Last Days of Summer

On the next day, they had breakfast together, and Lily followed the tacit agreement to not speak of what had happened.

When the dishes were clean, Remus asked Lily if he could help her with her holiday homework, and took a long time reading everything and later explaining to her every mistake she had made.

Then, through the day, everything slowly went back to normal.

Violet spent most of the day in her lab remaking the potion she had exploded on the previous day. She was not on the best of her moods, but was no longer shouting. The news had a hard impact on her, Lily could see it.

Remus was clearly not feeling well either. He was a bit darker than on the previous afternoon, but better than he had sounded like when Lily heard him announce he was going to leave. She felt deeply relieved that her godfather hadn't left in the morning. Even though Remus' arrival had come along with a great commotion, Lily was already attached to him.

Later, Remus invited the girl to another walk to the lake. Once again they walked in silence, hearing the soft music of the breeze against the trees. They sat again by the lake and Lily remained completely quiet for a few more minutes as she felt her thoughts being set loose while she looked at the tiny dark waves on the water, which reflected the light and made the lake look like a starry night. She sensed Remus trying to say something, but hesitating, much like he had done before muttering to Violet that he had failed to protect her secret on the previous day.

Lily allowed the man to take his time, and did not push it. Instead, she kept looking at the bright light on the water.

"Lily… " Remus finally said, "I think it is fair to take back what I said yesterday about Sirius. I have my thoughts about it set, for me he is guilty, but it is fair to allow you to give him the benefit of the doubt."

"I appreciate that."

They stayed in silence for a bit, but once again the questions Lily had to ask wouldn't leave her alone.

"What was he like?"

Remus slightly turned his face to Lily, finding it hard to process her question, but feeling unable to deny her an answer.

"Sirius was - kind. No, I don't think that is the right word. He was brave, Sirius was a man of an unstoppable bravery. Actually he was also kind. Kindness and bravery would define him well. Of course none of that ever stopped him from being a prankster, and a bully when it came to Snape." Remus made a long pause, and stared at the same spot as Lily. "He was also fun. I think fun, kindness and bravery, when put together, make pranksters," he laughed.

"My mom said his family was - problematic."

"Yes. Sirius was the first of his family to come to Gryffindor. His family was disappointed to say the least. The worst part was that they were blood purists, and Sirius never cared about blood, and they all fought a lot about it, to the point where in fourth year his mother prohibited him from going home except on summer break. Then, in our sixth year, Sirius left his family and went to live with James. The Potters have always been kind to all of us."

"His family was associated with You-Know-Who, right?"

"They were, in more than one way. Not all of them were Death Eaters, of course, but they were all supporters. I think his younger brother Regulus did become a Death Eater, and so did his cousin Bellatrix. She was your parents' worst fear back in the war, because she has always been madly in love with You-Know-Who, and did her best to purge her family of blood traitors."

"How can someone be in love with a monster?"

"Bellatrix was a monster herself. But, Lily, I don't want to bring you dark memories of a time you didn't live. I want to give you good things about your father."

The girl nodded, happy to hear those words.

"Tell me about how he and my mom met each other," she asked.

"I don't think I am the right person to tell you about that, your mother will be able to say a lot more. But I will do what I can." He cleared out his throat before continuing, "Sirius was, as I said, forbidden to return home for Christmas. So he had to stay at Hogwarts all alone, and refused to let me stay and keep him company. Me, James and Peter went home with heavy hearts, and wrote to him all week long, but Sirius never answered. At first, we thought he was mad at us, but when we went back to Hogwarts he looked unexpectedly happy for someone who had spent Christmas on their own. It took us some time to take the truth from him, but he finally admitted that he had been happy because he had spent christmas with Violet."

"Why wasn't my mother home for christmas?"

"I'm not sure, but she decided not to go on that year," said Lupin, before resuming the story. "Then Sirius became clearly mad about her. He would spend most of the day with her, and speak of her all the time. To be honest, it was becoming impossible to live with him."

