[Thank you ~cl~and ~Alkole~ for joining the prefect tier!]
[Go to my profile to check out the first, and only, chapter of the Gamer in Game of Thrones till the P@treon gets the last chapter of this fic, don't worry we are at chapter 36 out of 43]
The final exams were quite different from what Harry had become accustomed to, after all, it was the first time he had taken them with his coursemates. For those, they took them to large classrooms and gave them enchanted pens so they couldn't cheat, giving them theoretical exams that seemed like they would never end. For the practical part, they did them in their normal classrooms, one by one to show that no one was helping them.
Everyone was too nervous for their own good and it was rumored that more than one had to go to the nurse, Madam Pomfrey, to get a calming potion because they had had a near or nervous breakdown. Many of his former classmates approached Harry with the intention of asking him questions they had or asking him if he remembered what they had asked him at the time, so they could prepare better. Then there were those in his same year, who seemed to be nervous, among other things, trying to help Harry with his studies, almost as if it had become a personal matter for him to pass for all of them (they paid no mind that he had obtained two courses in six months and with perfect grades).
It was one of the most stressful weeks for the vast majority of Hogwarts students, not even talking about the fifth and seventh years who were currently having their OWL and NEWT exams (respectively). There were many rumors about anxiety attacks, panic attacks, and crying. There was a rumor about a fifth-year Ravenclaw who had collapsed after her transfiguration exam because according to her she hadn't done well and would get nothing but a 'disastrous' E.
[T/N, Harry Potter grading system works as follows, T for Troll, then D for Dreadful, then P for Poor, then A for Acceptable, then E for Exceed Expectations, and finally O for Outstanding. The original Author didn't use Hogwarts grading system and had it set to A and previous grades of Harry to Honor, but Hogwarts doesn't have that so I changed Harry's to Outstanding and this Ravenclaw to "E" just because that seemed fitting for a Ravenclaw]
It was for this reason that everyone breathed a sigh of relief when they handed in their last exam and could enjoy the two weeks they had left of the course in complete freedom, since because they didn't have any, they didn't even have classes, a foreign concept to Harry who had a completely intensive course. Ignoring Hermione who intended to review each and every one of her exams with her friends. They all went to their respective bedrooms, hoping to have a good, relaxing night's rest.
Harry was in the Great Hall, enjoying the farewell banquet like everyone else. he felt very pleased with himself, after the whole course he had been quite productive and although he hated having to go home the next day, he didn't want that to destroy his good mood. At that moment he was talking calmly with Athena while they waited for the headmaster to declare who had won the House Cup... although it was not a surprise, the whole school knew it had been Slytherin, closely followed by Gryffindor, then Ravenclaw, and lastly was Hufflepuff. In fact, at that moment, he was commenting on Ernie McMillan's performance just after the exams, when he got up from the table, drawing the attention of everyone.
That in itself was nothing new, after all, Ernie liked to be the center of attention and often boasted about being a pureblood, which was ironic considering that his best friend, Justin, was a muggle-born. What was new was when he began to hum what seemed to be a waltz and, dancing as if he had a partner, he began to approach where Susan Bones and Hanna Abbot were enjoying the banquet. By that time, Ernie had already caught the attention of the entire Great Hall, who were looking at him in disbelief, and in the case of Susan and Hanna, completely embarrassed when he tried to make them his dance partner, which they both obviously refused.
If they expected the young Hufflepuff to come back to reality and behave like himself, they would be in for a terrible and embarrassing surprise. Ernie, not depressed by the refusal of his classmates, just smiled and began to go to the staff table still dancing the waltz, and repeated the offer to a stupefied Professor Sprout, whom he would have dragged to dance if it were not for the fact that when he took her hand and returned to normal... just before he ran away, horrified, to his seat at the table and tried to be completely invisible to the laughter of almost everyone in the Dining Room.
