Resolutions

By Neurotica

Ten

For the first time in many years, Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place was preparing to have a newborn child within its walls. Sirius owled early in the morning to tell Remus that he, his wife, and their baby girl would be coming home later in the afternoon, once the Healers had examined each member of the family one last time to be sure they were all healthy enough to leave. After hearing this, Emmeline rushed up to the nursery to do last minute preparations for Mira Black while Harry helped to clean up the dust that had built up around the musty old house—they didn't want the newborn to breathe in Number Twelve's dirt.

Remus, in the meantime, was taking care of some unrelated business. He'd wanted to visit Dumbledore the day before, but the Headmaster hadn't been in his office when he'd Flooed—one of the portraits had told him Dumbledore was with the Minister of Magic, and wasn't expected back until later that night. So Remus left his family to take care of the house and went to Hogwarts where his mentor was waiting for him.

After the usual small talk, today about how the Blacks were fairing and if the household was ready for the new baby, Remus began asking the questions he'd been wondering about for days. He hadn't wanted to be accusatory, but after what had nearly happened on the full moon, he found it rather difficult to keep his bitter feelings to himself.

Dumbledore seemed a bit disappointed with what Remus had to say—not because of what he'd been told, but because it had happened. "I will speak with Horace, Remus, you have my word," the Headmaster said quietly and apologetically. "I do find it rather difficult to believe the potion was deliberately ruined—Horace would not do something of that nature knowingly."

Remus nodded. "I understand, sir," he said. "And I do trust Slughorn; I'd just like to know how he left an ingredient out of such an important potion. If it'd only been myself in the house, I would not be this upset, but my wife and my family could have been injured, or worse."

Dumbledore inclined his head. "It will be taken care of, my boy."

"Thank you, sir." Remus sipped at his tea and looked around the office. "By the way, I've been meaning to ask, Albus, how did your search go?"

At this, Dumbledore actually smiled. "Very well," he said. "Your information was exceedingly helpful and I was able to locate the Horcrux in a matter of hours."

"And what was it, sir?"

"A cup."

Remus blinked. "A cup?" he asked dubiously. "Voldemort used a cup to hold a fragment of his soul?"

"Indeed," Dumbledore said, his eyes twinkling. "But it was not just any old cup, Remus. I'm sure you discovered to whom this particular cup once belonged?"

"Helga Hufflepuff," Remus said, putting the pieces together as he thought. "But how did he find it, sir?"

"Ah, now that is a story that would take hours to explain," Dumbledore said mysteriously. "I will tell you, though, that Tom Riddle was once extraordinarily gifted at getting things he desperately wanted. And he would do everything it took to accomplish his goals."

Remus wanted to ask how exactly that aspect of Voldemort's personality had evolved as he grew older and more power-hungry, but resisted. "Do you have any ideas on what the remaining Horcruxes could be, sir? There are three more, aren't there?"

"That is correct, Remus," Dumbledore said, nodding. "And yes, I do have thoughts on the remaining objects. One in particular, which may be the most difficult to find and destroy."

"And what is that?"

"Are you familiar, Remus, with the snake Lord Voldemort has dubbed Nagini?"

Remus' eyes widened in surprise. "Yes, sir, vaguely..." he said.

"I believe Harry met Nagini on his escapade into the Death Eater castle some months ago," Dumbledore said. "It is my belief, judging by how closely Voldemort keeps this snake, that she is a Horcrux."

"Why a snake, sir? Wouldn't that be a bit dangerous? Snakes, unlike cups, lockets, and diaries, do have minds of their own. What if the snake wandered off?"

"That is a danger. But we are aware that Voldemort has a certain power over serpents in general, as we learned with the Chamber of Secrets and the basilisk." Dumbledore sat back in his chair, intertwining his long fingers under his chin. "Nagini is under Voldemort's power and has been for some many years now. Voldemort is not one to rely on anything but himself, yet he uses this snake for much of his surveillance around his castle, as I've been told by the spies we once had." Remus' brow furrowed, wondering what he meant by "once had," but Dumbledore continued before he could question it. "Naomi told me once that she believed Voldemort had some sort of feelings for her, not romantic feelings; I do not think Voldemort would stoop to such petty emotions. But Naomi was given much more trust and loyalty from the Dark Lord than any of his other followers."

"Until he found out she'd been betraying him," Remus said darkly.

Dumbledore inclined his head again. "Until that happened, yes. And it is mine and Naomi's belief that the reason she was treated with such cruelty after she was discovered was not because she was reporting to the Order, but because Voldemort felt personally betrayed. Do not think I am pitying him, but how would it feel for you to never have trusted a person in your entire life, and once you had, they betrayed you in such a way?"

