Oriane's feet were completely bare as she stood on the cool rocks that lined the river that flowed by her cottage. Had she remembered to change into her swim gear before coming, she would have loved to take a quick dip in the water. For that moment, though, she would just have to settle with only submerging her feet.

Tall trees lined the edge of the river, providing the perfect shade from the unrelenting sun. That summer had been an extraordinarily warm one, so Oriane found herself going to the river quite often to cool down. It wasn't much longer until she wouldn't be able to enjoy that small liberty, though. Her return to Hogwarts was drawing ever closer, and though she was excited to be reunited with her friends again, she knew she was going to miss her river.

But she did her best not to worry about that, as there was something else she needed to attend to. Her gaze shifted away from the water and instead she casted it upwards. Thick foliage only allowed small patches of sunlight through, yet Oriane did her best to judge the time anyway.

Deciding it was better to be safe than sorry, Oriane tore her feet out of the water and made her way up the bank. Sitting on a large rock were her socks, shoes, and broom. Wasting no time, she did her best to quickly air dry her feet before putting her shoes back on.

"Up," she commanded as she stood.

Hardly a second later her broom snapped up against her hand and she was tossing herself over it. Her old, well-used broom wasn't nearly as nice as Cedric's broom, which she had used a few months previously. She often found herself needing to throw her entire weight against the broom in order for it to turn in the direction she wanted it to. Still, it beated walking the long distance back to her cottage.

She began to slowly rise into the air, becoming nearly as tall as the trees that surrounded the river bed. Normally she would walk to the meadow before even hopping on her broom, as the trees were much too thick to navigate with her unruly broom. However, after her fall on the quidditch pitch, Oriane decided that she would attempt to face her fears. Heights was one of the things that terrified her the most. It took some time (as she quickly quit on her first few attempts) but after keeping at it over the summer, she could finally fly over the trees without that odd pain of anxiety in her stomach.

Over the trees she went. She was still close enough to them that her toes scraped the leaves, but she counted it as a success anyway. A large expanse of trees stood behind her as the river continued to wind through the forest. In front of her was a lush, green meadow, which she began to fly towards. The very moment that the trees began to thin out, she lowered herself closer to the ground, and continued on her way through the meadow.

As she traveled further from the river, a new landmark came into view. A tall, waving willow tree. It was much kinder (and frankly, more beautiful) than the Whomping Willow that resided on Hogwarts grounds. It towered into the sky where many of its branches began to droop, its leaves nearly tickling the grass as they cascaded down like a fountain.

It was a short distance to her home from the tree, and as she neared it she noticed the unmistakable sound of quiet honking. Stopping, Oriane hopped off her broom where she haphazardly placed it next to the back door, where she would later move it inside.

Jogging around the cottage, she found Esme. Her long hair was neatly pulled back into a ponytail, and her clothes were covered in dirt. Thick, brown gloves protected her hands as she used a trowel to dig up a small hole. However, upon hearing Oriane walk towards her, she paused.

"Look!" she exclaimed as she turned to her side. Seconds later she held a beautiful daffodil in her hands. The bright yellow petals shone under the sun, and the circular petal in the center seemed to almost open and close with the honking sound. "I bought some honking daffodils!"

And they certainly were honking. Leaning to the side, Oriane could make out four more daffodils in small, singular pots. Each of them leaned towards Esme, gently making noise at her. The sound reminded Oriane of geese, though the flowers seemed much more kind.

"They're kinda cute," Oriane smiled, walking closer to the plants.

As she neared, a few of the flowers seemed to turn their attention towards her instead. Still, they continued honking, their stems shook with each sound.

"I thought so as well," Esme smiled.

She removed the small pot from the first flower, where she gently patted it into the ground in front of her. Four more holes were dug out for the remaining flowers. Kneeling down, Oriane assisted Esme in the replanting of the silly honking flowers. They were such sweet and gentle beings, despite their incessant noise making.

