Chapter six: Innocent
Remus paced his study on Christmas eve night. Ithaca's presents were wrapped and ready under a silly tree that Ithaca just had to insist on. He actually thought it was darling, but he had so much on his mind. He had been replaying his visit to Azkaban over and over in his mind and with each time the idea that Sirius could be innocent seemed less and less absurd. Suppose he really was? He had to go back.
*
Ithaca and Powder slept until noon the next morning when Remus finally stopped waiting for her to wake up on her own. She was never one to wake up early for Christmas, choosing to sleep instead. She was hell to wake up.
"Ithaca?" He shook her shoulder gently. She mumbled in her sleep and he smiled. "Ithaca, it's time to wake up, little warrior."
"Don' wanna."
He sighed dramatically and picked her up bridal style and carried her out to the living room, dropping her on the sofa. She squealed and rolled over, snuggling into the cushions. Powder had reluctantly woken up by this time, only slightly easier to get up than Ithaca. He pulled on Ithaca's hair and she shooed him away, but it didn't work. Now Remus knew she was just playing. Yes, it took a lot of effort to get her to wake up, but once she was up, she was up for the day. She could never get back to sleep. He knelt beside her and tickled her sides, her high-pitched giggles chasing the dark thoughts from his mind.
"I guess this means I can give all your gifts away, right?"
"No!" She laughed, hugging him good morning. "Happy Christmas, Moony."
"Happy Christmas, warrior."
Neither of them could remember how old she was when he started calling her 'warrior', but neither could forget the event that spawned the name. She and Neville were playing outside one summer and he had gone into the house to make surprise smoothies as a treat. It was after they had Powder, so she had to be at least five. Powder was afraid of heights. This, of course, led to them sometimes calling him Cat for scaredy cat. He glanced out the window and saw her climbing near the very top of the old oak tree and ran out, terrified. She looked down, as if to judge something, shook her head, and climbed up a few more branches. She refused to come down until Powder faced his fear by coming to get her. Everyone called her a warrior for a while afterwards. Not afraid of anything.
Remus watched her unwrap her gifts in a fantastic blur of color; a heart shaped umbrella, a new scarlet cloak, and something strange.
"It's a wishing ball. You write down your hopes, your wishes, your dreams, and you put them inside it."
"I love it," she grinned. "Thank you, Moony."
That night she fell asleep over a holiday assignment for Potions. Remus rolled his eyes as he bent to carry her to bed at the idea of Snape giving them homework over Christmas. A slip of paper caught his eye, a wish written down and ready for the glass ball he'd given her. "I hope he is innocent."
He went rigid at that one sentence. There's no way she could know, right? No. Of course not. But, who else could the wish be about? He carried her to her bed and watched her snuggle into her pillow, her dark hair fanned around her like a halo and her eyelids fluttering from a dream- a faint smile playing at the corner of her mouth. She was slowly growing into herself, her too-big violet eyes, heart-shaped face and upturned nose. He wasn't looking forward to the boys he would have to beat away from her in time.
*
"You're back," he said, his surprise not evident in his tone.
Remus conjured a simple chair and sat down in it. "Yes, I am."
"How's Ithaca?"
"She's fine. I just saw her off back to school with Neville."
"Frank and Alice's boy? How are they?"
Remus furrowed his brow and then remembered, of course Sirius wouldn't know. He was here by that time. "They've been in St. Mungo's since you were arrested. Bellatrix Lestrange tortured them under the Cruciatus Curse until they lost their minds. Neville lives with his grandmother."
Sirius closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the wall. He and James were training to be Aurors with them. They were good people. "And he's a friend of hers?"
"Best friends, since they were babies," Remus heard himself say. Then, "I need to know the story."
Sirius opened his eyes and lifted his head to look at his old friend. "Why? You don't believe me."
"No, I don't know what to believe. Just, please, tell me the story."
"Will you tell me about my daughter?"
Remus hesitated. Bargaining with Ithaca, even if it was just information about the person she was, felt wrong. "No. If I believe you and you really are innocent I might answer questions. Maybe. She's my daughter. Make no mistake of that."
