Disclaimer: Not mine, anything else you recognise probably isn't mine either but I never know for sure since I've read so many stories that I can't tell anymore whether or not it was my idea in the first place.
Author's Notes: See Chapter 22 ^_^
-~/\~-
~...~ = Parseltongue
/.../ = Telepathy between Harry & Carya (in italics)
' ... ' = thoughts
~*~*~ ... ~*~*~ = Flashback or changing POV
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Chapter 23 - Exams and End of Term or Test Results and Packing Stuff
Many had still some homework to finish because they hadn't done it during the weekend. The 'Slytherin Six' were among them. They still had the Potions essay to finish before Wednesday and their Magical Theory assignment was only written halfway but was due the next day.
At breakfast the next morning Snape saw that many owls were carrying coloured envelopes. More than two dozen of those were dropped in front of one Harry Potter. Severus thought that he would enjoy the attention but the boy just groaned and shook his head in annoyance.
That first morning he just threw the letters into the nearest dustbin. At dinner he got about the same amount of mail again and was already beyond pissed. The boy decided that a small bonfire was in order and used the letters once he got near a fireplace.
On the fourteenth of June there was an article in Witch Weekly that stated he would send anyone who wrote him fan-mail a nasty surprise back. It rarely happened that Harry was annoyed but with the strain of Voldemort's return and the additional burden of being in the spotlight since he was one, his patience had been growing thin.
Severus thought that he'd be annoyed too if he had been forced to be part of Voldemort's resurrection. On the thirteenth Harry had asked to meet him in the evening. The boy had stated that he wanted to take the end of year exams even if he had been excused from them at the beginning of the Tournament.
To say Severus was surprised was an understatement but he didn't show it. He asked Harry one time if he was sure and when the boy nodded, he told him to get to bed and that he would tell the headmaster and McGonagall about his decision.
During the days before the exams started from June 12th until June 15th most students could be found in the library or in the Common Rooms studying a last time. The six friends disappeared again and had last been seen outside of meals and classes when the foreign students had been said goodbye to.
Fudge had revealed Voldemort's possible return in the newspaper of Wednesday, June 14th. He had made it sound though as if that whole affair was just the result of a raving mad Death Eater who had been captured.
The death of Barty Crouch lasted longer than that bit of information. To say that the Potter twins were pissed at that was hardly accurate. They were more angry than they had been with Dumbledore after the second task.
Severus suspected that Carya Potter would carry out her threat and find Skeeter for publishing the whole truth about the Dark Lord but he didn't think that anyone would believe them. People were too afraid of the past Dark Years to believe in the possibility of repeat.
The friends concentrated on learning for the exams, everyone did. They used the time they'd left until June 16th well. On Thursday, June 15th the students were handed their exam schedules. Several children groaned. Most had at least two exams a day.
They only had one night left before the exams started. Some made a desperate last attempt at studying but the 'Slytherin Six' went to bed early. They wanted to be rested for the first day of tests. It was a good thing that they had a weekend between the first and second day of exams.
The Exam schedule for the fourth years and the friends in particular was the following. On Friday, June 16th they had Transfiguration in the morning where they had to turn a mouse into a teapot and a cup into a chicken.
Astronomy took place at midnight and they were required to fill out the missing parts of the chart they had been given. It wasn't that difficult though because the friends remembered the night sky fairly well.
Saturday and Sunday were of course free and everyone either enjoyed it or studied. Monday started with Charms exam after breakfast. They had to demonstrate their skills at summoning and banishing charms. They kids were fairly good at these by now.
This one was followed by Arithmancy but that was just logical maths so they did what they could. History of Magic was written after lunch and the topic were the goblin rebellions during the middle ages. On Tuesday the children had Herbology in the morning.
They had to deal with some of the plants they'd studied that year. After lunch they had Theory of Magic where the students had to explain the workings and the theory behind the light charm 'Lumos' and the levitation charm 'Wingardium Leviosa'.
Wednesday was by far the hardest day they had until now. In the morning they had Ancient Runes which was translating a text without the aid of their usual dictionary. After lunch was Defence Against the Dark Arts though and that was not pleasant.
