On the last day in May they had their animagus practice with Professor McGonagall as usual at nine o'clock. Rachel found that she could now slip in and out of her form with relative ease, if not as quickly as Sirius did it.
She'd practiced changing in and out of her form while standing up, because doing it while sitting down was awkward. She'd tried doing it laying down once, just to see if she could, had wound up on her back as a cat and had flopped around while trying to get herself back upright. Her friends had thought that was highly amusing, which it kind of was once she was back on her feet and her fur was no longer ruffled in the wrong direction.
Professor McGonagall had conjured them a large mirror so that they could see themselves in their animal form and Rachel had taken pictures of each of her friends' forms as well. She'd been carrying around her camera this past week, getting pictures of the Quidditch team, pictures of the DA, and pictures of her friends. She knew Severus knew how to develop the film from her camera and if she didn't have time to develop the photos before she died, he could do it and he knew who should receive copies of the various photos.
They'd also spent some time in their forms sort of examining each other. All of them had said that their forms felt a little bit nervous around Theo's form, just as an instinctive reaction to having a predator animal in the room. Technically, Rachel was a predator as well. She'd read that rusty-spotted cats mostly ate rodents, birds, frogs, and bats, though they were known to take down chickens as well when they had the opportunity. However, at her size, she wasn't really a danger to a capybara or a goat and Theo could easily eat her in two bites, if he could catch her.
The other thing that Rachel had learned about her form just from playing around with it was that she was faster than her friends, though Theo could probably get a good pace if he really had room to run. Hermione and Millie liked to trot together and Hermione had playfully headbutted Millie, though Millie had said when she turned back that it had barely felt like anything.
Neville was still working on his form and they'd all given him as much encouragement and strategies as they could and Professor McGonagall had told him that it was much like learning the Patronus charm and that some things couldn't be rushed. Neville had replied that he'd found the Patronus charm to be much simpler than this because at least then he knew what he'd been reaching for, but he was still working at it steadily.
Rachel was very curious to find out what would happen if she changed into her form in front of Midnight or Crookshanks, but Professor McGonagall was firm that they weren't to change inside Hogwarts or on Hogwarts grounds while they were students and not in front of anyone until they were registered. She still wanted to know if Midnight and Crookshanks would recognize her or if they'd think she was just some random cat. She could connect the scent of her friends to their animagus forms, but she wasn't sure what a cat's mind would do with that knowledge that a person smelled nearly the same as the animal that had just appeared.
Millie had decided that she was keeping her animal form from her family because she wanted it to be just something with them. Hermione had also decided not to show her parents because she thought the idea of her changing into an animal might just be beyond what they were willing to readily accept. Theo and Rachel were both looking forward to showing Sirius and Remus. Rachel hoped she got the chance to show Sirius and Remus.
So far it seemed like Professor Dumbledore was right when he said that to the Dark Lord summer meant soon. Rachel had continued to check on the Dark Lord regularly and while there was certainly planning and writing and meetings going on, she hadn't been able to glean anything specific and Severus had again warned her against trying for specifics.
She also hadn't made much progress when it came to closing her connection. She was continuing to talk with Torey about her manifestation and was taking time to sit with her manifestation and trying to work on the confused jumble of anger and blame and pain that sort of came along with that. It was doubtful that she could actually fix the connection before the Dark Lord killed her, but she wanted him out of her head badly enough that she was willing to try anyway.
For the most part she tried not to think about it unless she was actively working on it, and she was using some of the strategies Torey taught her to redirect her thoughts without causing any problems in her mental architecture. Rachel popped back into her form. She had found that being in her form worked very well for redirecting thoughts, even if she couldn't do that in the middle of class while her mind was wandering or at night when she was trying to go to sleep.
She wandered for a bit, taking the time to sniff things and just look at things from a different perspective. Down here everything was table legs, stone floors, and people's ankles.
"Bravo, Neville," came Hermione's voice.
Rachel turned around and darted back to the rest of her friends to find a hedgehog sitting on the cushion next to Hermione.
"Very good, Mr. Longbottom," Professor McGonagall said. "Come on back for a moment, the same way you got there."
Rachel sniffed at him. Much like most of her friends he had a very earthy scent. She had the weird instinct to bat at him, but her human mind knew better than to do that, and she moved away and changed back into her human form. "You're just like your Patronus form, Neville. That's wonderful."
Neville managed to turn back and their friends gathered around him.
"Knew you could do it, congratulations," Theo said, clapping Neville on the shoulder.
"You're adorable too. What do you think of your form?" Millie asked.
"I'm pretty comfortable in it. It's a good form for hiding, and as long as I'm outdoors it should be pretty easy to escape and hide," Neville said.
"Miss Snow is correct and a hedgehog is your Patronus form as well?" Professor McGonagall asked.
"Yes. Rachel taught us the Patronus charm in our third year. I managed to get it just before we went home for the year," Neville said. He pulled out his wand and cast the Patronus charm.
"You look just like that, but not silver. You're a nice warm brown with white quill tips and a white stomach," Hermione said. "You're a little bit smaller than Rachel in length but you're rounder."
"You must know yourself very well for your Patronus form to echo your animagus form. That's a good thing. Hedgehogs are known to be both clever and protective," Professor McGonagall said, nodding to Neville.
"Professor McGonagall, do you think our Patronus forms will change now that we know what our animagus forms are?" Theo asked.
"Typically for someone's Patronus form to change they must undergo a profound experience that changes either how they relate to themselves or how they relate to the world. Usually it's a very strong emotional experience. It's entirely possible that your Patronus forms will change, especially because you learned to cast the Patronus charm so young, but I think you will recognize why they change when it happens, if it happens at all. Your animagus forms on the other hand will stay the same throughout your life, though they will age with you," Professor McGonagall explained.
Rachel thought about that for a moment and then decided to ask anyway. "I learned the Patronus charm in my third year and I've been through some experiences that I would say have been strong emotional experiences and experiences that I would say were life changing. Why didn't my Patronus form change?"
"I rather expect that your Patronus form represents a constant in your life and how you relate to that constant. Have you considered the possibility that your Patronus form may have come from Professor Snape?"
She nodded. "He has been a constant in my life, even when most other things are changing."
"You might find that your form changes when someone new takes that place of importance in your life, though of course Severus will always have a place for you," Professor McGonagall said.
Rachel didn't mind if her Patronus form took after Severus' form. She liked the connection to him and to her parents through him.
"We can continue practicing, we still have twenty minutes left. You want to be able to recognize the pathway that brings you to your animagus form and then back out again. The more you practice, the easier it will be," Professor McGonagall directed.
They all rearranged themselves and began working on transforming again. Rachel smiled to herself. She was always happy when her friends found success.
"What do you think we'll have to do for the practical?" Ron asked, looking up from his notes.
"I think we know for certain animate conjurations will be on the exam, though I wouldn't be surprised if they ask for an inanimate conjuration as well," Hermione said.
Susan nodded. "I think we'll also see transfigurations like fairy cakes to fairies, ones that are a little bit more complicated."
"I think this is one of the rare exams that the written portion is more difficult than the practical," Theo said, running a finger down his notes. "Theory behind animate conjurations is a sure bet, probably general conjuration theory as well. Professor McGongall said to expect long answer questions rather than essays or short answer."
"Shouldn't be too bad," Draco said. "Makes me glad I'm not taking Arithmancy though."
Rachel saw Millie hunch her shoulders and reached over to pat her arm. "Arithmancy will be alright. We've spent a lot of time memorizing the steps for the different types of equations and we all can graph with our eyes closed now. We'll be alright."
