Sirius waited anxiously for Louise to turn up. She'd told him she'd meet him at about ten the next morning. He waited at the waiting place as he looked around. He just wanted to get Rhia and get the hell out of this place. He was never going to return here. Not after what Rhia might have gone through. Merlin, he hoped Rhia was ok. That she wasn't too badly hurt. If she was he'd never let himself live it down. He didn't know if he could live with that.
Someone cleared their throat out behind Sirius. Sirius turned to see Louise standing behind him.
"Good morning Sirius." She said happily. "Lets go and get your daughter shall we?" She said.
"Um, yeah of course." Sirius said.
"Now, if you don't mind could you become the dog for a while. I think they may get suspicious if I walked in with a human." Louise said.
"Yes, of course, I'll change into Padfoot when we're a bit further away from the Muggles."
"Oh yes, the Muggles." Louise said. "Well, we mustn't let them see you must we?" Sirius looked at Louise slightly confused. "Come on." They started walking down the path that Sirius had seen Louise and her brother walking down the previous day. They'd spent the last day perfecting their plan. As soon as Sirius was out of sight from anyone but Louise he turned into Padfoot.
"You are quite cute as a dog." Louise said.
i I know, it's why many people fall for me. Now can we please get my daughter out of the hell hole they have her in /i said Sirius' voice. It filled Louise's head.
"Fascinating." She muttered, "Are you sure you don't want to talk to my husband?"
i Louise please! /i Sirius said desperately. Louise nodded.
"Oh yes, follow me, it's just down here. There's this rock that will open up if you say the password or something. Then you walk down a dark corridor that'll lead to a system of underground caves that's been carved out of the granite." Louise said. Padfoot walked anxiously next to her, his tail not wagging as much as usual. They walked in silence for a few moments. They passed a few Dartmoor ponies that eyed Padfoot wearily and walked off towards the stream. There were few birds around and Padfoot caught the whiff of a Rabbit somewhere. After about half an hour of walking Louise suddenly turned off the path and walked towards a fairly large hill. It was called a Tor and had a large pile of granite rocks on it. It was actually one large rock but from a distance it looked like someone had just placed a few rocks there and walked off. They came to the top of the Tor, Padfoot panting slightly. Louise wasn't the least bit exhausted. How did she manage it? Padfoot thought. She went to a fairly flat piece of Granite.
Wait a minute, what if this was a trap? Sirius through, could he really trust Louise, he barely knew her. But he'd come this far, he might as well carry on. Butterflies began to develop in Padfoot's stomach, could dogs even feel nervousness? Evidently they could. Padfoot looked up at Louise. She looked at the rock.
"Mosmordre" She said sombrely. The rock moved aside with a grating sound and revealed a tunnel that fell into a fairly steep slope. Louise stepped into it and Padfoot followed. She was holding her wand anxiously.
i So who exactly are keeping Rhia? /i Sirius asked.
"I'll tell you later." Louise breathed so that no other human could hear. Padfoot gave a slight nod and fell in behind Louise. They went down another corridor, this one was flat and veered to the right slightly. There was a man in a dark robe looking at Louise.
"Who are you?"
"Louise Lovegood, I'm here to look after the child." She said, "You know the little girl who-"
"Alright, yeah. What's the dog doing here?"
"Oh, he's my pet. I thought he might comfort the girl slightly. He has wonderful calming effects on my own daughter." Louise said nonchalantly. How did she do it? Padfoot thought. Louise didn't seem to have many cares at all. The man in the robes nodded and stepped aside, letting Louise and Padfoot passed.
i First one down /i Padfoot thought. Louise smirked slightly. They walked past many other Death Eaters, only getting a slight look because Louise was a woman. They came to a door after another five minutes. Louise danger her fist on it and waited a while. The door was pulled open. It sounded heavy and there was a slight grating sound as the door scraped across the door. There was just more of a crack for Louise and Padfoot to squeeze through.
"Ah, mrs. Lovegood." Came a slimy sounding voice that made Padfoot give a dog like cough. "I wasn't expecting you to bring your pet dog." Louise gave a polite smile.
"Well, he calms the children." Louise said.
