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Marcus was nervous as he checked his watch for what felt like the millionth time that morning, he hated waiting almost as much as he hated exams! He was a man of action and knowing that there was nothing that could be done but wait for the Ministry examiners to show up was driving him around the bend. It felt like life was just rushing by him now, to think that it had been four whole years since that afternoon that he'd been shooting the breeze and happened to mention to Rowan that he was thinking of trying to get into University.. now here he was with one examination to go and he'd no longer be famous for taking 20 years to finish his NEWTS, he'd have his degree and after a lifetime in the classroom be officially recognised as a Professor in his own right. The entire thought of it was kind of scary but that wasn't what was worrying him as he paced the yard trying to find things to occupy his time and distract him from wanting to check if the rooms where tidy enough and everything was ready for the examiner's arrival.. he was just getting in Rowan's way now and had to admit that this was most defiantly one time when she was running the show. Maybe if he knew where Chloe was he'd feel less jumpy.. the letters had been a scary enough reminder that his sister was just about a grown up now and had to make a decision of where she wanted to be, and what she wanted to do but he hadn't expected his own letter to arrive at the same time.

Tomorrow he might have to decide if he was going to be a Caretaker or hand over the reins entirely. It was daft but he'd never really thought that much about what he was doing the degree for, all he wanted was to prove that he could do it and that Rowan wouldn't be marrying some down and out idiot who was only good enough for hands on work. Ego, that was what it was really about. Now he was wondering what he'd gotten himself into, life at Gipps Grammar had been good to them, a break from the constant chaos and a chance to make something for themselves. Marcus was proud of Rowan and of the kids that had come though the school over the past two years, now it was Chloe's turn and Marcus didn't know what to do.. he didn't want her to fail yet on the other hand the thought of his sister not being around hadn't even been a consideration. He guessed this was what most of the kids parents went though when they got to 'that' age. The fact that he was Chloe's brother didn't make a difference, she'd been part of his life and he'd vowed to protect her and be there so he was kind of glad that as strange as it was to be back in the classroom with kids again he'd at least be there for her. He'd had nobody there to look out for him when he'd first had his NEWT exams so it meant a lot to know that Rowan, Mel and all the other teachers and family would be looking out for her, even if she took after him when it came to study (or more failure to study) he couldn't help but feel that it would all work out.. love bet all didn't it? Marcus had to hope although as the man from the Ministry arrived he only had Rowan's words that Yrjo..whatever his name. was a good guy because he looked like he didn't have a single funny bone in his body.

This did not bode well for Marcus Hobson, especially since the last thing he had expected was to be recognised.. great, he'd gone to every single effort to avoid anyone finding out where he was and now some Ministry dude not only knew it but knew that Chloe was here too! Marcus just had to hope that the guy wouldn't make anything of it.

Yrjö Hämäläinen was not a cruel man dispute what jabs a multitude of disappointed students and their parents would accuse him of. He felt that his duty required a degree of fairness and honesty and did so with as much tact as could be required when dealing with self-important wizards and young witches who thought that all that was needed to pass was the right breeding and looks.. no such luck for brains! He was a unpopular sort amongst the office at this time of year for that very reason and so it was with a weight lifting from his shoulders that he arrived via portkey to Gippsland Grammar School for Young Witches knowing that if last year was anything to go by he would be well treated by the administration and free of threats and bribes to give students marks that they where hardly deserving of. Yrjö allowed himself some extra time this morning for he had some extra business to attend to regarding two of the students, he was concerned that while the girls had last year proven themselves capable and with ambitions to further study neither of the final year students had put forward enrolments to continue their study. Yrjö hoped that a discussion with Mistress Dragonsinger would allow him to put forward some opportunities for the girls and deal with a irregularity that had popped up regarding the young Hobson girl's enrollment.

The fact that all her files stated that she was in France was one such irregularity. The second being that there was another Hobson who had put the school as his place of residence was the other. Yrjö might have not remembered the name where it not for the thick file regarding a Marcus T. Hobson who had undergone ten years worth of NEWT exams.. Yrjö had not believed that it was possible for a student to take that long to complete their studies and yet paperwork never lied. Nor it seemed did eyes for though much had changed over the years Yrjö couldn't help but recognise the man here to undergo the final AMEU-OWL ED exam as the very same Hobson. "I hope it does not trouble you to share a classroom with the students Mr Hobson, however your file tells me that you where rather used to such arrangements". While his comment might have come across as rude Yrjö had thought it to be a kind gesture as he sighed at the pair of house elves that promptly appeared at the door arguing between themselves on who had to find the Headmistress and who got the more prestigious duty of accompanying 'Mr Nigel' inside. Yrjö had forgotten about the house elves.. though now he wondered how when he was forced to step in "Much obliged, but I'm very much capable of letting myself in so why do you not both find Mistress Dragonsinger and let her know that Yrjö Hämäläinen has arrived?" Yrjö was much too old for this as he wiped his brow.. the weather was most horrifically damp yet warm and humid in a sticky uncomfortable way. How anyone could live with such weather was well and truly beyond him.

