Chapter 71: Lucy

It was a regular morning in the Noble House of Black. The sky was dull and the house, dusty and old. The occupants of the house, only half were awake. Some, Fred, George and Zoey, were yawning from being woken up at the ungodly hour of seven o' clock, claiming it was too early for summer while others, Echo and Bridgit, were poking their breakfast with their forks, stomachs still not awake. Mrs. Weasley was busying herself in the kitchen while Mr. Weasley sat down with the morning newspaper, looking for any more lies that were published. Soft thumps were heard and soon, Sirius and Remus entered the kitchen as well. The only people who were still asleep were those who were under the age of seventeen, in other words, the Golden Trio and Ginny.

Zoey stifled another yawn, she was not a morning person, as she reached over for her goblet of milk, claiming it wakes her up better than regular coffee, and took a sip, downing everything in one gulp. She was just about to finish her drink when the kitchen door slammed open revealing a rather scary looking Natalie.

"Zoey Anastasia Emeraude –Black!" she said in a loud voice, waking up Mrs. Black once more, not that anybody cared. They got used to her shrieks and frankly they were more focused on the fierce godmother than the screaming grandmother.

Zoey chocked on her milk and looked at her godmother with wide eyes. Mornings never did well on Natalie. To put it in other words, she was not the picture of beauty when she wakes up. Her hair was all over the place and her clothes were baggy and wrinkly. Most days, she would still be in a zombie-ish mode with her eyes barely open but on that day, much to Zoey's fear, her eyes were wide and her nose flaring with anger.

"Whoa! What's up with your godmother?" Bridgit asked Zoey, whispering for she did not want to be heard.

"I don't –" Zoey froze, seeing the close to murderous eyes of the woman, "What ever happened, I didn't do it!"

"Yeah, it was probably Fred and George!" Bridgit added, helping her friend

"Oi! We didn't do anything!" The twins now said, defending themselves.

"Shut up, the lot of you, I don't like noise in the mornings," Echo suddenly spoke, jabbing a fork at each of them

"Of course, only Zoey could do this sort of crime," Natalie advanced; she had an object in her hand.

"What nonsense are you going on about?" Sirius asked calmly. He was used to Natalie being like this.

"And Zoey doing something wrong? Please do tell…" Bridgit added, getting curious. This of course earned a whack on her head from Fred.

"Don't bully my girl!" Fred said as Bridgit just rubbed her head.

"Belt your bloody trap, Fred, or you'll wind up with a fork in your throat," Echo said, holding the fork threateningly.

"Someone isn't a morning person," George teased, unafraid

Zoey looked over to her friends before looking back at her godmother. She let out a scream and closed her eyes as she disapparated with a CRACK only to Apparate right behind Natalie. Natalie whirled around and Zoey disapparated once more, appearing behind her father soon after. Zoey did not like Apparating and when she did, it was only of a short distance, just incase she needed to make a quick get away. Natalie continued to look like and angered bull.

"Natalie, calm down and tell us what she did," Remus said, putting down his fork. He, too, was used to Natalie being this way.

"What she did? What your goddaughter did is extremely unforgivable!" Natalie said, shooting a look at the werewolf.

"What did she do?" Bridgit urged on, curious. Who wouldn't be? It was rare for Zoey to do anything wrong.

"What did she do? Well, I'll show you," Natalie then showed everyone what was in her hand. It was a piece of folded parchment. Natalie unfolded it only to show everyone a very cute drawing of a girl who looked uncannily like Natalie herself, "Look what she did!"

"Uhm… she drew you?" Bridgit asked, totally not expecting that, "And here I thought Fred actually influenced her to prank someone," she continued, leaning back on her seat, slouching in disappointment.

"What's wrong with that?" Remus raised a brow as he took the drawing away from her and took a look at it, "Oh, I remember this…oh no"

"See!" Natalie then looked over to Zoey, "And here I thought you were an angel!"

Sirius took the drawing away from Remus and looked at it as well, he let out a bark of laughter, which made the twins curious, taking the paper and also letting out their own laugh.

"I didn't know you had it in you, Zoe," Fred looked over to the gray-eyed girl

"How old were you when you drew this?" George added.

"Zoey's not an angel, she's a chicken." Bridgit then said, referring to Zoey's wings. She stood up, walked towards the twins and looked at the drawing from behind them. "Well, she got your eyes right, Nat," Bridgit added, scanning the picture.

Zoey looked at them curiously, sending a small glare at Bridgit at the same time, and took the drawing from them. Taking a look at it herself. She didn't remember drawing this; heck the drawing itself was hard to distinguish. It was fading already. Zoey squinted at it, and indeed it was a drawing of her godmother… except there was something wrong. There was an added doodle that was placed above the drawing with a caption on top of it. Zoey's eyes widened, remembering the day it was made.

It was a normal summer day. The sun was up and it was blazing. Zoey did not want to leave the house; she didn't even want to leave the living room. She was just happy lying on her stomach with paper and crayons in front of her. She was drawing. It was one of those rare days when Uncle Remus was home, and not out looking for a job. Zoey was young then but was also old enough to understand that her Uncle was struggling. Zoey placed down her flesh colored crayon and smiled at her masterpiece. She showed it to her Uncle.

"Wow, this is really good," Remus commented, patting Zoey's head, "Is this Natalie?"

"Aunt Maria!" Zoey smiled.

"It's very nice… can I keep it?"

Zoey nodded her head.

"Can I add something to it?"

