The Weddings
Harry ensured Hope got her monthly off every month, even when he was at Hogwarts. He also made sure Hope had a comfortable bed, bedsheets, and pillows to sleep in.
On the day Harry returned from Hogwarts itself, Harry needed to ask some questions. "Dan Granger. Emma Granger. I hope you both are comfortable. Andromeda, I hope you're comfortable." Harry asked. The three of them nodded happily, "We are comfortable and feel safe here!"
"What about you, Tonks?" Harry looked at Tonks, who grinned. "All is well, Harry!"
"Fleur! I hope you're fine?" Harry asked a smiling Fleur who said, in her French accent, "Arry! Of course, I am doing good! Potter Manor is a beautiful place!"
"Audrey, I hope everything is fine here. And I hope it will remain the same for Aimee." Harry said.
"Don't you worry, Harry. Aimee and I are perfectly happy here. Aimee is taking some time to adjust, but she loves it here."Audrey assured him.
Aimee Jones had insisted that she would prefer to share with Audrey Jones in her room at Potter Manor rather than have a separate room.
"Mrs. Weasley? Bill? Charlie (who was home for Christmas and the wedding)? Percy? Are you guys doing well here?" Harry asked. The four Weasleys assured him that they found the Manor enjoyable, relaxing, comforting, and beautiful!
"Remus, Sirius, I hope…" Harry began.
"Harry, we have lived here during James' time. We have always told Prongs that we love this place, and there is no place safer, cooler, and better than Potter Manor!" Remus and Sirius said in unison.
Relieved, Harry went to ask Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Fred, George, Dudley, and Aimee to make themselves comfortable. Sirius turned to Remus. "Moony, Little Prongslet is like Prongs and Lily!"
"Yeah, Padfoot! Look at how he makes sure everybody is comfortable and feels safe while here. Just like Lily and Prongs."
Now, the six Weasleys, one Dursley, one Delacour, the two Marauders, the two Tonks', the three Grangers, and the two Jones' lived in the East Wing of Potter Manor. Harry was happy to have seventeen people live with him and Hope.
Bill and Fleur shared one room, as did the Tonks'. Nymphadora Tonks would move in with Remus in his room after the wedding. The Weasley twins, Dan and Emma Granger, and Audrey and Aimee, shared rooms.
The days leading to Christmas and New Year were filled with fun. Hope cooked sumptuous meals, and everyone spent time getting to know each other. Kingsley Shacklebolt had taken to visiting Potter Manor every other day. However, he insisted that he wouldn't be staying the night. He was delighted to look around Potter Manor, and even excited at the prospect of Remus and Tonks' wedding. There were lavish preparations even though Tonks and Remus insisted they would like a very simplified wedding.
"My parents have written 100,000 Galleons in your name in their will, Moony. Either you accept that money, or you let me use the same amount for you and Tonks'." Harry insisted.
James and Lily's will had also mentioned that Padfoot gets one Galleon as per his request. Padfoot, on the other hand, had written off the entire Black estate, property, vault, and Number Four, Grimmauld Place in Harry Potter's name at Sirius Black's death. Harry didn't know that he inherited the Black fortune yet, though. Sirius wanted Harry to know when, and not if, Sirius Black died. Sirius knew he wouldn't live long, as there was a war going on. Harry knew only about inheriting the Potter fortune.
More than everything else, what nailed everything in Harry's opinion was the return of Rubeus Hagrid from the mission Albus Dumbledore had sent him and Olympe Maxime on! Hagrid told Harry, Ron, and Hermione about the failure of the mission given that another ain't killed the first leader and Death Eaters like Macnair were liked better than Hagrid or Maxime by that new giant.
Hagrid loved Potter Manor. Maxime, profusely apologizing, promised to visit Potter Manor some other time. "Yer Mum an' Dad live in Potter Manor, Harry!" Hagrid kept chirping. Even Dudley had grown comfortable around Hagird (pigs tail?) and Fred and George (Ton Tongue Toffee?) by now.
Five days before Christmas Day, the Longbottoms called in. Neville joined Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Dudley, Aimee, Audrey, Fleur, Bill, Charlie, Percy, the Weasley twins, and Luna, Angelina, and Alicia, who were visiting Potter Manor for the daytime.
Augusta Longbottom socialized with the Grangers, Mrs. Weasley, Mrs. Tonks, Nymphadora Tonks, Remus Lupin, and her cousin Sirius Black.
