When Saturday arrived, Rose was almost relieved because then, no matter how it happened, at the end of the day, it would all be behind her. She went with Harry, Hermione, Ginny, Ron, Neville, Fred and George to Sirius' appartment to wait for her Godfather. Her friends all wanted to be there, to show her their support and she loved them all for this.
"Just remember that what she says doesn't matter, Rose. She's deranged. Nobody cares about what she thinks." Fred reminded his girlfriend.
"I know, don't worry." She smiled at him.
When Remus arrived, Rose hugged him and, after smiling to her friends, she entered the fireplace with him. They arrived at Grimmault Place where Tonks was waiting for them to escort them both to Azkaban. Together, they ate some lunch, cooked by Kreacher, before they stepped outside.
"Are you still sure about this Rosie? You can always change your mind, Azkaban isn't the happiest place, even without the dementors..." Tonks argued.
"I know, but it's important, I... I need this." She insisted and Tonks nodded.
Rose vaguely wondered how things were advencing between her godfather and the young Auror but she decided to brush it off for that day. She'd worry about this later.
The way to Azkaban wasn't very long and, before she could really realize it, Rose found herself standing in front of a cell, Jenny's cell. She had tried not to pay too much attention to the place on the way but it was hard to ignore the growling trolls they walked by, or the wizards and witches in robes similar to the Aurors but a shade lighter. On the way, Tonks had explained to Rose and Remus that Fudge was negociating with the Goblins to have a few of their ELite guards working in Azkaban. They're even consdiering leaving the Goblisn in charge of the entire place if the negociations go well. They'd surely love to be responsible for something other than money, but they wanted more in exchange, and some of the more "old school" wizards and witches refused to allow it.
Rose turned slowly towards the cell. The woman sitting inside looked terrible and it took Rose a few seconds to recognize her. Her hair were back to their original color and she looked like she hadn't slept in a while, but then again, she used to wear a lot of makeup, so not wearing any must help in making her look so miserable.
"What do you want? What are you doing here?" The imprisonned woman barked at the teenage girl while glaring at the adult behind her.
Tonks went back to work, someone else would escort them back to Hogwarts later.
"I needed to speak with you, so I can finally move on, put this, what you did, behind me." Rose declared, feeling intimidated and grateful for Remus' hand on her shoulder.
"And it took you this long to visit? What, needed to step out of the school and no Hogsmeade's weekend near enough?" Jenny snapped.
"I didn't read your interview when it got out this summer, I only read it a few days ago and... I mean... I need to know, what did I do that was so wrong? I did everything I could to make any parent proud. I got good grades, I behaved, I cleaned and cooked, I never complained..." Rose asked, unable to stop the tears from falling from her eyes.
"If you really read the interview, you know the answer to that one, rust-head." Jenny replied with a sneer.
"Don't call her that!" Remus intervened.
"Don't worry Remus, I'm used to it, it doesn't touch me anymore. I actually love my red hair, it's a wonderful color and I got it from my birth mother, who loved me. And to think at one time I wanted to die them so that, maybe, you'd love me more..." Rose shook her head.
"More? Love you more? There was never anything for me to love about you, girl!" Jenny laughed cruelly.
"I guess I should have known but... I needed to come here, ask if, maybe, you regretted what you did to me." Rose asked her.
"My only regret is that I grabbed you and not your brother." Jenny replied, aware that she was hurting the girl and not caring.
"Alright... Well, you know that you've hurt me, obviously you did so on purpose, but I can't allow you to hurt me again, not now, not in the future. I came here to put you behind me, to lock you up in my past and never think of you and what you did ever again, and in order to do that, I need to forgive you, no matter how hard it is."
"Always trying to be the perfect, too good to be true, girl, aren't you?" Jenny sneered again, rolling her eyes right after.
"You probably don't care, and most people would state that you don't deserve my forgiveness, but this is what I came to give you. I forgive you for everything you've ever done and said to me. I forgive you for all the pain, all the tears I've shed because of you. I forgive you for never loving me and for making me believe that there was something wrong with me when, in truth, there is something very wrong with you. I do hope you'll be able to get help and get better some day, but I won't see it, because this is the last time you'll see me. I forgive you, but I'll never forget anything you've done. You don't care, I know that, but this is something I need to do in order to move on with my life, to be completely happy with myself." Rose declared, speaking in a clear an strong voice that impressed Remus and made him proud.
"As I said, you always have to be the good girl, doing the right thing. Like mother like daughter I guess. Disgusting." Jenny growled before she walked back to the bed of her cell.
"This is the last time I'll ever see you, or speak with you. I forgive you. Goodbye." Rose said one last time before she turned around, took her godfather's hand in hers and started walking down the corridor.
"I should have escaped when You Know Who broke his followers out! I should have joined him to ruin your life and get a chance to finally end you! Next time I will! Next time I'll follow the Dark Lord and help him kill you even if it's the end of me!" Jenny screamed after them once they were almost out.
"Are you okay, Rosie?" Remus asked her kindly.
"I didn't know how I'd feel but, I am. I am okay now. I think." She replied with a small smile.
"Come on, let's get some ice cream somewhere before I take you back to school." he offered and she nodded.
.
"So, now that this is behind me, I have to ask, what's going on with Tonks?" Rose asked him once they were sitting down in the small ice cream shop.
She had gotten a cup of chocolate ice cream on a waffle, with whipped cream, while Remus got a vanilla one, on a waffle as well, and with chocolate sauce.
"It's complicated." Remus whispered, embarrassed.
"Do you love her?" She asked him.
"I do." He nodded and she was glad that he trusted her and that he was being honest with her.
"Then I don't see what's so complicated. I know I'm a teenage girl, and I heard all of your arguments at Christmas, but... Love shouldn't be held back because of such trivial things as the ones you stated. She's aware of them, and she obviously doesn't care. We're in the middle of a war, Remus, and I love you. I want you to be happy. We don't know how it will end, but I'm not in denial, at war, people die, especially those who go first line. You don't know how long any of us have left. Wouldn't you rather want to be happy in this time?" Rose argued calmly.
"Your argument to get me to open up to Tonks is that we could all die tomorrow?" he asked her with a chuckle.
"Well, it's a bit dark, but it's also realist. Voldemort could win, we could lose. And if he wins, most of us will die." Rose nodded.
"I... In the long run, she won't be happy with me, it would be selfish of me to be with her." He shook his head.
"How can you know this? She seems to be a smart woman. She knows what she wants. Please, think about this. It's okay for you to do something that will make you happy, you know." She insisted.
"Of course it is, why do you think we're here, eating ice cream on Belgian waffles?" He replied with an amused smile, but nodded his promise to think about it.
"Valentine's day is coming up soon, it would be the perfect occasion for a first date." Rose hinted, making Remus laugh out loud.
"And I'm guessing a summer wedding would be perfect too?" he asked her, playing along.
"I do! How did you guess? I was thinking mid July! A two weeks honeymoon and you come back just in time for our birthdays! As a present, a baby would be most welcome." Rose nodded with a big teasing smile.
"I'm glad you're in our lives, Rose Lily Potter." Remus stated, giving her a quick hug.
After that, they finished their plates, paid and left. Remus had to get her back to school before 6pm or people would start worrying about them. On the way back, she could see that he was thinking hard and she just knew that he was thinking about her arguments to let Tonks into her life.
Review please?
Will Remus listen to Rose or not?
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Lorelei Candice Black