Chapter One Hundred and Twenty-One - O.W.L.S

Harry knew he needed to tell Hermione about Grawp, but it was difficult to approach the subject. Although Hagrid had not explicitly demanded his secrecy, he had implied that the news about his brother should not spread beyond their own small circle. Harry didn't want to get his friend in trouble, and yet he felt a certain obligation to confess everything to Hermione. She was the brightest witch of her age, and if there was a way to avoid the angry hands of a giant without disappointing Hagrid, Harry needed her feedback.

Before long, the harrowing task of talking to Hermione was made not by Harry, but by Millie, who canvassed the situation with both her and Nell the very next day.

"How could he?" Hermione said, full of indignation that Hagrid had placed Harry, a student, in such a dangerous position. "Oh, Harry… How could he?!"

"It's his brother, Hermione," he replied, dropping his voice and leaning closer. Their usual study group had met once again in the library, and he didn't want to draw the notice of Madam Pince.

"Yes, I know!" Hermione replied, her voice colored with the kind of irritation born from concern, "But that doesn't change the fact that… that…"

Hermione knew that Hagrid was a good friend of Harry's. He could see she was having a difficult time choosing her words, fearful that she might say something to insult him.

Harry reached across the table and gripped her hand gently. He understood how she felt, but had spent the better part of a sleepless night thinking of excuses for Hagrid. He was now in the interesting position of arguing against the same misgivings he'd had the day before while leaving the Forbidden Forest.

Nell had a very different sort of response. Her enthusiasm for the project had only grown overnight, and as she rejoined the study group, she dropped two books on the table with a thud. Harry released Hermione's hand, startled by her sudden reappearance. For a moment, he assumed she had gathered more study materials and, like them, was focused on her OWLs. Then he read the titles. The first was A Complete History of European Giants which, in Harry's opinion, seemed rather thin to be entirely "complete." The other, far larger book, was merely a Giant to English dictionary.

"You weren't serious about actually helping him?" Blaise asked, raising his head from where he'd been pouring over potions notes for the past hour.

"And you weren't?" countered Nell, "We made a promise to Hagrid, didn't we?"

"Well, we're just going to have to break that promise. I mean, look at us! We're swamped with exams as it is!"

Blaise lifted the sheets upon sheets of parchment before him, shaking the pages of his notes for emphasis. Hermione directed a pleading glance with Harry, as if hoping he'd agree with his friend, but Harry shook his head. This same thought had occurred to him as he'd tossed and turned in his bed the preceding night. Then he remembered the basilisk. When Harry had asked for help tending to the wounded serpent, even Hagrid had seemed nervous. But Harry had wanted the beast to be spared a cruel death. After Fawkes had blinded it, he had asked Hagrid to nurse it back to health. And Hagrid had complied without question and without complaint. Harry owed him for this.

"Hagrid hasn't been sacked yet," he reminded his feuding friends, "If he can just hang on till the end of term, we won't have to visit Grawp. It'll turn out alright in the end."

"End of term?" asked Hermione, "What's to stop Umbridge from firing Hagrid over the summer? Or sometime next year?"

Harry, remembering the words of Umbridge's predecessor, said with a wry smile, "Job's cursed. Don't worry, she won't last much longer."


The arrival of June was heralded by cloudless skies, a warm sun, and the occasional cool breeze, rippling the verdant grass and carrying with it the tantalizing aroma of freshly blooming wildflowers. But the fifth and seventh years had no time to enjoy it. Their exams were finally upon them.

Hermione kept quizzing Harry and his friends on their study habits, routinely reminding them to keep up with the study plans she had devised.

"Your girlfriend is really starting to get on my nerves," Blaise muttered to Harry after Hermione demanded that he put more effort into his History of Magic review.

"If not for Hermione, none of us would be prepared for our exams," Harry snapped, though the color rose to his cheeks to hear someone refer to Hermione as his girlfriend. True, they had been going out for weeks now, but as for making things official… He had only dared to think of her as his girlfriend in his own head.

Nell was just as busy as the rest of them, though she didn't seem to be getting much done in the way of studying for their exams. True, she spent plenty of time reading and taking notes, but Harry noticed with alarm that it was just more instruction on speaking the giant's language.

"Why don't you give it a rest?" Harry suggested in a whisper. He didn't want to risk starting another row by drawing Blaise's attention to her present activities.

"I'll do better on my exams if I don't spend all my time cramming at the last minute," Nell told him confidently, "Besides, I'm caught up on all my assignments, and Oliver has been reviewing notes with me all year! Keeping my mind active while taking a break from it all can't hurt…"

Harry was silenced. He began to wonder what it must be like to be as methodical and organized as Nell. The idea of completing one's work before a deadline was new to him.