Sirius leaned his forehead against his knees. "We knew it had to be one of us," he started. "It obviously wasn't James or Lily. It wasn't me. We thought it had to be you, and you'd been so distant. Always gone for weeks and days at a time. Peter, we thought, was too pathetic, too untalented, too, Peter." He took a shaky breath and Remus could understand. Who would ever think to suspect Peter? "When Dumbledore mentioned the Fidelius, James and Lily automatically said me. I was happy to, more than, but I knew that everyone would know it was me. So, I suggested we use Peter instead and I would be the diversion of sorts. We didn't tell anyone because why? We never imagined Peter would be the spy. We didn't tell you because- "
"You thought I was the spy."
"I'm sorry, Moony," he said, and Remus didn't bother to correct him. "It was wrong, I was wrong. It killed me to think it could be you. I have never been more wrong about anything."
"I was on missions for the Order. Dumbledore told me they were of the utmost importance and secrecy, chasing down werewolf packs through Paris. I didn't even get back until almost a month after that night. Imagine my surprise and sorrow upon my return."
Sirius squeezed his eyes shut, a tear or two dripping, skipping down his dirty cheeks. "I went after him, but he shouted that it was me who had betrayed them. Then he cut off his finger and transformed."
Remus closed his eyes, running through the story he had just been told in his mind. He could see it. He knew Sirius would be so hotheaded as to chase down Peter. "Why didn't you prove this at your trial?"
Sirius laughed dryly. "What trial?" He asked bitterly. "There was no trial, no Veritaserum, no nothing. They just threw me in here without so much a questioning."
"What can we do? There has to be something."
"There's nothing, Moony. If you speak out against my being in here, you'll be just as condemned. Then what would happen to Ithaca?"
Remus knew he was right, just as he knew that he believed Sirius' story. He smiled a little in spite of himself. "She's just like you, you know, Ithaca."
Sirius scooted closer where he was across from his old friend. "Really?"
"She was sorted into Gryffindor, you'll be happy to know. I was so sure she would be in Slytherin there for a while. Harry is in Gryffindor."
"What's he like? Have you met him?"
Remus nodded. "He and Ithaca are friends. He came over for her birthday. He lives with Lily's sister. I swear he looks just like James. Except the eyes."
"Lily's eyes. And Ithaca?"
"She looks like Ellabeth, except she has the misfortune of having your hair. She even has her mother's purple eyes. They're a bit disconcerting from time to time."
"What is she like?"
"Fearless," Remus said. "She isn't afraid of anything, but woe to anyone who makes her angry. She has a sharp tongue and a strong opinion on everything." He told Sirius about her shoes being on the wrong feet, her meeting with both Malfoys, her letters about school. "She fought a mountain troll."
"What is a mountain troll doing at Hogwarts?"
Remus pulled his Muggle wallet out and handed him a picture taken at her most recent birthday with Harry, Remus, Powder, and Neville. Sirius watched the loop with a sad expression. "You bought her a monkey?"
"She has this look she gets that I'd like to see you try to say no to. She's, she's amazing."
"I wish I could meet her. Will you tell her about coming here? About me?"
"I don't know," Remus answered honestly. "I'm thinking about it, but I think she's too young to come here herself."
"No, I-I wouldn't want her to come here. Ever."
Remus thought for a moment. "Those mirrors, the ones you and James always used, where are they?"
"I-I imagine they're at Grimmauld Place." Remus grimaced.
"I can bring you one of them, and then show Ithaca the other."
Sirius was afraid to be hopeful. "You would do that?"
"I know what I said, about her being mine, and she is. For all intents and purposes she is my daughter, but she's yours first and foremost. I won't deny either of you that."
*
"What?" Three voices mingled together.
Harry nodded sadly. "Snape's refereeing our next match."
Ithaca groaned and fell back where she was sitting criss cross watching Powder and Ron's chess game. Powder had been winning. Now the monkey was gawking at Harry's news.
"I thought you thought he was trying to save Harry," Ron sneered.
"I do!" She insisted. "But I never said I don't think he hates Harry. That I believe wholeheartedly."
"Guys, back to the problem at hand. What do I do?"
"Don't play," Hermione said at once.
"Say you're ill." Ithaca said.
