Okay Red walk through the door NOW, Red's feet stayed planted firmly on the floor. Merlins pants Red you deserve some kind of award, seriously pick up your feet and walk through the freaking door. Nope. Come on.

"Shut up brain," Red said hitting her head. "Ouch," not her best ideas.

"Real nice Reds," Sirius said coming up behind her, just to mock her. Red was still a little surprised to see him, wondering if this was all surreal. Was she really here or was this a dream created by an element. Which wasn't out of the realms of possibilities.

"That's me," Red laughed.

"Now this is a better look for you," Sirius said walking around her. "Although I will admit the dirty thing, kind of a turn on," he flirted.

"Oh leave me alone Black," Red laughed trying to put force behind her voice when she hit his shoulder, but she missed him. Even their stupid little flirting thing.

"Nah, I've missed you," he winked before picking her up.

"What are you doing?" Red said trying to struggle, but he had a damn good grip on her. Despite his years in Azkaban he seemed to be in good shape, despite how weather he looked.

"Your meal awaits you," Sirius said forcing out his accent. "And you look like you need it."

"Put me down," she pleaded hitting his back.

"As you wish," he shrugged, which was an odd feeling. Have you ever been in someone's arms while they shrugged? It was a different feeling. "Your seat."

I hate you she mouthed at him noticing the said seat was next to Remus. Sirius smiled brightly at her and then took a seat opposite the uncomfortable couple. Remus gave her a tight smile and a nod, Merlin what was this forth year? Enter a handshake and they were back to square one.

The food was delicious, which Red was constantly praising and filling up her plate much to Molly's pleasure, no one else was as in impressed if really at all. Then again they hadn't resulted in shoplifting and stale food, so this was heaven – minus French fries Red really missed those the most...well expect for Remus.

So far the Twins Fred and George had been her favourite, they quite the riot and reminded her of a young Sirius and James, that were constantly screwing around during the meal and making her laugh. Then there was Hermione, a lot like Lily constantly studying, the attitude and even the clothes. Except maybe in a way she was a little like Remus.

*/*/*

"Hello," Someone said knocking on Red's door late at night. Red was skipping the meeting, in hindsight she probably should have sat through it up but after the meal and then some cleaning, Red was A) wiped out and B) couldn't handle another awkward moment with Remus that Sirius was throwing them into. "It's Harry."

"Come in," Red said smiling slightly that Harry was coming into her room; he looked so grown up even if he was 15. That kid had seen some things. Then again so had Red. "Red, pretty much what everyone calls me."

"Why?" he asked stepping into the room now.

"Well when I was 11 and it was my first day at Hogwarts, of course freaking out being raised in the muggle world, so I closed my eyes and ran through the portal and straight into Sirius with my trolley," Red laughed remembering it. "And I was wearing a lot of red and my hair is red and he couldn't remember my name from when I met him at Olivanders and it just kind of stuck." Red smiled wishing she could just go back to those days, minus all the assholes that screwed up their time there. Especially Stacy.

"Where you friends with my parents?" Harry asked timidly.

"Some would say I knew them better than anyone," Red said looking down at her now shaking hands. Ok Red whatever you do you are not going to cry. Harry took a seat making a few bits of dust fly off, not the neatest room in the house. Which is why there was so much cleaning going on.

"Could you tell me about them?"

"Have you asked Sirius and Rem," Red started using her old nickname for him before adding the, "Us. Remus."

Stop thinking about the werewolf; stop thinking about the handsome gorgeous werewolf.

"They didn't say too much," Harry replied looking at the floor his black hair falling across his face.

"Well I would say take a seat but, you've got that covered so, what do you want to know?" Red asked trying not to cry.

"How'd you meet them?"

"James on the train and Lily was my next door neighbour."

Harry

There was a lot Harry wanted to know about his parents, things no one was telling him or maybe he wasn't brave enough to ask. So why not ask the person he had just met?

"Your neighbour?" Harry asked

"Yeah you know like the person that you live next door to," Red joked. Harry was starting to tell why Sirius liked her, she was pretty fun to be around and oddly familiar.

Harry finally looked back up at her and smiled, "So you grew up with her?"

"Yeah," Red smiled. "We met when I moved to London from Australia when I was five. Her mother, Petunia and Lily came over with brownies and we bonded pretty much straight away. Then when I was 15 I moved into her house, after some of my own family issues. That answer your question?" Red smiled and he nodded in reply. "So what do you want to actually know about them?" she asked with a wicked smile on her face.

"What were they like?" Harry asked.

