A/N: I'm sorry for the shortness of this chapter. It was originally longer, but it won't fit together right and I feel bad about holding it hostage any longer. So here you go. The next one should be out (hopefully) in the next week.

And thanks to all of my reviewers. My computer is being screwy as usual, so I don't have all your names on you, but your reviews mean a lot to me. Happy reading!


CH25: The Pains of Final Exams

As the group continues to discuss what to do, Harry was lost in his own thoughts, the part he hadn't mentioned. Why had Firenze called him 'my Lord'?

It seemed another talk with Albus might be in order.

Unfortunately, that was easier said than done.

Harry rubbed his forehead in frustration as he headed down the stairs from Albus' office. It was empty. Again.

The Headmaster had been disappearing quite often on 'Ministry Business'. It was almost as if he knew that Harry wanted to have a talk with him.

'That can't be it,' Harry chided himself. 'Albus wouldn't hide from me.'

Right?


But Harry had a bigger worry than Albus Dumbledore's mysterious behavior and a more fearsome problem than the Dark Lord: End-of-the-Year exams were soon upon them.

No one knew how the teachers expected them to concentrate in the steaming hot classrooms, let alone pay enough attention to pass. But the heat didn't make the professors any more lenient.

Of course, these weren't exactly normal exams, once you got past the written part.

Professor Flitwick called them up one by one to see if they could make a pineapple tapdance across his desk. In Transfiguration, they had to turn a mouse into a snuff-box. You don't know how amusing it is to see a snuff-box climb up McGonagall leg ......

The worst, by far, was Potions where Snape breathed down their necks while they tried to remember how to make Forgetfulness potions. If only they could use some of that potion to forget the memory of the exam .....

Or for Harry to forget the stabbing pains he'd been experiencing in his forehead since his trip into the Forbidden Forest.

'It's a warning,' Harry decided one sleepless night. 'Something's coming. And I've got a feeling we're not going to like it.'


Voldemort was, for lack of a better term, bored. And impatient. They knew how to get in. They just needed the opportune moment ........

He gave a long-suffering sigh as he listened to Quirrell drone on, something about the quills being bewitched with Anti-Cheating Charms. 'If I have to listen to this voice any longer, I might just kill him', Voldemort mused. 'If only I didn't need the sniveling whelp so much ..... '

Although he loathed to admit it, the Dark Lord needed this weakling. But not for much longer. 'Soon,' he thought. 'Soon I will have my body back. Soon I will be back to my former glory, wreaking havoc on an trembling world.'

The sound of rustling parchment and writing reached his ears and he smirked. Ah, young, learning minds, able to be bent to his wishes. How many would he be able to control? And how many would be too foolish to accept his greatness? He reached out with his minds, scanning the thoughts of the students, marking their potential. Until he stopped cold.

That magic. The silver-tinged soul that swirled around you like a shield, that cut through you like a bitting wind. He hadn't felt that since ....

'Quirrell!'

'Ye-yes, my Lord?' the Professor though back feebly.

'That boy. The one sitting in the last row, next to the window. Who is he?'

'Evan Andrews.'

'Andrews.' A slow smile spread across Voldemort's face. 'Yes, I'll need to have a talk with this boy.'
Finally, it was over. After hours of answering pointless questions about Uric the Oddball and Gwendolen of Raul, they were free.

Draco let out a whoop as they walked down the corridor. "I can't believe we're done!"

Harry just grinned, but Hermione was fretting. "Oh, I do hope I got 14 b right on the Charms exam. I read it over and over, but I'm not sure I answered it fully - "

"Relax, Hermione. There's nothing you can do about it now." As the girl continued muttering under her breath, Draco mouthed 'What a nutter' to his best friend and pulled a face. Hermione's head snapped up.

"I saw that, Draco!" She pulled out her wand. "And you better hope I got 14 b wrong because I fully intend to use it on you right now!" Draco gulped and ducked behind a laughing a Harry.

"I was just kidding!" he said defensively, before quickly changing the subject. "Let's go out by the lake. Cho and the Twins said they'd meet us there after they finished their Potions exam."

"Which could be ages," said Harry, still chuckling. "And I need to go see if I can catch up with Albus."

"What is it that you need to talk to him about so badly?"

"Nothing," he responded automatically. Seeing the looks his friends were exchanging, he added, "Well, it's probably nothing. I'll tell you as soon as I find out."

"Alright."

"See you, Andy."

Harry whistled a random tune as he turned the corner towards the Headmaster's office. Then the world went black.