Yay, summer after Year 5 has arrived. Oh, how time flies so quickly when your doing a summer a chapter! But anyways...I'd like to thank amattsonperdue for reviewing once again. I thought about what you mentioned about the summary and decided that you're right. It kind of leads you to believe that Sirius will be narrating the story, but as this is not the case... Anyway, I'll change that as soon as I find something else that I really like to go in its place. Thanks again to reviewers and to readers as well.

XOXOXO

L.S.

6. Summer to Remember; O.W.L. Results and Discovering a Marauders' Secret

"How has my lovely lady friend been doing?" Sirius inquired with a grin upon his handsome face.
"I think we need to talk Sirius," Vulpe responded, an angry expression upon her face as she approached the swings that Sirius was settled upon.
"I don't like the look on your face, Vulpe," Sirius informed her with a deep frown, "Did I do something? I made sure to tell you when I has couldn't come last Saturday."

"That's what I want to speak with you about," Vulpe retorted, her lips set in a scowl, "Why didn't you tell me that you actually goof around with Lupin while he's a werewolf!"
Sirius's eyes widened as he inquired, "What are you talking about, Vulpe? Who told that I did?"

Vulpe didn't responded immediately as she paced back and forth, a pensive expression on her pretty face. Suddenly, she stopped and stood straight in front of Sirius, sighing heavily. Her left arm was crossed over her chest to support her right arm, which supported the hand that was rested under her chin, leaving her fingers to rest against her pale cheek.

"I got this owl," Vulpe admitted with a small frown, "From that Evans girl that Potter is in love with. If you'll remember, you were suspended from Hogwarts this past year for an entire week - I owled you asking why and you told me that it was because of a prank."

"Yes, I remember," Sirius nodded in agreement, a solemn expression formed on his face, "It was the truth too. I was suspended for a prank that got out of control."
"A prank? Are you still calling it that?" Vulpe fumed as a glowering expression formed upon her face, "Sirius Black, you almost killed that boy!"
"Yeah, I know! Thanks for reminding me, Vulpe," Sirius retorted with a scowl on his face.
"Why wouldn't you tell me about something like that, Sirius?" Vulpe inquired, turning away from her mate to hide her hurt.

Sirius didn't respond immediately as he hung his head, his chocolate colored eyes glued to the ground.

"Why do you think?" Sirius finally replied, not bothering to lift his gaze from the gravel that surrounded the swings.
"I don't know! Maybe you didn't trust me - it wouldn't be the first time," Vulpe snapped with a look of contempt upon her face.
"Of course, I trust you! You can be such an idiot sometimes, Vulpe," Sirius retorted with a frown upon his lips, "I didn't tell you because I was ashamed, geeze."

"Oh Sirius, you don't have to be," Vulpe sighed softly, sitting down on his lap before wrapping her arms tightly around him, "Not around me at least. I'm a Slytherin - I've heard of much worse being done...unfortunately."
"You're supposed to be proud of me, though," Sirius mumbled in response, "You can't be if I go around trying to kill people like some Death Eater scum would."
Vulpe smiled warmly at her mate and squeeze him tighter, "I've always been proud of you, Sirius! I probably always will be...you're my hero."
Sirius lifted his gaze from the gravel to stare at Vulpe, "I am?"
"You always have been," Vulpe informed him, squeezing him tightly once more as a smile of remembrance formed upon her lips.
"Since when exactly?" Sirius inquired with a prideful expression upon his lips, as he wrapped his arms around Vulpe's waist.

"Hm...if I had to pin it to one incident," Vulpe began with a pensive expression upon her face, a fond smile formed upon her lips as she continued, "It was the summer of that picnic - we were five, remember? Our mums were catching up while our fathers were grilling or rather, commanding the house elves to grill. All of us kids were playing in that fort that your father had charmed to be in that one tree."

