Chapter 5

The euphoria of winning the Quidditch Cup didn't linger very long with George Weasley. The end of May not only brought excellent weather, but also the endless studying in order to try to pass the OWL-exams.

"I will never learn any of this," shouted Fred, before throwing away his notes that belonged with Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Themby Newt Scamander. "Whose stupid idea was it anyway to try to pass for our OWLs?"

George looked up from the comparison of two theories on Vanishing and Conjuring Spells.

They were sitting in their usual spots in the library, hidden away safely by Notice-Me-Not-spells. The atmosphere in the library was thick with stress and contained crying fits from mostly fifth and seventh year students.

"I mean, what is the point?" Fred continued. "And why does every teacher feel the need to emphasise the importance of the upcoming Ordinary Wizarding Levels? This week, every class had a little warmup speech, as if the teachers were afraid that their OWL-students were one day going to wake up and forget about them."

"Because we need them to open up our joke shop, Fred," explained George calmly, nibbling on the end of his quill. "Think about that when we're studying."

Fred muttered something unintelligible. With a flick of his wand he Accio'd his notes and fumbled them in order.

George sighted and turned his thoughts to Intermediate Transfiguration,while making a diagram.

"- so yes, Slytherin's own Muggle princess gave it away -"

"- after the match, I heard -"

"- woke up with the three Chasers next to her -"

"- Slytherin sluts, so easy -"

Three different, barely whispering voices broke through George's concentration. His quill lingered above his parchment. Slowly he shoved his chair a few inches to the left.

In one of the empty library corridors he could see three Ravenclaw girls from their year gossiping. He thought of them was called Lydia, but he wasn't sure.

"- I heard she performed a lap dance for the whole team. You know, to cheer them up after that horrible display of a match."

One of the girls turned up her nose. "Slytherins really have no shame," she stated. "No wonder her own housemates steer clear of her. Filth."

George's mouth dropped open.

"Oi, George, come on. I don't want to be late for Transfiguration. According to Davies, we will be given the timetable of our examinations from our head of house today." Fred snapped his fingers. George turned his head and saw that Fred was impatiently standing next to him.

"Coming."

It turned out that Davies was correct. McGonagall started today's Transfiguration class by explaining the proceeding of the Ordinary Wizarding Levels.

"As you can see, your OWLs are spread over two weeks. In the morning, you will sit the theory papers and in the afternoon the practical examination. The practical examination of Astronomy will, of course, take place during midnight."

George bowed his head while he carefully copied the timetable from the blackboard.

"Now, I must warn you that the most stringent anti-cheating charms have been applied to your examination papers. Auto-Answer Quills are banned from the examination hall, as are Remembralls, Detachable Cribbing Cuffs and Self-Correcting Ink. Every year there are students who think they can get around the Wizarding Examinations Authority's rule. I can only hope that nobody in Gryffindor will make such a feeble attempt." The eyes of McGonagall rested on her students.

"Professor?" asked Alicia, raising her hand in the air.

"Yes, miss Spinnet?"

"When will we find out our results?"

"An owl will be sent to you some time in July," answered Professor McGonagall.

"Perfect," said Fred in a very audible whisper, who set next to George. "So we don't have to worry about it till the holidays."

"Now, before we begin today's rehearsing class, has someone come across any difficulties during studying? Yes, mister Towler?"

The rest of the class was dedicated to independent study. Fred finally managed to turn his rat into a very nice flowered china cup, which earned him 5 points.

"Two weeks of endless torture," muttered Fred, when they went back to the library to start studying for Charms, their first exam on Monday.

"It is just two weeks," George assured his brother, while setting up the Notice-Me-Not spells. "How bad can it really be?"

Sunday afternoon, George melancholy thought about those words. Even two days of studying seemed endless.

While in their dorm, the three boys were practicing their spells. Lee Jordan was laying on the bed, citing the definition of an Accio-spell, while Fred checked if he was right. George went through his summaries of his five years with his fingers in his ears.

The hours passed and George felt how the stress was weighing him down. He wanted nothing more than to open up his own joke shop with his brother. They needed their OWLs to avoid any trouble with the Regularisation and, more importantly, to show their mother they were being serious about their future.

"George, are you up for dinner?" Fred, white as a sheet, tapped on his shoulder.

"No, I don't feel hungry. You two can go. I'm heading to the library, so I can rehearse a bit …"

"Come on, Georgie. You need to eat something," pleaded Fred.

"No, don't worry. I will be back before curfew and stock up during breakfast. You go, Fred."

