Painted Scars // WOLFSTAR

Year One: Exams

Herbology being the last exam of the year was a bit of a blessing in disguise.

The walk to the greenhouses was pleasant; the air stuck to his skin like honey and warmed his arms under the sun. In the winter it was quite awful–cold, and slushy, so bad that it would seep through his shoes and onto his socks–but in the summer, he wanted to bathe in it.

After a long week of exams, he needed it.

Sirius was never really a big worrier, as he favoured the 'head-first' kind of attitude that only a Gryffindor would have, but that also meant he didn't worry enough to study. Not wanting to study and having drill-sergeant parents didn't exactly mix well, so when he'd finished all of his tests, he was quite proud of how they'd turned out.

Transfiguration and Astronomy were both breezes–he was sure he passed them with flying colours–and he didn't think he did all that bad on his Charms, though he may have bound his hand to the table on accident. It was Potions that worried him the most, especially since Professor Slughorn seemed to have it out for him. He'd ruined one too many cauldrons to get away with an O, Sirius suspected.

Finding out that the Herbology exam was a written test was the icing on the cake.

"But Professor," a gangly boy asked when she was passing out the exams, "if we're doing a written test, why did we come to the greenhouses?" Professor Sprout looked guilty.

"With summer beginning, I'll need all of the Wolfsbane to be removed and repotted for Potions. Let's just say it's part of your exam!" The class erupted into groans, save for Peter who lit up. "Hey, no whining! Everything you'll learn in this class is useful for the future, even the stuff you don't want to do."

"I can't imagine anyone in this class will ever need to know how to extract Wolfsbane," Sirius leaned over and mumbled to Remus, who let out such a sudden laugh that it looked like it caught even him by surprise. Sirius raised a brow, but Remus quickly looked away.

The test, as he'd expected, was very easy. Herbology was all the parts of Potions that he understood, without the annoying instruction following that tended to give him a headache. He marked off the letter C when asked which plant reacted aggressively towards eye contact.

"Now, you're going to want to make sure you wear gloves," Sprout began when the exams were all collected. "Wolfsbane is rather poisonous to the touch, and I don't want anyone seen off to the Hospital Wing on their last day." Remus offered to grab the gloves, while James grabbed the potted plants.

"Do you think this means we'll get to brew Wolfsbane Potion next year?" Peter asked, a shimmer in his eye. It always amazed Sirius how he could like all of the worst things, all of the time. Really, his favourite game was chess. Sirius shrugged.

"Well, I know what it means," James started, returning to the table with four plants stacked unsteadily in his arms. "It means that I'm getting on the Quidditch team."

"You know, just because you'll be a second-year doesn't mean you'll automatically get on the team," Remus pointed out, following behind James and handing them each a pair of dragon-hide gloves.

"I'm James Potter. Of course that's what it means." The boys rolled their eyes at James' self-assurance. Sirius certainly wasn't about to doubt him, not after being in the boys' Flying lessons, but he could do with a little humbling.

Sirius grabbed his pair of gloves and pulled them up his hands. Practical work in this class always felt like gardening to him, and he had house-elves for that. He was wise enough to not mention that to his friends though, because Remus might've clarted him. Removing the Wolfsbane was much easier than some of the things they'd done earlier in the year, but that was likely because it was just a chore that Sprout didn't want to do alone, which Sirius was grateful for. He didn't mind staying out in the sun for a little longer, not when it was as nice out as today.