"Pretend to break your leg," Ron suggested.
"Really break your leg," Ithaca told him, a wild mirth in her eye that made Harry take a cautious step away from her.
He sighed. "I can't do that, there isn't a reserve Seeker. If I back out, Gryffindor doesn't play at all."
The portrait door opened and Neville fell through it on his side, causing a round of laughter to make a wave around the common room. Ithaca chuckled under her breath as she pulled Neville to his feet and helped him over the couch where Hermione whispered the counter-curse to the Leg-Locker Jinx he had been put under.
"What happened?" Hermione asked.
"How did you get up here?" Ithaca asked, still chuckling under her breath.
Neville told them about meeting Malfoy outside of the library and the blonde wanting someone to practice on, and all of the amusement faded from her face into something darker that anyone who had known him would say was all Sirius. She stood abruptly from the couch and stormed toward the door, only to be picked up by George and thrown over his shoulder as Ron lectured Neville.
"Let me go," she kicked. "Someone has to go teach that dodgy maggot some manners!"
"Whoa, little sis, don't go getting yourself in trouble," Fred said. George refused to put her down and she huffed, resting her chin in her hand as someone snapped a picture and Harry gave Neville a chocolate frog from his pocket.
"You're worth twelve of Malfoy. The Sorting Hat chose you for Gryffindor, didn't it? And where's Malfoy? In stinking Slytherin."
"Slytherin has nothing to do with it," Ithaca mumbled. "He would be just as much of a tosser in Hufflepuff. He's gifted that way."
George chuckled, his shoulders rumbling beneath her and Harry looked up at her, Hermione, and Ron with a gasp.
"I found him."
*
The day of the dreaded game came and Ithaca had had a talk with the twins about keeping an extra eye on Harry. Fred and George both looked scandalized that she thought they would let anything happen to the child of a Marauder. She laughed when one of them went so far as to hit a Bludger toward Snape. She watched the cold professor scan the crowds for something and meet her eyes. She frowned. What was he looking for? She wondered if that was why he was refereeing, was to keep a better eye on the person trying to hurt Harry. She was broken out of these thoughts with a poke to the back of Ron's head.
She tried to ignore Malfoy. Really, she did, but then he went off about Neville and Ron's family.
"You're in luck, Weasley, Potter's obviously spotted some money on the ground!"
Ithaca growled and tackled Malfoy to the ground, soon to be joined by Ron and the hesitant Neville. She heard Hermione's shouts of encouragement to Harry between the groans, scuffles and yelps. She had just caught Malfoy's arm as he went to shove her off and went to hit him again, only to be pulled off by Neville and Hermione. She stood up and spit down at Malfoy, who was sporting one hell of a shiner, and looked up to Aunt Minnie.
"Ithaca Ophelia Black," she hissed. Ithaca gulped and followed the stern woman to her office, waving sadly to her friends.
"What in Merlin's name were you thinking, child?"
Ithaca sighed. "You should have heard the things he was saying about Neville. Or the Weasleys."
"And that gives you the right to wrestle like a common hooligan? That is not the young lady Remus has raised."
"Y-you don't have to tell him, right?"
"Of course I have to tell him! What were you thinking? You could have seriously hurt that boy!"
"Honestly, Aunt Minnie, that's sort of what I was going for."
Minerva glared at her and Ithaca looked away, her face red. "Detention, Ithaca. And I think since it was a Slytherin you were fighting with, it is only fitting you serve it with their Head of House."
"What? No! You can't- "
"Do not presume to tell me what I can or cannot do, Ithaca! Now get out of my sight. I'm so disappointed I can't even look at you right now."
Ithaca kept her head bowed as she went looking for her friends to hide the glassiness in them.
*
Remus had chewed her out quite sufficiently in a private Howler. She could tell he was pacing when he did, probably throwing his hands up in the air as he went. Sirius had smiled when Remus told him about it. Apparently, his daughter inherited his hotheadedness. Now, Ithaca trudged down to the dungeons to serve her detention.
"Enter," his voice drawled through the door. She opened it and found him reading through papers, not saying anything to her. She wondered if he used this as a tactic to make the student nervous. A test to make the other person speak first.
