Harry Potter and the Angel of Justice

Chapter Twenty-Eight - Tests and Unrest

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Sunday morning after breakfast, Harry, Ginny, Hermione, and Ron went to visit Charlie again. His condition had worsened over the past week. He was unconscious, and even more Healer equipment had been attached to him. When Ginny asked Madam Pomfrey how he was doing, the nurse looked sad and pale.

"His chances of survival aren't good, my dear. His internal injuries were extensive, and part of the curse seems to be lingering and fighting the healing magic," she replied.

Tears streamed down Ginny's face. Madam Pomfrey put an arm around her and opened her mouth to say something when the door opened. Harry turned and saw Mars in the doorway. Before he had gone off to war, the Texan had looked a bit tired, but he now appeared about on the brink of fainting from exhaustion. His skin was yellow and his eyes were bloodshot and sullen; his left hand shook slightly, and his steps were tentative. The sight of Mars looking so enfeebled so startled Harry that he could only stare as his teacher approached.

"Oh, Poppy. Charlie doesn't look well at all," said Mars, oblivious to the silent gawking stares of the four teenagers.

"Mars. What on earth happened to you? You need to lie down immediately," the nurse replied anxiously.

"There's no need to concern yourself with me, Poppy. A few days of R&R and I'll be fine," said Mars.

For a split second, Harry had a powerful feeling that Mars was covering something up and that he was really struggling to even remain standing. His body seemed to be crying out for respite from some torment or curse - as though he were in the midst of a death struggle at this very moment. Mars glanced at Harry and suddenly his aura changed to one of vitality and health. Harry closed his eyes and shook his head. When he opened them Mars just looked normal--his strange insights were gone.

Mars reached into his robes and pulled out a beaker filled with a glowing liquid of the most beautiful shade of blue that Harry had ever seen. The four teenagers and the nurse all fixed their eyes upon it.

"Mars. Is that what I think it is? The Elixir of Life?" asked Madam Pomfrey.

"Yes, it is. Sally told me how bad off Charlie was, so I picked this up," answered Mars.

"Picked it up?" asked Hermione. "Have you created your own Philosopher's Stone?"

"Don't be silly, darlin'," Mars smiled.

"Picked it up?" echoed Madam Pomfrey incredulously. "There's only one place that you could've taken this from!"

"Of course, Poppy. St Mungo's had the last vial that Nicholas Flamel gave them before he died," said Mars.

"But - but it was agreed--it was decided that no individual, no matter who they were, would be given the elixir unless their living would spare others," argued the nurse.

"I was not in the country when this decision was made, and I am not bound by it."

"But that potion is irreplaceable!"

"So is Charlie! Poppy, you're much more talented at healing than I, but if you refuse to help him with this elixir, I'll administer it myself," replied Mars.

Madam Pomfrey thought deeply for a few seconds and then spoke. "Give me the elixir, Mars. I'll be back in a few moments."

Mars held out a shaking hand with the glowing potion. Madam Pomfrey looked at him with concern as she took the potion and then left the room.

"Will Charlie be okay now?" asked Ron.

"Yes, Ron. The restorative powers of that elixir are unrivaled," answered Mars.

"You look as if you could use the elixir yourself, Mars. Madam Pomfrey is right, you know. You should really lie down and let her take a look at you," Hermione said firmly.

Mars looked amused as he gazed down at Hermione. "Ah, the ancient art of nagging. Between you, Sally, and Fleur I believe y'all have every aspect of it mastered."

Hermione put her hands on her hips and glared up at him. "Sarcasm won't make you any better."

"I'm not ill or hurt, Hermione. Your concern is unnecessary. I'm just tired."

"She's got a point, Mars, you really do look really awful," said Ron.

"Now you too?" said Mars and then he sighed heavily. "Look, I know that y'all are concerned because you care, but I had to threaten to jinx Fleur this morning before she would stop nagging me to go see a healer. I'm just tired of hearing it."

"You were with Fleur? That means she's okay then?" asked Ginny hopefully.

"Yes, Ginny, she's fine. After she lured Riddle far enough away from Charlie, she disapparated and escaped. She's quite the dueler, very fast on her feet. We shouldn't be too surprised, though; Olympe told me that Fleur was the best student she had ever had at BeauxBatons. Very high praise indeed," commented Mars.

"What about Dumbledore?" asked Harry earnestly.