Hannah was practically quivering in her chair between Susan and Neville. "Does it seem to anyone else like this last month, and this last week, happened really fast?"
Not to Rachel. To Rachel it had felt like each day had dragged out while she waited for the Dark Lord to come for her. She resisted the urge to check on him now. She could force herself to wait until just before bed. Even though the Dark Lord seemed to favor attacks in the night, she didn't think he would attack Hogwarts in the night. Most of the fighting was going to wind up happening outside and Severus had promised her that there was no way for the Dark Lord to take down Hogwarts' wards without Professor Dumbledore knowing about it. They would have time to evacuate everyone.
"In a way, that's a good thing. These next two weeks will go fast too and then it will all be over. And we only have one exam a day, which leaves time in the afternoon and evening for preparing for the next one," Hermione said, nodding to herself.
"And none of us are taking History. I think we can all agree that was the worst exam last time," Draco said, getting nods and groans from around the table.
"Professor Dumbledore needs to fire Professor Binns. Everyone saw how much Divination improved when Professor Firenze started teaching. And look how much better Defense has been these past two years," Hannah pointed out. "I bet with a good teacher, History could actually be a good class."
"One where we don't spend an entire year on the Goblin Rebellions. How is that useful to anyone?" Ron asked.
"Professor Dumbledore said that the Goblin Rebellions were Professor Binns' area of special study while he was alive. He also said it's very hard to get a qualified History teacher," Rachel informed them.
"Still, it's not a particularly useful class with the way it currently is," Hermione said.
"I found Professor Firenze to be an interesting teacher. His lessons were very soothing, but I think Professor Trewlanwy's lessons are more useful to Seers, which is who her class is really aimed at. The way humans See and the way centaurs See is very different. Though it would be interesting to see if a human Seer could be taught to See the way the centaurs do," Luna said, idly wrapping strands of her long hair around her fingers.
"How many people can See? How common is that?" Hermione asked.
Rachel looked around the table, also curious what the answer was. She still didn't know very much about Divination as a subject, even after reading a few books about prophecies.
"No one really knows," Susan answered. "Most Seers keep that information to themselves. There are a few in the trade, but most of them aren't real Seers. Some people say that it's a dying gift, but without knowing how many Seers there used to be, it's hard to really say for sure."
"Most Seers don't want to be bothered. In some circles it's considered more of a curse than a gift," Hannah added.
"I think it would be a curse. Seeing the future and not being able to do anything to change it," Draco said, shaking his head.
"Or telling the future and not even knowing that you told it. When Seers give true prophecies, they don't remember afterward," Luna explained.
"What if there's no one there to hear the prophecy?" Rachel asked, wondering what would have happened if no one had heard the prophecy about her.
"I'm afraid it doesn't work like that. Someone is always there to hear it, because the prophecy requires that much to be true," Luna said, looking sympathetically at Rachel.
"I wish there was some way to study this. It seems so bizarre. I want to know how it works," Hermione said.
"The Unspeakables study prophecies, though they're still rebuilding after the Hall of Prophecy was destroyed," Susan said.
"But do they study the mechanism of prophecies and how they're given and what causes the prophecy to be spoken at that moment?" Hermione asked.
"I think it's safe to assume the answer is yes. The Unspeakables study everything," Ron said. "Scary blokes."
Rachel found her curiosity piqued. If her life wasn't already set out for her, she might consider working in the Department of Mysteries. She could see why the lure of knowledge and research would attract people, even if they couldn't share it.
"Scary?" Hermione asked.
"They are a little," Susan said. "I've met a few."
"I've met one. They seemed just fine to me," Rachel said.
"Depends on what they're studying," Susan said. "I met one of the ones who studies time. His mind was divided, so he wasn't quite all there."
"What does that mean? That his mind was divided?" Neville asked before Hermione or Rachel could.
"Part of his mind was experiencing another time or reality," Susan explained. "He was very distracted. He tried to drink his biscuit and nearly choked on it."
Rachel decided that was something she definitely did not want to experience. She had enough trouble with just the present time and reality, let alone trying to add another one to it.
Millie covered a yawn and then checked her watch. "I think we're about to run into curfew."
"We should probably call it a night," Ginny agreed as she began to close her books.
"We should. We'll be better prepared for the exam if we're rested tonight. I think we're all in a position to do well," Hermione said.
"I hope so," Hannah said.
Rachel nodded as she began to clean up along with everyone else, but she wasn't terribly worried about her NEWTs. She knew they were the most important exams she'd ever take, but she also knew they would have almost no impact on her life and she probably wouldn't be alive long enough to know her scores. She could handle that. In fact, she somewhat hoped she didn't ever have to learn her scores.
They bid goodnight to Luna and the Gryffindors at the staircase and the Hufflepuffs and Slytherins began heading back down toward the entrance hall.
"At least Charms is an easy exam for us to start out with," Susan said as they neared the first floor landing.
"There is that. Probably our easiest exam," Millie agreed.
"And we'll have all of our core subjects done by next Monday, so that's not bad either. The second week of exams isn't bad at all," Susan continued.
"Can we just not think of it tonight?" Hannah asked. "Isn't tomorrow soon enough?"
Rachel privately agreed. She didn't want to think about exams any more right now.
"It will be over soon either way. The best we can do is get some sleep tonight," Theo said as they reached the entrance hall. "You're both okay to get back to the Hufflepuff common room?"
"We're fine, thank you," Susan said, putting her hand on Hannah's forearm. "I guess we'll see all of you bright and early tomorrow."
Rachel and Millie waved goodnight and the Slytherins continued on around the side of the main staircase and continued down the dungeon corridor.
"I just want exams to be over so people will stop talking about them," Draco grumbled.
"Soon enough," Theo said.
"No more studying tonight either," Draco continued as if Theo hadn't spoken.
Rachel yawned. She wasn't planning on studying any more tonight. She was planning to take her modified Dreamless Sleep potion in an hour and then sleep solidly and hopefully without any interference from the Dark Lord.
"No more studying. Like, we can have study sessions in the afternoons and evenings to prepare for the next day's exam, but after that, no more studying for a while," Millie said, also sounding weary.
"We're done next Wednesday afternoon. Then we have a four day break, five days of classes, and then we're really done," Theo said.
That hardly felt like any time at all. Even though she'd just been thinking about how every day had seemed to drag on, she hadn't quite realized she was that close to finishing at Hogwarts either.
Theo said the password and they entered the common room.
Rachel checked her watch and found that they'd made it back a good ten minutes before curfew, which was fine with her.
Pansy was waving at them from the sofas by the fireplace and they went over to join her, Daphne, and Blaise.
"I was wondering when you were going to come back," Pansy said to Draco, reaching to pull him down next to her.
"You know how they are with studying," Draco said, nodding towards Theo and Rachel.
Rachel took a seat on the opposite sofa between Theo and Millie. "We were just doing a quick Transfiguration review," she told them.
"Quick? We were there for nearly two hours," Draco pointed out.
"We're joining you next Saturday for Arithmancy reviews, right?" Daphne asked.
"Saturday and Tuesday are for Arithmancy reviews," Millie agreed. "I'm glad it's so far down the schedule, it gives us extra time to prepare."
"It's weird that most of the core classes exams are in the first week, isn't it?" Blaise asked.
"Why is it weird?" Draco asked, rolling his eyes.
"You'd think they'd spread them out. Either that or have all the core classes one week and all the electives the next," Blaise said.