"Don't you ever get cold down here, sir?"
He didn't look up. "No colder than my heart is said to be, Miss Black. If I chilled so easily I would never get any peace." She chuckled and he put his papers down. "So, you have been terrorizing my House."
"No, sir."
"Oh? Then I have been lied to by your Head of House?" He challenged her with an eyebrow.
Ithaca lifted her chin. "All due respect, sir, I doubt that she worded it quite like that. Yes, I scuffled with Malfoy, but only because he and his ridiculous body detail have decided to terrorize us first."
"Or is it that you just think all Slytherins are evil and need to be taught lessons?" He growled, thinking back to her sire.
She frowned at him. "I have never held that belief. I just think your House is unfortunate as to some of its members. Like Malfoy."
"There are cauldrons to be cleaned. I suggest you start."
"You know, being the youngest and most accomplished Potions Master, you would think you could come up with something more creative for detentions."
"I can," he said offhandedly. "I am just told they go against the policy that is Hogwarts."
"What a shame."
*
Ithaca didn't join Harry and Ron in their attempts to encourage Quirrell, but she also did not say anything against them. She debated on writing Moony about this, but decided he would be angry with her, or worse, disappointed. No, she'd already done that enough times this year. Besides, she would be going home here soon for the Easter hols. Before she left, Hermione was sure to drill that she needed to be studying for the upcoming exams- that were ten weeks away, she might add. Not that she couldn't not study with all of the work the professors were assigning.
Something was different about Moony this time. He still hugged her tightly, patted Powder's head, but he seemed- happier? No, that wasn't it. Surely he seemed healthier. Like he'd had a long series of restful sleeps. When they apparated home, he stood there awkwardly. Like he had something important to tell her and wasn't quite sure where to begin.
"Moony? What's wrong?"
He cleared his throat and gestured for her to sit down on the couch. She did so hesitantly, remembering a time she sat on this couch in this same fashion and had Remus tell her he would have to be away for her birthday. He had refused to tell her why, but she had already known.
"You asked me a question, do you remember, over Christmas break?"
She did. The question that had been plaguing her almost as much as the predicament she and her friends had ventured too far in to back away from. She told him this.
"Yes, about him." She didn't elaborate more than that, knowing she didn't need to. She was never quite sure how to address the man who sired her. She couldn't call him 'Dad' outside of her mind or even within it most of the time, and she didn't feel right calling him by name either.
Moony nodded. "I went to Azkaban," he said- watching her eyes widen and her eyebrows almost touch her hairline. "I asked him."
Ithaca scooted to the end of her seat. "W-what did he tell you?"
"First," he prefaced, "you must know that you can never let anyone know about what I am about to tell you." She agreed with crossed fingers, already knowing she couldn't not tell her friends. At least Neville. "He didn't."
She slumped from the anticlimactic answer. "He-he didn't answer?"
"No, he didn't do it."
He could see her working it out in her head, taking a minute to understand. "He-he's innocent?" Remus felt himself nod and watched a grin spread across her face and she launched herself at him. "That's amazing! He can come live with us, Neville won't mind giving up his room- he can just stay in mine when he comes over."
Sirius was watching the scene through the mirror shard and his heart broke at seeing her, hearing her innocence and ignorance of the way the world was. Then she stopped dead.
"Wait, you-you said not tell anyone which means- "
"There's no proof, warrior. And if we start trying to convince people, they would think I'm guilty as well and take you away from me."
Ithaca stood up and started pacing, making Sirius think of Remus and the hundreds of times he had paced in a similar way while thinking of pranks. "So, he's just going to stay in Azkaban?"
"He has to."
"No, he doesn't. There has to be some way we can prove it. Any way. Something."
Remus and Sirius had discussed finding Wormtail, but the idea was ridiculous. Neither of them knew where he was if he was even still alive. He could be anywhere in rat form. He explained this and the story that led to his arrest.
She stared unblinking at the fireplace, a hopeless expression on her face. "But- it isn't right."
"Life is not fair, Ithaca. You know that."
"And- if we tell anyone it will call attention to the fact that you are in care of a child. They would, they would take the opportunity."