Not that they had expected it to be after such a year. The real Alastor Moody and one or two aurors tested them. It was once again on shield charms. The students weren't allowed to cast offensive curses.
Only defensive ones if they couldn't hold their shield though. Most had problems with that, some did okay but only a few did really well. Among these few were surprisingly Ron Weasley, Harry Potter, Carya Potter and Tom Riddle.
Those who did well were the rest of the 'Slytherin Six', Cat Williams, and Neville Longbottom. The boy had made real progress over the year and wasn't afraid of his own shadow anymore thanks to his liaison to Blaise Zabini who did okay herself as well.
The Hufflepuff's had the most problems with these shields and many Ravenclaw's struggled a bit but most Gryffindor's and Slytherin's had learned their lessons. That surprised the present aurors. Given the fact that a Death Eater in disguise had taught the children they did fairly well.
They were trained better than anyone had expected. No one would fail the class this year. The one thing that all three aurors noticed was that the infamous 'Slytherin Six' as Albus had called them in their presence never turned their back towards them.
They looked almost suspicious. One could explain that with the Potter twins but the rest? They would have to ask the headmaster about that later on. On the last day of exams they finally had Latin in the morning.
As last year they had to translate a text from Latin to English and write their own text in Latin. Potions took place after lunch. The students had to brew one of the more difficult antidotes they had dealt with over the past year.
All those who took Survival class had to take an additional Potions test which consisted of explaining the properties of several uncommon potions ingredients and after that making a decent Befuddlement Draught.
The first part made Carya smirk unconsciously though since she knew almost every ingredient they had dealt with by heart now thanks to detention with Snape. The last test for these students was for Survival class.
The students had to fight one of the magical dummies with their chosen weapon and their wand. It was useful if you wanted to be an auror because you got extra credit if you were good. Because of that several professors were watching them through an enchanted wall to give points for skills.
Every single student let out a sigh of relief once they had finished their last exam. They all were stressed after a week like that but at least the six friends thought that they did fairly well. The night of Thursday, June 22nd the children threw parties in their common rooms.
The Potter twins, Tom, Draco, Hermione and Ginny were missing as usual throwing their own celebration in the secret chambers together with the founders paintings. By the time breakfast came around everyone was exhausted to no end the relaxed the whole day mostly ignoring what their teacher tried to tell them in class.
No professor but McGonagall and Snape expected the students to pay attention that day at all. These two teachers though insisted on it. They made small concessions though. The assignment for both classes were allowed to be made in groups. But no group was to be larger than three.
Before anyone noticed it was already time for dinner. Only one day of classes before they had a free Sunday again. All students wished it was the next evening already but that was wishful thinking. To everyone's astonishment the Saturday passed faster than imagined and they were free at last.
Dumbledore allowed the older students above third year to visit the village one last time before summer. Although they had to follow certain rules. The groups had to be no smaller than four and two chaperone's would be present in the town all the time.
The younger ones were allowed to roam the Hogwarts grounds and fly on the restored Quidditch pitch under supervision of Madam Hooch and Professor Sinistra. Monday morning, June 25th came far too early for the students liking though.
There were three days left until the travelled home once again. After breakfast Tom was called to the headmasters office. The friends refused to let him go alone but in the end only Carya went with him.
"Any idea what he wants, Tom?" asked the girl on the way.
"Nope, not the slightest. Thank you that you're going with me. I still don't feel comfortable around him alone," Tom replied.
"I feel the same as do the others. I just can't forgive him what he did to us. Perhaps later but right now I don't trust him further than I can throw him without the aid of my wand or magic and that's not very far," she said.
Not even a minute later they reached the stone gargoyle that lead to the circular office of Dumbledore. Once again they stood before the statue, clueless to the password.
"Old bastard, he knew we would have to guess it again. What game is he playing?" growled Carya while Tom started listing sweets, wizard and muggle alike.
"Liquorice wands, Cockroach Clusters, Snickers, Gummy Bears, Milky Way, Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans? Arrgh, I give up! Carya do you care to try?" the boy wanted to know.
"No, I know something better," she said and pulled out her wand, "Get moving you silly piece of stone. He ordered Tom here but didn't give him the password, so move or I'll blast you into pieces!" she grumbled between clenched teeth.
