Chapter 31: Tests

"What are Preliminaries?" Peter asked as they all gathered round the Gryffindor common room notice board the evening before classes were due to start.

"Mock examinations, it says here, that in order to prepare us for the rigours of our NEWTs in June, for this whole week in our classes we will be working on past papers under test conditions so the Professors can see what stage we are at and what we need to work on." Lily explained as she read the note pinned to the board.

Peter nodded his head, but his face told her that he was none the wiser.

Remus clasped a hand on the younger boys shoulder, "It means that all this week we have tests you haven't revised for."

Peter looked up at his friends and squeaked.

They just smiled at him and Remus pointed to the stack of homework that was waiting to be finished. Peter took no time at all to scuttle over and start working on a long overdue potions essay.

"I've never seen him so motivated." James commented as the rest of them grabbed their favourite sofa and chairs by the fireplace.

"I've never seen him do his own work." Sirius said as he sat down on the floor and lazily poked the fire.

Remus raised an eyebrow. "Are you prepared?"

Sirius swatted the air. "I'm always prepared, there's nothing I don't know."

Remus nodded slyly, "What happens when you mix St. John's wort and Valerian root?"

Sirius smirked, "Nothing they work well together St. John's wort is used in a Calming Draught and Valerian root is in a Dreamless Sleep potion." He flashed Remus a cheesy grin when the werewolf looked shocked at Sirius' knowledge. "I told you, just because I don't read at school doesn't mean I don't read at all."

"Is there anything you can't do?" James muttered as he picked up his Transfiguration text book and ironically started studying Animagi.

Sirius smile drooped and he looked at the floor. "I can't swim." He whispered to no one in particular.

Peter however overheard. "Let's push him in the lake!" He squeaked which earned him a glare from Sirius.

He was saved from whatever retribution Sirius had planned, by Marlene coming through the portrait. "I've got our exam schedules. Lily, James, ours have got when we can catch up for not being there tomorrow." She handed out the pieces of parchment with their modified schedules and flopped down on the floor next to Sirius.

He looked at her, the worry etched on his face like it was a carving on stone and pulled her into a hug. "You looked pale again this morning. In fact the past few mornings you've been looking pretty pale, if I didn't know any better I'd say you had a misbehaving bunny problem the same as Moony."

"Mmmm... I was just feeling a little sick that's all, I'm all better now. It just seems to happen in the morning."

"So it's called morning sickness then?" Peter chuckled pleased that he had made a joke, "You know... sick in the morning... never mind." He gave up explaining when three blank boys looked over at him.

Lily – being female, took Peter's innocent joke to mean something else and had looked over at Marlene – who apart from a brief flash of understanding in her eyes, was completely unperturbed by the comment.

"So what do you all think about these tests the Professors have sprung on us?" Marlene asked in a successful attempted to change the subject.

"It's sort of like real life. I mean no ones going to come up and ask your permission to test you, are they?" James said.

Lily nodded, "Very deductive, although a little more warning would've been nice, we have less than twelve hours to study ."

"At least were getting twelve hours notice, Frank warned me off these and he said his year got told what was happening in their first lesson." James said as he wrapped an arm around Lily's lithe frame.

Lily just nodded, "Well best make the best of it. You too James, we're out tomorrow remember, therefore our first exam is Herbology after lunch. Marlene can you come and help me find my Herbology books?"

Marlene looked up from her whispered conversation with Sirius and nodded slowly. "Sure." Getting up off the floor she patted Sirius on the head like a dog and followed Lily into her room.

Marlene headed straight over to Lily's desk and picked up the Herbology book that was lying there, turning around to smirk at Lily she saw that Lily had locked them both in and was giving Marlene a piercing gaze.

"How far along?"

Marlene looked genuinely confused; "Come again?" She asked, walking over and sitting on the bed.

Lily joined her, "Your pregnancy, how far along are you?"

Marlene stared at her in disbelief. "Lils, I'm not pregnant, I don't think Peter knew what he implied when he said I was having morning sickness. It was an innocent joke, that was actually quiet clever considering it came from Peter."

Lily sighed, "Have you at least done the tests?"

"Why would I need to do that, I've told you my mother gave me some stuff."

"Like what?" Lily was intrigued now, she herself was on muggle-means and had read about magical means but had never tried.

"There's this potion, erm main ingredient is Wormwood."

Lily just nodded until something clicked. "Wormwood? As in Mugwort?"

"Yeah, Wormwood, Mugwort, St. John's Plant, Artemisia vulgaris, whatever you want to call it."

"But that's completely non-compatible with St. John's wort."

Marlene raised an eyebrow. "St. John's wort is an anti-depressant..." She trailed off, her potion notes were becoming clear in her mind.

"- Used in a Calming Draught." Lily finished as she watched her friends face dawn with comprehension. "If both are taken at the same time then the Wormwood one becomes obsolete. It tenses you up, stops certain things from working whereas St. John's wort relaxes and calms you."

Marlene seemed to snap out of whatever she was thinking. "I'm not pregnant." She stated again, this time however her resolve was wavering.