Remus blinked at her, only just now thinking that she must know of his furry little problem. He wondered how long she had known. But that didn't matter at this moment.
"I want to go see him."
"Absolutely not," he said immediately.
She turned to him with an inherited, indignant glare. "I deserve to see him, Moony. He's my father."
"I'm not letting you anywhere that place." Ithaca turned around fully to face him and he stopped her. "I'm not saying you can't see him, but it will not be there."
She furrowed her brow. "How?"
Remus smiled and went to retrieve the mirror. Sirius was dazed, never imagining how like him she would turn out. She was wonderful, beautiful, he wanted to hug her. Remus explained to her that they used these to communicate as kids. She took it from him gingerly and looked down, through the glass at a man that looked a bit like her, but nothing like the old pictures she'd seen of a handsome ne'er-do-well.
"Hello." She whispered. "I-I'm Ithaca."
"I know," he almost sobbed. "I named you."
"Right."
It wasn't awkward, just neither of them knew quite what to say. "So, I heard that you gave a Malfoy a black eye."
She blushed. "Yes, at the Quidditch match. He was being awful about Neville and our friend's family. Aunt Minnie caught me."
"You're allowed to call her that? I called her Minnie all through school, but I don't think she was very accepting of it."
"She threatened to let Filch string you up by your toes," Remus snorted.
Ithaca smiled at both of them, and sat down on the floor, her back against the hearth. "I had detention with Professor Snape for fighting."
"Snape?" Sirius asked, suddenly looking as though he smelled something horrid. "Snivellous is teaching?"
"His name is Professor Snape," Ithaca frowned and Remus tried motioning to Sirius to stop while he was ahead. "And he's a great teacher."
Remus had told Sirius that once Ithaca decided she liked you or respected you, you had earned her eternal loyalty. She was an all or nothing person and very vocal about how she felt. Taking this into account, Sirius changed topics.
"Tell me about your friends."
She launched into descriptions of all of them; the pranks with the twins, Ron's addiction to chicken, Hermione's addiction to academics, Neville's loyalty, and Harry's Seeker skills. They talked for hours as she caught her father up to speed on her life and everything that he had missed. She fell asleep there.
*
"I'll never remember this," Ron groaned. Ithaca looked up from her Transfiguration essay, setting her quill down and flexing her cramped hand.
"Maybe we should take a break," she suggested.
Hermione huffed. "We've barely covered everything, and they're coming up! We can't stop."
Ithaca went to answer when she heard Ron say, "Hagrid! What are you doing in the library?"
Sure enough, Hagrid shuffled into view, hiding something behind his back. He looked out of place in his moleskin overcoat.
"Jus' lookin'," he said, in a shifty voice that got their interest at once. "An' what're you lot up ter?" He suddenly looked suspicious. "Yer not still lookin' fer Nicolas Flamel, are yeh?"
"Oh, we found out who he is ages ago," Ron told him proudly. "And we know what that dog's guarding. It's a Philosopher's St- "
"Shhhh!" Hagrid looked around quickly to see if anyone was listening, which made Ithaca copy his movement in a flash of paranoia. "Don't go shoutin' about it, what's the matter with yeh?
Hagrid agreed for them to come see him later, not promising to tell them anything much to their amusement, but that was overshadowed by the knowledge that he was looking for books on dragons. Ithaca knew he wasn't much of a reader, and he'd always wanted a dragon. She had a bad feeling about this.
"Hagrid's always wanted a dragon, he told me so the first time I ever met him," Harry told them, to which Ithaca nodded in agreement.
"Yes, Harry, but it's against our laws."
"You should see the burns Charlie's got off wild ones in Romania," Ron added.
"But there aren't wild dragons in Britain, surely?" Harry asked.
Ithaca snorted, "Of course there are. The Ministry has a job hushing them up."
"So what on Earth is Hagrid up to?"
An hour later they knocked on the gamekeeper's hut door, surprised and a bit alarmed about the closed curtains. Their next clue something was up was that Hagrid didn't just jovially open the door, instead shouting to ask who was there. The four looked at each other in confusion.
When he finally opened the door, a wave of suffocating heat hit them. It was already a rather warm day outside, and Hagrid had the fire going on full steam. Hagrid made tea and stoat sandwiches that no one touched.
