry dear, how did you do?" she asked. "Oh. Ah...here you are," he said, handing her the sheet of parchment. "Six O.W.L.s! Harry this is wonderful! You're more than well on your way to becoming an Auror! Now you boys understand the importance of studying, don't you?" she said rhetorically. They both nodded. "Just you wait till your N.E.W.T.s! That's even more studying!" she said, bustling off to begin cooking breakfast. They both rolled their eyes; the last thing they wanted to do was more studying.
Hermione and Ginny entered the kitchen a few minutes later, once Hermione had managed to dry her face a bit. "Hermione darling! How are you? Was your trip here good?" Hermione nodded glumly. "What's the matter dear?" asked Mrs. Weasley, setting a large heaping plate of food in front of her. Hermione only picked at it morosely, "Nothing..." "She's upset mum," said Ron with eyes of slitted anger, "because she got nine O.W.L.s instead of ten." And with that, he shoveled his food into his mouth, staring at her with rage. Mrs. Weasley seemed confused, "Nine? I don't understand. What's the problem?"
"Why don't you ask Ron!" burst Hermione, "Since he clearly seems fit to judge me!" And with that, she stormed upstairs to Ginny's room, where presumably she cried some more. Ron dropped his fork to his plate with a clatter, "UGH! I HATE girls!" Ginny merely gave him a look of discontent, then took her orange upstairs to eat in the company of Hermione.
"Way to go Ron," said Harry, "you managed to clear the kitchen of girls in the space of ten seconds." "Ah, who needs 'em!" he snorted. "Well in that case," said Mrs. Weasley, "clean the kitchen yourselves!" and she went outside to pick potatoes.
This time it was Harry's turn to slam his fork down onto his plate and stare at Ron with venom. Ron smiled at him nervously, "Ah...yes...well...just kidding?"
It was early afternoon and the summer was buzzing with heat and insects; Harry and Ron were De-Gnoming the garden, and comparing throws when they heard two distinct pops. "Fred! George!" said Harry happily. "Hi Harry, good day to you!" said Fred, dressed in a rather bright suit of solid red; George, in turn, was dressed in a suit of solid blue, with the opposing color as their ties. "How goes the simple life?" asked George, looking at his nails off-handedly. "Not so bad," said Harry, "how's the joke shop?" They grinned at each other, "Well Harry, that's what we came to talk to you about," said George.
Fred came over and put a friendly arm around him, "You see, we figured since you are the main reason why we have our joke shop, what with your funding and all that, that you should perhaps have a small cut of our profits. You know, enough to make up for what you've done for us." "More like I should be doing you a favor," said Harry, "after that stunt you pulled to distract Umbridge last year." For a second he reflected humorously on the swamp they had produced; it was still a piece of Hogwarts legend. "Aw, that was nothing compared to what we really wanted to do," said George, "but anyway, seeing as how kind you've been to us, we thought we'd repay you."
Ron glanced at them both curiously, "How's that?" "Well, not that it's your business little brother," said George, producing a large sack, "but we're repaying Harry the one thousand Galleons he gave us." "Listen, George, Fred, I don't need one thousand Galleons, you keep it, it's yours..." said Harry, gesturing at them. Fred grinned at George, who grinned back, "Should we tell him how much money we're making a month?" Ron and Harry exchanged glances, "How much?" George pulled out his wand and drew the number 20,000 in the air, where it hung sparkling for a few seconds until it disappeared. "TWENTY THOUSAND GALLEONS?!" screamed Ron, "I DON'T BELIEVE IT!"
Fred and George nodded; now Harry understood where the money for those suits had come from. "Well see here now Fred, George, I mean that's bloody unbelievable, but I don't want your money!" said Harry. Fred sighed, "Harry, don't be a stubborn git; just take the money and have done with it." Harry suddenly straightened, "Okay." George handed Harry the bag, who promptly shoved it into Ron's hands. Ron's eyes grew wide as dinner plates, "Harry, I can't-" "Not only can you but WILL you," said Harry. He bent closer, "Ron, I don't need it, so just do me the favor and get rid of it for me, right? Or better yet, go buy some Chudley Cannons robes or something. Or even better still..." he grinned, "...a Firebolt." Ron's eyes grew even wider, if that's possible, and he nodded slowly, a dreamy look in his eyes, "A Firebolt..." George grunted his dissatisfaction, "Well...I suppose it is his money to give to whomever he wants eh Fred?" "I s'pose," said Fred, re-inspecting his nails. "So," said Harry, "since you're making all this money...what's next for the great Weasley twins?" he quipped with a grin. "Well," said Fred, "we're opening up a second shop. George'll run the one in Diagon Alley and I'll take the one in Hogsmeade." "Oh brother, you'll be in Hogsmeade?!" said Harry, "Then we can visit you on trips from Hogwarts!" "You'll give Zonko's a run for their money," said Ron with a grin, "the students will only buy from you guys after what happened last year!" Fred and George smiled, "We know."