Rachel shrugged. "I'm sure they have some reason for the order of the exams. I think it's the same order we took our OWLs in."
"It is the same order, and there's probably some reasoning behind it," Theo agreed.
"Do we have to talk about exams?" Draco asked.
"What do you want to talk about then?" Pansy asked.
"Anything that's not exams, school related, or about the war," he said.
Rachel silently cast around for a subject that wasn't one of the ones that had consumed their lives. "Quidditch? Who do you think will take the British League Cup this year?"
"Magpies. Next?" Draco asked.
Rachel shook her head. "You pick something then."
They sat quietly, the crackle of the fire and small murmurs of other conversations around the common room reaching them.
"What do you think it's going to be like to leave Hogwarts?" Millie asked, sounding a little worried. "We've been so focused here for seven years, I'm not sure I know how to do anything else."
"It will be alright," Theo told her. "You'll pick someone to do your mastery with, because I bet you'll get offers from everyone you wrote letters to. And then you'll study with them and then join the Spell Crafting Guild."
"I have an internship with Witch Weekly this summer," Daphne said. "They've lost some of their staff, due to well, rather obvious reasons, I suppose. I haven't told my parents yet."
"Are they going to have a problem with that?" Theo asked.
"Probably not, as long as I tell them that it's just something for me to do until I get married and have children. Which, I mean, I do want to get married and have children, but I haven't met the right person yet."
"You will," Pansy said. "And at that point, if you want to keep writing, there really isn't anything they can do about it."
Daphne nodded, seeming resolute. "We'll meet more people after Hogwarts, I think. The world is a much bigger place than we've seen here. I might travel for a bit as well. I could go stay at my grandmother's for a while."
"I'm moving out as soon as I can. I have applications for an Ancient Runes mastery and I want to go to the runic center in Wales after that," Blaise said.
"I think I'm moving out of my parents' home pretty quickly too," Millie said.
"Where to?" Draco asked.
"Maybe Sirius' place for a bit. After that, I'm not sure yet. Need somewhere with good wards, obviously," she said.
"And you're going back to Sirius' house?" Draco asked Theo.
"For now," Theo said. "Haven't made plans beyond that yet, kind of waiting to see what happens with my mastery and the war."
"What about you, Rachel?" Daphne asked.
"With Severus, at least for now," she hedged, not wanting to explain why she wasn't leaving the castle after the end of the term.
"He's not going to want you to leave. He's so protective of you. Not that he doesn't have a good reason to be," Pansy said with a small smile.
Rachel shrugged slightly. She knew all of this was going to be hardest on Severus. At least all of her friends had each other, and Sirius and Remus could support each other. Severus, even with his friendships with Professor McGonagall and Madam Pomfrey, was fairly isolated. She hoped he would get support from them and from Professor Dumbledore.
"Professor Snape is probably going to be glad all the drama from these last seven years will be over," Theo said.
"I'm not sure the drama is going to stop there," Millie said, glancing at Rachel.
"Yeah, but at least after Hogwarts we can choose to get away from some of it," Theo pointed out. "No more walking into the Great Hall and into whatever mess the Daily Prophet has made of things."
"At the very least there will be a lot fewer people staring at me," Rachel said. She was glad of that at least. Her time at Hogwarts after the rest of the students left should be quiet. That was something to look forward to.
"Until you take your Wizengamot seat. Then there will be lots of people staring at you," Blaise pointed out.
"I'm not even sure there's an option for us to take our seats in August," Draco said. "I can't see how that would possibly be safe for either of us."
"I think the Wizengamot will have to wait until after the war," Rachel agreed. And she wasn't going to have to face that either, which was also a relief. She was in no way prepared to become a member of the government.
"Rachel, I don't suppose you'd agree to let me interview you? After the war, of course," Daphne asked.
"Like for an article or something?" Rachel asked.
"Sure. This whole time the Daily Prophet has gotten to say what it wants about you, but you've never had a chance to tell people what you want them to know. I think it would be a good opportunity for you," Daphne said.
Rachel thought about it for a moment. "I'm not even sure what I'd say. I don't know what I want people to know."
"We could work it out together. I promise I wouldn't write or ask anything you wouldn't want me to."
"Can I say maybe and we'll see after the war?" Rachel asked, knowing that it wouldn't be a problem if it was after the war.
"Sure, that's fine. How long do you think the war will last? The last one went on for years and years," Daphne said, licking her lower lip and then pressing her lips flat together.
"Shouldn't be long. Things are reaching a point where things have to give one way or another," Rachel said, uncertain if that was reassuring or not.
Theo nodded. "If he takes the Ministry, the war in Britain will end quickly. After that it's just people evacuating."
"I thought we weren't talking about the war," Draco said.
"All roads lead to the war," Blaise said with a shrug.
Rachel thought that was very true. She paused and checked on the Dark Lord. He was busy. Occupied. Working on something, but she thought he was also in some sort of conversation. That was all pretty standard for this time of night and she didn't have a sense of movement or immediacy, so she thought they were probably safe for at least one more night. "I think I'm heading to bed," she told them.
"Me too. I want as much sleep as possible and it's going to take forever to get there," Millie said as she stood.
"We'll be in soon," Pansy said.
"Goodnight," Theo told them.
"Goodnight," Rachel said, standing and retrieving her bag from where she'd set it between her feet. She covered another yawn and thought that she would actually be alright getting to sleep tonight. The exams weren't quite the least of her problems, but they were pretty far down her list.
"Are you alright?" Rachel asked quietly. It was Monday morning and the fifth and seventh years were gathered around the entrance hall while the examiners set up inside the Great Hall.
Millie hesitated for a moment and then nodded. "I think so. I just want this part to be over."
Rachel nodded - waiting was almost worse than taking the exams.
"How about you?" Millie asked.
"Alright. I think we're pretty prepared," she said. She looked at the crowd of students and was glad the study group had found a place off to the side to wait.
"What do you want to do when we're done next Wednesday?"
"Probably sleep." At this point it was just a waiting game to see what the Dark Lord would do. He still felt like he was planning and preparing, but she'd felt no signs of movement or a build up toward anything yet.
"Sure, but after that?"
Rachel shrugged. "I'm not thinking that far ahead yet."
Millie nodded again. "Oh, look, they're opening the doors."
"Finally," Hermione said, bouncing on her toes as she tried to peer over the people in front of them.
"Everyone ready?" Theo asked.
Neville looked grim, but he nodded along with the rest of the group.
"Let's just get it over with," Draco said.
Before long they were seated at desks in rows alphabetically by last name, with the fifth years on one side of the Great Hall and seventh years on the other side.
Exam papers were set in front of them along with quills spelled with anti-cheating charms. Severus had arranged in advance for Rachel's quill to also have the steadying and handwriting charms that she needed in order to write. Madam Marchbanks called their attention to the large hourglass at the front of the room, told them that they had two hours, and the exams began.
The exam was more or less as expected with all short answer questions about charms, incantations, wand movements, and theory. Rachel managed to hold her attention long enough to go through the entire exam and then set her quill aside and sat quietly. She thought she'd answered everything correctly, which was a small relief. Even if she wouldn't see her exam results, Severus would, and she wanted him to know that she'd done well.
After lunch they sat outside as a group, a number of the seventh year DA members joining them while the fifth years were doing their practical exams.
"What did everyone think?" Terry asked.
"Not too bad. I'm sure I passed at least," Hannah said, nodding.
"Me too," Ron said.
