C.S.A.E. Results Ⅱ

Saturday morning, Rowan and Severus were at breakfast eating Dawn's famous cinnamon rolls. Their grandmother hadn't liked them eating too many sweets for breakfast, so they were a rare treat. However, ever since they had only just returned from the C.S.A.E. exam, their grandfather thought they deserved to be treated nicely.

Greedily eating the cinnamon rolls, Rowan and Severus pay little mind to their aunt, who strides into the dining hall. With a great big yawn, she sits down at her usual seat next to that of her brother. "Anything new?" Georgine asked as she grabbed a warm biscuit from the basket before her and began to spread jam onto it.

"Nothing much beyond news on the Cure and the Quidditch World Cup," Reginald mumbled, before glancing over at Georgine. "You have eyeshadows under your eyes, dear sister. Were you out drinking again?"

Georgine purses her lips and says, "If you must know, brother of mine, I was out with Dorea Potter last night. We decided to visit her cousin, Lucretia Prewett."

Georgine stuffed the biscuit into her mouth and mumbled, "Though I didn't count on the two younger Blacks being there."

Reginald merely arches his eyebrow but doesn't comment back. Turning to face forward he unconsciously furrowed his brow upon recalling the letters he had received from Eileen. He had burned them without opening them. The children would only be further hurt by what she had to say. He would protect his grandchildren even from his own daughter.

Raising his paper back up to cover his emotions, Reginald begins to read, when the doors burst open. The excited figure of Dawn rushes in with two sealed envelopes with the Ministry of Magic seals on them. "They've come, young master and mistress!" Dawn excitedly said as she handed over the letters.

Reginald drops the paper he was reading as Georgine quickly downs a bit of orange juice to swallow her biscuit down. The two of them eagerly watch the twins open their envelopes. Rare wide excited grins appear on both of their faces as they shout, "We passed all the courses!"

Rushing out of their seats, Reginald and Georgine hurried over and each peered over one of the twins' shoulders to see the results for themselves.

Ministry of Magic

Minister: Eugena Jenkins

Office of C.S.A.E., the Comprehension Student Apprenticeship Exam

(Head of the C.S.A.E. Indus Whiz)

Dear Miss Prince,

We are pleased to inform the recipient that you have passed the C.S.A.E. A list of potential masters has been included. Also, at the examinee's own discretion, they may choose to pursue a master on their own. Please find enclosed a list of said candidates and the required form to be filled out and signed, stating the master's official acceptance of apprenticeships. The form must be signed and returned in a timely manner in order to be officially registered with the Office of C.S.A.E.

The Hogwarts term begins on the 1st of September. We await your owl by no later than the 13th of August.

Yours sincerely,

Indus Whiz

Head of the C.S.A.E.

Grades are as follows:

O – Outstanding

E – Exceed Expectations

A – Acceptable

P – Poor

D – Dreadful

T – Troll

Rowan Prince:

Herbology – O

Potions – A

Charms – E

Transfiguration – A

Defense Against the Dark Arts – O

History of Magic – A

Astronomy – A

Arithmancy – O

Ancient Runes – A

Severus Prince:

Herbology – A

Potions – O

Charms – E

Transfiguration – O

Defense Against the Dark Arts – O

History of Magic – A

Astronomy – A

Divination – O

Care of Magical Creatures – A

Rowan personally felt rather pleased with herself given the fact that she had earned 3 O's, 1 E's, and 5 A's. They were all passing grades and Severus beat her by only one Outstanding grade. Worst of all, he had beaten her using Divination, and she was absolutely certain that he had just made up his answer for the final divination portion of the exam! When she had asked, he had guiltily looked away! GAH!

"What do the two of you desire?" Reginald said with great pleasure as his eyes sparkled with delight.

"Aren't we already going to the World Cup?" Rowan muttered with a frown.

"Yes, but the both of you passed all your subjects!" Georgine interrupted. "Do you have any idea when the last time any student passed the exams at your age in every single course?!"

"Well, I would like some potions volumes," Severus instantly answered with no shame whatsoever.

"In that case, I'd like to have some more books as well, but that can wait until later," Rowan replied with a shrug.

"Yes, yes," Reginald said as he hurried away leaving his food untouched. Georgine on the other hand, happily dug into her meal. She was simply famished with the sudden joyous news.

Rowan returns to eating, but despite herself, there is a grin on her face. Even Severus kept glancing at his letter with a pleased expression. They happily scarfed down their meals, before heading outside to enjoy what was left of their summer.

Lying down in the shade of one of the big trees, Severus says, "I can't wait to write to Lily about this!"

"You can't," Rowan said in a monotone voice as she stared up at the warm blue sky filled with puffy white clouds.

"Why not?!" Severus snapped.

"Because the process of finding an apprenticeship master is considered sacred and is not to be announced until the master does so. It's tradition," Rowan replied as she sleepily closed her eyes.

Severus sighs and closes his eyes for a moment. "I guess, but it still would have been nice. I hate that Lily won't be coming to the World Quidditch Cup with us."

"The next one is in four years; we'll be 18 by then and be able to go on our own by then."

"I suppose."

"And besides, didn't you promise to meet up at the World Cup with Terry and Sirius?"

"Yes, but I would have rather gone with Lily."

"Ah, such a sweet friendship."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Rowan doesn't immediately respond earning a sharp glare from Severus. But she really didn't care as she slowly began to doze off. She hadn't dozed off for long when she heard a whisper say, "Hungry."

Rowan's eyes fly open as she sits up and glances wildly all around. To her relief, she sees a small garden snake slithering through the grass in search of food. Breathing deeply, she leans back against the tree to stare into the peaceful distance. Severus is sound asleep napping at her side, no doubt dreaming of Lily as he keeps smiling in his sleep.

Glancing down at her hands, Rowan sees she has a slight tremble and flexes them to get rid of it. Her dreams as usual were once more filled with darkness and shadows. It was nowhere near as bad as before, but she found herself inconveniently tired at times. She knew that the nightmares would never really go away. She'd seen far too much and had enough blood on her hands that this was the consequence of her own actions. But even so, she would have still chosen the same path all over again.