"His story is more complex. Let's talk about that later, okay? I'm just not up to it right now," said Mars. He bid them goodbye and left.

"He looked like he was going to keel over right there," said Ginny as they headed back to the Gryffindor Common Room.

"Yes, I know. Did you see how he balled up his fists every so often? It seems like he's fighting off some kind of curse or something," added Hermione.

The next Monday Harry, Ginny, Hermione, and Ron rushed through breakfast in order to get to Defense Against the Dark Arts early. When they entered the classroom, they found Mars, still looking on the point of collapse, seated at his desk.

"I had a feeling I'd see you four a bit early this morning," said Mars with a painful grin. "Have y'all heard about Charlie?"

"No," they shook their heads.

"He's feeling so much better that he's already left the hospital."

"Really?" Harry, Ginny, and Hermione cried together.

"That's great," Ron said with relief.

"In fact," Mars continued, "he told me he's better than ever. Remember the scars from the the burns he got from that Romanian Rednose on his right arm and side?"

"Yes," Ron said. Ginny nodded.

"Well, there's no trace of them anymore. He told me even the pain in his knee from an old bludger injury is gone. That elixir is just amazing."

Ron, Ginny, and Harry looked happy and relieved, but Hermione's face showed mixed emotions. She frowned and spoke to Mars. "Mars, you shouldn't have stolen that potion."

"So you'd rather see Charlie dead then?"

"Of course not!" answered Hermione, horrified. "How can you say something like that?"

"I didn't say it, Hermione, you did."

Harry could understand Mars' irritation at Hermione's nagging, but he was surprised at Mars' antagonism. Mars seemed determined to provoke Hermione.

Hermione sputtered and said indignantly, "I said nothing of the sort! I'm talking about you breaking wizarding laws just because you can get away with it." She looked very upset.

Mars did not glare at her angrily as Harry expected; instead, his face had the same look as when teaching a class. "That's real fresh coming from little Miss Extortionist." Hermione started to object, but Mars spoke first. "Or do you expect me to believe that Rita Skeeter wrote that article in the Quibbler last year because of her good nature?"

Hermione looked stung, but she recovered quickly. "But the truth had to get out."

"A fair point, but that wasn't your only felony. Not messing with time is a pretty important wizarding law, isn't it? How many years in Azkaban do you think you'd get for your misuse of a Time Turner? I'm not sure what number you'll come up with, Hermione, but you can probably add a few more decades to it, seeing as your abuse of the device set free the supposed most evil wizard in Britain."

Hermione stood in shocked silence, but Harry defended her. "Mars, they were going to kill Sirius! If we hadn't used the time turner, we couldn't have saved Buckbeak, and Sirius wouldn't have had a way to escape!"

"Harry, you did the right and the only thing in rescuing Sirius. It's Hermione that thinks you should let your friends die instead of breaking a law," answered Mars.

Hermione slammed her fists onto the desk and shouted at Mars: "I NEVER SAID THAT! YOU'RE PUTTING WORDS INTO MY MOUTH!"

"I am not putting words into your mouth; I'm merely exposing the hypocrisy of your self-righteous defense of wizarding laws," answered Mars calmly.

"That potion," retorted Hermione, "was supposed to be used to save many people. Not just one, even if he is Mars' best mate! What if one day there's a Healer who has just discovered something really important, say a cure that will save thousands of people, but he's dying. Without that potion, not only will the Healer die, but so will all the people who could have been cured. That's what they were saving it for!"

"I'm supposed to let Charlie die over 'what ifs'?" Mars shook his head. "Hermione, you'll have to do a lot better than that."

"But Mars, you broke the law to benefit yourself, to the detriment of others. And innocent people have died in the battles you're fighting. What distinguishes that kind of behavior from the actions of Voldemort and his followers?" asked Hermione earnestly.

"Hermione!" snapped Ginny, shocked. Hermione ignored her and continued to stare at Mars.

"Morals, Hermione. In times like these, they're the only thing that can guide you. I know that innocents suffered during our skirmishes; they always get the worst in war. Their agony weighs heavily upon me, but it is a burden that must be borne. None of my choices are good - I cannot make this war antiseptic. War is the preeminent tragedy of civilization. The more we advance, the more things we have to fight over, and the better we are at killing each other.

"At this moment in time, following the law has to be relegated to a lesser priority. The risk is too high otherwise. I ask you, what good would it do for me to avoid breaking any of the Ministry's laws if that very inaction allowed its downfall?" said Mars.

