Chapter Eleven

A/N: Thank you to TheDoctor'sAmazingCompanion, Dazzled-Midnight-Melody and danceegirl92 for reviewing the last chapter.

The years that followed came and went in the blink of an eye, first one, then two, then five and then finally ten. Eleven years had passed since Remus had lost his closest friends, Sirius and Issy, so soon after losing Lily and James. But in those eleven years, he had not only lost his friends; he had also gained a daughter.

It was strange, the extent to which Charlotte had changed him. Before she had been entrusted to him, even before the events of Godric's Hollow, when he had had his friends around him to offer support, he had been embittered by what Fenrir Greyback had done to him all those years ago. He had felt that his life was hardly worth living, and if it had not been for Issy and her baby, he would not have had a reason to carry on.

But now, and for the past eleven years, the girl had given him reason to rise from his bed in the morning, a reason to not crumble under society's poisoned view of him and his kind, and in return, he had tried to offer her instruction and guidance as to how she could go through life with a minimum of struggle. He was not sure how successful he had been in that regard, but she had grown to become an intelligent, kind-hearted and witty young girl, with her father's eyes and her mother's smile.

Remus' heart swelled with pride as he thought of how Charlotte had turned out, and he knew that Sirius and Issy would be proud of her as well. How could they possibly not be, when she was so near to perfection, as near as any person could get? If she had been his daughter, he would have shouted it to the world at every opportunity, so that everyone could know how much he truly cared for the child.

But they could not do that. One of them had passed over the veil to the other side, far too soon for her young years, the other rotted in a cell in Azkaban, for a crime Remus was sure he did not commit. Neither of them had seen the milestones he had seen, and neither would see the ones to come.

The man's thoughts had slowly become more melancholy as one led to another, and his heart had sunk deeper into darkness, until a sudden bright beam of sunlight shone over the area where he sat at his kitchen table. It was blinding at first, and Remus squinted his eyes against it, but as he became accustomed to having it there, the light became a pleasant warmth on his skin, and he no longer minded the brightness.

Running footsteps could be heard on the staircase, signalling that Charlotte had woken at last. 'No wonder.' he thought, smiling faintly. 'That the sunlight appeared just when she did.'

It was not long at all before the child appeared round the doorway, and Remus started a little, though he did his best to hide this fact. It seemed to be always on the child's birthday when he noticed her startling resemblance to her mother, and this year had been no exception. He had met Issy when she was eleven years old, at Hogwarts, and her daughter, now of the same age, looked as if she could have been her twin, if her eyes had not been a deep grey rimmed with gold, as opposed to the emerald green her mother had had.

"Morning, Remus." she greeted, as she took a seat at the table, opposite her guardian.

"Good morning, Charlotte. Happy birthday." he said, with a bright smile, which she quickly returned. "Your letter should be arriving any minute."

"Letter?" the girl questioned, her brow furrowing with confusion. Remus sighed. He had not told her a great deal about Hogwarts, as the place was a painful reminder of the brilliant friends he had had, and lost, over the years. But now, he had finally found the strength to become involved with the place again, and thought it appropriate that the child do the same.

"Your letter from Hogwarts." he explained. The bright smile on her face had dimmed a little in her confusion, but now it returned, even brighter than before.

"You're allowing me to go to Hogwarts? Oh, Remus, that's amazing!" she exclaimed, jumping from her seat and running to wrap her arms around his neck. Her guardian laughed all the while, glad to see her so happy for once. Every birthday he could remember of hers, she had always spent a great deal of time in sadness. He understood why, well enough, as he often spent time in the same state, remembering the losses of James, Lily, Sirius and Issy as well. It was a painful reminder of her mother's death, even though Issy had drifted away after midnight, and so the child had never really celebrated before. But now she would; he would make sure of it. They would both spend this birthday happy.

"I think its time we let ourselves move on." he told the child, and she nodded solemnly. 'She's grown beyond her years.' Remus noted, a thought he often had. He had met men and women come of age who did not have half the understanding of the world he had seen in that girl, and it never failed to amaze him how grown up a child could be when she had lost so much. 'Perhaps that is why she is so grown up. Because she has to be.'

It was not long before Charlotte had bounded back up the stairs, off to prepare a list of what they would need to buy in Diagon Alley before school started. She had not needed to do so, it only being February, but her enthusiasm had been such that he hadn't had the heart to stop her.

Once he was alone, Remus crossed to a drawer in one of the many cabinets stacked around the place, pulling a time worn key from his pocket and turning it in the lock on the front. Easing the drawer open, he removed a picture in a wooden frame, still in mint condition, even after all these years had passed. The photograph was old, a dozen years old, and held memories he never wanted to forget.

There they were, all of them, Lily, James, himself and Peter Pettigrew, before the day when he had betrayed them all. And at the centre of the picture stood Sirius and Isabella, dressed in all their wedding finery, the colours of red and gold all around them, another slight Sirius had wished to give his family, bedecking both grand hall and guest in the colours of Gryffindor House.

That had been the last photograph ever taken of them all together, happy and content, before the War had come and their friendship had fallen apart. A sad smile twitched at the corners of Remus' mouth, and he allowed himself a few more moments to look at the photograph, before he replaced it in the drawer, easing it closed and turning the lock, replacing the key in his pocket for another year.

'It's time to move on.' he thought, his eyes moving to the ceiling, where he could hear Charlotte skipping around with glee at the thought of attending Hogwarts. 'I've lost my friends, but I've gained their daughter, and a living child needs me more than a faded memory. It's time to let go.'

A/N: Next chapter, Hogwarts! Please review!