Lily ignored her, "That means a week at least... if you are, you're showing the signs pretty early.... maybe a test..."

"I'm not doing a test because I'm not pregnant. Anyway the only tests I can think off, need the father to be there as well, they perform them for a small charge in St. Mungo's, and I'm not getting Sirius or anyone involved, there's no point in getting him worked up when I'm not pregnant."

"There's muggle means, you're in London tomorrow right? Delay coming back to school nip in to a Muggle Pharmacy and ask for a Pregnancy Test. Here I'll give you some money for it." Before Marlene could argue, Lily jumped off her bed and went rooting for the purse that held her muggle money. "They're fairly new on the market and consist of mixing some things with chemicals."

Marlene's brow furrowed in confusion. "Chemicals? You mean like a potion."

"Yeah, I'm not sure how much but here's twenty quid, should be enough. I don't know but they could be expensive."

"Then I'm not doing it. It's pointless spending money on something that's not even one-hundred percent accurate."

"I never said they weren't accurate."

"No offence Lils, but it's a muggle invention. Call me an old fashion pure-blood, but mixing chemicals? Can we not do the same with potions and herbs?"

"Look where mixing herbs and potions got you." Lily retorted, smirking when Marlene lowered her head in defeat.

"Fine." She said resigned and took the money Lily was handing her. "If and only If this muggle chemistry set shows that I am pregnant then we will do a normal one to double check."

"I'll hit the books when we get back tomorrow and find out if there are any tests we can run without the father present."

Marlene nodded. "Just as a precaution can you look up glamours, if I'm pregnant then I'll be due no-later then September/November, which means that I'll need to hide the bump, I need not remind you of Victoria Cast?"

"She had twins didn't she?"

"And although she was a respectable pure-blood has a Muggle job because she never even finished her OWLs."

"Poor soul." Lily commented, Victoria Cast got pregnant in the summer of her fifth year, they first met her because she was the prefect that showed them where the Gryffindor tower was after they had all been sorted. She had her twins in March, and was unable to do any of her exams. She was also shunned and bullied because the whole school knew she was pregnant.

"Come on." Marlene said standing up and putting the money in her trouser pocket.

Lily nodded and they walked back into the Common Room.

"Where's the Herbology book?" James asked as the girls returned empty handed.

Lily blushed but Marlene jumped in. "We couldn't find it, we think it's in here somewhere."

James shrugged believing the excuse and went back to being tested on the dangers of becoming an Animagus.

"Thanks for coming guys." Marlene muttered as she gave James and Lily a small hug.

"It's okay, will you be all right with him." James jerked his head in the direction of Martyn who was currently talking to the Minister of Magic.

Marlene nodded and gave her friends a smile. She had been surprised how many people had turned up for her parent's funeral. She had to admit her brother had done a remarkable job organising everything.

"I'll just rescue my father from that Skeeter reporter, then we'll head off. Just in time for Herbology." He made a face before going to rescue his father from a witch with curly blonde hair that was surprising stiff and a quill that was writing on it's own accord.

Lily pulled Marlene into a small alcove, "Have you got..." She started.

Marlene waved her off as Mr Crouch walked passed nodding at the two girls with sympathy. "Yes I've got it, but I won't be able to go just yet. Martyn and I have things to do. Merlin, why do these things happen to me?" She added half to herself.

Lily pulled her into a hug. "This is a good thing, probably at the most inappropriate time, but just thingk of the life growing inside you."

"If." Marlene added, she was still very much in denial about the whole thing.

Lily smiled and stepped out of the alcove when she saw James and his father heading back towards them.

"Thanks for coming Charlus." Marlene said as she gave James' father a hug.

Charlus Potter looked at the girl he had treated as a daughter, "You are so brave." He whispered, not trusting his own voice.

Marlene just smiled and James held out his arm for Lily to take and ushered his father out of the hall. With a wave over his shoulder they Disapparated and were replaced instantly by unsettled snow.

Sighing Marlene made her way over to her brother and the rest of the guests.

"So." He said as they stepped out of the bank and made their way down Diagon Alley. "Late lunch?" It was passed three o'clock, they had been almost two hours in the bank discussing the will and signing papers. Marlene was tired, she just wanted to go and buy the test and then head back to Hogwarts.

Martyn tried again, "Come on, you look really pale, there's a restaurant beside Ollivanders that's quiet nice, we can talk over food."

Knowing that they had to talk and that she had been tolerant of him for this long, another hour or so couldn't hurt. He was however testing her patience.

Seeing his sister's nod he steered them in the direction of the restaurant he had pointed out and told the maître d' that they would like a small private table for two.

Martyn then proceeded to order wine and despite Marlene's insistence that she wasn't pregnant, she ordered a carafe of water.

"So the house." Martyn said after they had placed their food order.

Marlene looked up from the bread-stick she was nibbling and stared at her brother blankly. "That was blunt."

He shrugged. "Did you want it? I know it's been left to me, but..."

