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

Chapter 24: Clarity

A week later, more letters from The Ministry of Magic arrived and Gemma was thrilled that Mary had been accepted into the Healer Training Programme. Like the Auror programme, the Healer programme was an intense year of training, but individuals didn't have to live away from home and they were allowed contact with family and friends.

Gemma fought back the surge of jealousy. Never before had she wished that she could have contact with her family and friends during her training, but now it was all she could think about. She ignored the fact that Sirius was always top of mind when she thought that.

Instead, she focused on Mary, who would be spending almost every waking hour at St Mungo's, and with her Healer love-interest, Stephen McKay.

Mary was holding a letter tightly in her hand. "He says 'congratulations' and that he's really excited to see me again and that he's missed me and he can't wait for us to spend more time together."

Gemma smiled, excited for her friend. The four of them were in their dorm, taking a break from studying during one of their free periods, and catching up on news. "Doesn't he say that in every letter he writes to you?"

Mary blushed and grinned. "Yes! I love how often he tells me he misses me. And I miss him so much too. Honestly girls, I think I've fallen in love already."

They all laughed at Mary's exaggerated tone, but Gemma suspected there was some truth to it. In the last few months, Mary and Stephen had been writing to each almost every week, and not just about how much they missed each other. Gemma had caught glimpses of the letters passed between them, and they were filled with stories and questions and affectionate comments and endearments. It was clear that Stephen was just as interested in Mary's life as Mary was in his. It was perfect; Mary was finally getting her happy ending.

"Will you be seeing him much, while you're in training?" Alice asked, throwing herself onto her bed.

Mary shrugged. "We're not sure. He said that when he was training, he was assigned to work with a few different Healers day to day, as the best way of learning is to be quite hands on. So there's a chance I could be assigned to work with him, but we've both agreed that if that happens, we'll ask to move me to someone else."

"How come?" Lily asked.

"Well, I don't want things to get awkward or difficult if it doesn't work out between us. Plus, me learning under him and failing or making mistakes might not be the best way to start a relationship. We both agree it's better that we don't work together, and allow things between us to happen naturally."

Gemma and Lily nodded – that did make sense – but Alice was chuckling quietly to herself. Gemma frowned at her friend. "What are you laughing at?"

"Just that Mary might still be learning some things under him." They all burst out laughing and Mary hid her face behind her hands as she shook her head at Alice.

After composing themselves, Mary turned to Alice. "Have you heard from Frank?"

Alice shook her head. "Other than that quick note last week after I got accepted, no. But he said he'd write in a few weeks."

Frank was only able to write once every couple of months due to his training being so intense, but Gemma knew Alice was understanding. It had hit her hard at first, but she was used to it now. When Gemma started her own training, she was only able to communicate with one other person, and her mum had already begged her to be that person. Gemma had agreed, knowing her mum would do a good job of keeping Lily and Mary up to date, and sharing their news in return.

Gemma suddenly realised Alice was still talking. "He did mention that loads of Aurors visit the training facility quite regularly though, so I'm hoping that means I'll be seeing him more even when I'm in training."