Lily giggled. She found it fun to imagine that unknown man who was madly in love with a young Violet.

"He spent the next year like that, until it became clear that Violet was into him too. I, too, had become close with her, and she was awful at hiding her feelings towards Sirius. It came to a point where me and James had to push him to write a letter to her, asking her out." Remus made a pause to laugh. "Vi accepted, of course, and on the set date half of the school followed them through Hogsmeade."

"Half the school?" Squeaked Lily in surprise.

"Violet and Sirius were both extremely attractive. There were jealousy issues towards their date."

Lily widened her eyes a bit. She knew her mother was pretty, but she had never thought of what it meant in her school years.

"And also, the teachers expected Sirius to quit being a prankster when he started dating your mother, because she was a very hardworking student. Of course that didn't happen."

"Didn't Snape get mad at my mom for dating Sirius?"

"Very much. But it wasn't nearly as bad for him as when Lily started dating James. That was when he felt betrayed, and he associated that with Violet introducing the two of them properly. I think Snape never quite forgave your mother for that, even though Violet never stopped caring for him."

"She went to speak with him at the Leaky Cauldron…"

"She is too kind. I could never -."

"I know," Lily interrupted him. She thought highly of Snape, and even though she was aware that Remus had reasons to hate him, she didn't like to collaborate with that. Remus seemed to understand, and became silent.

"Sirius is Harry Potter's godfather," he said after a while, as if the words had been set loose without his command.

"Oh, Merlin!"

Lily was aware that Harry never heard of the existence of Sirius Black, the man who supposedly betrayed their parents. When that came to the boy's knowledge, it would drive him mad!

"I think it is fair that you know everything about him. But don't tell Harry."

"Ok," she said. "Remus…"

"Yes?"

"Is there any chance that - that you have a picture of Sirius Black?"

"No, I don't. But I will look for something after the transformation. Right now I have to be here so I don't miss the time to take the potion."

Lily agreed.

They continued talking about other things, although Sirius Black and their days at Hogwarts kept crossing the subjects. It was noticeable how better Remus was feeling since his arrival. They were all slowly building a family relation, even though it was not a usual one. But, after all, when had it been the last time her life had been normal?

Remus mentioned that he and Violet were talking about him moving permanently. They were considering building a smaller house in the property, where he would live and have his own space, without being too far from them. Lily liked the idea very much.

"All these years alone have been hard on Vi," Remus said. "She is tired and lonely. Even though she had her husband and your family friends, having to hide for so long - it was awful to her."

"I know. Since you came, I saw her smile more than I have seen in my whole life."

"I am glad to hear that it's doing her some good. But even now, even though she is better, it barely resembles a shadow of the woman Violet used to be."

"What was she like?"

Remus made another break.

"She was brave too, but a different kind of brave. She was selfless, and she had love to give to everyone who needed it. Love, Lily, sometimes can be the most powerful thing in the world. Love seems to be what gives your mother energy. She had love enough to fuel her through battles, if she had to defend someone."

"Tell me about it," Lily felt thirsty for knowledge about her parents' past.

"Once, in a mission we had together, we had to follow a few Death Eaters and find something that would be very precious to the Order of the Phoenix. The only thing we didn't expect was that it was a trap that would lead us straight to You-Know-Who. He had five Death Eaters with him, and they attacked to kill. We fought them and managed to stun the Death Eaters, but that thing was impossible to beat. I was thrown against a wall and passed out, and your mother had to duel him on her own for almost an hour while protecting my unconscious body before Sirius and the others came to rescue us."

Lily had her eyes wide open. She had no idea her mother was that powerful. Even though she knew Violet to be a strong woman, the idea of her battling against Voldemort took things to an entirely different level.

"So this is why he was going to let me live -"

"What?"

"In Hogwarts, when me and Hector confronted Quirrell, Voldemort told me that he was going to let me live because my mother was a valuable duelist."

