Chapter 13: Early NEWTs

Hermione was holed up in her room the rest of the week studying franticly for her NEWTs. She had all her meals sent to her room so that she wouldn't have to face the wrath of Mrs. Weasley who was still entirely upset with all her children. Even Bill had not escaped her, she yelled at him for over an hour on how he should have had more control over his siblings.

"Winky has message for you," the timid house elf said as she handed Hermione a letter. "I is to bring your lunch here again?"

"Yes please Winky, I only have the rest of the day to study before I start my tests tomorrow. Thank you for taking such good care of me." Hermione told her. Winky just blushed before disappearing. Hermione opened the letter and was surprised to see it was a note from Oliver. She figured he must have given it to Harry at their last practice instead of bothering with an owl. She wondered what he had to say today as it seemed like a short note instead of one of his long letters.

My Dearest Hermione:

I hope your studies are going well. I heard from X that you haven't left your room since the game. I know you'll do fine on your NEWTs. You are the smartest witch I have ever known and had some of the highest OWLs ever. I hope we will be able to get together again soon. I had a fun time on Wednesday and I miss seeing your beautiful face already. X told me about the fallout after the party. I'm glad you were spared that humiliation. I will see you at the next match.

Affectionately Yours,

Oliver

Hermione just shook her head. Affectionately yours was such a fake sentiment, he would have been better off with no salutation and just signing his name. In fact the whole letter reeked of fake sentiment and she wondered why he even bothered. She set the note to the side and picked her history of magic notes back up. She had finished reading all but her first year notes in all her subjects and was happy that she was almost finished. As much as she enjoyed studying she would be glad to have some of the exams over with.

"Don't worry about it, you'll do brilliantly like always," Harry tried to reassure his friend Monday morning. "You could have taken all of those NEWTs and passed with top marks even before your solid week of review. There is nothing to worry about."

"Thanks Harry," Hermione said with a smile. "I know that I'm ready but you know how much I want to have top marks. What if I missed something important that I would have learned in 7th year?"

"Hermione, you read the entire collection of 7th year books back in 4th year. I think you've got it all covered. You haven't really been learning anything new in classes since then." Ginny reminded her friend before she went into a panic attack.

"You'll do just fine Hermione," Remus told her. "You're the smartest and cleverest witch of the age, we all know it."

"Yes, a modern day Rowena Ravenclaw, there is nothing to be nervous about." Snape told her as he joined them in the kitchen. "Besides, if you are not satisfied with your marks you can retake the exams at the end of the year with the rest of your class."

"See, there is nothing to stress about since there is nothing to loose," Tonks added. She had always thought it odd how much Hermione valued grades. "Besides, in the real world it's not about what marks you received, it's about how well you use that knowledge."

"You all are right, and I know all that, but I'm still nervous," Hermione admitted. "I want to be able to help the Order out this year and the only way to do that is to get these exams out of the way. I guess I'm just scared that I won't do well and will be letting the Order and Professor Dumbledore down."

"Nonsense my dear," Dumbledore said surprising them all by entering the kitchen. "You could never let me down as long as you try your best. Now hurry up and finish your breakfast. We'll be using a port-key to get to Hogwarts this morning."

Snape approached the headmaster as soon as the kids had all hurried after their friend. "Why the need for a port-key Albus?" he asked warily. "We were just going to use the floo to your office."

"Yes, I'm afraid our examiner is the talkative kind and the rumor that Hermione is taking some of her NEWTs early got out. I don't want to take the risk of someone watching the floo and glimpsing Headquarters." Albus told him.

"We should just apparate then since a port-key can also be traced back here." Snape reminded him.

"Yes, we will apparate to park near the Granger home and we will port-key from there to make it look like we retrieved her from home." Albus said with his ever present twinkle.

Hermione was finishing up packing her bag for the next few days when two OWLs swooped in with packages for her. The boys said their good-byes and headed off for work/practice leaving the three girls alone. Her first package was from Oliver and was a new ink and quill set. She laughed as she looked at the plaque on the quill holder. It read 'World's Smartest Witch: Hermione Granger.' She showed it to the other girls and they were still chuckling as she opened the other box. She didn't recognize the handwriting or the owl that dropped it off. Inside was a beautiful glass rose attached to a hair pin. It looked exactly like a fire and ice rose, which were her favorite, and was charmed to smell like a rose as well.