"But they just signed a cease fire with CADS. Isn't that a good sign?" asked Ron.

"No, it's a sign of the weakness of Fudge's position. The Committee's strength has grown far beyond the Ministry's. Fudge refused to declare war on CADS when I approached him, and he agreed to peace talks and a cease fire even though I threatened to never help him again if he did so. He's just too terrified of Jo Anne Lennon," answered Mars.

"But I thought you controlled the Ministry?" said Hermione, then bit her lip as though she regretted her outburst.

"Now, I wonder who gave you that idea?" asked Mars. He and the others all stared at Hermione.

"You know very well who. You've had that Mary Sue girl spying on me, haven't you?" accused Hermione.

"Of course I know, but it wasn't because of Mary's curiosity. Do you seriously think that I'd have to resort to using a first year student to keep tabs on that Death Eater? Snape does nothing at Hogwarts without my knowing it," replied Mars, with the first hint of anger in his voice.

"But you never said anything to me."

"Hermione, I'm not about to object to your meeting with one of your professors. However, I will admit disappointment in finding that you still trust Snape's words over my own."

Hermione looked hurt, but she screwed up her courage and objected, "But it was still morally wrong to take that potion. You know it was."

"Let's talk about what you know, Hermione. Do you know the future of St. Mungo's? Do you know for sure that it won't fall into the hands of CADS, and therefore Dolohov? Do you know how valuable that elixir could be to Tom Riddle?" asked Mars.

"The Death Eaters take over the hospital? Have you foreseen that?" asked Hermione.

"I see many things, Hermione, but visions of the future are not like watching a muggle television program. Most are foggy and difficult to glimpse. Many are interrelated, but the connecting thread is so hard to see that it usually isn't noticed until it's too late. The visions also change constantly. Small actions I take snowball into enormous events or even disasters. I see horrible future catastrophes, and I don't know if I did something to cause them, if I can stop them, or if they will ever really occur.

"With tremendous effort, there are times that I can draw a line through this infinity of possibilities and have some idea of what is likely to happen. One of these chains of events leads to Riddle getting his hands on the elixir. While he no longer needs it to restore himself, who knows what a brilliant mind like his could do with such a powerful potion?" said Mars.

This lengthy explanation reminded Harry of Steele's advice about taking the words of great wizards at face value. That approach not only kept things simple; it kept you safe from long-winded narratives.

Hermione had opened her mouth to speak further when the door opened and Dean, Seamus and the Patil twins entered the room. They all hailed Mars, but their happy faces quickly turned worried as they noticed his run-down appearance. The rest of the class started to file in, greeting Mars as they entered, so Harry and his friends took their seats.

Mars remained seated as he addressed the class. He thanked them for receiving Steele so well, and told the class that she had really enjoyed teaching them. He reminded the students that in the last weeks of classes, they would continue to revise for the upcoming exams. Most of his time would be spent helping the fifth and seventh years preparing for their OWLs and NEWTs.

Mars had Ginny and Luna pass out parchments labeled with students' names. When Harry unrolled his, he found a revision schedule similar to the ones that Hermione made for him and Ron every year, except that this one only covered subjects related to Defense Against the Dark Arts. As he unrolled it further, he saw it also included instructions for testing the first year class that he taught himself.

When the bell rang, the students whispered excitedly amongst themselves as they exited the classroom. Harry guessed they were gossiping about the poor condition Mars was in. Hermione, Ron and Harry all approached Mars' desk, where he was speaking with Ginny and Luna. Harry wasn't sure if it was safe to ask about Professor Dumbledore with Luna around, but Ginny apparently didn't share his reservation; she spoke up as soon as the last of the other students had left the room.

"Has Dumbledore really been captured?" Ginny asked.

Mars turned his head wearily to face Ginny and said "Yes."

"Is he okay? Oh, they aren't torturing him are they?" asked Hermione anxiously.

"Who did it?" asked Harry and Ron.

"They have not harmed him, nor will they will they be able to in the future," said Mars.

"How's that?" asked Harry.

"The magic used in the trap prevents him from escaping, but it also prevents them from reaching him. He is completely isolated from our world, both invulnerable and unable to act," explained Mars.

"But-but, how can you know this?" asked Hermione.

"There is nothing else that could prevent the Headmaster from communicating with me. I have not spoken with him since his disappearance," answered Mars.

