Chapter 3

Not guilty.

That was what the court had said. Sirius was not guilty.

Ashley could not keep a grin off her face at that.

The day after, the same judge who had cleared Sirius would, with guidance from Sirius and input from Ashley, had granted temporary guardianship to Amelia Bones.

Ashley had met with both other families, of course. The Diggorys were alright, Ashley got along well with their son, Cedric, but Cedric's father had clashed with her somewhat.

The Weasleys, on the other hand, were wonderful. The twins, Fred and George, had been extremely amusing, cracking a great many jokes. Percy had felt somewhat distant to her, but he seemed to be a kind person. Ginny, the only girl, had also seemed somewhat distant. She had smiled at Ashley, blushing lots. She hadn't said much outside of 'hi' and 'bye.' Ron was also a rather sweet boy. He had challenged her to a game of chess at one point, and when Ashley stated she had never played, Ron had patiently explained the rules to her, and had also assisted her by explaining some beginner strategies.

Charlie, however, was without a doubt one of the coolest people Ashley had ever met. He was the current Quidditch captain of the Gryffindor team at Hogwarts, and, according to his entire family, including Percy, perhaps the greatest seeker to go through Hogwarts in the past decade. However, he would not be going into professional Quidditch after graduating. Instead, he would be heading off to Romania where he had a job lined up with a dragon reserve. How cool was that?

Arthur and Molly, the two Weasley parents, were also themselves very delightful. Mr. Weasley had eagerly asked her to explain some basic non-magical things (most of which Ashley knew nothing about, however this did nothing to slow down his enthusiasm, and eventually Mr. Weasley asked about a subject, aerodynamics, which Ashley actually had a book about. A book she had nicked from a book shop a few months ago. Mr. Weasley seemed absolutely delighted to finally have an entire book on the subject of how planes flew.

Mrs. Weasley was hugger. Best way to put it. She didn't try to hug Ashley immediately, thankfully, but when hearing some of Ashley's story, she offered a hug to the girl. Ashley cautiously accepted and was given a hug so full of affection that Ashley nearly cried. Her children were honestly so lucky to have her.

But ultimately, Ashley chose to live with Madam Bones and Susan for one simple reason: she and Susan got along so well. The two girls could spend hours together. They would simply talk or play one of the magical games Susan brought to show Ashley. The night Ashley moved in with them, she and Susan had spent hours into the night talking until her aunt had had to come in at 3 A.M. to tell them to sleep.

Ashley quickly took to referring to the woman as Amelia. Amelia was very kind to her and had not once raised her voice. She was stern, but she also allowed the girls a lot of freedom, and, as long as no muggles saw them do magic, allowed them to even wander the small town nearby. Of course, as Ashley would later learn, they had not been entirely unsupervised during those trips.

The first night, Ashley had stayed with Susan. Amelia had offered her a separate room, the next day, but the two girls saw no issue with them continuing to share.

For the first few weeks, Ashley had refused to be very far from her backpack. It had contained everything she owned for so long, and she had been without a dedicated place to put them for so long, that the habit was hard to break. Eventually, she would start to unpack. She put her clothes in her section of the closet. She finished off the last of her bread and gave her last apple to Susan. She and Susan would share the last of her bag of chocolates.

At one point, Susan asked what the decorations on her bag meant.

"Well, this is obviously a name tag." She pointed at her name on the bag. "This here is a drawing I made of Sirius in his dog form." She turned the bag around to show Susan the items on the straps. "This is a rainbow. And this I made myself. It's got this little symbol on it." She pointed out the . "It's meant to represent two girls. They're dating."

"Wait, you can do that?"

Ashley nodded. "Of course you can! Girls are just so much better!"

Susan nodded. "Of course!"

"The rainbow is also supposed to mean that. It can also mean two boys dating, but I'm not a boy, so for me it means girls."

"Why would boys want to date boys?"

Ashley shrugged. "No idea. But I guess if lots of girls can want to date boys, some boys can want to date boys too."

Susan nodded. "There must be some appeal to it then. Not for us though."