"It's beautiful," Hermione said with a smile, "But who would send me such a thing and why?" Ginny just grinned at her friend since she knew the handwriting and went to put the rose in Hermione's hair while Gabrielle dug further into the box and found a note.

Gabrielle handed her the note as they heard Snape call up that it was time for Hermione to leave. "Good luck, even though I know you don't need it." She said as she hugged her friend. Ginny hugged her as well and they hurried her to the front door so she wouldn't be late.

They arrived at Hogwarts before the examiner and she was lead into a seldom used classroom off of the main hall where she would be taking her exams. They had agreed that it seemed frivolous to use the great hall for only one exam. She decided to read the note Gabrielle had found in the box while she waited for the examiner.

Hermione,

I know how much your exams mean to you and I hope you do as well as you would like. I have no doubts that you will do brilliantly. The rose is charmed with a very fait calming charm to help you relax and focus on your exams. Although I know you don't need it, I wish you the best of luck on your NEWTs.

Your Friend,

Charlie W.

Hermione was stunned for a second and then remembered how unlike Ron his brother was and smiled. The calming charm was definitely helping and she was grateful for his support. She smiled at the thought of what Ron would say when she told him her brother sent her a rose when he never gave her flowers the entire time they dated. She was still smiling when Albus and Snape came in with the examiner.

"How do you think Hermione is doing?" Ron asked at dinner that night. "It's weird not having her here."

"You aren't the only one missing her Ron," Ginny said with a grin that showed she knew something that everyone else didn't.

"What are you hiding Red?" Draco asked recognizing the grin.

"Is this about the rose she was sent this morning?" Gabrielle asked catching on.

"What rose? Who sent her a rose?" Ron asked curiously, "I though Oliver sent her a quill set."

"He did send her a quill set," Ginny said her grin getting even bigger. "Someone else sent her a rose. A very nice rose actually."

"Hermione's got a secret admirer?" Harry asked his girlfriend. "Did she tell you who sent it?"

"She didn't have time to read the note before she had to leave, but I know who it was from," Ginny said enjoying herself now, especially since Ron looked ready to kill.

"Everyone knows she is with Oliver so why would someone send her something so romantic?" Neville asked.

"Perhaps they meant it as a friendly gesture only?" Charlie asked trying to school his face to look impassive.

"Friendly gestures don't include charmed glass roses in the shape and coloring of her favorite flower. Whoever sent it may have wanted it to look like a friendly gesture but no guy would come up with such a gift if they didn't harbor some more-than-friendly feelings for her." Gabrielle told them all.

"How do you know who sent it Ginny?" Harry asked, his curiosity getting the better of him.

She was saved from having to lie to everyone when Charlie spoke up again, "She's a seer, how else would you think she knows?"

"I keep forgetting about that," Ron said with a shrug. "So do you think she likes this bloke? I thought she was happy with Oliver."

"I can't believe we are sitting her discussing Granger's love life, we are so pathetic," Draco drawled just to remind them all that he was above such things.

"Oh shut up," Gabrielle said playfully to him. "I wouldn't rule anything out with this new admirer and Hermione. I know she's not serious about Oliver. She's told us girls that she knows it would never work between them since he is so into Quidditch. Besides, she needs someone older and more mature; anyone that was at Hogwarts when you were there isn't going to be mature enough for her."

"So you're saying I wasn't mature enough for her?" Ron said in a huff.

"Of course you weren't Ronald," Ginny scolded her brother. "Hermione is too smart to get stuck with the likes of you. She needs someone smart and mature as well as easy to talk to. She needs someone who will respect her intelligence and not be upset that she will most likely have a more prestigious career than he does."

"So does this new guy meet the requirements?" Charlie asked his sister, not entirely hiding the hope in his voice.

"I'm not sure, she might have problems with thinking of him as anything other than a friend and I know she wouldn't even try to think that way while she's still seeing Oliver." Ginny told him with a small smile. "But if I were him, I wouldn't give up just yet. She didn't seem too happy with Oliver at the party."

