Remus sat in his armchair, reading peacefully as Cyra worked in the kitchen. She had wanted to try a new cookie recipe, and he was not about to get in the way. She was thirteen now, and more than capable to work in a kitchen by herself. Though he still stayed close by, just in case.

The silence was calming for him, the only sound coming from her cracking eggs. His eyes began to drift shut, his focus on the page lost.

"Dad?"

He picked his head up quickly, looking over at her with tired eyes, "Hm? What is it love?" She wasn't facing him, her head tilted down so he couldn't see her expression. She hesitated for a moment before speaking again, "Who..was Padfoot and Prongs?"

Well that was a wake up call. He felt his world shift suddenly, inhaling sharply as he realized what she said, "How do you know those names?" It was then she finally lifted her head, meeting his eyes with a sad gaze, "Your jacket. There was a note between you and a Padfoot. He mentioned a Prongs punching him."

"Ah." That was all he could say, the shock having shaken him up. Closing his eyes, he leaned his head back against the cushion, sighing. The silence grew, now much tenser than before. It didn't seem Cyra was going to interrupt it this time, probably worried about saying the wrong thing and causing him to retreat.

He never spoke much about his past, and when he did slip up, he closed up like a clam. It wasn't that he didn't trust Cyra, it was just too painful to speak about. She never pressed him about it, until now.

"Padfoot was my friend." He pressed out, before he quickly rescinded it, "No, no. I shouldn't lie to you.." He heard her footsteps approach him, opening his eyes to see her settling on the couch opposite of him. Softening his gaze, he tried once again, "He was my partner."

He waited for the disgust, but there was none. Cyra simply nodded, watching with open curiosity. It felt as if a huge boulder had lifted off his shoulders, one he put there himself, it seems. Cyra never questioned him before on his sexuality, nor did she press him when she was younger for a mother. Perhaps she already knew.

"His name was Sirius." He continued, looking over to the fireplace so he'd have a distraction, "He was.. a rebellious wizard. Gryffindor like Prongs and I. Prongs, ah, his name was James. We used nicknames with eachother. I was Moony, James was Prongs, Sirius was Padfoot, and Peter was Wormtail."

He glanced over to see her still intently listening, her gaze never moving from him, "We were troublemakers, much like a certain trio I know." He gave her a pointed look, to which Cyra attempted to fake innocence, "I have no idea what you're speaking of. Fred and George cause trouble, I simply-"

"Get roped in even though if you said no, you know they wouldn't make you?"

Her eyes shot to the fireplace, her lips formed in a pout. Remus chuckled, shaking his head, "I used that excuse too. Though most of the time, I was the one who came up with the pranks." He let out a wistful sigh, relaxing against his armchair, "We were as close as brothers. All of us."

Cyra heard the shift in his voice, waiting for him to continue, to explain why he didn't seem to believe what he just said. Remus closed his eyes, taking in a breath before forcing out, "Until Sirius betrayed us." She inhaled sharply, her eyes widening as she began to put the pieces together.

"James Potter, my friend and a man Sirius considered a brother. He and his wife Lily, they were killed by You-know-who."

She held back from speaking, not wanting to interrupt him. Remus kept his eyes squeezed tightly together, feeling them begin to wet with tears.

"I still don't understand. Sirius looked up to James, he considered him family. He hated everything his family stood for, so why would he.."

His voice cracked, having to choke back a sob. Taking that a cue to comfort him, she hurried off her seat and to him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders. Remus shuddered, laying his head on her shoulder as tears streaked his cheeks, "I loved him. Even when we were at odds and didn't know who the spy was! I never doubted him! I knew he wouldn't. I-I thought he.."

She petted his head slowly, running her fingers through his sandy brown hair. After allowing him to cry, she spoke up, "You don't think he actually did it." It wasn't a question, but a statement. Remus pulled back, looking at her with red-rimmed eyes, "N-No. I don't. Even if Dumbledore swears, he was their secret keeper, I don't. I know Sirius would rather die."

