Chapter 68: The Three Bears
It was a sunny day at Godric's Hollow and Lucy spent the day in the house, folding laundry with her friend, Maria Natalie Hunter. Sure, they were witches and yes they could use magic whenever they wanted and of course they knew a few laundry related spells but Lucy wanted to do things the muggle way saying that she should work on her skills and shouldn't be to dependent on magic. Natalie says she's lying and is just using it as an excuse to do something since she was bored. Lucy didn't correct her, it was true.
Lucy was humming to a random tune as she brought out clothes from the drier and waved her wand in the air so it would levitate in front of her. Each time she did this she would bite her lip and furrow her eyebrows in thought. "Was it always this small?" was always the question she would ask whenever she did this. Natalie would look over at the shirt, or pants, and let out a laugh. Personally, she didn't care. After all, Lucy was doing Sirius' laundry first.
Natalie then looked over to Zoey, who was playing in a basket of Lucy dirty clothes, giggling whenever she came across something silky, and took her. Zoey looked at her godmother curiously before letting out a giggle and blowing out spit bubbles, a habit she developed. Natalie felt her eyes widen at the sight and before she knew it she placed Zoey on her lap.
"She's such a cutie!" Natalie gushed as she began to bounce Zoey on her lap. Zoey gave a cry of joy, clapping her hands with every bounce. "I want one," Natalie added
"You were terrified to even carry her not even a month ago and now you want one for your own?" Lucy laughed, folding a shirt, "I thought you hated children?"
Natalie pouted. "But Zoey is such an angel. She doesn't cry that much and knows when to poop –"
"You're over exaggerating on the poop part"
"Oh! I know!" Natalie ignored her, "How about I keep Zoey and you and Sirius could just get another one!"
"You think you can just buy babies off the rack?" Lucy raised a brow.
"Sorry. I used the wrong word there. I meant to say: 'How about I keep Zoey and you and Sirius could just make another one'," Natalie said with a grin.
Lucy blushed and took Zoey away from her godmother. "I think I liked you better when you still thought babies came from the stork"
"Hey, in my defense it was a pretty convincing story," Natalie scoffed, "And it couldn't be that hard. In fact, when Sirius comes back, you and he can just scootle your bootles out of here. Up to your room and get on with the… baby process while I pack Zoey's things and get out of your hair?"
"Uhuh," Lucy turned away from Natalie, hiding her blush, "And you actually think you can handle taking care of a baby?"
"Yes"
"Feeding her, changing her, bathing her, keeping her happy?" Lucy continued, looking back at Natalie, her blush under control.
"We – I can use magic," Natalie said, her voice faltering.
"You can't always use magic," Lucy pointed out, wearing a smug look.
"Then I'll ask Remus to help me out!" Natalie grinned, "He loves helping and he loves Zoey so he wouldn't mind at all"
Lucy shook her head. "Why don't you just ask Remus to give you that baby you want? A non – crying, scheduled – pooping baby?"
It was now Natalie's turn to blush. "You know Remus and I aren't like that," she told her, "It just doesn't work that way between us"
"I was meaning to ask you about that," said Lucy, readjusting Zoey in her arms, "What happened with you and Remus? You made such a cute couple in school"
"It was nothing. We just decided that we were better off as friends," Natalie told her curtly.
"Is that really it?"
"Yes," Natalie replied and before Lucy could get another word in there was a loud pop coming from somewhere in the house. "Looks like Sirius' is back," Natalie said and at that moment the door to the laundry room opened revealing the man himself.
"Hey, teddy-bear," Sirius grinned at the sight of his wife and kissed Lucy on the lips in greeting. He planted one on Zoey's forehead too before looking to Natalie and made a face. "Grizzly bear," he nodded to hear.
Natalie wrinkled her nose. "Teddy bear?"
"Lucy's teddy bear. You're Grizzly bear," Sirius told Natalie with glazed eyes, as if what he said was very obvious that everyone in the world knew it.
"Like I care," Natalie scoffed.
"And what are you wrinkling your nose for then?" Sirius raised a brow, taking Zoey away from Lucy.
"The couple nickname thing," Natalie said, "What's up with that?"
