Author's Note: Hello, everyone! I have two more chapters for you all! Thank you so much for your support! I do want to point out that this story will not be romantic. The relationship between Sirius and Ginny is strictly platonic/father/daughter.
Chapter Three
Ginny couldn't breathe.
She was choking on the fumes from her mother's spray bottle. Her mother was quite insistent on drowning every part of the bathroom.
The twins also choked and Ron put his hand over his mouth and nose.
"Alright," Mrs. Weasley finally said, "We just need to…"
A knock on the doorway made the group look up.
Their old professor, Remus Lupin, was standing in the doorway.
He gave them all a smile before turning to Mrs. Weasley and saying, "The meeting's about to start."
She quickly wiped her hands on her apron and said, "Thank you, Remus."
He nodded and left.
"Finish cleaning up," Mrs. Weasley instructed, "I'll be back."
"Can I come?" Ginny asked.
"Don't be silly, Ginny," Mrs. Weasley replied, "We're just meeting to discuss budgets and finances."
"Budgets and finances?" Ginny repeated.
She couldn't believe that her mother was lying to her!
"Mmhm."
Ginny let out a surprised huff before crying, "Are you sure that it doesn't have anything to do with that evil guy who just came back to life!?"
The twins snickered.
Mrs. Weasley's eyes widened.
"I know what the Order is, Mum," Ginny continued, "And I want to join!"
"Who…who told you…?"
"Sirius," Ginny retorted.
Mrs. Weasley angrily sighed.
"I want to join," Ginny repeated.
"No," Mrs. Weasley snapped.
She walked away without another word.
Ginny growled and followed her downstairs.
"No, Ginny!" Mrs. Weasley shrieked, "And that's final!"
"Why not!"
"You're too young!"
"But it's a meeting about—"
"You shouldn't be worrying about such things!"
"I shouldn't be worrying?" Ginny exclaimed, "I shouldn't be worrying!?"
They had made it to the kitchen door.
"That's enough, Ginny," Mr. Weasley curtly said, coming up behind them, "Don't upset your mother."
"Then, why does she get to upset me?" Ginny argued.
"Ginny, please," Mr. Weasley sighed, "An eye for an eye leaves everyone blind!"
"Hey!"
They turned and saw that the other members had arrived.
Sirius, having spoken, was now finding it hard to maintain a straight face as he cried, "Moody's standing right here, you know!"
He snickered as the Auror amusedly swatted him in the back of the head.
"Ginny, go back upstairs," Mrs. Weasley instructed, "Now."
"But—"
"Ginny?" Moody spoke up, thoughtfully gazing at her, "Are you coming to the meeting?"
"Yes!"
"No," Mr. and Mrs. Weasley snapped.
"Mm," Moody grunted, "Too bad. You'd be useful. I heard what happened to you."
Sirius looked confused and curious.
Yet, he didn't say a word.
"You don't know?" Moody asked.
"Nah," Sirius lightly said, "Nobody tells me things."
"Preaching to the choir, mate," Ginny sighed, "Preaching to the choir."
Sirius laughed.
"Ginny," Mrs. Weasley quietly said, "Go back upstairs! NOW!"
Sirius gave her an apologetic look.
"Fine," Ginny snapped, "Send your kids to war unprepared!"
Moody and Sirius both looked impressed by the outburst.
Her parents did not.
At that moment, however, Ginny didn't care.
She spun around and stomped back up to her room.
She stayed there for the remainder of the day, her stomach burning with anger and twisting with anxiety. She only left her room when the clock struck midnight, as she decided that it was going to be another long night without sleep.
She went back down to the kitchen. The meeting had ended hours ago. Yet, one member still remained.
"Hey, Juniper," Sirius cheerfully said, "Back again, I see?"
"As are you," Ginny pointed out.
She jerked her head towards a seat and he nodded.
She sat down and he asked, "Alright?"
"Mm," Ginny replied, "Do you ever sleep?"
"Do you?" Sirius amusedly asked.
She waved her hand and muttered, "Sleeping's overrated."
Sirius chuckled and gestured to the teapot.
She appreciatively nodded and he poured her a mug.
Ginny glanced around the dim room and shuddered.
Sirius raised an eyebrow.
"No offense," Ginny sighed, "But I really hate this house."
"So do I," Sirius bitterly agreed.
"I hate the fact that we can't go outside," Ginny sighed, "Our house isn't the nicest house in the world…in fact, I'm almost sure that it's going to topple over any day…but at least we have a large garden and a pasture and…"
She broke off as she saw the dreamy look in Sirius' eyes.
"Sorry," Sirius chuckled, "It just…sounds nice…"
"Yeah," Ginny thoughtfully said, "I suppose that it is…"
She took a sip and continued, "Whenever I couldn't get to sleep, I would just nick one of my brother's broomsticks and fly around. It was always nice…flying beneath the stars…"
Sirius' eyebrows shot up.
"What?" Ginny defensively said.
"'Couldn't sleep?'" Sirius repeated.
Ginny flushed and took a long sip.
Sirius stared at her for a moment before abruptly changing the subject, "So, you like flying, eh? Are you a Quidditch fan?"
She eagerly nodded.
"Favorite team?"
"Holyhead Harpies," Ginny proudly said, "I've been a fan since I was four!"
