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Draco in an unexpected situation

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Last time on Draco in an Unexpected Situation:

It was then that Professor Dumbledore came over to speak to them all.

"Thank you all" He started with an extremely kind tone. "The whole world owes you a debt of gratitude for dispelling this horrendous foe."

Hermione because red faced. She then said in a very high pitched tone "We didn't do this ourselves. It was the Elven people. They developed the idea, gave us the training and knowledge we needed…." She would have continued if Dumbledore hadn't raised his hand in a way to suggest she should stop.

"Indeed Miss Granger" he answered "I have already thanked all of the Elves here who did all of this. I also know that this is not enough. I am keen to bestow a gratitude on the Elves that is fitting for their input". This quietened Hermione on this point.

"In fact, I would like you to help me, having been such an advocate for the Elven people for so long?" How could Hermione refuse an offer like that?!

"First, I invite you all back to Hogwarts, where I promise you, you all will have some excellent surprises"

19) Back at Hogwarts

When the seven teens came back to Hogwarts, they kept a low profile as much as possible. The school was just about to commence their exams, so the majority of students were focussing intently on revising.

The seven teams realised that they had come back at a bad time. Could they be expected to take their exams when they hadn't studied for them? Sure they had studied a great amount of magic and learned many skills, but they hadn't learned what was going to be on the exams.

They all were called into a meeting on the first night that they were back, before dinner. They came into Headmaster Dumbledore's office at the required time.

They were not alone in there. All of the exam invigilators were there. They were all smiling at the group.

The smallest but oldest looking invigilator spoke up, "We think that you should all be given full OWLs for your efforts this year, but we need to assess your knowledge and skill levels."

So it began- an intense but brief fifteen minute 'assessment' in which the invigilators called out something that they wanted done, and the student had to do it if they could.

They started with Ron.

"Transfigure this feather into a saucepan". The saucepan was huge, but it was acceptable.

"Bring me all of the books on this shelf that refer to sea plants" The stack of books was perfectly aligned and they even were in alphabetical order.

And so it went on. They asked thirty questions of each of them. All of them did everything that was asked. They even asked if there was anything that any of the students wanted to show them. Harry, Ginny and Draco showed their animagus forms, Neville showed his skill with a sword, Ron recited all of the best practices of management… basically all of them showed off, more to each other than to the invigilators, teaching each other what they had learned. Draco also found it amusing to redecorate the Headmasters office. The headmaster laughed and enjoyed the silver ceiling, white walls and green carpeted floor.

After they had all showed off to each other, the invigilators went into a little huddle and spoke in very low voices. After a brief conversation, the short man came out again and advised them all that they would be given full marks for all of their OWLs, with the exception of potions for Hermione, Ginny, Ron and Luna, who had not done any Potions within their year. Hermione and Luna asked if they could attend the test anyway. It was agreed that they could. Ginny and Ron were not bothered about Potions. Ron had decided that he did not want to be an Auror anymore. He had grander plans.

They were also advised that they would be given the first year of credit for NEWTs, as they had done enough study, so they only had one year remaining to prepare for their NEWT exams.

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After they had finished in the Headmasters office, they went down to dinner, and arrived to an incredible applause.

Dinner was a celebration feast much like the start of term feast. The Gryffindors enjoyed it greatly, but did not like all of the praise that they received. They had fought a war, and had seen friends get injured and die.

Draco and Luna felt isolated. Those at the Gryffindor table had each other for protection. They did not seem to need it however as Gryffindor house were much more accepting of bravery and success. Luna's housemates as usual did not pay too much heed to offering congratulations. They were interested in news and reflected on how it impacted on their own lives.

The Slytherins on the other hand were downright vicious. Draco had concerns about being surrounded by the families of those who he had helped to capture. He could take them on. He was certainly strong enough, fast enough and powerful enough, but he did not particularly want to fight anyone… especially not in the Great Hall, during a feast.

It came to the end of the meal. Draco had heard vicious remarks pointed in his direction all evening, and had noticed a large amount of food that had been thrown at him. Just before the table was cleared, a steak knife came hurtling towards his face. Chink. He deflected the knife with his own, and then rested his hand, still holding the knife.

A loud CRACK could then be heard. Followed by another and another, and several more. Elves were popping up all over the room. Many people gasped, having never seen an Elf before.

A large Elf spoke with a loud, clear voice, "Master Headmaster Dumbledore, we cannot clear the tables with cutlery being thrown at an individual, or with someone grasping a knife". He indicated towards the Slytherin table.

Draco sat there, with discarded knifes all around him, globs of food splattered near his plate, and with his small butter knife clutched in his hand.

As everyone was staring at him anyway, Draco decided to be brave and speak up.

"Headmaster Dumbledore, Can I please move to… Ravenclaw?" He decided to stick to the safety of a neutral house instead of going to the enemies of his previous housemates.

Luna's face lit up. Draco came over to Ravenclaw and squeezed himself in next to Luna. As he did, the insignia that identified him as a Slytherin student altered to the Ravenclaw insignia.

At the Ravenclaw table, Draco received only mildly interested looks. The Elves happily went off to move Draco's belongings to the Ravenclaw tower while it was still dinner time.

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The next day Draco went to the Hospital wing. Goyle was in there. He just only just woken up. Since he had his memory removed, he had not been right. Draco restored Goyle's memory, as it was safe to do so now that the battle was over. Goyle hugged Draco and they spent the day talking about what had happened and what was going to happen next. Draco told Goyle that he had moved to Ravenclaw and that he was going to be a year higher up. Goyle was fine with it, but confessed to Draco that he had been considering moving to Hufflepuff for years.

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Next chapter: After Hogwarts

The next chapter is the ending of this story.