Carya hadn't slept well last night and was quite grumpy right now. Tom couldn't help but think 'Just like Snape sometimes' before watching in surprise that the gargoyle seemed to obey. Together they walked up the stairs and knocked on the door.
"Come in!" said the headmasters voice.
The two children stepped inside and blinked. The headmaster wasn't alone. Snape was with him and Carya didn't like that at all. She remembered the conversation they had overheard but she still didn't like the fact that Snape had been a Death Eater at one point or the other.
Who said that he wasn't a spy for the other side? Dumbledore had made mistakes before. She had discussed that with the others too.
~*~*~ The Founders Chambers the day after the Tournament ~*~*~
"Harry, who tells us that he doesn't work for Voldemort? He has the Mark. At one point he must have done it. It's not as if Dumbledore hasn't made such a mistake before!" Carya said exasperated.
"What do you mean 'before' Carya?" asked Tom who didn't know what they were talking about since there were still many things about his friends he didn't know.
"I mean that in our first year there was a Death Eater carrying Voldie's spirit around in his body. In third year he tortured us with that imbecile Lockhart and this year we had a Death Eater in disguise. He didn't notice that an impostor had taken the place of one of his closest friends!" she explained.
"Oh, that makes sense. But why do you think that Snape ...? I mean, okay, he seems to despise the two of you but what's the reason for that? Perhaps we should ask Moony and Padfoot. It would make no sense though that he hated me from the start.
I he was truly loyal to Voldemort then he would have wanted to befriend me to give his Master a new weapon in the fight against the two of you, wouldn't he?" Tom reasoned.
Carya fell completely silent. That was something to think about. Tom had a point. Snape had to dislike the Dark Lord at least now. She thought about everything more rationally and found that he was right.
"Okay Tom, I guess you could be right. He was after all one of Mums best friends in school and she never liked Pettigrew as she wrote in her diary. I guess that gives him some extra credit. But I refuse to blindly trust him.
Let's do what we do best, observe him and decide later," she said and everyone agreed.
~*~*~ End The Founders Chambers the day after the Tournament ~*~*~
"Please have a seat, my children," the headmaster said smiling. Tom sat down but Carya remained standing behind the chair. She cast a calculating look at Snape and her gaze flickered towards his left arm for a brief moment before wandering towards the headmaster.
Severus of course had noticed and was wondering again what or how much she knew. He was also thinking about her refusal to sit. The fact that Tom was in company of one of his friends told enough to know that they still didn't trust Dumbledore.
'She is as stubborn as her mother. The girl emphasises her distrust by remaining standing. And she keeps her options open. She could still sit down but she also could make an attempt at escaping should she feel threatened. Clever girl, no wonder she's a Slytherin,' Snape thought.
"Well, I know you're wondering why I called you here Tom. I wanted to talk to you about the arrangements for your summer," Albus started his explanation and Carya immediately scowled at him.
"I believe it would be possible for you to stay here this time. I do know that you wouldn't like to be sent to one of the Muggle orphanages ..." he continued only to be rudely interrupted by the Potter girl.
"Tom can stay with us if he likes. I already asked Sirius and Remus about that and they agreed!" she said firmly.
Severus and Tom stared at her in surprise and Dumbledore looked shocked for a second.
"Ah, I see, well, if your guardians have no objections then I think that he could stay at Black Manor for the summer. Well, since that is settled you two can head off to classes," the headmaster answered shocked about that reply.
Tom still looked at Carya who was smirking. Severus watched the two and left right after they did. He caught snippets of their conversation before their ways parted.
"You really did ask Sirius and Remus?" asked the boy.
"Of course, you silly twit. Do you think I'd leave you at the mercy of a bunch of grumpy teachers or any unknown muggles over the whole summer? Besides, I like having you around, Tom. You should know that by now ..." she replied.
"Oh, eh ... yeah, I know. Thanks anyway. Do you have any idea how much I love being around you?" Tom asked in return and Severus could only hear a suppressed giggle before turning left for his dungeon classroom.
