That night was the practical exam for Astronomy, held at the observatory. The test began at 10 p.m., but since the observatory could only accommodate so many students at once, each House took the exam in turn: Slytherin, Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, and finally, Hufflepuff.
The one-hour exam flew by quickly. Anne turned in her completed star chart and left the observatory with the other Slytherins, heading toward their common room.
They were chatting as they walked and had just reached the third floor when a sudden, thunderous roar echoed from outside the castle, coming from the direction of Hagrid's hut.
Everyone stopped in their tracks. Another loud crash followed almost immediately.
"What was that?"
"What's going on?"
"Did it come from outside the castle?"
"Was it from the Forbidden Forest?"
Anne exchanged a look with Fanny.
"Hagrid's hut," Anne said under her breath.
Fanny nodded in agreement.
The two of them took a different corridor and made their way to a window on the third floor that overlooked Hagrid's hut. Behind them, several curious and confused Slytherins followed.
Light was shining from the hut. In the dim glow, they could just make out a large, burly figure, Hagrid, shouting and swinging his fists as six people surrounded him. Thin red streaks of light shot toward him from every direction. They were clearly trying to stun him.
"Is that that oaf, Hagrid? Ha!" Malfoy sneered. "Looks like Headmistress Umbridge is finally sacking him!"
He wasn't wrong. In the flickering light, Anne could make out a short, squat figure among the six attackers, her posture and gestures unmistakably like Umbridge's.
The red spells were still flying around the hut, but for some reason, they seemed to bounce off Hagrid. He stood firm, refusing to fall. Voices shouted through the night.
"Be reasonable, Hagrid!" one man yelled.
"To hell with being reasonable!" Hagrid bellowed. "You think you can just take me away like that, Dawlish?!"
The skirmish continued. Hagrid grabbed the person nearest him, lifted them off the ground with one hand, and hurled them through the air. The figure flew nearly ten feet and didn't get back up. Several people watching gasped.
"Didn't expect the oaf to be such a fighter," Malfoy snickered.
"Perk of having giant blood," Anne murmured from the window. "Unlike wizards, giants rely on physical strength. Stunning spells don't work on them as easily."
Around her, the students let out quiet sounds of amazement.
Suddenly, someone ran out from the castle, sprinting full speed toward Hagrid's hut.
"How dare you!" the figure shouted as they ran. "How dare you!"
"Professor McGonagall!" Fanny gasped.
The students all rushed to the windows, craning their necks to see.
"Let him go! Let him go, listen to me!" McGonagall's voice rang out from the darkness. "You have no right to attack him! He hasn't done anything, nothing to deserve this, "
Fanny, Pansy, Mylis, and Thalia all screamed.
Four stunning spells shot from the group around the hut, hitting McGonagall in mid-run. She glowed red for a split second, then was thrown backward into the air before crashing to the ground. She lay still.
"That's outrageous!" Fanny said furiously.
Anne stared out the window, frowning deeply, ignoring Malfoy's sneering, "You girls really are too soft."
"Cowards!" Hagrid's roar echoed all the way to the castle. "Filthy cowards! Attacking me like this, "
He swung his arm again, knocking out two more attackers. Then, turning away from the hut, he took off at full speed toward the school gates, disappearing into the darkness.
On the way back to the common room, everyone was buzzing about what had just happened. Malfoy loudly disapproved of Hagrid's escape, though not everyone agreed with him.
"The way they treated Professor McGonagall was horrible," Fanny said, and many others, including Pansy, nodded in agreement.
"How is she doing?" Fanny asked Anne once they were back in the dormitory, joined by the other three girls.
Anne had just returned from the hospital wing and shook her head. "Madam Pomfrey said she'll have to be transferred to St. Mungo's tomorrow morning."
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Thursday morning was the Arithmancy exam. Fanny was taking Muggle Studies, so they split up on the second floor. Anne ran into Hermione, Harry, and Ron outside the third-floor exam room.
"Anne, did you hear what happened last night?" Hermione asked anxiously.
Anne nodded. "I saw it from the third floor window, then went to the hospital wing afterward, "
"How's Professor McGonagall?" Harry asked quickly.
"Not great," Anne replied. "She's probably being sent to St. Mungo's as we speak."
"That vile woman, Umbridge," Harry growled. "She forced Dumbledore out, and now she's gotten rid of Hagrid and McGonagall!"
Hermione's eyes were shiny with unshed tears. "It's awful. I used to think Dumbledore would come back soon, but now we've lost Hagrid and McGonagall too."
A thoughtful light flashed in Anne's eyes, but just then, the exam bell rang.
"Let's focus on the test first, Hermione," she said quietly.
Anne was so distracted during the Arithmancy exam that she barely managed to finish all the questions by the final minute.
Afterward, Hermione, for once, noticed Anne wasn't in the mood to discuss the difficulty of the questions. Instead, she walked off with Harry and Ron toward Gryffindor Tower.
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Friday morning was the written exam for Transfiguration, followed by the practical in the afternoon.
When Anne opened her eyes that morning, she was startled by Dobby standing at her bedside holding a cake. As soon as he saw her awake, he cried out, "Happy birthday, Miss Reeve!"
This, of course, woke up everyone else in the dormitory.
Anne blinked, half amused and half exasperated. She sat up and accepted the cake from him. "Thank you, Dobby."
