2. Chapter 2: You Ruined My Life

Chapter 2: You Ruined My Life

            "I feel sick" said Neville, staring at his sausages and eggs.

            "Aw, come on, Nev. Cheer up…by this time tomorrow, it will be over" said Ron, thumping the dumpy but good-natured boy on the back.

            "It's not tomorrow I'm worried about…" Neville said darkly. "It's how to get there." He made a strangled sound in his throat.

            Ron patted Neville in sympathy. He wished he could assure Neville that the Potions examination would be a breeze, but in all honesty, he couldn't. Not with knowing Neville's track record in Potions lessons.

            The Great Hall was unnaturally quiet that morning at breakfast. It seemed that the tense silence of the seniors had filtered down and affected the juniors. Over at the Hufflepuff table, Hannah Abbot had spread out her notes all over the table and was poring over them with Justin Finch Fletchley. The honey jug had toppled and was also pouring over her notes but they seemed not to notice.

            At the Slytherin table, Crabbe and Goyle's appetites did not seem affected by the upcoming potions exam. They resolutely stuffed sausages and eggs into their mouths, ignoring the dramatic sighs and little screams emitting from Pansy and Millicent who were flipping the pages of their Potions textbooks rapidly.

            Harry stared straight in front of him, mechanically spooning porridge into his mouth. He was trying to ignore Hermione studying ferociously at his side. She was muttering under her breath, and turning the pages of her self-made notes as fast as she could. Occasionally, she would pause to take a deep breath only to begin muttering ferociously again.

            "Hermione, you haven't touched your food" said Lavender, from across the table.

            Hermione glanced up for a second, her eyes unfocused, before hunching down behind her enormous stack of notes. Harry was well aware that her self-made notes were thicker than her real Potions textbook.

            Ron pulled a face at Lavender who smiled at him. They all knew what Hermione was like on mornings of examinations.

            Hermione had memorized every potion in the book and then some. She was determined to do well… if for no other reason than to be able to wave her "Oustanding" grade in front of Snape's hooked nose. It made her blood boil how Snape always graded her one mark lower than Malfoy even though the results of their potions were always the same. Well, Snape wouldn't be grading her this time…it would be the Examinations Board and she would show him! All this ran through her mind as her eyes moved frenziedly across the page.

            Suddenly, she felt uncomfortable. And she knew exactly why.

            She looked across the hall at the Slytherin table and sure enough, he was watching her again. Unlike most of the other students in the hall, Draco appeared calm. He was not cramming notes or looking nauseous. That maddening self-assurance!