Classes were quite boring now that the exams were over. The teachers mostly gave written assignments now, knowing fully well that there wasn't much attention to get anymore. The kids Ancient Runes professor, Estelle Callas, even decided that having a lesson outside was far more enjoyable than sitting in a dingy classroom.
She had done that because she'd been pleased with the results of the exams. Not one of her students had failed and this particular class had done better than she had expected. It was a pleasant surprise for the professor to have a whole group of pupils who actually put some effort in her class and not only the occasional one or two.
By the time dinner rolled around everyone was getting excited. Only about fifteen hours before the exam result would be posted. They would only have classes in the morning the next day because it was the last day of school.
The 'Slytherin Six' seriously thought about skipping History of Magic which meant they'd have some free time before Arithmancy class started at eleven o'clock that day. After lunch the students would have a meeting with their heads of houses to get the schedule for the rest of the day and what was left to do until they let the next morning after breakfast.
Once that was over they would be free to look at their exam results. That was what most children were really excited about. But it was still hours away. Tom and his friends hardly ate dinner that day. They wanted to celebrate their little victory about Tom's summer residence among themselves.
Around eight thirty they met in the Founder's Chambers and stayed up until long after midnight. They painting celebrated with them and they got to know the memories of the Founder's a bit more. Salazar and Godric even seemed to have been quite good friends at one point of time.
But that was before Salazar decided that letting Muggle-born and half-blood children into Hogwarts should be prohibited. He wouldn't tell them why though. They swore to ask him again when they returned from summer.
As they had thought about it, the six friends indeed skipped History of Magic the next day and slept in. It was the first class they'd ever missed willingly. Binns didn't notice but their classmates did. Some of the more hostile ones reported that to the still living professors.
Professor Vector was assigned to talk to them during Arithmancy. And he did just that.
"So, would you care to tell me why the six of you missed History of Magic this very morning?" he asked the still sleepy children.
"Eh, ... we were up a bit too long last night professor and simply overslept," said Draco, one of the better Arithmancy students.
"And what was worth staying up all night, if I may ask?" the adult inquired.
"We were just happy that Tom wouldn't have to stay here. He's allowed to go home with us the whole summer this year," offered Carya as an explanation, putting on a slightly sheepish expression.
Viridian Vector was satisfied with the answer though. He had never understood what was going on around Tom Riddle and he hadn't particularly cared either. The boy was quiet during class, polite when spoken to and he paid attention to his subject.
"Well, I think I can accept that. Don't make a habit out of it, okay?" he said and dismissed the children towards lunch.
"That was close, don't you think? I wonder who has told on us. Binns wouldn't have noticed that we're missing," Ginny mused on their way to the Great Hall.
They got their answer fairly quickly though and from one of the Gryffindors at that.
"I know who did it. Lavender overheard the Patil twins talking about it. It seems that Padma from Ravenclaw ran right to the professors when you didn't show up," said no one else than Ronald Weasley.
"And you're telling us this because ...?" asked Ginny.
"Eh, ... for one as an attempt to talk to you Ginny and secondly because I don't want to fight with you anymore. Everyone skips class at one point of time and it's not right to go and sneak on you. Padma and Parvati are strange.
Sometimes I think that they're jealous about Hermione. About being Harry's girlfriend you know? It has become worse since he won the Tournament. I swear they wrote you fan-mail Harry. And since you threw it all away, maybe it was some kind of revenge ...," Ron explained his behaviour.
"Okay Ron, what did you want to talk about with me?" his sister wanted to know.
"I ... I got a letter from mum on Sunday. She wants us all to come home during the holidays. I know you'd rather stay with Malfoy ... with Draco I mean and ... well, I told her so. She said he was welcome too," he answered.
"Oh, well, that's a problem. We'll talk about that on the train, okay? I'm rather hungry now and I want to know my results too," Ginny said and the friends plus Ron walked into the Great Hall.
It was a very odd sight to see Ron walking next to the six friends peacefully but no one dared to comment on it fearing the worst. Lunch was over quickly and everyone walked towards their Common Rooms. Professor Snape was already waiting for his students when they arrived.
He had beaten the six friends to the Common Room by mere seconds only though since they knew almost all shortcuts. Shortly thereafter the common room was filled with all Slytherin students.