The next morning Harry was awakened by the sound of Ron shouting, "I did it! I DID IT! YES! HARRY GET UP! OUR O.W.L. RESULTS ARE HERE!" Harry froze; he had completely forgotten about the O.W.L. results! He shot straight out of bed and ran downstairs, ignoring the ghoul banging on the pipes, and found Ron clutching two envelopes, one of which had already been hastily torn open. "Harry here quick open yours!" he cried, shoving the other envelope into his hand. Harry slit it open quickly, then shut his eyes as he pulled out the piece of parchment; if he didn't pass the right ones, if he didn't get them, he wouldn't be an Auror...
He looked down at the parchment...then screamed with happiness.
Defense Against the Dark Arts : Outstanding
Potions : Outstanding
Charms : Outstanding
Transfiguration : Outstanding
Divination : Acceptable
Care of Magical Creatures : Outstanding
Astronomy : Exceeds Expectations
History of Magic : Acceptable
Herbology : Outstanding
"Ron! RON! I've made it! I'm on my way to becoming an AUROR!" shouted Harry. "Me too!" cried Ron, "I got five Outstandings! It's unbelievable! We made it!" They jumped about and cheered for quite some time, and then Ginny brought down her own personal stash of Honeydukes chocolate, and they celebrated happily despite the fact that it was still early in the morning and they were gorging themselves with sweets.
"Wait till Hermione gets here, her envelope is here too!" said Ron, "I wonder what she got?" "Probably 'Knows Everything' on all of them," said Ginny wryly, and they all laughed. "Harry, I've just thought of something wonderful," said Ron with a grin. "What's that?" asked Harry. His grin grew even wider, "NO MORE DIVINATION!" They both screamed with laughter and delight, and Ginny frowned at them, "I can't wait till my sixth year so I can quit Divination. What a fraud of a subject..."
Quite suddenly the front door opened, and in strode Mr. Weasley with Hermione, "Hullo!" she said, then noticed the celebration. She gasped, "The O.W.L. results...! They're in?!" Ron threw her envelope to her and she ripped it open with the savagery of a person who hasn't eaten in days. Her eyes ran across the paper at lightning speed, and she said, "Well...I expected that to be a little better." Ron and Harry exchanged glances, then got up to see what was wrong. Her eyes began to tear, "I thought I'd do a little better than this..."
Defense Against the Dark Arts : Outstanding
Potions : Outstanding
Charms : Outstanding
Transfiguration : Outstanding
Arithmancy : Exceeds Expectations
Care of Magical Creatures : Outstanding
Astronomy : Outstanding
History of Magic : Outstanding
Herbology : Outstanding
Ancient Runes : Outstanding
Her lips puckered with welled up emotion, "I thought...I thought..." Ron and Harry gaped, "What's the problem?" "I thought I did so much better than that on my Arithmancy exam. I studied two hours a night for months!" She began to sob a little, and although Harry understood Hermione's need to be...well...Outstanding, Ron on the other hand, grew red in the face. "You...are...complaining...when...I...got...this?!" he hissed, his fist shaking as he clutched his paper. "Hang on then," said Harry, "what did you get?"
Ron passed him his paper as he continued to fume at Hermione, who could only say, "Well I'm sorry Ron, but I just thought I was better than that..." Harry looked down at Ron's parchment.
Defense Against the Dark Arts : Outstanding
Potions : Acceptable
Charms : Outstanding
Transfiguration : Outstanding
Divination : Acceptable
Care of Magical Creatures : Outstanding
Astronomy : Acceptable
History of Magic : Acceptable
Herbology : Outstanding
"Not too bad Ron," said Harry, "I mean, five O.W.L.s is pretty darn good when you look at it." "O.W.L.s in eh?" said Mr. Weasley, who had been putting away his cloak, "Well let's see them then Ron." He looked down at the parchment and lit up, "Very good Ron! Five O.W.L.s! Not bad at all! Your mother will enjoy this quite a bit! Could work on the other subjects a bit though, but all in all a job well done! I know you studied hard!" He patted Ron on the back happily as he went upstairs to show them to Mrs. Weasley. "See Ron? You're fine," said Hermione, "But I...I..."
"Now Ron, calm down," said Harry, picking up on his rage. "She-she- she's COMPLAINING!" snarled Ron, "ABOUT NINE O.W.L.S! I-I-I...!" "Ron it's just a personal thing I'm sorry!" said Hermione. "Ah, just let it go Hermione," said Harry, "how about some breakfast? Anybody? Come on Ron let's go eat," he said hastily, trying to push him toward the kitchen.
"Ronald Weasley!" shouted a voice from upstairs. Ron froze, "Uh-oh." Mrs. Weasley came running downstairs, and at first Harry thought Ron was a goner, but then... "Oh congratulations Ronald! This is wonderful news! Five O.W.L.s! Terrific! Bill and Charlie will be so pleased! Fred and George, on the other hand..." she trailed off. "And Percy! He'll want a word with you too!" she said. Harry let out a sigh of relief; luckily Percy had made up with his at one time estranged parents over the summer, and they were now on speaking terms once again...although Harry still thought him a git.