All in all, the two groups were always seen chatting and playing games, while the younger group even went on with taking turns riding brooms (Dudley with Harry, and Aimee with either Audrey or Ginny), and playing Quidditch (everyone in the group, even Neville and Luna played Quidditch, except Dudley and Aimee.) Aimee and Dudley would sit on the lawn and watch the others play. Luna and Neville enjoyed playing, even though they didn't make the Potter Manor teams, as the two teams were called.
Sometimes, Minerva, Albus, and Severus joined them all. Minerva would play Quidditch (she was the one who explained Quidditch to Dudley, and it was four days before Christmas Day. Aimee already knew about Quidditch). Albus would chuckle and take a well-deserved break, while Severus would glare down his hooked nose at everyone, five times so whenever he saw Harry, Sirius, and Remus.
Aimee was the same age as Ginny and Luna and had quickly become friends with them. Dudley, too, was friends with Neville just like he was friends with Hermione and the Weasleys. He was friends with Luna too, just like Aimee was friends with Neville, Harry, Hermione and the Weasleys. Dudley and Aimee also made friends with Sirius, Remus, and Tonks.
Snape made his presence very brief on each occasion he visited.
However, Harry found Snape one evening in December staring hungrily at Lily Potter's portrait. Snape's eyes were watering, and he kept muttering, "Always, Lily! Even if you married that Potter and gave birth to the Potter brat! I will continue to love you, and I'm so sorry I told the Dark Lord about the little of the prophecy I heard that made the Dark Lord hunt down you and James Potter and your son. I swear, I will protect young Potter with my life!"
Snape had wiped his eyes and arranged his face in his usual sneer and I-don't-care attitude as he stormed out of Potter Manor. However, Harry stood rooted to the spot as the words sunk in. Yes, he was still furious with Snape. But Snape was in love with Harry's mother? This was new information for him.
He slowly made his way back to his room and opened, for the first time, the box labeled 'Evans — Lily' that he had taken from Privet Drive back in August.
There were a few photos of the same two girls. One of the photos had them aged no less than eight, while another had one of the girls being eleven and the other slightly older, and a third photo had Lily and James posing next to Petunia and Vernon with the photo dated, "January 1, 1979".
Harry took out this photo and pocketed it. He would later charm it into two so that he could give one of the copies to Dudley. He would ask Hermione for help.
He went to sleep that night with disturbing dreams of his mother and father from that photo being engulfed in a burst of green light, and screams of "Lily, take Harry and go! It is him!" and "No, not Harry! Kill me instead!"
Ginny obviously had sensed these emotions and nightmares. She grew increasingly worried until, at one point, she immediately got up from the chess game she was playing with Ron "You won, Ron! Good night!" and rushed to Harry's room. The sight of Harry crying and struggling against the sheets broke her heart. She immediately ran to him and put her arms around him, with Harry sobbing into her chest but calming down a while later.
To nobody's surprise (at least to those who knew Remus well) and to everyone's chagrin, Severus Snape was one of the wedding invitees.
"That slimy git?"
"You invited Snivellus?"
"That greasy git?"
However, some pretty serious discussions were held on the days between Christmas and New Year.
"Y-You aren't serious, are you?" Remus stared at Dudley.
"You called?" Sirius chuckled as he dropped himself dramatically on the couch beside Remus, but Remus scowled.
"This is not the time for puns, Sirius."
The grin faded from Sirius' face. "What's wrong?"
"Dudley here wants to write his end-of-year exams in April instead of June and wants to quit Smeltings."
"What?" Sirius couldn't believe his ears. As much as Dudley wasn't the most liked or the most popular, everybody certainly wanted the best for Dudley, just like the others. Nobody, for one, believed that Dudley should quit his education. "D-Dudley, look, money is not an issue. Harry and I are very much willing to pay for your education."
"That's not the point, Sirius. Thank you, but my parents have deposited decent amounts of money in their bank account that can pay for at least two more years of my schooling. I don't want to continue at Smeltings, and I'd rather learn other skills, such as combat, physical exercise, and martial arts. For instance, I'm rather good at boxing."
"But why do you want to quit studies? Is it because of Aimee?" Sirius couldn't help but ask.
"No," Dudley shook his head, "I have been thinking about this since the start of the school year. My decision has nothing to do with Aimee and has everything to do with this war! Either way, I've never been good at studies."
Remus and Sirius looked at each other.