Remus looked at her and frowned.

"Did he say that?"

"Yes. He also called me Black, because Boyd is a muggle name."

"I hate that you had to go through this being so young. It is not fair. We fought that war so young people like you wouldn't have to."

"Hector always says that blood purism needs to be fought everyday by everyone. Voldemort was just a peak of it, there will be others."

"Your friend is a wise boy," said Remus.

On the following days, Lily, Violet and Remus managed to get back to their good moods and resume the routine they had started on the day Remus arrived. Violet brewed potions, Remus took care of the house, Lily revised her essays and played quidditch with Remus. In the evenings, after dinner, they had ice cream and played wizarding games. Lily's favorite was Exploding Snap, but she also liked to watch Violet play wizarding chess with Remus - they were both very good, and Lily was awful -. Sometimes, they took a blanket outside and laid down on it to stargaze, and that was the moment Lily loved the most, because Remus and Violet would tell her stories about their youths - those which were not about war and suffering -.

On Tuesday, with a week remaining until Hector would arrive at the Lakeside, Errol came with a letter from the Burrow. Ron and the twins had stolen Arthur's flying car and flown all the way to Little Whinging. Molly was furious, of course, but now Harry was safe with them. He had been locked in his room, and his uncle had put bars on his window.

The days passed by and on the blink of an eye it was Monday, one day before Hector arrived. The atmosphere in the house had become tense, because the Full Moon would start on the next night, and the effectiveness of Violet's wolfsbane potion would be put to test. He had been taking the potion properly, one goblet everyday all week long, but the risk of putting an aggressive werewolf inside a house with two children and a muggle was too much for them to remain calm. Lily, however, was confident - even though part of that confidence was due to the fact that Violet had spent all week putting spells on the rooms so Remus couldn't get in once he was in his wolf shape.

On that night, they played Monopoly - which they had to explain to Remus hundreds of times, because it was a muggle game he had never heard of -. While they were playing, they discussed the plans for next night. Violet would have Lily, Hector and Rachel locked into their rooms and would remain downstairs, ready to stun the wolf if he showed signs of aggressiveness. When Lily went to bed, she heard one more conversation Violet and Remus had about their past.

"How are you feeling about tomorrow?" He asked.

"I think everything is going to be fine. I never brewed wolfsbane potion before, but I am sure it is good enough to work. Anyway, I have stunned werewolves before. If anything goes wrong, I won't hesitate to lock you in the basement."

"Are you sure you don't want me to leave?"

"It would be more dangerous if you were out there. In here, at least I can tell if we are endangered before you attack us from behind."

"I wish Padfoot and Prongs were here. At least they could hold me back if I attacked one of you," Remus said.

"Yeah, that was useful, but I was never fond of the idea of becoming an animagus. Don't worry, Remus, I can defend myself and the kids if something goes wrong."

"I'm sure you can."

There was a moment of uncomfortable silence, and then Remus started talking once again.

"Vi, I apologized to Lily a few days ago for defaming Sirius. I think I should apologize to you as well. We have different thoughts about what happened, but it turns out that neither of us knows the truth, and I know you love him and miss him, and I shouldn't say all of that to you."

"It's fine. I know you miss Lily and James, and you spent so long on your own… I don't blame you for blaming him."

"But I shouldn't. I have to stop mourning the past and be here for you and Lily. We are a family now, right?"

"Yes," said Violet, "we are a family."

Lily felt a warmness in her heart, and carefully went downstairs to see her mother and godfather holding each other in a tight embrace. She threw herself over them and joined that nest of warmness and love. The three of them remained there for a while, holding each other. Finally she went up to bed and slept.

She woke up before dawn feeling as if she had been plugged to a high voltage socket. The anxiety for her best friend's arrival consumed her body and she couldn't sleep anymore. She couldn't wait to go and play by the lake with him, and to tell him everything she had learned about Sirius Black - whom she had grown fond of through her mother's stories -. She wanted to review her homework with Hector and teach him to fly properly, because Lily thought that being a wizard and not being able to fly was dishonourable.

