NEWTs

The victory and the subsequent party, which continued into the early hours of the morning, created an exuberant atmosphere among all Gryffindors and the weather also played its part: bright sunshine and summer heat spread in the next days, so that one could spend hours at the lake or sit in the sun. But they couldn't, because the exams were approaching with giant steps, which meant, especially for the fifth and seventh-years who would make their OWLs and NEWTs, many hours in the library in which they desperately tried to repeat or finally understand what they had learned in recent years. Hermione had equipped Ron and Harry with the obligatory learning plans, so that their repetition was at least half-structured, but this did not stop her from becoming a walking bundle of nerves. Harry and Ron could assure her so many times that she knew everything, but she remained absolutely manic. When Ginny learned with her, she regularly ripped the book out of her hand to see if she had given the right answer, and when a few fourth-years dared to talk loudly in the common room until midnight, she gave them such a sermon that they fled from her for over a week as soon as they saw her somewhere.

As for Harry and Ron, they agreed that they had never looked forward to the exams so relaxed, not only because they already had their jobs in the Auror Office. In fact, Harry was pleased to find that the higher level of learning they had both invested this year paid off and he didn't have to worry about failing in any of his subjects.

Their relaxation turned out to be unique, as all the other seventh-years showed clear signs of absolute panic. Seamus Finnigan mysteriously turned an inkwell into an anthill in their dormitory as he tried to turn the inkwell into a hedgehog. Daphne Greengrass was buried under two shelves in the Restricted Section as she searched too wildly for a particular book about Japanese runes. Ernie Macmillan sat in the library from morning to evening, working through countless volumes about the theoretical background of potion brewing. Teachers desperately tried to provide the last pupil with all the theory in time, even if that student was Gregory Goyle.

There was, of course, also a person in the castle for which the exam time was like Easter and Christmas together: Peeves, the master of chaos lived up and presented himself in absolute top form to the chagrin of the rest of the school population. He shot through the library with a trumpet, which frightened Terry Boot and Susan Bones so much that they fell off their chairs and instinctively sent stunners through the library, with which they hit Madam Pince (it required a lot of good encouragement from Professors Sprout and Flitwick until Terry and Susan were allowed to re-enter the library). The Poltergeist cheerfully filled water bombs by the lake and hurled them at those who wanted to learn outside, blocked passageways if one wanted to return from the library to their common room in time for the curfew, swapped books if one did not look and loudly sang nonsensical words when people were trying to recite something.

"I think that's his way of saying goodbye to us," Parvati sighed as she found out over dinner for the umpteenth time that Peeves had replaced her crystal ball with a remembrall.

"You got away quite well," Lavender growled. "He just tipped a complete ink well over my head when I fell asleep in the library."

"Be happy," Dean said, smiling. "Otherwise you'd probably still be there now."

This brought him a hefty pat on the back of his head and an hour of unbridled silence on the part of his girlfriend.

The days seemed to be getting shorter and shorter, and so slowly a certain panic spread with Harry, while he desperately tried to master even the last Potions rule and the strangest wand movement. Three more days until the first test (tomorrow I'll definitely understand it… ), two more (Why do I not understand this?), another (Why?! Nobody needs that!)... and then, with Transfiguration, the first day of the examination was just around the corner. At breakfast, all seventh-years looked as if they had to compete against the Bulgarian national team at Quidditch - without brooms. Their facial expressions led Jimmy Peakes to speculate about the outcome of their tests, which led an already tense Parvati to tip her pumpkin juice in his face. Hermione read Miranda Goshawk's Transfiguration for the fourteenth time, although Harry was sure she had been able to memorize the book for a long time. Ron dealt with the stress as usual by stuffing even larger amounts of food into himself than usual. Harry himself felt like he had something shaky in his stomach that took away his appetite. It was only thanks to Ginny's nice talk (initially) and then strict growling that he ate anything at all.

After breakfast, the seventh-years waited nervously at the door until it opened again and revealed a changed Great Hall: just as with their OWL exams, the four large house tables had been replaced by single tables. Harry, Ron and Hermione secured three seats in the front third and listened nervously, while Professor McGonagall explained the procedure, observed by the examiners Professor Tofty and Madam Marchbanks. Eventually, McGonagall briefly swung her wand, and the pile of parchments lying on the teacher's table spread across the tables.

"You have three hours," McGonagall proclaimed aloud. "Start."

