Chapter Thirteen: 12 Grimauld Place
Friday evening, Severus gathered Haley, Ashley, Harry, and Dudley for a weekend visit to the home Remus and Sirius shared. It had been decided that the children, especially Haley, could do with a break away from the school, have some fun, and hopefully, relax for a change.
Students had continued to hound Haley with questions any time she was around. It had gotten to the point where everyone in the system was now uneasy and preferred to stay away from the general population. Even James, who was, arguably, the most sociable alter, did not want to deal with "annoyin' people who don't know how to mind their own business", as he'd put it.
Matters had not been made any easier by the Daily Prophet, which had continued to publish theories about Haley, her relatives, and how they related to her past. Luckily, none of their speculations had come close to the truth. At least, not yet anyway.
It had been Remus who had come up with the idea. He had already been planning to have Harry and Dudley over and suggested Haley join them. Severus had suggested Ashley come along, stating that it would be wise to have someone familiar around—someone everyone in the system knew and trusted—should someone become overwhelmed or otherwise distressed. Ashley had been only too happy to agree.
"How are we going to get there, sir?" Ashley asked as they waited in the Entrance Hall for Remus.
"You will be driven there by a ministry official," Severus said simply.
"Who?" Ashley asked.
"I don't know," Severus said honestly as Remus joined them.
"Wizards can drive cars?" Dudley blurted out.
"Some of them," Remus said.
"Can you, sir?"
"I can get by," Remus said. "Sirius is better than I am."
"What's your house like, sir?" Harry asked.
"You'll just have to wait and see, won't you?" He glanced down at his watch and nodded to himself. "They should be here by now."
Severus nodded and gestured the children forward, taking charge of pushing Haley's chair through the double doors and out to the waiting car. Robert stood by the vehicle, a huge grin lighting up his face.
"Daddy!" Ashley cried upon seeing Robert, rushing forward to give him a hug. Robert scooped her up, spinning her around until she let out a squeal of delight.
"Sir," Harry greeted, inclining his head to Robert, who gave the boy a warm smile, setting Ashley gently back on her feet.
"Hello children," he said.
"He's your dad?" Dudley asked Ashley.
Ashley nodded. "You know him?"
Harry and Dudley nodded.
"He was the Auror we met when we first came to Hogwarts," Harry said.
Robert nodded.
"Oh," Ashley said. "I thought it might've been him, when you were telling me about your first night here, but I wasn't sure."
Haley looked confused. "Uh, who's that?" she asked no one in particular.
"Merlin's beard, Haley, I'm so sorry," Ashley said. "Of course, you weren't out yet when you first came here. Haley, this is my dad, Robert. He's an Auror for the Ministry. It's like, uh…"
"Muggle police," Robert offered, moving forward to kneel in front of Haley's chair and lightly touching her hand. "Hello, Haley."
Haley smiled slightly. "How… Why do I, we, know you?" she asked.
"My partner and I were the Aurors that responded the night you came to Hogwarts. We met you in the hospital wing and stayed to watch you be sorted."
"Why?"
"We were curious," Robert said simply. "Haley, do you remember your cousin, Amelia?"
Haley nodded. "She watched me for my aunt and uncle, sometimes," she said. "Why?"
"Amelia is my partner," Robert said gently. "She was with me that day. She wanted to stay to see where you would be sorted."
"Amelia was there?" Haley asked, her voice small. "I missed seeing her."
Robert smiled gently, squeezing Haley's hand. "Nonsense," he said. "You may have missed seeing her that time, but she can come and visit you any time you'd like. She hasn't come yet, because neither of us were sure if you would remember seeing her. She didn't want to overwhelm you."
"She can come and see me?" Haley asked, eyes round.
"Of course!" Robert said. "Shall I tell her you'd like to see her?"
Haley nodded.
"Excellent," Robert said, standing. "I will do that. Now, let's get you children out of the cold and into the car, shall we? Leave your trunks there, we'll get them"
As Ashley, Harry, and Dudley raced to the car, Haley turned to the adults. "How do I get in?" she asked, tapping her wheelchair.