"Sit!" he commanded before starting to tell them what was happening now, "Another year is over and the professors will finally get some well deserved peace again. After this meeting you will be allowed to take a look at your exam results.
The results are also sent to your parents already so there's no chance at cheating. I expect everyone of you to behave yourself over the holidays and over the next year as well. I do believe that the Quidditch Competition will take place again next term.
Be prepared for tryouts as a whole new team will be built. You will pack your things today with the minimum amount of noise and mess. I expect all of you at the feast tonight. And don't be late! You are dismissed," said Snape sharply but without the usual sneer.
The Slytherin's left the Common Room and headed towards the entrance Hall where the results for the whole school had been posted. A huge amount of students was already there, babbling away and shoving each other.
The Slytherin's thought themselves above such behaviour and waited orderly until they could reach the board. Hermione had waited for her friends to arrive.
"Well, I'm curious about how badly we've done this year though. I do hope I didn't fail History of Magic. Sirius would laugh at me since even he himself managed to pass that class," joked Harry.
"We just have to wait and see. The Gryffindor's behave like a bunch of over-excited first-years. Even the older ones do it. It's simply disgusting," Carya threw in just loud enough for every Slytherin around her to hear.
Muffled laughter could be heard and she started smirking. Gryffindor-bashing was one of every Slytherin's favourite pastime although she didn't mean anything by it. The Lion's did the same with the Slytherin's.
Finally the commotion had died down a bit and the 'Slytherin Six' as well as other waiting students could get a good look at the board. None of the six friends had failed any classes. They had in fact no worse marks than 'Acceptable', not even in History of Magic.
"We did it, I cant believe we didn't fail History!" Carya exclaimed happily and smirked at her friends.
"What did you expect with Hermione and Draco drilling historical facts into our brains every night?" asked Tom cheerfully.
The other's chuckled at that. It was true. Those two had gotten an 'Outstanding' in History of Magic which seemed well deserved in the eyes of their friends. And no one had expected anything less than 'Outstanding' for Tom and Carya in Theory of Magic, Ancient Runes and Potions.
That were the only subjects where the other four couldn't reach their level. They all had gotten the highest mark in Herbology though. Thanks to Tom, Carya and Hermione who had actually listened to Professor Sprout most of the time. Carya was first place of all fourth years.
Right behind her was Tom, then came Harry and Draco. Ginny and Hermione tied for fifth place though. Surprisingly Lavender Brown and Ron Weasley were behind the 'Slytherin Six'. Even Neville had managed to get under the best fifteen students this year.
He had been between thirtieth and fortieth place last time. One could clearly see Blaise Zabini's positive influence on the Gryffindor. Cat Williams had done quite well too. She was in tenth place. All in all Slytherin had the best results ever.
The students returned to their Common Rooms and dorms to pack their belongings. Some of them were exceptionally happy while others felt like crying. The six friends felt good. They'd made the top of class again and knew that they hadn't cheated to achieve that.
It was all due to hard work and they were extremely proud of themselves. Their studying sessions and the methodical splitting of their homework showed in their marks this time. Once they'd finished packing the friends retreated to their private Chambers.
They wanted to think about the elective courses they'd take next term. There were plenty of choices but they could only take four at the maximum if they wanted to be able to attend them and have some free time during the week. It was carefully discussed what they would take.
"I'll definitely take Advanced Potions and Advanced Defence. And I know that Tom will take these too," said Carya.
"I'm in for Advanced Defence too and I think that Wandless Magic could be quite useful," threw Harry in.
"Astral Projection sounds cool too but what about Advanced Transfiguration, Harry. Wouldn't that be a good choice for you?" inquired Hermione.
"Yeah, I know but that course is followed by Animagus Transformation in seventh year. The whole course leads to that and we don't need it anymore, do we?" answered Harry and the other's nodded in agreement.
"What do you want to take Draco?" questioned Ginny her boyfriend.
"Eh, ... I've thought about Advanced Defence and Astral Projection but I'm not sure about a third or a fourth subject," said the blonde.
