AN: Here's the chapter, I hope you like it. It's been a while I know, there aren't excuses other than I was being uninspired to write. Sorry for inconsistencies, grammar errors, and whatever else doesn't make sense.

I hope you enjoy it!

Chapter 43: Finals

There were two weeks left before the term was to end and we were right in the middle of finals.

I was close to losing my mind.

Normal stuff.

I spent every second I could revising all my notes. My head barely raged with aches, and my nose rarely bled as well, so I found that a good indicator that I had learned the material in school that I needed to pass. Now all that was left was remembering it when it actually mattered. My main concern was Potions, for since the beginning it had given me hell, but still, I was sure to dedicate myself to the other subjects with equal urgency.

Charms had been the first final I took, and I remembered getting out of it depressed. Obviously, I should have studied more. Lily insisted I was overreacting, maybe I was, but it didn't change the fact that I had to get an Outstanding if I wanted to continue on the N.E.W.T. class. I would drop out of Hogwarts if I didn't remain there with all my other classes. Afterward, it had been Transfiguration and Herbology, and of course, I left the classroom clutching the strap of my bookbag until my knuckles were white and heading to a silent place to continue my revising. Defence Against the Dark Arts was the next test to be taken, then Potions and Care of Magical Creatures would be on the last day.

I couldn't wait for it all to be over.

I was dying to know what results I had gotten on those tests I had taken. I still had to wait for the next week, and although I tried hard not to think about it for Lily had already sternly ordered me not to, the thought kept coming back to my head between studying.

To distract myself, I sat with Peter and Remus at the Gryffindor table for lunch, but that didn't do much good. My food laid untouched and my hand clutched a piece of parchment filled with notes, from which I hadn't taken my gaze off since a pale-faced Remus mumbled that his Ancient Rune test hadn't been as bad as he expected. I wondered if Lily, who took the same class, would say the same thing.

"Faraday," I heard Peter calling me in a small voice as he sat next to me. Looking away from my notes, I realized Peter was slipping a blank piece of parchment next to my plate. "Write your summer address here. I want to write to you."

The thought of it made me feel all kinds of special. It made me remember my last visit to St. Mungo's. Getting there and having to stay there for days had been abysmal, but the best part had been all the letters I was sent by my friends. And getting to write back. That had been fun and surely something I wanted to do again.

"I don't have one yet." It pained my heart to say it. I hadn't spoken to them about this simply because I had tried to steer away from that conversation because I didn't want to have it yet.

Studying was more pressing to me, plus talking to James seemed to slip my mind. I kept waiting for the right moment. I had no idea why I had yet to approach James about the matter. Somehow I knew he wouldn't say no. Honestly, James was my friend and I would love to spend the summer with him, and Sirius since he lived with him, but the Potters were Dumbledore's choice. Maybe that was why I kept pushing it.

As much as I wanted to stay with my friends, Mr. and Mrs. Potter would allow it because Dumbledore asked them, and that didn't sit right to me. The Potters, I thought, would protect me well enough, and report my every move back to the Headmaster. I hadn't met them yet, but of that I was sure, and so I kept putting up excuses to keep the decision at bay. My time was running out, and I was being rude, however, I couldn't bring myself to do it yet. The way it was going, Dumbledore was probably going to take the decision out of my hands at some point, anyway.

Peter stared at me with watery confused eyes, so therefore I decided to elaborate just a fraction. "I'm coordinating a place with Dumbledore. We haven't decided yet."

He accepted that with a nod, and when I glanced at Remus it seemed like he did as well.

"It's not going to be in school, right?" Peter asked bringing my attention back to himself. I shook my head as an answer. If I had chosen to speak, Remus would have beat me to it.

"Can't be Wormtail, school closes to students during the summer," Remus said, his voice sounded like he was finding it hard to speak, and with the moon two night away, I was sure it must have been. The moon was looming, but it was clear that finals were a tremendous motivation for Remus as sick as he felt to be on and about studying. "You'll have time for us, won't you Faraday?"

"Of course," I told him without a second thought, feeling a light smile grow on my face. "You lot have to show me what you do outside of Hogwarts."

That made Peter red with excitement at the prospect. I felt the same way.

"I was going to ask you," Remus mumbled on, his eyes drooping heavily with every blink. "I wondered if maybe you could help me during the summer with my furry little problem?"