Already the first question on polymorphism kept Harry for long, and the second and third didn't look much better. Page two was better, none of the tasks caused him any problems, but after that it got a little harder. Next to him, Hermione scribbled wildly like a typewriter without dropping the feather. Harry noticed that Professor McGonagall sharply looked at him and rushed back to his own parchment before she thought he was writing off.

When Madam Marchbanks later announced that time was up and collected his exam, he left the hall with the feeling that he had passed safely, but had not necessarily reached the top grade. At lunch, at which the tables were set up again, Hermione annoyed everyone by wanting to know what they had written on question fourteen, even though they all knew that she had literally written what was in the textbook. After dinner, they were summoned in groups of four to take their practical exams. Harry followed Parvati, Sally-Anne Perks and Orla Quirke inside and found himself with Madam Marchbanks.

"Mr Potter," she said calmly, pointing to the inkwell on the table in front of her. "Please turn this inkwell into a hedgehog."

Harry exhaled in a sly manner. Seamus's misfortune with this spell had led to all Gryffindor boys mastering this spell perfectly so that they could go on his nerves appropriately for his anthill. 'Erinaceomorphum', he thought, waving his wand in a jagged triangle movement. Where the inkwell had been, now sat a cute, visibly stunned hedgehog.

"Very good, Mr Potter," Madam Marchbanks said contentedly, making a visible hook on her parchment. "If you please..."

"It didn't go badly, didn't it?", Ron asked as he came out of his ordeal. Harry and Hermione stowed the defense books they had read while waiting in their pockets and accompanied him to Gryffindor Tower.

"My cow had a strange pattern on her fur," Hermione mumbled.

Harry and Ron exchanged a brief glance, which revealed to them that each other's cow had had far bigger problems. Hermione muttered for a while, but when it became apparent that the other two weren't going to react to her attempts to chew through the whole test again, she gave it up. Seamus, it turned out, had managed to give the inkwell some extremely hairy ears.

The trial in Defence against the Dark Arts the next day was a single triumph for Harry. Neither the theoretical test in the morning, which he finished in half the time needed, nor the practical one in the afternoon presented him with a single problem. He mastered every spell that Professor Tofty demanded of him, and, in order to put the crown on the whole thing, he non-verbally summoned his Patronus, which made the old examiner clap enthusiastically. Harry left the exam with a broad grin and the certainty of having confirmed his "Outstanding" from two years before.

The good Defense test took a lot of the nervousness out of him, so he approached the Potions test the following day much more relaxed than he had thought. In any case, every concern he had before this challenge faded away when the three potions to be brewed turned out to be the Draught of Living Death, the Smoke Wall Potion and an antidote to a purple potion. He was able to brew the two potions perfectly thanks to Snape's comments, and although he still wasn't nearly as good as Hermione at antidotes, he still managed to fabricate a passable antidote before the time was up.

Thursday's Charms test went almost as well, apart from his accidental scare spell, in which he not only got his frog to bounce away, but also to land on Professor Flitwick's head. The theoretical test was much more difficult, so that he could not finish the last page in time.

On Friday and at the weekend, Harry and Ron scrambled through seven years of transcripts and tasks of Herbology, while Hermione passed her History of Magic and Arithmancy exams on Friday before jumping on all her writing about Ancient Runes for Monday. Arithmancy seemed to have gone quite well, because Hermione was much less irritated than in recent weeks. She even let herself be persuaded to disappear on Sunday evening with Ron for a few hours, which they definitely did not spend in the library, but in the prefects' bathroom (Harry was patrolling with Ginny and Demelza that evening and, thanks to the Marauder's Map, knew exactly where the two were, although he steadfastly refused to betray them to Ginny and Demelza). Not once did a small dot appear on the map titled 'Arius Selwyn', and Harry increasingly wondered if Selwyn was still nearby. As for the other people outside the castle walls, Theodore Nott had retreated to his family's estate, and Rita Skeeter had received a summons to appear before the Wizengamot to comment on the allegations Harry had made against her. Fenwick and Parkinson had meanwhile sold their shares to Harry, respectively the heir of the Ancient and Noble House of Black, while Beatrix Rosier had declared a mad price for her shares. Harry had already bought the publishing house and Tudgeberry was in the process of recalling the previously unsold copies of Rita's writing due to 'deficiencies and inaccurate information'.