"Well," Robert said, "would you like to sit on the seat in the car, or in your chair?"
"In the car."
"Okay then. Professor, if you could bring Haley next to the car. Haley, reach out. Feel the seat? Can you pull yourself onto it?"
Haley tried but struggled. The car was much smaller than her bed, which was a piece of cake to get onto, compared to the small space of the car.
"Would you like some help?" Leo asked.
"No," Haley replied mentally, gritting her teeth.
"Are you going to be stubborn then?" Leo asked with a chuckle.
Haley ignored him.
Severus levitated the chair up slightly. Haley squeaked in surprise but was able to crawl onto the seat with some difficulty. Growling in frustration, she managed to sit up and get her legs inside the car before settling back, exhausted.
Severus lips twitched. "You were offered help," he said simply. "Perhaps you should have taken it."
Haley gave Severus a questioning look. "How did you know?"
"You shook your head, clenched your jaw, and scowled. I assumed someone was offering their assistance and that you were declining simply to be stubborn."
Haley scowled.
Remus chuckled. "Well, you managed to get in," he said, "though you look quite exhausted. Nothing that a nice meal won't fix, eh?"
Haley nodded. She was starting to get a little hungry, having not eaten dinner at the castle, since Remus had informed them, dinner would be provided once they reached his home.
"Well," Robert said, "let's get on the road then, shall we?" He inclined his head to Severus, who folded up the wheelchair and placed it into the boot of the car alongside everyone's trunks.
"Bye Professor," Dudley called.
Severus nodded to the child. "Haley," he said, hand on her door. "Should you need anything, call Nelly."
Haley nodded.
Severus stepped back and closed the door. Robert climbed into the driver's seat, closed his door, and pulled out, waving to Severus as he drove the car through the large, iron gates of the school's grounds.
"And off we go," Remus said, beaming. "Off to adventure and mischief, as Sirius would say."
Ashley giggled.
"What are we going to do all weekend?" Harry asked.
"Whatever we want," Remus said. "Within reason. I have to ask, though, have you children finished your homework?"
"Nearly," Harry said.
"I'm having trouble," Dudley said.
"With what subject?" Remus asked.
"Defense Against the Dark Arts," Dudley said sheepishly.
"Not a problem," Remus said. "I'll help you. Haley? Ashley?"
"I just need to finish my Charms essay," Ashley said.
"I don't know," Haley said. "Uh… Maybe?"
"Check in with Leo," Remus reminded gently.
"Oh, right," Haley muttered. "Still not used to this."
"It's all right," Remus said. "It will take time for you to get into the habit of communicating with everyone on a regular basis."
Haley nodded. "I haven't been out much to practice it," she said. "After what happened with Chase…"
"What happened?" Dudley asked. "Is he okay?"
Haley nodded. "He's fine," she said. "He cut himself though, and I don't like feeling them, so I didn't come out much."
"Oh," Harry and Dudley said in unison.
"Cut himself?" Dudley asked. "Like on his skin? Why would he do that?"
Haley shrugged. "I guess he got scared or something. I don't know."
"Poor guy," Dudley murmured.
"Yeah," Harry agreed. "He's okay though?"
Haley nodded.
The car pulled up onto a street outside a row of houses in a rundown Muggle neighborhood. Paint was peeling off some of them, while others had broken windows, doors, or were otherwise in disrepair.
"Come on," Remus said. "Out of the car, all of you."
Once everyone was standing in front of 11 Grimauld Place, Haley in her wheelchair, Remus pulled a piece of parchment from his robes and passed it to Ashley, who was closest. "Read that," he said. "Out loud, please."
Confused, Ashley looked down at the parchment and read. "The home of Sirius Black can be found at 12 Grimauld Place, London, England." Looking up, she added, "Why did I have to—"
She broke off as a battered door appeared out of nowhere between numbers 11 and 13, followed by dirty walls and grimy windows.