"Your furry problem?" I whispered to myself half smiling at the silly name, though we were so close and the Great Hall wasn't as filled with commotion as other days that I was sure it was the same as saying it out loud. It was as I repeated his words, that I realized that I knew nothing of how he coped with his lycanthropy outside of school. "Oh right. What do you normally do at home with it?"

"The same I do here. Give myself scars and run in the forest." Remus smirked, if it was at his own words or the bemused scoff with which he said it, I didn't know. He went on. "Difference is my dad rents a cabin in Wales when its time, in the forest where he met my mum."

"Ah" I had no idea where Wales was but the story of how the hell his parents met in a forest seemed like something I wanted to know, but that I would have to ask about later.

"We go too," Peter pipped in, his face still flushed. "Prongs, Padfoot, and me."

I nodded at that, not really surprised. James had told me how ecstatic he had been years ago when they first discovered that Remus' lycanthropic side was more docile after quality times with their animagus forms. It made sense that they would spend the full moons outside of school with him as well. Of course, I would comply with his request, plus it would be something to look forward to during the summer and it meant that I would have my moon drunkenness watched over by the Marauders since I wouldn't be in the safety of the Forbidden Forest. A win-win for all of us. "Remus, I would love to go."

I hadn't expected how wonderful it would be to make plans for outside of Hogwarts.

The final for Defence Against the Dark Arts was a mixture of written and practical exercises. The written part was done, but Professor Ofina had seen fit to have us return after dinner for the practical. Something about we would need energy from dinner. My honest opinion was that she wanted us to throw up at some point in the practical because she was perverse and secretly evil, but that was just me imagining things.

I skipped dinner in favor of finding an empty corner in the castle, where no one would find me and I could practice my wand handling in solitude. James had been kind enough to give me a couple of Cauldron Cakes the day before, and I devoured them as I waited and practiced. When it was time, I went to meet up with my Slytherin classmates in the Defence classroom to get the test over with. The practical wasn't too bad. It was a duel with our dueling partners in which we had to use all the spells, counter-spells, and hexes we had learned through the year. My partner Missa was always on point with me, and we had no trouble at all performing perfectly for the professor.

At least I was certain of that, and it felt good to be certain of it.

So, it was dark when we finished the practical, and I trailed after my little group of Slytherin classmates as we made our way to the dungeons; we had separated from the Hufflepuff when we neared the kitchens and it was silent as we went. No cheery conversation nor critical evaluations. My guess was that we were all tired. Not that I would take part in any talk with them if I could steer away from it.

The hallway was cool compared to the ardent temperatures of the day.

Some days it got so hot that the paintings seemed to me would melt next to each other and the multiple sculptures and tapestries that decorated the walls.

It was as I was walking next to one of the said tapestries, that I felt the bun I had tied my hair into being grabbed. At the feel of it, I instantly stopped walking at the slight pull. Next thing I know, someone grabbed my waist and pulled me back. Back and oddly enough, behind the tapestry. I expected to hit the wall that was supposed to be there, but such a thing didn't happen. Instead, I was held in what felt like a void of darkness, the only light coming from the vertical separation of the tapestry and the edge of the opening it hanged from.

I was about to call out to Sirius probably, for I knew he was the only one that ever had the gall to pull my hair, but a finger was pressed over my lips slightly, just as I noticed that an arm was holding me around my shoulders. I slightly leaned back to test the situation I was under and tensed right back to my original position; I could feel a flat chest on my back.

I was definitely about to call out profanities when I heard a voice.

"Look," The one behind me, and to whom the arm holding me belonged, said. I was about to curse James Potter for this situation he put me in, for being too close for comfort, but the tapestry was moved, pushed forward. And with more light in the hiding spot, I saw I was not alone with James. Sirius was next to me, a little closer than he should have, but of course, he was there. His finger still hovered in front of my face, that I could see.

Sirius gave me a look I could barely see, for his face and eyes were hidden in shadows, as he went to point in the general direction of my roommates, a clear indicator for me to watch. I knew who my captors were, therefore at least I knew that I trusted them as my friends, so I shook the strange situation out of my mind and followed the finger. My eyes came to rest in no one other than Severus Snape. He had stopped walking, for whatever reason I didn't know, and the other handful of Slytherin followed suit.