"I thought she was going to hex him if he tried taking her shirt off one more time," Charlie said with a chuckle to hide the fact that he was extremely jealous. "He's lucky all she did was sent him through the floo."

"Speaking of that party, what all did you guys do to get in so much trouble?" Harry asked pretending like he didn't have first hand experience since there were a few who didn't know who X really was in the room. "I'd really like to know what Ginny did to get such a punishment since I wasn't even there."

"Well..." Gabrielle started not sure what to say, "I think that Xavier accidentally passed out in Ginny's room and Mrs. Weasley took it the wrong way."

"Xavier, as in the Quidditch player who took my spot on the team?" Harry asked pretending to be upset since it was fun to egg them all on.

"The very one mate," Draco said with a nod. "He seems to be fond of Red."

"Draco Malfoy, what are you on about. X and I are friends just like you and he are friends, nothing more. He just keeps me company since you can't go out with us Harry. He is a very nice guy to look out for me like that." Ginny said with a frown, she didn't like the train of this conversation.

"Then what was that about kissing a professional Quidditch player thing about?" Fred asked knowing he would pay for it later with the furious expression on her face. He just had to know that there wasn't anything going on behind Harry's back. Even if Ginny was his sister, Harry was his friend and didn't deserve to be cheated on.

"I have never, ever cheated on Harry and I never will. There is nothing going on between Xavier and I that Harry is not aware of. So just drop it before I get really upset and start hexing everyone!" Ginny yelled and didn't calm down until Harry pulled her into his lap.

"I trust you Gin and I know you'd never cheat on me. I love you," He said and kissed her. The rest of the group just shrugged since they knew that Harry could tell if someone was lying.

Hermione had a very tiring three days taking her 7 NEWTs. She had decided to take the Herbologry and Arithmacy exams and see how well she did. The other 5 were the ones she had studied the most for since they were the ones she wanted to get out of the way. She had taken History of Magic, Muggle Studies, Ancient Runes and Astronomy on Monday. She then had both the written and practical exams for Care of Magical Creatures and the Herbologry written exam on Tuesday. She then took the Arithmacy exam and the Herbologry practical on Wednesday. She was done by noon on Wednesday and spent the rest of the day down in the potions lab with Severus. The examiner promised to have her results to her at dinner and she was grateful for the distraction Snape was offering her. She knew if left to her own devices she would be going over all her notes trying to see if she got any of the answers wrong and literally driving herself mad.

"That is an interesting hair piece you have there," Severus told her. "The claming charm on it is almost too faint to notice."

"Yes, I thought it was a nice touch. A friend sent it to me for good luck for the exams. It's a glass fire and ice rose, my favorite." She told him with a smile.

"That was very thoughtful of Mr. Wood to send you such a gift," Severus told her.

"It wasn't from Oliver. He sent me a new ink and quill set with a plaque that declares me the world's smartest witch." She told him rolling her eyes. "The more time I spend with him, the more similarities I find between him and Ron, it's very disturbing."

"I could imagine," Snape said with his usual sarcastic drawl. "Who is the new admirer then if I may?"

"No admirer, just a friend." Hermione said evasively. "I was thinking of taking a walk around the lake, would you like to join me? I miss the sunshine being holed up in headquarters." He offered her his arm and they headed for the lake for a stroll before dinner and her NEWT results.

Hermione was trembling as she held her results in her hands. She couldn't bring herself to open the envelope and could hear Albus chuckling at her unease. The examiner had finished dining and handed her the results before hurrying back to the ministry for some reason or other. "Open it dear girl, the results will not change," Albus said gently.

She was shaking too much to open the envelope by that point and turned to Snape. "Severus, could you please?" She asked with a pleading tone to her voice. He nodded and took the envelope from her opening it swiftly and removing the results. She was getting nervous by his lack of response to the marks. She hated how he could keep his face devoid of expression! After waiting a significant amount of time he handed them to her with a smirk so she knew he was toying with her. "Ugh, you insufferable bat, I am a nervous wreck and you are not helping!" She told him and turned to her results as the two men laughed. She was speechless as she saw her results:

Ancient Runes: O

Arithmacy: O

Astronomy: O

Care of Magical Creatures: O

Herbologry: O

History of Magic: O

Muggle Studies: O

"Congratulations Hermione on your prefect exam results," Severus said to her with a rarely seen smile. "I had every confidence in your abilities to pass with top marks."

