Chapter 63: New acquaintances and exams begin
The night went by with Harry tossing and turning, Ron wasn't much better since it was probably a tough night for both of them. Especially Harry, meeting your parents' killer would be tough. I was in the same position yet so very different at the same time.
I will use Potter until he is of no further use and emerge from his shadow. He will be the flame that attracts the moth while I reap all the benefits. I need to act like a loyal follower in the presence of Quirrell since I will be under his and Voldemort's intense scrutiny. This will only be for a couple of weeks before the fated battle arrives.
I hated having to act like this for the murderer of my parents, even if it wasn't by his own hands. Shaking away the thoughts that surged like waves in my head I thought about what to do.
There were exams starting soon and I already had everything memorised, there was no point in paying attention. What I needed to do now was lay low and act normal as to not arise suspicion. I needed to bide my time.
And just like that, two weeks went by, and exams started. Hermione being the hyperactive girl that she was, rushed some last-minute study even though she had gone through the same stuff more than a million times. She had just as good a memory as me, I simply couldn't understand what she wanted to accomplish.
But, unlike us, everyone else was super busy scurrying around like a group of ants trying to cram in some last-minute study before the exams started. I even began to hang out with Seamus Finnegan since I was so bored when Hermione wasn't around. He was a jolly fellow with a good personality. His blond hair and thick Irish accent made it fun to be around him.
He would blow shit up every so often, but I would be prepared in advance so that I wasn't affected. Naturally, if you're hanging out with Seamus, Dean Thomas was around as well. He was a proper lad, well dressed and seemed to be the rational one of the duo. He was a half-blood wizard who had short curly hair and was a bit taller than me. It was a bit of a shock when I saw him simply because I had a growth spurt after taking the potion.
He was very fun to talk to and we had a lot of similarities. He loved to play games when he was small after his father died. What I found fascinating was that according to what I remember, his father was Regulus Black! It was quite interesting, to say the least.
I was also interested to see if he appeared in the Black ancestry painting. It was said that Sirius was the last family member from the black's but if Dean was really the son of Regulus black then he should have inherited the Black family instead of Harry. But Sirius did give it all to Harry so there was that. I did gloss over that detail in the books, so the information wasn't all there. It was an interesting dynamic, nonetheless.
Seamus was into fighting and all that which further increased our bond. When he found out I did something called MMA, he was fascinated. He asked me to show him and after sparring for a bit and throwing him around like a ragdoll for an hour Seamus was fascinated and began to ask more questions about it.
I didn't mind too much since it was rare to share a common interest with others. Dean was into academics and had good grades, unlike Seamus which allowed us to share something in common. I even gave him pointers for the upcoming exams, so that he would do better.
All in all, it was good to socialise with others that weren't Hermione. But she was irreplaceable in a certain sense. She was just unique in her conduct and behaviour that brought a colourful flavour to my initially black and white life.
In this dreadful heat, we could be seen seated in a big hall where all the tables were aligned neatly in rows. Ten desks wide and twenty deep making it a good number of students per batch of examinees. We were given a new quill for the exams which had been bewitched with an anti-cheating spell. I didn't really care whether it had an anti-cheat spell or not, I aced the test with thirty minutes to spare and walked out of the test hall under the glares of all the other students.
I spotted Ron giving me a deathly glare as I walked by his table which only made me want to drag his ass out the hall and beat the living daylight out of him. Noticing my gaze I saw him recoil back before burying his head in his empty papers that didn't have much writing on them due to his stupid habit of not studying.
Harry wasn't much better but at least he had something down. The practical exams were a thing here as well. Professor Flitwick called us one by one into his class to see if we could make a pair of dress shoes tap-dance across the desk, which was a very easy feat for me. I noticed Flitwick's expectant gaze as he saw me walk in.
He wasn't disappointed when I performed it perfectly. I could have done more than that, but it was unnecessary as I wouldn't have gotten extra points. Professor McGonagall's practical exam was much more interesting to watch. She asked us to turn a mouse into a snuffbox—points were given for how elaborate the design was, but points were also taken away if any of the mouse's characteristics, predominantly whiskers and fur were seen on it.
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