"I wish the exams weren't so limited. There are so many spells and other things we learn that we never get a chance to prove we know," Hermione said.
"They're supposed to be representative. They can't test us on everything we know, we'd be in there all day," Anthony said with a shrug.
"Besides, you know that you know the spells," Theo pointed out. "The person that knowledge really matters to is you. You're going to be the one using it."
Hermione looked thoughtful.
"I don't think they'll ask for the Ascending charm on the practical," Pansy said.
"Probably not," Draco said. "Advanced locking charms and countercharms to the Unlocking charm would be my bet."
"The Blinding Flash charm would be a good one," Blaise added.
Rachel would prefer to be tested on the Blinding Flash charm and on the Locking charms, but she could manage the Ascending charm if they asked for it.
"The Drought charm and the Extinguishing charm, maybe," Susan suggested.
"That wouldn't be bad, I can do all of those," Millie said.
Astoria, Timothy, and Martin came out of the front doors and walked down to join them.
"How was it?" Daphne asked.
Astoria shrugged. "I got most of it, I think. I prefer Transfiguration to Charms. I'll do better tomorrow."
"It wasn't too bad, though I definitely prefer Charms over Transfiguration," Timothy said, getting a nod from Martin.
"They're going to be calling seventh years soon. We're going out on the grounds for a bit," Martin said.
"Stay away from the Forbidden Forest," Daphne told her sister.
Astoria sighed. "I'm not stupid, Daphne."
"I know you're not, I just want you to be safe," Daphne said, brushing a stray piece of grass off her robes as she stood.
"It's Hogwarts, it's about as safe as it can get," Astoria said, turning and walking away with Timothy and Martin.
Daphne shook her head and watched her sister for a long moment.
Rachel watched too, but didn't say anything. She had her own opinions of exactly how safe Hogwarts was.
"Well, let's go then. We should be done before the rest of the students are finished with classes for the day," Hermione said.
Just like when they did their OWLs, the examiners called them into the Great Hall in groups of five. Millie went with the first group, along with Susan, Hannah, Terry, and Mandy.
Rachel leaned against the wall, settling in between Hermione and Neville and watching as Hermione silently incanted to herself. Theo stood nearby, his expression distant as he watched the room.
Nearly thirty minutes later, Rachel was called in with Theo, Pansy, Padma, and Parvati.
"To Professor Tofty, Miss Snow," Professor Flitwick told her when he'd sent the others to their examiners.
Much like they'd expected, Rachel was tested on advanced Locking charms, countercharms to the Unlocking charm, the Blinding Flash charm, and the Drought charm, though not the Ascending charm or the Extinguishing charm. A few more charms later, which were more conjuring than charms, if you asked Rachel, she was dismissed with a smile and a nod.
"Everyone alright?" Theo asked the study group, getting weary nods in response.
"We've got time for two Transfiguration reviews today. Let's do basic study now and then question and answer after dinner," Hermione said.
"Can I come?" Ron asked.
"Of course," Hermione said.
On Tuesday they repeated the process, except for Transfiguration this time instead of Charms. Rachel wrote long paragraphs about Transfiguration theory and then did a number of conjurations, both inanimate and animate, and an animate transfiguration of a toadstool into a toad and then vanished it.
"Well done, Miss Snow," Professor Marchbanks. "I look forward to seeing your career open to you."
Rachel managed to nod, though she didn't quite manage a smile. "Thank you."
The Herbology exam was easier. Plant species, care, and uses were second nature to her now that she'd spent so much time studying and preparing potions. Their practical was in greenhouse three, where they safely harvested asphodel without piercing themselves on the spiked stems, trimmed the sopophorous bean plants, and repotted the Floo flowers. Rachel was certain she'd received an Outstanding on both sections of the exam, which would be a good thing if she actually was intending to do a Potions Mastery.
On Thursday was their Defense exam and the study group was also well prepared. Rachel was unsurprised that the exam didn't cover any of the lethal combat spells that Kingsley and Tonks had been teaching them this past month. Rachel was also confident when she went into the practical exam in the afternoon, where she cast a barrier ward, several advanced countercurses, and did a short duel with Professor Tofty in which she easily blocked his spells without dodging, or even moving, and disarmed him.
"Thank you, Miss Snow. Very good, indeed," he said when she returned his wand. "Now, I recall that you can cast this spell, but once again for the purposes of your exam, the Patronus charm if you would."
Rachel had been expecting that and she stood for a moment and very carefully cultivated memories of her and Severus, and her friends, and Sirius and Remus. She silently cast the Patronus charm and her doe obligingly appeared. That was a relief. Once she was by herself at Hogwarts she'd put some work into practicing that every day again until it was immediate. She just didn't want anyone to watch her while she did it.
"Well done again," Professor Tofty said. "You've had your corporeal Patronus since you were a child, yes?"
"Since I was thirteen," Rachel corrected, feeling that thirteen years old wasn't quite a child anymore.
"I was also told that you're responsible for teaching the charm to a number of other students, including students who haven't yet taken their OWLs. Is that correct as well?"
"My friends and I have taught a number of our friends," Rachel said.
"You will have to divulge your methods to your professors, these last three years we've seen far more corporeal Patronuses than usual. Have a good afternoon, Miss Snow," Professor Tofty told her.
"Thank you, you as well," Rachel said, considering that as she left the Great Hall. Gemma already knew how they taught the Patronus charm, she'd been with them while the younger members of the DA learned this year. But then with the curse, Gemma wouldn't be teaching at Hogwarts next year. Maybe she should drop by Professor Flitwick's office and tell him how they were teaching it in the DA so that he could either teach the Patronus charm earlier or do an extended lesson on it over several months. She thought it really was a spell worth learning, even if most people would be fortunate enough to never face a Dementor.
On Friday afternoon they had their Ancient Runes exam, which included translations and rune carving. Severus had explained Rachel's need for her specialized charmed quill and chisel and after examining her tools they agreed to let her use them. The translation didn't go perfectly, but Rachel thought her carvings looked alright. If she had to grade herself, she'd give herself an Exceeds Expectations, which was just fine with her since she wasn't intending to use runes after this.
Saturday was devoted to Arithmancy study and their entire Arithmancy class met to go over the material and to practice spell modifications.
Sunday was devoted to Potions reviews, which was simple enough. Rachel thought that any studying for Potions that she did now was going to feel easy compared to the Potions studying they did in preparation for the Potions Championship last year.
The written exam on Monday was also simple. Rachel wrote about ingredient preparation and interactions, brewing times, ingredient substitution and paired substitutions, and broke down the recipe for Dreamless Sleep and how it worked at the various stages of brewing. She decided to also write a little bit about her own modifications to Dreamless Sleep, explaining what she'd changed and at what stages.
For the practical exam in the afternoon they were each given a table of ingredients, though they brought their own cauldrons and equipment. Rachel showed Madam Marchbanks the spells that she used on her equipment, getting a nod of understanding. They were then given the task of modifying the Draught of Living Death to induce a lighter sleep in the drinker. The most obvious solution was to reduce the sopophorous bean juice, but Rachel knew that doing that would imbalance the infusion of wormwood and render the entire potion undrinkable.
She took a quick catalog of the ingredients available to them and recognized the modification that they wanted them to make, even though that felt a little bit like cheating instead of coming up with the modification herself. She added the full amount of the sopophorous bean juice where the recipe called for it, paired with powdered billywig stings to make the sleep lighter. Then she stirred three times anti-clockwise instead of seven, added nine drops of castor oil to dilute the sopophorous bean juice even more. The potion simmered for thirteen minutes, she stirred five more times, and then turned off the heat. As the potion cooled, instead of going from lilac to clear, it went from a deep purple to a light purple that was touching on sky blue.
