School's Out!

Life in the second term was much like the first term of her first year, apart from the occasional Quidditch practice with Potter and the others. Now and then, the girls ran into minor clashes between the Marauders and Snape, and Lily would wave her fists and shield Snape behind her like a hen protecting her chicks.

But Rose thought Snape might not really want Lily to do that. Whenever Lily stood up for him, his face was always pale and tense, his expression conflicted.

Near the end of spring, Rose put away her heavy clothes and changed back into the lighter ones she had worn the year before. To her surprise, the sleeves and trouser legs were both an inch too short, exposing a little of her slender wrists.

Marlene teased her, saying she was finally no longer as small and skinny as she had been when she first arrived at school last year. She looked much sturdier and had grown a lot taller, too.

"You gave me a fright when I first saw you last year. You didn't look eleven at all!" She exaggeratedly held a hand up to her chest, as though Rose had only been that tall last year.

Lola wasn't sure whether to believe her. Marlene always liked to joke, and eight out of every ten things she said were a mixture of truth and fiction!

"Of course it's true! Lily must think so too! She takes care of you just like a mum!" Her head struggled beneath Rose's arm as she waved an arm frantically toward Lily, trying to enlist her help.

"Hey—who started the Goblin Wars?" Lily was leafing rapidly through her History of Magic notes, her dark red hair a mess. "I think I accidentally fell asleep in that class. Oh, no, I'm definitely going to fail History of Magic!"

"The final exams are still a month away!" Marlene said with a grin. "You can ask Rose. She never falls asleep in History of Magic-bloody hell, but she actually manages to fall asleep in Astronomy!"

Rose dug out her History of Magic notebook and handed it to Lily.

"Thanks!" Lily said happily. She finally looked less agitated.

As the final exams drew closer, Rose finally began to feel nervous too. This was her first time taking an exam since coming to this world, and it was a magic exam, something she had never encountered at all. Before long, she was anxious.

From mid-May onward, she held a copy of the Standard Book of Spells and memorized it even while eating at the Gryffindor table, as though learning the whole book by heart would earn her an Outstanding.

Marlene was the first to have enough of watching her. On a bright, warm day, she dragged the girls outside the castle to revise beneath a beech tree.

Several fifth-years were already there, revising for their OWLS.

"They're acting really strangely," Mary said, glancing toward the fifth-years.

"The OWLS are very important to them. Caradoc said the professors aren't even giving them homework anymore, and they're revising every day!" Rose seemed to feel for them; it reminded her of the pressure of revising in her final year of high school in her previous life.

"Who's Caradoc?" Lily asked.

"He's a fifth-year, Caradoc Dearborn. He's one of the student team's Chasers. He saw James and me practicing the week before last and came over to give us some pointers," Rose explained.

"Oh-speaking of that, how's your practice going?" Marlene asked.

"Pretty well. Caradoc said we're both good enough to make the team, and once Wilson graduates next year, we should apply to Professor McGonagall," Rose said.

"Hey, you know, what about your broom then?" Mary looked at her worriedly. They all knew Rose had grown up in an orphanage and didn't have much money, but the good girls had never distanced themselves from her because of it. On the contrary, they looked after her and were understanding in every way.

"There'll only be one Chaser position open next year. James will take it first, and I'll probably still be a reserve," Rose said. She even felt a little relieved; in any case, she still had more than a year to save up.

"Maybe we could all give you a present next Christmas—a broom?" Marlene suggested.

But Rose shook her head. A broom wasn't cheap; even the cheapest Shooting Star series on the market cost several Galleons! She couldn't let her friends spend that much money, and she didn't have a gift of equal value to give in return.

"It's all right. I'll work hard to earn more money over the summer. Maybe I can ask Marge—she's an older girl from our place, and she can always find lots of suitable jobs!"

Lily and the others knew what Rose was like, so they said no more about the gift.

Only when the sun gradually sank toward the west, turning the surface of the Black Lake glittering, and more and more golden specks began to scatter across the bushes did the girls realize with a start that they had spent the entire afternoon chatting without turning a single page of their books!

The discovery forced them to eat dinner in a hurry and then stay in the library until curfew.

June arrived in a flash. England's changeable weather was truly baffling: on several days, the mornings were bright and sunny, only for rain to pour down at noon. The mud and damp caught many students wearing short sleeves unprepared, and Madam Pomfrey became extremely busy.

Rose learned the Umbrella Charm from an Encyclopedia of Everyday Charms in the library and taught the useful charm to her friends.

In mid-June, they took their final exams over three days in the Great Hall. During that time, the castle grew unusually quiet. Even James Potter and Sirius Black settled down considerably, and Rose saw them huddled together whispering in the common room several times.

The tense days passed in the blink of an eye. By the time Rose realized it, they were already sprawled lazily in the common room's wide, soft sofas, and Marlene was growing drowsy.

"I think I got one of the planetary orbits wrong," Lily said worriedly, going back over the exam.

"Oh, come on, good girl, I'm already planning to drive them out of my head!" Rose leaned against her shoulder with her eyes closed.

"You're right. The exams are over anyway!" Lily quickly closed her notes and changed to a subject they were all interested in. "What are your plans for the summer holidays?"

"I might travel with my family," Mary said. Her older brother would be applying to college next year, so they planned to relax together this summer.

"Helping at home. Mum said they wanted to redecorate the shop." Marlene stretched. "We bought the shop next door, and Dad wants to expand the business."

"What kind of business does your family run?" Mary asked curiously.

"A bit of everything-bread, toys, kitchen utensils. Dad likes to stock a little of whatever he fancies, and he does very well where we live," Marlene said.

"Wow—a department store!" Rose exclaimed.

"More or less."

Apart from her anxiety at having to leave Hogwarts, Rose felt she couldn't possibly be happier with life now. They no longer had to attend classes, could sleep until sunlight streamed into the dormitory every morning, and were free to play every day until the results came out.

On the last day of term, the Prefect handed out their final results. Rose had done best in History of Magic, Charms, and Defence Against the Dark Arts, earning Outstanding in each. She had only got Acceptable in Astronomy, and Exceeds Expectations in everything else. She was very pleased with her results.

Early the next morning, they boarded the train home. When it pulled into Platform Nine and Three-Quarters again, Rose's heart rose into her throat. She was terrified that when she passed through the wall, she would discover to her surprise that she had only been dreaming, and that when she woke up, she would find herself still in that dark, damp room at the orphanage.

Lily seemed to sense her unease. Pushing her trunk with one hand, she took Rose's hand with the other, and the two girls passed through the wall together, hand in hand.

Lily's parents and older sister stood together, waving to her amid the bustling crowd.

"Call me-" Lily held on to her hand, worried, and reminded her again and again.

"I definitely will!" Rose assured her, urging her to go to her parents. They looked a little anxious.

Lily looked back at her several times, still worried, before rushing into her parents' arms.

Through the crowd and the steam, Rose saw her dark red hair floating in the air, but her own heart settled, as though she had found a place to belong in this world.