Beta love: Huge thanks and loads of virtual cookies to Kefalion and LittleMissXanda for betaing, and also collectively to my whole team for helping out with ideas :)

Word count: 1317

QLFC Round 2: My team's (Wimbourne Wasps) collective prompt was to write about Astronomy. Chaser 3: Write about a character studying for or writing an exam in your subject.

Extra Prompts used:

3. (word) procrastinate,

4. (image) images.8tracks cover/i/009/284/113/tumblr_nrauxnmSE51sojkzpo1_500-5868 .jpg,

6. (song) We The Kings - Check Yes Juliet (Specifically the lyrics "They can change the locks, Don't let them change your mind")

Enjoy.

Five Stages of Taking an Exam

Stage 1: Taking Notice of the Exam

Ms Patil,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been given a unique opportunity to work as an apprentice at the Johannes Kepler's Institute of Astronomical Research in Dresden. However, before we can accept your application, you will need to take the U.T.Z. (Unheimlich Toller Zauberer) level entry exam in Astronomy. If you pass, you will be able to start your six-month trial. The nearest date for this exam is on September 3rd, which is approximately one week away from the date of us sending this owl post.

The exam will take place at our institute. We will be sending an international portkey to enable your participation.

To confirm your attendance we must have your confirmation by the 24th of August, 1999.

Sincerely,

Linda Friedrich,

Head Coordinator of the Johannes Kepler Institute

Stage 2: Procrastination

Padma was sitting over a book, her eyes skimming the pages in a rapid fashion; though she occasionally averted her gaze to the window and watched as tiny raindrops raced down the glass, pooling at the bottom. The night sky wasn't even visible; it was covered by dark clouds, hiding the Moon and the stars from view.

She pursed her lips and glanced back down at her book and its slightly yellow tinted pages. Even though she knew more than well that it should've been her copy of From Astronomy to Cosmology – The Mysteries of the Celestials Uncovered, it was instead a romance novel she had been waiting to read since its release. And she had to admit, it was way more captivating than her rather factual textbook.

She loved Astronomy and Astrology – hence her application to one of the most known academies dedicated to the study of the stars – but she just didn't feel like revising in the current, quite depressive, weather. With all the grey clouds covering the sky, she had no chance of getting a clear view of the planets, so she didn't even bother to rummage through her packed trunks for her telescope.

She scanned the page she was currently at once again, took a peek at her Advanced Astronomy textbook and let out an exasperated sigh. She just didn't feel like studying, for possibly the first time in her nineteen years of life. If anything, all she wanted was to procrastinate long enough so that she wouldn't have to study until she went to sleep – maybe then, she could postpone her revising for the next day.

She then tore her eyes away from her otherwise beloved textbook, and with a pang of guilt in her chest, she began reading the next line of the novel she had been holding.

Stage 3: Even More Procrastination

It was one of those days again. There was a storm outside, droplets of rain were furiously knocking against the windowpanes in Padma's chambers while she was tossing around in her bed, covered in a bunch of duvets. She supposed it must have been well past breakfast time already; however, whenever she came to the conclusion that she had gathered enough energy to unwrap herself from her duvets, she glimpsed the greyness that was seeping through the windows and slumped back into her tired and somewhat lethargic state of being.

She wasn't sure what in Merlin's name had come over her these past few days; whenever she peered at the notes she was supposed to be studying from, her mind went blank all of a sudden and a certain feeling of distaste towards the notion of studying filled her.

It wasn't that she didn't know that it was essential for her to revise, nor was it a dislike for the subject itself – she was perfectly fine with acquiring knowledge in Astronomy anytime – it was that she really didn't want to; it was as if some kind of unspecified force was holding her back.

Then, when she was just about to bury her face in her pillow, she heard a knocking sound coming from the direction of the window – and it was a different knock from the raindrops. It was an owl, holding a rather torn-looking newspaper in its claws.

Padma threw her covers off of herself and tiptoed over to where the creature was sitting, holding their leg out for some kind of payment. The girl opened the window and let the small animal in, and after picking it up from her desk, opened her pouch and placed a sickle in the little purse that was attached to the owl's leg, and then rolled out the newspaper. Meanwhile, the animal let out a hoot and disappeared back into the cloudy sky, leaving a wet patch on everything it had been sitting on.

The paper Padma was holding was a copy of Astronomy Weekly, a magazine she had always loved. She scanned through the headlines until she found a title that caught her attention – Ganymede and Callisto, or what the moons of Jupiter can tell us, it said.

Padma remembered that these specific moons weren't even in the curriculum for her N.E.W.T.-level classes - so they would surely not be needed for the U.T.Z. either. But, she supposed that if anything, it would be this article that managed to bring her mood back up.

Stage 4: Actual Preparation

Padma was leaning over her desk, her head buried in her open textbook. Beside her was a cup of simmering coffee and an empty jug – which had contained milk before it was poured in the coffee – which she would occasionally take a sip from. The sun was beaming through the window, shedding light on both her and the notes that were scribbled down in the margin of her book.

They can change the locks, but don't let them change your mind, it said.

She had almost forgotten about this particular quote; she hadn't heard it since she had moved out of her childhood home after the war.

Now she remembered; her father used to say this to her whenever she mentioned her enthusiasm towards Astronomy. He had always thought that the subject was a good opportunity for her to broaden her horizons, but he had always seemed to be afraid that it would avert her attention from other, 'more sensible' classes. Her father had always been a quite rational man; Padma supposed it must have been painful for him to watch his daughters turn to such mysterious subjects – Parvati to Divination and herself to Astronomy.

Still, as much as she appreciated the sudden sentiment from finding the quote in the margin of her textbook, Padma was glad that she once again had the appetite to study for her exams, and without many afterthoughts, she delved into the topic about the phases of the Moon once again.

Stage 5: Taking the Exam

"Parvati, I'm so nervous," Padma breathed on the morning of her long-awaited entry exam. "What if I fail? This is a golden opportunity, and if I can't get this right, I'll… I don't know where I would go without this!"

"You'll be fine, sis'," Parvati replied, placing a hand on her twin's shoulder. "If you're not able to ace this test, then no one is."

"But I have so many contestants!" Padma argued. "I'm sure there's someone who's a better choice than me. I'm sure I'll mess it all up anyway; I can't function under pressure."

"Do you want me to cast a calming charm on you?" Parvati asked, reaching for her wand.

"Yes, that would be nice," Padma nodded, her hands still shaking slightly.

"Tranquillum," Parvati muttered, and in an instant, a sudden rush of peace washed over Padma. "Better?"

"Yes, thank you," Padma said before glancing at the clock above her bed. "Oh, I'll have to go, or I'll be running late. See you after I'm done?"

"Sure," Parvati smiled softly. "I'm positive you're going to do perfectly. Good luck."

Note:

U.T.Z. (Unheimlich Toller Zauberer) - The German version/translation of the N.E.W.T. exam. (source: HP Wiki)

Tranquillum - self-invented spell, means 'calm' in Latin.