Olivia couldn't really believe that this was the end, her last day of school and last exam. So far she felt she had done 'okay' with her grades but no amount of tutoring from Storm or going over her classwork would stop her from worrying that she hadn't prepared enough. Not that it really mattered, Olivia hadn't even brought up the topic of going to University with her Dad, mostly because she didn't think she had the grades and secondly because she couldn't afford it. While Storm had managed to get a scholarship Olivia couldn't decide enough on what she wanted to do, or even if she wanted to study at all. After all she had spent most of her life studying and surely she deserved some time off? To be honest it wasn't so much the exams that worried Olivia but the fact that after them there would be no path ahead of her. Other's she knew had plans for study, work or to travel but apart from her job at the video shop Olivia didn't have any long term plans at all. Just proving that she could stick it out and graduate had been her main focus ever since she first started Wizarding school. As long as she hadn't ended back up at Stoat she figured whatever happened in her life had to be an improvement right?

At least it also meant the last day of school uniforms. Olivia had been over the moon that the Gipps Grammar one was soo much better then her old school. Sitting on the porch she checked her watch, it was almost time to go, her stomach feeling like it was doing little somersaults.. maybe that extra cup of coffee and choc chip muffin had been a bad idea? Whatever the reason she stopped the moment she saw the old guy that Storm had told her about, he was the head examiner or something. Olivia frowned, he looked stern and not liable to give free marks or easy scores. Olivia was a bit confused to see Marcus there, not at the school because he was Miss Dragonsinger's fiance and all that but hadn't the guy just mentioned that he was doing the exam with them? Weird.

Rowan was putting the finishing touches on a letter to a prospective family when the two house elves popped into her office arguing over who would tell her the examiner was here. "Why don't you both tell me together?" she suggested resulting in a chorus of "He's heeeeerrrrrreeeee" that sounded more like an ad for an old Muggle ghost movie she remembered from her childhood. Thanking the pair, she rose from her desk, cast another cooling charm over herself to survive the walk from her office to the examining room and was glad to see that the cooling charm she had cast over that room was doing quite well. It would definitely hold up for the exam period. It was bad enough they had to worry about the tests. They didn't need to be miserable in the heat during it. As she entered the room, she greeted the examiner.

It was hard not to kick himself, if there was one person in the world who would remember him it would be the head examiner, who knew maybe in the dingy halls of the education department he was something of a celeb for his masterful inability to achieve much of anything for so many years. Marcus had all but put that behind him.. the past was another country or at least a different postcode and while it had taken time he'd worked hard to turn his life around to a point where he was once and for all truly happy. Trust the Ministry to show up and ruin it all, Marcus had to remind himself not to be rude as he just nodded "I'm sure it will be fine.." he said crossing his arms, after all that had happened he still found it hard to trust the Ministry and knowing this man had on file every single failure was enough by itself to put Marcus on edge. Trying to keep positive Marcus couldn't help but search for Bertrand or a sign of his sister but had to give up as his watch told him that it was time to face the music.

He just had to hope that he could concentrate and not be distracted as he walked into the room to find the Ministry guy talking to the most amazing and wonderful woman in the world... it gave him a little hit of confidence to remind himself that for some strange twist of fate she had said yes and he was counting the days till they would be man and wife. In a way he guessed he owed the Ministry guys a little credit, if it wasn't for them failing him so many times over he'd never have met Rowan at all. Funny how sometimes failure can be a epic win in disguise? Marcus wasn't really all that worried about the exam, he'd had enough to know what to expect but it was hard not to be nervous anyway. He knew Rowan would love him regardless of if he passed or failed but deep down it was important to him to do well to prove that he could make something of himself and that while he'd probably always be the guy in the pink rubber gloves unblocking the toilet he could wear a pointy hat and be respectable if he wanted to.