While she couldn't - and wouldn't - test the potion on herself, she was reasonably sure this was what they were looking for and she raised her hand so a professor could come examine her cauldron.
Professor Marchbanks came to her side, examined the potion while using the ladle, made a mark on her clipboard and then handed Rachel a vial labeled with her name. "Place a sample inside, I will seal it and you will verify that it's all correct."
Rachel did so, watched Madam Marchbanks seal the vial, and then signed her name to indicate that she had given the correct sample. Then she took a glance around the room to see what the rest of her classmates were doing. Hermione, Draco, and Theo were all finished as well, with Professor Tofty examining Draco's light purple vial, and Hermione's hand in the air while Professor Emerson moved to check Theo's potion.
Thirty minutes later they were all dismissed and they left carrying their cauldrons and equipment. "What do you think?" Padma asked as they exited the Great Hall.
"Pretty straightforward," Draco said. "Honestly, I was expecting something more difficult."
"You all went with billywig stings, right?" Neville asked as he looked around at them.
"That's what I did, it just took me a little bit to narrow it down from the ingredients they gave us. I was tempted by the eel eyes at first, but there was nothing to pair them with," Susan said.
"Billywig stings and castor oil, changing the stirs and simmering times," Terry said, nodding to himself.
"That's what I did too. I'm pretty sure that's the modification they wanted us to make," Rachel agreed.
"I wasn't sure, but that's what I went with as well, but I think I added too much castor oil because it wasn't quite balanced at the end," Millie said.
"What color was it?" Theo asked.
"Blue, so I think it was just a bit too far," she said.
"You still did the modification they wanted though, they'll give you credit for that," Rachel reassured her.
"It sounds like we all did well and that we recognized what was expected of us. Short break while we put our cauldrons away and then we can get back into Arithmancy?" Hermione asked.
They all agreed, but Rachel suspected they were agreeing because Arithmancy was their last exam and not because anyone actually wanted to study anymore.
On Tuesday was the OWL Care of Magical Creatures exam, but none of the seventh years were taking the NEWT. Rachel reminded herself to go see Hagrid after school let out and spend some time with him. He was one of her first friends and she cared about him even though she didn't see him as often as she'd like.
The Arithmancy class spent most of Tuesday in the study room practicing modifications of simple spells and charms. There was much more diversity in what they did here than with the exam for modifying potions, so Rachel suspected that for the exam there wouldn't be a single right answer, just what was closer and further away from the objective.
Rachel reminded herself that this was the last exam that she'd ever have to take and it really didn't matter that much. There were much more important things in life than exams, even if those exams theoretically determined her future career.
She continued to check on the Dark Lord, but she couldn't tell if it was her own anticipation or if the Dark Lord really was building up to something. She knew that he was, but it felt more urgent than it used to. She decided to drop by Severus' quarters that evening on her way back through the dungeons and let him know, just in case.
Wednesday morning didn't reveal anything new when she checked on the Dark Lord before breakfast so Rachel decided to take the day to focus on her exam and then she could worry about him afterward. Tonight she was taking a modified Dreamless Sleep potion and hopefully that would somehow tell her mind and body to relax a little bit. Whoever had named the NEWTs the Nasty Exhausting Wizarding Tests was very accurate. She could see that all the seventh and fifth years were struggling through the last few days of exams.
Since the written portion of Astronomy was tested in the morning, they had another few hours to review. They went quickly through the equations and formulas that they'd be expected to know, did a brief overview of graphing, and then went back to modification. After lunch they went into the Great Hall and found their desks.
When time started, Rachel quickly went through the exam paper. There were equations and graphs, as expected, and then the last section of the exam was modifying the Cleaning charm so that it performed a sweeping back and forth motion on the target instead of the typical round and round dusting motion that it typically did.
Rachel thought that was doable and put it in the back of her mind while she worked on the rest of the exam. After about an hour she finished with the first portion of the exam and used a spare piece of parchment to approach modifying the Cleaning charm. She sat and fiddled with it for what felt like a very long time and finally settled for a sweeping motion that still retained a little of the round and round dusting motion. It was the best she could do with the time she had left. She wrote out her modification and raised her hand.
Professor Tofty joined her and Rachel demonstrated her spell, slightly irked that it wasn't perfect. Professor Tofty nodded to her and made a note on his clipboard and Rachel figured her exam result would be somewhere between Acceptable and Exceeds Expectations, depending on how heavily they weighed the practical compared to the written.
They met the rest of the study group out in the entrance hall.
"All done," Hermione said, wiping her forehead. The only exams left to take place were History and Muggle Studies and no one in their group was taking either of those.
"Let's take a break," Theo said. "A real break. No more studying."
Hermione nodded. "Yes, a break. Shall we go outside? It's nice out."
"I'd like that," Luna said.
"Me too," Ginny agreed.
They left the castle together and went out near the trees by the lake.
Rachel settled in next to Millie and looked out at the surface of the lake. She thought she had finished everything that had been important to her. All that was left was for the Dark Lord to act.
Thursday and Friday were quiet. The study group took the opportunity to sleep in, along with many of the seventh years. Muggle Studies was not a popular class and none of the seventh years had taken History, so most all the seventh years were done with exams by Wednesday afternoon. Rachel spent time with her friends, went flying with Draco and Ginny, finished reading the last of the books she'd been given for Christmas, visited Hagrid, wrote in her journal, and generally just rested.
On Friday evening the mood in the Great Hall was one of relief and anticipation. Exams were over, homework was finished, the term was just about wrapped up. Rachel knew that each of the common rooms held a party at the end of exams, and they had a party scheduled for the DA as well. She wasn't quite looking forward to the party. This was basically her saying goodbye to the DA and it was very likely that she'd never see most of them again after next Saturday.
They'd already talked to the people who would be running the DA next year. Luna and Ginny would still be the leaders, but now all of them had a copy of the curriculum along with notes about what they might consider changing and about what they'd tried that hadn't worked. Rachel's hope for the DA was that while they'd still provide defense practice, that with the end of the war looming that none of them would be learning with the fear that they might be forced to defend themselves against Death Eaters with what they'd learned.
The group gathered treats and butterbeer from the kitchens, thanked the House Elves, and began the climb up to the seventh floor.
"This feels so strange. Does anyone else feel it?" Hermione asked.
"Strange how?" Theo asked.
"Just knowing that this is the last time we'll do this. I mean Ginny and Luna still have another year, but this is our last time," Hermione said.
"It's a little scary to think about what will happen next," Neville said.
"I feel it too," Millie agreed. "I'm sure it will be better once we've settled into our masteries and into the Order, but right now it's hard to imagine."
"We'll be alright," Theo said. "It will be different for a while, but we'll get used to it."
Rachel hoped that the war would end quickly enough that none of her friends would ever face combat with the Order. She didn't want that for them. She didn't want to lose them. It would be weird not being able to talk with them. She'd spent so much time with them these last seven years that the idea of not even being able to write to them in their books was disheartening. They had already ordered new two-way books for the coming year. They'd need them to stay in contact with Ginny and Luna, and Hermione had suggested that they should journal about what they were learning in their masteries. Rachel had let them order a book for her, knowing that she wouldn't get to use it much, but she wanted to write with them for as long as she had the opportunity.
"What do you think it's going to be like? The Order, I mean," Neville asked.
