A Broken Inheritance

Chapter 21: One Last Dance

Chapter 21: One Last Dance

The Great Hall was buzzing with energy, a mixture of nervous excitement and palpable dread. The morning sunlight streamed through the enchanted ceiling, illuminating the rows of students as they sat at their house tables, their attention torn between their breakfasts and the thick, official-looking envelopes that were currently being delivered by owls swooping down from the rafters.

James Potter sat among the Gryffindors, his legs bouncing under the table as he stared at his plate of scrambled eggs. Sirius Black was next to him, as unbothered as ever, buttering a piece of toast with the air of someone completely unconcerned about the results headed his way.

"You're going to vibrate out of your chair, Prongs," Sirius muttered, taking a bite of his toast.

"Don't pretend you're not nervous," James shot back, though his voice lacked conviction.

"I'm not," Sirius replied with a shrug. "Why would I be? I already know I did brilliantly."

Remus Lupin, seated across from them, gave Sirius a skeptical look over the rim of his goblet. "You mean you hope you did brilliantly," he said, setting his drink down. "There's a difference."

Sirius smirked. "I have confidence in my abilities, Moony. You should try it sometime."

"Or you could just study like a normal person," Remus retorted, his tone dry.

Across the hall, at the Slytherin table, Anastasia Gaunt sat with her usual poised indifference, her breakfast untouched. She was flanked by Lucius Malfoy and Narcissa Black, both of whom seemed more relaxed than the majority of students in the hall.

"Honestly," Narcissa said with a sigh, delicately spreading butter on her toast, "I don't see why everyone's so anxious. If you don't know how you've done by now, you clearly weren't paying attention all year."

Lucius smirked, leaning back in his chair. "Agreed. Though it's always entertaining to watch them squirm." His pale grey eyes flicked toward the Ravenclaw table, where several students were frantically rereading their notes as if they could change the outcome.

Anastasia rolled her eyes, her hands folded neatly in her lap. "Not everyone had their futures mapped out before they were born," she said coolly, earning a faint chuckle from Lucius.

"I wouldn't expect you to be worried," Lucius replied, raising a brow. "Though I'm sure Sirius is biting his nails to the quick somewhere."

Anastasia's eyes flicked briefly to the Gryffindor table, where James was currently laughing at something Sirius had said. He looked utterly unbothered, but she caught the faint tension in his posture—the way his shoulders were set just a little too stiffly.

Before she could respond, the distant sound of wings filled the air.

"They're here!" someone shouted, and the entire hall erupted into a flurry of movement as owls swooped in through the high windows, their feathers ruffling as they descended with letters clutched in their talons.

James caught his envelope with ease, tearing it open with more excitement than he'd admit to. He scanned the parchment quickly, his grin widening. "Not bad," he said, holding it out for Sirius and Remus to see.

"'Not bad,' he says," Sirius drawled, snatching the parchment. "Potions—Exceeds Expectations, Defence—Outstanding, Charms—Outstanding... Bloody hell, Prongs, are you human?"

James shrugged, looking entirely too pleased with himself. "What can I say? I'm brilliant."

Remus leaned over to glance at the results, nodding in approval. "Looks like Auror training is still on the table."