"But couldn't that mean that he's dead?" asked Ron, turning white.

"No, Ron, he's not dead. When a great wizard dies, an incredible event always follows within a few days; Professor Dumbledore has been missing for almost two weeks," said Mars.

"What do you mean, an incredible event?" asked Hermione.

"It's an ancient tradition of egoism. Once a witch or wizard becomes very powerful or very haughty, they often plan their Morsmiraculumni, the great event that is triggered upon their death. Because nothing of the sort happened after Harry first dispatched Voldemort, Professor Dumbledore and I knew Riddle wasn't dead. The great event is deeply personal, and varies as widely as wizards themselves. The witch or wizard must do all the research, preparation and casting themselves. Even giving another person a hint of what you're planning will ruin the spell. In fact, I'd guess that less than five percent of the Morsmiraculumni actually work - witches and wizards often have too high an opinion of themselves. The caster will never know if their event really succeeded--because, well, they aren't around when it's supposed to go off," explained Mars.

"What kind of things happen?" asked Harry.

"With dark wizards, you have horrible plagues, raining frogs, a sudden typhoon or hurricane and such. They say that one really nasty Egyptian witch's caused an eclipse of the sun for three days, but I find that hard to believe. You know how--" Mars' face suddenly twitched painfully, cutting off his words. His hands balled into fists and the muscles on his neck clenched. After a few seconds, Mars relaxed a bit and continued.

"Of course, the Headmaster's would be nothing of the sort. Most likely it would be a breath-taking meteor shower, a spectacular comet, or even a purple halo around the moon. Now, that would stun the muggle astronomers, wouldn't it?"

Harry wanted to smile at his teacher's joviality, but he couldn't. Mars' health just looked too frail for him to be cracking jokes.

"If almost all them fail, how are you sure that Dumbledore's would definitely work?" asked Ron.

From Mars' expression, Harry thought Ron must have asked the dumbest question in history. Ron winced and averted his eyes from Mars' stare.

"Professor Dumbledore is not only the greatest wizard of our time, Ronald Weasley, he is the greatest wizard ever. None of you truly understand how pow-powerful," said Mars, then he paused and again strained his muscles. Again, he relaxed after a moment and finished, as though nothing had happened, "how powerful he really is." He still looked annoyed by Ron's question.

"Have you -" Hermione began, but Mars cut her off.

"I'm sorry, Hermione, but I'm already behind schedule. Y'all should get going anyway."

Hermione nodded at Mars; as they left, she shot Ron a rather nasty look. Once they were out in the hall she rounded on him.

"Well done, Ron!" she said sarcastically.

"What?"

"How could you ask such a stupid question? Now that he's mad I doubt we'll get any more information from him about Dumbledore's capture."

Harry and Ginny rolled their eyes at each other. Both recognized the brewing of a new bickering match. They headed outside for break. Luna silently wandered away from the group in an apparently random direction.

"It was not stupid. Mars himself said that the Morsmira-whatever fails ninety-five percent of the time."

"Dumbledore's hardly an average wizard, Ron."

"Neither were the others that tried."

"But you should have known questioning Dumbledore's power would upset him. You know how highly Mars thinks of him."

"Mars is the mind reader, Hermione, not me."

Ginny stepped bravely between the quarreling couple and put her hand on Hermione's shoulder. "What other information did you want from Mars, Hermione?"

Hermione glared at Ron for another second and then looked at Ginny. "I wanted to know who he thought had created the trap."

"What does it matter who? If he's trapped he's trapped," said Harry.

"Oh, I think it matters a great deal," said Hermione. She continued on to the outside courtyard. Harry, Ron and Ginny shrugged at each other and followed.

Ginny spent most of the week revising with the other fifth years for her OWLs. The OWLs started a week before the normal exams, and lasted two full weeks. Harry was busy revising for his own exams and preparing to administer one to his own class. Much of it was practical, so he had to be well prepared. He spent most of his free time in the library revising with Ron and Hermione.

Wednesday evening, Harry and Ron went to meet Hermione in the library to study until the beginning of their Astronomy class at midnight. As they walked through the library looking for her, they came across Heather and Mary. The two girls were haphazardly dusting a row of books while they giggled and whispered to each other.

"Why are you two in here dusting instead of revising?" Harry asked them.

They turned and smiled at Harry, but frowned grumpily when they saw Ron.

"Ask him," said Heather, pointing at Ron. "It's all his fault."

