The rest of the school year passed by like it did every year. Gryffindor won the Quidditch Cup, despite Harry being removed from the team. Ron did exceptionally well against Ravenclaw, although Teddie would never tell him that. They're relationship was a weird one. They didn't like each other, but merely tolerated the other because of Harry and Hermione (although Teddie was sure that Ron would've preferred it if she didn't exist).
"Why is this year more anxiety spiking than any other?" Teddie grumbled, her eyes passing from one word to the next in her Potions textbook. She had no idea what Snape was about to set next week and was trying her hardest to remember every ingredient that she could for the five possible potions he had said could come up.
"Because this year sets our future," said Blaise.
Daphne nodded as she scribbled down several stars and planets for her Astronomy exam. "Malfoy's not exactly helping," she said, glancing over at the blonde ferret in the far corner of the room. He had taken to scaring people by stating that it wasn't a case of what they knew, but rather who they knew.
"He'll be surprised when he fails, again, because he didn't study," said Teddie. "And if he does manage to pass then we know there is a corrupt examiner on the board."
"Umbridge won't do anything about it if there is," said Daphne, "and we have no proof. It's our word against Malfoy's and he's Umbridge's pet."
Teddie huffed and looked back at her Potion book.
A little after ten, the four friends went to bed, neither one looking forward to the next morning.
~X~
The Charms written exam took place the following morning at 10:00am. Teddie, despite her nerves, was ready to whatever question they threw at her. She was exceptionally good at Charms, and was able to remember incantations, wand movements, spells and theories without a single issue. She had done her best, also to prepare her friends, but she wasn't 100% sure how effective she had been.
The practical portion of the Charms exam came after lunch, and Teddie was called into the Great Hall along with Gregory Goyle, Hermione Granger, and Daphne Greengrass. She stood before her examiner and removed her wand from the inside of her sleeve.
"Miss Green?" the woman said.
Teddie nodded.
"I'm Mrs. Marchbanks," said the woman. "I'll be your examiner this afternoon. Can you show me the charm that makes objects fly, please?"
Teddie nodded and pointed her wand at the feather on the desk. "Wingardium Leviosa," she said, clearly, rolling her wand to the left and down before tilting it back up into the air, the feather following her path.
Mrs. Marchbanks smiled. "Well done. Now, I have a few more Charms for you to show me. How about we do the Cheering Charm next?" she asked.
"Who am I performing it on?" Teddie asked.
Mrs. Marchbanks set down her clipboard and folded her hands in front of her, her fingertips brushing the tabletop. "Myself, if you will," she said.
Teddie took a hesitant step back. "Oh, uh, okay," she said, suddenly feeling under pressure. She knew that she could do it, but if she pushed too hard, she could send her examiner into a fit of giggles, which would result in a fail, and if she didn't push enough, she could make Mrs. Marchbanks severely depressed.
Taking a deep breath, Teddie squeaked her wand slightly and then pointed it at Mrs. Marchbanks. "Cheriolas!" she muttered. Mrs. Marchbanks face split into a grin and a flicker of euphoria appeared in her eyes.
"Nicely done, Miss Green!" Mrs. Marchbanks cheered, happily. "Very nice indeed!"
Teddie smiled, although she wasn't entirely sure whether that Mrs. Marchbank's happiness was the result of her charm work or not.
The practical carried on for another five minutes and then Mrs. Marchbanks released Teddie from the Hall. The young Slytherin left with Daphne, passing Theo and Blaise in the Great Hall as they awaited their names to be called.
"How did that go for you?" Daphne asked, taking a seat on the Marble staircase with Teddie. They had agreed to wait here for Theo and Blaise while going over a few more revision notes for the next week.
"I think really well," said Teddie. "I was a little nervous when Mrs. Marchbanks told me to do a few of the Charms on her, but I think I managed. I was so sure my nerves would get the better of me on the Cheering charm though and wasn't ready for either deep depression or hysterical laughter."