"Ah yes. Of course. That brat is constantly crying. I've had to stun her a few times. She's currently stunned." Padfoot started growling. He was using all his will power not to attack the man.
"Down Snuffles. Sit." Louise said sternly. Padfoot sat down nut continued to growl. The man, who was wearing a hooded cloak seemed to inch away from Padfoot. "Where is the child?" Louise asked.
"She is through that door. Keep that dog in that room while you are here, we do not want it causing trouble."
"Snuffles will be no trouble, come snuffles." Louise said. Padfoot stood up and followed Louise into a small room with a oak door. Louise had to use her wand to open it. Once in she closed the door and conjured a small flame on the floor. "Ok, it's all clear." She said. Padfoot quickly turned into Sirius. He got out his wand and looked around frantically. Where was Rhia? Where was she?! There was a small bundle of blankets in the corner on the floor that was moving slightly. Sirius ran over and pulled some of the blankets off. He knew it was Rhia by a few strands of Blond hair that poked out from under the blankets. He uncovered the three year old. She looked quite weak, after only two days. She looked like she'd cried a lot and there were cuts and scratches over her body. There was a particularly large cut across her chest, that was slightly exposed. Sirius picked up the unconscious Rhia and held her delicately in his arms.
"Ennervate." He said gently. Rhia's head moved slightly and she began to whimper. "Sh, Rhia, it's me. It's your daddy." Sirius said rocking her slightly. Rhia's eyes opened slightly and then she started crying.
"Daddy." She whimpered. She tried to move her arms but her right arm wasn't really moving. Sirius touched her arm gently and she began crying even harder. "Daddy, hurts!" She cried. Sirius moved her slightly and held her closely.
"It's alright, Daddy won't let anyone else hurt you." Sirius said. Rhia put her head against Sirius' shoulder. Sirius held his daughter tightly, tears falling down his cheeks. Louise stood in the corner watching silently.
"It's alright, Daddy will take you home now and never let anything happen to you." Sirius whispered to Rhia.
"Want go home." Rhia whined. Sirius turned to Louise.
"How can I ever thank you?" He said to Louise. Louise simply smiled.
"You don't need to thank me. There's still one more bit to do then we're safely out, though I would like it if you could maybe give my family a little protection as I'm sure after this they'll all be after me" Louise said. "It seems that the Death Eaters keep losing children from right under their noses." She said with a slight smirk. Sirius grinned as best he could while crying slightly. He was reunited with Rhia. Yes she was hurt but she was alive and she wasn't hurt too seriously.
"Of course, just give me an hour or so to talk to some people then you'll have all the protection you need and want." Sirius said. Louise smiled and got out a small stone she'd picked up outside. She pointed her wand at it.
"Portus" She said. The stone shook slightly and glowed blue. Rhia had stopped sobbing slightly to watch what was happening. The stone went back to normal and Louise held it out.
"Rhia, try and touch the stone." Sirius said.
"Arm hurt." Rhia said, pouting slightly and trying to raise one of her arms. Sirius frowned and looked at Louise. He put his hand on it as well and they raised the stone to Rhia's arm. They touched the stone against the skin of her arms and suddenly everything seemed to disappear. There was a tugging sensation at the navel and Sirius tried to turn to look at Rhia but he couldn't. He wasn't sure if Rhia was crying or not. The tugging sensation ended and Louise, Sirius and Rhia found themselves standing in front of young Harry and Emma. They were looking up in surprise. Emma let out a scream and Harry tried to clamp his hand over her mouth. Rhia began to cry again as her body began to hurt her.
"Sh, Emma it's me." Sirius said. There was some running from further in the house and Lily appeared in the doorway.
"What's all this noi-" Lily's eyes widened when she saw Sirius and Rhia. "Sirius! Rhia!" She moved to hug them but Sirius turned so that she couldn't touch Rhia.
"She's badly hurt, don't touch her Lily." Sirius said dangerously. Lily put her hands up and stepped away.
"Do you know how worried you've made us all. April's a near emotional wreck, James is worried sick and everyone's searching for you. Where did you find Rhia?" Lily asked. She looked at Rhia. She looked as though she wanted to hold her but Sirius was in the way.
