Chapter 10

In the blink of an eye, exams were approaching, and the school was engulfed in a frenzied atmosphere of last-minute revision. 

It was normal for a group of half-grown children to fear exams. Considering China's exam-oriented education system, students are accustomed to exams from elementary school onward, with mid-terms, finals, and regular classroom tests. During the high school entrance exams, there's a test every three days and a major exam every five days. After so many exams, you get used to it—or burnt out. Oops, I mean, you get used to it. Despite the intensity, everyone still feels nervous before the high school entrance exams. I remember taking mine in a special care room due to my health. It was hard to stay calm in that atmosphere, and I almost missed the exams due to a health flare-up. Compared to that, these semester finals, which happen just once a year, hardly faze me.

Lily, however, was very anxious. Despite being a bright and diligent girl, she found this stressful. I always tried to reassure her, dragging her out of the library to rest on the grassy lakeside when her head was about to explode from studying.

Severus wasn't doing much better. His situation at the academy was tough—without a prestigious family background, not even being a pureblood, and with a gloomy, somewhat withdrawn personality.

Severus was not an easy person to get along with. The shadows of his childhood still lingered in his heart: the disdainful and fearful looks from children and adults, and the domestic violence. I can imagine what kind of damage that must have done, especially to a child. I still remember the image of that five-year-old boy, frail and lonely, like a wounded young beast that tugs at your heartstrings.

At Hogwarts, not to mention the other Gryffindors, the taunts from Potter's gang alone were enough. The Ravenclaws were busy with their studies, and the Hufflepuffs were absorbed in their own little world, not inclined to bother others. Slytherin House, which valued pureblood status and power, made life particularly difficult for a newcomer like Severus. He had only Lily and me as friends, and being close to us Gryffindors made his situation in Slytherin even harder. I couldn't help but frown at the thought.

"Sawyer, are you finally starting to worry about the exams?" Lily teased when she saw me frowning and lost in thought.

"I'm worried about more than just exams; I'm worried about life!" I intoned dramatically. This little lion would be indignant if she knew about these matters, and Severus certainly wouldn't want us worrying about him. I turned to Severus, who was leaning against a tree with a book. "Severus, how's your studying going? When you're taking a break, you shouldn't be reading. You need to relax."

"It's alright. I could study a bit more," he replied without looking up. He probably wanted to earn Slytherin's recognition through his excellence.

I sighed, "Oh, fine. But you must ensure you get enough sleep!" I emphasized. "Promise us you'll get enough sleep." Lily nodded in agreement.

Seeing our insistence, Severus reluctantly nodded. "Yes, I promise to get enough sleep."

His expression made Lily and me exchange a smile.

A week of exams passed. Our last exam was on Friday morning. Lily and I walked out of the classroom and ran into Severus, who had also just finished, and we all headed to the Great Hall together.

Passing by the House points hourglasses, Lily's low exclamation drew our attention. She pointed at our House points; Gryffindor's rubies were significantly fewer than the gems in the other houses' hourglasses. "There were a lot more yesterday! How could we lose so many points in one day?" Lily fumed. "We were at least in second place, but now we're last!"

"Gryffindor was in second place, Miss Evans, until Mr. Potter and his friends decided to be in the Forbidden Forest at midnight," Professor McGonagall, the stern witch from the sorting ceremony and our Head of House, approached from behind. "I had no choice but to deduct one hundred and twenty points from our House—thirty points each. I'm very disappointed," she said, her severe expression tinged with clear disappointment.

"They've gone too far!" Lily raged, waiting until McGonagall's back was turned before erupting.

"Indeed. Getting caught was pathetic," I muttered. I didn't think I'd care about House points, but at that moment, I was genuinely upset.

"No surprise there. Given the inverse ratio of their brain capacity to their muscular strength, it's to be expected," Severus sneered. He restrained himself from saying something harsher in front of us. When confronting Potter's gang, he didn't hold back his cutting remarks. Watching their verbal sparring could be quite entertaining, as Severus never lost in a war of words. I just hoped it wouldn't come to physical fights; I feared the four might seriously hurt Severus.

"Sawyer, the Forbidden Forest is dangerous! This isn't just sneaking around the castle; it's a serious rule violation. What were they thinking? Do they think they're invincible?" Lily started her lecture. This term, she had grown somewhat closer to the four than I had. When it didn't involve Severus, Lily still cared for her Gryffindor peers.

"Severus, if it were for some rare potion ingredients, you'd risk the Forbidden Forest too, wouldn't you?" I whispered to Severus.

He gave me a 'of course' look, whispering back, "I certainly wouldn't be stupid enough to get caught and lose points."

A week later, the exam results were out. As expected, Lily did exceptionally well, and so did Severus. Remus also scored well. Surprisingly, Potter and Black didn't do badly either. Compared to them, my grades were quite average, which wasn't a surprise—I hadn't put much effort into studying. Doing well in class didn't necessarily mean high exam scores.

On the last day of term, Dumbledore announced the House Cup winners for the year, unsurprisingly, Slytherin.

Regarding Gryffindor's pitifully few rubies, the other lions collectively scorned the quartet's point-deducting antics. Some upperclassmen even earnestly advised them on how to break rules without getting caught.

The dinner in the green and silver-decorated Great Hall ended on a relatively pleasant note.

The next day, we all boarded the Hogwarts Express with our luggage.

In our compartment, Severus, Lily, and I discussed our summer plans.

"I'm planning to visit Diagon Alley in a few days. What about you? Will you join me?" I asked, catching a chocolate frog attempting to escape.

"I want to go too. I'd like to visit my mom's apothecary in Diagon Alley. I haven't been there yet," Severus said, eyeing me as I took a big bite of the frog.

"I'll go too! Let's bring Petunia along!" Lily said, grabbing the card from my hand. "This one's Dumbledore. You already have one; can I have this one?"

"Sure, I don't plan on collecting the cards, especially since the characters like to run away…"

"Haha… but you're still collecting them."

"..."