Ashley smiled. "Nope. I do not want to date a boy ever."

And with that, the two girls moved on to discuss other things. Specifically, Quidditch. A few days later, Amelia brought home a Holyhead Harpies pin for Ashley to put on her bag. Susan had asked her to get one for Ashley. Ashley pinned it right next to the rainbow.

Sirius would also often visit. Her godfather had given her many gifts, saying, "there's 7 years of birthdays and Christmas I need to make up."

Ashley cherished every single one.

Her wardrobe had also expanded. She had also, for the first time ever, tried on a dress. She wasn't sure at first, but after putting it on, she just marvelled at how it flowed around her.

Of course, Ashley promptly made the look fully hers by adding a pair of massive leather boots Sirius had bought her. She liked them. They made her feel intimidating.

She had also visited the Weasleys a few times with Susan. They always made her feel welcome, and while Mrs. Weasley seemed to disapprove of Ashley's choice in footwear, she never said anything, and Ginny seemed to approve anyway. Charlie of course definitely thought they were cool.

At night, however, things were not so perfect. Ashley would consistently wake up in the early morning in a cold sweat, her heart racing from some nightmare that she could not recall. She barely made any noise when she did, however. She got very good at being quiet over the past 6 months.

Still, it bothered her that she had absolutely no idea what on earth was waking her up every night. Fortunately, as the weeks spent with Susan and Amelia went on, the nightmares would lessen and nearly stop, now being such a rare occurrence that Ashley could almost forget about them.

Almost.

Ashley couldn't dwell on her nightmares, however, since her days were just so perfect now. Absolutely wonderful in every way.

Shortly after her arrival, Susan and Amelia had planned a late birthday party for Ashley's 9th birthday. Something which, while Ashley hadn't noticed, had come and gone while she had been a runaway.

There was one day that was… less than ideal. On Halloween, Ashley had found out that this was the 8th anniversary of her parents' death.

Sirius took her, with Susan and Amelia accompanying, to see her parents' graves. Ashley couldn't help it. She broke down crying for the first time since she could remember. She felt Sirius rest and arm on her shoulder and kiss her temple, quietly reassuring her.

As they stood to leave, Sirius conjured a wreath of flowers – lilies – and placed it in the space between the two headstones. Before they apparated away, Susan gave her a hug that would have rivalled one from Molly Weasley.

Christmas, on the other hand, was a much less sorrowful holiday. Ashley woke up to Susan poking her awake, a massive grin on her face. Ashley grinned right back at her.

"Come on, Ash! It's time for presents!"

Ashley got up out of bed, and Susan grabbed her hand, dragging her from the room.

Waiting for them by the tree were Sirius and Amelia, along with a childhood friend of Sirius and her dad, Remus Lupin.

Remus was a quiet sort. Ashley had met him in November, after returning from Czechoslovakia once he had heard about Sirius' trial. The two friends, while awkward, had been quick to re-bond.

Remus looked much older than his age. His hair was already graying in places. His clothes were rather shabby, containing several patches. He was wicked smart too. Were it not for the small issue of him being to nervous due to being a werewolf, he could probably have made an excellent teacher.

Oh yeah, he was also a werewolf. Pretty neat? Ashley thought so, but apparently most didn't. Once Ashley knew more, she didn't find it quite as neat.

Ashley sat down on an empty armchair, and was immediately crowded by Susan. The two girls elbowed each other and giggled, trying to unseat the other. It eventually ended with Ashley sitting on Susan's lap, and they were interrupted by Amelia.

"Girls, settle down."

Ashley nodded and slid off of Susan and the chair, sitting on the floor directly in front of the chair.

Sirius was quickly nominated to hand out all the presents.

"Let's see… oh here's one for Remus from me… and here's another for Remus from Ashley and Susan." He placed both gifts in front of Remus.

He continued, placing two gifts in front of Amelia: one from himself, the other jointly from Ashley and Susan.

"And this one here is mine!" He placed another gift in front of his seat. "And these two are also mine." He had one from Amelia, one from Remus, and one from Susan and Ashley.