Lily wasn't surprised by meeting her mother in the kitchen, already preparing breakfast for five - she knew her mother was just as anxious as herself when it came to the arrival of friends -.

"Good morning, mom."

"Oh! You couldn't sleep either?"

"No," Lily said as she sat down to eat.

"Rachel and Hector will arrive at any moment now. We'll eat when they are here."

As if Violet had summoned them, the fireplace suddenly produced a huge green fire, out of which popped Hector holding Plushy the orange tabby cat. He went straight to Lily and they embraced each other before turning again to see Rachel coming out of another pop of green fire, in panic.

"Oh my goodness! Who invented this thing, Hector? I will never, ever, EVER walk into a fireplace again!" she said, dusting her clothes from the ashes. "Violet, if you had warned me, I would have come by car."

Violet was holding back laughter, and was failing miserably. She was red and kept coughing.

"It won't burn you, aunt Rachel!" Said Lily.

"I know, dear, but waking up at five in the morning to walk into a fire? No, thanks. And I still have exams to grade this week, can you believe it?" Rachel indicated the heavy briefcase she was holding.

"Still? It's summer!" said Lily.

"Not for university professors… "

"Nor would it be for school teachers. I'm glad I left, I couldn't stand looking at another teenager handing me a plate of burned cookies," said Violet with relief. "I'm glad to go back to potions."

"I'm starting to think of brewing potions myself," Rachel joked, releasing her luggage on the floor.

They all sat down to eat, and only then Lily realized that Remus was nowhere to be seen.

"He is tired. Tonight is when he transforms, it takes a lot of energy, I don't suppose we will see him awaken for long today," Violet said when Lily asked.

"Transforms?" asked Rachel. "Transforms into what? Who is Remus, anyway?"

"Remus is a friend from school, and Lily's godfather. He is living here for a while. He is a werewolf."

"What?" said Rachel, as if she honestly thought she hadn't heard it properly.

"There is nothing to worry about, I brewed him a potion that will make him look like a lazy dog."

"Wait- Violet, did you seriously bring me and my son to a house in which someone will transform into a wolf?"

"Don't worry, mom. After Peeves and Voldemort, a werewolf is nothing. Remus won't want to bite us after taking the wolfsbane potion, right?"

No one but Lily noticed Remus walking into the kitchen. He sleepily sat down at the table, surprising everyone at once.

"That is correct," he said.

"Violet- you can't be serious! I mean, no offense, but this can't be safe. What will happen if you bite us?"

"I assure you, it is perfectly safe. I wouldn't put you and Hector in danger, I am taking every precaution."

"That's not what I asked!"

"If I bite you, which won't happen under the effect of wolfsbane, you will probably die as you are a muggle. Magical people will transform into werewolves."

Rachel looked horrified. She was motionlessly staring at Violet in shock.

"Rachel, I mean it. It is safe, I put heavy spells on every door, so even if the potion doesn't work he won't get to the rooms. I will be down here for the transformation and if anything goes wrong, I will protect you."

"How?"

"Do you think I just like to carry a stick around?" Violet said, showing Rachel her wand.

"How much experience do you have with this? I'm sorry, I trust you, but I need to know if I am putting Hector in danger."

"Don't apologise, I would do the same. But I have a lot of experience in battling. I was part of the resistance, I told you."

"Yes, but I never knew what you did in said Resistance."

"Everything, from spying to battling. On the late days of the Order of the Phoenix - that's how we called ourselves - we were outnumbered from twenty to one. That was when I left, a year before the war ended."

Rachel took a moment to think, and Violet took advantage of that.

"Do you trust me?"

"I don't trust beasts I didn't even know existed!"

Lily anxiously looked at Remus, who had lowered his eyes.

"Mom, this is really offensive to werewolves!" said Hector.