Zoey handed him a black crayon and Remus placed the drawing on the armrest of his chair, writing.

"Aunt Maria is a doo-doo head," Natalie sniffed, "What did I ever do to you?"

"Well… in Zoey's defense, you sort of…" Bridgit started, but then when Natalie sent a glare towards her direction, she shut up. "Zoey's drawing not mine"

"Thanks for the help, Bridgit," Zoey said, sending once again a small glare at her friend

"Don't mention it!" She said, now taking cover behind the twins for she now had two glares directed at her, both rather scary too.

"You should really learn to keep your mouth shut, Bridgit." Bridgit heard George say, and she whacked his head shutting him up. They then continued to watch the scene that was unfolding when Natalie turned her attention to Zoey again.

"Care to explain this abomination?" Natalie asked, "What triggered you to do such a thing?"

"Me? You should be asking Uncle Moony that," Zoey asked, not seeing Remus giving her hand signals, telling her to stop. "He was the one who added that bit"

Natalie froze and stiffly turned her attention to Remus, a strained smile plastered on her face. Sirius cleared his throat, hiding a laugh, as he inched away from his friend.

"Remus?" Natalie asked, "May I have a word with you?"

"Why?" Remus gulped, "Whatever you need to say can be said in front of all"

"Remus, outside the kitchen, please," Natalie continued.

"You should listen to her," Mr. Weasley urged and Remus shot him a look, "For the children's sake. This could get ugly"

"He's doomed," Sirius said to the kids with a visible grin.

It was a change. Back in Hogwarts it was always him or James that got in trouble and faced Natalie's wrath. It was never Remus, and now, when they were all fully-grown adults, life was fair. It was Remus' turn to get in trouble and, as mean as it sounds, Sirius grin widened. It wasn't like Remus was going to get hurt. Never, he was still Natalie's favorite. Sirius doubted that good ol' prefect Moony would even get a scratch from any jinx. The worst he would get was a hearing problem. Natalie was well known for the volume of her voice. Sirius suppressed a laugh; Remus was acting the very same way Sirius always imagined him to act when faced against an angered Natalie.

"I bet you both we'll be hearing screaming five seconds after they leave," Bridgit whispered to the twins.

"You're on, five galleons it is," Fred answered shaking Bridgit's hand and watching Remus stand up, forced up, from his chair and walked away, dragged, from everyone and out of the kitchen, following Natalie with a pale face.

"You people are all so loud," Echo put her head on the table.

"Five… four…" George began

"Three…. two…" Fred continued

"One," Sirius ended.

"REMUS JOHN LUPIN HOW DARE YOU –"

"FILTHY HALF-BREEDS! BLOOD-TRAITORS –"

Natalie's angered screams were mixed with Mrs. Black's screeches, the screeches that were ignored until then. The volume was so overwhelming that Mrs. Weasley even struggled to get to the kitchen door to shut it close. When she finally managed to do that, muffling the noise, she turned back to everyone.

"Poor man, I always liked him," Mr. Weasley said, almost as if Remus was just sentence to his death. By the sounds of things, he wouldn't be to far off.

Mrs. Weasley shot her husband a look that caused him to duck behind his newspaper. She then looked over to her son, "George, would you be a dear and fetch Ron and the other?"

"You expect me to walk out right now?" George asked, still hearing the muffling yells of doom, "What did I ever do to deserved such a punishment?"

Mrs. Weasley bit her lip. He was right. No one deserved to see or hear what was happening. With a sigh she said: "You can Apparate upstairs."

"She just allowed you to Apparate, Georgie," Fred slapped his brother's back, "Bask in the moment!"

George grinned at his twin and was just about to do so when someone interrupted.

"Wait a minute, my five galleons please," Bridgit said, catching George before he apparated. George looked over to Bridgit with wide eyes.

"What? That's a bet you made with Fred!" George said, staring at the girl, "You even shook hands with him!"

"Yes, well I said 'I bet the both of you,' so pay up," she said, sticking out her hand and gesturing them with the 'pay up' gesture.

"This is a robbery," Fred said, as he pulled out his hand from his pocket and placed five galleons on Bridgit's hand.

"I agree," George added as he placed five galleons on her hand as well and apparated away before he could lose any more money.

"Pleasure doing business with you," Bridgit said, pocketing her winnings.

Zoey shook her head at the three, well now, two, before looking over to Mrs. Weasley who shot a disapproving look at her son; she didn't like gambling but didn't say anything. She took a towel that was hanging on a chair and wiped her hands with it before saying: "Well, we should begin the house clean up now. Fred, head to the drawing room and wait for George and the others up there," Mrs. Weasley ordered and her son disappeared with a salute and a CRACK, "Echo, Zoey, you go to the library. That place is filthy and Bridgit –"

"Would be coming with me to the Ministry," Mr. Weasley interrupted, "Sorry, Molly dear but it's for the Order"

"Oh, is the trial today?" Bridgit asked, looking towards Arthur Weasley.

"No, but we need to prepare for it," he got up from his chair, "So…. Whenever you're ready…"

"Alright! I'm good to go," Bridgit said, walking towards Mr. Weasley.

Zoey sent her a wave before she, Bridgit, and Mr. Weasley left the kitchen and soon disapparated as well. She, Zoey, then looked towards Echo, "Ready for cleaning?"

"No," Echo spoke tiredly.

"Too bad," Zoey grinned and took hold of Echo's arm before Apparating away.

