"You can't tell her now, Moony, she has enough stress to deal with…"
"But she needs to know, it isn't fair for her…"
"If she hears there's a chance she might die in the end, she'll be too afraid to continue. It's not-"
Hayden tried to block out their voices with no success. Did they have to be so godamned loud? She could hear their voices from upstairs, and the walls were as thick as Ron's skull- not that it helped with Mrs. Black's portrait, who was a biased, prejudiced pure-blooded cow who was constantly criticizing Hermione, Hayden's best friend.
Needless to say, the feeling was mutual for the both of them.
"She's not going to die, there is no worry-"
"It's a possibility, Prongs, don't rule it out-"
"You know I can hear you talking about my possible future deaths from all the way upstairs, right?!" Hayden yelled. They quieted down, and Hayden snuggled into her bed, placing the ear-buds inside her ears.
Know… My only goal, Is to see, and I'm only fast asleep… It takes more than strength to find, this peace of mind. So I'll hold, hold, hold it close- To my heart, beating with every step- hold, hold, hold it close-
"BUT SHE'S NOT YOUR DAUGHTER! YOU CAN'T MAKE THE DECISIONS FOR HER!"
The scream shot across Hayden's favorite muggle band, making her scream with frustration. She placed the large ear-phones around her neck, her muggle phone hidden underneath her oversized comic T-shirt and dashed across her room, sprinted down the stairs and ran into the dining room, where they were all arguing over their dinners.
"You know," She said furiously to them, "I'm used to not being told whether I'm going to live or die to see the next sunrise, but this is just ridiculous." She slammed her palm on the table, making them all jump.
"You weren't supposed to hear that," Was her father's quiet reply. She scoffed and sat briskly into one chair, wearing a heated look on her face.
"You kidding? I heard you from three stories up, you were so loud. And what do you mean, 'I wasn't supposed to hear that'? Scared I'd back off, when I swore to you I'd finish off Voldemort once and for all after Sirius nearly got KILLED this year?!" She roared. Sirius chuckled at her anger and ruffled her hair.
"I didn't 'nearly get killed', I-"
"You almost got thrown into the Veil after Bellatrix hit you with one of the Unforgivable Curses." Remus pointed out helpfully. James nodded, looking uncharacteristically worried as he leaned back onto his chair and glared at his friend.
"But I didn't let her kill me, now, did I?" Sirius asked with a winning smile. Hayden slapped him lightly across the cheek.
"Snap out of it, Sirius! YOU ALMOST DIED, I ALMOST LOST MY GODFA-"
"BUT I DIDN'T DIE, NOW, DID I?" Sirius climbed up the table and pumped his fist into the air with a brilliant smile. Hayden bonked her head on the table.
"It doesn't get easier," James whispered into her ear and elbowed her in the ribs. She sighed and put her head against his shoulder, close to crying. She still remembered that foul bitch's yell, she still remembered the jet of green light rushing forward to hit Sirius. If she hadn't been able to tackle him away in time…
She shuddered at the thought.
"I'm going back to bed," She told them and stood up. "And please refrain from talking about my possible deaths when I'm right here." She left the room and trudged up the stairs, feeling miserable. All the work she did now would never matter- either her or Voldemort would die in the end, and she was nothing special.
She was tired of people always arguing that she was special, that she defeated Voldemort when she was only an infant and that was pretty major, but the truth was It was her mother that was special, not her. She sacrificed herself and gave Hayden a protection in her veins, flooding through her systems…
As Hayden crawled into bed, she put her ear-buds back inside her ears and fell asleep listening to muggle indie pop music with thoughts of her mother still popping in her brain to haunt her.
He sleeps alone, he needs no army where he's headed… 'cause he knows, that they're just ghosts, and they can't hurt him, cause he can't see them, oh-h-h…
. . .
The next morning, Hayden awoke from a sleep haunted by nightmares of Voldemort strangling her mother with his bare hands and cackling as Hayden struggled, in slow-motion, to try and stop him… shuddering, she removed the ear-buds from her ears and stared up at the ceiling for a few moments before walking across the room to her bureau and slipping on a pair of jeans and a pale blue turtleneck over her head. She leaned across the bureau and stared at herself in the mirror- not trying to be vain, just trying to see how shitty she looked like today.
Her bright green eyes were bloodshot from exhaustion and had dark bags under them. Her glasses were hanging crookedly on her nose, and she pushed them upwards with her index finger. Her long, thick black hair fell down to her waist in unruly waves, and her skin was pallid. All in all, she looked like warmed-up dog poop.
She sighed and crossed the room to her door, throwing it open to the smell of pancakes and eggs and bacon- all sorts of good stuff. Suspecting Remus was behind it- James and Sirius couldn't cook for the lives of themselves-, she dashed down the stairs and ran into the kitchen while trying to pat down her hair (with no success).
Remus was just serving some buttered toast to Sirius before he spotted Hayden on the threshold, and he smiled at her, quickly dropping the toast onto Sirius's lap before striding up to the dark-haired teenager and giving her a quick hug.
