Remus Lupin woke up with a nauseous feeling early that morning. The sun had not yet risen but he decided to get up nonetheless. He took the robes from the day before off the chair where he had hung them for the night and pulled it them on. He ran a hand through his hair, opened the door and crept down the stairs, so he wouldn't wake up everyone else in the big house. The air on the ground floor left goose bumps on his pale skin, so he quickly started the fire in the living room with a flick of his wand. The warmth from the flames slowly spread across the room. Remus entered the kitchen and made himself a cup of tea.
He enjoyed mornings like this, where he could be alone with his thoughts. He looked out the dirty window and saw a tree bend in the wind and the sun slowly rising, leaving a mix of colours across the morning sky. Today looked like it was going to be cloudy but dry.
A few hours later the house slowly woke and everyone came down to the kitchen to have breakfast. Mrs. Weasley prepared toast and pumpkin juice as Sirius, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny and Mr. Weasley all walked in and sat down at the table. "Typical of Fred and George to sleep this late," Mrs. Weasley complained.
"Let them sleep, my dear," Mr. Weasley said with a smile. "At least then we know they are not up to trouble."
"Alright, alright," Mrs. Weasley put marmalade and cheese on the table. "I must say Sirius you've very much intrigued the children with your story."
"Obsessed is more like it," Sirius said. "Of course I've only told the good parts so far."
"Story?" Mr. Weasley asked. "What story?"
Hermione put down her glass of pumpkin juice and said. "We are not obsessed, Sirius – it's just really interesting to hear about your youth. Even the small stories about your time at Hogwarts matters." She turned to Mr. Weasley. "Sirius has been telling us about Reilly Roberts."
"Oh, a very nice girl – terrible what happened to her and her family though."
"You knew her?"
"Of course. I was there when they told me her grandfather died."
Remus looked up suddenly with a stunned expression on his face. He looked across the table and noticed Sirius looked just as surprised. "You were there?" Sirius finally managed to ask. "What happened that day?"
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The big brown doors opened and a young Arthur Weasley entered the Auror Headquaters at the Ministry of Magic. He hurried along the busy corridor before finally entering a small office. He closed the door behind him and looked around the room. An empty wooden desk stood in the middle of the room. To the right of it was a fireplace. Green flames were slowly dying out, so he reckoned the people in front of him had only just arrived. A young girl of sixteen or seventeen years stood nearest the small window. Her brown curls fell across her face as she stared at the floor. Albus Dumbledore stood next to the fireplace and looked towards the Head of Aurors, Henry Williamson.
"Ah good," Williamson said as he noticed Arthur, "in a matter like this we always ask representatives from the Department of Magical Law Enforcements to be present. Amelia Bones was busy with other matters, so she sent her assistant Arthur Weasley. He is very much interested in muggles but has only been at the ministry for a few years." Arthur smiled.
"Can we get to the point, please?" A tall man not much younger than Arthur spoke up, he had not noticed him before now.
Dumbledore took a step away from the fireplace and let out a small sigh. "I'm very sorry to bring you here so shortly after the news of your grandfather's death, but I'm afraid certain matters need to be discussed."
The girl by the window looked up. She looked sad and pale, yet no tears were visible in her eyes. "Please tell us what happened first."
Arthur took out the piece of parchment and quill he had brought with him and looked from Dumbledore to Williamson, waiting for one of them to speak up. The latter was the one to talk and Arthur carefully wrote down every word. "Your grandfather was out in the field this week. Several disturbances have occurred in South Wales and Paul was assigned to take a look at it. His partner brought him back late last night. He was not in a good state and was immediately brought to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. The healers did everything they could, but had to give up early this morning. His partner has no idea, who did it. All he was able to see was someone moving very fast, wearing a mask and a black cloak. It's not much to go on, but we're doing everything we can to track him down."
Arthur looked up and noticed the young man had walked over to the teenage girl and placed an arm around her shoulders. The girl's blue eyes showed signs of tears, but none fell.
