After putting it back in its right place, Uncle Severus searched the rest of the afternoon for a spell that would return my piano to it's original state. He had no luck. The next morning, when I came back in after running, he was looking through books again, trying to find an answer.
"Your O.W.L.s came in." He stated as I walked past, not bothering to look up from the book he was currently searching through. I gave him a nod of thanks and went into the kitchen, where I saw the large, square envelope sitting on the counter. As I got closer, I realized that it had already been opened. Of course; Uncle Severus had already looked at them. I carefully pulled out the parchment and unfolded it.
Ordinary Wizarding Level Results
It said across the top. Under neath it, it read,
Pass Grades:
Outstanding (O)
Exceeds Expectations (E)
Acceptable (A)
and
Failed Grades
Poor (P)
Dreadful (D)
Troll (T)
Then, below it all, was my scores. I nervously went down the list.
Eleanor Winifred Snape has achieved:
Arithmacy O
Astronomy O
Care of Magical Creatures A
Charms E
Defense Against the Dark Arts E
Herbology A
History of Magic A
Potions D
Transfiguration E
I smiled down at the paper, realizing that I didn't do as badly as I thought I was going to do. Even in Potions. True, I failed, but it wasn't a T! And two Os? I did very well!
Feeling proud of myself, I went into the sitting room, still holding my scores.
"I got two Os." I handed it to my Uncle, although he had already seen it. He took the parchment from me.
"I know. And three Es." He handed it back. "You did well. I wonder if Vincent did the same."
"Hm." I thought. That was a good question. He needed lots of O.W.L.s to be a healer, and the whole week he wasn't so sure about how he had done. "Maybe I should Floo and ask."
"Sounds like a good idea." Uncle Severus mumbled, going back to searching. I threw some Floo Powder into the fireplace and sat in front of it. Wyatt's face appeared in the fire.
"Hey, Wy, is Vince there?" I asked.
"Yeah, hold on." Wyatt disappeared, and then was replaced by Vincent.
"Hey, Ellie! Did you get your O.W.L.s?"
"Yeah, that's what I called about. How did you do?"
"How about you come over and see?" He offered. "You can spend the night, too. Gregory is."
"I'd love to. Uncle Severus?" I asked.
"I don't mind." He answered.
"I'll be there in a minute." I scattered the ashes and got up, heading to my room. "Thank you, Uncle Severus." I stated before I left.
I packed everything up in five minutes, really excited to go. when I finished, I went back down the hallway, only to run into Petigrew.
"Where are you going?" He asked, eyeing my bag.
"To Vincent's."
"Overnight?"
"Yes." I tried to get past him.
"Good! I won't have to walk all the way up the stairs to go to bed."
"What does me not being here have to do with-"
"Because I can just sleep in your room."
"Listen," I grabbed his shirt to pull him closer to me. "You do not sleep in my bed. No one sleeps in my bed." Since I never had a proper bed while I was with my Father, my bed was something I cherished. It was clean, and it was my own. No one was allowed to soil it. It sounded weird, but it was just my wishes, and they should be respected. Even when Vincent stayed over, I made him shower before he laid in it. Needless to say, I definitely didn't want Petigrew in it.
"But you're not using it!" He complained.
"Don't test me, Petigrew!" I aggressively pushed him out of my way and went back to the fireplace.
"Bye, Uncle Severus." I turned as I thew the Floo Powder.
"Goodbye. I will keep looking for a spell."
"Thank you." I went through the fireplace and came out in the Crabbe's sitting room.
"Ellie!" Gregory almost tackled me, giving me a bit hug. I laughed and hugged him back.
"Hi, Gregory! Vincent?" I stood on my tiptoes and looked over Gregory's shoulder (I was tall, but Gregoy was taller. He was just big in general.) "Let me see your O.W.L.s!" He handed them to me and I looked them over: He had passes everything but Arithmacy, which he had gotten a P. But according to the pamphlet he had gotten, he didn't need it to be a healer. "Vincent! This is great!" Gregory finally let go of me.
"Yeah, accept I got an A in Potions. I needed an O to take the N.E.W.T.s class."
"Oh..." I trailed off.
"But never mind. What did you get?" He asked. I pulled my paper from my bag and handed it to him. Gregory leaned closer at it himself. "You got an O in Arithmacy!?"
"Hehehe!" Gregory giggled.
"What?"
"Your middle name is Winifred!" He started laughing.
"So?"
"It's funny!"
"Well, what's your middle name?" I asked, taking my paper back.
"You don't need to know..." He suddenly got very quiet.
"You know mine, I should get to know yours."
"It's Alexandria!" Vincent snickered.
"Alexandria?" I cackled. Gregory's face turned bright red.
"Vince! You know you're not suppose to tell anyone! And I'm named after the city!" He tried to justify.
"It's a girl name!" I laughed even harder.
"No it's not, Eleanor Winifred!"
"Gregory...Alexandria!"
"Stop it!" Vincent cut in between us.
"Fine." I sat down on the couch. the boys joined me.
"Aren't you burning up?" Gregory asked, pulling at my sleeve.
"Yes," I confessed, but what was causing it was why I had to wear long sleeves. "But the Mark. I can't just leave it out."
"Yeah you can. Here." Vince offered. "We all know you have it, so why punish yourself?"
"I guess you're right; But I only brought long sleeves."
"Hold on," Vince got up and left the room. when he came back, he handed me a black tee shirt with some kind of Quidditch logo on it. It looked like it would fit me, so it made me wonder where he had gotten it. After all he was twice as bit as me. "It was mine from, like, second year." He explained as I got up. "You can just keep it."
"Thanks."
After I changed, we all moved into Vincent's room.
"Have any of you heard anything from Draco?" Gregory asked, scratching Virgo's head. The dog happily panted.
"I tried to Floo him yesterday, and Narcissa said he was sick." Vincent replied, sitting in the chair at his desk.
"Have you seen him, Elle?" Gregory laid down on the floor and let Virgo sit on his stomach.
"Yeah, I saw him at the last meeting." I casually said.
"At the meeting?!" Gregory shot up, knocking the dog off of him.
"Did he join?" Vincent picked up the pup and sat it on his lap.
"Yes."
"Officially? With the Mark?"
"Yes. I guess he's replacing Lucius." I shrugged.
"Wow." Gregory sat against the bed.
"What about Dad? Do I need to take his place?" Vincent suddenly turned very serious.
"The Dark Lord has Wyatt... I don't know."
"Can I join?" He stood.
"Vincent..." Gregory whispered. We both looked at him. "Nothing..."
"Can I join him?" He repeated.
"I can ask." I finally replied after a minute or two or silence. "But are you sure? Once you start, you can't stop."
"I know, but it's my duty. I want to fight for what He wants. When is the next meeting?"
"Saturday."
"I'll be there, and I will ask myself."