Chapter 4: The Necklace

It was known that every Headmaster and Headmistress has a weird hobby or two that makes people doubt their intelligence and sanity level. So following the example of Headmistress Helga who has a hobby to debate with her plants from time to time, and Headmaster Gaia who thinks he is in the medieval ages and wears his armour everywhere, Headmaster Alexander also has a hobby.

His hobby is to talk to his pet cat like she is his girlfriend and an Academy student. This hobby has caused many great embarrassments for freshmen to blush and sophomores to cry for 'mercy' to take the 'Psychotic-Headmaster' away to the asylum. The third-year and above just shook their head each day at the screams in the office each day and pray to god that the 'Lunatic-in-charge' will never talk to the 'Kitty-Cat Secretary' about the Birds and the Bees ever again.

All through the screaming, the Headmaster talked to his girlfriend and plots the next unfortunate victims' demise. Perhaps he should start talking about engagement with his 'Darling-Secretary'…

(Past)

She seems to be seeing things again. She then coughed violently, to the point where her handkerchief stained with blood. Her vision swayed as she walked down the staircase to the living room. She wanted a glass of water to wash down the distasteful blood in her mouth.

She was once again bed-ridden because of the after-effects from the spell, the spell that has taken away Voldemort's life. It has been two year since Voldemort's death, she is now four years old and she was once again, the outcast of the family. Her parents praised Theodore and Michael to the heaven's pedestal, yet not even acknowledge her medical condition as being serious.

James appointed Sirius as Theodore and Michael's godfather a month after Voldemort's great downfall, and Remus was hers. She was disappointed that she was with Remus because she was the shadow of Theodore and Michael, yet she was glad that it was Remus, because she could never stand to be with Peter Pettigrew's goddaughter.

Then, a week after the ministry finally sorted out the godfathers' paper works, Sirius Black was accused of killing Peter Pettigrew and several other muggles who was said to have 'gotten in the way of Sirius' revenge. He was never given a trial, as there were few ministry members to watch the trial; they were all out there trying to round up the remaining deatheaters; even if there were, there would have been no courtroom that was empty enough for the trial.

Remus was really depressed over the fact that he could not testify as one of the witness for Sirius for he was a werewolf and because that he wanted to give Sirius a trial. I could not feel sorry for Sirius, I had too many things to worry about at that time, but I have told Rowena that if I ever have the chance, I would request for a trial for him.

I never had the chance, as I discover later in my 'childhood', to request for a trial for him until much later.

As I walked down the hallway, I looked around the structures. I have never managed to know how the portraits survived the crash; perhaps they have some kind of escape route? I smiled at Gratus Potter's picture as he waved at me unnoticeably by the other portrait figure in his frame.

I figured out that apparently, someone had told them to ignore me, but I never know the reason for it. I also never found out who that 'someone' was.

The house, which I would never call home again, was repaired to the way it was by the magic core deep in the underground of the house. I was amazed by the ingenuity of the Potter ancestors, who seem to have thought of everything, including connecting the structure of the house with the magic core right underneath it, so if the house is damaged, the magic would repair it, much like a spell would.

I kept walking, crossing the living room along the wall, avoiding my uncaring parents as much as possible; I slipped into the kitchen unnoticed. The happy laughter of the two years old twins and my 'dear' parent echoed into the kitchen, I was grateful of the kitchen door, which had toned down the laughter I have heard. I depressingly swallow down the boiled water and sat down in one of the chairs stationed at the adjacent dining room, thankfully, it had a door to another hallway instead of the living room.

My parents seem to be enjoying themselves very much, up to the point that they would not hear my wretched coughing over their own laughter.

She always has coughing fits on Halloween and her birthday, which is why she stays in her room during those days. Besides that, her parents never cared about the fits and its affect on her. They actually had the nerve to ask her to tone it down as they celebrate the Twin's birthday last year, when she was four.

Remus was the only one that celebrates her birthday with her. This year, she had finally collected enough galleons as an errand person and an assistant for the Apothecary to put into an account for Remus' Wolf bane potions funding. She figures that as her parent was so 'protective' and 'loving', she could get herself a job there and be unnoticed having disappeared for a long while.

She was right, and with her daily allowance, which her mother had provided, on the condition that she would never cast a spell on her 'little darlings' with her toy wand, she was also able to manage to have many galleons left over from the wolf bane potions she bought.

She discovered the wolf's bane potion was surprisingly cheap, considering the various werewolves in England, and also the fact that the shop owner was quite taken with her upright attitude and knowledge of potion at such a young age.

Remus was surprised at the gift, which was exactly what she had wanted.

"It's my turn Moony," I said to Remus after the people gathered at his birthday party went to the backyard for the cake. I had prepared a whole year for this, and I wanted this to be special, very special, but also practical.