"I don't know. Even living with Sirius, I didn't see a lot. They kept meetings to themselves. Do you have a better idea, Rachel?" Hermione asked.
"People are pretty separated in the Order, to help protect each other. You won't know what someone else's tasks are, for the most part. I think the plan right now is to try and continue evacuation efforts and to try to keep the Death Eaters from killing more people," Rachel explained. "I know there is more to it than that, but those are the parts I know about."
"I think it would make sense for us to help with the evacuation effort. None of us have any particular skills or contacts that would really help the Order at this point. I take it they've given up on saving the Ministry?" Theo asked as they reached the fourth floor landing.
"I think they've accepted that they'll lose the Ministry with the elections in July. I don't know how they fix something like that," Rachel said with a shrug.
"What I want to know is how everyone is so certain they can fix the election. Will the majority really vote for the Death Eater cause?" Hermione asked.
Rachel looked at Theo for the answer. She hadn't really thought of it that way, it was just that Severus, Sirius, and Professor Dumbledore all seemed confident that it would happen.
"People are afraid of retaliation. Votes are supposed to be confidential, but there are records in the Ministry, records that the Death Eaters within the Ministry will undoubtedly have access to and everyone knows it. No one wants to set their family up to be attacked and I think everyone has read the writing on the wall as to how the war is currently going," Theo said.
"But how do they know which people to vote for?" Rachel asked. "As far as I know, no one has stood up and said that they're a Death Eater."
Theo shook his head. "There will be material sent out before the election with information about each candidate for the Minister and the candidates for the Wizengamot seats that are decided by vote. No one is outright going to say that they're a Death Eater, but most people can read between the lines to vote for candidates who say they will protect wizarding cultural values and traditions. I also wouldn't be surprised if people who put their names forth for candidacy who don't support the Death Eater agenda are murdered before the election takes place. People will consider that too before they put their names up for consideration."
"That's horrible and corrupt and just wrong," Hermione said. "That's not what elections should look like. What is going to happen if these people are elected and the war ends? No one will be there to stop them from pursuing a Death Eater agenda anyway."
That was a daunting thing to consider. Maybe she could end the war before the election. It was worth talking to Professor Dumbledore at least and seeing if they could arrange that. Rachel checked on the Dark Lord and found him still busy. She pressed harder, feeling around the edges of her connection. He was talking to someone. He had papers spread out in front of him. She paused on the stairs, closing her eyes, and tried to read the papers. She could see the words…what were they?
"Rachel?" Neville asked.
"Just a minute," she said, straining to see. Why didn't it make sense? Why couldn't she recognize the words? Here she was looking at the Dark Lord's plans and she couldn't figure out what she was even looking at. She felt something move in her mind and quickly retreated and imagined shutting her connection as hard as she could. Had she gotten the Dark Lord's attention doing that? She hoped not.
"Are you alright?" Luna asked, peering with worry at Rachel as Rachel opened her eyes.
"Fine. Just checking on the Dark Lord. I could almost see something, but I couldn't make it out." She felt her mouth twist in frustration.
"What is he doing?" Ginny asked, his eyes wide.
"Planning. He was talking with someone and there were papers spread out, but I couldn't make out what was on them," she explained.
"Maybe that's a good thing. That's awfully specific," Theo said, his worry also obvious.
"It is concerning," Hermione agreed. "Do you feel him watching you in return?"
"Not right now. If he's checking on me at the moment, I don't feel it," she said, which was also worrying in its own way.
"Do we need to do anything about this right now?" Theo asked.
Rachel shook her head. "No. Let's go to the party. I'll let Severus know later." It wasn't anything really new anyway. It was just a reminder that she needed to keep working on closing her connection before he did the same thing in return.
They continued to the seventh floor, and let Luna make the room for the party. There were no balloons this time, but there were more paintings on the walls. There were low seats and tables so that everyone could see each other and there were lit candles bobbing unsupported in the air all around the room.
Rachel pulled the butterbeers that she'd been carrying in her bag out and began arranging food and drinks around the room so it was easily accessible. Five minutes later people started showing up and before long the room was full with the DA and everyone was mingling. There was still an air of relief in the room, but Rachel wasn't feeling it anymore. She wandered from place to place, making a point to say hello to people and inquire about how they were doing. The answers were invariably that they were ready for school to be over and that they were glad exams were finished.
She found Malcolm sitting by himself with a butterbeer in his hands. "Can I sit?" she asked, gesturing to the seat next to him.
He nodded and scooted over a little.
Rachel sat and looked out at the gathered people. "It's a little overwhelming, isn't it?"
Malcolm nodded again.
"Are you worried about this summer?" she asked, knowing that she would be in his position.
"I don't really know what to expect. Sirius wrote to me and said he got me a tutor's exemption for the summer. Why did he do that?" Malcolm asked, looking at her for the first time since she'd sat down.
"I think it's mostly that we like anyone who is staying in Headquarters to be able to use their wands if they need to. No one is expecting you to do anything, they just want you to be able to use magic if you need to," she assured him.
"Do you think his house will be attacked? Do you think the Death Eaters know I'm there?"
"No, I don't. The house is under the Fidelius charm, so the Death Eaters can't find it. And it's probably known that you live with Sirius, but they don't know where he is, so they won't know where you are either. Given everything, Sirius' house is probably one of the safest places in Britain right now. Theo and Draco and Neville are all going to be there this summer with you, so there will be people you know. Hermione will be living with her parents upstairs. You'll have people you can ask if you need anything. You can write me or Professor Snape and we'll help you too. I know Sirius can be a little much, but he really does mean well. If he's doing something that you don't want him to do, you can tell him that and he'll stop." She wasn't sure how well Malcolm would react to Sirius' general teasing nature or his impulse to put his hands on people's shoulders as a gesture of affection. She'd gotten used to him hugging her, but it had taken a while.
"Do you think the Dark Lord is going to get my father out of Azkaban soon?" Malcolm asked, his voice barely audible.
"I don't know. I'm not sure what's going to happen with the Dark Lord." Rachel thought he might want all of his Death Eaters for the battle to come, but she supposed it depending on how long he wanted to punish Malcolm's father. "But I do know that Sirius and Professor Snape will keep you safe from him. He's not going to come to Hogwarts and he can't get in Sirius' house. And, to be honest, I don't think any of us are leaving a warded environment until the war is over."
Malcolm nodded, not looking any happier.
"Did your exams go alright?" she asked, hoping that she could help Malcolm stop thinking about the war, even just for a moment.
"I think so. I know I did well on Defense and Arithmancy at least. History was not great."
"History is not great for anyone," she said. "You can drop it after next year and no one is going to care what your grade in History was."
"Is Sirius going to care about my grades?" he asked, looking worried again.
"Not in the slightest. Sirius didn't care about his own grades when he was in school, he's certainly not going to care about yours. He told me that he used to copy off of Remus, so he has no ground to stand on when it comes to grades. He's always telling me that I study too much anyway," she promised. "I'd be surprised if he even looked at your grades when you get them."
"What does Sirius care about?"
Rachel sat with that for a moment, trying to figure out what mattered to Sirius. "I think he values honesty. He wants people to be straight with him. He likes having fun and jokes, but he knows when something is important. He will want you to be safe and healthy, just like any good guardian would. He'll want to keep you out of the Order's business. It isn't about you, it's just that no one underage is allowed to have a part in that. And for good reason. It's kind of scary stuff and you shouldn't have to deal with that more than you've already been forced to."
"You're joining the Order?" he asked.