The library was a large and majestic place filled with books that covered every corner of the room and had several comfortable couches and chairs in the middle of everything together with reading lamps. The floor was carpeted and at the ceiling hung bright chandeliers. Zoey was in awe, the entire place made her at loss of words as she could only describe the general image of it all, and would have stayed her entire life in the library if not it being covered with layers of dust thicker than what Zoey had in her house. Zoey made a face as she patted one of the couches only to have a cloud of dust rise and suffocate her. She turned to Echo.

"How in the world were you able to read in here yesterday?" she asked.

"Easy, I just picked up a book and used my eyes," Echo spoke sarcastically.

Zoey rolled her eyes. "Well, pick up your wand and help me clean this place," she paused, "Know any good spells?"

"Scourgify?" Echo raised her eyebrows.

"Is that powerful enough for this place?" Zoey asked, picking up one of the books and quickly dropping it when she saw a spider crawl on its cover. "What about Tergeo?"

"Wonderful idea! How come you aren't in Ravenclaw?" Echo spoke.

"I'm too nice?" Zoey smiled before pointing her wand at the shelves, "Tergeo shelves!"

"Tergeo Rug!" Echo pointed her wand at a very moldy looking rug

This activity went on for a few more minutes, probably on hour, until the entire library was clean. Zoey dusted her clothes and took a look around, happy at hers and Echo's handy work, more like spell work. She took a deep breath, glad she was finally able to do it without the worry of dust, and shifted her attention to the piano that stood in a distance. It looked lonely.

"How about we search for music sheets?" Echo suggested, "Poor piano, it's probably crying for someone to play it"

"You're probably right," Zoey spoke and without thinking held up her wand, "Accio Music Sheets!"

All of a sudden, Music sheets flew to her from different directions and Zoey was knocked to the ground until all the music sheets had landed on top of her, burying her. She groaned. "I guess I should have been more specific," she gave a laugh.

Echo was over at the piano, checking its tune. "For an old piano, this is in perfect condition!"

"Thanks, I appreciate the help," Zoey grumbled, sitting up and letting the music sheets fall to the ground. She picked up a random one and took a look at it. It was different from the rest, yes; it was hand written and looked like it was struggled on, like the maker just came up with it and wrote down whatever, correcting things here and there. Zoey looked at the title and gave small smile. She got up from the ground and handed the sheet to Echo, who was already sitting down in front of the piano.

Echo took the music sheet and placed it on the piano and began playing the first notes, and struggled to continue, much to the erasures and corrections. Zoey sat patiently beside her friend and waited for her to get the hang of it. After several more tries, Echo got the hang of it and began to play fluidly. Zoey squinted at the music sheet and noticed that it had words written above the notes. At the spur of the moment, she began to sing.

"Hey Lucy, I remember your name

I left a dozen roses on your grave today

I'm in the grass on my knees; wipe the leaves away

I just came to talk for a while; got some things I need to say

Zoey then began the chorus.

"Now that it's over, I just wanna hold her

I'd give up all the world to see

That little piece of Heaven looking back at me

Now that it's over, I just wanna hold her

I've gotta live with the choices I made

And I can't live with myself today"

Echo continued to play with her head bent down to the keyboard as she listened to the tune of Zoey's voice. She could not read the notes and played along with what she thought matched with Zoey.

"Hey Lucy, I remembered your birthday

They said it'd bring some closure to say your name

I know I'd do it all different if I had the chance

But all I got are these roses to give

And they can't help me make amends"

Zoey began the chorus again; only Echo joined in as a soft background voice that echoed Zoey's. Echo flipped a page.

"Here we are, now you're in my arms

I never wanted anything so bad

Here we are for a brand new start

Living the life that we could've had"

"Me and Lucy walking hand in hand

Me and Lucy never wanna end

Just another moment in your eyes

I'll see you in another life in Heaven

Where we never say goodbye"

Zoey took a breath and sang the chorus once more. Echo joining in fully for in the Music sheet, it now required two voices. Zoey closed her eyes and opened them once more, getting into the feeling of the song. It tugged at her heart.

"Now that it's over, I just wanna hold her

I'd give up all the world to see

That little piece of Heaven looking back at me

Now that it's over, I just wanna hold her

I've gotta live with the choices I made

And I can't live with myself today

Here we are, now you're in my arms

Here we are for a brand new start

I got to live with the choices I've made

And I can't live with myself today

Me and Lucy walking hand in hand

Me and Lucy never wanna end

I've got to live with the choices I've made

And I can't live with myself today

Hey Lucy, I remember your name"

Zoey ended with a soft voice as Echo ceased playing. She gave the pianist a smile, which Echo returned but then her eyes momentarily widened after giving Zoey the kind gesture. Zoey raised her brow at the Ravenclaw before turning around to see her father leaning at the doorframe, his arms crossed and a thoughtful look on his face. Zoey bit her lip and turned to Echo.

"I got to go," she told her before standing up and walking towards her dad. She looked back and saw that Echo moved to one of the bookshelves.

Zoey directed her attention back to her dad and he took her hand, bringing her out of the library and stopping just a few feet away from it, the door closing behind them. Zoey kept quiet, afraid to break the silence. She was no longer scared of her father; in truth she wondered if it was really fear to begin with. Maybe it was just something else, she mistook as fear. Zoey shook her head and looked back at her far. He wasn't looking at her.

"You know that was your mother's favorite song." Sirius said, getting a far away look in his eyes.

"Why?" Zoey asked, tilting her head to the side. She didn't know much about her mother and just having Sirius there to tell her made her glad. Who knew her mother better than her father? "It was such a sad song."