"Whoa!" Dudley breathed.
"What?" Haley asked.
"There's a house that just appeared out of nowhere," Ashley said. "It says 12 Grimauld Place on the door."
"Courtesy of myself last weekend," Remus said. "That wasn't there when we first moved in. It's a bit run-down, but it's slowly improving with a bit of hard work. The home holds unpleasant memories for Sirius, but I'm confident we can create new, better memories for him. Enough of that for now, though. In we go."
Remus led the way up the stone steps and paused at the door just as it opened to reveal a grinning Sirius. He raised his hand and beckoned.
Harry led the way past Sirius and into the large home, Dudley and Ashley trailing behind him, Remus, Robert, and Haley bringing up the rear, Robert levitating Haley's chair up the steps.
"Welcome to my humble abode," Sirius said dramatically, grinning at the children. "Come in, come in. Dinner's nearly finished."
The group stopped in the middle of a long hallway lit with gas lamps and an overhead chandelier. To the right sat a long table with more lights above it, surrounded by many comfy-looking chairs.
"We usually have dinner down in the kitchen," Sirius said, "but I figured we would make things easier for you, Haley, and use the dining area up here. Will you be staying for dinner, Robert?"
Robert shook his head. "I need to get back to the office," he said, giving Ashley a hug. "I have some paperwork that needs to be completed. You children be on your best behavior."
"No promises, sir," Harry said cheekily.
Robert grinned. "Haley, we'll be in touch soon, okay?"
Haley nodded. "Sir?"
"Yes?"
"Tell Amelia I miss her."
"I will," Robert said warmly.
"Right then," Remus said, once Robert had left. "Ashley, Haley, this is Sirius, my partner. Haley, on the day you were brought into the hospital wing, Sirius and I arrived to check on Harry, as he had fainted just before the Start-of-Term Feast. When the staff was informed about you having DID, I asked Sirius to help me find more information about the disorder, so that I could learn as much as possible."
"Not to worry, Haley," Sirius said. "I won't tell anyone. It isn't my place to."
"Thank you," Haley said quietly. "Um, how did you know Harry before?"
"I'm his godfather," Sirius said.
"I found out last weekend," Harry said. "He and Professor Lupin took Dudley and me out for the day and explained everything. Dudley and I get to live with them. They're taking custody of me and are going to adopt Dudley too!"
"That way I don't carry on the last name of Dursley," Dudley growled with a scowl.
"Wretched last name, Dursley," Sirius growled.
"Yeah," Dudley said. "Anything's better than that. Even if it means people ask me loads of questions if it's changed to Potter."
"Hey," Harry protested. "Potter's a great last name."
"Yeah," Dudley said, a teasing grin on his face. "It's great being lumped in with the famous Harry Potter, eh?"
"I hate people knowing me just because I unintentionally did something as a baby. Maybe you should take Sirius or Professor Lupin's last name. Then you don't have to worry about people asking you loads of questions."
"I don't mind," Dudley said with a shrug. "So long as my last name isn't Dursley."
Haley was confused as to why Dudley hated that last name, specifically, but figured she could ask Ashley to explain later. She felt bad for having to have people re-introduce themselves and explain things to her, all because she hadn't been out.
It was frustrating, really. Up until now, she hadn't realized just how much she'd missed when not out. Granted, she'd been struggling recently, but that still didn't stop the frustration from nearly winning out.
"Are you all rightright?" Leo asked.
"Fine," Haley mentally grumbled.
"Are you sure? You seem a bit tense. Frustrated."
"I'll manage."
"Haley," Leo said gently, "talk to me, darling. What's going on?"
"It's nothing," Haley mumbled. "I'll deal with it."
"Haley," Leo said, voice softer. "It's my job to help you and make sure you're all right. I can tell that you're not doing okay. Please, talk to me. Trust me. I'm here for you, you know that. You can talk to me."