"I've got everything prepared for our picnic," Esme said as she patted down the dirt around one of the flowers. "Figured I'd get a head start on it while you were out by the river."

"I flew by the willow earlier. Looks like it'll provide plenty of shade for the both of us," Oriane smiled.

Esme hummed as she sat back on her heels. "Sounds like everything's going perfect for your last night home. Remind me what the plan for tomorrow is?"

"Well, in the letter Mrs. Weasley sent, she said she'd arrive by floo powder sometime around five. She'll help me take my luggage to their house so that way we can head to Kings Cross for the start of term on Thursday," Oriane explained, picking up the next daffodil.

"And when are you meeting with Cedric?" she asked.

"Sounds like we're meeting with him and his father the morning of the tournament on Tuesday."

"Oh, I'm so excited for you," Esme giggled. "Though, I can't say I'm excited for all the injuries that are bound to happen that night."

Tilting her head to the side, Oriane looked back at Esme. "Injuries?"

Esme nodded. "Apparently it's not wholly uncommon for disagreements to happen over the winning team. Lots of accidental jinxing, or even fistfights break out. Anything the Healers can't handle on the field will probably get sent to St. Mungos."

"Sounds like a blast," Oriane teased.

Eventually the last honking daffodil was placed into the ground, fully rejoining the others. Their honking only seemed to grow more frequent, and perhaps even louder, after being put into the ground. Oriane liked to think that they were happier having more space to root.

"Right well, I'll go wash up and-"

A loud crack interrupted Esme before she could finish. It was a sound Oriane had heard several times before, though still not particularly often. The girls turned their heads in the direction of the crack and found Remus Lupin standing a little ways down the dirt path that led up to their house.

A grin immediately overtook Oriane's face at the sight of him, and she quickly pushed herself to her feet. However, once up off the ground, she quickly realized the man was not alone. Standing shorter than him was a large, black dog.

"Looks like we'll have to postpone our picnic," Esme muttered.

She quickly took off her leather gloves and threw them into the ground next to the flowers. The daffodils honked after her as she stomped her way over to Remus. Even from a distance Oriane could tell he was already beginning to sweat.

"I know," he defended, "I didn't want him to come with either."

"You've got some nerve showing up here," Esme barked at the dog. She stopped walking when she was a good few feet away from the two, yet her glare was still just as painful. "Why did you two even come here?"

The dog seemed absolutely unphased at Esme's outburst. Instead, he stared up at her, sitting as tall as he could muster. From an outsider's point of view, the whole exchange looked rather silly. A woman, upset at a dog? But for Oriane, that reaction wasn't entirely unwarranted.

Because that dog was not just simply a dog, but a man pretending to be a dog. And that man was Sirius Black, her once betrothed. Until the whole world thought he was a murderer, Esme included. Shortly after the previous school year ended, Remus took the time to come to their cottage to explain the whole situation. It went just about as well as one would expect. It was the most angry Oriane had ever seen Esme before, which she guessed wasn't entirely unwarranted. However, it was scary.

"Well, I came here to discuss something with you. Some recent events that have unfolded," Remus explained.

"The mutt just came along for fun, then?" Esme spat.

"He's just concerned," Remus rationalized.

Finally, the dog tore his eyes off of Esme, and they instead wandered to land on Oriane. She still stayed standing by the daffodils almost as if she were a stranger. The dog began to trot over to her, stopping to sit by her feet.

"What do you think you're doing?" Esme sighed, turning around to look at the dog.

Almost as if defying her, the dog leaned its head against Oriane's thigh. She couldn't help but giggle as she looked down at him.

"It's good to see you, Sirius," she greeted him.

The dog looked up at her where he opened his mouth in a panting smile.

"Fine," Esme exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air. "If you all want to talk so badly, then we'll do it inside. The last thing I need is for anyone to see Sirius Black here."

She then stomped off towards the entrance to the cottage, not even bothering to hold the door open for Remus who walked just behind her. A soft whine came from the dog who still stayed sitting at Oriane's feet.