"It wasn't the sadness that attracted her to the song," Sirius started, putting a hand on Zoey's shoulder and looking into her eyes. "It was the love that the singer felt towards 'Lucy'. She said it reminded her of how much I loved her," He added, giving Zoey a small smile.

Zoey blushed for her father. It was a sweet thought how much love her parents shared for each other. She felt her stomach churn. Why did it have to be taken away?

There was a silence. This time, Zoey broke it.

"You know dad...I always wondered how my life would change if mom was still around and if...the three of us were...you know...together." Zoey said; turning away from her dad as she pictured drew a picture in her head, a picture of her standing in between her parents, smiling and waving at the camera. It was just one of those mental pictures she gets when she feels like nothings all right. Zoey inwardly flinched as she pictured it being stashed away with the rest of her impossible thoughts.

Zoey then looked back at her dad and her face fell. She knew that he felt guilty, not being there for her, and she didn't want him to think that she held that against him. After all, what's done is done and things are in the past. If he wasn't there for her before, he could be there for her now. It was teamwork. They would help each other.

"I know, Zoey, and I think the same way. I'm just sorry I wasn't there for you," Sirius answered, bringing his daughter into a hug. Zoey was frozen for a moment before biting her lip and returning the hug. A few tears threatening to escape her eyes.

I silence came once again. It was Sirius' turn to break it.

"Walk with me," Sirius suddenly said, releasing his daughter. Zoey nodded, not trusting her voice at the moment. Sirius put an arm around his daughter and guided her as they walked further down the hall.

Zoey noticed that Sirius was leading her to a room at the end of the hallway. She noted that this part of the house seemed maintained, as if it were a bit cleaner than the others. It was still dusty, but it felt different. Didn't feel as cold and unloving.

When they reached the door at the end of the hallway, Zoey saw Sirius take out a key from inside his pocket and opened the door. The sight that greeted her came as a big surprise for her.

The room that greeted her was simple one. The walls were ivory colored, while the floor was carpeted with a white fluffy material. It felt as if your were walking on a cloud when you stepped on it. Zoey looked up and to her amazement found the beautiful big blue sky present there instead of a roof. The day didn't look as dull as before.

Zoey continued to look around the room and saw stuffed toys of many kinds like bears and pigs and drawing materials like crayons, but what stunned her was the crib that was located at the center of the room. It was a simple gray colored crib with curtains surrounding it. She walked towards the crib and touched it. It was made of wood and it swayed from left to right. She then looked at the headboard and raised her brow at it, there was something written. Zoey bent down to read it.

On it was a shape of a black dog, and under it the name ZOEY was written. Zoey touched the headboard when she felt someone's hand on top of hers. She looked up and saw Sirius there with a smile.

"This was your old nursery," Sirius said, the smile still not leaving his face. "Lucy always loved the sky, and she said it would suit you. I didn't know why at the time though," Sirius added, making Zoey let out a little laugh.

"So mom made it into a sky because she knew I would have wings?" Zoey asked, the tears threatening to fall once again.

"Yeah, she said that it would help you get in touch with your 'gift'," Sirius answered, looking back at her. "It's actually odd how whenever we used to spend time in here with you, she would always joke about you sprouting wings and leaving us," He then said, getting the far away look once again.

Zoey looked down at the crib and saw a stuffed toy placed on it. It was a stuffed toy of a black puppy. Zoey picked it up and hugged it. Sirius laughed as he saw the scene in front of him.

"That was a gift from Moony," Sirius suddenly said. "Said it would be a bit of a joke," He continued letting out a soft chuckle.

"Well, he sure has a sense of humor." Zoey added, hugging the little stuffed toy closer

"Well, Natalie does to actually." Sirius said, walking towards a toy box and taking out a small pillow. He told Zoey to come over and she placed the puppy stuffed toy back on the crib. She walked over to her father and he handed her the pillow. There was silver writing on the pillow that read PUP. Zoey gave Sirius a questioning look.

"Just squeeze it," Sirius said, and Zoey did. Suddenly a bark came from the pillow making Zoey drop it. She heard Sirius laugh, making her let out a laugh as well.

"You loved squeezing that as a kid you know," He added, making Zoey laugh a little harder. She could imagine her younger-self squeezing the pillow as her parents watched her. It would have been a fun scene.

Zoey then looked around the room once again. She spotted a little desk on the side and walked up to it. She noticed that there was a picture frame displayed and picked it up. She smiled as the she looked at it.

"Is that you?" Zoey asked, pointing towards the picture. It was a picture of Zoey riding on a black dog. She had such a wide smile.

"Yeah, your mom didn't want a pet dog anymore, so I had to play that role too," Sirius answered, now standing beside Zoey.

"Hey dad, how'd you get my name?" Zoey suddenly asked, turning towards Sirius.

"Oh, that's a good story." Sirius answered, turning to Zoey. "Your mom actually came up with it." He added.

"Did you come up with anything for me?" Zoey asked teasingly. "My nursery, mum designed it. My name, mum thought of it. What about you?" Zoey asked, making Sirius laugh.

"Well, you can't really blame me." Sirius answered. "But yes, your mum came up with your name as I said. She said she wanted a name that would represent what you meant to both of us." Sirius continued.

"And how does 'Zoey' mean what I am to the two of you?" Zoey asked, the picture still in her hand.

"You represent the life we made, and since Zoey meant life, she thought it would be perfect." Sirius answered. Zoey smiled as she stared back at the picture.

