Gone Awry

With her friends back at her side, everything turned back to normal in Hogwarts. Well, at least as normal as it could get with Ash's hyperactivity and the N.E.W.T.s coming up.

Sure Ash had already stuffed most of the information she could need into her brain during the holidays with Hermione and the others, but where was still a lot of information and facts that needed refreshing in her mind. Therefore, instead of actually thinking of pranks and partying, she and her friends in the 7th year mostly sat in the library and studied.

"I feel like my head is about to explode!" Tracy whined next to her and let her head fall down on the text book she was currently reading.

Giggling, Ash let a hand run over her friends back to sooth her, "I know, I know. But you have too get through this just a few more days! Then we'll write those terrible, terrible exams and when we're done with that, we'll be free as a fly and will never have to do this stuff never again!"

"Really? Never again?"

"Never again."

"Alright," Tracy said with new motivation, "lets get this over with!"

The three off them laughed and went back to reading their textbooks, copying important information out and trying to memorize them in their slowly overflowing heads.

"I feel sick," Blaise said quietly as they were standing outside the doors of the Great Hall that had been changed into their examination room. Today was their first exam, the first life or die situation that would decide what they would be able to do after their Graduation.

Would they be able to work in the Ministry of Magic? As Auror? In Law enforcement? In Accidents and Catastrophes? Mysteries? or would they need to find jobs that you could get with your O.W.L.s? Where the last two years for nothing or not?

"Don't worry, everything will be alright!" Ash tried to get him too feel better.

"Easy for you to say! Your brain is like a sponge, you know everything! Especially about Potions!"

"Not true! There's a lot of things that escape my mind again."

"But not with Snapes subject!"

Not arguing back, the two of them fell silent once again. Slowly she glanced over the 20 people stationed before the doors. It was her whole Potions class, huddling together, whispering a few last minutes reviews and playing with their feathers. Over at the other side of the crowd she could see a sick looking Ron, Harry and Hermione and leaning against the wall opposite the doors was Draco, looking a bit queasy as well. Everyone was waiting for the doors to open and the exams to begin.

The Great Hall was filled with four neatly formed lines of tables and chairs that were at least two meters apart from each other. In each row were twelve tables to seat all of the 47 students that took the N.E.W.T.s this year. With the space each student had, there was no chance of cheating in this exam, no chance of the slightest peek at their neighbours paper, no chance of them hearing someone mutter an answer under their breath.

"You will all be sitting on an assigned seat, so please line up at the door and come to me when I call your name!" Professor Snape sneered standing at the first table.

"Abbot, Hannah!" swiftly the Hufflepuff rushed forward and sat down at the table Snape had pointed her too.

Briskly he went to the next table and called, "Boot, Terry!" The Ravenclaw followed Abbots example.

One after the other he called out to them and lured them to their own table on which they would be writing their exams.

Being cursed with the names of Weasley and Zabini, Ash, Ron and Blaise were the last ones standing at the door, shivering with anticipation

"Weasley, Ash!" Snape called out and pointed her to the third table of the last row. Quietly she jogged over to that table and slowly sat down on the chair that she just slid out from under the table.

While her cousin and her best friend were seated behind her, she looked around her with big eyes. The Great Hall looked somewhat different from the table she was currently sitting on. Hearing Blaise sitting down, she turned her eyes on Snape. Watching him as he slowly paraded through the aisle and sit down in front of them on his own table.

"The rules are simple. Cheat and you fail. Try to cheat and you fail. Talk and you fail. Let your eyes stray from your paper and you fail. Don't answer all the questions and you fail. Answer the questions incorrectly and you fail. The only way to pass this simple test is by answer all the questions and getting them right, are we clear?"

Everyone nodded their heads while trying to ignore the queasy feeling in their stomachs.

"If you have questions raise you hands I will come over to you. If you need to use the toilet raise you hands and Mister Filch will accompany you to the toilet and back. If you finish the exam after an hour and before the last half hour, you may leave the room. But don't stray to far because the practical exam will be taken half an hour after this written exam is over. Any questions?" No body moved.

With a nod of Snape, the papers that were piled on his table began to float and landed right in front of them.

"You have 2 hours for this paper. Begin," he sneered and all around them the potions students flipped their papers, inked their feathers and began.

After one hour and 25 minutes Ash raised her hand and waited for Snape to grudgingly walk over to her.

"Yes?" he snapped.

"I'm finished," she told him and handed over her exam paper.

"Alright, get out of here. The practical test will start in one hour and 5 minutes, be on time." he said quietly as Ash took her feather and got off her chair. Feeling a couple of eyes on her, Ash glanced at Ron and Blaise as she passed them and smiled at the encouragingly, their answering glances were more of a frustrated glare and a unbelieving stare.

Quickly she walked out of the doors and shut them behind her once again. When she saw that no one was in sight, she turned to the castle exit and ran outside hoping to enjoy a few sun rays and fresh air before she had to once again go into the stuffy examination Hall.

"Ash!" she suddenly heard a voice call behind her and turned around to find Tracy walk up to her. "What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to write you exam right now?"

"I was finished early."

"Oh, OK. How did it go?"

"Well it's potions, one of the subject that comes easiest to me. So it went quiet well, but it was still hard," she said with a sober facial expression.

"That's good. And how did the others look when you left?"

"Frustrated to say the least."

"Ouch. I hope they'll be alright."

"Don't worry about them, their bog boys. They can manage this."

Tracy smiled at Ash as she leaned against the railing of the corridor they were in and looked out into the gardens, "I guess you right... How long do you have until the next part of the exam?"

"About another half an hour," Ash answered with a peek at the clock.

Relaxed and feeling quiet confident, Ash entered the Great Hall again and sat on her assigned table when the practical examination began.

"Quiet down now!" Snape snapped as everyone was at their assigned seats. "You will be making a drought of living death. Here on this board there are three recipes, one of them being correct."

A shocked silence filled the room as they looked at the board and tried to remember which of the recipes was correct. The Draught of Living Death was the first potion they did in their N.E.W.T.s class in sixth grade. For many it was to long ago to really remember.

"Same rules as before. You have 3 hours. Begin."

And they began.

Slowly Ash read through the recipes and figured that the one in the middle was the correct one, although when her mother once taught her about it, she had been told to do it a bit differently. Taking her time she pulled out the ingredients she would need and began to work.

After the three hours of crushing beans and stirring the potion, letting it settle down and hearing a few potions explode here and there, Ash stared into her finished potion. Black as the night it lay in the cauldron untouched and deathly still. Slowly she raised her hand.

Quietly Snape walked over to her and looked inside the cauldron. Nodding to himself he gave his student 5 vessels in which she was to pour the draught for easier transport.

When everyone finished, Snape dismissed them all.

"That didn't go all to bad now, didn't it?" Ash asked as she and Blaise walked through the doors of the Great Hall together.

"For you it didn't, I have absolutely no idea if I managed!"

"Oh I'm sure you did!"

"Yeah? Well, lets just forget about this one and concentrate on Transfigurations tomorrow!"