"I…" Haley hesitated. "I'm fine, it's just that I hate not knowing what happened when I wasn't out. I didn't even know my cousin had come, or that I'd seen her. I had to meet Robert, and he already knew me, and I don't really like meeting new people, so I'm still anxious from that, I think."
"Is that why you wouldn't accept help from me earlier?" Leo asked.
"Yeah, 'cause I didn't know what would happen if you fronted, even if I'm co-con with you. I'm still not used to that, either."
"I wouldn't have fully fronted," Leo said gently. "I would have moved your arms a different way, so you had a better chance of pulling yourself up."
"Still," Haley muttered. "That feels weird. I'm not in control of my body then. It's… odd."
"I understand," Leo said. "It's going to take time, but we'll all work on communicating better with you, all right? I always know what's going on, so if someone forgets, or won't talk to you, I will inform you of what happened."
"Chase won't tell me what happens," Haley said. "He hates me."
"He's one of our trauma holders, darling. He struggles a lot. It's going to take some time for him."
"You're not denying that he hates me."
Leo was silent for a few moments. "No," he said softly, "no, I'm not."
"I didn't do anything to him."
"I know that. You know that."
"But he thinks I did?"
"He's misunderstanding things right now."
"Yeah, enough to hate me."
Leo put an arm over Haley's shoulders and squeezed gently. "It's complicated. We'll talk more about that later, all right?"
Haley nodded.
"Speaking of Chase, Haley, you need to be more mindful about what you tell others. Adults are fine, especially Anna and Professor Snape, but it is Chase's business what he does, and others don't need to be keyed into that, unless he gives permission."
"Which he won't."
"Maybe not, but that's his choice to make, darling, don't you think?"
Haley nodded. "I'm sorry," she said. "I didn't think about that."
"Well, now you know," Leo said.
Haley nodded. "I guess I'm a little upset that he hurt the body. My… our body. I mean, I'm not mad at him or anything, I just don't understand."
"And that is perfectly fine," Leo said. "It's okay to be upset."
"He's going to hate me even more for telling people what he did."
"Maybe, but you can't control his reaction, only how you handle it. You didn't know."
"But I should have."
"Really? Why?"
"Because it makes sense. I wouldn't want people telling other people my secrets."
"Haley, up until now, you hadn't had a reason to think about that. You're still learning. You're going to make mistakes, and you know what?"
"What?"
"You learn from them."
"I still feel bad."
"And that's okay, but you learned something, didn't you?"
"I guess."
"Good. How are you feeling now?"
"Other than feeling bad for telling people about Chase?"
"Other than that," Leo said with a chuckle.
"I'm okay."
"Good. Do you want to stay out?"
Haley nodded. "I'm hungry."
"Then eat."
Haley withdrew her attention from the inner world back to the outer world, focusing on the sounds around her to help her. She blinked once she was fully present and shook her head, feeling a bit disoriented. She jumped when a voice spoke beside her, calm and quiet.
"Welcome back," Remus said. "Haley?"
Haley nodded. "What did I miss?" she asked, turning her gaze to the right, where she could hear Ashley and the others talking.
"Not much," Remus said. "Everyone's sitting down for dinner. We noticed you weren't here with us, so I stayed here until you, or someone else, came back."
Haley felt her cheeks grow warm. "Sorry," she mumbled.
"Nothing to apologize for," Remus said. "Are you doing, okay?"
Haley nodded. "Leo wanted to talk to me for a bit."
"Ahh. How is he doing?"
"He's doing good," Haley said.
"That's good," Remus said. "And everyone else?" He lightly touched Haley's arm, tapping the bandages that were still hidden under the glamour.
"Everyone's doing good," Haley said. "I wasn't supposed to tell people about Chase though. I didn't know that."
"Luckily, you told people you can trust," Remus said warmly. "Professor Snape told me so that I could tend to the wounds while you are here. Now, I think it's time for you to eat something, don't you?"
Haley nodded.
Remus pushed Haley up to the table, next to Ashley, who grinned.