"No offense dad, but I don't want to get onto details how you made my life." Zoey suddenly said, letting out a fit of laughter as she saw her dad's face. He was shocked and she continued to laugh.

"And I thought you would be the influence in your relationship with Fred." Sirius said, shaking his head.

Zoey's laughter died down after several more seconds as she looked at her dad. She smiled at him before looking out the door. Her face fell as she saw the dark hallway. Being in her old nursery made her forget about the appearance of the rest of the house. Made her think that her nursery was in a world of its own, away from the pureblood fanatics and the dark gloom that decorated the rest of The Noble House of Black. Sirius saw Zoey's expression and pulled out his wand, flicking it at the door and making it close softly. Zoey blinked.

"Hey, dad?" Zoey began, still staring at the door as the gears began to work in her head, "Aunt Maria and Uncle Moony told me stories about you and mum"

"Yeah?" Sirius said, letting Zoey know he was listening.

"They said that you ran away. Ran away from this house, your family, who they wanted you to be"

"I went to Harry's dad's place," Sirius looked away from his daughter, "The Potters always welcomed me in. Treated me as if I was their own"

"Aunt Maria said you and mum lived in Godric's Hollow," Zoey continued

"We lived in Godric's Hollow," Sirius corrected.

Zoey stayed quiet and looked away from the door. She walked back to the crib and picked up the stuffed dog while Sirius' stayed in place. Watching his daughter's every movement.

"Then, how was this possible?" Zoey asked him, "This entire room? Everything? Didn't you hate it here? Why? Why come back, build something so beautiful in such a place?"

Sirius stayed quiet. Thinking.

"Do you know the story of my brother, Regulus?" he began, just looking at his daughter, unmoving.

"I didn't know you had a brother," Zoey said honestly, "Where is he?"

"Dead," Sirius said flatly and Zoey bowed her head. "But, when he was alive. He was good friends with your mother," Sirius continued, "And when he found out about your birth… we made this room. With your mum's design of course, but he worked hard on this room. Spent an entire year on it"

"But wasn't anyone suspicious?"

"No one knew about it," Sirius pocketed his hands, "They couldn't see it apparently. Only he, your mother and I could. That's why my own mother didn't know I came back to this place every now and then," he paused, "That's why this part of the house is well kept"

Zoey thought about a certain room in her own house. The room where her mother's box used to be. The room Mrs. Weasley didn't see when she came to pick her up.

"But what about the house back in Godric's Hollow?"

"You had a nursery there too," Sirius sighed, "Regulus, always thought he was a nuisance. Perfect in my parents eyes and servant to the 'Dark Lord'. The only time I actually appreciated him was when he made this for you"

Zoey looked back to the ground and toyed with the dog's ears. Another thought popped into her mind. "My wings. Mum wrote me a letter, she said she didn't know what my power would be but you said she knew!"

"Lucy was great at hiding things," Sirius said plainly, "Like someone I know"

"But why didn't she tell me?" Zoey blushed at the comparison.

Sirius took out his hand from his pocket and walked towards Zoey ruffling her hair. "Maybe she just wanted you to find out on your own," he told her, "Baby steps and all"

Zoey nodded her head in understanding. Everything was beginning to make sense to her. She learned stuff about her mother and found out things that happened when they were still happy. Still a family. Before any of the madness of the world affected them. She opened her mouth to speak but was interrupted when Mrs. Weasley's voice came, calling for Sirius.

"Well Zoey, I have to go see what Molly needs. Just come out when you're ready." Sirius said, patting Zoey's head and walked out of the room.

Zoey placed a hand on her head and flattened her messed up hair before placing the dog back in the crib. She walked back to her desk and picked up the photograph. She gave a soft smile. She wished she remembered that. She really did but alas, she didn't. Sucks that most people forget the events of their childhood, things they did as babies, old habits that your elders will tell you that you once had. Zoey wished she could remember. She really did so she could have one more memory to look back on when she's been stripped of her freedom and locked back in the Emeraude Suburb.

She shook her head.

She shouldn't be thinking such things.

Zoey had placed the picture back on the desk and walked towards the toy box. She hadn't seen the inside yet. Sure, it was most likely filled with toys, but what kind of toys was the question. She knelt down in front of it and lifted the lid. She rummaged through the toys that were once hers.

The Emeraude, as she is still most commonly referred to as, was surprised at the number of stuffed toys she owned…. owns. Was she really a fan of soft toys as a child? True, they were nice to hug and play with but this much? How was she to juggle her attention to each and every one of them? Zoey shifted through the lot of them and her eyes widened to see her collection of dog-related toys. Black dogs, white dogs, small dogs, big dogs and some even looked like Shinji! Zoey looked closely at one of them. If Shinji were to jump into the toy box, he could have been lost forever!

Zoey dropped the Shinji look – a – like into the box. Bridgit would kill her if that were to happen. The girl dug deeper into the box, almost disappearing into it like when she looked into her mother's box, she began to compare the toys to each other categorizing their cuteness to their softness until one particular stuffed toy caught her attention. Zoey reached in to grab it.

The toy she got was a dog, yes, but it wasn't black, white or gray. In fact, it was far from it. She picked up the dog and examined it. It was smaller than the others and it was also very cute, but what caught her attention was that it had a shade of fur that was similar to Fred's hair. The Weasley Ginger.

"Wonder who gave me this?" Zoey asked no one in particular, turning the dog in her hand, studying it.