"Yes, but I think my role is going to be a little different than most people's."
Malcolm nodded again, his expression now more thoughtful than worried.
"It will be alright. It gets better. I know things are hard now, but it will get better." She felt she could promise that much with them preparing for the end of the war.
"Everyone says that, but I don't see it," he said.
"It's hard to see right now. There are a lot of scary things happening. Sometimes you don't realize things have gotten better until later when you realize that you don't feel as scared or like something bad is going to happen at any second."
"Things got better for you?" he asked, sounding doubtful.
"Yes," she said, a little surprised to find that she meant it. There was plenty to worry about but she felt more settled right now than she had at just about any point in her life. "Things are much better for me now than they used to be."
Malcolm pressed his lips together but he finally nodded. "I'll see you this summer?"
"I might be around. I'll make sure to say hello when I stop by Headquarters." She didn't want to be at Headquarters for too long at any one time in case she accidentally drew the Dark Lord there, but London was big enough that she felt he would have a hard time finding them even with their ability to sense each other's direction.
"Okay." Malcolm took a drink of his butterbeer and looked a little more at ease than he had when Rachel had joined him.
Rachel settled in for a moment too, content to watch the DA and become accustomed to the upcoming changes in her life.
"What do we want to do until Sirius and Remus get here?" Neville asked on Saturday morning.
"I need to load up on Sugar Quills for the summer, but after that, I'm free for anything," Millie said.
"Let's go outside, it's very nice out," Luna said.
"Outside would be nice," Hermione agreed. "I'm not particularly interested in the Hogsmeade weekend activities and I can visit the library later. I want to finish going through the Restricted Section before the end of next week."
"That okay with everyone?" Theo asked, looking around the table and getting nods in return.
"I'm going to stop by and say hello to Fred and George, then I'm visiting Honeydukes with Millie, but then I'll join you outside," Ginny said.
Rachel half wanted to go get her Walkman or a book if they were just going to be lounging around outside, but it was more important to her to spend this time with her friends. She'd be alone in a week and she'd have plenty of time for music and reading then.
"I think Draco is with Pansy today?" Hermione asked.
"Judging from what Pansy was saying this morning, I think that's a safe bet," Millie said. "I think they just want some time to themselves."
Rachel considered what was left on her plate and pushed it away. She wasn't particularly hungry at the moment, but she'd make sure she ate a full lunch. She thought she knew why she was feeling a little weird today, but she didn't like it at all.
It had been two full years since she'd been abducted and then tortured at Malfoy Manor.
She wasn't quite sure what to do with that information, but it had been very present in her mind this morning ever since she'd woken from nightmares. She still had those nightmares, which she supposed wasn't surprising. Two years was not a long time in the grand scheme of things. She still had nightmares about some of the things that had happened in her childhood and that was a long time ago now. Then again, Severus had told her he still had nightmares about things that had happened twenty years ago. Maybe that was just how things worked.
Rachel didn't know how changed she was from the girl who had walked into Hogsmeade that Saturday with her friends. She felt like she was fundamentally a different person, but she could see that a lot of things about her were still the same. If anything, she was stronger now. Not because of the torture, but because she'd worked to become stronger. She wasn't as fearful as she'd been last year. She wasn't really sick anymore.
There were parts of the eating disorder that she didn't think would ever leave her. She suspected she would always have trouble getting herself to eat and that certain foods would make her sick. Eating at every meal was going to continue to be something she had to work on. Her stomach would still tie itself in knots and threaten to reject food if she tried to eat more. But she was at a healthy and stable weight and she'd been there for nearly a year now. She no longer got dizzy at random times. She could walk easily through the castle. She wasn't nearly as cold as she had been. And her menstrual cycle had returned earlier in the year.
She could have lived without the last part, but she knew that having her period meant her body was functioning healthily and like it was supposed to. She'd also heard rumors that there were birth control potions that women could take that would stop them from bleeding, and while she wasn't worried about becoming pregnant - she wasn't doing anything that would cause her to become pregnant - the idea of taking a potion once a month and not having to consider her cycle was tempting.
That was something she would have to brew for herself and in private. She was never, ever, having a conversation with Severus about birth control. Or about sex. Or anything in that general subject area. She thought he would probably appreciate that, even if she did know that he would answer her questions if she ever asked them. Which she wouldn't. If she wanted to know about the side effects of a birth control potion, she'd read a book or ask Madam Pomfrey.
"We ready to head out?" Theo asked.
"Let's go, before it gets busy in here," Hermione said, standing when everyone indicated they were ready.
Rachel followed her friends out of the Great Hall, still lost in thought. She was physically recovered from being tortured and from being sick. Mentally recovered was harder to say for sure. She felt like she had lost some trust in her own mind - and in mind magic - with the discovery of the wall she'd accidentally erected to contain those memories. The idea that she might someday damage her own mind on accident was uncomfortable, though Severus and Torey had both given her more lessons on what she could do and what she shouldn't do with mind magic.
Overall, Rachel thought the experience had changed her. Not necessarily for the better or the worse, but just different. And she thought she was okay with that. She was who she was now. There was no going back and fixing things, there was just pressing forward.
"Everything alright?" Theo asked quietly as he fell back to walk next to her.
"Just thinking. It's been a long few years," she said, half listening to the conversation that Hermione and Luna were having with Neville.
Theo nodded. "It has. I'm not sure our Hogwarts experience was supposed to be like this, but we made it through it."
Rachel pressed her lips together as she considered that. She knew a lot of the rough things about his experience at Hogwarts had been because he was friends with her. For the most part, as far as she could tell, most of the other seventh years had a much quieter experience of Hogwarts than she and her study group had. Then again, maybe other people felt the same way. She wasn't living their lives. For all she knew her classmates could have had a rough seven years and they were just better at keeping that private.
"We're going to see you this summer, right? You're going to be coming around Sirius' house?" Theo asked.
"When I can. I probably shouldn't stay for long periods of time in case the Dark Lord is trying to locate me, but I'll drop by," she said, feeling that was about the best she could do.
"Any idea how specific he can get with that?"
"If it works the same as it works for me, it's pretty much a compass. I know the direction, but not how near or far. So, theoretically, it should take him a fair amount of time to track us down in London."
He got the somewhat fixed look he wore when he was calculating something. "I think finding a single row of houses inside London with just a compass would be fairly difficult, even with apparition to help."
Rachel nodded. "He can probably figure out London easily enough just by apparating to a few towns and checking a map, but London is a big place."
"And even he can't apparate through muggle London in broad daylight. You can't apparate under the Disillusionment charm. I mean you can, but you aren't invisible when you arrive at your destination."
She was pretty sure that if the Dark Lord wanted to be invisible, he would be invisible. The sort of small magic limitations didn't seem to particularly bother him. Regardless, even apparating around it would still be a challenge to find an exact location. She hoped she wasn't faced with the prospect of finding the Dark Lord that way. It would be much easier if he came to her.
"Do you think we should go to Professor Dumbledore during the next week and ask to join the Order? Or make our intentions clear that we want to join the Order? How does that work, exactly? We've all just been operating under the assumption that we will join the Order when we finish at Hogwarts," Theo asked.
"I don't think Professor Dumbledore is going to turn anyone away from joining, but it would probably be nice if we told him face to face that we'd like to join," she said.
"Is arranging a meeting with him something you can do? I'm not even sure how to make an appointment to see Professor Dumbledore without going through our Head of House."