"Well, I wouldn't have had them raped, beaten, and nearly killed," Remus said a bit harshly, remembering what Naomi looked like when she'd been brought to Number Twelve just before Christmas.

"No, I do not imagine you would have," Dumbledore agreed. "But to be the person Lord Voldemort has been his entire life, it is understandable to have had him react in the way he did. It was a miracle that Naomi survived that attack and recovered so fully."

Remus nodded slowly in agreement.

"And, incidentally, I've noticed that your relationship with Naomi has grown to what it once was when you first became friends."

The younger wizard smiled. "Yes, sir, it has. We can have a conversation for hours and not once feel awkward about what happened to us in the past. It's a wonderful feeling. I always cherished her friendship, long before we began dating."

"The two of you were a lovely pair. But I think the way your lives turned out in the way of romance fits much better."

"As do I, Albus. Naomi and Sirius are perfect for one another—they balance each other out. As for Emmeline and myself... Well, I'm sure you've heard me say it many times, but she is my soul mate."

"I have overheard you saying that before, but I never tire of hearing it. It is wonderful to see the four of you so happy. I must admit, I wondered for a long while whether I would ever see it before the end of my time."

Remus looked into the dregs of his empty teacup thoughtfully. He'd never thought of a world without Albus Dumbledore, and frankly, he didn't want to. A world without Albus Dumbledore would be a miserable world indeed. The older wizard was getting on in years, but Remus could see him easily living for another half a century easily.

The two wizards talked for another hour or so before Remus announced he should be returning to Headquarters to await the arrival of Sirius and his family. He wanted to see Mira's face when she first laid eyes on what would be her home for the first months of her life, at least.

Dumbledore thanked Remus for his visit, telling him he was free to drop by anytime. The Headmaster would be coming to Number Twelve later in the week, once the baby was settled in, to finally meet her.

Naomi was the first to step out of the fireplace that afternoon. She turned around as the flames turned green once more and her husband exited, holding their baby close to his chest, her head and face covered carefully with a blanket so she wouldn't inhale any soot or ash. They smiled at each other and the wizard uncovered his daughter's sleeping face, kissing the top of her mostly bald head.

"I can't believe she slept through that," Naomi said fondly, watching her baby open her eyes slowly. Her eyes had indeed turned grey like Sirius', and both parents thought they were the most beautiful shade of grey they'd ever seen, with just a hint of silver in them.

Footsteps on the staircase made them turn. Remus, Emmeline, and Harry were making their way down, all smiling widely. "We were wondering when you three would get here," Remus said. "How'd she do in the Floo?"

"Great," Sirius replied, smiling. "She was asleep until about two seconds ago."

"Sounds like Harry," his best friend said, chuckling at the boy's indignant look. "It's true. Floo never bothered you. Now I was always another story..."

Naomi smirked. "Yes, I seem to remember the first time you came to my house during holidays. It took Mum an hour to get that stain off the carpet."

Remus blushed as everyone laughed.

In his arms, Mira whimpered a little, trying to get comfortable. "We should probably take her upstairs to lie down in her cot," Sirius said.

He led the way up the kitchen stairs and down the entrance hall, stopping in front of his mother's portrait, looking at it thoughtfully. "What are you doing?" Naomi asked him in a whisper, not wanting her daughter's ears to be blown out by Mrs. Black's shrill screams.

Sirius looked down at Mira's face. Her eyes were looking back up at him with vague interest. "I think Mother would love to meet our daughter..."

Naomi blinked at him. "Sirius, no," she hissed. But before she could stop him, he'd reached out to pull aside the curtains covering his mother's portrait.

Walburga Black, looking just as horrendous as her personality, started awake from her sleep with a snort. Her eyes were wide in confusion as she tried to figure out what had woken her, and when she spotted her traitor of a son, her grey eyes narrowed. "You," she sneered.

"Yes, me," Sirius said calmly. "Mother, I'd like to introduce you to your granddaughter, Mira Elizabeth Black."

Mrs. Black looked taken aback. "Granddaughter?" she repeated sharply. "What do you mean, boy?"

"I knew you were thick, woman, but honestly," Sirius said. "I've married a woman and she's had my child. What more of a definition do you need?"

"You dared to continue the line of my forefathers after what you've done to this family?" the portrait threatened. Her eyes were drawn away from her son's face when Mira made a sudden movement in his arms. For a moment, Sirius thought he saw something soft in his mother's eyes, but then remembered what a horrible hag the woman was. Her next statement shocked everybody in the hallway. "She's darling..."

If he hadn't been holding his daughter, Sirius would have had a heart attack and fallen over. "Sorry?" he choked out.

"She's got all the features of a Black," the portrait said superiorly. "Who is the mother, then?"