"I know. I don't like it when she's mad either," Oriane sighed. "Come on."

The last time Oriane felt tense being in the cottage was during last Christmas holiday when she had confronted Esme about all the secrets she had been keeping. It made sense that the same feeling would overwhelm her then. More secrets being brought to light, and a terrible reality Esme didn't want to face. Though she hated to admit it, Oriane was glad it wasn't her having to deal with all the big emotions this time around.

Once everyone entered the cottage, Sirius quickly bounded off towards the living room, almost as if he was attempting to hide. Surprisingly, Esme paid him no mind and instead turned her attention to Remus as they stood in the dining room.

"What is it?" she asked, trying to keep her voice as even as possible.

"I figured you'd like to stay in the loop about some of the changes going on this year at Hogwarts," he cautiously explained.

"And so you had to bring him along for it?" Esme muttered, wildly motioning in the direction of the living room behind her.

"I already told you, I didn't want him to come!"

They hadn't even been inside for a minute and they were already back to arguing again. Really, Oriane was far from annoyed with it. Though, it wasn't like she could fully blame Esme. She had been a stuttering mess when Remus first broke the news to her shortly after the end of term. So many years of pent up hatred had been wasted and had nowhere to go but out.

Still, Oriane didn't want to stick around to hear it.

She wandered off to the living room, leaving the two to their argument. The very moment she rounded the corner into the room she was surprised to see that Sirius was no longer in his Animagus form. He stood, as a human, back faced to her as he stared at the pictures upon the fireplace mantle.

Yet, he heard her coming, and he was quick to turn around and greet the girl with a smile. Oriane instantly noticed just how different he looked from their last encounter. Firstly, he was much cleaner than he was previously. Spending nearly a year in hiding from dementors and the Ministry certainly did a number on him before, yet all that baggage seemed far behind him.

His skin was warm and full of life, and his face wasn't so gaunt. Once greasy black hair was then trimmed and well washed. He looked much younger, though his body seemed to still be recovering from his deteriorated condition after surviving Azkaban. His clothes still seemed loose on him, but the difference was already night and day.

"Hello, Ori," he greeted her quietly.

The man almost seemed shy. Certainly much better put together than he had been last time.

"It's good to see you again," she said, stepping further into the living room.

Sirius chuckled. "I'm rather surprised to hear you admit that, especially after how our first encounter went," he said bitterly, turning his gaze away from her. "I never properly apologized for that night. It was wrong of me to treat you like that."

"You don't need to apologize," the girl assured him as she stood next to him. "You weren't yourself that night. Hardly any of us were. Besides, it was quite easy to forgive you after we uncovered Peter's true identity."

They both fell silent at the mention of that traitor. Really, it was still difficult for Oriane to fully comprehend. Luck seemed to favor that rat too much and it was greatly frustrating. And really, slightly terrifying as well, knowing that someone like Peter Pettigrew knew of her ability. Yet, everything was still peaceful. No one had quite come to burn her home to the ground. She just continued to hope that Hermione was correct about Peter's lack of contacts.

However, Sirius's attention seemed to be miles away from the thought of his traitorous friend. His eyes were glued to one of the picture frames on top of the fireplace. Eventually, he gained enough courage to reach his fingers out to fully pick it up. Oriane didn't even need to see the photo to know which one he had picked up.

"It's been years since I've seen their faces," he whispered.

His dark eyes scanned over every single face that smiled back at him. Three lovely women, two of them being embraced or held by their lovers. Five glowing, happy faces; only one left alive.

"I was told you were an amazing friend to them," Oriane said, leaning closer to Sirius so she could glance at the photo. Her eyes were drawn to the same place they always were; the left side of the photo, where her parents stood. "Even if my father did butt heads with you."

A bark-like chuckle escaped Sirius as he gently placed the photo back where it belonged. "Alarick hated James and I for the longest time. Said we were a headache to be around with how much trouble we caused. Of course, that only made us try even harder to annoy him. I think he only grew to like us because of Esme."