Dobby flapped his long ears proudly. "It wasn't just Dobby, Miss! Lili, Gigi, and the other house-elves helped too. We made it together last night with your favorite dried blueberries and chocolate. But they couldn't appear in front of students because of elf rules." He glanced at Fanny and Pansy. "So Dobby brought the cake and birthday wishes on their behalf!"
Anne smiled. "Then thank them for me too, Dobby. Tell them I'm really happy and grateful."
Dobby gave her a delighted bow. "Of course, Miss Reeve! Dobby will tell them! Dobby must go back to the kitchen now!"
"All right. Goodbye," Anne said with a nod.
With a soft pop, Dobby vanished.
Anne got out of bed and placed the cake on the table. The others were already getting up.
"Happy birthday!" Fanny said as she walked over in her pajamas. "Talk about a birthday to remember, huh, Anne?"
"It certainly is memorable," Anne laughed. "Well, since the cake is here, after we wash up, each of you can have a slice. It should taste pretty good, it's probably similar to the cupcakes I made last time."
The other three had clearly been waiting for that permission. Grinning, they rushed off to wash up.
After sharing the cake, everyone was satisfied.
Thalia sighed happily after her last bite. "Honestly, whoever ends up with you in the future is really lucky, Anne. They'll get to eat all your amazing food."
Mylis nodded in agreement. A third of the cake had gone into her stomach.
Fanny nudged Anne with her elbow, giving her a teasing smile.
When Anne reached the entrance hall, Hermione threw her arms around her.
"Happy birthday, Anne!" she said brightly, handing her a gift wrapped in purple paper. Ron and Harry had gifts too. As Anne passed the Gryffindor table, Ginny and Neville also called out
"Happy Birthday!"
Even at the Hufflepuff table, she received a round of birthday greetings.
Luna came over from the Ravenclaw table during breakfast and sat next to Anne, handing her a square package wrapped in parchment.
"Happy birthday," she said in her usual dreamy tone.
During owl post, Anne received gifts and letters from Aaron and Diana. Aaron even sent two owls, just in case something happened to one en route. He mentioned that the gifts from Arx, Vegas, and Gil had already arrived at home and been placed in her room.
After breakfast, Anne had to return to the dorm just to drop off the mountain of presents. On the way, she ran into Professor Sprout, who also wished her a happy birthday.
Even once she was seated for the Transfiguration theory exam, Anne found it hard to calm her heart. She hadn't realized just how deeply she had become tied to Hogwarts.
When she finished the last question, the final grain of sand fell in the exam hourglass.
"How did it go, Anne?" Hermione asked anxiously. She'd kept glancing at Anne's way during the test, worrying whether she'd remembered what was in her notes, or worse, worrying about the things Anne hadn't written down.
"Pretty well," Anne replied confidently. "I'm good at theory. I answered every question."
At lunch, a second-year Slytherin named Malcolm Doback came up and awkwardly wished Anne a happy birthday. Anne remembered him, Fanny had "borrowed" a copy of The Making of a Top Student from him that year.
Watching him practically run away after, Fanny smacked her lips in amusement.
"Wow, Anne, your charm really works. Some people overhear your birthday wishes and come say it themselves!"
Anne looked surprised. After a moment, she returned her focus to her lunch.
Before the practical exam began in the afternoon, Hermione looked more nervous than Anne herself.
"Anne, don't be nervous, stay calm," she whispered, having slipped over from the Gryffindor line to join Slytherin's. Malfoy clearly disapproved, but Hermione ignored him.
"Even if something goes wrong, it's okay," she said anxiously. "Oh, not that I think anything will go wrong, I just mean if, "
"Theory is 50% of the Transfiguration exam," Hermione rushed on. "I checked OWLs Exam Essentials. Your theory scores have always been excellent, you've had top marks the past two years, "
Hermione was called in first. Right before heading into the exam room, she gave Anne a tight hug and whispered, "Good luck!"
Anne could only smile and reply, "You too. Good luck."
Fanny, standing nearby, was clearly holding back laughter the entire time.
Maybe Hermione's good luck really worked, Anne's assigned transformation was turning a white mouse into a teacup, something she had practiced the most. Her performance was excellent: the resulting teacup only had a bit of white fur left on the handle.
When she stepped out into the courtyard where the others were gathering, Hermione rushed over.
"How did it go, Anne?"
Anne wore a deliberately ambiguous expression.
"Oh no, " Hermione said, "It's okay. You did great in the theory part. Even if the practical, "
"I successfully turned the mouse into a teacup," Anne interrupted with a grin. "There's just a little white fur on the handle."
"What?" Hermione blinked. Then she broke into a wide smile. "That's wonderful, Anne, congrats! No more Transfiguration classes, no more stress! "
Anne looked at her and smiled too. "Yeah... no more Transfiguration to worry about."
Fanny and Ron soon joined them. Anne and Fanny said goodbye and returned to the dorm. Exams were over, and it was time to unwind.
The first thing Anne did was take a long nap. "I stayed up late practicing last night, and Dobby scared me awake early this morning. No need to wake me for dinner, I'm planning to sneak into the kitchen later."
"Got it," said Fanny. "Oh, by the way, I have to be at Madam Hooch's at six tomorrow morning for a test. I'll sleep early. What time will you be back?"
"No idea," Anne replied. "Go to bed whenever. Just leave the door unlocked like when I go to the greenhouse."
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