11

O.W.L.'s

By the time their first exam came around, Doe was a complete mess. Transfiguration was the first one they were to take, and the morning of Doe was practically shaking as they lined up outside McGonagall's classroom.

" You're going to be fine, don't worry" Lily assured her.

" I'm just worried" Doe said pacing slightly.

Professor McGonagall's doors opened and she ushered the fifth years into the room. The Gryffindors were taking this exam with the Hufflepuffs. They were to take the written exam first, followed by the practical.

Doe sat down at her usual desk and found a parchment test and quill waiting for her.

" You may begin," Professor McGonagall said and flipped over a large hourglass.

Doe's head began to spin and she flipped over the exam.

1. What is the proper incantation to turn a toothpick into a needle?

2. If you were to give the spell ' Curifurius' at a chair what would occur?

3. How would I turn a mouse into a snuffbox?

4. What are the four most important spells in Transfiguration?

and it continued for 150 more questions. Doe began furiously scribbling the answers to the questions. She was pleasantly surprised to see that a lot of them were things that they had learned this year.

Time passed very quickly while she was taking the test. Before she knew it, she had finished with a few minutes to spare.

She checked her answers over once and put down the exam. She looked around the room.

Lily was still scribbling answers. James was sitting with his feet up on the desk, he had clearly finished a while ago.

Marlene and Mary were both still answering questions and Remus was reading over his. Sirius flipped through his own and was rereading his answers.

" Time" Professor McGonagall called and all of the tests zoomed towards her, organizing themselves in clear piles in front of her.

" You may all line up outside in alphabetical order for the practical portion" McGonagall said opening the doors with a flick of her wand.

Everyone left the room silently and waited until the doors had closed again before beginning to talk.

" That was brutal" a Hufflepuff complained loudly.

" Awful" Lily agreed.

" I thought it was a breeze" James said with a smile.

" How do you think you did?" Remus asked, he was standing besides Doe.

" I think I did alright, what about you" she asked.

He shrugged, " I can never tell".

The students all lined up alphabetically, and waited for McGonagall to come outside. Doe was situated between Marlene and a Hufflepuff boy.

Professor McGonagall strode out of the room a few minutes later and called " Bones, Amelia".

Amelia got up and followed her into the examination room.

An hour later, Professor McGonagall strode out again and called " Meadowes, Dorcas".

Doe got up and followed Professor McGonagall back into the classroom. There was an elderly wizard in the room who introduced himself as Examiner Diggle.

" Now, Ms. Meadowes" he said reading off of the piece of parchment in front of him, " could you please transfigure the rat in front of you into a water goblet?"

Doe nodded and raised her wand to the rat on the floor in front of her.

" Ferraverto"

The rat transfigured itself into a shiny gold water goblet.

" Excellent!" the examiner said happily, " and if you don't mind could you make the water goblet dance?"

The rest of the week was exhausting. The exams took a lot out of the fifth years. Every moment they weren't taking the tests, they were studying.

Some of the exams had been harder than others. The astronomy practical had been slightly challenging, seeing as most of the students never observed the planets using telescopes so their charts had been labeled a bit off. The History of Magic written exam had been the most difficult in Doe's opinion. All of the goblin's names sounded very similar, so it was easy to get them confused during the essay portions. The Herbology and Care of Magical Creatures exams went very well. Professor Sprout and Professor Henley had prepared them well.

The divination practical had been absolutely ridiculous. The examiner expected them to be able to read their palms and predict their futures from the their tea leaves. Doe had thought she had done her best, but seeing as she wasn't a Seer, there was no way to know she did.

Soon all they had left was Defense Against the Dark Arts.

" Great, " Marlene complained as they sat outside of the DADA room, having just finished the practical portion, " The part I'm worst at"

Doe was still beaming from the practical exam. Low and behold the confundus charm had been on the exam. She had been wishing Severus a great arsenal of compliments while she had done it.

" You may now enter" said Professor Gleeson opening the door.

They had this exam with the Slytherins. They all entered and took their regular seats around the room.

" I hope you all do well on your final exam" Professor Gleeson said and flipped over the large hourglass.

Again, Doe became absorbed in the exam quickly scribbling all her answers, not noticing the two hours slip away from her. She finished minutes before time was up.

Most people were still working, Remus, Sirius , James had all finished but Peter was still writing away. Mary and Lily had both finished but were watching Marlene who still was writing with a lack of concern about the time.

Doe looked to where Severus was. He was leaning very close to his paper practically on top of it writing furiously. It looked like every single one of his answers was an essay.

" Okay, time's up!" Professor Gibbons called and all of their exams flew out of their hands and towards him. Everyone got up very excited at this point. They had all finished their exams and survived.

" We. Are. Done." Marlene exclaimed throwing her arms around both Doe's neck and Lily's.

" Thank Merlin" Mary said pulling her hair into a ponytail.

They followed all of the rest of the fifth years to the grounds. After the weeks of studying that they had all endured, it seemed as though everyone wanted to get outside and enjoy the fresh air.

" Lets go sit by the lake!" Mary suggested. The Marauders were all sitting against a nearby tree.

The girls all sat down by the lake letting their feet dangle just above the water and enjoying the sunshine.

" I can't believe our exams are over, I am so relieved" Lily said letting her dark red hair cascade over her shoulders like a blanket.