"First of all, this now leaves Reilly without a guardian," Dumbledore said.
"I come off age in two months," The girl said.
"By law you will need one for those two months, nonetheless."
"I'll be her guardian," The tall man said. Arthur looked at him and suddenly noticed the similarity between the man and the girl: the same blue eyes, small freckles across the nose and brown hair.
Dumbledore hesitated but finally spoke up, "Very well William, you shall be the guardian of your sister till the 23rd of December this year." He pushed his small glasses back. "Family matters – especially in times like these. Secondly, you grandfather left a will that we would like to read to you. Arthur?"
Arthur looked up from his quill. "Oh right, I brought the relevant piece" he said and pulled out a piece of parchment with another's handwriting on it. "There we go: I, Paul Graham Whittaker Roberts II hereby declare this to be my last will and testament. (…) If my death has occurred before my youngest grandchild comes off age, the key to my box at Gringotts Bank in Diagon Alley shall go to my eldest grandchild Paul William Cope Roberts IV. The deed to my house shall also be his.
My dear, old friend from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Minerva McGonagall, is in the possession of another Gringotts Bank key that shall be given to Reilly Cope Roberts on the day of her 17th birthday, the 23rd December 1977. Finally, as a thank you for this gesture and long friendship, I leave my beloved mother's pearl necklace for Minerva McGonagall."
"Thank you, Arthur," Dumbledore said with a smile. He took out a gold key and a very old piece of parchment and handed it to William. "With my deepest condolences." William accepted it without replying. He glanced at his sister and took her hand in his. "Reilly, you are of course excused from classes the next few days."
"I would like to attend school as normal," Reilly said quickly. "I don't want to fall behind."
"Of course the teachers understand that this is a hard time for you," Dumbledore insisted. "I'm sure they'll help you get back on track when you are ready."
"That won't be necessary professor. I'm will be ready tomorrow morning."
Arthur had done what he had to. He took one last look Reilly and William, wondering if he would meet either of them again. "I'm sorry for your loss," he finally said. "Goodbye for now. Professor, Williamson," he nodded towards the two wizards before turning and walking out the door, heading back towards the department of Magical Law Enforcement.
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"I assume she travelled back to Hogwarts with Dumbledore after that," Arthur concluded the story.
"So sad," Hermione said in a sigh.
"She didn't come back after that," Sirius spoke up.
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The teenage Sirius paced back and forth in front of the small desk. "Padfoot!" A young Remus whispered frustrated. "I can't get a word of this Herbology essay written down with you being so restless and sighing every two seconds. Would you please just sit down?"
"Reilly left class this morning, Remus," Sirius said loudly. "10 hours ago! She even missed Quidditch practice!"
"Shhh!" an angry voice called out from behind a big shelf of books.
"I know, I was there," Remus whispered. "Please remember this is a library, so keep you voice down." Sirius let out yet another sigh and let himself fall into a chair next to Remus. "I'm sure she'll be back soon."
"Yeah…" Sirius replied lost in his own thoughts.
Remus looked down at his essay but quickly looked at Sirius again. "It's really good, you know, the way you care about Reilly. You've never acted this way with a girl before."
"I've never felt this way about a girl before." He stood up again. "I can't just sit here and do nothing. I'll go back to common room."
The common room was almost full when Sirius got back. Students of all ages were sitting around the fireplace or at tables doing homework, talking or playing wizard's chess. He found his best friend sitting at one of the tables playing with his girlfriend's red hair, while she was reading a book. "Evans!" he called out and walked over there.
"Isn't it about time you two start addressing each other by first name?" James Potter asked.
Sirius rolled his eyes. "Fine. Lily, have you seen Reilly since this morning?"
"I'm sorry," Lily said. "She got back about half an hour ago. All she said was that she was really tired and before I could say anything she was already on her way up the stairs. Maya tried following her, but she didn't want to talk."
Sirius went to bed early that night but didn't sleep much.