She was unfazed as she turned to meet his eyes.
"Where's Dad?" She asked, even though she knew the answer. Sirius replied in the usual answer, while shooting daggers at Remus as he took the buttery toast with his index finger and thumb and put it on his plate.
"He's snoring upstairs in his bedroom as he dreams about hot snogging with Cindy Burfello-"
"Shut up, Sirius," Hayden replied, feeling hot all over. Cindy Burfello had her eyes on Hayden's dad ever since she met him, and she treated Hayden like a baby. And she was in the Order of the Phoenix, too, so Hayden couldn't give her any flack about how bitchy she was- or so she was told, but she suspected her dad was just saying that so she wouldn't go ragging on her, anyways.
Trying to push all thoughts of Bitchy-Cindy out of her mind, she took a piece of toast from a china plate and began to chew it down, even though there was something large stuck in her throat. Hayden suspected it wasn't a chunk of food.
And at that moment, James decided to grace the room with his presence.
Yawning and hopelessly trying to flatten down his messy, bed-headed hair, he swooped down and kissed Hayden on the forehead. As he took a seat down next to Hayden, she pushed back her plate and crossed her arms while biting her lip as she stared out the window. James knew that face. She wore it when she was about to explode into tears, and he didn't think he could handle feminine issues this early in the morning.
"Dad?" She suddenly asked. He smiled at her and ruffled her hair as he took a piece of toast from the china plate and wolfed it down.
"Yeah, kiddo?" She hesitated for a moment before answering.
"I, uh, well, I…" She stammered. He stared at her patiently. She sighed in a resigned sort of way and stabbed her eggs- a little harder than usual- with her fork.
"Nevermind."
"Aw, Hayden, you got me all curious and then you let me down?" James asked teasingly. She didn't answer, just pushed back her chair and stormed out of the kitchen. A few minutes later, he heard muffled (but extremely loud) sobs coming up from Hayden's room. He turned back to stare at Sirius and Remus, who were smirking at him, like they knew something he didn't.
"What's the matter with Hayden? Is she okay? Is it her time of month?" He asked worriedly, and Sirius almost choked on his laughter.
"It seems, my friend, that Hayden is experiencing what one might call 'hormonal distress'."
Remus chuckled as he bit off the edge of his now-cold piece of toast.
"Women," He said sympathetically at James's befuddled look. After a moment, he rested his head on the table with a gentle thud.
"What's the matter, Prongs, ol' pal?" Sirius asked, taking a seat in the now-empty chair next to his best mate.
"I feel like a failure all of the time!" James bursted out. Sirius and Remus exchanged looks.
"What do you mean?" Remus asked, with an eyebrow raised.
"I mean my daughter is in her room crying for Merlin-knows-what, I mean that I'll never be a good father towards her because I'm so immature, I mean Lily would've done a better job than I do at protecting Hayden, I-"
"Prongs, you're probably one of the most loving fathers I ever met my eyes on." Sirius assured him, elbowing him gently in the ribs. "I know it isn't saying much, compared to my own father, but I truly think you are the most affectionate dad I will ever know. You love Hayden more than anything, don't you?"
James nodded wordlessly.
"So you have to show her that. Now go on up and comfort her, tell her Cindy Burfello will never own your heart-"
"What?" James interrupted, his eyes narrowing in tiny slits. "What were you talking about before I came in?" His tone took on a dangerous edge. Sirius gulped.
"Well, we-"
"You," Remus corrected.
"Were joking about you dreaming off a hot make-out session with Cindy, and then Hayden-"
James smacked him upside the head.
"OUCH!" Sirius yelped, rubbing the now-sore spot on his head. "Why'd you do that?!"
"For being a great big prat, that's why," James snapped back.
Hey, guys! I know the ending was a little off, but I hope you like the first chapter! I liked it, anyways- a bit of cheesy father-daughter drama is always the best way to jump-start your fanfictions about Harry Potter, whom you love more then your parents and whose face is on your wallpaper just staring up at you as you sleep… sigh…
But siriusly, I hope you sincerely liked this chapter! And before you ask me questions about what James and Hayden are doing in Grimmauld Palace in the first place, let me give you a brief explanation: After Lily is killed trying to protect baby Hayden, Sirius offers to let them live in his house until James is gone from the shock. Unfortunately, it hasn't left him for more than a decade, so, you know, that kind of sucks…
-Sarcastic Clapping, A.K.A. Queen Awesome of Epic Proportions, A.K.A. Lyricalyrics A.K.A. Potterhead Enthusiast, A.K.A. Proud RavenPuff (Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw, study on your Potterhead facts, people!), A.K.A. Mayor of Wackspurts and Head Chief of S.P.E.W., A.K.A. pure brilliance reincarnated into one divine form, A.K.A. President of the Sirius Black Fan Club, A.K.A. The girl with a thousand names but usually known as the way someone puts their hands together repeatedly in a snarky way