"And Harry dear, how did you do?" she asked. "Oh. Ah...here you are," he said, handing her the sheet of parchment. "Six O.W.L.s! Harry this is wonderful! You're more than well on your way to becoming an Auror! Now you boys understand the importance of studying, don't you?" she said rhetorically. They both nodded. "Just you wait till your N.E.W.T.s! That's even more studying!" she said, bustling off to begin cooking breakfast. They both rolled their eyes; the last thing they wanted to do was more studying.
Hermione and Ginny entered the kitchen a few minutes later, once Hermione had managed to dry her face a bit. "Hermione darling! How are you? Was your trip here good?" Hermione nodded glumly. "What's the matter dear?" asked Mrs. Weasley, setting a large heaping plate of food in front of her. Hermione only picked at it morosely, "Nothing..." "She's upset mum," said Ron with eyes of slitted anger, "because she got nine O.W.L.s instead of ten." And with that, he shoveled his food into his mouth, staring at her with rage. Mrs. Weasley seemed confused, "Nine? I don't understand. What's the problem?"
"Why don't you ask Ron!" burst Hermione, "Since he clearly seems fit to judge me!" And with that, she stormed upstairs to Ginny's room, where presumably she cried some more. Ron dropped his fork to his plate with a clatter, "UGH! I HATE girls!" Ginny merely gave him a look of discontent, then took her orange upstairs to eat in the company of Hermione.
"Way to go Ron," said Harry, "you managed to clear the kitchen of girls in the space of ten seconds." "Ah, who needs 'em!" he snorted. "Well in that case," said Mrs. Weasley, "clean the kitchen yourselves!" and she went outside to pick potatoes.
This time it was Harry's turn to slam his fork down onto his plate and stare at Ron with venom. Ron smiled at him nervously, "Ah...yes...well...just kidding?"
It was early afternoon and the summer was buzzing with heat and insects; Harry and Ron were De-Gnoming the garden, and comparing throws when they heard two distinct pops. "Fred! George!" said Harry happily. "Hi Harry, good day to you!" said Fred, dressed in a rather bright suit of solid red; George, in turn, was dressed in a suit of solid blue, with the opposing color as their ties. "How goes the simple life?" asked George, looking at his nails off-handedly. "Not so bad," said Harry, "how's the joke shop?" They grinned at each other, "Well Harry, that's what we came to talk to you about," said George.
Fred came over and put a friendly arm around him, "You see, we figured since you are the main reason why we have our joke shop, what with your funding and all that, that you should perhaps have a small cut of our profits. You know, enough to make up for what you've done for us." "More like I should be doing you a favor," said Harry, "after that stunt you pulled to distract Umbridge last year." For a second he reflected humorously on the swamp they had produced; it was still a piece of Hogwarts legend. "Aw, that was nothing compared to what we really wanted to do," said George, "but anyway, seeing as how kind you've been to us, we thought we'd repay you."
Ron glanced at them both curiously, "How's that?" "Well, not that it's your business little brother," said George, producing a large sack, "but we're repaying Harry the one thousand Galleons he gave us." "Listen, George, Fred, I don't need one thousand Galleons, you keep it, it's yours..." said Harry, gesturing at them. Fred grinned at George, who grinned back, "Should we tell him how much money we're making a month?" Ron and Harry exchanged glances, "How much?" George pulled out his wand and drew the number 20,000 in the air, where it hung sparkling for a few seconds until it disappeared. "TWENTY THOUSAND GALLEONS?!" screamed Ron, "I DON'T BELIEVE IT!"
Fred and George nodded; now Harry understood where the money for those suits had come from. "Well see here now Fred, George, I mean that's bloody unbelievable, but I don't want your money!" said Harry. Fred sighed, "Harry, don't be a stubborn git; just take the money and have done with it." Harry suddenly straightened, "Okay." George handed Harry the bag, who promptly shoved it into Ron's hands. Ron's eyes grew wide as dinner plates, "Harry, I can't-" "Not only can you but WILL you," said Harry. He bent closer, "Ron, I don't need it, so just do me the favor and get rid of it for me, right? Or better yet, go buy some Chudley Cannons robes or something. Or even better still..." he grinned, "...a Firebolt." Ron's eyes grew even wider, if that's possible, and he nodded slowly, a dreamy look in his eyes, "A Firebolt..." George grunted his dissatisfaction, "Well...I suppose it is his money to give to whomever he wants eh Fred?" "I s'pose," said Fred, re-inspecting his nails. "So," said Harry, "since you're making all this money...what's next for the great Weasley twins?" he quipped with a grin. "Well," said Fred, "we're opening up a second shop. George'll run the one in Diagon Alley and I'll take the one in Hogsmeade." "Oh brother, you'll be in Hogsmeade?!" said Harry, "Then we can visit you on trips from Hogwarts!" "You'll give Zonko's a run for their money," said Ron with a grin, "the students will only buy from you guys after what happened last year!" Fred and George smiled, "We know."