With a doubtful look in his eyes, Fred left the dorm with Lee Jordan on his heels. George sighed and rolled off the bed.

The silence was deafening in the library. Only a handful of people were found to be studying. Quickly, before anyone could spot him, George dived into an empty corridor and went to his favourite spot.

"Is that a Weasel Gryffindork studying or are my eyes deceiving me?" A familiar voice crept up behind him.

"Good evening, Your Grace," answered George, without taking his eyes off the pages of the book in front of him.

Eleanor, dressed in dark blue Muggle pants that fitted her snugly and a white T-shirt, flopped down on the chair across him.

"You remembered my title," Eleanor smiled widely, while she crossed a leg underneath her and rested her head on her fist. "Consider me impressed."

George grinned. "Is a Quidditch Cup not enough to do that job?"

Eleanor folded her hands across her heart. "Ouch."

"Too soon?" asked George.

"Too soon," nodded Eleanor, while wrapping a lock of hair around her finger. Her eyes wandered to the book in front of him.

"Achievements in Charming? My my, someone is taking his studies seriously."

George rolled his eyes, while Eleanor pulled out her own books.

"You're also studying?" asked George.

"Of course," answered Eleanor. "I know you boys would like to open up a joke shop, so you need your licences and papers, but I don't have my future carved out of stone yet …"

"How do you know about that plan?" asked George stunned.

Eleanor raised one eyebrow. "So you don't want to open up a joke shop?"

"Yes, yes, of course. But how did you find out?"

Eleanor smirked. "What else are the famous Weasley brothers going to do? Healer or Ministry official?" She laughed when George pulled a face.

"So, a joke shop for the jokers. It seemed so logical, so straight-forward, for you boys. And it explains the studying, which is smart, as well as trying to maintain a serious attitude."

Again, George was baffled by the girl in front of him.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" she asked him, while she thumbed through her own Achievement in Charming and pulled out some parchment and a goose quill.

"Nothing," answered George, before turning his attention back to his own notes.

They studied in silence for a few hours. Only the rustling of fresh parchment pieces disturbed them from time to time.

Every now and then George looked over Eleanor, who was furiously scribbling notes on the parchment. Her nose was wrinkled with concentration, while she was biting on the end of her quill when she studied a diagram in Achievement in Charming. Her dark eyebrows frowned together.

George couldn't help but smile and look sideways before giving himself away.

Only when other students in the library began to slip away before curfew, George and Eleanor raised their heads

"Well, it was nice studying with you, Weasel Gryffindork," mentioned Eleanor, before she got up.

"That's the weirdest compliment anybody has ever given me."

"Are you sure it is a compliment?" Eleanor smiled, her cedar brown eyes glittering in the candle light, before she turned around and almost disappeared in thin air.

Slowly George made his way back to Gryffindor's common room. Fred and Lee had let off some steam by putting on a display of Dr Filibuster's Fabulous Wet-Start, No Heat Fireworks. They were grinning while Hermione Granger furiously lectured them, not aware of the fact that she only made the attention to the star sky greater.

George nodded at his twin brother, who ignored Hermione and walked with him to the dorms.

"We saw the examiners after dinner," said Fred slowly, while they took off their clothes.

"And, what were they like?" asked George, when he put on his pajama pants.

"Ancient," replied Fred. George smiled, but his stomach felt empty.

"'Night, George." Fred climbed into his four-poster.

"Night, Fred."

Sleep didn't come easily. George tossed around underneath the sheets and couldn't get the image of Eleanor Seymour out of his thoughts.

Breakfast was a very silent affair. Some of the students, such as Alicia Spinnet, charmed the salt cellars to make them dance, while others rehearsed their notes.

The tension was palpable. Together with the seventh years they waited in the hall while the Great Hall was transformed into the depths of Hell where they had to take their exams.

"This was the most stupid idea we've ever had," muttered Fred, while he nervously tapped his wand onto the stairs. Red and golden sparks spurted out of the tip of his wand.

"Just try your best," said George very curtly. His foot tapped onto the tiles, until professor Flitwick mentioned that the Gryffindors could enter the Great Hall first.

The four house tables were replaced by little tables. Professor Flitwick directed them to their places and George was relieved that he sat directly behind Lee Jordan.

At least he wouldn't be taking this exam without his friends.

A few rows to the left he saw how Eleanor Seymour elegantly sat down. She crossed her legs and the hem of her skirt just barely covered the curve of her bottom.

When everybody was seated, professor Flitwick walked to the front and turned the giant hourglass.

"You may begin."

Slowly George turned over his assignments and dipped his quill into the ink.