"Really?" Oriane asked.

"Believe it or not, there was a period of time that she hated any sort of discord," Sirius teased, looking over his shoulder to double check that she wasn't glaring at him in the doorway.

Pale blue eyes watched the man carefully as his attention slowly turned back to the photograph. He had placed it down not even moments before and yet his eyes were drawn to it over and over again. It was his life before it was ripped from him, taking his friends with it.

"I took this photo," he admitted quietly. "It was sometime after we had graduated Hogwarts, if my memory serves me right."

And it made sense that he did, now that she thought about it. Esme was perfectly in the center of the photo, the angle making her glow. Of course, one could argue that it was because she was half-veela. But just maybe it was because the photographer happened to be madly in love with her.

"Do you still love her? Even after everything that's happened?" Oriane asked, carefully.

"Oh, Ori," Sirius chuckled, looking down at the girl, "I never stopped."

She couldn't help but smile. She didn't know why, but talking to Sirius felt like talking with an old friend, similar to how she felt when she spoke with Remus. Though he had only been in her life for a short amount of time it felt as if he had been with her for as long as she could remember. Maybe it was the connection he had with her parents; maybe it was something else.

"I suppose she told you about our engagement, then," Sirius continued, adjusting his hair.

Oriane nodded, then meekly added, "did you really mean what you promised her? That you'd help her take care of me after my parents died?"

There was no hesitation; "Of course I did. We had all agreed to take care of each other, especially you and Harry. We would have given anything to protect you two. We still would."

"Sometimes I wonder how things would be different if the Ministry hadn't wrongfully imprisoned you," Oriane said, her gaze wandering elsewhere. "Even with the death of my parents… If Esme and I had you here, and you had ended up taking care of Harry too, maybe we could have been a proper family. Maybe it's selfish, but I can't help but think things would have been easier for Harry and I if you had been here with us."

A certain glint appeared in Sirius's eyes as Oriane spoke. One she couldn't see, but one that spoke volumes nonetheless. It was one of longing, because he had wished for the very same thing.

"That could still be our reality," he assured her. "Maybe not for a while, but I wanted Harry to come live with me. He even agreed to it before Peter escaped. Really, that's been my biggest regret about everything that happened all those years ago. I don't regret going after him, and I don't regret getting caught in his lie. I just regret that because of my rash decisions, I squandered any chance of giving you and Harry anything close to a normal life. I know Esme did a wonderful job with you, but knowing she had to do it all alone because of me is… unforgivable."

Silence fell over the two of them for a long while as they sat with Sirius's words. She had wanted nothing more in the world than for Esme to have been given the chance at living her life properly. It hurt so bad knowing things could have been different. But what was she to do? Everything was left in the past, long before she was capable of changing it herself, and that was frustrating beyond belief.

Before either of them could think of anything to say, a quiet voice cleared their throat behind them. Both of them instantly snapped their heads in the direction of the doorway where they found Esme. She stood there, eyes carefully glancing back and forth between the two of them.

"We're about to go over some new school year things with Remus," she said simply. Any anger that she harbored earlier seemed to have dissipated by that point, which wasn't anything Oriane was going to complain about.

"We'll be right there," she assured Esme.

With one last lingering glance, Esme quickly turned away from the two before walking back down the hallway, returning to the kitchen where Remus awaited her. Oriane and Sirius stood in the room for a moment longer, his words hanging heavy in the air. There was so much she wanted to learn from him, so much she wanted to say, but she knew that would have to wait for another time.

"Shouldn't keep them waiting too long, then," Sirius chuckled as he brought his arm up to rest on Oriane's shoulder. "We'll talk another time."

"Right," she said with a nod of her head.

Sirius let Oriane leave first, yet he was quick to follow close behind her. Though, before he fully left the room, he couldn't help but throw one more glance back at the fireplace. A small smile made his lips curve very faintly for a few moments before it vanished. Then, he continued forward, where the picture of his old family watched as he left the room.