Yrjö realised a little too late that Mr Hobson may have been offended but alas such things where done and it was not his place to try and make up for the bad blood that often existed between the Ministry and the students. University level students where always a problem and Yrjö was rather glad to be dealing with the adults..though how one could tell Mr Hobson apart with his poor dress was beyond him. Yrjö just had to trust that the man would not wear such innapropiate attire in the workplace. Mind you compared to some of the notes his companions had taken over the years Yrjö had apparently gotten it lucky though he made a mental note to be more careful with his words next time. Stepping inside Yrjö couldn't help a sigh of relif as the temprature dropped down to a more humain level.. at least they where not like the savages who had never heard of cooling charms.. Yrjö had spent many uncomfortable trips melting in his suit to give examinations to young wizards and witches in the colonies where it seemed they where born of the heat and did not even notice.. much to Yrjö's discomfort.

Content to wait in the hall Yrjö found himself accosted by the two overenthusiastic house elves again as they showed him to the examination room, Yrjö had barely managed to shoo them out when the door opened again "Ah Mistress Dragonsinger.." Yrjö was honestly glad to see the young woman who presided over the school, he had found himself rather fond of the woman on account of being one of the few to correctly pronounce his name and understand the importance of non-interference during the examination time. "I was hoping if it is not too imposing if I might be able to discuss a couple of matters while I am here. You see there is a couple of matters regarding some of the students whom I would prefer to discuss with yourself in private" he hoped she would not be concerned, Yrjö was rather used to having these little one on one meetings with school staff when it came to problems that arose however it was lesser known that on occasion he would be presented opportunities to assist the students with their future careers.

As the scurrying house elves passed her, Rowan reminded them to quickly and quietly bring Mr. Hämäläinen's tea before the examinations started. By the time she finished the walk into the room, two pops had been heard and the tea was set on the desk, Tetris and Pacman then making themselves scare until summoned again.

Rowan nodded to both Olivia and Marcus as she entered, acknowledging their presence and frowning a bit to not see any sign of the third student who was supposed to be taking a test. She quickly replaced it with a smile as she greeted the examiner, familiar to her by now. "Good to see you again, Mr. Hämäläinen," she responded with a smile. At his question, she resisted the urge to furrow her brow yet again, not wanting him to feel that she only thought of him as the bearer of bad news. "Of course," she assured him. "Just call for one of the elves to show you where my office is when you are done."

Was it just her or did the examiner look like a prune? Olivia couldn't help but think he looked funny in the old style suit and horn rimmed glasses. Boy did he need to get out of that 1950s timewarp or what! Trailing Marcus inside she waited outside until they where allowed in to take their seats. Olivia found herself sitting next to a empty space where Chloe was supposed to be.. man where the hell was she? Olivia wished she knew but it was clear that her uncle didn't know either. Maybe she was sick? Either way Olivia felt sorry for her, she didn't want Chloe to fail and have to repeat the last year again.. Olivia had gone though the whole being kept down once before and it sucked bigtime. Lining up her pens and quill Olivia couldn't help but overhear the examiner talk to Miss Dragonsinger and immediately it was hard not to panic.. was she in trouble? Had she done something wrong or failed her earlier exams?

Regardless of what it was Olivia knew she was stuck and had to hope that whatever was going on didn't involve her, she'd tried hard to keep her head down this year and for the most part had managed to keep out of trouble. Her Dad had even stopped worrying about her which she guessed was a good thing. Unfortunately it was hard to stop worrying when she just had to glance over at Chloe's desk to start worrying all over again on account of her friend. Olivia wanted to ask Mrs Dragonsinger but knew it was out of the question so just waited as the Headmistress left and tried to focus on remembering everything she had studied. She had to pass this exam and do well, otherwise she'd never be able to look her Dad and Storm in the face again.

"I am very pleased to see you as well Mistress Dragonsinger" he tried a smile, smiles did not come easily to him but his eyes at least showed the pleasure with which he greeted the young woman. There appeared to be a matter of concern which centred on the empty space between Mr Hobson and a rather oddly dressed young lady who was either Miss Hobson or a Miss Watson... Yrjö could understand the headmistresses frustration, there was always destined to be students who for one reason or another decided to not show up come the final exam. Mostly they where the ones who preferred to cruse though their years of study relying on the hard work of others to bring them though until they eventually cracked under the pressure or thought the influence of relatives would be enough to make up for their lack of interest in their own education. You didn't need divination to tell how that worked out, many pub and food stall owners numbered from the ones who thought that they could magic their way though their entire education.