Cyra looked down at him with worry, "Then why haven't you seen him?" She knew now who Sirius actually was. She knew the story. How could she not? The darkest wizard to live, destroyed by a one year old boy, Harry Potter. It was a tale they all knew, from being whispered excitedly in the halls, the mournful cries of children orphaned, everyone knew what happened that night. Or perhaps they thought they did.

Remus was silent, and it was because there was no answer. He didn't know why. Even though he felt Sirius was being somehow framed, the facts were all there. But he could have gone to ask him. So why didn't he?

"I'm terrified."

"Of what?"

"Of what they say being true."

"Honestly, you should have seen his face!"

"It was glorious, Cy, I wish you were there."

Cyra tried to keep her disapproving frown, though it was rather hard when both boys were holding her hands and swinging them like they were five years old. After a few more swings that almost took her sockets out, she finally broke, "I can't wait to see how your mother is going to react. Do you remember the time you told Ginny she was adopted because she was the only girl?"

Fred grinned at the memory, "Yeah, good times." His twin, George had an identical grin, though he was looking at Cyra, "If I remember correctly, you joined in on that one." She gripped his hand in warning, narrowing her eyes, "Watch who you're incriminating, mister. She asked me about being adopted and I told her how it worked. That's it!"

"But you didn't tell her she wasn't adopted."

Her lips quirked for a moment, "Well..perhaps I just wanted to see what would happen." George raised a brow at that, his grin growing wider, "Oh yeah?" At that, she slipped her hands from theirs, continuing on their path, "We're going to lose Percy if we keep lagging."

"That's the point!"

She could only take a couple more steps before she was dragged back, held captive by the twins. They took a look ahead to see Percy still had yet to notice their absence, bragging to Penelope about his new prefect badge.

"Good. He's distracted by his girlfriend."

"Time to go."

Cyra gasped, panicking as she was rushed off, "Wait, what?!" At the shout, Percy looked over his shoulder curiously, "Huh? Strange. That sounded like Cyra." Penelope looked behind them, confused, "Yeah..say, where is she?"

"Well she was with the twins, and they were supposed to be- NO!"

Penelope braced herself, covering her ears quickly as her crush screamed out, "FRED! GEORGE! I'LL TELL MUM ON YOU!"

As they ducked through vendors and pedestrians, Cyra continued to shout out, "Where are we going!?" Fred held tightly to her hand, leading them through, "I told you! You'll see!"

"That's not an answer!"

George laughed, glancing behind to check on her, "You getting tired? Want me to carry you?" He watched her shake her head furiously, "Absolutely not!" Cyra huffed as she gasped for air, "I-I can do it!"

"Atta girl!"

"Only a few more turns!"

"TO WHERE!?"

"Here ye are Harry, ye can hurry along inside, I've got a stop I need to make."

Harry watched the large man, Hagrid, leave through the crowd. Sighing, he glanced back at the store sign, "Ollivanders..is this where I get my wand?"

Pushing open the door, he jumped at the jingling bell before calling out, "Excuse me? Is anyone here?"

He looked around the dusty shop, checking every corner for something to jump out at him. Not but a couple hours ago was he told that he was a wizard, and now he's been left alone in this big shop.

"Ah..hello there."

His eyes shot to the older man who stepped out from behind the shelves, wiping his hands with a handkerchief, "How may I help you today?"

"I was looking for a wand."

"EXCUSE ME!"

The sound of the jingling bell was drowned out by the simultaneous voices. Whipping around in a panic, he took in the strangers that entered. They looked only a couple years older than him. Two redheaded boys who looked identical, and a young brunette girl who was gasping for breath.

The redheaded twins hurried to the counter, leaving the girl by the door, "Can you sell us a fake wand?"

Ollivander raised a white brow at the pair, "Ah.. Weasley boys, I see. I've heard you two are quite the troublemakers at Hogwarts." He looked over their heads to their exhausted companion, "And who might this be?"

Harry watched as she lifted her head to meet Ollivander's gaze, her eyes a bright gold that it took his breath away. Was it possible for eyes to look like that? Perhaps in the magical world. He held a faint memory of a girl he once met who had eyes that looked almost golden, but he was sure it was just his mind playing tricks.

