As Rylee put her wand to her head she was ready to accept death. Death would welcome her with open arms and comfort her for all the times she had wished this. But to say she wasn't scared would be a lie. Closing her eyes tight she opened her mouth to say the words that would put her into an eternal sleep. "STOP!" someone shouted from behind her "RYLEE! NO!" another voice sounded. Scared Rylee got up and ran, tripping she hit her head on a sharp rock.
"RYLEE!" Fabian and Gideon ran to their sister.
"Oh sweet Circe." Gideon said watching the snow around her head turn a deep shade of red "Quick give me your scarf." he instructed Fabian.
"Why mine?"
"Because I forgot mine!" Gideon growled.
"Fine here." Fabian said taking it off.
Gideon wrapped the scarf tightly around her head and took his jacket off quickly and his button up shirt and then shed his under shirt. Tearing the shirt into strips he wrapped them around her head "Why did she run off?"
"I don't know. She was singing before though, you know that song mum taught her."
"The one with the poem dad always said to us?"
"Yeah."
"Does she still think dad killed himself?"
"That's what she has come to believe." Fabian said with a shrug.
"You've never set her straight?"
"No, she has that damn memory lock on her mind. Everything good about dad has been blocked. I know Grandpa Harry thought he was doing the right thing, but Merlin this is ridiculous."
Gideon nodded picking her up "Come on let's get her back to the house."
They walked inside and immediately Ginny was on them "What happened?!"
"We found her near mum and dad's sites. She ran and tripped resulting in a bleeding head." Fabian sighed.
"Put her in the downstairs bedroom." Ginny instructed "Amy get some towels, Harry hot water."
"Yes, dear." Harry was off into the kitchen to get towels.
"Couldn't you just use magic?" Amy asked.
"No, because of the memory block I risk causing horrific damage to her fragile mind." Ginny said examining Rylee's injury.
Meanwhile inside Rylee's mind she had broken through the memory block as was reliving a very fond memory of hers. She blinked and looked around "Where am I?" she called listening to her voice echo through the memory. "Hello?!" it echoed back to her again. Turning she gasped looking at herself as a young child.
Little Rylee sat at her window staring up the sky looking at a bright star. She was eight and fascinated with the large star. She asked her brothers what the star was and they told her it was a big ball of hot gas. She knew that wasn't what it was. She wished she could ask her mummy, but Lily had died a few months before. She continued looking at the star with big eyes.
"Hey Monkey." Scorpius smiled as he walked in.
"Dad?" older Rylee walked over and looked at him "You're smiling. You never smiled."
Scorpius walked further into the room picking little her up "I thought I tucked you in."
Rylee giggled and clung to her father "Daddy look at mummy's star! It's so big tonight!" she wiggled from his arms and ran to the window.
Scorpius chuckled walking to the window "That it is."
"Daddy?" Rylee asked after a minute.
"Yes Monkey?"
"Is mummy with her star?"
Scorpius looked at her "What makes you think she's with her star?"
"She loved the stars, so couldn't she be with her star?"
"I suppose she could. You know there's a song about that star."
Rylee's eyes sparkled "There is?"
"Oh yes, it was one of your mummy's favorites."
"Will you sing it to me?"
"Will you get into bed?" Scorpius asked.
Rylee thought long and hard then said "Sing it to me right here so I can look at mummy's star."
Scorpius chuckled "Alright we can do that." he picked up Lily's guitar that sat by the window and began to strum a few chords before singing softly "Look how she lights up the sky, Ma Belle Evangeline. So far above me yet I, know her heart belongs to only me. j'et adore, j'et aime Evangeline, you're my queen of the night, so still, so bright. That someone as beautiful as she, could love someone like me. Love always finds a way it's true! And I love you, Evangeline. Love is beautiful, Love is wonderful! Love is everything, do you agree? Mais' oui! Look how she lights up the sky, I love you, Evangeline." he finished the song and set the guitar down. Little Rylee had fallen asleep during the song. But older Rylee still stood looking at her father. "Good night Monkey." he smiled tucking her into bed.
Rylee began to cry remembering how her dad did tuck her in at night all those years. Why couldn't she remember them? Closing her eyes she wished for another memory that would explain all this. Opening her eyes again she found herself on the platform. Little eleven year old her was bouncing on her heels "I can't." she told her father.
"Of course you can." Scorpius said. in the headmistresses office.
"There's got to be a mistake!" 12-year-old Rylee cried.
"I'm so sorry Rylee, but there is no mistake. Your father is gone."
"NO!" Rylee screamed "HE CAN'T BE HE JUST SENT ME A LETTER! TOMORROW IS MY BIRTHDAY HE CAN'T BE GONE!" she tried to run from the room, but was caught by her grandfather making it impossible to run.
"Rylee it's ok," Harry wrapped his granddaughter in a hug "it'll be ok."
"NO! MAKE THE PAIN GO AWAY!" she screamed "I CAN'T BE AN ORPHAN AT 12! I WON'T! BRING HIM BACK! YOU HAVE TO BRING HIM BACK!"
"Rylee please!" Fabian said taking his sister from Harry "He's gone, and no amount of wishing will bring him back."
"NO! LEAVE ME ALONE! I HATE YOU!" she shoved Fabian hard running from the office and out onto the grounds collapsing near the Black Lake.
"I remember." she whispered listening to her voice echo back "I was in such an emotional panic they placed a memory block on me. I have my memory back." closing her eyes she tried opening them. When she did she noticed she was back in the snow, but she was warm "I don't understand." her voice echoed.