"Louise helped me find her." Sirius said, nodding to Louise, who stood in silence holding the stone. Harry took the stone off her and tossed it around in his hands. Lily looked at her seriously at first then smiled.
"Thank you so much." Lily said. Louise smiled slightly.
"It wasn't a problem." Louise said. Lily smiled and then turned to Sirius. She got her wand out.
"Here, let me help you." Lily said. She pointed her wand at Rhia but she screamed even louder and pressed herself against Sirius.
"Rhia, it's ok. It's just Lily." Sirius said. Rhia looked at Lily fearfully and turned her head. She pressed herself against Sirius as tightly as she could without the use of her arms.
"Rhia, please let me just heal your arms." Lily begged the three year old.
"No!" Rhia screamed, "You hurt!" She shouted. Lily looked at her in surprise.
"What?" She asked
"You hurt me!" She cried. "said cruso." Lily's eyes widened and she looked at Sirius
"I have to heal her though. She looks as though she's dislocated her arms." Lily said. Sirius nodded.
"Rhia, can you be a good girl for me?" Sirius asked Rhia. Rhia looked at Sirius. She was still crying. "I know you are hurt and you may feel more hurt but let Lily hurt you one more time and then all the hurts will be gone." Sirius said. Rhia's lips trembled and she looked at Sirius then to Lily. She tried to put on a brave face and nodded slightly. Sirius looked at Lily. Lily got out her wand and flicked her wrist. Rhia let out the loudest scream she'd ever screamed as her arms popped back into place. Lily said a few more incantations and spells and the cuts on Rhia's body were healed. Rhia put her arms around Sirius' neck and cried even more.
"I think you should go and see April. She's in my bed." Lily said. Sirius raised an eyebrow but left the living room. Harry and Emma were watching anxiously and Louise stayed quiet. Sirius went upstairs and tried to comfort Rhia the whole time. She was beginning to calm down and her crying had ceased to a sob. Sirius pushed the door open and April sat up in her bed. She looked as though she hadn't been very well at all.
"Sirius!" She said relieved. Sirius smiled.
"Guess who I've got." He said. He turned to reveal Rhia, though April couldn't see Rhia's face she knew who it was. She got out of the bed and ran to them.
"Rhia!" April said as she started crying. Rhia turned at the sound of her mum's voice. April took Rhia from Sirius and held her tightly.
"Mummy." Rhia cried silently, "They hurt me" Rhia muttered. "Aunty Lily say cruso" Rhia sobbed. April rocked Rhia and made soft hushing noises. She looked at Sirius with a serious but incredibly grateful look.
"Aunt Lily won't say that again." April said. "If she does I will hurt her" Rhia seemed content with that and made a grabbing motion for Sirius. Sirius took her and she soon fell asleep in Sirius' arms. April watched carefully, more tears forming in her eyes. Sirius lay Rhia gently down on Lily's bed and went to April.
"Are you ok?" Sirius asked, putting an arm on April's shoulder. "I'm sorry I left without saying anything." April let Sirius wipe away a tear. She threw her arms around Sirius and held him tightly. Sirius put his arms around her.
"Thank you." April muttered. "Thank you so much for finding her. I felt like killing myself." Sirius closed his eyes and held April tightly against him.
"We've found her. We just need to watch over her. She's been badly hurt but Lily healed her up. She's ok April." April pushed Sirius away.
"Don't ever go away without telling me again" she cried. "Or never go without one of us as well. You could have been killed and no one would have known." Sirius pulled April closer and kissed her gently.
"You would have known." Sirius said after the kiss. April kissed Sirius again, she wrapped her arms around his neck and Sirius deepened the kiss as much as he dared.
"Never go away again." April said.
"Does that mean you want me to stay at home?" Sirius asked.
"All the time. Don't work, don't go anywhere, just stay near me." April said, she put her head on Sirius' shoulder
"I think I can do that." Sirius said. He looked at Rhia, who slept on Lily's bed. What had she meant by Lily using Cruso? Was she referring to the Cruciatus curse? Lily hadn't been anywhere near Rhia over the past few days. Why did Rhia think it was Lily? What had the Death Eaters done to her? What had that curse done to her? Sirius decided he was going to take Rhia over to St. Mungos first thing the next morning to make sure there was nothing wrong with her. He kissed the top of April's head and watched his daughter.
