Already Failing Abandoned

Millie had never been especially good at school, but she always tried her hardest and ended up with a pretty good grade. For some reason, she expected to do better in Hogwarts than at her old school. She had spent an hour completing and another fifteen minutes looking over her first piece of homework that she was assigned. The questions were all worth so many marks, and it made her nervous. When she was finally satisfied with her homework, she handed it in, expecting an E or even an O. A few days later, the homework was finally returned and Millie could barely contain her excitement. This was the first grade that she would ever receive at Hogwarts! Smiling, she flipped over the sheet to see her mark and her smile quickly faded into a frown. Acceptable? Okay, that's okay. How did I do? 70% Okay, yes, I've done better. This isn't too bad, she told herself. THIS IS THE WORST MARK I HAVE EVER GOTTEN!

Most of the students were overjoyed or at least looked happy with their marks for their first assignment. Millie blinked back tears and faked a smile, hoping it was convincing. As quickly as she could, she stuffed the sheet into her work folder and closed it.

"How did you do?" the student sitting next to her asked, not unkindly.