"Ah! Miss Lupin! A pleasure to see you again, how is your wand treating you?" Ollivander smiled kindly at the girl, heading out past the boys to take out a clean handkerchief and offer it to her. She took it, wiping her forehead with a huff, "It's great. Though I'm having some issues with defense magic. I'm sure it's not the wand though."

"I'll take a look just to be sure."

She looked at him in surprise as if she didn't expect him to help her, before reaching into her bomber jacket and taking out the long dark wand. Ollivander took it, before heading back behind the counter, "Now, as for you boys. You will have to wait. I had a customer come in before you."

Harry felt bad as the boys seemed to be disappointed, almost about to speak up for them to go ahead of him when the girl cut in, "That's fine. Right guys?" They took a look at her before smiling, "Yeah! We can wait!" It was then their gaze went to him, their smiles turning impish, "And who is this firstie?"

"I-I'm Harry. Harry Potter." He answered quickly, backing up to where the girl was, figuring she was the safer option.

Their eyes seemed to widen for a moment, sharing a look before holding out their hands to him, "Pleased to meet you Harry Potter!" One stood forward, taking his hand and shaking it, "I'm Gred!" The other copied his brother, "And I'm Forge!"

The girl scoffed before whispering where only he could hear, "Don't believe them. It's Fred and George." Harry paused for a moment before looking back at the twins unsurely, "Hello, Fred and George?" They faltered in their intense hand shaking, looking at him in shock before looking back at their companion.

"Cyra!"

"That's cheating!"

She let out a sigh before reaching down to separate their hands from his, holding it within hers, "No it's not. You shouldn't be confusing children in the first place." It was then she came back into his view, crouching down to his height. She smiled so sweetly that it made him feel embarrassed, "It's nice to meet you again, Harry. I'm Cyra Lupin."

He nodded before her words hit him, looking at her confused, "Wait. Again?" The twins behind her looked just as confused as he. Cyra gave him a wink before leaning in to whisper, "Have you taken good care of Mr. Bingles?" Those words struck him like lightning, his memories of her coming to the surface, including the worn out unicorn that he packed hastily when Hagrid retrieved him.

Without another word, he wrapped his arms tightly around her neck in a tight hug, "Cyra!" She laughed, hugging him back, "Hi Harry, welcome to my world." He whispered quietly, "I'm sorry I disappeared. Uncle Vernon wouldn't let me." She rubbed his back comfortingly, "It's okay. I understand."

He could almost cry from how understanding she was. She was always so nice to him. He felt absolutely awful when he couldn't see her again, and dreaded how she must have felt. Pulling back, he smiled weakly at her, "I promised I'd see you again." She stared at him patiently, still smiling, "And so you did. Good to see you again, Harry."

"You too, Cyra."

"Take very good care of your wand, Ms. Lupin." Ollivander scolded her, causing the teenager to look away in shame. He had explained the blockage in the wand, with her emotions being connected to it, she needed to be sure what she is feeling when she is casting. If she doesn't want to harm her opponent, then it simply won't work.

Wishing him goodbye, she politely exited the shop, tucking her wand back into her jacket. As she turned around, she noticed the stares she was receiving from the twins. Sighing, she took Harry's hand and began leading him through the streets, "What is it?"

"You didn't tell us you had another friend!"

"And with Harry Potter! When was this!?"

Cyra repressed the urge to roll her eyes, "You make it sound as if I've cheated on you. I met him on my seventh birthday. We played at a muggle park."

"The day we proposed to you!?"

"Do we mean nothing to you, woman!?"

Confused, Harry stood up on his toes to ask her quietly, "Are you dating one of them?"

"Nope, they're just like that." She whispered back, her eyes looking around the crowd for Hagrid. She still couldn't understand how he could leave a child alone in the street. Wasn't he supposed to be protected? From how Moony described it, Harry was hard to access, being the boy who lived. But she literally just scooped him up from the wand shop.

Fred came to her right side, "You see him as a brother, right?" Cyra glanced at him, raising a brow, "Huh? Well, yeah." Both boys seemed pleased at that, including Harry, who tried to hide his grin.

George came beside Harry, looking down at him with a smile, "No worries, Harry, we'll keep you safe."

