Chapter Fifty-Four
By the End of It
I wonder what you're thinking now
Or if you even see
You wish that you could change the past
Have you taken all you need
(My Friend - Saga)September 2nd, 1976"Morning, Lils," Mia said with a bright smile as she reached the Gryffindor table
for breakfast.
The start-of-term feast for her second sixth year had been the same as it had every
year that preceded it, save for a short speech on safety from Dumbledore who mentioned
that there had been Death Eater attacks throughout the summer in Britain. After
everything that happened the previous year with Professor Higgs and Fenrir Greyback, the
wards surrounding Hogwarts had been strengthened greatly. Work was also being done to
communicate with the centaur herd in the Forbidden Forest in order to keep students,
wizards, and creatures of all kinds safe in the face of the growing threat of Voldemort, or
as the Daily Prophet had taken to calling him: You-Know-Who.
Yes, Mia knew who very well.
"Has McGonagall brought over the timetables yet?"
She began filling a plate with various items, pouring pumpkin juice into a tall glass,
and then automatically pushing the meal across the table to the seat opposite her, all
without breaking eye contact with Lily.
"Not yet," Lily said with an excited smile. "How did you do on your O.W.L.s? I got
Outstandings on all nine. I was so worried. The Arithmancy exam was a lot harder than I'd
expected. I still want to know how you convinced Professor Vector to let you sit for the
exam when you didn't even take the class."
"I convinced Professor McGonagall to put in a good word for me. Actually, I ended
up taking an O.W.L. for every available class. Wanted to see if I could do it," Mia said,
trying to hold back the smug grin that had spread across her face.