I had found the perfect gift, after being persuaded by my current boss, Mr. Willington, the owner of the magical convenient store in Diagon Alley. I wrapped the gift in muggle wrapping paper, the design being little moons and stars spread over a navy blue background, with a little golden ribbon on top.

"Thanks Juliet," said Remus kindly, I see curiosity in his eyes as he take the gift in his hands. "You didn't have to. I mean, you are to kind."

I know he was not joking, as he takes it that everything I, his goddaughter, do is giving him pity. I rolled my eyes and mumbled in my meek, little voice, "Just open it."

He sighed, as he know he would never persuade me to take back the gift, "Alright," he opened the gift and pulled out one of the wolf bane potion vials I have bought, and recognized immediately of its content, "You, how, why?" He stuttered like an idiot.

"Because I love you like a father Remus, that's why. Now keep going, there's more." I smiled at him kindly and looked down, pretending to be shy, knowing that he would use this time to wipe away his unshed tears. I sighed, 'why does he always have to look at me like I pity him or something?'

I hear the rustling of more packaging paper, and the little gasp of delight and amazement at each of the twelve vials of wolf bane potion I packed in the box. As I heard the eleventh vial being examined, I looked up. His face looks pale, and his hand trembled, as if he was about to drop the vial, but his eyes, although he was much taller than I was, as I look into it, I saw the gratitude of the utmost kind. I was glad at the reaction.

I wished that we could have been like before again, like father and child, but he now feels that my parents pitied him and gave him an unwanted object. He does not know how to approach, how to talk to me, or how to 'fix' me. I feel the same way for him, but I know that he was not unwanted, and I was not either, we are wanted and cared for by each other.

"Do you like my gift?" I whispered quietly, knowing that his keen werewolf senses would pick up the message, being only a week until the transformation.

"It's… nice." His voice was as meek as mine was, but I have two more gifts.

"I have two more things to give you though," I said, "but, I'll have to give it to you after the other guest left." I grabbed his hand and took the vials of potion to be placed in the gift box as we left to go to the garden. "Come on, mother is not going to be happy if we dawdle around here while the party's back there."

I sighed, that was a year after 'that' Halloween, and the Potter family re-emerges as one of the wealthiest wizarding family in England. Most of the Deatheaters have been gathered up by the ministry and tried in a trial, which most of them went to Azkaban for.

I remembered the shining sunbeams, that delicious chocolate cake made by my mother, who dislike enslaving the house-elves, and that little 'last' private meeting between my dear Moony and I.

It was very… strange, as a conversation between a five year old and a grown up standard.

"Juliet?" Moony knocked on the door, knowing that she would be in there after the party. Her parents thought that he was in the washroom right now.

"Come in Moony," said his cub, his goddaughter.

God, even as he is thinking it right now, he could not believe that this little five years old was his goddaughter. It was both a blessing and a misfortune, as he was grateful for the appointment to be her godfather, but sad as he is barely above the poverty line. It was depressing to think about the contrast between them.

"I thought you'll be here, what have you got for me?" He said, walking to the little girl on the bed.

She then turned to her little bedside dresser and pulled out two things: one was a neat little rolled up parchment, and the other is a little jewellery box. "Could you leave opening the parchment at your place? I don't want to be embarrassed because of it."

"Sure," He gingerly took the jewellery box, "What is it?"

She gave a theatrically exaggerated sigh, he chuckled while she laughed, "Open it."

He did, and found a Gringotts golden key dangling on a golden chain; little charms were attached to the rest of the chain, such as little blue crescent moons on a black background, charmed to turn into a full moon cycle, and little running grey wolves, running on green grass and black sky with pearl white stars. The charms are mostly ovals and circles, but the entire necklace was beautiful.

"Do you like it? Rowena taught me how to make them; I have been trying to make them moving by themselves for a while now. I figured that it was the thought that counts, so I made sure to exclude any silver in the process of making it." She smiled, knowing that he would have to accept it as his gift. "The key is a vault in Gringotts, I have been saving the money for a while, and I have made it so we are the only ones with access to the vault." She pulled at her own necklace, which had little phoenix instead of moons, the key glistened in the light.

"Why?"

"If you are thinking that I pity you, you are wrong; I am just expressing my gratefulness at having you as a godfather, no, a mentor." He looked up, looking puzzled. "You have helped me, comforted me, care for me. But I don't know how to repay you, you are wanted Moony, you have people who cares about you, almost everything I would have wanted to give you would have been given by someone else. So I…"

They looked at each other for a long time, but each has no idea what the other was thinking. After a few minutes, Remus hugged her briefly and said goodnight with his thanks, but Juliet told him, "No, Remus, thank you for letting me be your goddaughter, I could never thank you enough."

Chapter 4: End

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