"How is the other child?" Sirius whispered.
"Orion?" April asked.
"No, the one inside you?" Sirius asked. April kissed Sirius before giving him a forced smile.
"Alright, it's healthy still. Just annoyingly irritating." April said. Sirius brushed some of April's hair away from her face and kissed her again.
"Lets get Rhia home. I'll take her to St. Mungos tomorrow then make sure your pregnancy is nice and easy. I'm sorry I did this to you." Sirius said. April sighed and hugged Sirius. She didn't want to let go of him at all. If she did she was scared that he'd run off again like before, but he'd had a reason, she couldn't take her eyes off Rhia. It felt so good to have her back again. April let go of Sirius and went to the bed. She gently picked up Rhia and made sure she was comfortable in her arms and turned to Sirius.
"Lets go home." April said with a smile. Sirius smiled and called for Orion. They walked downstairs and Orion joined them quickly.
"Oh, wait I have to do something, you go ahead and I'll meet you at home." Sirius said. He gave April a quick kiss. April looked at him apprehensively.
"Bye Lily." April called. Lily appeared.
"Bye April. Um...make sure Rhia's ok." Lily said. She still looked vaguely confused. April gave her a weak smile and then left the house with Rhia and Orion. Rhia still fast asleep in her arms. Sirius turned to look at Lily.
"Um, is Louise still here?" He asked. Lily nodded.
"Where did you find her. She's a bit weird" Lily said.
"I found her on Dartmoor. I accidentally attacked her thinking she was a Death Eater. She's harmless really." Sirius said.
"Well I spoke to her and what she seems to want is quite reasonable really." Lily said. Sirius nodded and walked into the living room and gave Louise a slight smile.
"Hi," She said.
"Hey, so have you been speaking to Lily?" Sirius asked. Louise nodded.
"She said some arrangements could be made for protection. Of course, I don't think we'll need much protection but enough so that in case my brother's friends do decide to do something." Sirius nodded. He understood Louise's concerns.
"Um, where do you live?" Sirius asked.
"Near Ottery St. Catchpole" Louise said. Lily stood next to Sirius.
"The Weasleys live near there." Lily said gently.
"We know the Weasleys." Louise said with a slightly smile. "They've helped us out a few times with the Muggle authorities." Sirius nodded and turned to Lily.
"Do you think we should as Dumbledore if he should recruit them to the you know what?" Sirius asked. Lily shrugged.
"We could they seem like nice people." Lily said. Sirius nodded. "Do you mind if we get back to you before tonight." Lily asked. Louise nodded.
"That will be fine." She said. Lily smiled.
"Thanks. It was nice to meet you mrs. Lovegood."
"Please, just Louise." She said. "And make sure April isn't too hard on him" Louise said with s smirk. Lily nodded and Louise disapparated. Lily turned to Sirius.
"How did you get Rhia out?" Lily asked.
"Portkey." Sirius said. "I got in as Padfoot, I am Snuffles the Lovegood dog!" He said. Lily sighed and shook her head.
"I think you should go and help April with Rhia. I don't understand why she was scared of me." Lily said.
"Maybe they had a red haired woman put the spell on her?" Sirius suggested. Lily put a hand to her hair and looked at it slightly.
"Do you think that Rhia would be scared of me because of that?" Lily asked anxiously.
"I don't know Lily. I don't think we'll be able to find out for a while." Sirius said, "I mean, Rhia can barely talk very much and she's still young." Lily nodded then hugged Sirius. "Ok." Sirius said uncertainly.
"You're an idiot Sirius!" Lily said.
"I know." Sirius said. "Well, I'm going to get back to April and the kids. Talk to Dumbledore for me will you? See you." He said. Lily nodded and Sirius ran out of the house. He ran straight to his house and pushed the door open. He walked upstairs and glanced at Rhia's room. April was kneeling by Rhia's bed and Orion was bouncing on it.
"Rhia here, Rhia here!" He was shouting loudly. Sirius shook his head and walked over.