"What don't you understand Monkey?"
"Memory block?" Amy looked at her husband, brother-in-law, and her husbands grandparents.
"After dad was killed, granddad thought it would be better to block all the painful memories." Gideon said.
"Yeah, but it backfired because then she couldn't remember anything." Fabian said "So I let her believe what she wanted. I wasn't going to argue with her."
"Might have done some good." Gideon muttered.
Fabian whipped around and glared at his brother "Excuse me?"
"You heard me Fabian." Gideon defended.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"You know what it means." Gideon's voice rising.
"Enlighten me!" Fabian bit back.
"Fabian she's 16!" Gideon yelled "She needs you to be her father! Or hell someone needs to step up to the plate!"
"Why don't you do it huh?!" Fabian yelled back "I do EVERYTHING for her! My wife is pregnant! Where's your wife Gid? Oh that's right she ran off with your best friend!"
Gideon became angry and punched his brother. "Stop it! Stop it both of you!" Amy yelled "Your sister is lying in her bed and she may not live. Now I suggest you two man up and stop acting so immature or so help me Fabian I will divorce your sorry arse in a heartbeat. I am sick and tired of the way you act towards Rylee. She is your sister and Gideon is right she needs a father. Neither of you are capable on your own, but together you would be great." she looked at them "I'm ashamed to know either of you right now!" Putting on her coat Amy walked to the fireplace.
"Where are you going?" Fabian asked.
"Home, and if you want me to still be there I suggest you two find a way to make this work!" and with that she flooed home.
"Where's Amy?" Ginny asked walking back in.
"She left." Fabian said looking at his brother "Look Gid, I'm sorry. My behavior was uncalled for. It's Christmas and we're fighting."
Gideon nodded and ran a hand through his blonde hair "We were both out of line, mate."
"Friends?" his brother stuck his hand out.
"Brothers you idiot." Gideon laughed pulling him into a manly hug.
Turning she saw her parents. Scorpius had his arm around Lily's shoulder and Lily's arm was around his waist. "Mum? Dad?"
"Hello sweetheart." Lily smiled moving from her husband and opening her arms for her daughter.
Rylee flew into them "Mum." she cried into her mothers embrace. "I've missed you so much."
"And I've missed you, my sweet sweet monkey."
Rylee turned to her father and rushed to him as well "Daddy."
"Hey now, no tears. We're together now."
"But for how long?" Rylee asked.
Her parents exchanged looks "Well that's entirely up to you."
"Up to me?" Rylee asked slowly "How?"
"You are in the in between right now." Lily explained "You have two choices, you can either continue walking and die, or you can walk back to the house and live."
Rylee stood in silence "How can I choose between, you guys and my brothers? I love you two and I love them."
"We love you as well, but Rylee you're only sixteen." Lily said.
Rylee stood for a moment and said nothing "So you want me to go back?"
"We want you to be happy." Scorpius said.
"I don't know what makes me happy anymore."
"Sure you do. You've just forgotten."
"What made me happy?"
"The guitar." Scorpius smiled "You would sit down with that and play the day away."
"Your friends." Lily smiled.
"Shelby and I don't talk anymore, and Dora has become all weird."
"Did you ever think that maybe they stopped because you did?" Scorpius asked "Friendships take work from all parties. Like a marriage."
"Huh?"
"If only your father or I had put effort to make our relationship work and the other hadn't, do you think we would have lasted?"
Rylee thought about it for a moment "No, I...I guess not."
"What are you going to do?" Scorpius asked.
Rylee stayed quiet for a moment and then looked at them "I'm sorry."
Lily smiled and hugged her "Live a beautiful life my little monkey."
"We love you Monkey." Scorpius said as he and Lily began to fade.
Gideon sat slumped in a chair looking into the crackling fire. His hands were together and his face a mixture of emotions. Fabian stood near the hearth the same look masked on his face.
"Daddy?" Rylee called. Fabian and Gideon exchanged looks and ran up the stairs. "Daddy?"
"Rylee?" Fabian made it into the room first "Ry? Ry come on. You have to come through this."
Rylee groaned "Daddy!" her eyes flew opened. She panicked for a moment then looked at her brothers "Fabian? Gideon?"
Gideon walked over and hugged her tightly "We thought we lost you."
"I think you did for awhile." she said sadly tears flowing uncontrollably down her face "What's the date?"
"24 December, why?" Fabian asked.
"I thought maybe I had slept through Christmas."
"No." her brothers smiled.
"I remember everything." she said in no more than a whisper "I remember that dad was murdered and that Grandpa put a memory block on me so I wouldn't remember the pain. But in his haste he blocked all the good stuff too. I couldn't remember my childhood."
Fabian hugged her tightly after Gideon let go "I'm so sorry for the way I acted. I was a right arse to you and I'm sorry."
"You were put in charge of a twelve year old at a young age. I don't blame you for anything Fab, I love you." Rylee said through some sniffles.
"I love you too." Fabian hugged her tears rolling down his face.
"Rylee?" Ginny walked into the room and rushed to her granddaughter "Oh sweetheart."
"What's going on?" Harry asked walking in "Rylee." he breathed rushing to the bed as his wife had done gathering his granddaughter into his arms.
Rylee hugged them both "Hi." she said through tears.
"We thought we lost you." Harry said combing her hair with his fingers.
"You did, but I had a choice to live or to move on. I chose life, I chose you." she looked at her brothers and smiled.
The small family embraced and from Heaven Lily and Scorpius smiled down on their children knowing they would be just fine.