Somewhere Only We Know - Part 2 - Sirius Black x OC

Chapter 23: Time To Say Goodbye

Gemma tapped her foot under the table impatiently as she forced herself to take a bite of her breakfast. She wasn't hungry. She was too nervous.

She looked out the tall windows of the Great Hall, hoping to catch a glimpse of the first morning owl delivering letters and news, but nothing. Still nothing. "Come on." She muttered under her breath.

"Why is it taking so long?" Alice asked, looking equally impatient and stressed. "The owls are usually here by now." She glanced at each of the girls. "Aren't they?"

Lily exchanged a small smile with Mary before reaching out and touching both Gemma and Alice's wrists. "They'll be here soon. And you both have nothing to worry about. You'll have made the programme."

Merlin, Gemma hoped so. Today was the Fourth of April. A Wednesday. A seemingly normal day. Except today was the day Gemma and Alice would find out whether they had made the Auror Programme. Today was the day Gemma would find out whether her lifetime dream could actually become a reality.

She took another deep breath and calmed her nerves. She'd done everything she could. She'd worked hard, achieved consistently high grades, received excellent teacher recommendations - including one from Dumbledore - and had delivered a good essay about her hopes and dreams as an Auror. She had done enough. Surely she had done enough...

"They're coming." Mary whispered, pointing to the flock of owls now visible through the windows of the Great Hall. Gemma froze as she watched each one soar into the wide room and drop letters and packages and newspapers in front of their destined students. Her eye caught sight of a beautiful and rare Great Horned owl, and she found herself unable to look away. She tracked its movement, tracked the letter in its beak, tracked the fall of that letter until it sat on the table in front of her, her name scrawled in elegant writing, the stamp of The Ministry of Magic embossed on the top left corner.

Her heart beat faster and faster as she reached for the letter. Taking one more deep breath, she tore the letter open and scanned the page. There was so much text. So many words. Suddenly her eye caught on the big bold writing, half way down the page.

We are pleased to inform you, Gemma Arwin, that you have been accepted into The Ministry of Magic's Auror Training Programme...

She'd been accepted. She was going to Auror Training. She was going to be an Auror. Her dream was coming true. A huge wave of emotion threatened to spill out of her, but she kept herself in check. She looked up at Alice, who was staring back at her expectantly. Merlin, Gemma really hoped they had both gotten in.

"Well?" Mary demanded. "Tell us!"

"I got in." Alice whispered, her face breaking out into a huge grin.

"Me too." Gemma added, grinning just as wide.

Mary screamed in excitement while Lily shouted "Yes!" and the four of them bounced in their seats, grinning from ear to ear and reviewing the two letters they had been sent. Both were identical – clearly a standard printing job – and included details of their required NEWT results, plus an extreme amount of information over what they should expect from the programme and what The Ministry would expect from them in return. Gemma vowed to read the letter fully later; right now, she just wanted to celebrate.

As they ate their breakfast – Gemma suddenly had a full appetite again – they talked and smiled and laughed and celebrated, and Gemma realised just how much she was going to miss her friends for the twelve months she'd be away in training. She'd be seeing Alice most days, but Lily and Mary would be out in the world, doing their own thing. Mary had another week to wait before she would know if she had been accepted into Healer training, and Lily had applied to work at a couple of local primary schools where the wizarding population was high. Given her muggle heritage and her fantastic ability to work with younger students, Gemma had no doubt she'd be accepted for at least one of those roles.