Jake had spent at least a month's worth of free time lurking around the library and reading as much as he could. He had a constant headache, his eyes hurt and he was sure that proper revision would be more beneficial to his NEWTs.

But, as usual when he thought about those exams, a great emptiness somehow welled up inside his stomach... like a rapidly inflated balloon... and he felt lost. Admittedly, a lot of his feelings were stemming from that discussion he'd had with Neptune about Jim. The more he thought, the more he analysed. And that was never good.

Of course, there was also the fear of change, and leaving school soon. It terrified the boy.

Jake approached the desk with a list in his hand, full of book titles (many of which had been crossed off), and waited for the librarian to address him; these days he was a lot more passive with people.