I CANNOT believe I'm at chapter 41, if this is dragging tell me, I just wanted to have everything without realizing it would become my life. I did a terrible thing, I didn't proof read, I'm going out in like five minutes and wanted to actually to a chapter within a day. I do hope you like it because I wanted to write something funner, must go now!
*Seven days left*
"I hate to ruin an already horrible Monday morning, but Gargorus just told me we've got an end of term exam in Defence Against the Dark Arts" James grumbled as he slammed a notice down on the table at breakfast.
"Is it even legal to give people an exam this close to Christmas unannounced?" Sirius almost cried.
"That's what I said, which was a massive mistake as I got a five minute lecture on how in the real world You-Know-Who won't send out a warning before he attacks. He also told me to tell you if he hears one moan from you the exam will turn into a public execution"
"Don't we just have the nicest teacher?" he remarked, ripping up the notice, but only after checking Gargorus wasn't watching from his table. "Well if it's anywhere near as bad as the last challenge I'm not going to make it through the day"
"I can't deal with this, I need to prepare, I need notes, I NEED TIME!" Lily started hyperventilating and practising spells on her toast.
"Waw, let's put out the toast fire" Kara calmed "You'll smash it, you're the greatest witch I know"
"Flattery isn't going to make me an expert fighter against evil Kara" Lily moaned, pulling out her textbooks from her bag and flicking through madly.
"One more thing Lils…" James slowly edged her book away from her "It's now" He babbled before scooching away before Lily shot the messenger.
"Right then" Gargorus shouted at the practically shivering line of students "No pressure but if you fail this exam it's proof that you don't have what it takes to pass this entire course and I'll have no choice to chuck you off the course"
James, Sirius, Remus, and Lily gasped as they took in the obstacle course that had been laid out in the practice room.
"The task is simple, and emulates to physical strain you'll suffer through on a battle ground. You must complete the course in less than ten minutes or else I'll take a serious look at your progress and decide whether or not you're staying on"
"Crap" Sirius muttered to James on an inhale of breath.
"You'll be called in alphabetical order, stand at the side and get ready to go" He barked before positioning himself on a platform overlooking the course with a stopwatch.
"This may be the most ridiculous exam I've ever had to do" Marlene shook her head as Timothy Abbott prepared himself on the starting line.
"If Gargorus thinks it's alright then we've got to accept it" Emmeline argued "Right Lily?" They looked over to Lily who was stood fiercely inspecting the course not taking anything else in.
"Oh God, she's in deep thought mode" Dorcas snapped her fingers in front of Lily making her jump "I doubt you'll be able to inspect an enemy base that quickly Lils"
"Knowing my Lilypop she'd be able to do a full safety check" Sirius grinned slapping her on the back and jumping up and down "Come on, you've got to be excited! Nothing beats a good morning obstacle course"
"More like death trap" Lily pointed to Timothy as he stumbled through a pile of rubble and over barbed wire, having to hex a mode enemy before diving into a narrow tunnel speckled with broken glass.
"Dumbledore's finally done it. He's hired a lunatic" Remus nodded up to Gargorus who actually appeared to be smiling "Hey have any of you seen James?"
"Last time I saw him he was doing laps of the classroom to warm up" Sirius laughed "This'll be a piece of cake"
"SIRIUS BLACK" Gargorus yelled from his platform as he scrawled down Timothy's time with a disappointed look on his face.
"You better take notes" He winked at everyone before strutting to the starting line.
"Go" Sirius leapt over the starting wall and looked around at the course set out in front of him. First was the climbing exercise, a row of walls, ladders, and barrels and awkward angles bordered an entire wall before breaking off into a pool of a suspicious looking gloop with a single rope leading across it.
"Oh yeah, because Death Eater's main defence is a bowl of Acromantula sick" Sirius laughed to himself as he started on the walls, not exactly gracefully tripping over and head-butting a barrel, the metal hinge hitting him in the mouth and making it swell.
"Sirius, in my notes should I write fall and embarrass myself, or just generalise and put totally fail?" Remus called out to him as he scrambled back up and leapt over the last wall.
"Yhhh? Wll yu cn fhskaoof" Sirius angrily growled at him, feeling his mouth and shrugging it off. There was no way he was going to fail.
Realizing he had his wand still in his pocket, he froze the pool and walked across it with ease grinning, then looked at what he had left. The next section was meant to emulate an attacked part of a city, as was the section they'd just watched Timothy struggle through, so Sirius took a moment to compose himself before blowing the rubble out of his way and setting the enemy on fire, sending a gust of wind through the tunnel to clear the glass.
After that he breezed through the last section dedicated to spell casting and transfiguring and crossed the line in eight minutes dead.
"OHHHH!" Was the only thing Sirius could say with his lip as everyone stood still in awe at his spell section.
