So…a good few months is better than a few years, right? I apologize for the long break! Been so caught up in school, finally got back to this! More chapters to come soon! Review please :D
"Izzy? Izzy I'm coming in…" His voice was concerned and a bit confused but she only hid her face in a pillow, not wanting to let him see she had cried. She heard his footsteps across the wooden floor and the squeak of the door as it closed, and yet she still didn't move.
He sighed and sat across on Destiny's bed, watching as she tried to hide herself from him. Ashamed? Upset? Guilty? He waited another minute before placing a hand on her shoulder, moving to sit on the edge of her bed and whisper softly, "Isabelle…"
She didn't answer. Not yet.
"Isabelle…you didn't let me finish before… I wasn't asking about adopting…well yes I was talking about adopting, but not like…what I mean to say…I just…" He took a deep breath, brushing her curled black hair off her back and squeezed her shoulder. "I wondered how you would feel being my daughter."
Iz tensed then, not having expected that. His…daughter? Getting adopted by him, having HIM as a dad? As someone to go to for advice, or get appreciation and attention from? A person to hug and cherish every holiday with? A real family? But then-
"What about Destiny?" It was before she could stop herself, but she finally glanced up at him, hazel eyes green from her crying.
"What about her?"
"I thought…you were going to adopt her? Or…are you adopting us both-" but he held up a hand to stop her.
"I…can't afford to adopt you both, I don't have enough income, I have barely enough for you. But hopefully next year I'll have a new job and we'll come back and bring her home…plus you'll have spent the whole school year with her, and she can come over for Christmas and Easter, but not today…"
Izzy studied him, seeing the regret and guilt in his eyes, realizing he didn't want to leave one of us behind. A question arose in her mind and she asked quietly, "Then why me, over her? Why do you want me…instead of her?" It was his turn to study her for a few seconds before he sighed.
"A few reasons, Izzy, a few. First, you don't know your last name, you have never had one, and I want you to have a TRUE last name at school, one you can live up to, maybe not be proud of but…live up and over. Second, to be honest you seem to receive a bit more…bullying…around here than Destiny does. It-"
"But today, Destiny was called names by another girl, she was bullied-"
"I watched, as I was walking up to come in. And you defended her…so why can't you defend yourself?" Iz met his eyes but then glanced down and shrugged. He lifted her chin back up paternally and handed her the chocolate bar. "Destiny can take care of herself when needed, and within the week you two will be with each other once again, don't worry. And then…to be honest, you're more like me than you realize, Izzy. I love books, and so many other things. I just…" He glanced toward the door before looking back at her, "I want a daughter, I always have, and to me…you would be, are and will be the perfect daughter."
"I-I…" She looked at him a second longer before hugging him tight. "So you really are adopting me? Then…why is Destiny's stuff packed?"
"I don't know, maybe it's her lucky day too," he said as they both laughed. "Come on, can I help you pack your stuff into your trunk? I brought them for you two. Watch," as he pulled two rectangle boxes from his pocket, set them on the floor, took his wand and flicked it at them. "Engorgio."
Izzy gasped as the boxes grew into full-size trunks. He smiled at her and picked them up, setting one on each bed and opened Izzy's, glancing at her. She went over to the dresser and began pulling piles of neat clothes from her drawer, or as she thought were piles. Three shirts, two shorts, two pairs of old jeans, and a dress was all she had, and it was a lot more than what others had gotten. She had just been lucky enough to be the right size for the donations of clothes that were brought in.
"Alright, that should be it. Right?" Looking up at him for approval, he smiled at her and nodded as the door opened. Destiny was there, her eyes still a little red, having been crying but smiled when she saw both Izzy and Moony.
"Hi there," in a quiet whisper, looking at Iz, who set her dress down and ran over to her, hugging her tight.
"Hi," Izzy responded in that quiet whisper. They pulled back and looked at each other before bursting into laughter. "Destiny, why is all your stuff packed?"
"I could ask you the same question, but it would be the same answer. You're getting adopted," and she smiled over to Moony, who smiled back but looked sad.
"I…I…yea, but that doesn't affect you-!"
"I'm moving to the other girl's room, there's an extra bed, so I won't be left alone. Don't worry, Sydney's in there, and she's really nice, remember? But I'll miss you, you'll write right-?"
"It'll be a week, Dest, but I'll write. Who…who told you?"
"Miss Beth, don't worry I actually think it'll be good. Izzy you'll have a real family, like you always wanted! And I'm okay here, I know that Mr. Lupin offered that next year he would adopt me but…but I want to wait for the right family, or no family at all. But you'll always be my sister,-" hugs Iz tightly, "and I thank you very much Mr. Lupin for your offer. Just…will you take care of her for me?"
"Of course I will, and you're welcome to our home whenever you can make it, Destiny." He walked over and hugged her, and then all three hugged once more.
"Goodbye Izzy," Destiny whispered.
"No, it's not goodbye. It's…it's 'see you later' cause it's only one week and then you can tell me all about Quiddly-pitch or whatever on the train, right? Right." They both laughed again, tears in their eyes and hugged closely.
"See you then, sissy."
"See you."