"Please teach me, Remus, whatever combat skills you can teach! Anything that you teach the others which require no magic!" Dudley told Remus.
"I hope you understand if I ask for some time, Dudley," Remus said. Dudley nodded and got up.
"I doubt if Vernon and Petunia would have approved of this. Quitting Smeltings. Even James and Lily would disapprove of Harry quitting Hogwarts midway!" Remus shook his head.
"Maybe Molly can convince Dudley?" Sirius whispered to Remus as Dudley went upstairs.
But not even Molly could convince Dudley. "He has decided already, and there is nothing any of us can do about it. Besides, he is thankful for our concern but doesn't want everybody asking him the same thing over and over again." Molly shook her head.
Unbeknownst to Remus, Sirius, and Molly, Harry, Ron, and Hermione had spoken to Dudley on the same topic as well, albeit on the morning after they all arrived from Hogwarts and Smeltings for the holidays. Much to Hermione's chagrin, Ron's amusement, and Harry's surprise, Dudley had maintained that he isn't good at studies anyway, so he wants to quit studies after his tenth grade (1995–1996) and work on physical training so he can be involved in the war and also because he was more into activities like boxing instead of academics anyway.
As the week between Christmas Day and New Year went by, Aimee joined Dudley in homework and revision for their Smeltings study course. At the same time, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Fred, George, Neville, and Luna sat down to complete their Hogwarts homework and revision.
All the adults were always around to help both the Hogwarts and the Smeltings students to the best of their abilities. Dudley even helped Aimee with her work. Watching Aimee interact with Dudley brought tears to Audrey's eyes.
"Audrey? What's wrong?" Percy was alarmed.
"Perce! Oh, nothing! I'm so glad Aimee has found a partner! I was worried about her being the only nonmagical person here!"
"I'm sure Harry thought the same about Dudley, but Dudley did manage to be the only nonmagical person at Potter Manor until Aimee came around. Don't worry, Audrey." Percy put his arm around Audrey, who sniffed and snuggled into him.
"Are you still planning to withdraw Aimee from Smeltings?" Percy asked Audrey, who looked up, determined.
"Of course! I'm not taking any chances! Even Dudley has that much sense that he decided to withdraw from Smeltings rather than take chances! It makes me feel so happy that Dudley decided for himself what Aimee and I decided for Aimee!"
"So true!" Percy agreed.
"I remember being five years old and getting down from my toy broomstick in the garden and running fast and holding a newborn Aimee in my arms, Perce! That moment is etched deeply in my heart! She is my sister and my only family left!" Audrey let out a sob.
"You're wrong because you have my family and me. The entire Weasley family."
"But, what about Aimee? She has only me!" Audrey protested.
"I don't think Dudley and Aimee are just friends." Percy thought aloud. Audrey shrugged.
31st December 1995 – 11:00 P.M.
None of the inhabitants of Potter Manor were inside the house, and everybody sat outside on the lawn. When Harry stepped out of the Manor through the balcony, he saw Molly Weasley chatting with Andromeda Tonks, Augusta Longbottom, and Emma and Dan Granger. They were sitting closest to the balcony. A little distance to their left, Sirius was high-fiving Remus and Tonks and joining the former group as Remus and Tonks cuddled together. Earlier that day, Harry had seen Kingsley Shiacklebolt visit Potter Manor. He ate lunch at the Manor and pleasantly wished everybody a Happy New Year before leaving. He promised to attend the wedding.
Close to the Quidditch pitch, Harry was surprised to see Neville with Luna as Luna held Trevor, the toad, in her hands and spoke about Nargles and Wrackspurts, while Neville occasionally explained stuff from Herbology Harry was sure was N.E.W.T. level rather than their current O.W.L. level.
Fred was with Angelina, nodding happily to each others' conversation. George was laughing at something Alicia animatedly described. Fleur was rubbing Bill's nose, "Beel, you are so sweet!" and Bill was chuckling. Charlie lay on the grass, happily gazing at the stars. Audrey had rested her head on Percy's shoulder, and Percy had an arm around her waist. Audrey stole a glance at Aimee, who, Harry spotted, was sitting next to Dudley. Dudley had an arm around Aimee and held her hands with his hand.
Finally, Harry spotted Ron and Hermione wrapped around one another like vipers, so tightly it was hard to tell who was cuddling who. They were kissing rather passionately. About ten feet away sat the love of his life, Ginny Weasley. He sat next to her and put his arm around her waist, and she smiled at him. They brought their lips together, and Harry was lost in the kiss.