Zoey was so fascinated with the dog; almost like Mr. Weasley with muggle objects, that she didn't realize the door opening and someone entering. The mystery person smiled at the mesmerized girl and crept its way her, a small surprise plan playing in its head. The person bent down and shocked her, or so it thought, by wrapping its arms on her waist.

"Fred," Zoey said calmly, not even a trace of surprise in her voice, as she looked up to the Weasley twin, the toy on her lap.

"How did you...?" Fred was about to ask, but Zoey had cut him off.

"Who else would it be?" Zoey retorted; a smile on her face, making Fred let go of her waist. Fred looked down at the thing that had caught Zoey's attention and smirked.

"Even as a kid you loved me," Fred said, making Zoey laugh.

"You know, this toy was in the bottom of the toy box, so it means I might have never played with it." Fred pouted at Zoey's words and crossed his arms.

"Or it means you were hiding it because you didn't want anyone to see it –"

"Because it would hurt their eyes"

"You're mean, Zoe," Fred said, making Zoey laugh once again.

"It's just the truth, which can hurt," Zoey now said, finally turning and looking at Fred, "But… the dog is cute."

"So how did you see this place?" Zoey quickly asked before Fred could twist her words to boost up his ego once more. Fred smiled.

"Your dad told me you were here. I was shocked that I never noticed this place before," Fred answered, looking up at the bright sky.

"Yeah you and me both," Zoey then said, putting the dog back in the toy box, closing the lid.

Zoey watched Fred continue to take a look around the room. He looked like a little boy loose in a museum. Always curious and wanting to touch everything. Zoey smiled at the comparison, but then tilted her head in question as she saw Fred's eyes widen. Something caught his eye.

"What is it?" Zoey asked, following his gaze. When she saw what he was looking at, she let out a laugh. Typical.

It was a toy broomstick.

"I always wanted this model when I was a kid," Fred said, walking up to the miniature version of a broomstick. He resembled his dad a bit at that moment. Except it was a broomstick he was gawking at not some rubber duck or cell phone.

"Didn't you have one before?" Zoey asked, following Fred, "You know, the one Ron broke?"

"Well not this model! This was the fastest one when we were born," Fred answered, taking hold of it, "And yes, Ron broke it. Good thing I got revenge"

"Which scarred the boy and gave him a phobia that would last him for the rest of his life, most likely," Zoey rolled her eyes.

"It looks like it's never been used." Fred commented, ignoring what Zoey had said and observed the toy.

"It probably hasn't," Zoey answered, knowing that maybe even as a kid she hated riding them. Wonder what her dad thought about it, his daughter not liking brooms and probably never joining a Quidditch team… probably.

"I swear if we ever get a kid, I will get him the best model ever made," Fred said, not thinking about his words.

Zoey's eyes widened to that of the size of saucers as she heard what her boyfriends had just said. We? Kid? In the same sentence? Zoey thought to herself, not making a single noise for she was still frozen in shock.

The shocked badger blinked her eyes several times. Still trying to process if what she just heard was real or just her imagination.

"F – Fred you just said 'If we ever get a kid'. You know that right?" Zoey asked, feeling awkward as she did. What if it was just her imagination?

"Yeah, I know," Fred answered, still observing the broomstick as if nothing was wrong.

"Erm...how...how are you so sure that we...uhm...will have...uh...kids?" Zoey asked, her face going red. The very thought of miniature Zoey and Fred's running around, it scared her.

"I said 'if we ever' Zoe, besides I wouldn't think of having a kid with anyone else," Fred answered, still with a calm tone.

Zoey on the other hand, was freaking out on the inside. How could he be so calm? Did he hear what he just said or was it just buzzing to him? He did know you shouldn't say something to a girl with suck a calm tone, right? Be still my beating heart, Zoey thought to herself, relieved that Fred was not looking at her. Zoey's face was probably as red as a tomato, if not more, and she was sure that she had a silly grin on her face, no matter how chaotic she was feeling on the inside.

"I just hope the kid would get my love for Quidditch," Fred suddenly said, making Zoey blush even more. Where was he getting these sorts of ideas?

"Yeah...well...I hope the kid doesn't. I've had enough worrying being friends with you, George, Echo and Bridgit. You lot should be the ones with wings if you love being in the sky so much," Zoey suddenly said. She covered her mouth in shock. Did I just say that out loud? She thought.

"So I see you want to have my kid, huh?" Fred smirked, letting go of the broom and turning towards Zoey. When he did, he burst out laughing. "You're so red."

"Uhm...Erm...UGH! It's your fault you know!" Zoey spluttered, getting embarrassed.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry." Fred said, stopping his laughter and looking back at Zoey. "But you didn't deny wanting to have my kid." Fred added, now dashing out of the room to save his probably endangered life.

Zoey stood there, still shocked, but when she got back to her senses, she dashed out of the room to hunt down her boyfriend.


"The child shall be named after me!" Natalie suddenly said, slamming her hand on the table and making the bowls and plates shake, "Natalie Weasley sounds right"

It was lunchtime and everyone was happily eating Mrs. Weasley's cooking, each having their own conversations with their friends when Natalie made her sudden outburst, bringing everyone's attention to her.

"What are you going on about, woman?" Sirius asked, grumbling. His meal was once again going to be interrupted.

"The child! The child!" Natalie exclaimed, facing serious and making random hand gestures that made no sense whatsoever.

"What child?" Remus asked, he and Natalie had gotten over their little spat. All was well between them once more.