"You should be proud of yourself," Albus told her. "There has only ever been one other student to achieve perfect scores in 7 of their NEWTs and you have now tied them before you even take your 4 remaining exams."

"You mean I did it? I got the highest scores ever?" She asked them, tears welling in her eyes.

"Yes, my dear you did," Albus told her and gave her a hug.

"No witch has ever scored so high, you truly are the smartest witch of the age," Severus told her and was shocked when she threw her arms around his neck in a hug. There were very few people who touched him willingly.

"This is the best day ever, I have tied the highest score ever and I still have the chance to beat it. Plus I'll have plenty of time for research and prefect duties!" She said grinning and tucked into a second desert, she figured she had earned it after all. "I can't wait to get back and tell everyone!"

"Come, you silly little girl, and we will head back to headquarters so you can tell all your friends your news," Severus said offering his arm again. Albus just chuckled and wondered if the two of them had noticed they had turned 'silly little girl' and 'insufferable bat' into terms of endearment.

Hermione rushed into the kitchen hoping to find her friends and was shocked to see every other member of the order in attendance; even Dumbledore had beaten them back. "Congratulations!" they all cheered as she hurried into the room. She was speechless once again that they would have gone to all that trouble for her.

"Three cheers for Hermione Granger, smartest witch of the age!" Remus Lupin cheered and everyone joined in making her blush.

"I wish everyone would stop calling me that," she said even though they all new she actually liked it.

"Nonsense, you're stuck with it now. No one can dispute it either. In fact, I'd wager a guess that you may be cleverer than Ravenclaw herself!" McGonagall said beaming at her favorite student.

The impromptu order meeting was not as near the somber event they normally were and everyone came up to give Hermione their best before they left. Nothing new was happening with the war and they were all aware it was just the calm before the storm.

"Thanks for this guys," Hermione said once the majority of the order had left or gone to bed. It was just the Weasley kids, Draco, Gabrielle, Neville and her left.

"We're so proud of you Hermione," Harry said giving her a kiss on the cheek.

"Yeah, but who's going to help us with out Herbologry homework now?" Ron teased her.

"You'll just have to get Neville to help you now," she said causing Neville to blush.

"So what were the NEWTs like?" George asked, he was curious since they had dropped out before the exams.

"They are a lot like the OWLs just with more information and harder questions. The format is basically the same." She told them. "Oh, Charlie, thanks for the rose, the calming charm really helped me keep my focus." She said and gave him a peck on the cheek before excusing herself to bed. "They don't call them the Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Tests for nothing!" She joked and headed upstairs.

"You send the rose?" Ron asked rounding on his brother, "How come you didn't tell us when we were asking?"

"It was more fun to hear you rant and rave," Charlie said with a chuckle.

"But why did you send it to her?" George asked wagging his eyebrows. "I thought you said nothing happened that night of the party."

"Nothing inappropriate happened," Charlie confirmed. "She and I have just gotten to be better friends and I remembered how stressed I was with my NEWTs and knew she could use something to help calm her."

"So you sent a rose?" Draco asked with a smirk. "Why not something less romantic?"

"It was a rose since that is her favorite flower. Had she liked daisies or lilies it would have been one of them. I couldn't think of anything except a flower to put on the hair pin. My creativity is not that of my darling little sisters." Charlie told them.

"Sure," Bill said with a smirk. "We've all seen how you act around her. You fancy her, it's plain to see."

"I am going to bed, I'll see the rest of you crazy people in the morning," Charlie said leaving without denying the comment.

"Well, he is older and more mature," Gabrielle commented to the group.

"But he lives in Romania! How would a relationship like that work?" Ron argued.

"She still keeps in touch with Victor Krum and they are just friends. I'm sure if she was so inclined they could keep in touch," Ginny told them. "I just don't think she thinks of him as anything other than a friend. Hopefully Charlie won't get his heart broken."

"He's a big boy, he can handle it." Bill reassured his baby sister. "Now, let's get to bed, we have to be up early tomorrow for the game!"