"So, what do we have so far? Advanced Potions, Advanced Defence against the Dark Arts, Wandless Magic and Astral Projection are the subjects we would chose if we threw our wishes together. We don't need to take Telepathy though since we've made some real progress and now only need to open our minds enough to get a connection.
We also don't need Advanced Transfiguration since we already are animagi. That leaves four subjects available. The only question that is left is how many electives we want to take. There'll be Quidditch again next year and I'm sure that Harry, Draco and Ginny can't wait for that to start," Carya summarised their conversation.
"Wait, Carya, what do you mean, 'Harry, Draco and I'? Aren't you playing next year?" Ginny asked confused.
"Why should I? Flint graduates next year and is giving up Quidditch. He was the one who forced me to play," she stated matter of factly.
"You can't stop playing and you won't my dear sister. Even if I have to force you, you'll continue playing Quidditch for Slytherin! You're the best keeper we've had in ages. You cannot give it up now!" growled Draco.
"And what about Tom and I? Do you really think I'd like to let him wait while I'm risking my neck on a broom?" she shot back.
"Are you really that good as keeper?" interrupted Tom with a curious look on his face.
"Eh, ... I ... Okay, okay, no need to look at me like that Harry. Yes I'm quite decent but I still don't like it. I'd rather read a potions book than play Quidditch," she told him and Tom just smiled.
"I don't mind watching you playing Quidditch. I'm not that good on a broom I guess and I never had the chance to play or even try to do so," he murmured while smiling at Carya.
She knew what he was playing at and smiled back, "Okay, if you think I should try out for the team again next term then I'll do it," Carya said to Tom and her friends smirked at them.
"But that means that you all have to take four extra courses! I won't let you be lazy. It's four electives or I won't play Quidditch!" the girl stated smirking evilly.
Her friends with the exception of Tom groaned because they knew there was no chance of changing her mind if they wanted her on the team. So they all chose the same four electives and handed their parchments to Snape before dinner started.
Just before the food appeared Dumbledore asked for attention. Everyone knew what this was about. He was talking about the House-Cup.
"As you all know we didn't have a Quidditch-Cup at Hogwarts this year. Therefore the heads of houses and I have come to the agreement that the points gained through your exam points will be used instead. Slytherin had 311 exam points this year.
Ravenclaw got 268 points, Hufflepuff gained 104 points and the Gryffindor's have achieved 222 points. The exam points for each house are divided through ten and then added to the awarded house points. The house points have been given as followed this year.
Slytherin has been awarded 312 points. Ravenclaw has gotten 242 points and Hufflepuff has gained 165 points this time. Gryffindor got 189 points in total. Hufflepuff is still in fourth place now with 175 points. Gryffindor stands in third place due to the loss of points in November.
They have 211 points now. Ravenclaw keeps second place with 292 points. In first place is once again Slytherin with a total of 343 points this year. Congratulations!" Dumbledore said and with a double clap of his hands the end-of-term-feast began.
(A/N: If you added the 100 points Ron had lost for poisoning Carya then Gryffindor would have been in second place. It would have been 311 points total if the potions incident hadn't happened.)
The 'Slytherin Six' met in the 'Founder's Chambers' one last time before the end of term. Carya and Tom took some of the books written in parsel with them. The portrait of Salazar had told them that these books belonged to the heirs of the founders and since they were, the books rightfully belonged to them.
Ginny had little interest in most of Helga's books but her charms tomes were fairly interesting. The red-headed girl gave the History of Magic books from Helga's shelves to Hermione and Draco who really appreciated the dry subject.
The children also talked about the upcoming holidays. The twins had already decided to visit the Dursleys for the first three weeks before going back to Black Manor. Tom and Draco would accompany them to Privet Drive.
After that the four children would spend a week with their godparents until the twins birthday was over. Said birthday would be celebrated at Black Manor with all their friends. On August 1st Harry would go with Hermione for two weeks while Draco was going to the Weasley's and Ginny in particular during that time.
Carya would stay at Black Manor with Tom until Hermione, Harry, Draco and Ginny came over for the last two weeks of the summer. They would go shopping for school supplies together at the end of August and then return to school for their fifth year on September 1st.
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Finished September 30th, 2013