Meanwhile, Crabbe and Goyle had found a new way to stir up panic. The pair were lounging in the Slytherin common room the week prior to their exams, loudly explaining to anyone who would listen that there was nothing to worry about. They didn't need to study, because "it's not what you know, it's who you know…"

"What a load of rubbish," Draco scoffed, passing close to Harry as he made his way toward their dormitory, "Sounds like the sort of thing I used to say when I was delusional..."

Curious, Harry repeated this exchange to his friends, wondering what they thought. Neville was inclined to agree with Draco.

"You know Griselda Marchbanks?" he asked, drawing only stares from his companions before he explained, "She's the head of WIzarding Examinations… Anyway, she's been friends with my gran for years, but I don't think knowing her is going to help my chances at all…"

Snape held his Slytherin students after their next Potions class on purpose to review their examination schedules and the procedure for the OWLs. Tapping his wand on the blackboard, a chart with dates and times for each exam appeared, just as their potions instructions usually did at the start of each class.

"Your O.W.L.s are spread over two weeks," Snape explained as they dutifully copied the schedule down. "You will sit the theory exams in the morning and the practical exam in the afternoon. Your practical Astronomy exam will naturally take place at night…

"Now, I will issue this warning only once. The most stringent Anti-Cheating Charms have been applied to all examination papers. Auto-Answer Quills are banned, as are Remembralls, Detachable Cribbing Cuffs, and Self-Correcting Ink. Every year, there is at least one student who thinks they can get away with breaking these rules…" he paused, seemed to glance at Harry, and continued, "But they have all failed. Now that Hogwarts is… under new management… I have been asked to tell you that cheating will be punished most severely…

"Finally, though your examination results will reflect upon the Headmistress's new regime at this school, I must also advise you that I will not tolerate failure among my students. I expect each and every one of you to achieve a level of acceptable or higher, particularly in Potions. Well? What are you sitting there staring at me for? Don't you have studying to do?"

Their first exam, Theory of Charms, was scheduled for Monday morning. Harry agreed to quiz Hermione after lunch on Sunday, thinking it was a good excuse for spending some long-awaited time with her in private. Unfortunately, a date was the farthest thing from Hermione's mind. She kept snatching the book from his hands to make sure she got her answers exactly right. Eventually, she became fed-up with Harry's futile attempts at flirtation, and decided to take her studies into her own hands. She had sequestered herself in the Gryffindor common room by dinner time, and Harry was left to shift for himself the rest of the evening.

After a restless night, Harry, Blaise, and Millie had a nearly silent breakfast the following morning. The fifth and seventh years milled around the entrance hall until precisely half past nine, when the doors to the Great Hall reopened, and they were called in class by class.

The room was arranged exactly as Harry saw it in Snape's memory. The four house tables were gone, replaced with many individual desks, all turned to face the staff table in the front of the room. Professor McGonagall watched them file to their assigned places. Once they were all seated, she turned over a massive hourglass, and sedately stated, "You may begin."

Harry turned over the examination paper that had awaited him at his desk. A quick glance around the room assured him that Hermione was already scribbling away at her own exam. He smiled, then turned his eyes to his own paper, not wanting to be accused of cheating.

He focused on the first question: a) Give the incantation and b) describe the wand movement required to make objects fly…

Harry's grin widened. He remembered practicing this very spell with Blaise in the Chamber of Secrets earlier that year, before they had formed the Marauders. He risked glancing up again, and saw that Blaise was writing surprisingly fast. Naturally, he would do well on the Charms exam. Harry turned his gaze to his parchment once more, and began…


The four house tables reappeared over the lunch hour. Hermione and Neville, forgetting the implied ban on eating with students from other houses, eagerly joined Harry, Blaise, and Millie. Hermione was still clutching her exam paper in her hands and barely touched her food.

"That wasn't as bad as I thought," she said, though she sounded anxious, "Though I'm not sure I did justice on the Cheering Charms. I thought I'd run out of time. Two hours hardly seems like enough… But now I think I should have put in the counter charm for hiccups. I didn't think it was necessary at the time, but it's better to do too much than too little… And on question…"

"Granger," Blaise interrupted, stabbing his steak and kidney pie aggressively, "You're the only person in this school who'll probably score higher on the Charms exam than me. I'm sure you did fine. Now please, give it a rest! I will not go over the questions with you a second time!"

Hermione looked both embarrassed and pleased by this compliment. If Harry had been the jealous type, he might have felt resentful. Instead, he grinned at Hermione, agreed with Blaise's assessment that she was brilliant, and insisted she try to eat a bit of soup before their practical exam.