~ : ~
After Moony had made sure he had the right papers, they walked outside onto the street and glanced around. He smiled down at her, a secret dancing in his eye as he said,
"How does it feel, Ms. Isabelle Lupin, to have a last name?"
"It feels alright, but I think I like having a father much better. Mr. Lupin- I-I mean Father-"
"Call me Dad, sweetheart, and yes?" His hazel eyes twinkled as he swung their hands walking down the street just before twilight.
"Can…can I see your home?" Izzy was curious to see where he lived; she bet it was huge! He glanced at her once more and nodded but was worried. What if her expectations were too high?
"Of course, we'll have supper too. We have to use magic, though, to get there. It's pretty far away, you ready?" He held his arm out to her once more. "Hold your breath. One, two, three-"
Izzy felt the terrible sensation again but quickly recovered from it as they arrived someone in the dark. She saw a dense forest that was full of dark shadows. She glanced to her left to see a dirt drive that went farther than she could see as it bent through the trees. And to her right she found what must be Moony's house.
It wasn't anything spectacular but to Izzy, it was her new home. It was a one-story ranch house, almost like a cottage. It was white but the paint was chipping, and all the lights were out. She glanced around looking for Moony, who had let go of her hand, only to see him open the front door. He beckoned to her to come as he waved his hand and lights flooded the grass. She could see a kitchen inside and other rooms. Running in, she followed Moony to the kitchen.
"Will you teach me to cook? I always wanted to learn how to cook…" Izzy whispered, afraid to talk too loudly in the house.
"Of course I will, but first I'll show you your room. I…I wasn't sure what color you might want, so I left it with the white until you got here, and we'll paint it ourselves some time this week. Deal?" His voice cracked, nervous. There were water stains and cracks in the walls, he had found this at a very low price and had tried to cover it up with magic last-minute but was never very good at it.
"Deal, should I unpack? Or…or-" just as nervous, bites her lip looking up at him.
"Unpack, then come to the kitchen. If you want, I can show you how to make a few simple things, then we can watch a movie? It's not very good, and I only have The Wizard of Oz but-"
"A m-movie? Really?" Her eyes brightened in awe and she nodded, getting to unpacking quickly, excited. But suddenly she stopped and looked up before running to Moony, gripping her hand and whispering, "Thank you."
"'W-welcome, Isabelle," smiling down at her before going back to cook the first meal for their new (but small) family.
~ : ~
A week later, after a multitude of days of fun and games and a week like no other in Izzy's childhood, she woke up in her room now decorated in green. She had read through all of the school book's at least once and the wizard fiction novel over three times. It took her a few minutes after being intoxicated by the smell of bacon to remember she would be leaving on a train today. Bolting up, she got herself dressed, bed made and cleaned her room.
Moony walked down the hallway to Izzy's room with a plate of scrambled eggs, fluffy pancakes and bacon, expecting to surprise her and wake her up only to almost hit her with the door. "Isabelle! What are you doing up already! And packed-?"
"I woke up and couldn't wait to get packed. Plus, now I can spend more time with you before I go away…right?" But then she saw the huge plate in his hand and her eyes widened. "That isn't ALL for me, is it? I can't possibly eat this all-!"
"Oh I bet you could, if you REALLY wanted to," Moony replied with a smile as he set the tray down and hugged Izzy close. "But before we eat, I had a question for you…" His voice had become all-serious and Izzy glanced up with a bit of confusion. He tried for a brave smile but he seemed indecisive, before asking, "Have you been happy here this last week? With me?"
Without even hesitating, Izzy nodded, "Of course I have! We went hiking and even camped and had 'smores and I've been able to read ALL these books and I could practice magic a bit so I'm ready for school and I've had the best cooked meals and, and, and-!" She smiled wide looking up at her Dad before hugging him tight. "You're the best thing that's ever happened to me…you're the best Dad in the WHOLE world! I love you!"
"I-I…" Moony stumbled over his words, unable to get them out, standing there shocked. He hadn't known all the little things they had done had been impressed on her. He hadn't fully considered what her life must have been like at the orphanage, and he hugged her back just as tight. "I love you too, Izzy." He knelt down so they were at eye level. "Now…Hogwarts is the best school you can go to. They have so many great professors, a huge library… I'm positive you'll love it. But I also want you to know that there are…some families in the Wizarding world that look down on…well others because they don't have as much as those families. I don't want you to pay any attention to them, you're going to have so much fun there, the year will pass in no time! I believe in you," as he hugged her again. "Now let's go eat!"
~ : ~
Izzy rushed into the Muggle train station, looking around at all the sights, her eyes wide. She saw trains pulling in and out, adults going for their jobs, schedules for the trains everywhere. "Where do we have to go again, Dad?" She smiled up at him, beaming, loving calling him that. He only rolled his eyes and reminded her of 9 3/4. She ran ahead again, leaving Moony to pull her trunk and looked for the sign. "I can't find it…why can't I find it?"
"Because we haven't gotten there yet. It's hidden from the Muggles, it's for Wizards and Witches to use only. Do you see the signs for Platform 9 and Platform 10? Well, the entrance-"
"Is in between the two!" Izzy finished for him, looking up as he nodded. She started to walk toward the beam, wanting to see if it was hard, suspecting it to not be so when- WHAM!