"Steak, potatoes, corn, buttered bread, and green beans for dinner, Haley," Sirius said. "A little birdie told me you enjoyed steak."
Haley grinned. "Leo does," she said.
"Have you ever had it before?"
Haley shook her head. "I was supposed to one time, but I think Leo ate it when he fronted."
Sirius laughed. "Well, here, let me get you some, and you can try it for yourself. Would you like anything else?"
Haley shrugged. "I haven't really been out at mealtimes. Students keep asking me really personal questions and trying to figure out what happened to me. I don't like it, so it's usually someone else that's out at meals."
Sirius shook his head. "Well, there's none of that here," he said. "Let's get you a little of everything, that way you can try it and see if you like it. If you don't, don't worry. You tried it, and that's important."
Haley smiled. "Thank you," she said. She speared a piece of meat onto her fork and plopped it into her mouth, grinning as the flavors burst into life on her tongue.
"You like it?" Sirius asked, grinning.
Haley nodded, spearing another piece of steak. "It's so juicy," she said.
"That's what makes a good steak," Sirius said.
"Did you make it?" Ashley asked.
"Merlin, no. Kreacher did. Kreacher!"
There was a loud pop, and an old house-elf appeared. He had a bulbous, snout-shaped nose, bloodshot eyes, many folds of skin, and white hair growing out of his bat-like ears. He stooped with age but straightened after his introductory bow to Sirius.
"Master called Kreacher?"
"This is Kreacher," Sirius said to the table. "Kreacher, this is Harry, Dudley, Ashley, and Haley."
Kreacher bowed to each of them in turn.
"He's bowing to you, Haley," Remus said. Turning to Kreacher, he added, "Haley is blind, Kreacher."
Kreacher eyed Haley for a moment then nodded. "I is Kreacher, Miss," he said simply.
"Hi, Kreacher," Haley said, offering the elf a kind smile. "You made the dinner?"
"Yes, Miss."
"It's really good," Haley said.
"Yeah," Ashley agreed.
"Agreed," Harry said.
"Delicious," Dudley added.
"You did well, Kreacher," Sirius said.
"As always," Remus added.
Kreacher beamed, positively delighted with the praise. "Is you ready for dessert?" he asked.
"Dessert!" Harry, Dudley, and Ashley exclaimed.
"I still have food," Haley said.
"You can continue eating," Sirius said. "When you're ready for dessert, let us know." Turning to the other children, he eyed their empty plates. "Go ahead and bring the dessert, Kreacher," he said.
Kreacher bowed and scurried off through a door at the far end of the hall.
"What did you make?" Ashley asked, once he had reappeared with a covered dish.
"Treacle tart, Miss."
"That's my favorite!" Harry, Dudley, and Ashley exclaimed in unison, then burst out laughing.
Haley tilted her head curiously. "What's treacle tart?" she asked.
"It's a kind of pastry that's filled with treacle, which is a kind of sweet syrup, and lemon," Ashley said.
"It sounds good," Haley said.
"It's excellent," Sirius said. "Once you've finish up your dinner, I'll dish you up some."
Haley nodded and tucked into her meal. She couldn't remember eating food this good in…. Well, she wasn't sure if she'd ever had food this good before. She knew she had been missing out on the food at Hogwarts, no thanks to the prying students. She only hoped the school food was as good as the food she was eating now.
"This is delicious, Kreacher!" Dudley exclaimed.
"I love the extra lemony flavor," Ashley said.
"Me too," Harry said.
Kreacher beamed and turned to Haley, eyeing her curiously.
"What is it, Kreacher?" Sirius asked.
"Not many children eats their vegetables, sir," Kreacher said.
Haley shrugged. "I don't like vegetables," she said truthfully, "but whatever you did to these is really good. I can't taste the green beans."
Kreacher looked smug. "Kreacher knew children were coming, Miss," he said simply. "Kreacher knows how to make vegetables taste good."
Haley nodded. "I think the stake is my favorite," she said. "And the potatoes. Really yummy."