Marlene shook her head. "I was planning on moving in with Sirius after graduation. You and Alecto can have it."

Martyn look quite taken aback by this comment. "Thank you. You can stay if things don't work out, just because it's mine doesn't mean I'm evicting you, you're always welcome, it's your home too."

Marlene just nodded, she felt uneasy sitting at the table with her brother. Knowing what he was, what he'd done. She kept trying to empty her mind like Regulus had taught her but instead a small bundle of blankets kept protruding their way to the surface.

"Regulus has been saying you're becoming quiet friendly." Martyn stated, sipping his wine.

Marlene stared at him. "Lets not talk about that, lets talk about how my studies are going or how Pride of Portree are winning the league, or how we haven't seen said team play since we lived in Portree or something that's not related to you, or Regulus or the Dark Lord."

Martyn stared at her completely speechless. "Er sure." He spluttered not sure what to say, he had only been trying to make conversation yet she had bitten his head off. "Portree are winning the league? Good for them who's their next game against."

"The Cannons."

Martyn snorted. "They'll win that for sure."

Marlene just nodded and continued to eat in silence.

After finally managing to come up with an excuse and leave Martyn. Marlene spent a good half an hour wandering around Muggle London, looking for a Pharmacy. When she was in China Town she remembered there was one near Sirius' flat and was just around the corner from where she was standing.

Muttering about Muggle-practices and unnecessary purchases she walked up to the counter and asked the cashier where they were.

"You know these things are confusing if you didn't take chemistry?" The blonde woman behind the counter said when Marlene had found what she was looking for and took it to the counter to pay. "It's easier to go to the hospital and get it done there."

Marlene just stared at the nosy girl who looked the same age if not younger than herself. "I don't want my husband to know, we've been trying for ages and I want it to be a surprise."

The girl look slightly taken aback, "Oh well... erm just read the instructions and you'll be fine." She said as she handed Marlene the change.

Marlene flashed a false smile and left the shop. That had been the second test of patience of the day, the first being Martyn and his insistence to explain that he hadn't know that their parents were going to be at the Hospital when it was attacked.

Reaching Hogwarts and veering off towards the grand-staircase Marlene heard chatter from the great hall. Looking at her watch and seeing that it was dinner time, Marlene decided to head to dinner as well. She was still full from their late lunch but going and sitting with her friends meant that Dumbledore and McGonagall knew she had returned.

Changing her course, Marlene walked into the hall and passed three house tables before reaching the Gryffindor one, finding her friends at the top again, Marlene climbed in beside Lily and poured a glass of pumpkin juice.

"I had a late lunch." She said when Sirius pointed to the steak pie.

"You still got your morning sickness?" Peter asked leaning over Sirius to take a slice of the steak pie.

"It's not morning Wormtail." Sirius said rolling his eyes in Marlene's direction.

Marlene laughed nervously. "I went to Pomfrey this morning, she said it's because I haven't been sleeping or eating properly. She gave me some potion and I'm all better now."

Lily smiled at Marlene the meaning of her un-voiced question, clear in her eyes. Marlene nodded and Lily pushed her plate into the middle of the table. "If you're not going to eat, then we can go study for our Charms practical tomorrow."

Marlene nodded and the two of them left the table before the boys could get an word in edgeways.

"We'll do it in my room." Lily whispered. "That way we have easy access to the bathroom and we won't be disturbed."

Marlene nodded, she wasn't sure why they needed access to a bathroom, she'd had visions of this chemistry set being performed in a cauldron.

Once in the room, Marlene handed over the test and Lily started setting it up, handing Marlene an empty vial she said: "Go in the bathroom and fill this up."

"With water? Why can't we use Ag... oh." Marlene suddenly understood as she caught sight of the instructions. Blushing furiously she disappeared into the bathroom.

Ten minutes later Lily had placed the stand with different vials on the desk and pulled out a potions book. "It'll take an hour or so, so I thought we could brew a potion to help with your morning sickness. I took the liberty of nicking some ginger root from Slughorn's stores."

Marlene looked over at the small vials filled with Muggle chemicals and sighed. Nodding she sat down beside the cauldron Lily had set up and set about chopping up the ginger. In one hour she would find out whether or not she was going to be a mother so soon after losing her own.

A/N: This chapter was a little bit longer than anticipated but so much had to be done, the story is really starting to live up to its title now and is going to be Marlene central for a while. But it's a Marlene story so that's to be expected lol.

Notes on Pregnancy tests: one site I went to said it was introduced to the American market in 1978 another said, 1977, unsure of when it was I placed it now. Also having never seen one from the seventies I couldn't really describe and I hope it's true enough, also money I understand £20 is a lot of money for a pregnancy test (even in this economy lol) but again being born in the eighties I don't know much about the seventies so I apologies for that.

Portree is the largest town on the Isle of Skye and Prelims is something that's always been done at my secondary school (I think they call them mock examinations in England) and it just gave me another reason to call this chapter tests :D

Okay I'm shutting up now, please review and thank you to everyone who has done in the past, as usual nothing is mine.