Lily stood planning as Caradoc Dearborn and Dedalus Diggle took their turns, Dedalus getting just under ten and Caradoc getting eleven.
As she was called up to the line she stretched, got out her wand, and paced on the spot as she waited to be told to go. As Gargorus yelled go she nimbly leapt over the barrels and walls, and hurled herself across the pool just about making it, her foot dipping in as she fell. At the explosion scene she fell and cut her leg on a jagged piece of metal, but made up time by sliding through the tunnel, brushing the glass out of the way with her wand as she went.
"Bloody transfiguration" She muttered, raising her wand and struggling through the tasks, including transfiguring a Loch Ness monster like creature into a bridge and a wall into a step ladder.
She finally limped across the line in seven minutes forty two, grinning at Sirius as she hobbled past.
"Ok, this is stupid" James stared at Gargorus as he looked at Lily's leg and tried to heal it. Everyone watched in horror as Benjy, Remus, Marlene, and Dorcas dragged themselves across the line in time before they turned to look at James.
"Damn" He cursed as he finished seeing to the glass stuck in Marlene's arm with Lily and made his way to the starting line. "You want a show Gargorus? I'll give you a show" He cracked his knuckles and took off.
Still trying to fix his mouth, Sirius quickly glanced up from a mirror just to catch a flash of James as he darted over the walls and over the pool.
"What the he…?" He went to say before James blew up a pile of rubble and marched through it, splitting open the tunnel and running over it before breezing through transfiguration and crossing the line in five minutes ten.
"That… must… you cheated" Gargorus gasped open mouthed as James sat down at the back.
"Because when I'm fighting in this war I'm going to be called out for walking through an explosion sight wrong?" James smiled cockily as Gargorus scribbled down his time and moved on with the list making way for Lily to come in and slap him.
"Two one then" She admitted, grinning and kissing him on the cheek to show she was joking.
"I just. Want. A normal. Life. IS THAT TOO MUCH TO ASK FOR?" Remus shouted at everyone as they crawled back up to the Gryffindor tower "Can't I just turn up to a Defence against the Dark arts class for once and be taught something without having my life threatened?"
"It wasn't THAT bad..." James tried to look on the bright side "I mean, no I've got nothing, have any of you got enough ice packs to cover an entire human body?"
"Oh yeah James, like you need them" Lily was still annoyed at how James had cheated his way through the course, and she hadn't thought of it first.
"I'd be fine if he hadn't of made me do it again for a 'demonstration'" James shivered at the thought of it "I swear there weren't that many barrels the last time, and it looks like there'd been three more explosions"
"You'd think you'd have learnt from Sirius that you don't mess with Gargorus" Marlene pointed out, laughing as Sirius tried to protest.
"Mrfggghhhhhh" Sirius wheezed through the small gap left in his mouth.
"Bloody hell Pads I thought you went to the infirmary" James looked closer at the cut along his mouth.
"I tried taking him and he spluttered something, I think it was 'Gargorus is a stupid pig and won't beat me'" Remus sighed as he dragged him up the stairs "That's the censored version"
"Well we don't have to put up with him until after the holidays now so just forget about it" Lily ended as they fell through the portrait to go and sleep for the rest of the day.
"I mean, it's practically criminal that we haven't done anything from my list for three WHOLE days" Kara groaned as she spread herself out over the sofa.
"If you mention that bloody list one more time after such a peaceful weekend without it I may have to zip your mouth shut" Lily threatened, throwing the pillow she was covering her face with at her.
"Oh I see, it's gone from a heart-felt farewell to a dear friend to a chore now has it?" Kara sulked, folding her arms.
"Kara it was all going fine until you threw us all out of bed at one in the morning on Friday and dragged us to the other bloody side of the castle claiming you'd found a ghost that murders students for your 'go somewhere dangerous in Hogwarts'" Sasha moaned.
"How was I supposed to know a drain was blocked? I could have sworn it sounded like the screams of tortured people!"
"Oh you'll be hearing the screams of a tortured person if you don't stop going on" James announced as he rolled onto the floor.
"Trying to go somewhere James?" Lily marvelled as James pencil rolled to the portrait.
"Food" He shouted before leaving to go down to the kitchens.
"You know what we'd need food for?" Kara hinted, smiling at Lily "A night in the Dark Forest!"
"OH MY GOD KARA SHAW!" Lily blew, panting as she stared at Kara "If we go to the Dark Forest tonight will you promise not to mention your list until Friday when we've broken up? Then we have three days to do it"
"YES!" Kara screamed, throwing her arms round Lily "Meet me outside the Head dorm in one hour" She babbled before charging up to her room to pack.
You know what would be a brilliant Christmas present? Some reviews :D Oh God I became 'that' person for a second. In case I don't write again until then Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, have a wonderful Eid-Ul-Adha, and I hope you had a great Winter Solstice on Sunday!
Mischief Managed