Being Different Year 5

Anne had a calendar hung up over her bed in her room. It was fifty days till the start of exam fortnight, she had plenty of time. Twenty days, she would manage she was on top of things. Five days, its ok she’d been studying for these for the last five years. One day, where had the time gone!

It was Monday morning and the exam was starting in less than an hour.

“Eat Annie,” said Irwin, “you’ve been staring at those strawberries for over an hour!”

Anne shook her head frantically.

“There’s nothing worse than going into an exam on an empty stomach,” he pointed out.

Anne took a nibble on a strawberry and eventually ate her breakfast.

She regretted this half an hour before the start of the exam when she had to rush out of the room to find the bathrooms.

“I’ll go,” muttered Persephone.

“Anne? You in here?”

“I’m in here,” she groaned from behind an unlocked cubicle.

“Oh Merlin,” muttered Persephone holding Anne’s hair away from the toilet that Anne was throwing up into.

“You alright now?”

“I think so,” she muttered getting up.

“Irwin,” said Persephone joining the others in the line outside the Great Hall.

Anne was white as a sheet.

“You know how you said there was nothing worse than going into an exam on an empty stomach?” asked Persephone with her arms crossed.

“Hmmm,” he muttered not looking up from his charms breakfast.

“Anne just threw up her breakfast.”

“It’s going to be a long week,” muttered Anthony as they all filed into the Great Hall with the seventh years and the papers were handed out for their Charms practical examination.

“How you feeling Annie?” asked Irwin after their first exam.

Anne shrugged.

“You want some lunch?”

“I don’t want to be sick again,” she muttered.

“Right Pomfrey,” said Irwin. He wasn’t going to have her fainting in the middle of exams.

“Hello Mr Scamander,” greeted Madam Pomfrey, “exam nerves?” she asked looking at Anne.

“She doesn’t want to eat any lunch,” sighed Irwin, “she ate breakfast and then threw it up.”

“Right,” said Pomfrey, “take this,” she said passing two bottles to Anne.

“One’s your usual calming draught, the other one is a nutrient potion.”

“Thanks,” she muttered downing both the potions before going to go get ready for the practical exam.

“We’re not doing this every day you know that?” said Irwin, “you’re not going to be living on nutrient potions for the next fortnight.”

“Just you try and stop her,” muttered Anthony smirking.

They waited outside the Great Hall to get called in for their practical examinations, when Anne got called, she got given a Professor Marchbanks, who according to Neville was friends with his grandmother.

“Hello,” greeted Professor Marchbanks cheerfully.

“Hi,” she muttered shyly staring at her shoes.

“Miss Potter?”

Anne nodded.

“Could you take this egg cup and make it do some cartwheels for me?”

Anne gave a firm nod and then cast all the spells that the examiner asked for perfectly.

The week went about the same as the Monday had done.

Wake up, study, Irwin trying to get her to eat some breakfast, be sick, take her theory exam, go to Pomfreys for a nutrient potion, take the practical exam, force down some dinner, study, bed, start again the next day.

Unsurprisingly the second week went about the same, even though Anne knew she had answered all of the questions and had done her best she couldn’t stop being nervous and throwing up.

What made it even worse was in the middle of their astronomy exam on Wednesday night, Umbridge and some aurors tried to arrest Hagrid. They weren’t successful but now Hagrid was on the run and McGonagall was in St Mungos. Thank Merlin Flitwick was still there to look after his Ravenclaws.

All of her exams in general went well, she did everything she was asked to do in the practical exams and even answered a few bonus questions, she even cast a Patronus in her Defence exam.

She thought her Divination exam had gone terribly; she had been reading her examiners lifeline.

“It says you’ll die in three years,” she told Professor Tufty.

“You surprise me,” said Professor Tufty, “I thought you were going to say I only had three months left.”

“Oh I’m sorry,” she said double checking the lifeline.

“No that’s alright, I’m older than Dumbledore I’m impressed I’ve even got that long left.”

Finally, it was Thursday morning and the final exam, Anne’s charm bracelet was starting to feel slightly warm, but she was ignoring it, she had to get through her History of Magic exam.

If there was one exam, she knew she had passed it was History of Magic.

She’d done it, she had sat all her exams, she went to go to Pomfrey to get her last nutrient potion after her exam.

“I want you to start eating properly again after this alright?”

“Yes, Madam Pomfrey,” she muttered leaving the Hospital Wing.

“How you feeling Annie?” asked Irwin.

“I don’t know, I just feel like I need some time for myself, I’m going to go for a walk.”

“Ok Annie, see you at dinner!” Irwin called as she left for a walk in the grounds.

Anne went for a walk around the great lake, there weren’t many people out by the lake because most people were in class, those that were out by the lake were celebrating the end of their OWLs or NEWTs by dipping their feet in the lake.

She decided to go for a walk around the edge of the Forbidden Forest so she could be alone for the first time in months.

She was just starting to think about heading back to the Common Room when she heard a voice talking behind her.

“If it isn’t ittle Annie Potter,” said a woman with a mocking voice.

Anne turned around but she couldn’t see anyone, her charm that had been nagging her all day was now burning again. She started to reach to pull out her wand.

“I have been waiting a long time to see you!” she continued in a menacing tone.