He woke up early and was almost the first person at breakfast. He stayed and left as the last Gryffindor student without having seen either Lily or Reilly in the Great Hall that morning. With a sigh he picked up his backpack and walked back to the common room. He figured he might as well use the free period on his Herbology essay, knowing Reilly would be in Arithmancy class.
Two hours later, he rolled the parchment together and put it in his bag. He knew it wasn't his best work, but at least he would be handing it in on time. He stood up and walked out of the portrait hole.
On the ground floor he caught a glance of Reilly and quickly hurried after her. "REILLY!" he called out. By the third time he called out her name she stopped and turned around.
He hurried up to her. She wouldn't meet his eyes but he could tell they looked very tired. Her face was whiter than usual and the mind blowing smile she normally greeted him with was no where on her lips. "Hey," he said softly. He reached out and stroke her arm slowly. "I missed you at breakfast this morning."
"I wasn't really hungry," she said slowly, her voice lower than usual.
"Okay," Sirius said. "Will you -"
He was suddenly interrupted when the corridor was filled with students hurrying in both directions to get to their classes on time. "Sorry Sirius," Reilly said. "I have to see professor Slughorn about something. We'll talk later." She took a step closer to him, hesitated a second, kissed him on the cheek and hurried towards the dungeons.
"She's breaking up with me," Sirius sighed and collapsed on his bed. For once he was alone with James in the fourteen-bed dormitory. "I just know it."
"You're so dramatic, Padfoot," James said and examined the map he had in his hand. It was the Marauders map that he, Sirius, Remus and Peter had made 2 years earlier. It showed everyone at Hogwarts and their exact location at that moment.
Sirius rolled over on his stomach and faced James. "Am I?" he asked. "I told you how she avoided me this morning, didn't show up for lunch or dinner, McGonagall split us up in Transfiguration and she spent the rest of the afternoon in the library, where Madam Pince keeps three eyes on me ever since the water balloon-incident last week and I might have spoken a bit too loud there yesterday when I was speaking to Moony."
James let out a laugh. "The water balloon – that was classic!"
"Mate, you're killing me here! Lily must have told you something."
"I'm sorry, Padfoot, either she hasn't uttered a word or Lily is sworn to secrecy."
Sirius narrowed his eyes slightly. "You spent most of the day with Lily – except for when you sleep, have Quidditch practice or on rare occasions like this, where you only have time to talk because she has to speak to professor Flitwick - so she must have told you something"
"Don't make this about me and Lily just because your relationship is falling apart," James pulled out his wand to threaten Sirius. When Sirius apologised and let his head fall on his pillow, James lowered it again. "Look, you're my best friend, if I knew anything about it, I would let you know."
"Thanks I guess. So you really think she's gonna break up with me?"
"I have no idea honestly. However, I want you to stop act so anti-Sirius Black and do something about it! Here," he threw the Marauders map to Sirius, "find her and talk to her."
The Marauders map lay open in front of him and showed every one in the castle. He scanned it floor by floor until he finally spotted Reilly in the common room. She was sitting by the fire talking to Lily. He looked up and noticed James was already at the door. He flashed a grin before walking out – he must have already seen her come back before giving the map to Sirius.
Sirius turned his attention back to the map. His grey eyes watched as James and Lily met. Reilly had now moved to the portrait hole where she waited a minute before walking out. 'Sneaking out' was probably the right term to use. All students would have to be in their common room or dormitory in fifteen minutes. He kept an eye on her as she walked down a corridor, turned left and entered the Owlery. When he was sure she wouldn't move, he pulled out his wand and pointed at the map, murmuring, "mischief managed", before hurrying out the door.
He followed the corridor, turned left and entered the Owlery just as Reilly had. He found her on a bench by one of the great windows petting a small, white owl. Sounds of sobbing spread across the room and it didn't take him long to realize Reilly was the one crying. Before he could help himself he walked over to her.
It obviously came as a shock because she quickly stood up and turned away from him. Even with her back turned on him, he could see her desperately trying to wipe her eyes.