"The child!" Natalie said

"Even if you keep repeating 'The Child!' it still wouldn't make sense to us!" Sirius then said, slamming his spoon on the table, "Now, tell us what made you become this obnoxious? Didn't you have enough this morning? Disrupting meals, we aren't in Hogwarts anymore!"

"The child!" Natalie continued to repeat, much to everyone's annoyance, "Zoey's child! She's going to name it 'Natalie Weasley' aren't you?"

At this, Zoey chocked at her beverage once more. She really needed to stop drinking fluids when her godmother was around; it was becoming a danger to her health. When she was finally able to breath again, she looked up to see everyone looking at her with wide eyes, Natalie with expectance.

"Zoey...are you...are you...uhm..." Harry was trying to ask, but just couldn't.

Zoey furrowed her brows. "Am I what?" she was greatly confused. What was happening now?

"Oh, Merlin no! Zoey's going to name it after me, right Zoey?" Echo suddenly blurted out

"No, It's going to be Natalie Weasley!" she then paused, "Or Natalie Echo Weasley. Zoey, we came up with a name for the fetus!"

"No way, then that way we would have two Echo Weasleys!" George suddenly said, not realizing what he just said.

"Oh shut up, I'm planning another name for your kid!" Echo said

"So Echo's going to have a kid too?" Natalie clapped her hands, "Wonderful! Name it after me!"

"Crazy I was talking about you! When we're married are you telling me you won't take my last name?" George asked, now turning to Echo.

"Wait fetus? Baby? Kids? Names? Seriously will someone explain?" Ginny shouted, making them turn to her.

"Grown up stuff Ginny, would you like to join?" Echo looked towards her

"Zoey's gonna have Fred's child!" Natalie said gleefully, explaining things to Ginny in the most vague of ways.

At her gleeful outburst, Remus and Sirius chocked.

"WHAT?" Fred asked, spitting out his drink. Sadly, it was aimed at Ron.

"That's disgusting!" Ron exclaimed, standing from his chair.

"Bloody hell, woman!" Sirius coughed out, "Where are you getting these absurd ideas?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Echo looked over to Sirius, raising a brow. "Belt up, Ron, be glad it isn't piss," she then looked to Ron who glared at her in return.

"So Zoey are you expecting?" Hermione asked, turning to the already confused girl.

"She ain't expecting nothing, not until they're married!" Echo clarified.

"But it's already in her tummy!" Natalie cried out, "I'm gonna be maid of honor!"

"No! Me!" Echo argued

"No. No one!" Mrs. Weasley then said, slamming her hands on the table, "First question!"

Zoey gave a sigh of relief, maybe Mrs. Weasley would save her, ask her if she really was pregnant and she, Zoey, could deny it. Sadly, it didn't turn out that way. Mrs. Weasley wasn't on Zoey's side. The chaos continued when she asked: "Why Natalie?" Mrs. Weasley asked, "What if it's a boy?"

"Yeah, what are you going to name him?" Ginny cut in once again.

"Then he would be gay!" Natalie repeated what her dear old friend once said, ignoring Ginny's question, "Cause I know somewhere in this universe. Bridgit would have a boy and Natalie EchoWeasley… Junior would marry him!"

"NO!" Fred shouted now. "I will not accept to have a gay son thank you very much!"

"We aren't having any son!" Zoey told him but it was unheard. Her boyfriend had joined in the argument of the child that didn't even exist

"Then you should name it after Sirius!" Echo gleefully shouted, she didn't hear Zoey's shout and just went on in suggestion boy names.

"We don't need another Sirius Black!" Natalie said, "What about Remus?"

"Name Remus after your kid, Natalie!" said Echo.

"No – Wait, Remus Black won't sound nice!" Natalie ignored Echo's suggestion

"WAIT! What if they have twins, Fred is a twin after all." George suddenly said, making everyone turn to him with wide mouths.

"Child? Twins? Marriage? What's going on?" Remus and Sirius voiced out.

Natalie looked at her two friends with a grin and soon the air was filled with Natalie Echo Weasley Junior, Remus Black, Sirius Black IV, George Weasley II and much more baby names with the mix of angry yellings, threats to chop some –ahems– off, threats to silent Natalie forever, more shouts of truths from Zoey that no one listened to, plans for weddings, plans of the house, curtain designs and the like until Zoey finally got enough and lunged at her aunt, knocking her to the floor, and without Zoey's knowledge, her pills falling out of her pocket.

"Aunt Maria!" Zoey began, silencing everyone, "Fred and I aren't having a child. Nor are we having one anytime soon. No, I will not name him or her Natalie Echo Weasley Junior; the kid's going to be bullied soon. No wedding plans. No pre-marriage … ahem and no nothing!" the Emeraude took a breath, "Where did you get that absurd idea?"

"I heard you and Fred talking about it," Natalie let out a laugh, sitting up and pushing Zoey off of her, "You're not the only one who knows the location of that room and," she pulled out something from her pocket and tossed it over at the twins, "you aren't the only one who knows how to use the Extendable Ears. Good invention by the way, Weasley Twins," Natalie grinned.

Zoey rolled her eyes and stood up, dusting her clothes. "Honestly, Aunt Maria, stop putting ideas into peoples heads," she breathed out.

"Aww, Zoey, don't be such a kill joy," Natalie laughed, placing her hands on the ground to support herself. Her eyes widened as she placed her hand over and object. She lifted it to her view. "What's this? Pills?"

