On that day, upon leaving the Potters' house, Remus had gone straight home, shocking his parents as he arrived out of the fireplace several hours early. Clearly, they had been worried, seeing his expression, and had asked him what had happened. But, still rather distressed, he had uncharacteristically ignored their concern and said that he didn't want to talk about it before retreating to his bedroom.
After he unpacked his things, Remus took out the letter from his pocket and sat down to read it and to write out a reply. No matter how things went with James and the others now that they knew about this, at least he would still have Severus and Lily – they already knew about his other friends and weren't trying to make him choose between them.
For the next few days, his parents tried occasionally to get him to talk to them about what had happened – perhaps they thought that while over there they had found out about his condition – he had never told them that they had already done so during second year. He didn't tell them anything and spent the majority of his time doing his homework and working through the Muggle Studies OWL course in preparation for next year.
But then, a few days later, another letter came for him, interrupting his new routine. Taking it from the owl, he recognised the handwriting on the envelope – it was from James.
Remus was a little apprehensive about opening it, what if it just contained more of the same comments as he had said in person? It had hurt him to hear that from who he thought was one of his best friends but he knew that he had to open it, he needed to know how things stood between them all. And, he finally admitted to himself, he had missed them all – he did hate being on bad terms with any of them, as he had been with Sirius last year. And you never know, he thought, maybe he's thought about it and come to his senses. Only one way to find out...
Remus,
I know that you probably want nothing to do with me at the moment, but I needed to apologise. I am sorry for the way I reacted on Wednesday – I just overreacted. I know that that's not a good reason but I was shocked and... angry, I suppose, that you hadn't told us yourself.
Anyway, once you'd gone, Sirius got me to calm down and think about what you had said. And I realised that you were right. It is your decision to do this, after all, not mine and though I don't particularly like it, what you said did make sense once I thought about it for a moment so I suppose he can't be all that bad.
I must also apologise for invading your privacy, I know that I shouldn't have, I knew it then but I... well, I don't actually have an explanation for my behaviour, just that I was curious and a little worried as well. It won't happen again, I promise.
Like I said, it's your decision and I shouldn't have tried to control that. I know that life is more difficult for you, so if you want to do this, I won't get in your way. Just don't expect me to be friends with him too!
Let me know if there's anything I can do to make it up to you, I am truly sorry. I'll understand if you don't want to talk to me for a while, though I hope that that's not the case, it's not the same without all of us.
If I don't hear from you before then, good luck with your results (not that you need it). Again, I'm sorry.
James
Well, that wasn't what he had expected to see. Remus did appreciate that James was trying now to make things right between them again but he still felt angry at him, though not as much. He supposed he would for a while, no matter what he did next – at the start of the year, when he had started talking to Sirius again, it had taken him a while to completely get over the anger and disappointment he had been feeling, it would probably be the same this time.
Speaking of Sirius, it surprised him somewhat that he was being the rational one now, as he had never really been like that before this year, he had presumably learnt his lesson from what had happened that October and was finally growing up.
Remus was glad that James was actually making an effort to make things up to him so soon and that he was willing to accept, or rather ignore, this new friendship. He knew that he should have told them himself before they found out themselves so perhaps this reaction was partly deserved. He didn't know how he could have thought that they wouldn't find out, they had always discovered everything else with no input from him.
They would probably all have to work at it, and their friendship may well be a little strained for a while, but at least they were willing to do it and move on. Hopefully, they could make their way through this and become closer because of it. He could hope.
Two days later, on the day of the full moon, Remus' OWL results finally arrived. He still hadn't told his parents about the events of that week or replied to James yet, he planned to do that in a few days time once he was feeling better again. He was still asleep when the owl came so was woken by his parents rushing into his room, holding his results excitedly. Unlike James, however, they were waiting for him to open it.
They were obviously excited about finding out how he'd done, but he couldn't feel the same way. Apart from the usual fears of failure, Remus didn't feel as though he could take any more drama, given the last few days. They weren't going to leave until they knew so he might as well just look and get it done, instead of dragging out the moment.
So, with a last look at his parents, who gave him an encouraging nod, he did so:
ORDINARY WIZARDING LEVEL RESULTS
Pass Grades: Outstanding (O), Exceeds Expectations (E), Acceptable (A)
Fail Grades: Poor (P), Dreadful (D), Troll (T)
REMUS LUPIN HAS ACHIEVED:
Ancient Runes:E
Arithmancy:O
Care of Magical Creatures:A
Charms:E
Defence Against the Dark Arts:O
Divination:A
Herbology:O
History of Magic:A
Potions:O
Transfiguration:O
Well, it seemed like the ancient runes and arithmancy study sessions had paid off at least, though Remus was a little disappointed with the three As, he probably could have done better with those. But he had done well enough in the subjects he needed to get into his NEWT classes for next year, so it had gone well enough, he supposed. And he was pleased with his Outstandings.
His parents moved around to read it over his shoulder, seeing that he didn't appear too distressed so knowing that it couldn't be bad. He didn't really mind them looking now, he would have to show them today anyway, so it really made little difference but he couldn't help recalling James the other day and wishing that everyone would stop doing this, if just for a moment.
"Five Os, Remus!" his mother congratulated, "That's wonderful."
"We knew you could do it." his father commented proudly.
Remus was pleased that he had done well, and hadn't failed any of his subjects, but comments like this only emphasised to him that it didn't matter how well he did in his OWLs or even in his NEWTs in two years time, he still wouldn't be able to get a good job at the end of Hogwarts. He had tried to go through the school year without thinking about it much – there was nothing he good do about it, after all – but today he couldn't help himself.
"What's wrong, Remus?" His mother asked. She must have noticed how his mood had changed in the past few minutes, at a time when he should really be happy with what he had achieved. At a time when anyone else would be.