Hermione sat next to him as the fifth years trooped off to a small chamber beside the Great Hall, where they waited to be called in for their practical exams. Harry expected her to start practicing her wand movements and incantations, like so many others were doing around them. Instead, she sat in silence, holding on to Harry's hand. Her palms were sweating, and he could feel her tremble when her name was called. He offered her a smile of encouragement, and sent her away with, "You'll do great."

Hermione followed Anthony Goldstein, Gregory Goyle, and Daphne Greengrass out of the room, darting a thankful yet nervous smile at Harry as she went. Students who had completed their practical exam did not return to the waiting room. Millie had been among the first of the students called away, so after Hermione was gone, Harry was left to wait with Blaise.

"She'll be fine," he commented in a careless, offhand fashion. As one of the few students whose last name ended in zed, he was in no hurry for his turn. He spun his wand around index finger and thumb, watching the increasingly frantic students around them with a sort of aloof hauteur.

"Did you mean what you said?" Harry asked, "You think she'll score higher than you on the Charms exam?"

"I said she was the only one who had a chance," Blaise corrected, "But between you and me, I think she'll definitely surpass me on the written test. Cheering Charms! I mean, really…"

Ten minutes later, Professor Flitwick called, "Parkinson, Pansy. Patil, Padma. Patil, Parvati. Potter, Harry."

Blaise clapped him on the shoulder as Harry made his way into the Great Hall. He was directed to Professor Tofty, a very old, balding wizard who greeted him with an encouraging smile.

"Potter, is it?" he asked, consulting his notes, "As in the famous Harry Potter?"

Inwardly, Harry cringed, though he did his best to keep his expression neutral as he confirmed his identity. He suspected the expectations of his examiners were going to be higher for him than for other students. He was already at a disadvantage, and he hadn't even begun…

Despite this rather inauspicious beginning, however, Harry thought he did rather well. His Levitation Charm was perfect, and he had successfully managed the Color-Change Charm, though the rat he had turned orange also grew to the size of a pumpkin. He briefly considered showing off his wandless magic abilities for extra credit, but not trusting himself to perform under pressure, he kept his new skill to himself, and stuck to his trusted wand.

Tuesday brought about Transfiguration, which Millie helped them cram for. Herbology came the following day, and Neville's assistance proved astonishingly useful when Harry sat for that exam. For Defense Against the Dark Arts, every fifth year Marauder felt prepared. Harry experienced a particularly vicious pleasure while performing every single counter-jinx and defensive spell right in front of Umbridge, who watched the proceedings from beside the doors to the entrance hall.

"Oh, bravo!" cried Professor Tofty, who was examining Harry for the second time. Harry had just expertly performed the Boggart Banishing spell. Leaning forward, Professor Tofty said, "I believe that's all, Potter, but I wonder… I heard a rumor from a certain professor that you can produce a patronus? That's NEWT level, that is! Do you think... for an extra point…?"

Harry grinned, raising his wand and glancing vindictively at Umbridge. He imagined her getting sacked by the end of the year, and easily summoned his stag. Other students and their examiners paused what they were doing to watch its progress as it cantered the length of the hall before dissolving into a silver mist. It was the first exam in which Harry believed he may have achieved a score of outstanding.

On Friday, Hermione and Millie had to sit for their Ancient Runes exam, leaving Harry, Blaise, and Neville with a day off. Harry and Blaise were inclined to take a break from studying, but Neville was feeling anxious about Potions. To soothe his weary and frayed nerves, Harry and Blaise ended up spending the afternoon inventing humorous rhymes to help him remember the different properties of potions ingredients.

It was helpful practice for Harry, as well. When Monday morning brought about their exam, he was surprised to find he might have actually done well. He wasn't arrogant enough to expect an outstanding result, but the written exam was not as difficult as he expected, and the practical went smoothly without Snape breathing down his neck. Even Neville seemed more relaxed than usual, and cheerfully informed the others that Harry and Blaise's rather unorthodox practice had helped him remember more than he would have dared to think possible.

Harry was determined to do well when Tuesday's Care of Magical Creatures exam came around. The practical portion was spent out on the grounds. Students were required to identify a knarl hidden amongst hedgehogs, then demonstrate the proper handling of a bowtruckle, and finally, clean a fire-crab without sustaining burns. Harry had to admit that he owed his knowledge of knarls and bowtruckles to Professor Grubbly-Plank's teaching, but the fire-crabs were a breeze compared to Hagrid's Blast-Ended Skrewts. Harry was pleased with his performance, feeling confident that he hadn't let Hagrid down.

