After her meeting with McGonagall, Tori threw herself into her studies. She read nearly every book on defensive spells she could find and spent a lot of extra time going over potion recipes. She pulled plenty of all-nighters, much to her dormmate's dismay.

She had received a good amount of help from Cedric, who was more than happy to help her study. He gave her some pointers and helped her decide which books were better to use. Eventually, she finally encouraged him to go talk to that Ravenclaw seeker who he had been glancing at for about an hour.

All the fifth years were studying endlessly. Angelina was seated with Tori in the common room on a Friday night, quizzing her on Herbology. Alicia was rereading two years worth of Potions notes as her lips moved soundlessly. Lee and George practiced a few charm spells on a tiny teacup while Fred stared at his star chart until his eyes blurred. Tori stood in front of the fireplace, pacing back and forth.

"What is one distinction of a Fanged Geranium?" Angelina asked her. Tori answered quickly without hesitation. "Their fanged flower with sharp teeth."

"What are its uses?"

"The fangs are used in potions and in cooking..."

"What kind of potions?"

"Strength potions."

"What else is in a Strength potion?"

"Uh... well... wait— an arm bone and a snake fang!"

"Brilliant!"

"Thank you. Do you think you could go over Transfiguration with me?"

Fred glanced up from his star map, blinking. "What are you even going for that you need like twelve O.W.L.S.?"

Tori hadn't told her friends about her consideration to be an Auror. She hadn't had time to with all of the work she had to do, and she wasn't sure if they were going to like it. Being an Auror was a very dangerous job, many died during their work. They dealt with different high-risk situations constantly. But that didn't scare Tori.

"I don't need twelve. I need five. And I'm keeping my options open." Tori replied, flipping through her notebook to find the right page. "You don't have anything narrowed down?" Lee asked, who was now practicing the cheering charm.

"Well... both Professor Lupin and McGonagall think I would make an excellent Auror..."

"An Auror?" Fred asked, looking up from his work startled. "That's so awesome!" George interrupted. He actually looked pretty excited about the idea, while Fred looked worried.

"It's not easy, they only take the best of the best so I need to put all my effort into my O.W.L.S. if I even want to be considered," Tori told them, handing Angelina her notebook. "It's it... dangerous?" Fred said. Tori glanced over at him and shrugged, "It can be, but I've always kind of felt drawn to it. Both  McGonagall and Lupin think I can do it, and so do I."

She continued going over her work with Angelina until late in the night. Tori shifted over to Fred after a while, who needed help in Muggle Studies.

"Hey, can we talk for a minute?" Fred asked her after he had just re-explained Muggle transportation, making Tori rethink everything. She nodded, jotting down something in her notes.

"A few weeks ago, when we won the quidditch cup. Uh, you remember, once we found out we won it..." He trailed off awkwardly, unsure how to phrase it. Tori already knew what he was talking about. She had thought about it a lot, mentally yelling at herself for kissing him. Even if it was just on the cheek.

"I think it was just the thrill of everything." He said. His ears began to turn a bright shade of red to match Tori's face. "Yeah," She agreed quickly, unable to meet his eyes. "We've just known each other for so long..."

"Yeah."

"So, everything's good?" He asked her, almost like he was wanting her to say something else. Tori only nodded. "Yeah, everything's good." Tori headed to bed shortly after that to get some rest before the long day ahead of her. She lied down, staring up at the ceiling.

The only thing in her mind was Fred. She could still feel her face going red and her heart beating a tiny bit faster. She didn't understand why. She couldn't have feelings for her best friend!

Right?

✧    ✦    ✧

The next two week was some of the most stressful weeks of not only Tori's but ever fifth years life. It was their O.W.L.S. week, meaning all day, every day they were in classes.

Monday was Charms. Tori had done okay with her cheering and levitation charms. She had nearly missed the counter hiccups charm, which made her a tad bit worried. Tuesday was Transfiguration, she sat for about ten minutes trying to describe the switching spell, and struggled with the vanishing spell.

Wednesday consisted of Herbology. Other than a small bite from a Fanged Geranium, Tori felt she had done reasonably well. On Thursday, was Defense Against the Dark Arts. Tori had to admit, she was pretty confident with her outcome of that. She was able to name five signs of werewolves and did swell performing all the counter-jinxes and defensive spells.

Friday was Muggle Studies. Tori had to compare how Muggles used an airplane to how they used apparition. She then had to use a Muggle computer and write a phrase.

The second week was even more exhausting. Monday has Potions. Tori had never used a Polyjuice Potion, but she had read about it. Her practical went well, she was able to nearly perfect her potion, much to Snape's dismay.

Tuesday's Care of Magical Creatures was one with the most actual work they had to do. They had to identify a Knarl hidden among a dozen hedgehogs; Demonstrate the correct handling of a Bowtruckle; Feed and clean out a Fire Crab without sustaining serious burns; Choose from a wide selection of food the diet they would give a sick Unicorn.

And Wensday was History of Magic and Astronomy at midnight. Tori wasn't to worried about those. She finished them quickly, especially thankful for Florean Fortescue's endless talks about history in between giving her and Harry free sundaes.

When their O.W.L.S. were finished, Tori was able to finally relax. She immediately collapsed onto the couch in the common room, causing Fred to laugh. "Tired, Tori?"

"I have all this useless information in my head. It hurts." She whined, shoving her face into on of the pillows. "I probably messed up on that last star," Alicia sighed, falling into one of the red chairs.

"Alright! Enough school talk. I don't even want to think about our O.W.L.S." Lee said. Fred and George plopped down next to Tori, patting her on the head. "We have some good news," George told her quietly. Tori peered up at the twins, who smiled at her.

"Our new invention is nearly done." Fred told her as he glanced around to make sure he wasn't overheard. "The tongue toffee?" She asked, now sitting up straight.

The twins nodded. "We're thinking a few more months of work to finish them." George announced. Tori grinned, "That's brilliant!"

the amount of research for this book— my brain hurts.

also, happy birthday neville longbottom!