Once Haley had finished her food, she accepted a piece of treacle tart from Sirius. She reached forward, searching for the fork she'd been using with dinner. Kreacher walked over and pressed a clean fork against the back of her hand.
"You needs a new fork for your dessert, Miss," he said simply.
"Can't have your first bite of treacle tart be tainted by green beans," Sirius said.
Haley brought the fork to her mouth and chewed before grinning. "Treacle tart!" she exclaimed. "My favorite!"
"Well, hello," Remus said with a laugh. "You're not Haley."
"Nope!"
"Who are you, then?"
"I'm Sunny."
"Hello, Sunny. I'm Remus."
"Hi Remus."
"Hey, Sunny," Ashley said.
"Hi, Ash."
"Hey Sunny," Sirius said. "My name is Sirius. If you don't mind me asking, how old are you?"
"Eight."
"That's a fun age."
Sunny nodded and dug into her treacle tart with gusto. "I'm not supposed to be out," she said sheepishly. "I stole the front from Haley, 'cause I heard there was treacle tart."
"How is it?" Sirius asked.
"Really good," Sunny said, beaming.
Kreacher looked pleased. "Is you needing anything else, Master Sirius, sir?"
Sirius shook his head.
By the time Sunny was finishing her treacle tart, her body had grown tense, and her jaw was clenched, her hands slowly curling into fists.
"Sunny?" Sirius said, alarmed, glancing over at the child. "Are you okay? What's wrong?"
Sunny closed her eyes briefly, tapping her leg.
"Are you in pain?" Sirius asked.
Sunny nodded, eyes watering.
Remus jumped up and hurried around the table, kneeling next to Sunny, wand in hand. "I'm going to numb your leg," he said, before waving his wand, watching Sunny's face closely. "Better?"
Sunny nodded.
"How long have you been in pain?" Remus asked.
"I don't know," Sunny said. "Since I came out, but I was doing good at ignoring it."
"Don't do that," Remus said gently. "It's not good to ignore pain."
Sunny shrugged. "It's easier," she said.
"There's a story there," Remus muttered. "We'll talk about that later." He stood, summoned a small bottle, and pressed two pills into Sunny's hand.
Sunny took the pills and settled back into the wheelchair, absentmindedly rubbing her leg.
"Is it still hurting?" Remus asked.
Sunny shook her head. "I can't feel it," she said.
"I numbed it, remember?"
"Yeah, but it's weird not feeling it."
"It'll ware off by the time the pain killers take effect. You still have a few bites of treacle tart on your plate."
Sunny attacked her plate with renewed gusto.
"What kinds of things do you like to do for fun, Sunny?" Sirius asked., watching the child eat
"I usually play outside," she said. "Well, not when I'm out here, in the body, but when I'm inside, I like to go outside and play in the water."
Sirius looked utterly confused.
Ashley giggled. "She means in the inner world," she said. "They live on an island, I think."
Sunny nodded. "And the water's warm," she said. "So is the sand. And it's never cold. Not like in the outside world."
"If you like being outside, you will love tomorrow," Sirius said conspiratorially.
"Why?"
"You'll see. We're going somewhere special tomorrow."
"Oh, where to?" Ashley asked.
"It's a surprise," Remus said. "You will just have to wait and see. For now, is anyone up for some games? We can play for a while before bed."
"Yeah!" Harry and Dudley exclaimed.
"Sure," Ashley said.
"Anyone in for a game of Exploding Snap?" Sirius asked.
"I'm in," Dudley said.
"Me too," Harry said.
"And me," Ashley said.
"Sunny?" Sirius asked.
Sunny shook her head. "I'm okay. Jess told me the game can be loud. We don't like loud noises."
"How about a nice game of chess?" Remus asked. "I can teach you how to play."
"Um," Sunny hesitated. "I'm okay, but James wants to play."
"He's more than welcome to."
"Okay," Sunny said. "Hang on." Her grin faded and her expression went slack for a second, before she straightened, the grin returning, this time, more boyish.