"He's been doing that for the past week," Lucy answered, "He's trying to get the perfect nickname. Don't know why though"
"Cause it's cute," Sirius said
"Not it's not," Lucy looked at him, "It's odd and uncomfortable"
Sirius shrugged. "I guess you're right. Luce sounds better than any nickname"
"Way the hell better than 'Teddy bear'," Natalie snorted.
"Whatever you say, Chubaca," Sirius stuck his tongue out at her.
Natalie glared at him. "Shut it you tosspot," she said to him before reaching over and getting Zoey in her grasp. Zoey let out a squeal, "And get your dirty paws off of my daughter"
"Your what?" Sirius asked with his brows raised.
"Yeah you heard me," Natalie said to him, bringing out her wand, "She's mine now and you and Lucy can just make another one"
Sirius looked over to his wife. "What is she going on about?"
"Well, if you must kno – whoa!" Lucy exclaimed and Sirius made a surprised shout as a force tugged them out of the room. They fell to the floor and watched as Natalie stood beyond the doorframe with her wand in the air, laughing.
"Now, go on! Head upstairs and do your business while I pack up Zoey's things and take her out of here," Natalie laughed as Zoey looked at her parents with wide eyes, not knowing what was going on. "Oh, and take your mini laundry with you," Natalie added, flicking her wand towards the clean clothes and making them fly towards the married couple. The shirts and pants flew out of their baskets and landed all over Lucy and Sirius. They paid no mind to them, just continued to look at Natalie oddly
Natalie blinked at them, half expecting them to enter the room and tear their daughter away from her but nothing, they simply stared at her. She, Natalie blinked several more times before giving the Blacks a peace sign before waving her wand once more, closing the door and laughing.
Sirius, who snapped out of his confused trance when the door slammed, looked over to Lucy and picked up the shirt that lay on her head. He looked at it and held it at an arm's length, scrutinizing it. He then gave a chuckle.
"Muggle laundry?"
"Yeah"
"You did mine first?"
"Yup"
"Luce?"
"Yes?"
"Stick to doing things with magic"
"But why?"
"This," Sirius held the shirt to Lucy, "Could fit Zoey when she's five."
Zoey groaned and turned her head to the side. Her head was pounding and she refused to open her eyes in fear that she would come in contact with a bright light. The light. Something she didn't want to see. After all, people did say when one comes near death they'd see a bright light at the end of a tunnel and walk towards it. Zoey did not want to do that. Though at times she felt like giving up she still stayed strong, she didn't want to let go just yet. The Emeraude, now revealed as a Black, tried to move her limbs but met with a numbness. She knew she was moving them, it was just hard. Zoey tried to bend her arm but felt like there was something restricting her, almost like a thick string wrapped around her elbow area, stopping her from folding her arms.
She gave up. She wanted to know what had happened to her. The last thing she remembered was the harsh contact she made with the pavement before blacking out. The Hufflepuff slowly opened her eyes and felt relieved that there was no blinding light to harm her vision. Her mouth twitched a bit as she tried to smile in relief. No use, she guessed her lip was cut as well. Zoey turned her head and looked over to her arm, she was right; it was wrapped in something, gauze. She then turned her head once more and winced in pain. What happened?
Suddenly, a friendly and familiar smile came into view. Zoey felt her eyes widen at the sight and tried her best to get up from the bed she was laying down on.
"Whoa there, cub, you don't want to sprain anything"
"I don't think that's possible," Zoey offered a weak laugh, sitting up anyway, "I look like a mummy"
"Molly did the best she can… Actually, when I came all of your wounds were pretty much healed but she still insisted on wrapping you up. Said something about making them heal at their own pace or something"
"It's good to see you again, Aunt Maria," Zoey smiled.
"It's good to be back, cub," Natalie smiled. She was just about to go in for the hug when the door opened revealing Sirius and Remus.
"Way to ruin the moment, Black," Natalie looked over to him.
"Way to corrupt my daughter, Grizzly Bear," Sirius shot back, "What's up with this 'Aunt Maria' thing going on?"
"What can I say? The kid knows who the mature adult is? I mean, 'Maria' is way more elegant than 'Natalie'. The kid knows her stuff," Natalie said, her hands on her hips.