"No offense was taken," Remus said calmly, but Violet seemed to disagree, but controlled herself.

"Rachel, I swear to you, it's safe." She held Rachel's hand across the table, "I would never put you two in danger."

Rachel took a deep breath and her body slowly relaxed.

"Alright."

"Thank you," said Violet, also relaxing. "Now, shall we have our breakfast?"

As they all ate together, the heavy atmosphere in the house seemed to dissipate. Lily and Hector went out soon after because the boy couldn't wait another second to go to the lake and swim. Lily had never swam in the lake before - it was freezing cold, and she was almost sure there were merpeople in there - but Hector loved water, and he promised he wouldn't go too deep. In the end, Lily agreed because Hector reminded her that the last time they had a proper swim had been three years ago, and now that she lived on the Lakeside they couldn't waste the opportunity.

They were now standing in their swimwear, toes touching the water. The bones inside their feet seemed to be frozen. Lily's toes were purple, matching her swimsuit.

"Are you sure you want to get in? I don't mind if you stay here, it will be just a quick dive."

"Yes, I'll go in with you," Lily answered impatiently, although she desperately wanted to leave.

Not once in her life Lily had given up on something out of fear before Hector did. She was the fearless one, and he was the clever one. She would not let Hector dive on his own and leave her feeling like a coward.

"Alright. I will count to three. One… Two…"

"Three!" Lily yelled, and they held hands and ran into the freezing water, not expecting the deep hole only a few feet beyond the shore, in which they fell.

It felt like an electric shock had gone all through her body. She lost most of the sensitivity in her limbs and the air left her lungs. She opened her eyes underwater and saw nothing but black as her body sank in the deep water. She looked up, searching for light. There it was, a faint glint on the place where the surface was. She swam up, surprised by how far down she had sunken before she realized it. Lily had no idea the lake would go so deep before they jumped in.

She reached the surface easily, her body was beginning to get used to the temperature. Hector was just beside her, panting from the cold.

"I didn't expect it to be so deep!" she said.

"Me neither. Come on, I'm freezing."

Lily started to swim ashore, craving her warm pink towel.

She watched as Hector excitedly dried himself and then sat on his towel to watch the tiny waves arrive ashore. Then he turned back to look at her and laughter filled the air.

"You are purple, Lils!"

"That's not funny, the water was freezing."

"You should have waited here, then."

"And let you get in all by yourself? I wouldn't do it if my life depended on it."

"Don't be silly."

Lily playfully threw her towel at Hector, and they started a towel fight, running under the mild sun until their hairs had dried out. Then they sat down again, panting. The girl looked down at her arms, and realized that the amount of freckles on her skin had increased a lot since she had come to the countryside.

"So, now you have a proper witch home," said Hector merrily, "and a werewolf godfather."

"I guess I do," she said. "I'm really happy here, Hector. I feel like I'm somewhere I belong."

Hector smiled faintly but truthly. Lily knew it was hard for him to stay away from her, and it was hard for her too, but she had never been happier and Hector knew it too.

"Tell me about Remus," he asked.

"He is very nice to me, and tells me stories about my mom and Sirius. Did you know that my mom battled Voldemort single handedly once?"

"No way!"

"She did! And Sirius has a blood-purist family, and they hated my mom. One of his cousins was a Death Eater and she was hunting them down, that's why my mom had to leave when she got pregnant."

"Well, that's not so great. Where is this cousin now?"

"Either dead or in Azkaban, I think."

"It must be like a sick joke to Sirius. Be in the same prison as the woman who wanted him dead."

"There are a lot of things that must sound like a sick joke to Sirius," Lily said, "and I am one of them."

"Don't say that"

"No, seriously. My mom told me he exploded a street to kill Peter Pettigrew because he betrayed Lily and James Potter, Sirius' last family. By doing that, he had to leave a family he didn't know he had."

Hector suddenly frowned.

"Does he know about you now?"

