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The following days passed surprisingly peacefully.
Classes continued, but at this point in the year, they were mostly a mix of revision, final assignments, and teachers trying to finish everything they still needed to teach before the end of term.
And, unfortunately, some teachers still somehow found the energy to give us more homework — which, in my opinion, should be considered a form of torture.
Apparently, even with the return of the Dark Lord, they were still more concerned with making sure we didn't leave without one last pile of work to do.
The last few classes also had that strange end-of-year atmosphere.
No one was really paying as much attention as they should, and even the teachers seemed to have realised that trying to keep the students completely focused was a losing battle.
Conversations grew louder the moment they turned their backs.
The parchment sheets were becoming increasingly covered in doodles, random notes, and holiday plans.
And as soon as class ended, the students practically ran out.
Not that I could blame them.
After all, any student, anywhere in the world, was bound to get excited when the holidays were right around the corner.
But at Hogwarts, the excitement seemed even greater.
Not only were we just a few days away from finally being able to go home, but the final exams had also been cancelled.
And that, without a doubt, was one of the best things any student could have heard at that point.
After everything that had happened during the Tournament, the teachers decided that it didn't make much sense to force the rest of the students to go through an entire week of exams as if nothing had happened.
Of course, that pleasant surprise didn't extend to the fifth- and seventh-years.
Since they were in their O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s years, the teachers couldn't simply cancel their final exams.
But, well... that was their problem.
For the rest of the school, it was a reason to celebrate.
Pretty much everyone was happy and relieved that they no longer had to worry about exams they weren't even sure they would do well in.
I wasn't complaining either.
Not because I was particularly worried about the exams.
But because, after everything that had happened this year, a few weeks of rest were exactly what I needed.
And honestly, I wasn't in the slightest bit interested in sitting in a classroom answering questions or demonstrating spells.
When I wasn't in class, I spent most of my time with my friends.
Sometimes we'd gather in the Ravenclaw common room.
Other times, we'd find some quieter corner of the castle to chat, mess around, or simply kill time.
I tried to make the most of my last few days at Hogwarts before going home.
I stopped thinking about things like exams, homework, Dark Lords, training... all those things that normally occupied my mind.
And it was precisely because I was so focused on simply finishing the school year that I remained completely oblivious to what was happening outside the walls of Hogwarts.
The problem was that, apparently, the wizarding world had no intention of waiting for me to finish relaxing.
I only realised that when I finally got my hands on a recent edition of the Daily Prophet.
As soon as I looked at the front page, I immediately recognised the headline.
The cemetery incident had finally made the news.
Until then, I hadn't even stopped to think about the fact that more than a week had already passed since that night.
I simply hadn't been paying much attention to what was happening outside the school, so I hadn't even noticed that the Daily Prophet still hadn't published a detailed article about the events of the last task.
Actually, considering the absurd number of people and journalists who'd been at the Triwizard Tournament final that day, I'd expected to find some version of the story splashed across the newspapers as early as the morning after the incident.
But that didn't happen.
And, thinking about it, it wasn't exactly difficult to figure out why.
Or, rather... who was probably behind it.
Fudge.
And, probably, some of the pure-blood families involved in that mess.
If there was one thing I'd learnt about the wizarding world, it was that influence could work miracles when someone had money and the right connections.
It wasn't hard to imagine what had happened behind the scenes.
First, they needed to control the information and prevent it from spreading.
Then, find out exactly how many witnesses there were.
And, above all, decide which parts of the story would disappear or be distorted before they reached the public.
It wouldn't be difficult for old and influential families to pressure journalists, send owls to their contacts in the Ministry, or simply use money and favours to delay certain information.
The Daily Prophet had never exactly been an example of impartial journalism.
And when the reputations of several important families were at stake, I seriously doubted they would suddenly decide to start acting like an independent and honest newspaper.
Those extra days had probably given Fudge and the others enough time to organise their alibis, get their stories straight, and decide exactly how they wanted to present everything to the public.
Maybe they'd try to turn the whole thing into a simple attack committed by unknown criminals.
Maybe they'd claim that Macnair and Pettigrew had acted on their own, trying to erase any connection the mad executioner had with the Ministry.
Maybe they'd even try to downplay the appearance of the "supposed" Dark Lord.
Not that it mattered much.
Anyone who already believed that those witches and wizards — the same ones who had escaped prison claiming to have been victims of the Imperius Curse — were actually dark wizards would probably be even more convinced after all that.
And anyone determined to stay on their side probably wouldn't change their mind anytime soon.
Especially while they continued receiving their little "rewards of friendship".
In the end, money, favours, influence, and fear were very effective ways of keeping people loyal.
I knew people like that far too well to believe that a few articles would be enough to make them switch sides.
Still, it was interesting to see how the Ministry was trying to control the situation.