"There is no cause for alarm Headmistress, I promise that my request does not always lend to bad news" he said wishing that he might give more details but he could not speak in front of the students. "I am sure the young lady will be here momentarily." he added to try and lighten the mood a little as he got up to farewell Mistress Dragonsinger before checking the clock, it was two minutes to nine. Close enough "Good morning students, My name is Yrjö Hämäläinen and I shall be assessing you all today." Yrjö tried not to frown at the empty table or the girl who was busy fiddling with some kind of Muggle device "Please remember that any use of auto-answer quills, rememberalls, detachable cribbing cuffs, self correcting ink and mobile telephones are banned and will result in an immediate failure" he said this especially for the girl who looked up at him before quickly putting the device away in her bag. Yrjö made a mental note to keep a close eye on the girl. The last thing any of them needed was a cheater.

"You will have fifteen minutes to.." Yrjö was mid sentence when the door banged open and another girl rushed into the room. "Ahem.... Please take your seat quietly, we are about to begin" now he would have to start all over again. "One again, my name is My name is Yrjö Hämäläinen and I will be assessing you all today. Let me remind you that auto-answer quills, rememberalls, detachable cribbing cuffs, self correcting ink and mobile telephones are banned and will result in an immediate failure" Yrjö continued on auto-pilot with a frown at the girl who had come late. "You will have fifteen minutes reading time, after which you will have two hours to complete the examination to the best of your abilities.. Mr Hobson you will have a extra hour to complete your exam" he added as he waved his wand to hand out the examination papers and quills. "Your reading time begins now" Yrjö stated as he tapped the ugly owl clock on his desk with his wand. Time would tell which of them would sucseed and which would fail.

As the time ran out Olivia really wanted to go out of the room to find Chloe but at the very last moment her friend arrived, Olivia really wanted to ask what had happened but it was too late as the man who had some really weird name that Olivia couldn't even begin to try spelling was talking. Storm had told her what to expect but as she read over the questions she worried that she would mess them up, she always had a terrible time remembering which wizard did what and the true false ones where not helped when she'd grown up reading so many things that turned out to be wrong. Olivia had to smile a little at a couple of the questions.. no wonder Storm had aced them when they where all about the Ministry and SPEW and whatnot.. at least she knew she could get a few marks there.

When the HOOT came to start writing she remembered the early days when she tried writing with a quill and how it had made a horrible mess.. how time flies, she rather enjoyed working with quill and parchment when they had done their practice exams, it wasn't as easy as working with pens but there was something about the style of a nicely written page of parchment that reminded her that this was a school for magic and while they where doing exams they where special too. The coffee may have been a mistake, Olivia's head was starting to hurt half way though and she needed to go to the bathroom. Putting her hand up for leave she hurried back to her seat to find herself stuck on some of the harder questions. Guessing her way though them she tried to think of anything at all she remembered reading about the Magical world.. it was tough because four years ago she'd never even heard of most of the stuff and half the questions expected her to be some kind of expert.

Finally they where told that it was time for pens down, Olivia had just managed to finish in time as she checked that her name was on the paper before handing it into the examiner. Stepping outside the room she took a deep sigh, she was done with school now. The rest of her life stood before her as a gigantic 'NOW WHAT?'. Olivia just wished she had some idea of the answer.

It was silly but Marcus couldn't help but feel a little jealous of whoever the Ministry guy was to see him talking with Rowan all grown up like, it was stupid but there was just something about sitting at a desk with the seventh years that got his goat, the reminder that he'd been behind for so many years. Rowan was in her element, it was obvious as she spoke to the man and all but ignored him sitting there with the invisible dunce cap. He wanted to ask Rowan if she knew where Chloe was or to reassure her that he was okay and that everything would be alright but right now she probably knew more then he did about everything. Giving Rowan a small nervous smile as she left he tried to calm himself and not worry but as the clock ticked and Chloe's seat remained empty it was hard not to worry. He was supposed to be looking out for her and today was the most important day of her life so far.. or at least academically. In many ways his sister was more a mystery to him these days then ever.. he tried to blame it on Kat for filling Chloe's head with weird ideas but in truth she was growing up and he just wasn't very good at dealing with that.

Sometimes he forgot that she was just like him, which was why it shouldn't have surprised him that she arrived in the last possible moment.. of course she was late.. Hobson's never understood the concept of showing up to class on time but he'd hoped that today would be different. There was no time to talk so he just gave her a thumbs up, if he could pass then so could she.. and unlike him she was surely not going to fail all her classes. Marcus had done everything he could to help and with Rowan and their friends she was sure to have enough tutors and teachers to help her. Now he just had to focus on his own exam, nodding that he would be stuck a extra hour.. he wished he could have finished at the same time to ask Chloe what had happened but that wasn't to be. When the time came to start reading he fell into the groove of study thinking on what he had learned over the last four years before working his way though the essay topics. In a way the hours flew by as he wrote and re-wrote trying to find the right words. Marcus couldn't remember the number of times he'd re-red 'A Modern Magical History of Europe' but he was glad for the time he'd spent while not-high at Glastonbury before the festival to get a sense of the world. The Primitive Magic questions where also interesting, Marcus had never thought the hours he'd wasted chatting to the old school ghosts would actually prove useful one day.