"Mm, they're not bad," Sirius replied, "I'm more of an Appleby Arrows fan."
The two launched into a friendly debate about the strengths and witnesses of one another's teams. It lasted well into the night. In fact, they only paused when they heard the unmistakable sound of approaching footsteps.
"What's going on down here?"
"Mum," Ginny gasped, "She's not going to let me hear the end of this…"
Quick as a flash, Sirius leapt up and opened the left door of the china cabinet.
"Go through," Sirius quickly whispered, "It'll take you to up to the corridor. Whatever you do, don't wake my mother! Otherwise, we'll both never hear the end of it!"
Ginny didn't even bother to hesitate.
She hastily thanked him and squeezed through the tiny door.
She blinked and suddenly found herself stumbling out from behind a portrait in the corridor above. She caught herself and warily eyed the curtains over Walburga's portrait.
Fortunately, they didn't stir.
She could hear her mother down below.
"Who were you talking to?" Mrs. Weasley was saying.
"Myself," Sirius calmly replied, "Why? What's so suspicious about a man who spent twelve years in prison having prolonged conversations with himself?"
Ginny giggled and quickly raced back to her bedroom.
That had been a close one.
oOo
The next night, Sirius already had a mug of tea poured for her.
Ginny appreciatively smiled and sat down.
"Are you alright?" Sirius quietly asked, "You didn't eat again, today."
Ginny flushed and quickly changed the subject, "Thanks for the help last night."
Sirius frowned but thankfully went along with it, "Not a problem. Like I said the other night, there has to be at least a dozen secret passageways around here."
"Did you and your friends make a map of this place?" Ginny curiously asked.
"Nah," Sirius replied, "They really didn't come here."
"So, you really were the Marauders?"
He nodded and said, "I was Padfoot."
"Who was Prongs?"
"James," Sirius answered, "Harry's dad."
"You were friends with Harry's dad!?"
"Brothers, more like," Sirius happily said.
"So, that's why you're his godfather."
He proudly nodded.
"Then who was Moony?"
"Remus."
Ginny's jaw dropped and she cried, "You're joking?"
"Nope," Sirius laughed, "Your old professor was a huge troublemaker at school. In fact, he was the reason why we all got our nicknames. I suppose that you heard about his condition?"
"Everyone did," Ginny bitterly said, "The Slytherins made sure of that."
Sirius solemnly nodded before saying, "We found out about it in our second year. We became Animagi."
"You're an Animagus?" Ginny excitedly asked.
He grinned and stood up.
Ginny blinked and found herself looking at a large, black, dog.
She laughed and he transformed back.
"Brilliant!"
"Thanks," Sirius proudly said.
"What was Harry's dad?" Ginny asked.
"A stag."
"Like his Patronus," Ginny whispered.
Sirius' eyes widened and he croaked, "Harry's Patronus is…?"
She nodded.
His eyes glistened for a moment.
They both jumped as they heard a sound.
"It's probably Kreacher," Sirius decided, "Still…just to be safe…"
Ginny was already on her feet.
"Listen," Sirius added, "I do enjoy our little nighttime chats."
She snickered and he continued, "But you need to get some rest. Let's not make this habitual."
"Deal."
oOo
"So much for not making this habitual."
Sirius threw back his head and laughed.
They had ended up talking to one another over the kitchen table every day for the past week. Not that Ginny minded. It was nice…being able to actually talk to someone.
Sirius couldn't tell her anything about the Order meetings – Moody had forced everyone to swear an unbreakable vow that nothing would leave the room. However, Sirius still told her amazing stories about the various adventures that had occurred when he had been at Hogwarts.
"So," Ginny curiously asked, "Who was Wormtail?"
"Huh?"
"On the map," Ginny explained, "There's Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs. You're Padfoot, Harry's father was Prongs, and Professor Lupin's Moony. So who…?"
Sirius' face fell and he muttered, "Peter Pettigrew."
Ginny gasped and cried, "The person who everyone said that you killed!?"
He nodded and quickly said, "I didn't, though."
"No, I know that," Ginny replied, "They told me that much."
He let out a hollow chuckle.
"So…what…what happened?"
Sirius's eyes sharpened and Ginny quickly said, "Sorry, I…"
"No, it's alright," Sirius assuredly said, "I told you that you could ask any question, didn't I?"
And so, he told her everything that had occurred on the night of October 31st, 1981.
By the time he was finished, he was passing her a handkerchief.
"Wow," Ginny croaked, "I…I'm so sorry."
"It is what it is," Sirius sighed.
He silently gazed at the table before saying, "That's not even the worst of it. Azkaban was…it was just…"
He broke off but Ginny understood.
"Let's just say that I've faced some demons," Sirius finally said.
"Yeah," Ginny softly said, "I…I know what that's like."
Sirius turned to her and in that moment, Ginny could see the true pain in his eyes.
And she had a feeling that he was seeing something similar in hers.
"Are you alright?" Sirius asked.
"Why do you keep asking me that?" Ginny asked.
"Because," Sirius quietly said, "I have a feeling that no-one else does."
Ginny felt a lump form in her throat.
She quickly swallowed it and asked, "Are you alright?"
"I asked you first."
She let out a small laugh.
"Juniper…"
Ginny took a deep breath and mumbled, "No…I'm…I'm not."
It was a moment before he answered.
When he did, he said, "Yeah…neither am I."