An American at Hogwarts

Chapter Sixty

The rest of the week was horrible, but one exam after another, my classmates and I got through it.

Charms wasn't too bad, and I wasn't taking Ancient Runes, so my Monday was manageable. Tuesday was far worse, since I had morning Transfiguration, afternoon Care of Magical Creatures, and night Astronomy O.W.L.s. Still, every night we set up another study session as promised, even through everyone was practically brain dead after the first two days.

If I thought house boundaries dropped at breakfast Monday morning, that was nothing compared to the solidarity everyone showed throughout the rest of the week. Every time one of us started to break, the others were there to pick us up and get us ready for the next round. I even saw Oliver and Flint walking down the corridor together, supporting each other after a nasty Transfiguration exam.

For the fifth years, Wednesday was another killer day with three tests scheduled. I got a break after my morning Herbology exam since I didn't need to sit for the afternoon Divination test, but History of Magic that night actually almost killed me.

After morning DADA and afternoon Arithmancy on Thursday, we were all ready to be done, Friday's tests be damned. Since I wasn't taking Muggle Studies, my morning Potions test was the last one before I was done, but it seemed impossible to me that I could actually muster the energy to even show up.

"Come on Lex, last one," said Angelina, nudging me awake the morning of our test. About halfway through the week we'd all given up the team breakfast activity in favor of sleep, so I had to go straight from my nice, warm bed to the cold, dark dungeons.

All the fifth year Gryffindors trudged down to the dungeons together in silence, merging with the Ravenclaws on the stairs. We added the Hufflepuffs once we hit the first floor, and we even managed to pick up the Slytherins a few corridors ahead of the exam room.

None of us had the energy to speak to each other, but just being near one another was enough to make us feel better. I stood right next to Cedric for the trek down, and just being next to him helped me stand a little straighter before we took our seats.

I swear, I have never come closer to something killing me than during that potions exam, and that was saying something since I lived with the Avengers. After the practical exam was over, the only thing keeping me going was the knowledge that every page of the written test I finished was another page closer to me being completely done with O.W.L.s for the rest of my life.

Time seemed to stretch endlessly, but finally I got to the top of the last page of the test. Of course it couldn't be a nice, easy multiple choice to finish, but instead it had to be five "short" answer questions.

"Okay..." I sighed to myself, taking my own advice and pausing to breathe before starting on the last page. "'Describe the effects of a Polyjuice potion...'"

I had just finished thinking through my answer and started writing out my first sentence when a notification from Ana dinged in my ear, making me jump so much I drew a long line straight across the page.

I always left my earpiece in for Ana out of habit, since I never knew when some emergency might arise where I would need her help. But she wasn't supposed to say anything during my tests, and I knew she wouldn't break such an important rule unless it was something insanely important.

"Ana, what is it?" I hissed under my breath, praying that Snape wouldn't notice me.

"The blood sample analysis is complete. There are no records matching this person exactly, but the Avengers do have a file on someone who is almost certainly a direct relative."

I froze, completely forgetting the test. This was it. This was the final piece of the puzzle I'd been working on for six months.

Ana had finally found me answers.