"Howdy, Professor," James said.
"Hey, James," Remus greeted. "Ready to lose a game of chess?"
"You're on."
An hour and a half later, after Remus and James had played a few games of chess, James stretched, yawning.
"Good game," Remus said, standing and gently clasping James' hand. "I'll get you up to your room. Do you need anything before I bring you up?"
"Our evening shake."
"I'll bring that up once you're settled."
Remus brought James to the room on the first floor, next to the drawing room, and stepped out, heading downstairs to grab the shake.
It was a simple chocolate shake for kids, full of protein and vitamins. The system had been taking it every night for the past few days. Madam Pomphrey had found it and suggested they give it a try to help them, hopefully, gain some weight as well as giving them the vitamins they had been lacking in for years. The littles had taken to fronting at bedtime to take the drink, as they were the only ones to truly enjoy the artificial chocolate flavor.
"Thank you," James said, accepting the cool drink from Remus.
"Before I leave you for the night, I need to change the bandaging on your arms," Remus said.
James nodded, extending his arms.
Remus removed the glamour and set to work cleaning the cuts and applying fresh bandages.
"Thank you for bein' so great with Sunny, sir," James said as he worked. "Treacle tart is the first dessert she was able to try at Hogwarts. I was nearby, in case somethin' happened, but nothin' did. Thank you."
"It was my pleasure," Remus said, recasting the glamour, hiding the bandages from view. "It was great to meet her. She seems very sweet."
"And hyper."
Remus grinned. "Verry. I'll grab you your pajamas from your trunk, then leave you to your shake"
"Could you grab the little bear too, please?"
Remus nodded and set the bear Madam Pomphrey had given Olivia next to James, along with the pajamas. "Rest well," he said, as he left, closing the door behind him
. Once he had gone, James changed into the pajamas then stepped back to allow Olivia to front.
Olivia pulled the bear into the crook of one arm, contentedly sipping the shake, pulling the blankets around her. Once the drink was gone, she set the empty bottle onto the bedside table and snuggled down, the bear held close to her chest.
She woke up a few hours later and curled in on herself, a small whimper escaping her lips, the nightmare that she had just experienced fresh in her memory. She sniffled softly, trying to stifle the sound, but failing.
A soft knock sounded at the door, and it opened as a soft voice called.
"Hey. It's Sirius. Are you okay?"
Olivia didn't respond. She couldn't, and wouldn't, even if she could. She didn't talk.
Soft footsteps padded into the room and stopped beside the bed. A gentle hand brushed lightly against Olivia's hair, and she jumped, looking up fearfully at Sirius.
"Easy," he said, voice calm. "Easy. You're okay. What's wrong? Did you have a bad dream?"
Olivia hesitated then nodded slightly.
"Who's out?" Remus asked, voice low as he entered. "Haley?"
Olivia shook her head.
"Sunny?"
Another shake of the head.
"Can you speak?"
Olivia shook her head again.
"Okay," Remus said. "That's okay. I'm Remus, and this is Sirius. Can you see at all?"
Olivia shook her head.
Remus glanced down at the bear, still clutched tightly in Olivia's arms. "You must be Olivia," he guessed.
Olivia nodded.
"Do you like dogs, Olivia?"
She nodded slightly.
Remus approached the bed and lightly touched Olivia's hand, taking it and placing it atop the head of a very large dog, now sitting next to the bed where Sirius had been. "Sirius is what we wizards call an Animagus," he explained. "He is, as you can feel, a very large dog. Would you like him to stay with you while I get you something warm to drink?"
Olivia nodded.
"How about some hot chocolate?"
Olivia nodded slightly.
"I'll go and get that for you," Remus said. "Sirius, stay with her."
Sirius woofed softly and nudged Olivia's hand, licking it gently, bringing a soft smile to the child's face. She settled down and stroked the dog's fur as she waited for her cup of cocoa, hopefully, with marshmallows.
