The End of Sixth Year

At half past six in the evening, the sun was sinking westward.

The Great Hall was quieter than usual.

Starting today, Hogwarts was officially closed for classes. The lower years would begin their final exams tomorrow, while the middle and upper years had their exams scheduled slightly later. The graduating students' Ultimate Wizard Level Exams were last. Seventh years generally had dark circles beneath their eyes, bloodshot veins in their eyes, and taut nerves. Silver cutlery clinked crisply against porcelain plates, mixed with the murmured sounds of some young wizards reciting their notes. The other students kept their conversations low.

The oppressive atmosphere of approaching exams hung over the Great Hall.

The Kitchen provided an even more lavish spread than usual. Steaks that had once been limited were now freely available, and dishes from all sorts of other countries appeared one after another. Even if someone missed dinner, they could sneak past the caretaker to the Kitchen after dark and still receive an enthusiastic welcome from the House-elves.

Loren had planned to take one serving of every dish to try, but after looking over the food laid out on the table, he found the task far too arduous and decided to turn it into a long-term plan spanning a week.

Following her usual habits, Hermione took only a few foods she liked, and not much of them. The girl sat beside him, taking small bites as she flipped through her notes. She looked every bit the model student, which was rather anxiety-inducing.

"Move over."

Hermione thought he wanted the bottle of mayonnaise. She leaned back slightly to make room for the reaching hand, only to watch it close her notebook the next moment.

"..."

Hermione could not help finding it funny.

"Stop reading. You could recite those notes by heart