"That's not what you thought back in school, Natalie," said Remus with a tired smile. Natalie grinned at him in greeting before running up to hug him, he returned it.
"Elegant?" Sirius scoffed, "In what way?"
"In every way. In fact, I'm Zoey's role model," Natalie grinned, "Ain't that right, cub?"
Zoey simply blinked in response.
"See," Natalie looked back at Sirius, "She agrees with me"
"Agrees with you? Yeah right and where did this 'cub' nickname start?" Sirius asked with a role of his eyes, before advancing towards his daughter, checking on her wounds. Zoey simply smiled and gave an "I'm fine dad".
"It was always there," Natalie told him, "She is my daughter after all"
"Since when?" Sirius asked in disbelief while Zoey looked at her aunt with her brows raised.
"Since I kidnapped her from you and 'Teddy bear'," Natalie told him.
"Oh, so by calling her cub, you accept that you're a Grizzly Bear," Remus said, making Sirius snigger.
Natalie looked over to the werewolf. "That's not fair, Remmy~ You're supposed to be on my side"
"And you're supposed to be the mature adult," Mrs. Weasley came into the room, a rag hanging on her shoulder, "I asked you to check up on Zoey, Maria, and here you are arguing with Sirius like a bunch of kids."
"It's just child's play, Molly," Natalie grinned, "And call me Natalie"
"What happened to being elegant?" Sirius scoffed but was silence when Natalie rammed her elbow into his ribs. He, Sirius, hunched over in pain while Remus just watched with an amused expression. Zoey looked over to her dad and rubbed his back.
"I'm fine, Mrs. Weasley," Zoey looked over to the red head, "I just woke up and Aunt Maria was already in the room"
"But did she look at your wounds like I asked her too?" Mrs. Weasley raised a brow.
"Erm –" Zoey began, not knowing what to say
"Well, as you can see, Molly," Natalie cut in, "She isn't bleeding and has regained consciousness without any problems. So, no problems there"
Mrs. Weasley shook her head at the girl before smiling at Zoey. She approached the girl and enveloped her in a hug, not to strong but all the while comforting. "I'm so happy to see you alive and healthy," the Weasley mother said, "You gave us all quite a scare"
"I'm sorry," Zoey bowed her head and felt the wrappings all over her body unravel so she could see her wounds which weren't even wounds anymore. Just light red scratches and fading bruises. Nothing to worry about anymore. She looked up at Mrs. Weasley, who had her wand in her hand, and gave her a smile in thanks. At that moment, Zoey's eyes widened in realization.
"Pardon me, Mrs. Weasley, but are – erm – the Weasley kids here?" Zoey asked, a blush crawling on her face.
"Weasley kids," Mrs. Weasley gave a chuckle, "So they already have a title"
"It's hard not to give a title," Natalie butted in, "It's cute actually."
"Oh, she just wants to see Fred," Remus chuckled making Zoey's blush darken.
"Oh?" Natalie wiggled her brows, "And who's this Fred… hmmm?"
"One of Molly's kids," Sirius replied, "Good bloke. He and his brother remind me of when James and I were still boys"
"They mean well," Remus said
"What? You mean James and I never meant well?" Sirius raised a brow.
"James, yes. You is another question," Natalie smirked before looking over to Zoey, "So which of the Weasley kids is he? The one with the blue eyes?"
"They all have blue eyes," Mrs. Weasley laughed, "The ones that are here, I mean"
Natalie shook her head. "No. That girl has brown eyes," she said.
"You mean Ginny," said Remus, "And what Molly meant was the Weasley boys that are here have blue eyes. You don't honestly think Zoey would be with Ginny"
"I'm not stupid, Remmy," Natalie said with a straight face, Remus rolled his eyes at her, "So which is it? The one with the freckles?"
"And here, I'm beginning to question your mental state," Sirius said, receiving a glare from Natalie.
"Aunt Maria, they all have freckles," Zoey smiled.
"Then you aren't making it any easier for me to guess!" Natalie laughed.
"You don't really have to guess, dear. It's quite obvious which is Fred," Mrs. Weasley gave a laugh of her own.