The Astronomy theory exam on Wednesday went well enough, though Harry was not convinced he had got the names of all of Jupiter's moons right. Since he had to wait until the evening for the practical exam, the afternoon was given to Wand-Making. Students enrolled in the class were few, so fifth and seventh years sat for their respective exams at the same time. Harry spoke with Cedric Diggory after the written portion, pleased to find that they agreed on the best methods for obtaining dragon heartstring and unicorn hair.

They waited in the hall together until called in for their practical exam. Unlike his other tests, the students were called in one by one. Harry understood why after his own name was called. There was only one proctor for this exam - Mr. Ollivander himself.

Harry's task was simple. He merely had to identify by touch, sight, and spell the three major characteristics of each wand presented to him: the wood, flexibility, and the core.

"Very good, Mr. Potter," Ollivander remarked in a pleasant tone when Harry and given his assessment of each wand. "Professor Nobilis tells me that you show great promise in her class. May I ask if you are considering a career in wand-making?"

"I'm not sure, sir," Harry replied, thinking back on his wild assertion that he would one day become the Minister of Magic. It was an impulsive claim, made only to distress Umbridge, but in truth, he still didn't know what he was going to do after Hogwarts.

"Well, I encourage you to consider it," said Ollivander with a smile, "I could always use an apprentice."


When they reached the top of the Astronomy tower that night, they found a clear, cloudless sky, perfect for stargazing. The grounds were bathed in silvery moonlight, and there was a slight chill in the air. Harry noted that the nearly full moon was on the wane, and wondered whether Remus had weathered his monthly transformation well. It had been too long since he last spoke to Sirius, and he resolved to contact them both through the mirror at the earliest opportunity to discuss his exams.

An hour passed as he industriously filled out his star chart, when he became distracted by the sight of several figures leaving the castle and moving toward Hagrid's cabin. Harry thought he recognized the distinctive walk of the squattest among them, though he couldn't think what would draw Umbridge from the castle at night, much less accompanied by five others. He sensed trouble, and rather than continue his work, covertly directed his telescope toward the grounds, adjusting the lens to keep his eye on the silently moving figures.

They were now close enough to cast their shadows across the windows of Hagrid's cabin, temporarily blocking out the light that shone from within. A moment later, Harry heard a roar echo across the grounds, reaching him all the way at the top of the tower. It didn't go unnoticed. Several students turned their heads in the direction of Hagrid's cabin and stood transfixed as the door burst open and a massive figure emerged, silhouetted by the door frame.

It could only be Hagrid. He began brandishing his fists at the figures that now encircled him. Judging from the flashes of red light that passed between them and Hagrid, they were attempting to stun him.

"Be reasonable, Hagrid!" called a pleading voice. But Hagrid angrily called back, "Reasonable be damned! Yeh won' take me like this, Dawlish!"

Harry felt a thrill of terror. What did Hagrid mean? Surely they weren't trying to arrest him? Was this confrontation more serious than merely getting sacked?

No one was paying attention to their exam now. One of the students let out a cry as the castle doors flew open again, and another long black shadow was seen rippling across the lawn. Professor Tofty and Professor Marchbanks attempted to restore order, but then a familiar voice rang out through the night, "How dare you! Leave him alone!"

"It's McGonagall!" shouted another student, and any thought of astronomy was forgotten as they all left their telescopes and rushed to the parapet for a better look at the action below.

"Leave him alone, I say!" Professor McGonagall continued, her angry voice reaching them plainly at the top of their tower, "On what grounds are you attacking him? He has done nothing to warrant such…"

More screams rose from the crowd of students as all at once, four stunning spells hit McGonagall squarely in the chest. For a moment, she was illuminated by an eerie red glow, then lifted off her feet, landing hard on her back. From there she was silent and still.

"Galloping Gargoyles!" shouted Professor Tofty. He, much like the students, had abandoned any semblance of proctoring an exam and was standing near the tower's edge. "Outrageous behavior! Not even a warning…?"

"COWARDS!" Hagrid bellowed from below. Harry had never seen him in such a rage before. He gasped as Hagrid took two swipes at his closest attackers, knocking them out cold. He then bent to the ground, and for a moment Harry thought he must have been overcome at last by the numerous stunning spells that had hit him. Instead, he merely retrieved the limp body of his dog, Fang, who had been struck by an errant spell while trying to defend his master.

"Get him! Get him!" screeched Umbridge as Hagrid turned and began to run, carrying Fang across his neck and shoulders like a wounded soldier. But Umbridge's remaining minions seemed reluctant to get within range of Hagrid's fists after seeing what he had done to their companions. Harry stared as Hagrid made his escape through the school's distant gates. As he disappeared into the darkness, an uneasy silence fell back over the crowd at the top of the astronomy tower.