Hope squealed in delight, "Happy New Year!" all of a sudden, and everybody cheered, applauded, hugged one another, and watched as Fred and George set off fireworks. Red, blue, green, gold, orange, silver, purple, and yellow fireworks erupted into the skies on top of Potter Manor.
It was finally one thirty when the last of the people in Potter Manor, namely Molly (who was making sure everybody from Bill, being the oldest of the 'kids', to Aimee, the youngest of the lot, had finally gone to bed) drifted off to sleep.
It wasn't until nine in the morning that the first among the lot woke up. It was Hope. She woke up and began cooking. Slowly, Molly, Andromeda, Augusta, Emma, Dan, Sirius, Remus, and Nymphadora woke up. Bill, Fleur, Charlie, Percy, and Audrey woke up soon after, but everybody else woke up only around ten in the morning.
Everyone who woke up silently had their breakfast and began helping with the preparations for the wedding the next day. It was eleven in the morning by the time breakfast was done by everybody. Dudley and Aimee did not find the lack of magic deter their ability or interest in helping just as enthusiastically as the others. The wedding was to take place on the lawn in Potter Manor.
Everyone slept in Potter Manor. Hagrid got a beautiful tent erected for him at the Potter Quidditch pitch to pitch in for the night.
In the groom's chamber, Sirius was happy. "James and Lily would have been jumping in joy had they been alive to see this day, Moony!" He wept, and Remus cried, too. "Padfoot, I really wish James and Lily were with us today!"
Harry was touched as he entered the room and happened to hear them. "Come on, guys! I'm here, James and Lily in one!" He said in mock indignation. Also, he felt sad remembering his parents. Fury exploded in Harry as he remembered Wormtail, and at that instant, he knew Sirius and Remus were feeling angry, hurt, and betrayed as well.
In the bride's chamber, Andromeda was sobbing, "Oh, Nymphadora! Your father had such big dreams about wanting to arrange your wedding! But unfortunately, look what happened! He'd have been so delighted to attend your wedding!"
Nymphadora teared up as well, "M-Mum, please! I already miss Dad!" The two ladies cried briefly at each others' shoulders.
As Remus met Andromeda, he assured her that he will take care of her daughter, Nymphadora. Andromeda gave a watery smile.
The decorations went by until the following afternoon. Harry sat next to Ginny. Hermione and Ron sat next to one another. Minerva McGonagall, Severus Snape, and Albus Dumbledore were there too. Sirius came with Remus, and Andromeda walked Nymphadora down the aisle. But Harry had eyes only for Ginny, who sported a navy blue dress and looked so charming that Harry wondered why no one mistook her to be the bride. Inwardly thankful that no one had, he grinned sheepishly. Ginny beamed at him. She later sat next to him.
"Mr. Remus Lupin and Mrs. Nymphadora Lupin!" the Minister officiating the wedding cried out loud as Remus kissed Tonks passionately. Andromeda Tonks sobbed the loudest.
At sunset, Harry heard Fleur squeal delightedly and saw her put her arms around Bill, "Yes!" Bill went on to declare, "I just asked Fleur if she would marry me, and she said yes!"
Everybody congratulated Fleur and Bill and beamed at each other. Tonks and Remus congratulated them and left for their honeymoon. Ginny was jumping up and down with delight, "Bill! Oh, my God! I'm so happy!" Harry had one of the widest grins he had had since the last few months.
Harry held Ginny in his arms, as they danced across the lawn. Ron and Hermione were already in a deep embrace. Harry stared as Dudley was doing a slow dance with Aimee so well!
Soon, the wedding was over, and Charlie left for Romania. The holidays got over as well, and Dudley and Aimee left for Smeltings, while Fred, George, Ron, Ginny, Hermione, and Harry left for Hogwarts.
January passed in a haze of cold, Quidditch practice, Dumbeldore's Occlumency sessions (Harry was pretty good at Occlumency now), the DA meetings, and school work. Except, that wasn't all. Malfoy's weird behavior was noticed by Ginny, Hermione, Ron, and Neville as the new year began. They all agreed with Harry that something was off about Malfoy. Neither was Malfoy around gloating about his father, wealth, and pureblood status, nor was he running around abusing his prefect status. Instead, he appeared in classes, mealtimes, and corridors like a gaunt man who had lived an extra 50 years of misery. His face was now pale and thin, his eyelids had begun drooping all the time, and Draco Malfoy was unrecognizable from the Draco Malfoy Harry, and the others had met in 1991.