Someone moved, I think it was Mafalda, and between her and Adrian Flint, a lone duck came wattling from the hallway coming up from the dungeons. Why? I couldn't even guess. It was a vibrant and shiny yellow, an odd color I thought. I had seen ducks before, parading on the Black Lake but they had been brown and green and white, not yellow. For a moment, as I felt James' chest rumble with laughter, that I had seen yellow ducks before backing on September 1st on the train ride to school. There had been a flock of yellow ducks that day. On the train. With Severus.

Oh shit, that's what this was.

The duck kept on with its adorable stride until I lost it somewhere among my dorm mates' feet. I watched as Hestia moved forward to take a look at what was happening just as from Severus' feel a yellow flash of light erupted in the otherwise dim hallway. There was what I could only describe as an explosion, and in a blink, all my dorm mates were covered in yellow feathers. With that discharge came their reaction as well, and I don't know if the feather stung or if it was just the surprise, but my fellow Slytherin erupted into a frenzy, screaming, yelling, and eventually taking flight in the direction our House was located. By their reaction, I could guess it did sting.

Some, like Gemma and Mafalda tried to take out their wands to try uttering any spell to counter what was happening, but when they noticed that a second yellow duck had appeared and proceeded to detonate, they gave up and pushed for the rest of the Slytherins to make haste in leaving.

When all the commotion died down, and all that was left was a trail of yellow feathers leading to the dungeons, Sirius pushed the tapestry open.

I felt James' rumble of laughter as he pushed me out of the hiding spot, letting me go to marvel at the aftermath his little prank had left. I stood there wondering what the hell I was supposed to do, as I watched the two boys laugh together at what they had done. It was a harmless enough prank, I've seen them do or intend worst toward my housemates, but this whole situation seemed detached to me, and for the first time in a while they merriment wasn't contagious.

On the other side, a matching tapestry gave way, and a red face Peter burst out to high-five awaiting James. Remus was nowhere to be found, and I found it odd until I remembered early in the day and how the moon was soon approaching. He was probably snug, comfortable and sick in Gryffindor Tower, and not up to no good like his friends.

Peter joined my side when he was through celebrating a good job with his friends. He grabbed at the sleeve of my robes. "Did you like it?"

I looked between him, his friends, and the spot where all had happened, and scoffed at the stupidity of it all. "Why is it always feathers?"

On my side, I felt an armrest over my shoulder. It was James again, though this time his arms didn't tense me as much as it had before, maybe this time it didn't feel like an invasion of privacy as before had. "Slytherins remind us of bird creatures, chickens mostly. But ducks are easier to transfigurate."

I shook his arm away at that instant. I didn't care what they did to my dorm mates, their prank was harmless, however, James' words instantly made my stomach heavy with his comparison. It was something I couldn't help but comment on. "You are being mean."

James didn't take my words in a bad way, though he did answer back in a detached way, like what he said had no importance. "They're Slytherins."

Suddenly, it felt like I wasn't there between them anymore. It felt strange, to look up at James, ad Sirius next to Peter after that was said. I held on to the strap of my bookbag, a tiny bit eager to make my way back into my House. When I spoke, it was a bit harsher than I would have liked to be. "What am I then?"

"Our Birdie." Sirius piped in, hands in his pockets.

I rolled my eyes at that, sighing. At that moment, I thought it best to leave, I could feel my stomach dropping and I felt it was best to be away from them for now. It wasn't late, but I had studying to do and as much as I wasn't looking forward to being in a room with fuming pranked girls, I didn't necessarily want to stay in that hallway either. As I made to leave without a word I felt someone tug at the sleeve of my robe, and I didn't have to look to know it was Peter.

My looked warranted an explanation and he was quick to speak. "We're going to the third floor, want to go?"

I smiled at Peter, looking into those watery blue eyes and wishing I for a moment I could say yes. But I wasn't. However, before I could say anything, Sirius spoke up. "She's coming tonight."

"I am not," I said immediately, watching as he ignored what I said to bring out their little map from a back pocket. The Gryffindor boys had taken to go celebrate taking the final test in one of the empty classrooms we frequented, eating sweets taken from the kitchens. I had been invited before but I argued that it wasn't right, that the celebration should be done after we knew our results, of course, they didn't see it that way. So I didn't agree and steered clear of their time-wasting.

"But-" Peter began but was interrupted by the rest of his friends.

"You should," James said to me crossing his arms.

"She is." Sirius pressed, leaving no room for me to give my own damn opinion. I couldn't control myself as I stared at Sirius, but my forehead felt heavy as I stared, and when I looked a James, I think he noticed my reaction.