"My fault? What are you on about?" asked Ron crossly.

"You forgot your six-month anniversary with Hermione, and she's been all tetchy since," explained Mary.

"Six-month what?"

"No flowers, no sweets, not even a mention. She's been cracking to vent her spleen on someone, and had a right cob on when she found us, thanks to you," said Heather accusingly.

"Your detentions had nothing to do with Ron being a forgetful clod," Hermione's voice rang out from a few feet to their left. Mary and Heather jumped in surprise and defensively moved closer to each other. Hermione stepped nearer and continued, "I caught you both wondering around the castle hours after the first year's curfew. That's why you two are supposed to be dusting in detention, and not chatting with boys."

Mary's confident look failed her completely and she seemed to shrink under Hermione's furious glare. Heather also looked scared at first; then her eyes flicked over and beyond Hermione, and she relaxed. She stared straight into Hermione's eyes with a face as unreadable as a world championship poker player. "We didn't blame him for us getting caught. We blamed him for your foul mood that got us detention when a telling off would have done. Just because you've had a tiff with your boyfriend is no reason to take it out on us," said Heather firmly.

Harry thought Hermione's eyes were going to pop out in fury. She pointed her index figure at Heather threateningly, "That is enough!" she half shouted. "You are the two most obnoxious, arrogant first years that I have ever seen! You get caught in the act and -"

"Just what do you think you're doing, Miss Granger?" demanded the librarian, Madam Pince. She was a thin, irritable, old witch who bore an uncanny resemblance to an underfed vulture as she leered down at the group. Hermione, Ron and Harry nearly jumped out of their skins. Heather and Mary tried mightily to suppress smiles.

"I was reprimanding these two for not -," started Hermione.

"The library," interrupted Madam Pince, "is hardly the place for a loud telling off. I would think that a sixth year student, and a prefect, would know this by now. I want the lot of you out of here this instant."

She started to turn, but Heather spoke up. "But Madam Pince, Mary and I are serving detention. We can't go yet."

"Consider it served. Now leave! I am thoroughly sick of the sight of you," replied the librarian. She turned and stomped back toward her desk.

Behind Madam Pince's back, Heather held up her hand and Mary high-fived her triumphantly. The two girls grabbed their bags from a nearby table and walked out, smiling at Harry as they passed. Harry noticed that neither of them dared a glance at the fuming Hermione.

Hermione watched them leave with the same combination of annoyance and admiration that she had shown the day the Slytherins left Hogwarts. "I will never trust nor underestimate those two again," Hermione sighed. "C'mon, let's go to the Common Room until Astronomy Observation starts."

Harry noticed that evening in the Gryffindor Common Room that Mary and Mark Evans were studying about as far away from Hermione as the tables would allow.

In spite of being busy preparing for exams, Harry noticed a few peculiar things afoot around the school. Mars was now eating his meals in the Great Hall. While he still looked exhausted, he seemed in good spirits and was always speaking with Hagrid, Flitwick and Professor Sprout. Professor McGonagall was still rather prickly, but Harry knew she must be under tremendous stress. The only person she seemed interested in speaking with was Snape. Both she and Snape avoided Mars as though he were contagious. Each immediately left the room whenever he entered; but Mars never took any visible notice of their flight.

That Sunday afternoon, Harry and Ron, after a long struggle, convinced Hermione to take a break and walk outside for a short while. Ginny was far too busy revising for her Charms OWL the next day, so the three went without her. When they walked out of the Entrance Hall, they saw Professors Mars, Hagrid, Sprout, and Flitwick all standing at the base of the steps. Approaching the professors were a group of elderly witches and wizards that Harry recognized from his OWLs last year.

"It's the professors from the Wizarding Examinations Authority," said Hermione, pointing. When the venerable group reached the Hogwarts professors, Mars greeted them warmly.

"Professor Marchbanks, it's a pleasure to welcome you to Hogwarts."

"My dear boy Mars, from the first OWL I examined you in I knew you would be a professor one day," the ancient witch replied loudly as she gave him her hand.

"Griselda, my head is big enough," Mars protested.

"Never the less, when you came to visit me last June in my office, I could still remember your Transfiguration NEWT as if it had been just the day before," she said.

The professors started walking up the steps towards the three teenagers, still chatting. "Tell me, young Mars, what do you know of the peace talks between the Ministry and the Committee?" asked an old, bald, friendly-looking wizard.