One day, as Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Neville walked up to the Entrance Hall from Potions and met Ginny and Luna coming down after Transfiguration (they were meeting for lunch), there was a crowd at the Entrance Hall.
There stood Pansy Parkinson screaming at the top of her lungs, "All I ask of you is a simple question, Draco! And you threaten to break up with me? You promised me! You can't do this to me, Draco!"
Draco Malfoy looked murderous with rage. "Pansy, I'm not here to listen to your whims and fancies! Just let me do whatever I'm doing in peace!"
"Why don't you at least tell me where you keep going? What do you keep doing when you're not at classes, not in the Great Hall, and not with any of us?" Pansy was crying now.
"That's none of your business now, is it?" Draco snapped. By now, it seemed like the entire Slytherin House had assembled, which blocked the way for the Gryffindors, Ravenclaws, and Hufflepuffs from entering the Great Hall.
"By all means, I have every right to ask you that! Have you forgotten who I am?" Pansy questioned Draco seriously.
"I don't give a damn about some betrothal contract my father signed with your father when I was a one-year-old baby!" Draco Malfoy bellowed. "In any case, I walk my own path! I have a mission of utmost importance, which is bigger than your stupid fantasies!"
Harry was shocked. When he looked aside, he saw the same shock reflected in Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Neville, and Luna. Draco Malfoy was betrothed as a baby? To none other than Pansy Parkinson? And what mission was Draco Malfoy talking about?
"What mission is that?" Pansy barked.
"There is no way in hell I'm telling you that! Pansy, you, Crabbe, and Goyle just shut up and do what I say, or else this is the end, I'm afraid!" Draco said in a tone of finality.
"E-End?" Pansy repeated as though she had never heard that word before. "You can't end this, Draco! You are my to-be husband!"
"You seriously can't be naïve enough to think I haven't done my research on that betrothal shit? I can end this pointless contract, in case you haven't known already!" Draco bellowed.
"No! You can't! You won't! I will not let you defile this sacred bond of Pureblood marriage between us, Draco!" Pansy sobbed angrily.
"Stop it! What's going on?" Professor McGonagall had come. Miss Parkinson and Mr. Malfoy. My office! NOW! As for the rest of you, off you go!"
"What was that all about?" Ron shook his head. "I mean betrothal contracts in 1996? And I thought people changed with the times!"
"They clearly haven't given up their archaic practices! They live in 1996 but follow the practices of 1896!" Ginny growled.
"Poor Malfoy! Poor Parkinson! Imagine not having the freedom to choose your own life partner and instead being forced to marry someone! I can't believe marrying anyone other than Lu…." Neville stopped abruptly.
Hermione picked up from there, "I know, right! Such a cruel practice! Draco and Pansy? Not even Draco is insane enough to marry that cow!"
Harry, however, hadn't missed out on what Neville said. Neville almost said Luna's name, and it seemed Harry was the only one who observed that. But then, they were all getting late for their next class, so Harry had to finish his lunch quickly.
Harry, however, kept wondering what Malfoy's mission was.
"Love, don't you think Malfoy is up to some mission? He was claiming to be too busy to deal with Parkinson." He asked Ginny that evening.
"Oh, come on, love! You already have enough on your plate without Malfoy and his dumb tactics." Ginny shook her head and returned to her Charms essay.
Ron, on the other hand, was in a really foul mood. His Potions essay was four inches short! When Harry told him the same thing he told Ginny, Ron snapped at Harry, "The entire school knows he is bluffing, Harry! As it is, he is a Death Eater and has nothing else to offer other than being loud and arrogant! Besides, I doubt if half the school even knows he is a Death Eater! That day in Hogsmeade, apparently I was the only person Malfoy attacked! He ran away cowering after I put him down. Now, let me check the color of the potion. Navy blue? Okay."
Hermione, on the other hand, neither snapped at Harry nor shook her head at Harry's words. She laughed at Harry's words, "Harry, if he really is on a mission, why was he making it so bloody obvious in front of the whole school?"
As mid-January came, Ron and Ginny told Hermione and Harry that Bill's wedding to Fleur was to be held on the second of February. As the first of February was a Sunday, Harry, Hermione, and the Weasleys would be leaving on Friday night and taking an off on Monday for the wedding. Aimee and Dudley were coming too.