Only five minutes remained in their allotted exam time, but Harry didn't care about the position of Venus anymore. He forced his telescope haphazardly back in its place as the testing concluded, then joined the queue of students making their way back down the spiral staircase. No one was in a hurry to return to their dormitories, however. They were all talking about what they had just witnessed.

Harry fell in with Ron's crew, just in time to hear him ask, "I mean, what was she thinking, trying to sneak up on Hagrid in the middle of the night?"

"Probably trying to avoid being shown up again," Dean suggested, "Like when she tried sacking Trelawney. She had to have known Hagrid would put up a fight."

"Why did those spells bounce off him like that?" asked Seamus curiously.

"It'll be his giant's blood," Harry admitted. He couldn't help but pick up a few things from Nell's studies, among them the fact that giants were resistant to most spells.

He wondered briefly if he should speak of Hagrid's heritage with other students, but neither Ron nor his friends appeared surprised by this revelation. In fact, Theo Nott merely shrugged and said, "No mystery there. Umbridge hates half-humans. But it's kind of ironic, isn't it? I mean, the reason she was so keen to sack Hagrid in the first place is the thing that protected him from her attack…"

Harry eventually found Blaise and Millie, and the three of them drifted back toward their common room. But the conversation hadn't stopped there. More Slytherin fifth years had gathered together and continued to discuss what they saw in excited voices. Curious students from all years, attracted by the sounds below, had drifted down in their nightclothes to hear the tale recounted over and over again.

It was nearly four in the morning when the common room cleared, and though Harry walked directly to his bed and fell into a dreamless sleep, he woke the next morning still brooding over Hagrid and feeling distinctly unrested.

Their final exam, History of Magic, was not scheduled until the afternoon. Harry would have liked to go back to his bed after breakfast, but he had been dreading this test most of all. In almost every other subject, Harry had help from one of his friends. But not one could be considered an expert on Professor Binn's subject. He opted to spend his morning cramming in a last-minute study session, all the while distracted by thoughts of his comfortable bed.

The fifth years entered the Great Hall at two o'clock. Harry sat down before his overturned examination paper with a feeling of dread. Even Hermione's extensive notes had been of no help to him. He resolved himself to muddle through as best he could.

Professor Marchbanks called for them to begin. Harry spent a few seconds reading over the first question without taking any of it in. Sighing he scanned the other questions, searching for one he thought he could answer. Question four read, "In your opinion, did wand legislation contribute to, or lead to better control of, goblin riots in the eighteenth century?"

He had his answer ready. While some might consider his opinion unpopular, he was confident that he could argue that the strict, anti-non-human wand legislation enforced by the Ministry was the driving force behind the goblin riots. And personally, he did not blame them. It seemed unfair that the wizarding community felt justified in passing legislation on other creatures without offering them representation in their government…

Smiling to himself, Harry began to write his answer. He imagined it as the speech he would give when he ran for Minister of Magic one day. He entertained himself by imagining the look on Umbridge's face if she ever learned of the changes he would propose if he were in charge.

He closed his eyes, which were burning from forgetting to blink, as he considered the next question. That's when it happened. He was suddenly in the dark corridor again, only this time he knew he wasn't asleep. He proceeded through the black door that led into the Department of Mysteries, then into the cathedral-sized room with its shelves of blown-glass spheres. There was a shape at the end of row ninety-seven. It was laying on the floor, moving like a wounded animal.

Harry's stomach contracted with both fear and excitement. A high, cold voice issued from Harry's own mouth, saying, "Take it for me… Lift it down now… I cannot touch it… but you can…"

The figure on the floor shifted a little. Harry watched as a long white hand… his hand… raised a wand.

"Crucio!"

A woman's voice screamed in pain. She attempted to stand, but fell back to the stone floor, writing in agony. Harry was laughing now. He lifted his wand slightly, breaking the curse. He allowed the woman to place her hands against the ground, raising herself a few inches before lifting her white-blond head.

"Please… Please, I have a son…" whispered Narcissa Malfoy.

"And he will meet the same fate as you if you do not perform this simple task for me. You think you have felt pain? Imagine what he will endure once Lucius brings him to me…"

"He won't!" Narcissa rasped, her voice hoarse. "He would never do that! Not to our son! Not Draco!"

"And who will be there to stop him?" Lord Voldemort replied, lifting his wand once more.

Someone screamed, but it was not Mrs. Malfoy. Harry slid sideways and hit the hard stone floor, jolting himself back to the present. He was still screaming, his scar on fire, as the Great Hall erupted all around him.