"I don't think he does," she said, "I suppose that spares him of this specific sick joke."

"I have a feeling that this is not the end of your story with Sirius Black, Lils."

"There's no end for my story with Sirius Black, because he is my father."

"I know, but I feel there will be more. You will get to meet him, Lily, I know you will."

"You don't believe in things like that."

"I heard there will be divination in Third Year, and the centaurs predict the future through the stars. And a year ago I didn't quite believe in witches and wizards and werewolves. Now there's a werewolf cooking our lunch with your mom, who is a witch."

Lily smiled at his sentence. Hector was right, if there were people like them in the world, maybe the future could be foreseen after all.

The Sun had set behind the horizon, and they were all together having ice cream - which astonished Rachel, because Violet had frozen it with a spell since they didn't have a refrigerator - when Violet looked through the window. Instinctively Lily did the same, and saw the same thing as her mother. The moon was beginning to rise.

"Time to go to Lily's bedroom," Violet said. "Remus, wait here while I lock them."

Rachel, Lily and Hector were soon locked in Lily's room and heard Violet cast spells on the door to prevent the wolf from hearing them or catching their scent.

They all sat on Lily's bed, unsure of what to do next, when suddenly Rachel bursted.

"Oh my god, Plushy is outside!"

"Don't worry, werewolves are not aggressive towards animals," said Hector.

"Oh. Damn, I feel like a total ignorant when it comes to these things. I have a Doctorate degree and barely know what my son studies at school."

Rachel had started to pace around the room.

"It's not too hard to catch, Aunt Rachel. You can borrow my first year books if you want."

"It would be great, actually. I feel completely left out when you guys start talking about magic."

Lily suddenly felt bad for her aunt. Rachel had been through a lot, including being abandoned by Hector's father in her early pregnancy, and she didn't deserve to be left out like that.

"I guess we must sound like aliens when we talk about kelpies and merpeople".

"Kelpies?"

"They are a shapeshifting water beast," Hector explained, "they often lure humans on their backs by adopting a horse shape, and take them to the deep and eat them. Nessie is a kelpie, the largest one ever recorded, but she takes the form of a sea serpent instead of a horse."

"Nessie as in the Loch Ness monster?"

"That one."

"And I thought she was a Plesiosaur…"

Rachel was still pacing, but stopped when she saw the family picture hanging on Lily's wall - she ignored the ones that were moving -.

"I love that picture. I suppose Roger would be just as shocked as I am… we would have a good laugh at all this weird magic stuff while having a beer. And he would love those moving-talking paintings Hector told me about."

"You could try some butterbeer at one of the pubs in Hogsmeade," Violet suddenly said through the open door and they all looked at her.

"We should go there one of these days. I would love to see the place."

Violet smiled at her, and then signed for them to follow her downstairs. And down they went, until they arrived at the living room, where an enormous wolf rested on the sofa. Its snout was a bit too short and his tail was tufted, but otherwise he was exactly like any other wolf.

"Is it safe, Violet?"

"It is. He is a bit tired… transformation is a nasty business, his whole body reshapes itself and it's extremely tiring, although it was not as painful as it usually is without the potion."

"Is he still in there?" Rachel cautiously approached the wolf, fascinated by the sight.

Remus' wolf head raised from the pillow and stared at the children with a touch of humanity beneath the looks of it. Lily got closer to him, and seeing that her mother hadn't moved to stop her she kept walking until she finally reached the wolf, and touched his fur. It was soft, and he allowed her to pet him.

"Just be careful with his saliva. It can't touch your mouth or eyes. Don't lick her, ok, Remus?"

As if the whole scene wasn't odd enough already, Remus' enormous wolf head nodded.

"I bet we could teach him to catch a ball," Rachel joked, and the wolf growled.

A/N: Hey! This is a chapter I especially enjoyed writing. I love these moments in which I can connect with my characters (and the ones I took from Rowling's work). What did you think of this chapter? Did you like it as much as I do?