Chapter 18

August 2022

With shaking hands Hermione picked up the last of her daughter's letters and opened it. She figured it must have been written about the time Harry's parents had died and Sirius was thrown into Askaban.

29th October 1981

Dear Mum and Dad,

Halloween is approaching fast and I finally figured out a way to make sure you will get my letters. As I'm sure you know by now, I will put them into a vault at Gringotts and tell them to give them to you in 41 years after I've disappeared. This will probably be my last letter since I'm going to stay in France for the foreseeable future.

I'm not sure yet if I should risk it and take Sirius with me or not. I know I shouldn't change anything but it's so hard. I love him, he's my husband and I don't want to lose him. He would never forgive me if I let him go to Askaban, knowing full well that he is innocent.

Anyway, I'm going to move to France and I'm not sure if I will ever return to Britain. I will promise you though now that I will be home for Christmas on 25th December 2022 if at all possible. If I don't return to you on that day I'm either on my deathbed or already dead.

In the hopes of seeing you once again,

Love

Rose

Ron and Hermione breathed a sigh of relieve and drew hope from the promise Rose made in her letter. Hopefully their daughter would return to them on Christmas Day.

2nd November 1981

Sirius and Dora had quickly packed everything they needed and then apparated to their house in France. Regulus had been quite surprised to see them since he had only access to the local muggle newspaper and hadn't heard about Voldemort's downfall, yet. He was happy though when they told him they would be staying for a while, he had been pretty lonely with only a ghost for company.

The next few weeks they barely left the house, waiting for some news from Britain. Dora still got the Daily Prophet and every morning they would search it for news about the situation back home. They needed to know if it was safe for them to venture outside or not. At the moment Dora was the only one able to leave the house since she was the only one who wasn't wanted by the ministry or presumed dead.

A few days after their arrival in France Dora opened the Daily Prophet and found what they had been waiting for.

"Apparently you were captured by some Aurors and sentenced to Askaban for life," Dora told Sirius lightheartedly.

"Probably some poor bloke who looks similar to me and was framed by the ministry to make them look good," Sirius said with disgust.

"Yes, but it also means they aren't looking for you anymore. Maybe we will need to change your name but you should be able to walk around in France with no one thinking twice about it. Who knows, maybe they don't even know your name here in France and you won't even have to change it," Dora tried to stay optimistic.

"It also seems as if Peter Pettigew has gone into hiding. He has apparently disappeared and was declared missing," Dora announced after she had finished reading the paper.

"I bet he knows I'm still out there, waiting for revenge. That little coward," Sirius growled. "If I ever get my hands on him, I'll do something to actually deserve Askaban."

"He'll pay the price for his treachery. Someday he will have to pay," Dora put a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"You! Don't you dare act all innocent on me! You could have prevented it! You could have warned them! You could have saved them!" Sirius shouted at his wife and threw off her comforting hand.

"I know, I know," his wife whispered with regret in her voice, silent tears streaming down her face.

"Sirius calm down. You both need to calm down," Regulus interrupted their conversation and put his own hand on his brother's shoulder. Carefully he led him away before the situation could escalate further.

A week later, news reached them that the Longbottoms had been tortured to insanity by Barty Crouch Jr. and Bellatrix, Rodolphus and Rabastan Lestrange.

"Good riddance," was Sirius only comment when he read that they would spent the rest of their lives in Askaban and Regulus silently agreed. Sirius and Dora were his only family now.

Eventually they decided that the three of them would change their last name to Noire, the French word for black. At least one of them would need to find a job soon because they were quickly running out of money. Dora had quit her job at St. Mungo's already a few days before that fateful Halloween and they only had the money she had been able to take from Gringotts when she went there to put the letters to her family into one of the vaults. She desperately needed a new job.

Therefore the next day Dora went to the magical hospital in Paris, St. Eugenie, to ask for employment. Unfortunately they didn't need any more healers but told her that Bauxbatons was looking for a new medi-witch. So she wrote a letter to the headmistress Madame Maxime and hoped for the best.

Dora was lucky and got an invitation for a job interview the next week. Madame Maxime was impressed by her certificates, both from Hogwarts and St. Mungo's and told her so.

"Are you sure you want to work here? You seem to be overqualified for this job, Madame Noire" she asked her in French.

"Yes, I would really like to work here if you offered me the chance," Dora replied in nearly flawless French.

"Alright, you will get your chance, Madame Noire. You can start working after Yule, though you will be on probation until summer. Do you agree with my terms?" Madame Maxime said.

"Yes, thank you Madame Maxime," Dora answered gratefully. She knew her lack of experience didn't make it any easier for her to get a job.

After Dora had found work things became easier. They didn't have to worry about money so much anymore and were able to decorate the house the way they liked and really make it their home. Dora actually enjoyed working with children and the children liked her as well. The only downside to working at the school was that she only got to see her husband during the holidays or sometimes on the weekend.