"No, it isn't. There are two boys and any of them could be Fred," Natalie scoffed.
"You mean three boys," said Mrs. Weasley
"No, two. One who was playing Wizards chess and the other one who was playing with his reflection," Natalie nodded.
"Playing with his reflection?" Zoey raised a brow, "are you sure?"
"Quite sure, really. When I entered the living room the one playing chess –"
"Who was probably Ron," Mrs. Weasley cut in.
"Looked over to me together with Ginny while the one playing with his reflection stopped playing with his reflection," Natalie paused, "Come to think of it. Do you have any charmed mirrors around here, Sirius?"
"Nope," Sirius replied.
"How come?" Remus asked.
"Well, the odd thing was that the kid had a troubled expression while his reflection looked relatively normal," Natalie explained, "Maybe I'm just seeing double"
"Or you just saw Fred and George," Mrs. Weasley chuckled before turning around, "I better start on dinner. Zoey, you should wash up first before heading to the dining room, okay?"
"Yes, Mrs. Weasley," Zoey replied before Natalie held onto her shoulder.
"Wait, so I wasn't seeing double?" she asked the Emeraude. Zoey gave a small laugh at her Aunt's confusion. Natalie was a curious thing. Sometimes she was fierce yet at others she was just confused with things. She was truly an odd fellow.
"You saw Fred and George. Their twins," Remus said.
"Oh, you see. Now that makes sense to me," Natalie grinned.
"Took you long enough," Sirius muttered and dodged another hit Natalie aimed for him.
Natalie then turned to Zoey. "So, twins. Not easy for me to tell apart. Which one was Fred?"
Zoey's blush returned. "Uhm… I'm not sure… I haven't seen them yet," she said, "So I wouldn't know what you saw."
"Fred was the troubled looking one," Sirius supplied, "He was worried about Zoey"
"Eh? Is that so?" Natalie then nudged Zoey softly in the ribs, "So you got a little admirer do you?"
"Actually, if I am correct. He, Fred, is Zoey's boyfriend," Remus smiled softly.
"What?" Natalie exclaimed, "My little cub is dating? No way! You're far too young! You could get pregnant and die!"
Zoey looked at her aunt with wide eyes, speechless.
"You're over reacting," Sirius groaned, stretching. It had been a long day. "She's of age now and he looks like a pretty good bloke. He wouldn't do anything to hurt her"
"What is wrong with you? Have you gone mental?" Natalie jabbed a finger towards Sirius
"He really is a good man, Natalie. Pulls a few pranks with his brother here and there but nothing to serious. Just like what the Marauder's did," Remus placed a hand on Natalie's shoulder.
Natalie smiled at Remus. "I trust your judgment, Remmy and I trust Zoey's taste in guys but what I don't trust is Sirius' mental state," she looked back at Sirius.
"What did I do now?" Sirius asked, used to Natalie's accusations.
"Simple. What kind of dad is extremely mellow after finding out that their own daughter is dating?" Natalie said, sounding like a know-it-all, "I mean, don't you read those books or watch muggle movies? The dad is never this cool with the idea of his baby girl in love. You should be all blown up or very suspicious. .For all you know they could have been dating since she was thirteen or an unreasonable age"
"They started dating not too long ago. If I'm correct, just when school ended," Sirius looked over to Zoey who nodded, though still flushed.
"See! You're so cool on this! I mean, when my dad found out about Remus and I he –"
"Harassed me and interrogated me. Also said he would chop of my – ahem – if I ever broke his little princess' heart," Remus continued.
"Now, that was the reaction I was looking for and you," she looked towards Remus, "Should have acted the same way too! What's up with you and Sirius being… well…. Being like that! Fred should be chained up and kept away from Zoey"
"A – Aunt Maria. I think you're going a bit far," Zoey's blush never went away. To think her godmother was telling her father and godfather what to do when they found out she was dating. Honestly, was it really a big deal?
"You're going a bit over the top, Natalie," Remus told her before looking over to Zoey, "Fred's upstairs with George but I think they're sleeping. It's been a tough day for him, seeing you in that state"
"Yeah right, if he was anything like me when Luce was like that, he wouldn't shut an eye until he knew she was fine," Sirius said, frowning a bit at the memory.