Daphne smiled. "I knew you'd pass," she said. "You're a whizz at Charms."
Teddie laughed. Daphne had definitely been influenced too much by her Muggle nature, and it probably didn't help that she had agreed to take Muggle Studies.
"How did you do?" Teddie asked.
Daphne shrugged. "My Lumos charm was a bit off," she said. "I mean, I missed the target by a mile, but I think I scraped it."
"You'll do fine," said Teddie, reassuringly. "So, you lose marks for the Lumos charm. You'll make it back up on the rest of the exam."
Daphne smiled.
Theo was called into the Exam Hall along with Draco Malfoy, Harry Potter, and Pansy Parkinson. Teddie offered him a smile and thumbs up as he met her gaze across the Hall.
He joined her and Daphne ten minutes later, as Blaise was called in with the last of the students. Once the four of them were finished, they headed off to the library to meet Mason and Astoria.
~X~
Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday brought very little reprieve. In the mornings Teddie and her friends sat their written exams in Transfiguration, History of Magic, Herbology and Defense Against the Dark Arts with the practical examinations in the afternoons. During her Defense exam, Teddie entered the Great Hall and found an old, bald examiner, who was sitting behind a small table in the corner, a short distance from Mrs. Marchbanks that was testing Daphne.
Mrs Marchbanks nodded at Teddie as she passed and Teddie returned it with a smile. She was sure that the Examiners had read the Daily Prophet, and was glad that they were treating her like any other student and not showing fear at the sight of her because of her alter-ego, well, at least Mrs Marchbank hadn't.
The minute she stopped in front of his table, Mr. Tofty - Professor - he corrected her, leaned forward on his desk and looked her straight in the eye. Teddie swallowed and clutched her wand in her hand. She wanted to look around for a Professor, or even Daphne and Mrs. Marchbanks, someone that could give her a little assistance, but they were all too busy with their exams.
"Mhm. So, you're in the infamous Faye Sutherland, huh?" Professor Tofty said.
"My name is Teddie Green," Teddie replied.
Professor Tofty sniffed, indifferently. "We'll begin with Counter jinxes," he said. "I remember your parents' examinations. Your mother was exceptionally well at Counter jinxes, although that shield of hers was a bit of a problem."
Teddie bit back a smile at the idea of Avery struggling to control her shield at age fifteen. Granted she wasn't entirely sure how she had managed to control the uncontrollable bursts of magic when she was angry or scared, but Teddie couldn't recall an incident this year where her shield had been used. Maybe everyone was just too scared to piss her off because they knew she was protected, or it could've been they didn't want to get on her bad side because of who her parents where.
Teddie was more inclined to believe the latter than any.
"Mhm. A lot better than your mother, I can tell you that," Professor Tofty said once Teddie had completed the specific Counter jinxes he had asked her too. "Just one more Charm and you're free to go," he added.
Teddie glanced around. By this point she was the only student from the last group to remain in the Great Hall. Goyle, Daphne, and Hermione had already been released, and Professor Umbridge, who loitered near the double doors seemed to be waiting patiently to send the next lot of participants.
"What would you like me to do?" Teddie asked. She was eager to prove to this man that she was nothing like the people that birthed her.
"I'm sure it has not escaped your notice," said Tofty. "But, given your parents lack of love and affection, they cannot produce a Patronus. Can you?"
Teddie licked her lips and turned to face the empty Hall. She met Umbridge's gaze, smirked, and muttered "Expecto Patronum!"
The silver wolf burst out of the tip of her wand and bounded around the length of the Hall before making its way back to Teddie's side. It sat back on its hunches, and nudged Teddie's hand as she reached out to pet it behind the ears. The warmth it radiated made her smile.
Professor Tofty stared, slack-jawed at the Wolf until it disappeared.
"May I go now?" Teddie asked.
"Oh, um, yes, yes, of course," Professor Tofty stammered. He nodded and released her. "Oh, and Miss Green, please forgive my actions today. They were very unprofessional."