Lily looked up at the old castle. There was a small jerk in her heart as she looked at it. She missed this place. It had been her home for seven years, it was where she had been introduced to magic. Where she'd met Jenny and April, fallen in love with James. She looked at Remus, who stood next to her.
"It seems like only yesterday we were running around to stop you and James hexing each other." Remus said with a sigh.
"I know." Lily said. She looked back at the castle. She missed it so badly. "Come on, lets see if Dumbledore's there." Lily said. Remus and Lily started for the castle. Each step was all too familiar to Lily. She didn't know she would feel like this when she saw the castle again. Hogwarts school for Witchcraft and Wizardry. The castle just seemed to beckon to them. It wanted them to come to them. The school was a place of love and learning. Oh the library there, Lily missed it. They approached the main entrance when an old witch walked out. Her hair was tied back in a tight bun at the back of her head. She wore a large hat and looked at Lily and Remus then smiled.
"Mrs. Potter, Mr. Lupin." She said with a smile.
"Professor McGonagall." Remus said.
"May I ask what you are doing at the school?"
"Reminiscing." Lily sighed. Remus chuckled slightly. McGonagall shook her head in amusement.
"No, we're here to see Dumbledore. Lily's just missing her school days." Remus said.
"They were very good times." Lily said defensively.
"They were." Remus said.
"Ah, well the head master is busy but he'll be free in about half an hour. You're welcome to wait for a while. I will tell him you're here." McGonagall said.
"Thank you." Lily said. "We'll sit by the lake for a while." McGonagall nodded and went back into the school. Lily and Remus walked towards the lake. There was a large beech tree that was right next to the lake. Lily and her friends had sat under there a lot during their years at Hogwarts. If it wasn't Lily, Jenny and April, the Marauders sat there. Occasionally there had been a clash of who sat there but after Lily and James got together there was peace all round. Lily and Remus sat down and looked over the lake.
"God, I miss this place." Remus said. Lily looked at Remus slightly amused.
"You say god?" She asked, "That's my word."
"You aren't the only on with muggle parents remember" Remus chuckled. Lily smiled.
"Oh yeah." Lily said. Her smile faded slightly. "I miss my parents." She said. "You guys are all lucky you still have them." Lily said.
"Lily it was, what? Six years ago you lost them."
"Five." Lily corrected.
"They got the chance to see Harry, they died happily." Remus said
"But they never saw Emma" Lily said.
"Neither did James' family." Remus said.
"Oh god, he got the worst deal didn't he?" Lily asked. Remus nodded. "How's Bo? He seemed a bit too hyper when I saw him."
"Oh yeah, he's still hyper. There's a full moon in a week and he's still refusing to take the Wolfsbane potion." Remus said. "He's too stubborn."
"You know who he gets it from?" Lily said with a smile.
"Jenny." Remus said. "The most I gave him was a curse on his life." Remus said.
"No, you didn't." Lily said. "Bo is happy and that's the most important thing. He doesn't care about being a werewolf, you can tell." Lily said. Remus looked at her sceptically. "Fine don't believe me." Lily said. "It's just what April told me."
"And how would April know?" Remus asked.
"She's a Legilimen!" Lily said. "Remember?" Lily said pretending to knock on Remus' head. Remus laughed.
"Oh yeah. I can't believe you girls made us try and figure it out." Remus said.
"I can't believe you guys only figured it out last year!" Lily said, "You're all so slow!" Remus and Lily laughed.
A/N:-Well, I've finished writing this storyline, haven't finished posting it though. The next chapter will kinda be the end of this storyline, i became a bit lazy, as I am generally, and now I'm working on next storyline. There's a little bit between Lily and James in the next chapter that i kinda like. BUT we're not there yet. I hope you liked this chapter, i'm kinda not completely happy with it but hey, what can i do?
There's a common theme in my reviews, Sirius and April....let me just tell you, things will get worse before they get better...it's just how i see their relationship! but it will get better for a while before it does get worse. They have a really really wierd love/hate relationship. As I said, it's how i see their relationship....also, just want to know for a possible future thing...What dop people think about April and Jenny ganging up against the perfect family in this story? well sorta...it'll make more sense when i start to write it. hm....is there anything else? erm...i don't think so. Will post the next chapter soon, maybe