"You're saying that you're allowing her to be in the same room with a boy?" Natalie asked, trying to get Sirius' mind away from Lucy. Up until then they were talking, well mentioning, about their deceased friends but now seeing as they reached a touchy topic she, Natalie, didn't want to discuss it in front of Zoey. Not just yet.
"Nat, you're over reacting," Remus said, wanting to distract Sirius as well. So far, he's been doing well. They had mentioned James and Lily here and there but now getting on the topic of Lucy, that was another story.
"Well, someone has to!" Natalie grinned, "But you're right. Zoey, you can go visit Fred"
Zoey made a small cheer and blushed right after.
"But you two," she then pointed to Remus and Sirius, "Are coming with me. I'm going to give you both a stern lecture"
"On what?" Sirius groaned
"On how to be a dad," Natalie nodded.
"And we're going to get that… from you?" Remus said slowly
"Yup," Natalie grinned before turning to Zoey, "What you still doing here? Get your chicken butt up those stairs!"
"M – my what?" Zoey stammered
"Don't think I don't know," Natalie winked before pulling out her wand, waving it in the air and making Zoey get dragged out of the room by and invisible force before the door closed in her face.
"Now, where shall I begin?" Natalie turned back to her two friends.
Zoey slowly climbed up the stairs, looking around as she went. She saw dozens heads that once belonged to house elves on plaques. She gave a shiver and moved away from them. She hated what they do to house elves and though she knew that they enjoyed working, beheading them seemed to be too extreme. Zoey made it to the first floor. In a distance she caught sight of ginger hair entering one of the room. She hurried towards it.
"Fre –" she began but paused when she saw that it was not Fred, far from him actually. "Ginny," Zoey smiled, "It's so nice to see you"
Ginny whirled around and her eyes widened at the sight of the Hufflepuff. She hurriedly jumped over her suitcase and right into Zoey's arms. Zoey let out a puff of air from the added force and stepped back a little, laughing while doing so.
"Someone missed me," Zoey said, hugging Ginny.
"More than missed. I was bloody worried about you!" Ginny looked up to her.
"Watch your tongue," Zoey smiled, "But as you can see. I'm all fine now"
Ginny squinted at her, looking all over her body before taking a step back. "What happened to you anyway? You gave us quite a scare, Fred especially. You know, he even punched a wall!"
"He what?" Zoey eyes widened and heartbeat quickened.
"Third floor," Ginny told her, "He and George are on the third floor"
Zoey bit her lip. "Thanks," she said to her, "Oh, and dinners almost ready, I'm guessing"
And with that, Zoey went back to the stairs and began to climb higher. She looked back to the walls and after a few more house elves heads she decided to look the other way. She noticed the paint was peeling and that almost everything was covered with dust and spiders. Ron wouldn't like that. Speaking of Ron, Zoey thought as she reached the second floor watching Ron walk out of his room before looking at the wall and walking back. Zoey squinted at the wall and saw a spider hanging on it.
"Poor Ron," Zoey muttered, "He probably just wanted to head down to dinner" she then brought out her wand, which was kept deep within her pocket and pointed it at the direction of the spider. She sent a soft blasting spell that threw the spider away. She then pocketed her wand and walked further up the stairs.
She avoided tables and the like and tried to sneak her way passed snoozing paintings, not wanting to experience the after math. She then entered a hall with several doors on each side. She bit her lip. No one told her which door they'd be in. Zoey looked around and began to walk down the hall, trying to see if there were any signs that would tell her which room was the twins' room. Before long, Zoey passed by a room where a large booming sound emitted. She jumped a bit from the surprise noise before turning towards the door and seeing smoke seep out from under it. She furrowed her eyebrows.
Zoey crept closer to the room and sniffed the air around it. She made a face; it smelled like gunpowder. She kept a hand on the pocket with her wand in it as she used her other hand to knock on the door. There was a crashing sound from behind the door followed by scrambling footsteps.