"So- yeh wanted to ask me somethin'?" Hagrid asked them nervously.
Harry started in. "Yes. We were wondering if you could tell us what's guarding the Philosopher's Stone apart from Fluffy."
Hagrid frowned. "O' course I can't," he said. "Number one, I don' know meself. Number two yeh know too much already, so I wouldn't tell yeh if I did know. That Stone's here for good reason."
"Oh, come on, Hagrid, you might not want to tell us, but you know. You know everything that goes on around here," Hermione said in a warm, flattering voice. Ithaca chewed her lip at this. She loved Hagrid, she did, but everyone knew he couldn't keep a secret for love nor money. Why was it he that Dumbledore trusted so implicitly with this? It seemed odd to her.
"Well, I don' s'pose it could hurt ter tell yeh that, let's see. He borrowed Fluffy from me, then some o' the teachers did enchantments; Perfessors Sprout, Flitwick, McGonagall, Quirrell," Ithaca's ears perked up at this, "an' Dumbledore himself did something, o' course. Hang on, I've forgotten someone. Oh yeah, Perfesser Snape."
"Snape?" Ithaca shot Ron and Harry a disapproving look. They were still at an impasse here.
"Yeah- yer not still on abou' that, are yeh? Look, Snape helped protect the Stone, he's not about ter steal it."
Ithaca knew what the others were thinking, because she was thinking the same thing- just not about the same person. If Quirrell was one of the teachers protecting the Stone, then it must not be too hard to figure out what the others did to guard it as well. Especially with his stupid stutter and unthreatening countenance. She hated to admit that it was ingenious. Harry had, of course, told them about the conversation he'd over heard in the woods, but that could have been interpreted either way, she didn't envy Quirrell Snape's wrath. That was for sure.
"You're the only one who knows how to get past Fluffy, though, aren't you, Hagrid?" Ithaca found herself asking. "And you wouldn't tell anyone, would you? Not even one of the teachers?"
"Not a soul knows 'cept me an' Dumbledore," Hagrid beamed proudly.
"Well, that's something," Ithaca heard Harry mutter. "Hagrid, can we open a window? I'm boiling."
Hagrid shifted in his chair and glanced toward the roaring fire. "Can't, Harry, sorry." Harry and Ithaca followed his gaze and she inhaled sharply through the nose.
"Hagrid- what's that?"
Ithaca couldn't believe how irresponsible Hagrid was being. On one hand, she thought it was amazingly wicked and wanted to say "who cares about the law?" But on the other hand, she knew he could get into serious trouble. She tried hard to pay more attention to the first point, ignoring the nugget of anxiety.
However, the anxiety was nowhere to be felt when one breakfast, Hedwig brought Harry a note from Hagrid with only two words. 'It's hatching.' She and Ron wanted to outright skip Herbology, but Hermione wouldn't hear it. Ithaca stopped them from discussion upon seeing Malfoy, who'd stopped to listen with a look she didn't like, but he couldn't have heard much.
Hagrid waved them all inside when they walked down to his hut that afternoon, immediately from their classes. "It's nearly out," he told them.
The egg was lying on the table with deep cracks in it and a strange clicking noise coming from inside. Ithaca leaned toward it, the entire hut holding its breath. Then there was a scraping sound as the egg split open. The baby dragon flopped on the table and shook its head with a dazed look. Ithaca would admit that it was quite possibly the cutest thing she'd ever seen, in an ugly, awkward way. Then it sneezed and a couple sparks flew out of its snout.
"Isn't he beautiful?" Hagrid murmured. He reached out a hand to stroke the dragon's head. It snapped at his fingers, showing pointed fangs. "Bless him, he knows his mommy!"
"Hagrid, how fast do Norwegian Ridgebacks grow, exactly?"
Hagrid was about to answer when the color suddenly drained from his usually red face and he lept to his feet, running to the window.
"What's the matter?" Ithaca asked, going over to him.
"Someone was lookin' through the gap in the curtains- a kid- he's runnin' back up ter the school." At this, Harry bolted to the door and looked out, coming back with a pale face as well.
"It's Malfoy."