"I can ask Severus. I'll ask him at dinner tomorrow." She somewhat suspected that he wouldn't be entirely pleased with her friends joining the Order, but in a week they'd no longer be his students. And wasn't that strange all on its own?
"Is here good?" Neville asked as they reached a small copse of trees.
"Sure. Let's conjure some blankets to put down so we don't get wet from the dew," Theo said.
"How are Millie and Ginny going to find us?" Rachel asked once they had all settled in the shade of the trees. She supposed she should have asked that sooner.
"They can send us a Patronus message when they get out here. They know we're on the grounds," Luna said.
Sure enough, twenty minutes later they received Ginny's horse asking where they were, and another fifteen minutes after that, Millie and Ginny arrived with sweets to share and a deck of Exploding Snap cards for if they got bored.
"It's nice that we have this time," Hermione said after a moment. "I think this might be the last quiet time we get until the end of the war. We're going to need to make sure we aren't separated too much. I mean, some of that will happen just from not sharing the same classes every day, but I think we should make sure that we don't just all go our separate ways."
"After all of this, after all the things we shared, I don't think just going separate ways is an option for us. You're right that it's not going to be exactly the same as it is now, but we'll still share our lives with each other," Theo said. "We all feel that way, don't we?"
"Of course we do. I couldn't do this without all of you, and I wouldn't want to anyway," Millie said.
"Same here," Neville said. "You're my family."
"As much as I hate that Luna and I are stuck here for another year, we will see you. You'll come by for Hogsmeade weekends, won't you?" Ginny asked.
"We will," Hermione promised.
"We will see you this summer as well, and we have our books to keep in touch. I almost wish Ginny and I could have taken our NEWTs with you this year, but we have a responsibility to keep the DA running and to ensure it passes into good hands," Luna said steadily.
Rachel felt odd not saying anything. Her friends had become a second family to her, but she couldn't promise to be there for them in years to come. "Can I ask a question?"
"Of course," Hermione said.
"I'd like to show Sirius and Remus my animagus form. Today. Do any of you want to show them your forms?" She wanted to show them now while she had the chance, just in case.
"Well, we know they can keep it a secret, they kept Sirius' form a secret for nearly twenty years," Theo said.
"I'd show them mine as well," Neville said.
"I don't have any problems showing them mine. I wonder what they'll think of all of us," Millie said, looking a little excited.
"Well, Professor McGonagall did tell us not to transform at Hogwarts. But we could lock the door. And technically we'd be under the supervision of another trained animagus," Hermione hedged.
"None of us are in any danger of being stuck in our forms anymore. We've all had plenty of practice changing back and forth. And we all know the spell to turn someone back to their human form, just in case," Theo pointed out.
"And I know that Sirius and Remus know that spell as well," Rachel added.
"You don't have to if you don't want to, but I'm excited to see all of your forms," Ginny said.
"Yes, I very much want to see your forms," Luna agreed. "I have theories about all of you, and I'd like to know if they're right."
"You'll never guess mine," Millie said.
"Mine was a bit of a surprise as well," Hermione said. "Alright. I would like for them to see my form, especially because there aren't really other people we can show who would understand. We really shouldn't tell anyone until we're registered, but like you said, we know they can keep this a secret and they'll understand why it's so important to do so."
Glad that was settled, and that she would get to share the experience with her friends, Rachel laid back on the blankets and looked up at the trees. It was a nice summer day. Still early enough that it wasn't hot, but warm enough that she was comfortable in trousers and a long sleeved shirt. Without meaning to, she slowly dozed off while listening to the quiet chatter of her friends.
When she opened her eyes again she found herself looking into Theo's dark eyes. "Just about time to get lunch and to meet Sirius and Remus. You awake? I tried to wake you without startling you."
"I'm awake, and you didn't startle me," she said as she sat up. "How long was I out?"
"About two hours. You need to sleep more," he said.
"I think we could all use the extra sleep right now," Hermione said. "I might sleep in tomorrow."
"You? Perish the thought," Theo teased.
Rachel covered a yawn. "I might sleep in tomorrow too. I would have slept in today, but I was wide awake by seven."
"I slept in on Thursday and Friday, but now I keep waking up at seven. My body knows when I'm supposed to get up," Millie said as they began to get up and vanish the blankets they'd been using.
"Mine too. That happens in summer, where I can't sleep in," Neville said.
"Not me, I sleep in all summer," Ginny said.
"I tend to wake at odd hours, but I do that at Hogwarts as well," Luna said.
"Me too," Rachel said, brushing her trousers off even though they didn't need it.
They began the walk back to the castle, chatting idly and enjoying the sun. Thirty minutes later they'd retrieved lunch from the kitchens and found Sirius and Remus arriving in the entrance hall.
"I bet it feels good to have your exams finished," Remus said as he smiled at them.
"You have no idea," Millie said, her hands full with a platter of sandwiches.
"We have some idea. We both still remember our NEWTs. It's over now at least," Sirius said, patting Rachel on the shoulder since her hands were also full with a tray of sweets.
"Now we just have to wait for our scores," Hermione said, worrying on her lip with her teeth.
"Try not to think about it until they arrive. And we know all of you did well," Remus said as they began the trek to the third floor.
"And there is nothing you can do about it now. Your scores will come when they come. You've all got Mastery applications in, don't you?" Sirius asked.
"We do. All that remains is to send them our scores when they come," Theo said, though he seemed much less worried than Hermione did.
"Nothing to worry about then," Sirius said lightly. "Let's see. No Malcolm or Draco today? Where are the kids I'm actually responsible for?"
"Draco and Pansy are spending some time alone while they have the opportunity. Malcolm is with the other Slytherin fourth years. And we sort of wanted just us for this today," Millie said.
"Any particular reason?" Remus asked.
"We'll tell you when we get there," Hermione said.
"A secret? Well this should be good. You lot aren't usually ones for keeping secrets," Sirius said.
"We keep a lot of secrets," Ginny said. "We're just good at keeping them."
Rachel felt a tinge guilty at that. She knew many of the secrets her friends were keeping involved her.
"Well, then I eagerly await the revelation," Sirius said, smiling as he looked over all of them.
They reached the study room in short order and got all of the plates and food settled on the table.
"Are we doing this now?" Millie asked, once Hermione had put an advanced locking charm on the door.
"Let's do it before we eat," Theo agreed. "All at once, or one at a time?"
"All at once," Rachel said, wanting to fully surprise Sirius and Remus.
"Everyone ready?" Hermione asked as they gathered in the space next to the table. "On the count of three. One. Two. Three."
Rachel focused and carefully reached into her form. She felt the ground rushing up around her and the scents in the room suddenly became overwhelming. There were so many things to smell: food, the other animals, Sirius and Remus, Luna and Ginny, and just the slightly different scent of a different room.
Sirius was laughing and clapping his hands. "Look at all of you!"
"Well done, all of you," Remus said, his pride evident in his tone.
"You're all so cute!" Ginny exclaimed.
"Well some of my theories were right, but some not at all," Luna said. "Millie, your form is lovely. All of your forms are lovely."
"Come on back now so we can talk to you," Sirius said.
Rachel focused again and managed to make it so that she transformed with her human form standing. Around her, her friends were turning back as well.
"After my own heart, all of you kids," Sirius said as he looked over them.
"Adults now," Hermione said as she took her spot at the table.
"And animaguses," Theo added, looking pleased with their response.
"You did very well. I'm proud of all of you," Remus said.
Rachel smiled as she took her seat. She was going to add this to the memories she used for Patronus practice and she wanted to recall it perfectly.