SURPRISE!
Decided to do a second chapter before the weekend. I'm moving, so I wouldn't be able to post before then. Wanted to make sure you guys got your fill in.
As always, read, review, and enjoy!
Lavender's feet hit the pavement, the rain mixed with snow immediately soaking through her sneakers as she stood in front of a tiny cottage plopped in the middle of a muggle neighborhood. Glancing down at the address on the parchment in her hand, she double checked it against the numbers on the cottage before taking a deep breath and walking past the white picket fence, into the garden path that led to the front door.
The snow had turned to steady stream of rain, which rolled off the roof of the cottage and splattered in large plops onto the flower boxes that sat haphazardly on the windowsill. Anger fueling her once more, she knocked heavily on the wooden door.
There was movement behind the curtain of the living room before the door opened a crack, revealing a tired, yet taken aback Remus Lupin just over the threshold.
"Lav-Lavender Brown?" he said in an unsure tone. "What an unexpected surprise."
She slid a thumb under the locket, thrusting it upwards at him through the crack in the door. "You and I both know that isn't my real name, professor," she responded coolly, so angry that she didn't even find the slightest satisfaction in the blood draining from his scarred face.
He threw open the door, ushering her inside quickly, before snapping it shut behind her. The inside of the cottage was cozy, a fire burning in the hearth on one side of the living room. Down the hallway, she could hear the fussing over a baby and the cooing of his wife. She stood awkwardly just over the threshold of the door, her jacket dripping water onto the wooden floors.
She looked into the blue eyes of Remus Lupin. "You knew," she started shortly, peeling off her coat and tossing it on the floor near the door. She had a feeling she would be here awhile. "You knew all along, for years. Not once did you say-"
"I had my doubts, Lavender," he said slowly, gesturing toward an armchair by the fire. She slowly made her way into the living room, sinking into the armchair across from him. His wife, accompanied by a bright blue-haired boy, entered the room from the hallway. "Tonks, please," he said, pointing toward Lavender with pleading eyes.
His wife (Tonks was her name?), slipped back into the dark hallway immediately, seeming to understand the importance of the conversation.
"You still knew," Lavender went on bitterly, "you taught me in school…you-you saw me in Hogsmeade." Tears started to pool in her eyes as the gravity of the situation at hand weighed heavily down onto her shoulders. She closed her eyes, quickly swiping at them with the back of her hand. "What was my name, professor? You still know it. What. Was. My. Name."
Remus sighed, tears beginning to prick in the corners of his own eyes. "Nora Ann Black."
She sucked in a deep breath before breaking out in sobs that wracked her entire body. Burying her face into her hands, she had doubled over, nearly placing her head between her knees. The tears didn't stop, no matter how hard she tried. She inhaled, trying to calm herself, only to double over once again, the sobs so deep she thought her heart was going to explode.
Remus had hurried over, collapsing onto his knees in front of her. He placed one hand over top of hers, another patted her blonde, curly hair as he placed his forehead onto hers.
"Oh, Merlin, Nora…Lavender, I'm so sorry," he started, attempting to tuck the loose locks of her hair behind her ears. "You shouldn't have found out like this. You should have been able to-" He trailed off, not sure what to say next.
"I…don't…even…know…who…I…am…any…more…" Lavender managed to sputter out between sobs. She dropped her head back into her hands, doubling over once again. Remus gently grabbed her wrists, forcing her hands off of her face.
"I found your mother," he said as soon as she made eye contact with him, "She was my best friend and I found her-" he broke off, tears pooling in his eyes once again. "I should have told you. I should have told Sirius. I was afraid it would force him out of hiding, get him in trouble by looking for you. I shouldn't have kept it a secret. That's my biggest regret. He died and he should have known you."
He hung his head, still clutching onto her wrists. The two of them cried silently together for a few more minutes. Lavender, for the family she could have known and didn't. Remus, for the family he kept from her purposefully.
"I thought- I thought I was doing the right thing when Dumbledore told me to not say anything," he started again, shaking his head as he scooted back into his own armchair. "Keeping you safe, keeping you away from the Order. That was my top priority. I couldn't keep my best friend safe, but you-" He paused, contemplating her quietly. "You look exactly like her."
He stood slowly from his seat, his hands shaking from the nerves. "I-erm- I have something for-for you, actually." He paused for another moment, looking at her again, before disappearing into the hallway. He returned in a heartbeat with a leather bound book in his hand. He looked down at it, smiling slightly, before handing it to her. She took it gently, looking down at it in confusion. "Haley-erm-your mother, she made that. Put it together when she was pregnant with you."
Lavender opened it carefully, watching the pictures wave at her. There was James and Lily Potter, clear as day. Lily was hugging a girl with curly blonde hair and bright, brown eyes. Haley. Her mother. Haley had her hand laced tightly with a younger, very handsome Sirius Black. His hand was clapped on a younger Remus, whose face wasn't quite as scarred yet.
"That was-erm-seventh year. End of," he said carefully as she turned the page, pausing briefly on a list with various initials signed off on each thing. "That's how your parents met, you see. Haley had a list of things she wanted to accomplish before end of schooling. Your dad, erm, Sirius, I mean. He-he rather forced himself onto her." He paused to chuckle, causing Lavender to smile slightly through her tears. "We all knew Sirius was in love with her before he did. Took almost all of seventh year to get him to admit it."
The pictures moved onto Lily and James Potter's wedding. Through the years with various people in and out. Lily, Haley, and another woman posing pregnant together. "Alice Longbottom-erm- Neville's mother," Remus explained as she paused to look at the picture.
"I really do look like her," Lavender said with a smile, looking up at Remus with genuine happiness. Remus seemed to relax.
"Yes, it really is quite eerie, isn't it?"
The pictures evolved as the babies, Harry, Neville, and her, were born. Playing together. Neville slowly disappearing out of the frames, becoming more and more Harry and her focused. There were pictures of Sirius kissing her plump cheek. Pictures of James holding her on his knee. Pictures of Lily feeding both her and Harry at the same time.
"So, Harry…Harry should be, what? My childhood best friend?" she asked slowly as she turned the pages.
"If Sirius and James had it their way," Remus said with a laugh, "I'm fairly certain you two would be the next Fred and George Weasley." He paused to sigh, watching her flip through the rest of the book. "I never stopped looing, you know. For you. I looked for twelve years until Dumbledore told me. I thought-I thought you should stay in the family, if you could."
Lavender closed the book and held it against her chest, a smile curving her lips. "I think I would have quite liked that," she replied softly, running a hand gently along the leather cover, "my mum and dad were great, but-" She stopped to find the right words. "I think I would have liked to know…Haley and Sirius."
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw movement in down the hallway. Tonks had reappeared in the threshold of the living room, rocking a small infant whose hair was now a neon green. Lavender grinned at the woman, sighing delicately. "Hello," she started, waving awkwardly before clutching the book once again, "I'm Lavender-erm-Brown. I think."
The woman chuckled, joining Remus by sitting on the arm of the chair. The small boy cooed in her arms. "Tonks, well, Nymphadora," she responded, smiling warmly down at her, "but you can call me Tonks. This is Teddy, our son."
Lavender leaned forward to rub the small boy's back and he cooed again, his hair changing from the neon green to a deep purple.
"I know of some people who would be quite anxious to meet you," Remus broke the silence after a few minutes, "if you wanted to come around again. Say, the day after Christmas?"
Lavender smiled again, nodding her head. "yeah-erm-okay, that sounds good." She extended her arm out, her hand grasping the photo album, but Remus shook his head.
"That's yours now. Keep it. Your mother made it for you."