" I know, I'm so -" Doe's words were cut off by a large noise.

A crowd had assembled by the beech tree. They could hear cheering and shouting. The girls got up and rushed over to where the commotion was coming from.

"... I saw him, his nose was all over the paper. They won't even be able to read it, they'll be great grease stains all over it" Sirius said sneering.

Sirius and James were on their feet towering over Severus. Everyone looked very tense.

Severus raised his wand at Sirius and shouted an incantation.

Sirius narrowly missed it and shot a spell at Severus, " Better clean up that mouth of his" he said and large pink bubbles blew uncontrollably out of Severus' mouth.

" I wonder if this'll teach Snivellus" James said and levitated him. Severus hung in the air.

" Let's take off Snivelly's trousers" Sirius shouted and with another spell, severus pants fell revealing a pair of gray underpants.

" STOP IT" Lily hissed running over, " LEAVE HIM ALONE"

" I don't need your help" Severus snapped at her.

" Just leave him alone, What's he ever done to you?" Lily said shoving James.

" Just existing" James sneered.

He turned to Severus, " It's a good thing you've got Evans here to save you"

Severus got up and pulled his pants on, " I don't need help from filthy little mudbloods like her"

Lily stepped back as if she had been slapped, there was collective gasps from the small crowds assembled.

" Fine." Lily snapped, " But I'd change your underpants if I were you, Snivelly"

" Apologize to Evans!" James said pointing his wand at Snape.

" Don't you try to defend me!" Lily said angrily to James, " you're just as bad as him!"

" I would never call you a.., that" James said in shock.

" Oh please you walk around here all the time with your head so big, you are so arrogant. and you're NO BETTER" Lily snapped and stomped off.

Severus, obviously furious lopped off in the opposite direction. Doe could see his cheeks were pink beneath his curtain of dark hair.

Mary had run after Lily. Marlene just stood next to Emmeline Vance, unsure of what to do.

Remus was still standing by the tree, a look of pure shock on his face.

Doe walked over to him, " That was disgusting" she said, " how could James and Sirius be so blatantly awful?".

Remus made a face, " I don't agree with what they did, but Snape's not exactly innocent. He's always egging them on, and look what he just said to Lily,"

" Yeah, but no one deserves that kind of public humiliation" she said.

Remus frowned, " I suppose that's true"

In the next few weeks that followed, Lily refused to speak to Severus. He had tried to apologize and every time she refused to listen to him. It had caused her to be in a foul mood, and anytime anyone brought it up, she would just say " We're no longer friends".

And while Doe agreed that's what Severus had said was disgusting, she knew, like she was sure Lily did deep down, that he hadn't meant it.

So on one late Saturday afternoon soon before break ended, she headed down to the library to try and find him.

She slipped past the few students who were finishing up last minute assignments and spotted Severus in the back corner, half hiding behind a stack of tall dark books.

" Mind if I sit?" Doe asked.

He looked up at me with a look of pure hatred and disgust.

" I don't sit with Gryffindors"

Ignoring his comment, she sat down in the seat beside him. He was practically spilling with anger.

" What exactly is it that you want?" Severus asked venomously.

" I know you didn't mean it," she told him, " when you called Lily that"

Severus' evil grimace lightened a little.

" I know you care about her, and I know how awful Sirius and James can be"

Severus scowled, " and yet you're friends with them"

Doe shrugged, " They're not all bad"

Severus looked furious. His jaw was set and his lips were white in anger.

" But" Doe interjected, " They're awful around you"

He looked slightly less angry.

" I'm sure eventually Lily will come around" she told him, " She has too"

Severus shrugged, " I really hope so"

" But in the meantime" she told him, " You've still got one friend in Gryffindor"

Severus raised an eyebrow, " Lily will be furious with you"

Doe shrugged, " She'll get over it. I don't ditch friends".

She got up from the table and waited, " See you around, Snape"

He waved her away again. She smiled at the familiar gesture, rude as it may be.

She left the library and headed to the tree on the grounds where she told Remus she would meet him.

He was sitting there, with his head buried in a large book.

" Hey there, Lupin" she said sliding into the spot of the tree trunk so that she was next to him.

" Hi, Doe"

They were completely alone on the grounds, everyone else was inside enjoying one of their last days of the year in their common rooms.

She leaned over and kissed Remus. They were hardly ever were alone. He pulled her closer deepening the kiss. She adjusted so that he could wrap his arm around her as she held her face to his.

" I missed you today" Remus said a smile on his face.

She leaned against him, letting him leave his arm around her.

" I'm sorry there was something I had to deal with in the library" Doe said.

She told him what she had said to Snape. She bit her lip as she waited for his reaction.

" Do you think it was wrong?" she asked him.

Remus shook his head, " It was very...noble of you"

She relaxed a little, " I just don't want Lily to be mad that I am still talking to him."

Remus looked at her, " I think you're doing the right thing. And Lily will understand that even if she doesn't agree with it"

" You're quite the philosophical wizard, aren't you? Where have you been all my life to answer my deepest questions?" she asked him in mock amazement.

He smiled and pulled her closer to him, " Waiting for you, Meadowes"

Doe groaned at the cheesiness of his line and they both laughed, enjoying the rest of the afternoon.