“You have no idea…”

In the hospital wing next to my bed sat Hermione in her school uniform.

“No idea?”

“Exactly,” she nodded with a serious face and immediately fixed a loose strand of hair. “How I wish I could tell you my opinion on the extent of your carelessness.”

“So tell me,” I smiled and moved to the headboard of my bed, leaning against the pillow.

I’ll never be able to get used to a pajama suit, which is considered almost an obligatory element of the wardrobe in England. And in other countries. I’m just used to sleeping in my underwear, that’s all. Surely I must look funny in the striped suit they gave me.

“It’s extremely irresponsible to get sick just before exams. Except for rare exceptions, we studied the school curriculum on a par with the rest. This means that it takes time for careful preparation. The degree of importance of the final grades on the o.w.l.s and n.e.w.t.s cannot be exaggerated. All options for further actions in life related to these grades are very tightly tied to them. The commissions are incorruptible and under a bunch of contracts and obligations. Wherever grades are important, it is impossible to go through connections or in any other way. You can be three times as powerful, you can be Merlin in the flesh, but with bad grades, like I said, some options won’t be available…”

“That’s not what’s bothering you, is it?”

Hermione sighed and sat down more relaxed, looking at my obviously impudent, smiling face.

“You’re right. I’m just wildly… pissed off, yeah…” but there’s almost no emotion on her face. “Just unbelievable! No, did you see that? «Since you are so smart, it seems to us in the Ministry that you can pass the o.w.l.s and n.e.w.t.s at the same time»…”

That’s what the lady from the Ministry said this morning, May 30th, when she showed up at the hospital wing. Her appearance was decent, but her manner of presenting the “material” was even more unpleasant than that of Umbridge. The lady handed over permission to take both exams, but at the same time, the Ministry really put forward a requirement for passing – at the same time the O.W.L.s. and N.E.W.T.s. Because «the commission is too busy to convene it out of turn specifically for the two of you, I’m sorry.» I wonder whose shoe did I shit in?

“Come on,” I smiled as calmly as possible. “We know all the material perfectly well and will cope with any task.”

“You’re right. But that doesn’t take away from the fact that I resent it,” Hermione frowned.

“So we’ll just read the books, then. With our experience in witchcraft, it won’t be a problem for us to create a spell the first time and completely successfully. Although… when Madam Pomfrey lets me go, we’ll run through the sixth and seventh-year program a dozen times.”

In fact, that’s what we did, and a week later, it was time for exams.

To be honest, given the amount of noise and panic surrounding these exams, I expected more from them. However, in fact, they were just quality exams. At each of them, we were gathered in a large hall, seated at a separate small table, and given specially enchanted parchments with tasks, quills, and parchments for writing answers. They were so enchanted that they made magic “itchy,” if you can even call it that. Of course, neither Hermione nor I were surprised by twice as many different questions – we were taking two exams, and they had the same format.

After the theory, there was practice, and it was quite simple. It’s just that in front of a commission of five old, I would even say, ancient wizards, you demonstrate spells from the ticket drawn for luck. Well, or you brewing a potion, but here you are no longer alone, but with several more students. Herbology – demonstrate skills. At the same time, which is funny, a separate point is given for “not getting covered in mud from head to toe.” In general, everything is highly specialized.

The two weeks of exams created such tension among the students that it seemed as if even the air was creaking from it. But as soon as the last exam was over, the fifth and seventh-year students calmed down, being everywhere in a state of blissful euphoria. On the other hand, the little ones were running and fussing around, looking at us with incomprehension. And then there was the End-of-Term Feast, the year’s results….