19 May 1992-2 June 1992
Addie had actually never sat exams before, and she knew that most of the rest of her year hadn't either. Pure bloods were generally educated at home with tutors, half bloods were either educated in the same way or at muggle primary schools, and muggle born students were a mixed bag. Most had gone to state primary schools like Addie had, but two notable exceptions were Justin Finch-Fletchley and Hermione Granger. Both had attended private schools and Justin Finch-Fletchley had started attending boarding school at the age of eight. They of course had sat exams, as private schools had a strange emphasis on exams that Addie's primary school in Little Whinging had not. She had had spelling tests and maths tests and the occasional presentation she had needed to do, but an exam in an exam hall was new to her.
While Professor Sprout's new department was able to communicate with parents and make arrangements with teachers, it did not have the ability to arrange special arrangements for students in exams. This meant that Addie did not have extra time and was in the hall with everyone else. It also meant that she had to write with a quill, which meant that the job ahead of the teachers was not an enviable one.
The prospect of exams also came with study leave, which was really for the upper years to study for exams in, but also served as a time for teachers to give last minute advice to all students and rest up before the inevitable dirge of marking hundreds of exam papers. Addie did not envy them. Helping anyone else in her study group to mark their work was enough work for her. Speaking of the study group, meetings were increased to two per week, and lunch club ceased to meet for the duration of the exam period.
Addie knew that she was not someone who tested well. She had in the initial stages of primary school resulting in teachers telling her that she was smart and 'gifted'. Everything had come incredibly easily to her. She had passed tests with flying colours and minimal effort. Towards the end of primary school, however, success had started requiring concentration and additional work. Presumably there was something that she had not actually learned at school, as she didn't know how to do either of those. She found concentrating in class to be impossible, and the idea of making notes was lost on her. How on earth was she supposed to create notes that were comprehensive and able to cover all situations? How was she supposed to write her essays according to the required ICW format. There were hoops to jump through, and she was no dolphin.
She and Neville started spending most of their time together, which was useful to both of them as they were studying all the same subjects. They would help each other with their specialities, before opening the dreaded books of 'actual magic' and getting to work. Neither of them had any particular gift for a specific sort of magic. They both spent ages trying to figure out how to do the spells (which seldom succeeded for either of them) and the theory (which was too theoretical for either of them)
"I think I might just be stupid," Addie said to Neville at the end of one of their study sessions. "None of this is going in."
"Me too," Neville admitted. "My uncle was right about me, maybe I am a Squib."
"Maybe my uncle was right about me as well."
Neville only patted her hand reassuringly.
Their group study sessions were far more efficient. Cho and Adrian had both passed first (and Adrian second year) upon their first attempt and were able to correct some of Addie and Neville's glaring errors, and in turn, Addie and Neville had both read so far in advance, that they were able to help them in in history of magic and herbology respectively, which was considered to be a fair trade.
The first two weeks of the exam cycle, which were the time to study, flew by, and then it was time for the actual exams. All over the school, students of different houses and years were standing about looking green and slightly shaky about their impending exams. Other than the breeze that had been writing an essay about self-stirring potions, Addie was pretty sure that she had failed everything. In potions she made an abomination, in Charms she miraculously managed to make the pineapple tap dance which had surprised her, in Transfiguration she had stared at the mouse for 5 minutes before managing to transfigure the mouse into a snuff box with a mouse motif on the front. She then followed this by vomiting violently onto the floor in front of McGonagall, who was caught muttering about 'week stomached animal enthusiasts'. Addie was not sure whether marks for whiskers would be taken off. Technically the mice on the front of the snuff box had had whiskers.
When exams were over, she began the process of attempting to forget about them ever having happened. She knew very well that otherwise she would think about it all the time, and that wouldn't be great. While this was going on, she received a letter in the morning post.
When Addie had received her first ever letter while at school, it had been from Hagrid, inviting her to tea. She had initially been very excited. She had liked Hagrid when he had brought their letters to the hut in the middle of the sea. Her excitement had been dampened somewhat, however, when she had looked over to the Gryffindor table where Harry had a letter of his own. In that moment, she had known what would happen if she were to go. It would be her, Harry and Hagrid, of course, but Harry would probably bring Ron. She also didn't know for a fact what would happen if she were to see Harry while he was alone. He could really hate her; she had probably done something wrong. As a result, she had written a letter back immediately, and had attached it to the owl it had arrived with, who had all the while been vigorously attacking the remains of her breakfast.
When months later, she received another invitation from Hagrid, her original inclination was to reject it as politely as she could. She was in a hurry, though, and didn't have time to write back. She went about the day, and eventually went to group study in the afternoon.
"Good week?" she asked Cho, who had arrived before she had.
Cho grinned. "No surprises at all. Everything was predictable, and I've only got a little bit of homework left to do! You?"
Addie sighed. "I received a letter this morning, and I don't know what to do about it."
"How about you let me see it, and we can think up what to do together?"
Addie thought for a moment. Did she really want Cho to know that this was pretty much the third letter she had ever opened in her life? It was pretty pathetic, when you really thought about it. But Cho had always been very kind to her, and had never really been one to judge others.
Addie got it out and handed it to Cho, who read it out under her breath.
Dear Addie,
Would you like to come for tea this Sunday? You were busy last time and we all missed you, but hopefully, now that your exams are over, you will have time. Last time Harry and Ron ate your share of rock cakes, so don't worry about them having been wasted. Fang will be pleased to meet you, and you are free to bring a friend if you would like.
