“If I fail all me OWLs and they kick me out, it’s not exactly my choice, is it? If they’d let me just play quidditch, I could stay.  But, they seem t’think ye have to be good at school to be able to play.  Which is total cac.”

"Right," Cara sort of agreed, looking up at Mairead.

"But I mean—I could help you, if you'd like," she offered, smiling weakly. "I'm awful at Potions and Herbology, but I'm great at everything else, if you need, I danno, help studying."

Even if Mairead wasn't bound for academic glory, Cara hated the idea of her leaving after her fifth year—particularly when she enjoyed playing quidditch so much!

“A couple students were picked up by the pro quidditch teams after their OWLs.  That's probably the best I can hope for.”

"That's a possibility, yeah," Cara agreed more confidently this time. "Whether you round out seven years at school or not, I'm sure you'll get signed by somebody—I've seen you play before, you're brilliant!"

Mairead scowled at the ground and pursed her lips in thought.  She’d tried working with other students and tutors before, especially her first year.  But, those sessions seemed to achieve nothing more than to highlight how easy all this came to other students and how far behind she was.

It was frustrating and humiliating; it was sometimes felt impossibly hard to focus.  But, she didn’t always want to feel so dumb all the time.   
 
“Maybe,” Mairead offered in an entirely uncommitted agreement.  “It’s worth a try.  I donno how much good it’ll do.”
 
The concept of doing something after Hogwarts had always felt very abstract to Mairead.  Not only was graduation still a good half decade off but very few of the adults Mairead knew held regular full-time jobs.  She didn't make a habit of thinking about the future but she did find herself wandering among the tables at the career fair the previous month. 

"Do ye know what yer gonna do after Hogwarts?"  Mairead asked.