Harry woke up abruptly and looked at his surroundings with surprise, it had only been a dream... but what a dream. Without wanting to avoid it, his gaze fell on where Ernie was sleeping and for a few minutes he tried to reconcile the image he had of him, (a snobbish and quite conceited boy), with that of the dream he had just had. No matter how he looked at it, there was no way to understand it. Deciding not to think about it anymore and try to go back to sleep, Harry stretched out on the bed again... after all, that dream would have been a consequence of all the nervousness he had suffered during the exams. Smiling when Night meowed in protest at the movement of the sheets, he closed his eyes ready to go back to sleep... He had to rest because the next day Fawkes wanted them to go flying for a while, lately he had felt alone and abandoned by the young and prodigious student.
When Harry got up the next morning, he was only slightly aware that during the night he had had a very strange dream, in which Ernie had been the protagonist, however, he ignored his possible doubts and told Jonathan and Athenea not to look for him that day, because he was going to go on a flight with Fawkes.
The next few days turned out to be quite a change for Harry, after all, since when had he had so much free time except for holidays? At Hogwarts, never. Furthermore, since he had promised both his friends and Fawkes that he was not going to continue studying and experimenting, this allowed him to have more time for everyone. The only thing he did not leave aside was his self-imposed duty to make the new Wolfbane for Remus, and on this occasion, he had to make it in larger quantities and add a stabilizer and preservative, after all, he couldn't make it at home.
So, during the time he wasn't watching the potion it was very easy to see him with his friends. For the first time in many months, Harry was able to pose for the drawing that Jonathan wanted to make him, although he did so transformed into a phoenix. He could also be seen with Neville in the greenhouses helping him with his plants, or on the school grounds talking to Draco and the twins about different potions or jokes... in other words, for the first time, he could be seen relaxing with his companions.
There were also several days when there was no way to find him around school, those days were usually spent with Fawkes visiting different places in Britain, either flying or traveling in a burst of flames. It was during those days that Fawkes taught him the different tricks that phoenixes had in their repertoire when it came to healing, the use of his blood. If phoenix tears were powerful healing agents, their blood was incredibly powerful, in fact, a couple of drops of their blood could cure someone who was practically dead, but it was essential that it be given willingly... if this was not the case, The consequences would not be pleasant at all, just like with unicorn blood. This new knowledge made him ask many questions about different healing potions, but since he had made a promise he settled for writing down his different ideas in a Muggle notebook that he always carried with him.
Harry could safely say that those were some of the best days he had ever had, so it pained him to think that he would have to leave school on such short notice to return home. As the day of the End of Course Banquet approached, he became more and more depressed, he did not want to return for that reason, the different invitations from his friends to spend a few days at their houses were the only thing that cheered him up. , although he knew that would not be the case. Most likely, his father wouldn't allow him to go to any of them, much less Draco's.
On the day of the Feast, Harry was quite depressed and nothing his friends did could cheer him up. They all knew the reason for their friend's sudden sadness, but that didn't mean they could remedy it. In fact, at first, Harry didn't even want to attend the Banquet, he wasn't in the right mood to go if it weren't for all the begging and cajoling of his two Hufflepuff friends, he would surely have spent the time of the party waxed in his bedroom.
It was on the way to the great dining room that the boy got the first surprise of the night. In the hall, right next to the entrance to the dining room, there were what seemed to be a series of lists and the young Hufflepuff realized with surprise that they were the lists of grades. It was the first time he had seen them, like the other two times he was the only one who examined himself, they had been given directly to him. With incomprehensible nervousness, he turned to the Hufflepuff lists and then looked at the third-year lists. Ignoring the names of his different companions, he searched for names until he finally reached his own, more or less halfway down the list. What he saw made him smile openly, he had gotten as good grades as he had with the other two courses, all his subjects with an Outstanding grade.
Already happier, he decided that it was a good idea to give the Banquet a chance and try to have as much fun as possible, after all, maybe he should see the next vacation period as a way to spend time with Remus, instead of with his "beloved" family. Smiling at Athenea and Jonathan (who seemed quite relieved, whether his good grades or the fact that his friend looked happy again had yet to be seen), he went to sit near the middle of his table and prepared to enjoy the Banquet, after all the food was always magnificent.
He was quite pleased with himself as he talked to Athenea about what the Hufflepuff was going to do during the holidays, while they waited for the headmaster to begin his usual banquet speech, and it was also time to say who the new House champion was. Interhouse Cup... Although it was no secret that the winning house had once again been Slytherin, closely followed by Gryffindor, The Hufflepuffs were last again. A comment from one of their dormmates about their grades made them change the topic of conversation.