"Maybe we should leave her be." James fixed himself, and it lightened my mood a bit to see that he could take a hint before I was forced to say something about how plain bothersome it was to have them handle me around like I had no say in how I live my life. It was just plain annoying, and I was not in the mindset to waste time with it. I had notes to revise and study. And I had no inclination to be told what to do at that very moment, not by them.

I tried to muster a smile a Peter, who still held on to the sleeve of my robe, and he took the hint to let go.

Sirius didn't seem to accept James' proposal and took a step toward me when I began to leave, putting the map away. "Have better plans, Ambrocious?"

"What do you think, Black? I have to pass the Sixth Year." I retorted back at him. And thankfully that was the upmost true. The prank, as harmless as it was didn't sit well with me, and neither my thoughts on the little exchange I had with the boys. Hell, it hadn't gone well through my head as we were having it, and if I didn't get going I was probably going to dwell on it.

I had way better things to do; studying obliviously. So I walked off before more protest came out of the Gryffindor's mouth, following the trail of feathers straight to Slytherin House.

There were still students loitering around the common room when I returned. They had been set in an uproar since my classmates had probably arrived with the tell-tell signs of the prank they had suffered. There were threats spoken, which would never come to fruition, and there was talk of the Dark Lord and how when he came into power uncivilized behavior like that wouldn't be tolerated. I silently made my way to my dorm, uninterested in hearing about the illustrious career of being an unpaid Death Eater.

I imagined that my particular dorm room was filled with angered chatter.

Of course, Snape had been the central target of the Marauders prank, like always, but they had been in clear lines to get smothered in feathers, therefore I thought it best to evade them for the longest time as possible. They wouldn't say anything to my face, yet it was obvious they didn't agree with the company I kept.

Walking toward one of the better corners of the common room, one normally devoid of threats and Death Eater talk, Markus and Anne puzzled over a board of wizard chest, their furrows tense. Graham sat next to them, his first year Transfiguration book in his hand.

I intended to join them, knowing that I wouldn't be rejected, plus I wanted to know how their finals were going, but I heard my name uttered firmly and politely behind me.

Turning, Regulus was standing behind me still in his school robes. "May I speak with you?" He asked.

I nodded

"In private?" He asked again, his eyes going to my first-year friends. I honestly didn't care if those three heard. I gave Regulus a slight nod with a half-smile and followed him when he walked away toward his dorm. I hesitated on the door, looking into the dorm room for the other boys in his year, but the room was empty save for Regulus' owl sitting next to a perch by the room's fireplace.

I half wanted to go pet the bird, however, my curiosity as to what Regulus wanted to talk about got the best of me. Standing by the bottom post of his bed, I watched as he grabbed a folded piece of parchment from his nightstand.

"Mother writes that my father was approached by the Minister for Magic to see if we would be willing to host you for the summer." It wasn't a question and it certainly felt coming out of nowhere. But I could see the fine grandiose writing on the letter to put two and two together that the parchment was a letter, and probably from his mother.

If receiving letters from matriarch from most of the great 28 families taught me anything, was that their hand wring was exquisitely elitist.

"Oh," The expression left me before I even knew I was uttering it, although I can't say I regret it. Honestly, I didn't know how to feel about Regulus knowing about Dumbledore's and the Minister's search for summer housing for me. I did find it interesting, however, that Regulus' parents had told him. Did that mean James knew that his parents had been approached as well? Surely not. Like Regulus, I was sure James would have said something to me. "Yes, that's true."

Regulus opened his mouth to say something, but as I stared he closed it again. He looked around at the bare room giving me the impression he was unsure of what he was saying. "Are you going to be staying with us?"

"Honestly, I don't intend to." With this matter, although I was dragging it on father than it was socially polite to do so, I decided on saying the truth. Dumbledore would probably make the final-final decision, but I would end up enjoying spending the summer with James and Sirius. "Though I appreciate their willingness."

"Mother will not be pleased," He said mostly to himself. As I stared at him, I got the imprecision that maybe he was not too pleased about my rejection either.

"I'm sorry?" I wasn't really sorry, but I felt like I needed to say something. "I'll write to her tonight if you want."

"Don't worry about it." He shook his head, rejecting my apology with a friendly smile I was well accustomed to. It suited him well as he continued. "Will you at least visit us? I'm sure Mother will press for dinner, at least."

"Regulus, I would be delighted to attend."