Zoey felt her eyes widen at the object in her godmothers hands. She quickly went to grab it, but failed in doing so when Natalie refused to let it go and the lid opened, spilling half if its contents on the ground. Natalie picked up one of them while Zoey pocketed the rest.

"Zoey… what are these?" Natalie asked with a suspicious eye. Zoey looked around, everyone was looking at her curiously. "Are you taking drugs?"

"What? No!" Zoey exclaimed, "These… these are just breath mints!"

Natalie didn't believe her. She opened her mouth to question her further but was interrupted when the air was filled with the sounds of people Apparating into the house.

"That must be Arthur and Bridgit," Mrs. Weasley said, standing up from her chair.

Everyone turned their attentions to the kitchen door as it opened revealing Mr. Weasley and Bridgit. Both of which looked slightly tired and surprised to see the state of things in the kitchen. Ron, Mrs. Weasley and Zoey were standing while Natalie was on the ground with pills surrounding her. The table was pushed out of line and everyone's faces were slightly red from shouting. It was quite odd.

"Aww! We missed all the fun!" Bridgit shouted, the tension in the room vanishing as she did.

"Believe me, it wasn't fun at all," Zoey sighed.

"For you," Natalie stuck her tongue out at her goddaughter, and stood up from the ground, sitting back on her chair.

"What happened in here anyway?" She asked, walking up to the table and grabbing an apple from it. She took a bite out of it and gave everyone a questioning look.

"Please, don't ask," Remus breathed out. He got stressed out from everything, "What happened in the Ministry? Any news on Harry's trial?"

"Yup a lot of news actually. As it turns out, Harry's case isn't even that serious, but their just having this blasted trial because of Harry's claim on Voldemort's return." Bridgit answered, taking another bite of her apple.

"Wait so this isn't even about the magic? It's just to keep me out of Hogwarts so that I can stop 'claiming' Voldemort's alive?" Harry asked, a bit outraged by the situation.

"Yup, amazing minister we have don't we?" Bridgit answered, taking another bite. "But don't worry, Professor Dumbledore and I will be there to help you." Bridgit answered, winking at the boy.

"Why does that not comfort me?" Harry asked her, letting out a little laugh.

"It should." Bridgit answered, smirking. "You can even ask Fred and George how persuasive I am." She said, turning to the twins.

"Yup, she is very persuasive..." George started.

"When she wants to be." Fred continued.

"Anyways...now that they've convinced you, you don't have to worry much. The minister might not be fair, but most of the members are. It's still a vote in the end." Bridgit said, finally finishing her apple.

"How are you so sure their not as scared or blinded as Fudge?" Hermione now asked.

"That's why they'll vote Harry to go back, cause their scared." Bridgit answered, earning her questioning looks. "Don't you get it? Their scared that he is back, and they have kids or grandkids in Hogwarts, if Harry's there they'll be safer."

"What am I? Bait?" Harry asked, getting angry once again.

"To them yes," Bridgit began, facing Harry once again. "To us, you're Harry." She continued. "But to Voldemort, you're a target." She finally finished, and Harry bowed his head.

"Tell me again why Voldemort hates me? I mean being the 'boy-who-lived' isn't a good reason enough isn't it?" Harry asked Bridgit, and he saw that flicker in Bridgit's eye. The comprehension to tell him the truth...the doubt.

"I wish I could tell you Harry, but I'm not allowed to at the moment." Bridgit answered, the tension in the room returning once again.

"So you do know?" Ron suddenly spoke up, making Bridgit turn to him.

"I do, but, like I said, I can't tell you." Bridgit repeated.

"It's irritating you know?" Harry suddenly said, facing Bridgit. "How you know someone who knows everything, but can't tell you because she's forbidden to." He continued.

"If only I was just 'forbidden' to tell you Harry. If only it were that simple." Bridgit answered, now bowing her head.

"What do you mean?" Hermione now asked, looking at Bridgit.

"Know what an unbreakable vow is Hermione?" Bridgit now asked, turning to the girl. Hermione showed a face of shock, while the order members just bowed their head. They knew what she was talking about, but even the details they only got from Snape, afraid to put Bridgit's life in danger.

"What's an unbreakable vow?" Harry asked, turning to Hermione.

"It's a uhm..." Hermione was about to answer, but Bridgit had cut her off.

Don't need to explain to him Hermione, but you..." Bridgit continued, now looking at Harry again. "...Need to be careful this year."

"Aren't I always careful?" Harry asked, a small smile on his face.

"Sure you are Harry, as careful as Fred and George around the Slytherins." She answered, laughing as she did. The others laughed too of course, and the twins protested, the tension was gone and Bridgit was thankful.


Another long chapter for everyone :)

I hope you all enjoyed it. Thank you all for your reviews and the like. They are all very much appreciated :D

Also, MEGA thanks to ZoomSkater14 and HayleyParadox in helping me with this chapter

I love you guys

You awesome :D

Oh!

"Lucy" by Skillet. I love that song so much. I know it's about abortion but... I just thought it fighting here too... Just saying.

Love it really.

Also the band

Love love love :)

Oh! (again) I've been meaning to have some song inspired chapters for some time but sadly... I haven't really found much so if you guys have any suggestions, please do share :D

And also,

ninja-chan 23: You will be seeing your requests in the next chapter :) So please be patient

Hmm... what more is there to say? I really love the reviews I've been getting. You are all so nice and with every review I get I just... just... I'm just encouraged to write more! It's like my energy drink, ya know? Only, it's not a drink... words... very kind words :)

Well, that's about it I guess...

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 And

I only own what I own