Sirius was too shocked to make a reply, but he could vaguely feel Naomi coming to his side. "That would be me, Mrs. Black," she said.

Mrs. Black looked Naomi up and down. "And you are?"

"Naomi Black," the witch replied.

"What is your maiden name, girl?" Mrs. Black replied impatiently.

Naomi hesitated. "Watts."

The portrait's face hardened. "Watts? As in Victoria Watts?"

"That was my mother, yes," Naomi said defiantly.

"Well," Mrs. Black said with a bit of a snarl. "The child is pureblood, even if its parents are a pair of blood-traitors."

That sounded more like the mother Sirius had known as a child. "And here I thought she'd change with the sight of her first grandchild," Sirius muttered. "Just goes to show you, I guess. Well, Mother, it's been wonderful speaking with you, but we really must be going." He and Remus wasted no time closing the curtains; Mrs. Black looked as though she was about to start yelling any second.

The group made its way to the nursery silently. Once Sirius had laid Mira down in her cot, Naomi slapped him in the shoulder. "You git," she said.

"What?" Sirius asked, rubbing his shoulder. "She didn't yell, did she?"

"No, but I could have lived for a hundred years without seeing that hag." Sirius didn't see her lips twitching.

Sirius rolled his eyes and turned to Emmeline, Harry, and Remus, who all looked ready to burst out laughing. "She would have found out at some point. It's better than having her wake up some random time in the middle of the morning and scream the house down."

Life within Number Twelve was, as Emmeline predicted months ago, far from normal with a newborn in the house. After Mira's first night in the house, during which she woke no less than five times crying, Sirius and Naomi decided to charm the room to where only they could hear their child—there was no point in waking the rest of the house. Sirius and Naomi took turns stumbling to the room beside theirs to feed, change, or hold their baby girl, neither one of them complaining once—Remus gave them a week before they started complaining.

One particular morning a week after the Blacks had brought their baby home, Naomi heard Mira's cries and glanced at the clock—it read 3:30 a.m. She groaned and rolled over, pushing Sirius' shoulder. "It's your turn," she murmured, hoping he would listen to her and let her get back to sleep.

"I've done it the last two times," Sirius moaned. "It's your turn."

Naomi opened her eyes, glaring at her husband. "Git." She pushed away the blankets covering her, used her pillow to hit her husband in the face just for good measure, and began to stumble her way down the hall. Trying to restrain her yawn, she turned the door handle and entered her daughter's room. The walls had been charmed to show silhouettes of animals—namely wolves, stags, dogs, and golden snidgets—moving around the baby's cot. It was something Lily and James had done in Harry's nursery and it always succeeded to soothe him into sleep. Normally, it worked on Mira, but she still woke up every few hours.

"Hello, sweetie," Naomi said quietly, reaching into the cot to pick up her crying daughter. "Shh, it's okay, Mummy's here..." She moved to a rocking chair in a corner of the room overlooking the window, which had also been charmed—instead of seeing the grimy streets of Grimmauld Place, the images were changed every few days to the ocean, a forest, or Sirius' favorite, the Hogwarts Quidditch pitch. Tonight, they were overlooking a field of wild flowers with a bright full moon shining down on them.

Naomi summoned a bottle of milk from the icebox in the kitchen and warmed it to the perfect temperature with a tap of her wand. Mira's tears were subsiding the longer Naomi rocked her, so the witch began to feed her baby.

In just a short week, Mira had nearly grown out of her newborn clothes, and was already starting to recognize the people around her. She adored Harry, much to the boy's surprise—he'd held her for the first time only a few days before, and had fallen in love with her instantly. The Weasleys and Hermione had come to visit, and had all cooed and fussed over her for hours—even Fred and George; Ron seemed to want to stay as far from Mira as possible for some unknown reason. Harry told them later that his best friend was afraid of dropping her.

Naomi couldn't believe the turn her life had taken. Hadn't it only been a year ago that she'd believed she would spend the rest of her life working for Lord Voldemort? Hadn't she believed she would never be happy again? It'd only taken a few short months for her to find she'd fallen madly in love with Sirius Black—something that had seemed odd in the beginning; they'd been like brother and sister in school. And not long after that, she'd been married and was already expecting her first child. Looking down at her daughter, she wondered how she ever could have joined Voldemort. The reasons she'd given to Sirius, Remus, and Harry weren't good enough—what would she tell her daughter when the girl was old enough? Would she tell her daughter? It wouldn't exactly be easy to hide the Dark Mark that was still branded onto her left forearm—she wondered if there was a way to have it removed... She made a mental note to talk to Dumbledore next time she saw him.

"Everything okay in here?" asked a quiet voice from the open door.

Naomi looked up and smiled at Remus. "Yeah, we're fine. Mira was just hungry."

