Julia buried herself in studying all week. She thought only of schoolwork. Nothing else existed but schoolwork. She wouldn’t let herself think of anything else. She had OWLs to pass, OWLs to get Outstandings in. And, best of all, no one thought it was strange. They were Ravenclaws. They were studying too, and if they weren’t, they had other things to occupy them.
The tests weren’t really so hard, she decided. Not really so much worse than other tests. People just got worked up because these tests were so important . . . not her. She didn’t feel anything anymore. She just studied.
Her last test was Charms. She did everything perfectly. –Well,†said Grace, as they left the hall, –it’s over.â€
Julia burst into tears.
- -
She felt better after that, even though she was alive again now and had to think. She’d promised not to tell, and she hadn’t had to. Willa and Grace had just decided that she had been too stressed, too overworked, and it had made her hysterical. It was kind of true, Julia supposed. The problem just wasn’t tests. It was Chelsea. It was whether she’d done the right thing.
She wanted to tell the Grey Lady, but she’d promised not to tell. She’d promised not to tell anyone, and in her mind, that meant living or dead. So she just mulled it over herself. She thought of Chelsea, who was almost silent now. Clearly, Chelsea was sorry. She didn’t really think Chelsea would do anything like this again. So she, Julia, must have done the right thing.
She hadn’t been scared. She’d been brave to confront Chelsea at all. She wasn’t keeping it a secret out of cowardice. She was keeping it a secret because she was strong enough. She knew that the rules said the right thing was to tell. For Chelsea to be expelled. But maybe the rules weren’t always right. The rules didn’t always matter.
That revelation made her feel stronger, put her at ease, and she smiled for the first time in days. She believed she had done the right thing, and that was all that mattered.
–Hey, Mason,†she said, heading down to the common room. –How were your first exams?â€
–Awful,†he said, moving a black piece on the checkerboard. –I can’t wait to go home. I mean, I want to come back next year, but I didn’t like the tests.â€
Julia ruffled his hair while Parker the chimpanzee took his turn. –I’m sure you did fine.â€
–I also did fine, Miss Julia,†said Sam, coming up behind her.
–Did you?†she asked.
–Of course,†he said. –I taught Parker to play checkers.â€
She laughed. –You two are great. Really. Parker’s going to be the smartest monkey ever.â€
It was with a light heart that she spent the last days before the summer holidays. She thought she should be guilty, upset, but she wasn’t. She didn’t want to be. And that was okay. In fact, as time went on, she was almost proud of herself.
–Hey, prefect,†said one of the Weasley twins. The other waved.
She grinned. –Hey guys. You pass your exams?â€
They shrugged. –Probably not.â€
–Anyway,†said one of them, –we’re going to be working on lots of new products over the summer.â€
–And, while we’re completely brilliant ourselves, George here thinks having a consultant would be a good idea.â€
–You won’t be a prefect during the summer, after all. So if we have some questions, a problem we can’t work out . . .â€
–We’ll send you an owl,†they finished together.
She laughed. –Alright. Sure.â€
Fred grinned. –Maybe we’ll send you some products to test, as well . . .â€
–Don’t you dare!â€
Fred laughed. George tilted his head, staring. –You seem different.â€
Julia shrugged. –Maybe I am. See you two next year. Don’t get into too much trouble.â€
They laughed. –Ah, but trouble’s what we do,†said Fred.
–Until next year!†said George, and they walked away.
Finally, it was the last day. The sun was shining. Mason and Sam had passed all their classes. She’d only just found out that there’d been a lot of other excitement around the school - Sirius Black had been caught but escaped again, and of course, everyone had their theories. It didn’t really seem important to her. The only thing that concerned her was that Professor Lupin had resigned.
–That’s too bad,†she said. –He was way better than the other teachers we’ve had.â€
–Apparently he was a werewolf,†Grace said.
Julia shrugged. –So what?â€
Willa had shook her head. –I think you’re still crazy.â€
Julia was pretty sure Willa was right. But as she wandered around the grounds in the sunshine, she thought of a spell she hadn’t tried in a long time - the patronus charm.
She took out her wand, and thought of her friends. She thought of Mason and Sam and Parker, and how they always made her laugh. She thought of Willa and Grace, and even Chelsea, because she felt like it would all be okay now. She thought of Fred and George, who she supposed were her friends now, though no one would ever have expected it. She thought of how she’d done the right thing, all on her own.
She grinned, and cried, –Expecto Patronum!†feeding every bit of happiness she had into it. A silvery bird flew out into the light. It was a small bird, but as it flew, it was proud and wonderful. She watched it head out towards the sun, amazed.
And she knew everything would be okay.
Wit Beyond Measure by Samsijay
Chapter Endnotes: So this is the end! (for now ;) ) I'll probably go back and edit it at some point, polish it up, so any feedback on anything - characters, plot, whatever - would be great :) Thank you all so much for reading!