Many years passed like this. Sirius and Regulus stayed mostly in the house, only venturing out on occasion, while Dora spent most of her time at Bauxbatons. Sirius and Regulus had become closer than they had ever been before over the time they were stuck in the same house. They still fought sometimes of course but all in all they got along reasonably well.

Dora and Sirius were still quite happily married although Sirius had been fairly angry at her for allowing James and Lily to die. After a few months he got over it though and Regulus was actually a little jealous of his older brother. The couple often went on dates, mostly in the muggle world to minimize the chance of Sirius being recognised.

Four years after their arrival in France, Sirius' and Regulus' mother died, making Sirius the only heir to the Black fortune since Regulus was presumed dead. Due to the money they had inherited, Dora didn't have to work any longer but she continued because she truly loved being a healer.

Another three years later Dora watched as Fleur Delacour, her future aunt, started at Bauxbatons. She wondered if Fleur would still remember her in over thirty years. Fleur was rarely ill or injured so she didn't see her very often. It was entirely possible she wouldn't make the connection between Madame Noire and her niece Rose.

"I can't work anymore," Dora one day announced during the Easter holidays.

"Why not?" Sirius asked baffled.

Dora took a deep breath and looked at her husband. "I'm pregnant."

His blue eyes widened and he gaped at her. "Really? We're having a baby?" he asked.

"Yes," his wife replied anxiously.

A wide grin spread across Sirius' face. He picked her up and swung her around, laughing happily. Then he carefully sat her back on the ground and kissed her soundly.

Dora stopped working at Bauxbatons after that. Sirius was ecstatic about becoming a father and didn't stop grinning for two whole weeks.

"What do you think we should call them?" Dora asked Sirius while stroking her now bulging stomach.

Well, in my family it's tradition to name children after flowers or constellations, but I don't know if I really want to follow that tradition," the father-to-be answered.

"Why not? I think it's a nice tradition. Besides, I was named after a flower, too," Dora reminded him.

"You are right, my rose. So, which names would you like?" Sirius asked.

"I like Castor, Corvus or Leo for a boy," the redhead said and leaned her head on Sirius' shoulder.

"I like Leo," Sirius replied with a grin. "I was thinking Rose for a girl."

"You want to name our daughter after me?" Dora inquired.

"Yes. I love you and I know you love that name. I'm sure our daughter will love it just as much. Please?" Sirius gave her his puppy dog eyes.

"Alright," Dora sighed and agreed. "Although it's not very original to name your child after yourself."

Their daughter Rose was born on the 20th September 1990. Dora had suggested Hermione for her middle name in remembrance of her mother. Regulus was named inofficial godfather and doted on his little niece. He longed for a family of his own but that was impossible as long as he needed to hide the fact that he was alive.

A few months before Rose's third birthday they returned to England with her. Regulus had to stay behind for obvious reasons. Sirius started to show himself in various villages and towns to play the escaped convict, while Dora lived with Rose in a rented flat in London. He sometimes visited them but he couldn't risk it too often for fear of being discovered.

Again Dora could only sit and watch as the tragedy unfolded. Pettigrew's escape, Voldemort's return and the ministry's denial, everything went as it was supposed to and it was horrible to watch and wait. Soon, soon it would be time for her to decide if she warned Sirius of his imminent death or not. She didn't want her husband to die, of course not, but she technically wasn't allowed to change anything that had already happened. Despair filled her heart.

The day arrived faster than she wanted it to. She decided to risk it and visited Sirius at Grimmauld Place because she wanted to see him at least one more time. But when the message arrived to tell Sirius the Order was needed at the Ministry of Magic, she couldn't bear to send him to his death.

"No, please don't go. I don't want to lose you," she whispered with tears in her eyes. Five year old Rose clung to her mother's hand and watched her in confusion. Why was her mother crying?

Sirius had heard her quiet whisper and hugged his wife tightly. "I have to go. I can't leave Harry alone. He went there to save me, I can't abandon him now. Not again, never again," Sirius told her.

"I know, I'm just being selfish," Dora replied. "Promise me to be careful?"

"I promise," Sirius said and kissed her. Then he bent down and hugged his daughter. "Goodbye Rose. I love you, my little flower."

"Bye Daddy," she answered and gave him a kiss on the cheek. She could feel something was wrong but she couldn't figure out what. Fearfully she clung to her daddy.

Sirius carefully extricated himself from his daughter, gave Dora one last kiss and then left the house.

Dora had put on a brave face for Sirius but as soon as he was out of the door she broke down crying. Deep down she knew he wouldn't be coming back. Rose started crying as well, she didn't know what was going on but to see her mother crying upset her deeply. "He'll be back. Daddy will come back, won't he?" she sobbed against her mother's shoulder. Dora only held her tighter in answer.

She rocked Rose gently in her arms and tried to calm them both down. Dora knew they had to get out of the house so none of the Order members would see them. Dumbledore was still the only one who knew about them. She apparated them to their flat and waited with dread for the news that were sure to come.

A/N: Thanks for your reviews!