I let the door close behind me with a soft click, my eyes closing, letting out a heavy sigh as I lean against the door, wrapping my arms around myself, as if trying to put myself together. I hear Remus growl as I leave the room, knowing that my leaving has unsettled his wolf; I put that behind me for now though, rolling my shoulders back as I move off of the wall, opening my eyes and standing tall. Without realizing, my feet take me to the library, not even noticing that aunt Dorea's and uncle Charlus' voices were echoing throughout the cracked open door. My steps slow down as I near, deciding to listen to them for a bit before making my presence known.

"Dorea…" Charlus sighs heavily, and I can almost hear him rub his hand down his face with frustration and sadness. "Where could have Lyla and Marcus been all this time…? It's been years, almost an entire 15! She was just a little baby… And Marcus isn't even here!"

I hear Dorea shuffle slightly before sighing, her voice slightly muffled from what I assume is the two of them hugging, "I know, I know… But she's here now and we have to be what she wants us to be, whether that be her family or something else. Marcus… I don't know where he could be, but you and I know he promised us he would do the best he could to take care of her, maybe that's why she's here."

Stepping closer to the door and knocking softly, I listen to a soft sniffle and shuffle before pushing the door open, revealing myself to them, "Aunt Dorea, Uncle Charlus? I'm sorry for interrupting, but I was hoping we could speak in private…"

Seeing their faces - eyes and noses red, cheeks rosy - they'd been crying, or close to it. I frown softly, pushing the door shut behind me as I walk to them as they stand up from where they had been on the couch. Uncle Charlus pulls me in for a hug, throwing me for a loop as I stand there for a while, stockstill; slowly, I wrap my arms around his waist, hugging him tightly as I take in his warm embrace, his warm cinnamon smell wafting around me - it reminds me of dad.

That's when I start crying, hiding my face in his collared shirt, I can't help but hiccup as tears slide down my cheeks, wetting his shirt. I hear heels click as Dorea nears us, Charlus rubbing my back softly, whispering to me that everything was going to be okay now, and that I was safe with them. Dorea softly runs her hands through my curls, a soothing combination if I've ever felt one.

"I'm s-sorry," I hiccup to them. I shake my head, pulling back from my uncle's chest, looking up at their sad faces, "I'm sorry, I couldn't do anything to help him." I sniffle as a single tear follows down the wet tracks on my cheek.

Auntie wipes it away softly with her thumb, knowing what I meant almost immediately, "Oh darling, I don't know what happened to him, but it wasn't your job to save him, you were but a mere child - you are a child. You did the best you could, no one can ever possibly blame you for what happened."

"Your father…" Charlus catches on, clearing his throat as he seems to clog up. "My brother had his flaws, he made mistakes, but his greatest decision was to save you, he did everything he could to save you, not the other way around. He loved you with all his heart, just like he did with your mother." His arm squeezes my shoulders, "Come sit down." He softly directs me towards the couch, me sniffling along the way as I sit between the two of them, squeezed in their embraces.

We simply sit there, waiting for me to make up the nerve to tell them what happened. It takes a while - 5, 10, maybe 15 minutes go by before I take a deep breath and start talking.

"I don't know what things were like here, I was only a few months old before Dad picked us up and moved us to… another dimension I suppose. The four years after that are barely memorable, and the things I do remember aren't that great. Dad got re-married around those first four years, to a horrible woman called Evangeline; she already had a son, Daniel who's two years older, or was… Afterwards, she and dad had a daughter, Sandra, who's 4 years younger than me. It was like…" I trail off, my eyes slightly glazed as I go down memory lane.

"It was terrible. I was 4 when I got my first beating from Evangeline. Dad never knew about it, or the ones afterwards, he either didn't notice, didn't care, or Evangeline kept it all well hidden from him. The family was terrible to me, all the time, I was bullied by them at home and at school," their arms tighten around me at my words, either from sadness or anger, possibly both.

"Rewind to seven years ago, when I was 8, dad got sick - cancer, or that's what they said, I never really believed it, not with Evangeline in the picture," I snort, shaking my head in disbelief. "I never learned about any of this until yesterday, Daniel told me about it, he saved me from his ex-girlfriend, the top bully at my school, took me home, and showed me the things Dad had left for me." I look out at the library, the books covering the walls, "This was a split decision, but I'll never regret it." I look at the both of them, "Never."

At that point, Dorea breaks down crying, holding me to her as she rocks me back and forth softly, blubbering, "I'm so, so sorry, honey. I'm sorry we weren't there, that we couldn't save you or your father."

I pat her back, kissing her cheek softly, "It's okay Auntie, you didn't know."

Charlus clears his throat, making me turn my head to look at him as Dorea keeps holding me. Tears are streaming down his cheeks quietly as he softly pats my cheek, "We didn't, but we do now, and we won't ever let you go through that or be alone again."

And I never felt more at home than I did in this moment.


Hey peeps, first chapter for this story in a really long time! I wrote this in just a few hours, and posted it as well. I'm seriously gonna try to keep writing and posting things. You guys writing reviews really helps to motivate me, so keep on doing that, yeah?