"Now for Ashley… we have this one from me, this one from Remus, this one from Amelia… and here's one from Susan!" He placed Ashley's gifts next to her, before placing the last gifts, all for Susan, one from each of the other four, on Ashley's other side.

"And now… let's see what we got!"

Sirius eagerly tore open his gift from Ashley and Susan, pulling out a small model of a motorebike.

"We had Remus get it enchanted. It can fly and will make noises," Ashley said.

Ashley opened her gift from Sirius first. It was a leather jacket.

"You told me you wanted one a week ago… so I got you one."

Ashley smiled at him and threw her arms around him. "Thank you thank you thank you!" She immediately put it on over her pajamas.

Susan opened her gift from Sirius. Sirius had gotten her a Nimbus 1800. Sirius had also gotten one for Ashley for her 9th birthday, and Sirius simply said, "I figured you could use one too."

The two girls grinned at each other, silently promising each other to race later.

Remus had gotten a watch from Ashley and Susan. And not just any watch. This was Remus' old watch that was his last gift from Ashley's parents, fully repaired.

Amelia opened both her gifts at once. From Sirius she had gotten a collection of muggle history books (Amelia happened to really like history). From Susan and Ashley she had gotten a simple bracelet with charms of the letters S and A on it. She put it on and smiled at the girl.

Sirius opened his gift from Remus next. It was a small stuffed stag toy, looking identical in every way to Prongs. Sirius teared up upon seeing it, and Remus wrapped his arms around him in a hug.

Ashley opened her gift from Remus next. Remus had gotten her a collection of items to decorate her bag with, all of them related to magic in some way. There was a pin shaped like a broom, one shaped like a golden snitch, a dragon pendant, and one pin with the Hogwarts crest on it.

"When you get to Hogwarts and are sorted, it will change to whichever house you're sorted into."

Ashley wanted to run to get her bag but stopped herself. "Thank you, Remus!"

Susan opened her gift from Remus next. Remus had gotten her a pair of keeper gloves (Susan played keeper when they played casual games with the Weasleys. Ron would often play the other keeper). She tried them on and they fit perfectly. She smiled at the man. "Thanks."

Remus opened his gift from the two girls next. It was a set of gardening tools the two had gotten after he told them about his love for gardening.

Ashley opened her gift from Amelia next. From Amelia she had gotten a wizarding survival kit. It was a small trunk (bigger on the inside) that contained a magical tent (which itself was bigger on the inside), a lot of food kept in stasis by charms that were guaranteed to last over 10 years, and also space for her to keep clothes and other belongings.

"If you tap that rune on the side with you wand, the whole trunk becomes almost weightless. You can keep it in your bag if you want." Amelia demonstrated by tapping her wand on the rune and handing the trunk back to Ashley. She was right, the trunk was now extremely light.

"Thanks, Amelia!" Ashley said, hugging the older woman.

Sirius opened his last gift, from Amelia. She had given him a magical camera, which Sirius promptly used to take a photograph of all 5 of them.

Now there were only two gifts left. One for Ashley from Susan, and one for Susan from Ashley.

The two girls stared at each, silently daring the other to go first. Still staring, they both reached for their gifts at the same time. Then they broke eye contact and eagerly opened their gifts. They had gotten each other each a small bag of muggle sweets. The exact same bag. From the exact same store.

They made eye contact again and broke into giggles.

"Well," Ashley said, "great minds think alike."

Susan snorted. "Sour gummies are just good."

Ashley nodded in agreement.

After the two girls had run back to their room to put away their gifts (and Ashley attach all the new decorations to her bag), they ate breakfast, then Ashley and Susan went outside to play in the snow.

That afternoon, they went to visit the Weasleys.

Also visiting were the Lovegoods – Xenophilius, Pandora*, and their daughter, Luna. The two elder Lovegoods were sitting on one of the conjured couches talking with Bill Weasley about curse breaking. Luna, on the other hand, was currently engaged in discussion with Ginny. Susan and Ashley wandered over to the two other girls to find the discussion was about how adorable Luna found the gnomes.

"Luna's right. They are adorable," Ashley said.