Mrs. Weasley was in her element. This time, the wedding would be held at the Burrow. Dudley and Aimee, along with Audrey, the Grangers, Augusta, Andromeda, Mrs. Lupin, Angelina, and Alicia, would be seeing the Burrow for the very first time in their lives.
All the Weasleys cried as they went to the Burrow. They weren't alone, though. Every wedding attendee and guest who visited the Burrow expressed various emotions, from outright bursting into tears to looking sad and solemn before getting on with the wedding preparations. Harry himself shed tears as he remembered Mr. Weasley. He saw Hermione weeping silently. Ron and Ginny were momentarily inconsolable. Fred, George, Percy, Charlie, and Bill weren't doing great at hiding their tears either.
All the invitees mourned Arthur Weasley. Molly kept bursting into tears constantly, "Arthur and I were eighteen when we got married! We built this Burrow at the time of my first pregnancy! We had Bill, followed by Charlie, then Percy, followed by Fred and George. We had Ron afterwards and finally had Ginny. Our family expanded with Harry and Hermione. We kept having additions. But then, fate was cruel! Like my brothers, my husband was taken away from me by the jaws of death!"
Along with the wedding preparations, those visiting the Burrow were interested in looking around. Hermione went showing her parents around, Ron took Neville and his grandmother, Harry took Dudley, Percy took Audrey and Aimee, Fred and George took Angelina and Alicia, and Remus and Sirius explored the Burrow with Andromeda Tonks and Nymphadora Lupin nee Tonks.
They worked on the decorations at the Burrow during the day. The Grangers, Jones, Mrs. Tonks, the Lupins, Sirius, Molly (because she had offered her and Arthur's room at the Burrow to the Delacours), Dudley and Harry would stay the nights at Potter Manor while the Longbottoms, Lovegoods, Angelina, and Alicia went to their respective houses for the night. Charlie and Percy slept in Ron's room at the Burrow. Fleur and Gabrielle used Percy's room. The Weasley twins had their room, as did Ginny. Hagrid erected a tent outside the Burrow to sleep for the night.
The wedding was similar to Remus', with Andromeda replaced by Molly and Mrs. Delacour. A huge tent was set up at the Burrow, pillars were erected, decorations were made, flowers were arranged, and Hope supervised the cooling just as she had done on the occasion of Remus' wedding with Tonks. Minerva McGonagall, Severus Snape, Albus Dumbledore, and Kingsley Shacklebolt had come on this occasion too.
Charlie was the Best Man, and he came out with Bill. Mrs. Delacour was with Mr. Delacour as they led Fleur out. Gabrielle Delacour and Ginny Weasley were the bridesmaids. While Fleur's beauty radiated across the place and made everyone look ten times beautiful, Harry found Ginny to be the most beautiful girl. Harry's jaw dropped as he watched Ginny in her gold and green dress, her flaming red hair flying behind her as though being fanned as special favor by the wind. She looked so radiant that Hermione nudged him painfully in the ribs, "Harry, you're drooling over Ginny!"
"Sorry, Hermione! I can't help it." Harry grinned sheepishly. Ginny was beaming at him.
Harry held Ginny in his arms, as they danced across the lawn. Ron and Hermione were already in a deep embrace. Harry wasn't surprised to see Dudley moving slowly across the dance floor as he danced with Aimee.
After the wedding, the students returned to their respective schools, where the portions were becoming increasingly hectic and long hours had to be dedicated to studying. Fred and George had their N.E.W.T.'s coming up. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Neville had their O.W.L.'s coming up. Ginny and Luna had their fourth-year end-of-year tests coming up. Dudley was in his tenth grade at Smeltings. Aimee was in her ninth grade at Smeltings. Both would be having exams in April instead of June, and hence had more and more work to do every day.
Authors Note: I don't know if, in the U.K., you can take your tenth-grade and ninth-grade exams two months early. Let's assume Smeltings allows you to take your end-of-year exams two months early if there's a valid enough reason and that's how Aimee and Dudley are taking their ninth and tenth grade exams.
I felt that adding nothing about Draco Malfoy isn't a good idea. So, henceforth, we will have more of Draco Malfoy as well. What's up with Draco Malfoy and Pansy Parkinson? Will Dudley and Aimee go ahead with their plans and will they score well? What will they do after Smeltings?