Time ran out too quickly, before he knew it the others where gone and he was sitting alone with Mr Ham-man (as Marcus had personally decided to remember him by) the last hour was a race against time to finish his conclusions to argue that Doctor Who was a modern re-interpretation of Magical Mythology in the Muggle subconscious and that magic in Australia clearly pre-dated western civilisation. Marcus didn't know how they would grade his work but as the clock went to signal end of time he felt satisfied, he might still fail but at least he'd given it a good old shot. Stiff limbed from sitting so long Marcus' fingers where killing him as he rolled up the parchment and handed it to Mr Ham-man "You wanted to see Ro right?" Marcus ignored the look of surprise on the mans face which was shortly followed be relief "So I guess you know who I am and all that, I'd appreciate it if you kind of didn't mention it around.." he said as he waited for the man to pack up his things. "Her office is this way" he said escorting the man to Rowan's office. Marcus wished he could stick around to find out what the guy wanted but he knew that was Rowan's problem now. Maybe he'd find out later but for the moment the best he could do was to hope that whatever it was didn't include Chloe or himself.

With all three students in attendance Yrjö put aside his momentary annoyance at the late comer to focus on his notes. It was to be a long three hours and apart from the odd toilet visit everything went smoothly. This was good as it gave Yrjö time to study the notes he had in his briefcase and the letters from a number of different prospective organisations. While many thought his job was some sort of chief examiner that was only half his role with the other being something of a matchmaker between young wizards and witches and their chosen career. The hardest part of the job was dealing with the students who's dreams would have to be crushed along the way. Yrjö was not a hopeful man, he knew statistically a percentage of all students would fail each year but meeting Mr Hobson again was a reminder that even the very worst student had in them the ability to change. Not that Mr Hobson was a completely hopeless case, his file had shown good aptitude for History and Potions so in a way Yrjö guessed it was all attitude that had held the boy back. Yrjö wondered too about the girls, one he had on file as having a disability while the other rivaled Mr Hobson with a endless paper trail. Something was deeply odd about the Hobson family it seemed but it was none of Yrjö's business to get into family affairs as long as their education was sound and he had a forwarding address to send their grades and correspondence.

When the first two hours where up Yrjö dismissed the girls and waited as they handed in their papers. Now it was just him and Mr Hobson, a small matter that allowed a bit of time that he spent grading the papers before putting them aside. Unsurprisingly but a little disappointingly there had been no star pupil this year. Yrjö was in a sense a hard marker but he prided himself on being hard on all students regardless of blood, money or schools to a point where some in the department joked that a Acceptable from Yrjö was the equivalent of a Exceeding Expectations everywhere else. With his tea finished Yrjö took out a small paperback book to read until the clock marked the end of the final examination of the day. "Quill down Mr Hobson" Yrjö watched the familiar change of face as the man woke out of the daze of writing. He took the papers and sealed them into his briefcase to be returned to the Australian Institute of Advanced Magical Learning where they would be assessed. His duty in this case was merely to run the examination, some other poor sap would be stuck with the grading of the exams.

Yrjö was suprised to find that Mr Hobson asked him a question, it took him a moment to understand the meaning as he was not accustomed to the slang. "Mistress Dragonsinger? Yes I did wish to discuss some matters with her" he could tell by the mans face that he wanted more of a answer but Yrjö could say no more and just listened as the man spoke. Yrjö was busy tidying up but gave the man a straight face look "Let me assure you Mr Hobson that my interest is purely an academic affair" his briefcase made a sharp snap in the quiet room. "Now if you would be so good as to show me to Mistress Dragonsinger's office?" There was something odd about the man surely but Yrjö put it aside under the label of professional courtisy. It did not help the Ministry's image to be prying into every person one met after all. Knocking on the Headmistresses door Yrjö waited to be seated "Thank you for the time Mistress Dragonsinger, it seems the year has done you and the school well" Yrjö was at heart a sticky beak and couldn't help but have poked about a bit on his way. While he still had some doubts for the modern and colourful architecture the Fin in him could see at least a little in the master plan of making the school more comfortable then the imposing castles of old.