Ernie McMillan, the one who had made the comment, became the topic of the moment, as well as his unpleasant behavior after the exams. It was a real shame that he had such kind of behavior, since all he did was give the rest of his classmates a bad name. The sudden movement he made when he stood up brought his attention back to him.
"What the hell is he doing?" Athenea muttered.
"Attract attention, as always," Jonathan responded as Harry nodded.
That in itself was nothing new, Ernie loved to attract attention, to be the center of all eyes. Very often, he used to do this by bragging about his blood, how he was a pureblood, and the great background his family had, which was ironic considering that his best friend, Justin, was a muggle-born. What was new and that made him draw everyone's attention even more, no longer just focusing on the Hufflepuff table, was when, as if he heard non-existent music from the others, he began to dance as if he were in the middle of a dance floor, dancing a waltz.
"I don't think that's very normal for him." Harry murmured as he watched Justin begin to dance towards the end of the table. "What's more, I doubt he's even aware of what he's doing."
"And I have to agree with you." Jonathan agreed. "Ernie would never make a fool of himself like that."
The entire dining room watched in amazement as Ernie approached Hanna Abbot and Susan Bones, who had been talking calmly among themselves, but who at that moment were looking at Ernie with horror. He, ignoring the looks he received, only invited them to dance with him, to which he undoubtedly received a refusal.
"Oh, Merlin, poor things, what a shame!" Athenea whispered.
"But what the hell is happening to him? " Jonathan asked.
"That he is the victim of a prank, of course." Harry assured. "What else? Let's hope it's over now, and he won't be too embarrassed."
But despite Harry's comment, Ernie did not come to himself when the girls rejected him. Instead, as if nothing had happened, he began to dance towards the staff table and more than one feared that the young Hufflepuff would ask McGonagall to dance... If that happened, they were sure that the Transfiguration Professor would make the Hufflepuff's future quite bleak. Luckily for him, McGonagall was not the target, but his own head of house, Professor Sprout.
He did exactly the same procedure with her as he did with Susan and Hanna, the only difference was how well she held his hand. The boy blinked and then adopted a horrified expression that looked very similar to the ones Hanna and Susan had given him a few minutes years ago. Apologizing to his Professor, he ran towards his seat and tried to make himself completely invisible, to the laughter of everyone inside the Great Hall.
Harry looked at the Gryffindor table, where he knew he would find the Weasley twins, and saw them smiling in amusement, and he smiled gratefully at them.
The rest of the night was just as pleasant as the previous one, making it easy for Harry to forget the fact that he would have to return home the next day. The best thing was to enjoy life. That night, Harry fell asleep with a big smile on his lips, happy to have such good friends.
It was that attitude that made the trip back so much more enjoyable than it would have been if he continued to sulk about getting home. He enjoyed as much as he could in the last few hours that would allow him to use magic (at least with his wand, because as far as he knew his other ways of doing magic were completely undetectable to the Ministry), and he played wizard chess or explosive Snap. He laughed with his friends remembering the prank that Ernie had been subjected to and listened to his friends' plans for the summer while promising to send owls to all of them (of course, if he could borrow his parents').
When they arrived at King's Cross, the parents were waiting for them behind the barrier, which they had to pass in groups of two or three so as not to attract the attention of the Muggles (who were clueless, but not that much), and they met again with them. There Harry got the biggest surprise he had had in several months, since instead of meeting Remus or Sirius as he had assumed, his father was waiting for him, although his expression was not that of a happy person.
Saying goodbye to his friends, he prepared to return home for the next two months.
[T/N, Holy Sh*t!!! Harry's an oracle. It looks like if it exists in this world Harry has it! But in all honesty, I loved doing this chapter and hope you guys share this sentiment. If you did then drop some stones, leave a comment and if you didn't...why? If you want an early peak at some juicy Family drama in the next chapter then sub to the P@treon where are advancedv chapter.]
-----------------------------
[p@treon.com/PuddingLord]- Replace "@" with "a"