"Well, Professor Tofty, from what I've been told they're at a standstill. It sounds to me like Lennon is stalling," answered Mars.

"Do you think she's holding out for the Minister's job?" asked Tofty.

"It certainly seems that way," said Mars.

"I just don't know what went wrong with her," put in the plump witch. "She was such a lovely young girl when she was in school."

The group had now reached the top of the steps. "Aha, Harry Potter," said Professor Tofty. "It's good to see you again, lad."

Harry, Ron and Hermione all smiled and said "Hi."

"I remember your excellent patronus last year. Very rare to see that during an OWL examination."

"I think you'll see another one this year sir," said Harry.

"Really?"

"Yes sir. Ron's sister, Ginny Weasley, casts the charm quite well. She even managed it when -" Harry shut up at a sharp pain from Hermione standing on his foot.

"When - when the whole class was watching her," Hermione finished quickly. "She's really fabulous at it." Hermione glared at Harry for his near-slip in mentioning their dementor training.

"Very well, I'll make sure to ask her to demonstrate it," said Professor Tofty eagerly.

"Professors," said Mars, looking at Flitwick and Sprout, "would you please show the examiners to their quarters? I have a few things to attend to."

The professors nodded smilingly and led their guests into the Entrance Hall. Mars stayed behind with the three teenagers. "Quick thinking, Hermione," Mars smiled at her.

"Mars, I needta nip out inter the forest fer a bit. To a - take care of sommat, yeh know, important," said Hagrid uncomfortably.

"Hagrid, anything you can say in front of me you can say in front of them," said Mars, tilting his head at Harry, Ron, and Hermione.

"You shoulden' go encouragin 'em like that. They're nosy enough as it is," Hagrid protested.

"I stand by my statement, partner. I trust all three, plus Ginny, with my life," said Mars.

"Fine, suit yerself. I didn't say I didn't trus' 'em, anyway. I'll find yeh when yer alone later," said Hagrid. He turned and walked down the steps four at a time.

Mars shook his head as he watched Hagrid head toward the forest. "Y'all coming back inside with me?" he asked. They nodded and joined him as he entered the Entrance Hall.

"Are you friends with Professor Marchbanks?" asked Hermione.

"I never considered her one. I'm shocked she remembered my Transfiguration NEWT - I barely recall it myself. Tell Ginny best of luck from me on her Charms OWL tomorrow, would you?" said Mars, turning down a corridor that led to the western part of the castle.

The three began their climb up the staircase to Gryffindor Tower, giving up the idea of a nice break outside.

"Why did Mars go that way?" asked Harry. "There's not much down that hall except the Ravenclaw's tower."

"I'm more interested in knowing why he visited Professor Marchbanks last June in her office," said Hermione suspiciously.

Monday morning, Harry, Hermione and Ron were eating breakfast in the Great Hall. Ginny was with them, but because her first OWL was about to start, she was too nervous to eat. Instead, she pored over scrolls of Charms notes.

Harry was chatting with Ron when he saw Hermione's bushy brown hair flutter as if blown by a zephyr. Her head jerked up, and she looked over at the Great Hall's entrance. Harry followed her gaze and saw Padma and Hannah Abbot standing there, staring at Hermione.

"I'll be right back," said Hermione. She hurried over to the two other prefect girls. When she came back to the table a few moments later, Ginny put down her notes and asked, "What did they say?"

"Both said they saw Mars enchanting their house doorways last night. All kinds of odd markings and drawings appeared and completely covered the entrances. When he finished, the marks faded from view, and the doors looked normal again," answered Hermione.

"Did he say anything to them?" asked Harry.

"Just 'Hello'," Hermione shrugged.

"They must be glyphs. But would they work if they aren't visible?" asked Ginny.

"I wouldn't think so, but maybe they're not visible until they've been activated," suggested Hermione.

"But why just the the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff doors?" asked Ron.

"Who knows if he did ours or Slytherin's? Hannah and Padma just happen to be there when he was enchanting theirs," offered Hermione.

When they finished breakfast the three sixth years wished Ginny good luck and headed off to Defense Against the Dark Arts. As Harry expected, Mars continued to prepare the class for the exam. They all practiced together, and Harry was impressed at how well everyone was getting at dodging and blocking spells. Neville and Ron were incredible with their shield charms; in fact, Mars had them play a odd game of tennis with a stunner they deflected back and forth at each other. Hermione's and Padma's charms also impressed Harry. Their tearing charm ripped holes through four inches of solid wood, and Hermione's stunning charm was wide enough to hit three people at once. Maybe there was something to this Universal Whatever System, he thought.