"I remember that day," Sirius nodded in understanding, a fond smile had formed upon his lips over the course of the story, "Rodolphus almost accidently pushed you over the side of the fort and I caught you."
"Yes, that would be the one moment when you became my hero," Vulpe responded with a giggle, shaking her head in amusement, "Oh...man, Rodolphus and Rabastan teased me for weeks about being in love with you."

Sirius chuckled and teasingly replied, "Too bad you still are, huh? Thankfully, we're all secretive now, I'm sure the teasing would be twice as harsh now than it had been when they were seven and six."
"Hey...Mr. Ego, whoever said I was in love with you?" Vulpe inquired teasingly, raising an eyebrow as she stared at Sirius.
"Does it really need to be said? I'd like to think of it as one of those things that goes without words," Sirius retorted playfully, a cheeky grin form upon his lips.
"Oh, I think it needs to be said," Vulpe disagreed with a bright smile, a giggle escaping her lips.

"Well, if it helps," Sirius replied with a fond smile, his eyes bright with happiness, "I love you."
"Oh, I love you too," Vulpe responded without hesitance before adding, "But that doesn't mean I'm in love with you."

"You're one of those girls who never settles with a single red rose, because it's more romantic. Instead you want the whole bouquet of red roses," Sirius informed her with an amused expression upon his face.
"Untrue, I would want the single rose - it's more significant," Vulpe replied with a cheeky grin, "Nice analysis, though. Maybe I have rubbed off on you just a little bit."

"Maybe and speaking of analysis," Sirius responded as he pulled a folded piece of parchment from his jacket, "O.W.L. results. Do you have yours?"
"Of course," Vulpe confirmed as she lifted herself from Sirius's lap, pulling a slip of parchment out of her back pocket before taking her seat once more, "Do you want to go first or should I?"
"Ladies first," Sirius retorted teasingly, a playful grin formed on his lips as he watched Vulpe unfold the parchment.

Ordinary Wizarding Levels

(O.W.L.'s)

Passing Marks: Outstanding (O), Exceeds Expectations (E), Acceptable (A)

Failure Marks: Poor (P), Dreadful (D), Terrible (T)

Student: Ms. Vulepcula Lestrange

Magical Institution: Hogwarts, School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Examiner: Alexander Baltimore, Educational Examiner of the 1st Ordinance

Score:

Class Mark

TransfigurationE
Potions O
Charms O
History of Magic A
Defense Against the Dark Arts O
Care of the Magical CreaturesE
Herbology E

"Whoa, talk about getting a good score," Sirius whistled with a grin upon his face, before handing his own results to Vulpe.
"Mm...same...ha, you got an acceptable in Potions...same...you got a poor in History of Magic?" Vulpe inquired, raising an eyebrow at her best mate.
"Binns is like...the most boring ghost to float on the planet," Sirius informed her in explanation for his grade.
"Understandable, I guess," Vulpe nodded slowly in agreement, a smile on her face, "Guess we're both doing pretty good, so far, huh?"

"Yeah, so what did you tell McGonagall when she talked to you about your career?" Sirius inquired with a curious expression on his face.

"McGonagall? Sirius, I'm a Slytherin - Slughorn is my Head of House," Vulpe responded, rolling her eyes in amusement, "But, I told him that I was going to be a Dragon Tamer and he told me that I have a strong chance at my future. I'm just not his type of student, though! Both of my brothers are in that little Slug Club of his, it's really unfair how he treats them. The rest of us aren't partying after hours and learning valuable information."

Sirius chuckled as he shook his head in amusement, "I'm sure they aren't all that fun, Vulpe. I wouldn't concern myself with things such as the Slug Club."
"Yeah, ugh...who would want to be called a slug anyhow?" Vulpe replied with an amused smile, "What about you? What did McGonagall say when you told her you want to be an Auror?"