He told her. They didn't say anything. What could they possibly say?
All in all, Lily was glad to finally be back at home. This was the first year that she had stayed at Hogwarts for the entire year, in order to revise which she had thought would be easier when she was surrounded by others doing the same, she would soon find out if she had been right. She was glad to be able to spend time with her parents again after almost a year apart, although her sister was being a pain as usual. At least she could always get out of the house if she was being particularly bad and go to see Severus who she knew would also be glad of an excuse to leave the house. And this year, she was also writing to Remus after all the time the three of them had spent together last year, so she certainly wasn't lonely even though she was the only witch in the house.
One morning in the second week of July, while she was working on her Charms homework in the kitchen after breakfast, Lily started as an owl she didn't recognise landed in front of her. She took the letter it was carrying and watched as it flew out of the open window.
A sense of apprehension filled her as she looked at the envelope – it was from the Ministry and, from talking to some of the older girls, she knew that their results were due to arrive at about this time. She didn't feel quite ready to find out how well, or not, she had done. But the results had arrived and she would just have to get on with it and look.
Not wanting to face this alone and thinking that they would want to know how she had done sooner or later, Lily walked into the next room where her parents were sitting watching the news, noting how Petunia left the room as soon as she came in. At another time she would have been more annoyed at this, but right now she was rather preoccupied.
"What have you got there?" her father asked, noticing what she was holding and that she looked slightly distressed as she thought she must do at this point.
"It's my results," she answered, "they just got here."
But they only seemed to become more excited by this. "Go on then, open it." her mother urged, "What are you waiting for? Go on."
Lily nodded at them, trying not to show how anxious she felt inside. She resolved to open it straight away and just get it over with – it was probably mostly the anticipation that was worrying her. So she quickly opened the envelope, but with her eyes closed. When nothing happened, she opened them and looked at what was written inside:
ORDINARY WIZARDING LEVEL RESULTS
Pass Grades: Outstanding (O), Exceeds Expectations (E), Acceptable (A)
Fail Grades: Poor (P), Dreadful (D), Troll (T)
Arithmancy:O
Astronomy:E
Care of Magical Creatures:E
Charms:O
Defence Against the Dark Arts:O
Herbology:E
History of Magic:A
Potions:O
Transfiguration:E
Lily let out a breath that she hadn't known she'd been holding. That wasn't bad, she thought, actually she was quite pleased with how well she had done, although perhaps she could have done better in History. She looked over the paper again, four Os... and she had the grades she needed to get into the NEWT classes she'd signed up for – that was a relief.
But in this time, she had almost forgotten that her parents were still there, waiting. After a last quick glance, she handed it over to them. Looking at their reactions as they read it, she saw the confusion due to the unfamiliar grading system before they noticed the explanation at the top of the page.
"Well done, Lily," her mother said enthusiastically once she had finished, "all passed, and top grades by the looks of it."
Her father shared the sentiment, "We'll have to get you something for this. What's say we all go out shopping next weekend and you can pick out something." he suggested, obviously proud of her achievements even though he may not understand them himself.
Lily heard a noise from outside the closed door – Petunia complaining loudly about 'preferential treatment' or something. Typical of her to listen in on private conversations. But Lily didn't care, she was just relieved that she didn't have to worry about getting the results any more or about exams at all for at least another year. She wondered how Severus had got on...
Meanwhile, in a house not far away, a similar scene was taking place, though perhaps not as joyful. Another owl flew in through another window to deliver its message to another anxious Hogwarts student.
Severus looked up from the (Muggle) book he was reading and saw the owl in question fly past the closed window before entering the house into another room. It had to be his results, he realised, as Remus had only recently written to him and he hadn't yet replied and he and Lily had no need of letters.
So, in anticipation of finally learning how he'd done, Severus made his way into the other room to intercept the owl before it made its way further into the house and alerted his father. This summer he had even had to do his homework from school only when his father was out at work so as not to aggravate him any further – it was bad enough without him making it any worse. He had also often gone out to see Lily in order to get out of the house in the past few weeks, but he would only be here until September – he could put up with it until then.
He walked in and saw the owl flying away again – his mother was already there, holding the letter out for him. From the look on her face, he could tell that he had been right in thinking that his OWL results had arrived. Although he did want to find out his grades as soon as possible, Severus was also a little anxious – what if he didn't get the grades he needed to get into his classes next year?
There was only one way to find out – he opened the envelope and took out the slip of paper inside. The two of them read it together:
ORDINARY WIZARDING LEVEL RESULTS
Pass Grades: Outstanding (O), Exceeds Expectations (E), Acceptable (A)
Fail Grades: Poor (P), Dreadful (D), Troll (T)
SEVERUS SNAPE HAS ACHIEVED:
Ancient Runes:E
Arithmancy:O
Charms:E
Defence Against the Dark Arts:O
Divination:A
Herbology:E
History of Magic:P
Potions:O
Transfiguration:E
Well, overall it wasn't that bad, he supposed, though he was disappointed with Divination and History but he didn't really need them so it didn't matter that much. Apart from those subjects he was pleased – he had been worried about a few that he needed to get into his classes next year, perhaps that was somewhat irrational but he couldn't help but be concerned about his possible future career.
"Well done." his mother congratulated him quietly, but evidently not quietly enough for he entered the room soon after, fuming.
Seeing the letter and recognising its magical origin only prompted another one of his tirades. Severus tried to tune him out – he had heard it all before – how all magic was strange and unnatural and that they would both suffer for it. He didn't know why they stayed together, there was certainly no love there.
He would leave now but he didn't want to leave his mother alone with him while he was like this – he wouldn't be able to do anything with both of them there, he would have to put up with it for now. Perhaps he would be able to get out later once things had calmed down and see Lily and find out how she had done.