Hagrid
"You should go," Cho announced, putting it back into the envelope it had arrived in. "You say he invited you before, why didn't you go?"
*
Hagrid was not quite as alarming as he had been on that stormy night that Addie had first seen him. In the context of his hut, with herbs and meat hanging from the ceiling (Addie managed to get a seat as far away from the meat as possible), with a fire crackling merrily away in the fireplace and his dog seeking his attention, Addie was reminded slightly of Mrs Figg, only with slightly less cabbage. Fang, Hagrid's dog trotted up to her as soon as she entered the hut and plonked himself down at her feet.
"It's nice to see you Addie," Hagrid said as he got things together to make tea. "I worried that you wouldn't be able to come again."
Addie felt an overwhelming feeling of guilt. She supposed that something that he probably also had in common with Mrs Figg was loneliness, and she had lied in order to avoid her brother. In doing so, she had also been avoiding Hagrid.
"Wouldn't have missed it for a second time," she said cheerily. "I am more organised than I was the last time you asked. I'm even in a study group."
"Oh that's wonderful," Hagrid beamed. "I knew that you'd have a good time at Hogwarts. Told you not to worry, I did, and look at you now, with a new friend."
He turned to face Cho and shook her hand heartily. "It's very nice to meet you Miss Chang. Any friend of Addie's is a friend of mine."
Cho flushed slightly. Addie knew for a fact that she found friends difficult, just like she did. She gathered herself though, and returned Hagrid's greeting.
They made small talk for a while, and both she and Cho tried to return Hagrid's enthusiasm. Luckily, Hagrid seemed to be used to being the most enthusiastic person in the room, and was quite content to hear about Addie's experiences in potions (embarrassing and confusing), Transfiguration (disappointing for Professor McGonagall) and History of Magic (referred to as 'unnatural' by some of her classmates). Cho also told Hagrid about a book she had just finished about centaurs and the stars, correctly guessing that he would be acquainted with centaurs.
"Firenze's a good sort," he said. "I've known him since he was a fawn and he was more keen than the others on a treaty. Negotiations went sour though. Ministry keeps trying to reduce their lands and at a certain point, even he couldn't entertain the idea."
"Wait, I thought that was something relegated to history. Discrimination towards creatures I mean," Addie said.
Hagrid smiled grimly. "That's what the ministry always says about it. Nonsense though. I confuse them you see so I have to report in yearly," he saw Addie's look of surprise, "My mum was a giantess, and my da' was human. Didn't last though. There was too much against them. There used to be protections for werewolves and veelas and the like: those who could blend into society. They just keep on taking them away though. There was a time when centaurs considered integrating, but the ministry's intentions weren't good. They wanted their knowledge of the skies. At this point, I'm surprised that Firenze even interacts with humans. He did a good turn for your brother though, when he saved him from the forest during detention. That earned him some good will up at the castle."
Addie tried to not show her surprise. She had of course known that Harry and Ron had served detention for their part in the Astronomy tower debacle, but she hadn't known that they had spent time in the forest for it.
About ten minutes later than the time that they were supposed to arrive, Harry, Ron and Hermione arrived. They were out of breath and Ron had turned a rather alarming shade of puce. Hermione, who had clearly ambled down to Hagrid's hut in plenty of time to meet with Ron and Harry was understandably breathing more evenly.
Hagrid had evidently been expecting the trio and Addie, but not Cho, so he turned around for a moment, his vast back concealing what he was doing, before turning around with a rather rickety chair that he had clearly...sourced.
With everyone sitting down with cups of tea and formations of rock cake, Hagrid turned conversation to explaining to Cho how he and Addie and Harry had first met (well, sort of).
"-and they were both sitting there, looking small and cold in that strange shack in the middle of the sea – a mighty strange place to go on holiday if you ask me – and I was able to give them their letters. It was just in the nick of time too. If I had been even a day later, their replies would have been late, and they wouldn't have made it to Hogwarts." He puffed his chest out proudly. "Imagine that. Harry and Adelaide Potter not making it to Hogwarts. There would have been riots in the streets."
"It would have been just awful," Cho said sincerely.
"It must be strange for the two of you," he said, turning back to Addie and Harry, who were seated next to one another by pure chance. "I remember you were as thick as thieves that day. Real joy about the two of you. You seem to barely talk anymore."
"Well – "Ron said pompously, clearly wanting to reveal Addie's perceived crime.
"We're in different houses but it's not really a big deal," Harry interrupted. "We will always be close and we will have to spend all our time together during the summer anyway."
"It's probably for the best," Addie added. "We were always joined at the hip when we were younger. I think that the best way of looking at it is that we have had the chance to have different experiences. I don't know if I would have been able to make so many great friends if I had been overshadowed by the 'Boy Who Lived'."
Ron snorted, and Cho gave him a dirty look that made him shut up.
"We," she indicated between herself and Addie, "might not have been able to have become friends if Addie had ended up in Gryffindor, anyway. Gryffindor and Slytherin are pretty much completely separate from Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff. It's far easier – socially I mean – this way."
"Ah, I remember it well," Hagrid said not so nostalgically. "The Hufflepuffs wouldn't even tell me were the kitchens were."
Later, after they had made their leave of Hagrid, Addie and Cho made their way down to the lake and sat on a bench there.
"Thank you for coming with me today," Addie said sincerely. "I wouldn't have been able to go if you hadn't come with me."
"That's what friends are for," Cho replied. "You do know that you now owe me emergency assistance if the need ever arises."
"Oh, I would have done that anyway."
Addie liked having friends.
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