"Do you want me to leave?" he asked eventually.
She took a deep breath and answered without turning around, "I guess not."
He waited for her to continue but she didn't. Sirius suddenly realised that he had never been in a situation like this. "Reilly… you're gonna have to talk to me because I've no idea what I'm supposed to do."
"I don't think there's a protocol for this situation," she slowly turned around. Slowly, she tilted her head backwards and finally met his eyes. A wisp of her hair was stuck near her right eye, which sparkled with tears. Two thin lines created by her salty tears were visible down each cheek. Sirius reached out and took the hair away and placed it softly behind her ear. She took a deep breath and spoke again, "My grandfather…died yesterday. That's why I was pulled out of class. Dumbledore took me to the ministry to see some people I don't know and my brother." As she spoke more tears started forming in her eyes and she made no attempt of hiding them this time.
Sirius took a step towards her. He wanted nothing more than to hold her and tell her everything was going to be alright. "Wait a minute," She took a step back, away from him. "Just let me tell you everything before you do or say anything." He swallowed hard fearing what was coming next. "My parents died when I was about a year old and I was raised by my grandfather and my brother. They taught me everything. William is now my guardian for the next two months, since he is my only living relative. I'm not sure what's going to happen, or -"
He didn't let her finish. He couldn't bear seeing her cry so much without him doing everything he could to prevent it. Before she could finish the sentence he had closed the gap between them and was now squeezing her tight against him. He felt her give in and cry against his shoulder as he slowly stroked her hair.
Time passed but Sirius wasn't sure how much. He held her close until he could feel her sobs slowly die down. He then took her hand and led her back to the bench she had been sitting on earlier. He looked into her sad yet grateful eyes and suddenly felt like he could look deeper into them than earlier. He wiped away the last tears from her cheeks with his thumbs. "I must look like a mess," Reilly said with a broken voice.
"No," Sirius said honestly. He squeezed her hands once. "You know… I was pretty sure you were going to break up with me tonight."
She seemed to think about it for a while before saying, "I guess I can see why you might have thought that. I'm sorry."
"You should have told me."
"I know." She paused once again. "I guess… telling you would mean it actually happened. Well that's the story I'm sticking too anyway." A small smile appeared for the first time in a long time.
"I want you to know that you can tell me anything," Sirius said.
She nodded. "I should probably have realized that sooner." Their eyes met again and no one said anything for a while. "William and I had a chance to sit down and talk today. We haven't talked like that since… well since he was at Hogwarts six years ago. I guess he got a bit preoccupied with his work in Diagon Alley after that. He promised that would change now. That's why I didn't get back before last night." It all made much more sense now. "I also realized something else. I want to start Healer training after we finish at Hogwarts. I want to be able to make a difference and save people like my grandfather so their family won't have to go through the same pain."
"I think you would make a great Healer, Ray," Sirius said with a smile, "Plus people might come to you with problems like hiccupping flowers or other spells gone badly. Actually remind me to tell James about that – I think that could be possible to pull off. And think of all the wicked potions you'll learn how to make."
Reilly laughed and leaned closer to him. "Thank you for making me smile," she said and kissed him on the lips. Sirius put his hand around her back and pulled her closer to deepen the kiss.
"You're welcome," he said when they pulled apart. "I wasn't joking about the hiccupping flowers you know."
"I know," Reilly laughed and kissed him again.
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"I wasn't that bad as a teenager," Sirius said flashing Remus a grin. Remus smiled back at his friend and shook his head.
"Did she become a Healer then?" Harry asked finishing the final piece of toast on his plate.
"She did," Sirius said. He smiled and Remus once again. "Quite lucky she did, eh Moony?" He turned his head and answered the six puzzled faces staring back at him, "She saved him while working at the hospital."
"I just came in with a small bite from a cockatrice!" Remus defended himself. Sirius laughed at the memory.
A/N: Done, done, done. I just sat down on a normal Wednesday and wrote all of this in one day! Man, I haven't done that in ages. I hope you like this as well!