Red took in a deep breath and avoiding eye contact, "Uh well Lily she is, she was," Red corrected herself dragging and started to fidget with her hands. "The greatest, kindest, most well rounded person I have ever met. She was always so focused on her studies and most of the time pretty serious," Harry thought she sounded a little like Hermione. "But she was always there for you, no matter what. However despite what you hear about her being serious from Rem and Sirius or anyone else, let me tell you that she was fun as all hell and had a wicked sense of humour. Even on occasion she could pull a pretty great prank, especially on your father. She was amazingly stubborn and hated to be corrected, which didn't happen much anyway because she was wicked smart. But I'd say the best thing about her was her heart."

At the end of it Red was staring into his eyes with a big goofy grin on her face, her red hair now tucked behind her eyes and Harry could now see her earrings, they were golden snitches.

"Let me guess everyone says you look like James, hell I mean I did," Red laughed/

"Yeah but I have my mother's eyes," Harry smiled.

"You've got her ears to," she smiled, a nice smile it was warm and friendly. "Figure her heart too. Get into Gryffindor?"

"Yeah."

"What was your sorting like?"

Harry could almost laugh he came in here to question her and he get questioned himself, that figures. "Almost got into Slytherin."

Red laughed this little giggle that was pretty infectious. "Glad you didn't, though there wouldn't be a problem with that I know some pretty good people that came from that house, nearly got into Slytherin myself actually," Harry seriously hoped that she wasn't talking about Snape and some other people she had met at Hogwarts. "So how did you not get in?"

"I kept saying not Slytherin," Harry replied making her laugh, it was so childish. It was cheeky and made you want to laugh along with it, he couldn't see anything else fitting her better.

"This one guy in fifth year I think, his sister caused Sirius and I hell all year so he got up to the stage and was all not Gryffindor so when the hate said not Gryffindor aye'" she said putting on a voice that made Harry laugh. "James and I just shot up and starting yelling out that's rubbish. Dumbledore had to silence us and threatened us with detention, saying it would be the first time anyone had gotten detention before the school year started. Naturally James and I had to do it, so James clutched his wand while I put a puddle of water under the Slytherin head of houses' to make it look like it wasn't just my parlour tricks and then we go detention, scared the first years and Remus and Lily looked so unimpressed with us."

Harry was glad someone was finally telling him about things they did, not just he was conceited, he strutted around the castle or he got turned down by his mother a lot or that she studied, she was a talented witch, she was so kind.

"So you were pretty close with him then?" Harry smiled.

"James was like my brother," Red said with a smile before pausing and Harry noticed she looked like she was about to cry. "Erm me and him half the time we said the same thing or did the same thing, we played on the Quidditch team together killed it out on the field mind you. He was my best friend, pretty much the best guy I've ever known he-"

"Harry," said what he was pretty sure was Lupin's voice interrupted her. Harry noticed Red's hair turning a violent shade of Red, and Harry suspected there was another reason they called her Red. "I'd get to bed before Molly comes up."

He seemed to be ignoring her, who intern was back to flipping through the spell book she had been going through when he came into the room. Harry had to wonder what in the name of Merlin had happened between those two.

"Right thanks, night Red," he said turning to smile at her.

"Night Harry," Red smiled back sweetly at him, Harry noticing she had tears in her eyes.

Harry left the room with Lupin at his side, "She's your godmother by the way."

"Really?"

"She was your mothers longest, closest and craziest friend," Lupin replied staring blankly at the door, Harry could see he was holding back a smile.

"And you married her?" Harry asked and for a second he could swear he made his old professor blush, sadly no one else was here to witness it.

"Well I love her," he replied with a soft smile before turning back to his room.

When Harry was back in his room, Ron already snoring loudly in his bed he realised something Lupin said love not loved. So maybe he wanted his favourite professor and the person he just met that happened to be his godmother find happiness together again. Sue him.

*/*/*

Red woke up the next morning with a smile on her face, she had met Harry Potter of course that made her think of Ezra and that smile quickly faded. In another life maybe.

Red put on the clothes laid out for her, another pair of jeans and a faded red t-shirt, anything was better than the shirt she had one when she came in. What an entrance and to see him again after all this time, covered in blood? Hippogriffs on fire, not how she imagined it at all. Then again she didn't imagine him ignoring her either. So she headed down to breakfast, smiling at the spread of warm food and tried to keep her mouth shut about how fantastic it was this time. Scrambled eggs, toast that wasn't a month old, hash browns one word delicious.

Plus she wasn't held in seat torture next to him, no instead she was next to Fred or George she really wasn't sure which yet. She laughed along with them as they told her some of the pranks they pulled that could rival Sirius and James in their heyday. Little did she know Remus was watching her with a smile the whole time.

"Red," Arthur Weasley asked her when they had a cleaning break. "You grew up in the muggle world correct?"

"Here we go," she faintly heard Fred and George say in the distance.

"Yeah," Red replied a little nervously. "Why?"

