The Squib and the Werewolf

32. A Success Story

A few weeks into the holidays, the boys OWL results arrived.
All the Marauders had spent the night at James's house, so that they could open their results together.
Once the owls had dropped off the letters, they all gathered in the living room, where Fleamont, Raya and Euphemia were waiting.
"Go on then boys, open them, the suspense is killing me. Put us out of our misery" encouraged Fleamont.
James turned from his parents to look at his friends, "Together?".
The boys all nodded.
"O.K. On the count of three. One, two, three!" Shouted James.

Raya watched as the boys eagerly tore the envelopes off their letters, so that they could see their results.
For a few minutes the room was silent, as the boys read through their letters.
"Well?" Questioned Raya, who couldn't take the suspense any longer.
"I passed everything!" Announced James.
"Me too" added Sirius.
"And me" replied Remus.
"And I only failed Astronomy and History of Magic" revealed Peter.
"Oh well done, I'm so proud of you all. You see, all that revision and hard work paid off. You all did so well" praised Raya.

"Did you get any Outstandings, James?" Asked Fleamont curiously.
"Yes dad, I got 3" answered James proudly.
"Well done my boy" smiled Fleamont, as he patted James's back.
"What about you Sirius? Any Outstandings?" Questioned Raya.
"A couple" mumbled Sirius awkwardly.
"How many is a couple?" Quizzed Raya.
"4"
"Oh wow, you got even more than James"
"Yeah, I did".
Raya ran over to Sirius and kissed him softly on the lips.
"Well done clever clogs" she whispered.
"Thanks" replied Sirius.

Sirius seemed embarrassed that he'd gotten more Outstandings than James. But James didn't seem to mind at all.
"Well done mate, you should be proud of yourself" praised James.
"Thanks" smiled Sirius.
"So, how well did you do in Muggle Studies, Sirius" asked Raya.
"Exceeds Expectations" answered Sirius.
"Nice. I'm proud of you. You could almost pass for a Muggle now" grinned Raya.
"Thanks, I think".

Raya kissed Sirius again and made her over to Remus.
"So, big brother, how did you do?" She questioned.
"4 Outstandings, 4 Exceeds Expectations, and 1 Acceptable" answered Remus.
"Well done, that's very good" applauded Raya.
"Thanks sis" replied Remus.
"What was the Acceptable in?"
"History of Magic"
"Ah, that makes sense, Binns's lessons are so boring, and it's impossible to understand anything he says, because he just droans on and on".

"Hey, we all got Outstandings in Defense Against the Dark Arts" informed James, as he peaked at everyone elses results.
"Even Peter?" Questioned Sirius sceptically.
"Yes, even Peter" answered James.
"That's amazing. You will all make wonderful aurors in the future then" announced Fleamont.
"They might not all want to be aurors" said Euphemia gently.
"Well, we all want to join the Order, and the Outstandings we just got, prove that we are ready" admitted James.
"Don't get ahead of yourself, James. The Order of the Phoenix does not recruit students" reminded Raya.
"Maybe not. But when we do graduate, we can show the Order that we all excell at defending ourselves and other people from the dark arts" replied James.

"Well, to congratulate you all on doing so well, we've prepared a little celebration outside" revealed Fleamont.
"Dad, you didn't have to go to so much trouble" replied James.
"It was no trouble, son, no trouble at all. We love to praise you when you do well" informed Fleamont.
"But you can't have known that I would have done so well"
"No, but you are my son. You're a Potter, so I knew that you would succeed and make us all proud. You've never let us down before, so I had absolute faith in you... Now go on, and have some fun"
"O.K. Come on guys".

The boys all headed outside, but Raya held back for a moment.
"That will be you in 2 years" said Euphemia.
"2 years seems like such a long time" sighed Raya.
"It will fly by, you'll see. In no time at all, you all will have grown up before our very eyes" replied Euphemia.
"Sometimes I feel very grown up, and other times I feel like I'm still a child"
"It is confusing being a teenager. Your emotions are all up down... Speaking of emotions, how are things going between you and Sirius?"
"Very well. The other day he said that he loved me".

Euphemia gasped and her face lit up with a huge smile.
"Oh that is wonderful news. I'm so pleased for you both" beamed Euphemia.
"Thanks" grinned Raya.
"What do your parents think of this new development?" Asked Euphemia.
"They don't know. I didn't want to tell them. My dad already doesn't like me dating Sirius, because he's older than me. So, I didn't want to tell him that me and Sirius have said I love you, to each other. Because he'll think our relationship is progressing too quickly"
"But anyone can see how happy you and Sirius are together. It's almost as if you were made for each other".

"Our boy Sirius, has definitely changed since you two started dating. He is a lot happier now" admitted Fleamont.
"Flea, you know he's not our real son" Euphemia sighed sadly.
"Well, who else has he got? If his own family don't want him, then I'm quite happy to take full responsibility for him" announced Fleamont.
"Unfortunately that's not up to us. If it were, I would never have him go back to Grimmauld Place again. But a part of him still loves his family, so I don't want to stop him from seeing them"
"I don't think he wants to go back, anymore than we want him to. Otherwise, why would he be here all the time? We are his real family now".

"Sirius doesn't want to be a burden to you both, which is why he won't move in" Raya said quietly.
"That's rubbish. We have enough money and enough rooms to accommodate you all if you wanted to move in. Having Sirius live here full time would be no trouble at all" insisted Fleamont.
"I know, but that's just how he feels" admitted Raya.
"Well, we shall have to subtley make sure that he knows that he is welcome here, any time, any day, for as long as he likes... Run along now Raya, and join the others outside for their celebration breakfast. We'll join you in a bit. We've just got to go and get their gifts"
"O.K. I'll see you in a minute, Mr Potter".