Harry's last exam in Hogwarts, Herbology, turned out to be the most eventful. Goyle, as you would expect, did not manage to repot his Crampus Cactus properly, so that hundreds of small spines shot through the greenhouse again. Ernie Macmillan was fortunately spared from hits this time, unlike Pansy Parkinson, whose entire face was littered with spikes to Hermione's delight. Only after everyone was again stingless the test could continue. Harry had no problems, neither the Crampus Cactuses, nor the Devil's Sling or the Great Mandragora worried him. It paid off that he had been working all year at a table with Neville, who continued to pass the exam three tables with absolute security. As he confided in Harry with a grin after the ordeal, he could have passed the test backwards blindfolded and Harry couldn't help but agree. As they left the greenhouse, all seventh-years burst into loud cheers as the trials were finally over.

"What now?" asked Ron, grinning.

"Seamus said he has taken care of everything," Neville said with a chuckle.

"I have, ladies and gentlemen," Seamus announced theatrically, squeezing a small card into everyone's hand. "Please treat this invitation as if the national security depends of it," he said with a wink, hurrying after Susan and Ernie. Harry stared at his card and laughed out loud.

Mr Seamus Finnigan and your devoted Head Boy, Mr Neville Longbottom, respectfully ask you to attend an exclusive evening party at Professor Hagrid's residence at 8pm tonight. Don't worry about the curfew, a special permit has been granted for this party.

"Nice," Ron said with a grin. "Really nice."

"Actually, I have to patrol today," Hermione muttered.

"That's what Ginny, Demelza and Colin do for you," Neville said. "Everything is already settled, Hermione."

She frowned. "I suppose there won't just be butterbeer at this party?"

Neville chuckled. "Hermione, we're all grown up and we deserve the evening."

- "Professor McGonagall-"

"I'm sure she'll turn a blind eye," Ron said. "Or do you think we are the first seventh-years who want to celebrate the end of the exams? Charlie woke up in the Hufflepuff common room afterwards," he said slyly. 'He had no idea how he ended up there, but he was stark nake-'.

"Thank you, Ron," Hermione sighed, while Harry and Neville laughed. "Do me a favor and spare me the details, yes?"

When they went down to Hagrid's hut in the evening, they found that Seamus and Neville had spared no expense or effort to properly celebrate the end of their exams: in addition to excessive decoration and food they had shaded off the school elves, they had got a whole barrel of Ogden's best fire whiskey. A glance at Hagrid, Seamus and Ernie was enough to make them realize that the barrel was already a lot emptier than when it had arrived.

"Welcome, dear guests!", Seamus roared, grinning broadly. "To our little Suareeeh..."

- "What's that supposed to mean?" Neville asked, confused, after Seamus was done hugging them all and rushed equally enthusiastically at Parvati and Terry.

"Soiree, I suppose," Hermione sighed, half-heartedly waving to Hagrid. "Come on, let's eat something first, okay?"

It was the expected exuberant evening: everyone was in high spirits and relieved to have passed the exams. While Terry and Hermione exchanged words in the corner about their Ancient Runes Test, Seamus and Hagrid sang Irish drinking songs in another corner loudly. Ernie bet with Susan that he could balance a full glass of fire whiskey on his head and then, to general laughter, found that he couldn't. Susan laughed loudly with the others at first and then turned bright red when Ernie took off his whiskey-soaked shirt and threw it at her with a bow. Terry Boot then caused a stir when he tried to turn a glass of water into fire whiskey - as you would expect, this attempt failed spectacularly, as even Seamus refused to taste the dark brown broth that came out. Hagrid tuned the school anthem shortly afterwards, which they sang along enthusiastically, but fell asleep while singing. Parvati and Lavender took the opportunity to dye his beard pink. While everyone was laughing, Ron and Hermione disappeared somewhere, and when their absence was noticed, everyone burst into loud yelling.

Two glasses of fire whiskey later, Harry realized that the two would stay away for a long time, and because he was tired and extremely drunk, he made his way back to the castle with Neville. Lavender and Dean had also disappeared shortly before, Seamus snored, and Parvati and Terry and Ernie and Susan also gave the impression that they needed some privacy in the foreseeable future. Harry and Neville each fell to the ground three times before they were ten feet out of the hut and then rallied again with a laugh before stumbling a little more cautiously. Harry muttered 'Lumos' so they could at least see where they were going. They made it a long way until Neville slipped and pulled Harry to the ground with him, so the green flash of light narrowly missed them.

They stared at each other in horror and became sober at once when the next flash of light narrowly missed them.

"Nox", Harry hissed hastily and extinguished his wand, but nevertheless the next flash of light hit Neville in the middle of the face, whereupon he remained limp.