"Can you tell me the purpose of a rubber duck?" Arthur asked her.

Red started to say something but then closed her mouth tightly, "Merlins beard," she muttered. "Alright Arthur full investigation time on this, honestly this will plague my mind otherwise right up until I die. We can make polls and interview strangers; this roof needs to be blow."

"What are they talking about," Harry asked watching as Red and Mr Weasley talked avidly in the distance.

"Arthur asked Red what the purpose of a rubber duck was," Sirius said in reply shaking his head and watching as Red's hair changed colours as she talked.

"He asked me that once," Harry said taking a seat. "Never actually answered either."

"Bad idea asking Red," Sirius laughed.

"It's going to a painful few weeks," Remus smiled over at her endearingly. Harry and Sirius swapped a smile at the sight of Remus smiling at Red while she starting playing with magic to create a rubber duck and make it the focus point.

"I mean is it just a bath toy?" Red said while her hair turned blonde before blue. "Too simple."

"Buckle up," Sirius said laughing.

"What happened between those two?" Hermione asked quietly taking note of her old professor smiling at their new house guest.

"A lot," Sirius whispered back. "Best not to pry just yet."

*/*/*

The current rubber duck investigation had been put to a holt, Arthur had to get to work and Red almost missed working at the Ministry. The stupid portals, most of all she missed the way her and James would go out on a case and take someone down. Currently she was in the kitchen with Molly who was making cups of tea and coffee for everyone, Red spied the hot chocolate and sneakily waved her fingers and added an extra two spoons of hot chocolate powder while Molly was looking the other way.

"I'll do that," Red smiled taking three of the cups, one tea, one hot chocolate and one coffee for herself. Molly just smiled at her knowingly. Red moved into the living room taking a deep breath in to gain some courage and to also not trip over and spill those full cups. Remus was sitting with Kinsley discussing some order business, Red moved over casually placing the cup in front of him and placing a packet of sugar by it as well. Remus looked up momentarily at her but she moved away just as fast as she was there missing the little smile he gave her emptying the packet of sugar into his hot chocolate – taking note that it as extra choloatly than usual. Red then moved to Sirius handing him his tea, knowing he hadn't missed a thing.

"What?" She asked taking a sip of her coffee.

"Nothing," Sirius replied sneaking a look at Remus who was looking at the back of her hair, the hair that had changed to his colour. Moony had a smile on his lips again, he had missed that. "So Reddybear," Sirius started bringing up her old nickname that brought a smile to her lips. "You weren't ever like with anybody were you, like with with?"

Red let out a chuckle, "I'm like the worst person to live through their twenties and into their thirties. There's just only ever been him...has he? No don't answer that wait yes do ah no I don't want to know."

"He only has eyes for you," Sirius smiled looking past her to where Remus was still looking at her no longer paying attention to Kingsley. "So what were you up to all those years?"

Red grabbed him by the arm and pulled him into the next room, before pausing and dragging him upstairs. "Privacy," Red said when they were back in her room. "So erm, Merlin I don't really know where to begin."

"How about when you left?" Sirius prompted.

"Okay so it had been three days after the event and well you were gone, Lily and James were gone Ezra was gone," she whispered that last part and Sirius hugged her tightly before she broke away and had some of her coffee. "I've missed coffee and food."

"I gathered that," Sirius laughed. "Seriously now what happened?"

"Well I left," Red shrugged. "I got the letter about the trials because I killed someone."

"Red-"

"I killed Stacy," Red cut in. "She and Antonin took Ezra, well he did she caught on fire before she had the chance. So I got the letter the next day and then three days later I said I loved him and then apparated with the letter so he wouldn't follow me. Leaving him was the worst decision I ever made, but I couldn't get him killed."

"So the trials started," Sirius said.

"Yeah," Red said grimly. "They were people Sir, like living breathing well demons technically but still they I think had heartbeats. I destroyed them, I went all over the world looking for them until they found me and I killed them, except water well Aqua her name was anyway, she didn't want to fight. How do I even look him in the eye after that? I mean I've slaughtered the elemental embodiments of my powers. I got tracked by deatheaters, monsters everything under the sun really."

"Hey," Sirius said making her look at him. "You did what you needed to do to survive Reds; this has been set in stone since you were born. You're not a killer alright?" Red nodded her head meekly. "Whatever you've been through, whatever you've seen you can tell him."

"If he can handle even being in the same room as me," Red said sadly.

"He smiled when he sees you," Sirius replied. "And your hair still lights up."

"Shut it Black," Red said with a laugh leaning against his shoulder trying not to cry.

"So no matter what happened," Sirius reiterated. "This is what was meant to happen, I for one am glad you're alive."

"I'm glad you're alive too," Red mumbled against his chest."