The rest of the week passed much like Monday. They saw Ginny at meals, then went off to classes and revision as she took her OWLs. On Saturday, the four allowed themselves a break, and then revised all day Sunday.

At dinner Sunday night, Harry asked Ginny how she had done on her first week of OWLs.

"Well, I know for a fact I earned an Outstanding in Defense Against the Dark Arts theory and practical. Especially after Professor Tofty asked me to conjure a corporeal patronus for extra credit," said Ginny excitedly.

Ron and Hermione beamed at Harry.

"I think I did very well in Charms, Transfiguration and Ancient Runes," Ginny continued, "but Herbology I'm not sure about. Tomorrow is Potions so I'm a bit worried."

"It'll be okay," responded Harry. "Ron and I did great once that Death Eater wasn't around."

Ginny smiled at Harry and Ron high-fived him, but Hermione looked put out.

The first exam for Ron, Harry and Hermione was Defense Against the Dark Arts. Much like Professor Lupin's exam, Mars' test was practical. Each student had to work their way through a maze of obstacles and spells using counter jinxes, hexes, and agility. The maze was interspersed with floating chalkboards with written questions for the students to answer. Harry finished the challenges ahead of the other students; Hermione was second by a few minutes, with Ron, Padma and Neville following a bit behind her. When the sixth years left the classroom, they all felt they had done very well. Harry felt more like he had conquered something rather than just passing an exam.

The rest of Harry's exams were not nearly as much fun, but he still felt he was doing well. His last was Care of Magical Creatures on Thursday, and then on Friday he was to administer the exam to his first year Defense Against the Dark Arts class.

While the exam for Care of Magical Creatures was interesting, it was also hard. "How in the world are you supposed to tell the difference between a female and male moke after they shrink down to only a quarter of an inch long?" demanded Harry as they left the paddock holding the hippogriffs.

"That's easy, Harry. The male had a more colorful throat sac," answered Hermione. "Whether the murtlap preferred crustaceans or mollusks was the question that made me think. I'm mostly sure that it likes crustaceans best, but -"

"How many times? Hermione, we don't want a rehash of the test! It was bad enough having to just take it," demanded Ron.

"Fine," said Hermione irritably. The three of them walked silently back inside the Castle for lunch.

On Friday, the exam Harry gave his students rewarded them for their speed at problem-solving. He wanted them to realize that every second they saved in recognizing a danger or in casting a spell could mean the difference between life and death.

His exam started with a set of written questions. The faster the students finished these, the more time they would have to cast spells during the practical stage. The practical stage made use of Mars' small floating chalkboards. Each chalkboard described a situation; the student then had to decide which of the spells they had learned was most appropriate, and cast the spell properly.

The last part of the examination was extra credit; it tested the students' dodging skill. As first years, they didn't have the knowledge or skills for him to teach them the shield charm, so Harry wanted to make sure that they had some defense against hostile spells. He would shoot stinging charms at them, and the student would get three points for each charm they dodged until they were hit.

Mary tore quickly through the first stage, and Harry saw her cast the correct spell effectively for each situation in the second part. When she got to Harry for the extra credit, however, his very first stinging charm hit her on the side. She glared at him accusingly as she walked to the back of the class to wait for Heather and Mark.

Heather was next to reach Harry, a few minutes later, but he had noticed she had cast the wrong spell at a few of the chalkboards. The Slytherin first year managed to dodge four of Harry's charms before he hit her in the back after a spinning move.

"Remember, never turn your back on what you're supposed to be dodging, Heather," he lectured as she went to join Mary.

Several students reached Harry and dodged their extra-credit charms before Mark Evans finally approached. Mark had taken so much time on the written portion that he had rushed the practical questions. He made up for his early miscues, however, by dodging eight stinging charms in the extra credit portion of the exam before Harry finally nailed him. Harry congratulated him on his performance, and Mark received a two-person standing ovation from Heather and Mary.

When the last of his students had left, Harry collected his things and stopped at the door. He turned and looked around the classroom. Teaching this class had been a rewarding experience, and he knew he was going to miss it greatly. He sighed.

"Maybe I can teach the second years next?" Harry smiled to himself as he closed the door behind him.