All of the professors had decided on informing their students that they would be having tests the next week, to get them back in the mode of schoolwork. Penny assumed they did this with the thought that all of the student's Easter breaks had been chock full of parties, underage crime, and irresponsibility, obviously leaving no time for them to really mull over their coursework, the way teachers so ridiculously hoped they would. The tests were meant to shock the students back to reality with a little bit of a scare.
Penny, however, had done nothing remotely akin to party, crime, or irresponsibility. Most of the break had consisted of her cramming as much knowledge into the pretty little cranium of her so ill-fitted for beauty, according to her mother. Apparently, Penny had a funny-shaped head, and fat cheeks, so Vivienne Macnair had informed her. It was good that Penny had better uses for her head than the simple purpose of being looked at.
Despite her preparations, Penny found herself packed into the study room with what seemed to be a hundred other students. Nearly ever table was full - there were already four other students at her table, and the table only sat six, leaving one empty chair. From what Penny could see, it was the last empty spot. It seemed the students were not considering the professors' threats empty one, and everyone was furiously cramming, muttering words and incantations to themselves. Penny had a huge history book pulled open and was doing her best to intake as much information as she could about house elf suffrage.