Because even if they managed to hide some information, they couldn't erase what had happened.
There were too many witnesses, and the evidence I'd provided was pretty conclusive.
Even if the Ministry didn't want to admit it, something dangerous and sinister had definitely happened there.
And, whether they liked it or not, the wizarding world would eventually find out about it.
The only question now was how they would react to all of this — and, more importantly, how they intended to deal with the consequences.
I had no idea what things would be like when the new school year began, but one thing was certain.
Things were going to get messy... and a lot more interesting.
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-Hogwarts Castle, Central Courtyard — Penultimate Day of Classes-
There wasn't much time left before the end of the school year, and Hogwarts seemed to be officially in holiday mode.
Classes had already finished, most of the teachers seemed just as interested in leaving as the students, and practically no one was even pretending to have any intention of studying anymore.
Still, I'd decided to call all my friends together for one last meeting of our study group, planning to do one final review of everything we'd learnt this year.
Or, at least, that had been the original intention.
Actually, it had stopped being a study group quite some time ago.
Now it was more of an excuse to get almost all our friends together in one place.
And on this day, the central courtyard seemed like the perfect place for the gathering.
The sun was shining over the gardens, a light breeze swept through the courtyard, and several students were making the most of their last few moments at Hogwarts before leaving.
Our group occupied a good portion of the area near the fountain in the centre of the courtyard, surrounded by a few stone benches and tables.
It was a true mixture of all four houses.
From Slytherin, Lily, Tori, Daphne, and Tracey had shown up.
From Gryffindor, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Neville, Ginny, Fay, Fred, and George.
From Hufflepuff, Susan, Hannah, Justin, and Megan.
And from Ravenclaw, practically all of my closest friends.
Sue, Padma, Lisa, Luna, Terry, Anthony, Stephen, and Michael.
Morag and Mandy had also shown up, which was rare enough that I almost considered it a historical event.
Even Nyx was there, taking a nap in my lap.
The group was so large that anyone passing by would probably have thought we were organising some kind of official meeting.
While some of us were relaxing, others were actually trying to finish the last bits of homework the teachers had given us.
Which wasn't the case for Anthony and Ron.
The two lazy boys were sitting near one of the stone tables, throwing scrunched-up balls of parchment at each other.
"You're not going to finish your History of Magic essay?" Hermione asked, looking at Ron with a tired expression.
Ron paused, looking at the parchment he was about to tear in his hands.
Then he looked at the large history book beside him.
Finally, he looked at Hermione.
"Do I really have to?" he asked, clearly unwilling.
The only answer he received was a stern look that was disturbingly similar to Professor McGonagall's.
"...Fine." He sighed sadly, as though he'd just been sentenced to prison.
Then he pushed the parchment towards Anthony.
"Here. This one's yours."
Anthony looked at him, completely confused.
"What do you mean this one's mine? I finished mine yesterday."
"Yeah, but you just lost to me in the paper-ball fight."
"And?"
"So now you have to do mine too."
Anthony blinked, stunned.
"Wait a second. I never said I'd do yours... I didn't even want to do mine!"
"Oh, so you're going to be a sore loser?" Ron asked, giving him a teasing look.
Anthony grimaced.
It was an obvious provocation... but it worked anyway.
"...Okay, I'll do it." He grumbled, picking up the parchment with a sulky expression.
Ron broke into a victorious grin.
Anthony, on the other hand, started writing with an unusually focused expression.
'Let's see if you're still smiling when Professor Binns gets an essay about what colour underwear Professor Snape wears.' He thought, a vengeful glint in his eyes.
Hermione, who had been following the exchange between the two boys, crossed her arms with a frown.
"Ron, you should be doing your own homework." She give him a scolding look.
"Don't worry, Hermione." He waved away her concern. "Anthony's got it covered."
"That's not what I meant." She rolled her eyes. "If Professor Binns finds out he did your homework for you, you're definitely going to get detention."
"Hermione..." Ron looked at her with an amused expression. "You really think Professor Binns actually reads any of our essays?"
"That's true. That ghost probably only cares about essays on the Goblin Rebellion." Anthony nodded, but then quickly realised he was only helping Ron's argument and promptly shut his mouth.
Hermione put a hand over her face.
"You two are impossible."
Fred, who was sitting nearby, heard that and immediately joined the conversation.
"Don't be unfair, Hermione."
George nodded.
"It's true. They could be much worse."
Hermione looked at the two of them.
"How?"
"They could be doing their homework." Fred grinned.
"Instead of enjoying the moment." George finished.
Ron pointed at them.
"Exactly!"
Hermione simply stared at the four troublemaking boys with an exasperated expression.
For a few seconds, she seemed to seriously consider simply leaving them to their own devices.
'So this is how Professor McGonagall feels?' she wondered, staring blankly into space.
End.
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