Wasn't he already being kept safe by Cyra? She was the one actively looking for his guardian. He didn't want to offend George, so he simply smiled back.

"HARRY, THERE YE ARE!"

Cyra held the child's hand tightly as the giant approached, "Hagrid." The larger man seemed to pause as he finally noticed the girl and her companions, "Ahh, Cyra. Nice to see you and the twins. I see you found Harry. Thank you kindly."

She watched as he raised his hand for Harry to take, and waited to see if Harry would. When he did not make a move, she squeezed her hand gently around his before speaking once again, "Hagrid, how come Harry was by himself? Did Dumbledore assign you to him as his guardian?"

Hagrid felt himself waver as he saw how intense Cyra's eyes were, pinning him to the spot as she awaited his answer. "U-Uh.." He stammered, gripping at his coat to wipe his sweaty palms off, "Well ye see, I went to go get Harry a pet." He held up the cage to prove he was telling the truth, "I got him an owl."

Harry's eyes lit up at the sight of the bird, but didn't move from Cyra's side. Her eyes softened for a moment before narrowing back at the giant, "What if he got hurt? Or kidnapped? The wizarding world can be dangerous for a child by themselves."

She watched as the realization struck the man, the shame showing on his expression. Fred and George stood behind her, remaining silent and allowing her to handle the situation. She was grateful for their presence however, for their scents allowed her to remain in control of her emotions.

She truly adored Hagrid, but she couldn't understand why Dumbledore sent him to guard such a precious package like Harry. The half giant could be very forgetful, and a child seemed like a lot of responsibility. Where were his real guardians?

The moment she saw the tears in the older man's eyes, she held her hand up, speaking softer, "Hagrid, it's okay. Mistakes happen, and Harry is perfectly fine." He sniffled, pulling out a handkerchief from his coat pocket and wiping his eyes, "Cyra, I'm so grateful ye found him. I wasn't thinking, I wasn't!"

Sighing, she came over to him, patting his arm comfortingly, "There, there. I know. It's okay. Look, he's fine." Hagrid blinked through the tears to see that she was right, Harry was perfectly safe, holding on to Cyra.

Wiping his eyes, he bent down to Harry's height, "I want to apologize to ye especially, Harry. I dunno what I'd do if something happened to ye." Harry seemed unsure what to do, so he copied Cyra's actions and patted Hagrid's arm, "It's okay Hagrid."

"OH YE SWEET LAD!"

He let out a yelp as he was snatched up in tight hug, lifted up high in the air. Cyra let go of his hand, standing off to the side, watching them with a smile.

As the Giant blubbered over the boy, Fred and George took her hands into theirs.

"It might be time to let them finish their shopping, Cyra."

"Yeah, we've got to get back to Percy or else he'll have a conniption."

Cyra looked at them both with wide eyes, "What? Go? But Hagrid needs help watching Harry." George stared at her knowingly, reaching up to tuck a curl behind her ear, "No, Cyra, he doesn't. He's learned from his mistake."

"Yeah." Fred agreed, squeezing her hand in his, "You don't need to hover. You know Hagrid will protect Harry with his life." Her cheeks flushed at that, stuttering, "I-I'm not..hovering." They tugged at her to follow them, smiling kindly at her.

Realizing there was no winning against them, she let out a sigh before turning her head to face Harry, "I'll see you soon, okay? Stay safe!" Harry gasped out, reaching for her, "Promise?" The twins had to hold her hands firmly to keep her from reaching back, beginning to move them away. "I do!" She swore, shooting Harry a bright smile, "I promise!"

That was the last thing he saw before she disappeared into the busy crowd. Hagrid placed him down, brushing his shoulders off, "Well then, it's good ye got all acquainted to those three! The Twins are troublemakers, but very nice boys. Cyra is the one who keeps them in check though, a very sweet girl she is." Harry kept staring sadly at where she was before, "Yeah, she's really nice."

Noticing his sour mood, Hagrid placed his hand on his head, "Now, no frowns, Mr. Potter! We've got to get your robes next! Need to look very sharp this year!" Harry managed a smile as the large fingers blocked his vision, "Alright, alright. Lead the way, Hagrid!"