"Apology accepted, Professor."
~X~
On Friday, Daphne and Blaise retired to the Library while Theo and Teddie were in the Great Hall for their Ancient Runes examination. The pair sat not that far from one another, along with Hermione Granger and several other students, whom Teddie guessed were seventh year students sitting their N.E.W.T. exams.
But yet, despite Theo and Hermione helping her revise in their lessons, Teddie was sure she had failed. She had mixed up several runes and still hadn't managed to wrap her head around the theory of Ancient Runes in time for her exam. But she was sure that Theo had passed with flying colours. His ability to understand Runes was unmatched, and Teddie couldn't have been prouder of him.
"I'd be surprised if I get less than a 'P' in that," said Teddie as she and Theo made their way up the library an hour later. "But you, I'm sure you'll get an Outstanding."
"Your faith in me is outstanding," said Theo.
Teddie laughed and wound her arm through is. While she may have admitted to herself that she was in love with him, she hadn't spoken it out loud, especially since she wasn't sure how Theo felt about her. It was one thing for her to admit to herself, but to admit it to him and be rejected wasn't something she felt she could handle. If he didn't love her as anything more than a friend, then her confession could cost her that friendship and she wasn't prepared for that.
The weekend passed far too fast for Teddie's liking. She spent most of Saturday and Sunday in the library with her friends, studying for the next weeks load of exams. On Monday they had their Potions practical, and Teddie was sure that Snape was about to set them a very complicated potion.
Normally, while in class, Teddie always had Theo has a partner, and therefore was confident in her final product as he was always there to back her up. Unfortunately, on Monday Theo and she would be split up, probably on different tables and opposite sides of the room, and forced to work on individual potions, which was why she was nervous about failing.
"I'm sure Professor Snape won't -"
"Don't even say it," said Teddie, interrupting Blaise. "Professor Snape may be my, well, he may have been my next-door neighbour, and he watched over me for the last fifteen years, but that still doesn't mean he will favour me. Besides, given the hell I have put him through this year, I'm surprised he hasn't failed me already."
Blaise laughed and shook his head. "To be fair, though, Ted, you haven't exactly had the best of years," he said. "I mean, you were abducted, tortured, rescued, called out in the media, and then lost your parents all within six months of each other. That's enough to take its toll on anyone, and you haven't really grieved any of it."
"He's right," said Daphne. "If I lost my parents, I'd be a mess right now. How come you're not?"
"Simple," said Teddie, dipping her quill into her ink well. "Mason."
Theo, Daphne, and Blaise furrowed their brows at her.
"Mason needs me," said Teddie. "As much as he tries to act strong, I know he's not. Professor Flitwick called on me Saturday evening, remember?"
Her friends nodded.
"He wanted to talk to me about Mason. It would seem, ever since we came back after Christmas, Mason has had nightmares - nothing new, I mean, he used to have then all the time as a child - but these nightmares are about being alone. He's terrified that, now our parents are dead, he's going to lose me, too."
Daphne rubbed Teddie's arm with her hand.
"I need to show Mason that nothing bad is going to happen," Teddie continued. "I need him to know that, despite what happens next, I'll always come home to him. He needs to understand that he won't lose me."
"I think he already knows that" said Blaise.
"True. But his grief of losing our parents has manifested into his fear of losing me," said Teddie. "He needs to realise that will never happen. I'll never leave him."
"Not intentionally, at least," said Theo.
But Teddie shook her head. "Not at all," she insisted. "Mason is everything to me. I know I have you three, and everyone else, but Mason is my brother, biological or not, and he needs me more than ever. If I give in to my own grief then that's abandoning him to his own, I don't have a choice. I need to be strong. I need to be strong for him."
"You do realise that's an unhealthy way of looking at it, right?" Blaise asked.
Teddie nodded and then shrugged. "Mason means the world to me," she said. "I'd do anything to make sure he is safe, and I mean, anything."