The other days became normal, and I spent most of my time trying to find out if Voldy has any help inside the castle.
This task is very difficult because I must not be spotted, and in addition, I have to find the culprit among a lot of people.
The more time passed, the more I felt that something was about to happen. I could almost hear a clock ticking next to me.
"Marie?"
"Yeah, what's the matter?"
"Why are you carrying around a clock and holding it up to my ear?"
I now knew one of the causes of my stress.
"It seems like you're in a hurry, as if you have something to do before a deadline, so I wanted to enhance the mood and the suspense."
"We're not in a movie or a series. It's pointless."
Sometimes I wonder where she finds all these awful jokes.
"I'm pretty sure it's because of the deadline for your response to my statement."
"Keep believing, and maybe it will come true."
One thing I've noticed is that I often walk by the forbidden corridor to see if anyone has habits or wants to try something. There was no confirmation from the twins about why it was forbidden, unless, of course, someone wanted to die in excruciating pain.
The exams arrived, and Hermione was probably the most stressed person in the school. Even the students taking their OWLs or NEWTs weren't as stressed.
"Hermione, there's no point in panicking. You just need to study calmly and trust in your abilities. If you start stressing, you might make mistakes you normally wouldn't or forget important details."
Unfortunately, my words only made Hermione more stressed. We really need to enroll her in stress management classes because I'm sure she will stress over the slightest mistake, even when she's getting nearly perfect grades in all subjects.
The exams began, and the castle had the same atmosphere as last year. Nothing indicated that anything unusual was about to happen.
Marie and I were almost certain to be second and first in theory, and the opposite in practical exams.
The Transfiguration exam really depended on the quality and detail of our transfigurations. We had to change a dove into a necklace, and both mine and Marie's looked as if they could have been family heirlooms passed down for more than ten generations.
Hermione didn't stress too much about the results of that exam because she was busy studying for the others, so she didn't have time to worry about her grades.
Our last examination was Astronomy, and we finished it at two o'clock in the morning on the last day of the other students' exams.
Marie took advantage of the morning to train for her last Quidditch match of the year, which would pit Gryffindor against Ravenclaw. The winning team would receive the school's Quidditch Cup and earn a huge amount of house points.
I borrowed a broom from the school to help her train because no one else could assist her—they still had one last exam to take.
Afterwards, she asked if we could take a little walk around the lake, which I agreed to, and I found it quite pleasant, especially when she isn't constantly asking me to go out with her.
I saw the trio heading towards Hagrid's house to relax after all the intense studying.
I didn't know that everything would change overnight because of that visit.