"I didn't tell her, she told me," Sirius responded with a grin on his lips, adding in explanation, "She said she had seen Potter already and where there was one of us, the other was sure to follow. I told her she was on the dot and she told me that she believes I have all the talent to do it, I just need to practice my patience."

"I know you can do it too! You've already accomplished one of the most difficult spells at such a young age," Vulpe informed him with an encouraging smile, before adding, "Are you ever going to register yourself?"
"Maybe...eventually," Sirius shrugged with indecision, a grin set upon his lips, "I guess it just depends."

"What are you? I was so upset that you hadn't told me that I haven't had the chance to ask," Vulpe inquired with a curious expression.
"Switch spots with me and I'll show you," Sirius responded, winking playfully at Vulpe with a cheeky grin.

Vulpe moved off of Sirius's lap and watch him stand up as well. She took his place and waited with curiosity as Sirius pulled his wand from within his pocket. A look of immense concentration form upon Sirius's previously playful face as the boy's wand began to glow with a soft mist. Seconds later, a giant black dog replaced the sixteen year old Sirius leaving a shocked Vulpe in the spell's wake.

"Aw...you're such a cute doggy," Vulpe cooed softly, scratching the dog behind his floppy ears, "Yes, you are. Yes, you are!"

The dog barked and wagged his tail energetically, causing Vulpe to giggle in amusement. Vulpe continued to smooth the dog's fur down as she leaned forward to kiss the dog on its snout. Of course, Sirius had suddenly changed back and Vulpe's lips managed to find Sirius's instead of the dog's snout. Vulpe pushed Sirius away with realization, laughing as she gently smack his arm.

"Sirius!" Vulpe scolded through her laughter, standing from where she had fallen to her knees to pet the dog.
Sirius chuckled in amusement, protesting, "Hey, I didn't tell you to kiss me, that was all you."
"I meant to kiss the dog," Vulpe informed him with a warm smile upon her lips, "Not you."

"I am the dog, the dog is me - we are one and the same," Sirius responded with a cheeky grin, "So, basically, you just said that you wanted to kiss me."
"It's weird, but I don't think of it like that... You're you and the dog is...well, a different part of you," Vulpe told him with amusement written across her face, "Does that make sense?"
"Nope! Still sounds like a cheap excuse for wanting to kiss me," Sirius responded teasingly, an amused smile upon his lips.

"You're mental, Sirius, absolutely mental," Vulpe retorted with a grin as she shook her head in amusement, "Anyway, to me you'll always be Sirius and your animagus form will be...Snuffles."
"Snuffles?" Sirius repeated as he raised an eyebrow at the name, adding, "That makes me sound like a brand of tissues...or laundry detergent!"
"No it doesn't! It's cute, besides snuggles is the laundry detergent, Snuffles is just adorable," Vulpe protested with a pleased grin, adding, "And I love Snuffles, he's a cute doggy."
"Thank you," Sirius responded, winking playfully at her as he collapsed back onto the swing, glancing at his watch, "Damn! I hate to say this, but we should probably get going."

Vulpe pulled his wrist forward and glancing at the time as well before nodded her head in agreement. The two silently made their back across the street - back to the malevolent manors that they managed to deem their homes.

Well...that was just a pitiful fight. On the other hand, there was plenty of fluffy goodness. I think I've grown to like all the fluffy goodness, it keeps things playful and light hearted. Again, I'm not sure if the whole Snape incident happened during their 5th Year, or what their punishments were, but as you can see, Sirius got a week of suspension (not expulsion) and the rest of the gang had two weeks of detention (although, that's not mentioned above). How Lily came into the story is still unknown, obviously, but I like the twist. How else was Vulpe supposed to find out about Sirius's "prank". Anyways, all in all, I think that's a wrap. I'm thinking about doing a small bit while their at Hogwarts...you know, to set a contrast against what they're like with one another alone and what's happening while they're at Hogwarts. I'd really like to know what you guys think about that! Anyways, that's it for now! Chow!

XOXOXO,

L.S.