It wasn't until a week later that the students finally saw Headmistress Dolores Umbridge again. She reappeared on campus in a wheelchair, clearly suffering from a serious back injury. Umbridge looked so disheveled and pitiful that both teachers and students had to suppress the urge to laugh every time they saw her.
The other Aurors weren't much better off. Their injuries were severe, and most of them had multiple broken bones.
Dawlish had it worst—his bones had been shattered twice within a single month. He was still unconscious at St. Mungo's, receiving emergency treatment from the healers.
Among the students, Montague had undoubtedly suffered the most. The spot where he'd been knocked out by the falling stone happened to be where an extremely dangerous thorn tree grew. The poor boy had been slowly dragged into the dirt by the thorn tree's roots until only his large head was left sticking out… If Professor Sprout hadn't arrived in time to rescue him, Montague would likely have become part of the Forbidden Forest by now.
Draco Malfoy, however, had surprisingly good luck. He ran deeper into the Forbidden Forest and encountered a group of centaurs. Despite the tense relations between centaurs and wizards, they still upheld their tradition of not harming foals and escorted Malfoy safely back to the castle.
As a result, aside from being badly frightened, Malfoy suffered the lightest injuries of anyone involved.
Even Christopher Patrick was hurt worse than he was. Patrick had several bruises on his face that took hours to clear up in the Hospital Wing; he claimed they came from fighting the giant, though the students all agreed he must've gotten them while falling during his escape.
Cuthbert Mockridge, still serving as Acting Head of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, led dozens of staff members in combing through the Forbidden Forest. Naturally, they found no trace of the giant and half-giant they were searching for.
Hagrid had already fled Hogwarts with his brother and gone into hiding. That added two more names to the Ministry's wanted list—now so long that a single sheet of parchment could no longer contain it. Unfortunately, not a single wanted person had been captured.
Students whispered constantly about whether Hagrid and his brother had gone to find Dumbledore, and how they had managed to deal with Umbridge's group…
This forced Headmistress Umbridge to issue Educational Decree Number Twenty-Seven: banning students from discussing the actions of criminals.
At the same time, in a fit of rage, Professor Umbridge sentenced Montague to two weeks of detention for his incompetence in the Forbidden Forest, which had exposed the entire group.
Avery and Zabini were also severely reprimanded, as it had been their terrible idea to follow Hagrid in the first place.
As for Malfoy and Patrick, who had behaved well in the Forbidden Forest, not only were they free from punishment, but they gained even more of Umbridge's favor.
...
The term was drawing to a close, and the final exams were approaching. Students of every year level were busy with revision or last-minute studying.
Astoria Greengrass spent most of her time with her sister, Daphne Greengrass. As a fifth-year student, Daphne was about to sit her O.W.L.s, exams that played a crucial role in determining her future career options.
Jon felt that Astoria was deliberately avoiding him. Since their meeting in the Forbidden Forest more than a month ago, they hadn't met privately even once.
Even when Jon had the chance to visit Hogsmeade, he couldn't find her at Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop.
Sometimes, even when they passed each other in the corridors, Astoria would quietly slip away.
Jon had no way to change that. He didn't try to stop her or confront her, nor did he do anything drastic. Since she wished to keep her distance, Jon simply maintained the situation as it was.
For the rest of the term, he focused on digesting the vast amount of knowledge he had gained from the Headmaster's Office.
And as the end of the semester approached, something very important was approaching too.
...
With the start of the O.W.L. exams, Headmistress Umbridge had fully recovered. She was out of her wheelchair and once again strutted proudly through Hogwarts' corridors.
But her expression was darker than ever.
The chief examiner for the O.W.L.s was a small, elderly witch named Professor Griselda Marchbanks, who served as the director of the Wizarding Examinations Authority.
Having overseen wizarding examinations since the late 19th century, Professor Marchbanks was naturally immune to Umbridge's attempts at influence. She was known for her strictness and impartiality.
Otherwise, Umbridge would surely have tried to arrange for every student she disliked to receive zeros in all subjects.
What angered Umbridge even more was Professor Marchbanks' attitude toward former Headmaster Albus Dumbledore.
For instance, during a conversation about the Ministry's ongoing attempt to capture Dumbledore, Professor Marchbanks bluntly stated: "If Dumbledore doesn't want to be found, then it's impossible to catch him. I remember supervising his N.E.W.T. exams in Transfiguration and Charms. He used spells with his wand that I had never seen before."
Umbridge believed Professor Marchbanks to be gravely lacking in a "sense of justice."
...
Harry Potter was also troubled by the O.W.L.s.
Too much had happened over the past year, and Harry was worried that something might go wrong during the exams.
And indeed, something did happen—though it had nothing to do with the contents of the test.
During the final O.W.L. exam, History of Magic, Harry drifted off at his desk…
In his dream, he entered the Department of Mysteries. It wasn't his first time seeing this place in his dreams, but he had never ventured so far before. Harry walked into a room lined with shelves and crystal balls, making his way all the way to Row 97…
There, he saw a familiar face—his godfather, Sirius Black.
Sirius was tied up, and Voldemort was standing there as well.
Voldemort was torturing Black with the Cruciatus Curse, demanding the location of "the object"...
Black begged Voldemort to kill him quickly.
Voldemort told him he would—but only after obtaining "the object." He still had several hours left to continue torturing him.
Harry screamed and collapsed to the floor, jolting awake.
Only then did Harry realize he was still in the History of Magic examination hall, with his classmates and the proctor staring at him in shock.