Remus smiled and entered the room, sitting across from them in another rocking chair.

The change her relationship with Remus had undergone was another thing that blew Naomi's mind away. Before Christmas, she was sure he'd hated her and had wanted nothing to do with her. He'd told her numerous times that she was a liar and that if anything happened to Sirius, Harry, or Emmeline, whether she'd had something to do with it or not, he would come after her. She didn't doubt for one second that he would. Regardless, Naomi did everything she could to stay on his good side—even now, she still cared for him deeply, and would do everything it took to make up to him what had happened all those years ago, when Lily and James had died. But since she'd come to Number Twelve, the two of them had steadily gotten closer and started becoming the friends they had been before they began dating in sixth year at Hogwarts. Naomi had always treasured Remus Lupin's friendship—he was loyal, caring, and everything a person could ever want in a friend. Now that she had him back, she never wanted to lose their friendship again.

"We didn't wake you, did we?" Naomi asked.

Remus shook his head. "No, I was thirsty and went down for a drink. Then I saw a bottle of milk soaring up the stairs, so I decided to see who was awake."

Naomi chuckled. "It's better than having to carry her all the way downstairs and risking my tripping over something in the dark."

Remus smiled and watched her thoughtfully as she put Mira over her shoulder and began to burp her. "I always knew you'd make an incredible mother," he said softly.

She looked at him in surprise. "Thank you," she said quietly. "And I'm sure in a few months, you'll make an excellent father. Those boys are going to be spoiled rotten."

"That they will be." Remus laughed quietly. "Mira's already halfway there, what with everyone bringing over bags full of toys for her everyday."

She rolled her eyes. "Molly did not have to do that," she said. "I mean, it's appreciated and all, but she acts like a grandmother."

"In a way, she is," Remus said. "There is a reason Sirius calls her the mother hen of the Order. She's always treated the two of us like her sons, no matter how many times we reminded her we are grown men. Harry is like a son to her. I'm sure she thinks of you and Emmeline as daughters. And since she's no grandchildren of her own yet, she's going to take that role on with Mira."

"She's really a wonderful person. I think she was the first person to really accept me back into the Order after Dumbledore."

Remus nodded. "Yes, she tried to accept Snape too, but he's too much of a... Well, you know what he is; I won't use strong language in front of your daughter; though I'm sure Sirius does it often without your knowing... Anyway, Molly accepts everybody so long as they haven't harmed her family."

"You know, I've noticed something in terms of the Order," Naomi commented. "Dumbledore's like the old wise grandfather that everybody loves because he gives out the best candies." Remus laughed loudly. "Molly's the overprotective aunt. Sirius is the brother that will never grow up. Emmeline is the mother that tries to be stern, but most of the time is in on the jokes just as often as the rest of them. I'm like a second cousin twice removed who everyone disowned but miraculously accepted again after months of begging." She smiled wryly at her daughter's sleeping face. "And you, Remus... You're the father. You're like the second-in-command, the one who everyone desperately wants to be approved by. Nobody does anything in the Order without your or Dumbledore's acceptance. It's like an unspoken hierarchy—Dumbledore even runs things by you all the time. If something ever happened to him, I wouldn't be surprised if the others voted you to run the Order."

He looked at her for long moments, speechless. Finally, after clearing his throat some long minutes later. "You are definitely not seen as you think you are, Naomi. You're the brave sister who risked her life to save the rest of the family. You've done so much for us in the past few years. And I don't mean just in terms of the Order and what happened over Christmas. You've changed Sirius' life in the best imaginable way. Emmeline and Harry... they've grown to accept and love you."

"And you?"

Remus smiled. "And I have realized how wonderful it is to have you around again. I missed you terribly for so long, but I'd never admit it to anybody. I missed having you around to just talk to and laugh with. You were one of the best friends I had, the first person on the school train to talk to me and smile at me. And my life wouldn't be the same if you weren't around."

Naomi swallowed a lump that'd formed in her throat and blinked back the tears that were forming in her eyes as she tried to smile at Remus. "Thank you, Remus," she whispered. "That means so much to me."

"It's all true, love." He stood slowly and looked out the window briefly. "I should be getting back to bed, before my wife wonders where I've gone and wants me to start digging out the sardines and ice cream." Naomi laughed. He crossed the room to her and bent down to kiss her cheek. "Good night, Naomi and Mira."

"Good night, Remus."

He winked and left the room, going down the hall to his own bedroom. Naomi sat for another twenty minutes or so, staring out the window before realizing her daughter had fallen asleep again and the bottle she'd been drinking from was empty. Carefully, she stood and placed Mira back in her cot, covering her with a pink blanket Molly had knitted for her and kissed her forehead. "Good night, my love," she whispered before leaving the room and going back to her own room.