"Coming mum!" came a voice
"We were just getting ready for dinner!" came another
Zoey raised her brow a bit and took a step back as the door opened revealing George with ruffled hair and dirty cheeks and clothes. He looked down at the Emeraude and a grin graced his lips. He reached down and pulled her into a hug.
"It's good to see you awake," he said to her. Zoey patted his back.
"It's good to see you too," Zoey said to him, "But you know what would be better? Seeing you clean and fresh!"
George released his hold on her. "Mean," he then sniffed his clothes, "But true"
"Very true," Zoey laughed before standing on her tiptoes trying to see beyond George.
"So, what were you doing in there?" she asked making George laugh.
"You just want to see Fred," he pointed out.
Zoey blushed, "That obvious?"
"Not really," George chuckled before walking back into the room, "Hey, Freddie – boy, mum wants to talk to you"
Mum? Zoey thought with confusion as the door swung close. She then heard footsteps approaching and took another step back as the door opened once more. She saw Fred standing in front of her though he wasn't looking at her, he was still looking in his room, he looked like he was sending George some sort of telepathic message before he closed the door behind him and looked at Zoey. His eyes widened.
"Hey," Zoey weakly greeted him, offering him a smile.
Fred stood frozen to the spot, blinking several times. Zoey furrowed her brows and looked at him curiously. She even waved a hand in front of his face, but Fred still didn't move. She then bit her lip, thinking of one way of waking him up from his trance. She took a few steps towards him and stood on her tiptoes, laying a kiss on his check. Fred faltered.
"Hey," he looked to Zoey before his eyes widened once more. "Hey! Hey! You're awake!"
"Yes I am!" Zoey said with a laugh as Fred enveloped her in a hug and planted a soft kiss on her lips. Zoey blushed. "I heard you punched a wall?" she asked in a whisper.
"Yeah, about that…" Fred began when a sudden thought entered his mind, "Hey Zoe, could I ask you something?"
"Sure, what is it?"
"It's about a certain pair of wi –"
But Fred never got the chance to complete his question for a voice, which came from all the way downstairs, echoed through the walls, waking up Walburga Black's painting.
"Honey, I'm home!" said the echoing voice.
"What the –" Zoey began but was stopped when Fred and George's bedroom opened once more, revealing George.
"Welcome home, Sweetums~" he said, battering his eyelashes to no one in particular, "I'll be right down~"
"WHY AREN'T YOU DOWN HERE YET?" the voice shouted back. Zoey had guessed it was Echo, who else could it be. She and Fred looked over to George as he saluted them and disappeared with a loud pop. Zoey blinked several times before looking back at Fred.
"Who wears the pants in their relationship?" she asked him with a smile, he laughed.
And here's chapter 68~
I hope you enjoyed it. I certainly had fun, a lot of dialogue :P
Hmm... what more can I say? Well, I want to thank HayleyParadox for the help
I also want to thank everyone who reviewed and the like.
I really appreciate them and I enjoy reading them. Long, short, any review is fine :)
Also, the little "Teddy bear" "Grizzly bear" bit was from "Good Luck Charlie" I just found it funny and wanted to add it in. Just so you know, I don't own the idea :P
I want to say and Advance Happy Mother's Day to all Mothers as well!
and Mine too :)
I love you mum!
Now, some chat time with my reviewers~ (Oh, how I miss this :P )
"The Singing Mockingjay" = Yes, that was Natalie :)
"mcgonagiggles" = Yes, Audrey's Percy's future wife.
About Zoey's medicine, well I mentioned it in a previous chapter and I sort of explained it a bit. I know it's rather confusing and I will explain more about it in future chapters.
Also, about that estimate on how many chapters till the end... I don't have one. I write almost everyday and I truly don't know how many chapters Crossroads would have. What I do know is that this is going to be LONG story and it will still have a sequel :)
"YukiKyoMomiji" = The woman is Natalie :P
I have nothing more to say so
With my final words:
I hope you enjoyed the chapter
Please tell me what you thought
Excuse my typos and the like; I'm not good with a chapter not having any… though I would want one
Don't forget to review and the like
Stay tuned for the next chapter (Which would feature the little "Lecture" Natalie is going to give Sirius and Remus)
And
I only own what I own