Ginny sighed. "If you say so, Ashley."

"Hey Ashley!" Luna said, waving at her.

Ashley and Susan sat on the other side of Luna.

"Wanna play exploding snap?" Ginny asked.

Ashley nodded. "Sure."

Susan nodded too.

Ginny grinned and pulled out a pack of playing cards.

The four girls** stood up and took over and end of the kitchen table and started playing.

They played a few rounds, each of them winning at least once, before Mrs. Weasley told them that dinner was ready.

Everyone went outside to sit at 3 picnic tables placed end to end. The yard was covered in warming charms, fortunately, otherwise they would all be quite cold. Ashley ended up between Susan and Luna, with Ginny on Luna's other side. Across from them was Charlie, who smiled and said hi to Ashley and Susan.

While Ashley loaded her plate with peas, a few slices of turkey, and some potatoes, Susan skipped on the peas in favour of some cauliflower.

After eating, Ashley leaned back, but since there was no back to her seat, she ended up falling off the bench with a squawk.

Ginny and Luna laughed, and Susan helped her up.

Once Ashley was seated, she broke into giggles herself, prompting Susan to let out the laugh she had been holding in.

Once the 4 girls had gotten over their laughter, Mrs. Weasley announced that it was time for dessert. She levitated the remains of dinner (which was barely anything, including a single slice of turkey which Ashley snagged as it floated past), into the kitchen, and then levitated dessert out. There were all sorts of goodies, some of which Ashley had never seen before. Ashley decided to try a bit of everything.

After dinner, everyone headed back inside and the 4 girls** started up another game of exploding snap, this time with Ron joining in. After several rounds, Susan was the ultimate winner, and it was time for Sirius Remus Amelia Susan and Ashley to head home.

"Bye Luna! Bye Ginny!" Ashley said, hugging both girls. Susan did the same.

On the way out, they were stopped by Fred and George.

"We uh… we thought we ought to give this to you, Sirius," Fred said.

"It was yours when you went to Hogwarts anyway," George added.

They handed Sirius a small piece of parchment.

Sirius knew immediately what it was. "Boys… you should keep this. At least for now." He smiled at them. "Just give it to Ashley when she gets to Hogwarts, alright?"

Fred and George grinned. "You got it, Padfoot

Once home, Ashley and Susan each picked out a particularly large gummy from their bags.

"Is Christmas like that every year?" Ashley asked.

Susan shook her head. "Used to just be me and aunty. We hadn't known the Weasleys before. But I guess Christmas will be like this from now on."

Ashley smiled. "That's amazing."

Susan smiled back. "It really is, yeah."

The two girls sat down on Susan's bed with Ashley's bag. Ashley pulled out her new trunk. She opened it up and stuck her arm in all the way to her shoulder. "I can't feel the bottom," she said. She pulled her arm out and stuck her head in. "Wow, this is big in here." She looked around, spotting the tent leaning on a wall of the small room inside the trunk. She pulled her head out. "This is wicked, Sue." Ashley closed the trunk and put it on the floor. They continued to talk for a bit after, but sleep eventually took over, and the two girls would fall asleep.

Sirius would later come to say bye before he left with Remus, but he just found the girls asleep on Susan's bed, Ashley having rolled over at one point and stuck her head in Susan's armpit. Sirius smiled before walking over and picking up Ashley, carrying her over to her bed.

She woke up. "Sirius?"

"Hey Ash. Just came to say bye, but you and Susan were already asleep. I'm just tucking you into your bed."

Ashley sighed. "Bye Sirius. Love you," she said as Sirius tucked her under her blankets.

"I love you too, Ash."

He also pulled Susan's blankets over her.

When he left the room, Ashley was back to being fast asleep.

He quietly closed the door behind himself, then went back to the fireplace where Remus was waiting to floo home with him.

*In canon, Luna's mum died when Luna was 9. Since Ashley is 9 now and Luna is around a year younger than her, her mum should still be alive.

**Ginny isn't even close to coming out as non-binary yet. So, until they do, the narrative will be referring to them as a girl. At least for now.