Author's Note: I had lost my muse for writing in general from starting "adulting" and working overtime. But after going to HP World, I have to say my love for it has grown more than I expected.
~Of Silver & Gold~
Chapter 54: Merry Christmas
Christmas morning arrived to 12 Grimmauld place with little noise…at least little noise in the early morning. Angel had no idea why, but there she was, wide-awake at seven in the morning. She had fallen asleep fairly late yet her body had told her that it was not only time to wake up, but time for her to get food. The only problem was that for one: she was cold, and two: she was too lazy to walk downstairs to get food. She almost considered asking for food from the house elf, but she still felt uneasy about Kreacher.
Taking a deep breath, she forced herself to get up. Slipping on her satin robe she slipped on her slippers before walking out of her room. Walking through the halls she noticed they were empty, not a soul in sight. Walking down the stairs, she found herself no longer alone as she reached the kitchen. Molly Weasley stood in the kitchen already cooking what seemed like breakfast. For a second Angel considered simply walking out of the room, that is had the woman not turned around and made eye contact.
"Aren't you hungry?" Molly asked politely. "Come, sit"
Angel hesitated, but forced herself to do as suggested. She didn't want to be rude, especially not on Christmas. The woman was facing a lot of struggles that much was clear from the tired expression on her face. Taking a deep breath she sat on the counter and allowed Mrs. Weasley to serve her breakfast. It was an odd feeling; the woman despite her seemingly cold nature was giving her food as a mother does. Except this woman wasn't her mother, her real mother was dead and her other mother would never get her hands dirty this way. Molly Weasley had always hated the Malfoy family, yet there she was, serving pancakes to the girl raised by the family.
"Dig in" she said.
Angel nodded and began to cut the pancakes as delicately as possible before eating them. She had to admit they were delicious, but the feeling of being watched made her feel much more uncomfortable than she wanted to be. Mrs. Weasley was observing her, and she didn't dare look up. She stared at the plate refusing to look up already knowing the older woman was up to something.
She could have ignored it, but the niggling feeling would not leave her. Slowly she put the fork down, picked up her napkin to wipe the corner of her lips. As she put the napkin down, her brown eyes lifted to face the matriarch.
"Did you have something on your mind Mrs. Weasley?" she found herself asking.
The older woman was very transparent, so much so that Angel could already tell that it was about something that she shouldn't even be thinking about: Harry. While she knew that the woman loved Harry like one of her litter, Angel couldn't help but be frustrated at her overbearing nature. There were a few times that the woman had been caught staring at the pair of teens during their interactions. She wasn't stupid; Mrs. Weasley wanted to "talk".
"You sure are precocious aren't you?" Mrs. Weasley commented dryly.
"So I've been told" Angel replied with a quirk of her lip.
Mrs. Weasley's eyes flashed in annoyance at the young girl's flippant comments. The girl carried the same expression that Narcissa had when they interacted: how she ended up making a stupid comment. She hated how they always made her feel stupid . Even this child in front of her was so arrogant.
"I wanted to talk to you" Mrs. Weasley began.
"Isn't this what we're doing now Mrs. Weasley?"
"You know very well that is not what I mean young lady!"
Sighing Angel sat up and found herself properly in the conversation. There would be no games, if the woman truly wanted to talk, they would talk properly.
"You won't look at me directly in the eyes Mrs. Weasley, and you won't even say my name or speak to me directly till now. So tell me, now that you decided we're talking, what did you want to talk about?"
Mrs. Weasley's face began to redden; she knew the girl was no good and this just proved it. Her smarmy tone, her smartass attitude just made her feel like this girl was as bad as all Malfoys were. Clearly she was a bad influence on everyone and Molly would protect them from her.
"I don't care who your parents are, or what you're doing here, but I care about Harry a lot young lady and-"
"I care a lot about him too" Angel interrupted her.
That caught the older woman off guard. The sincerity in her tone contrasted greatly with the previous comments' tone. It was as if she was seeing a wall being constructed on the young girl's expression not wanting anyone to know her thoughts.
"You don't know him" Mrs. Weasley continued. "He is a sweet boy and he has gone through a lot. And you…while your intentions with Sirius are none of my business; Harry's business is mine. I am like his mother and I know what is good for him."
"And you decided I'm not worth his time?" Angel murmured. "I'm not good for Harry?"
Angel's eyes flashed in anger, despite her indifferent tone, this bothered her more than she cared to admit. No matter what she said to argue against the woman it was clear that the woman had already made an opinion about her, one that deemed her unfit for Harry. She knew that Mrs. Weasley cared greatly for him, but the older woman was teetering in a fine line between being caring and intrusive. As she looked away from the woman, Angel slowly lifted her cup of tea and took a slow sip.
"Harry needs a sweet girl with him, one that prioritizes him, a young lady that is selfless and gives him the love that the poor boy needs. A girl that knows how to cook, clean, be a good person who is never hurt a fly. A girl who has a good family unit, and caring."
"And…"
"And you are not it. Sirius cares about you dearly and wants to make a relationship with you. What you do with your father and what you decide to build together does not interest me. Harry's interests, interest me. Understood?"
Angel felt a bitter taste in her mouth. She knew that one day all that her family did would come back to bite her. The woman before her basically said that she was selfish, uncaring, pampered, and violent. The woman alluded that she not only had a bad family but she was incapable of caring for another being.
"I understand…" Angel began. "I understand that you find me selfish, rude, from a bad family that has no capability of caring for another being. You think so lowly of the family that raised me and for my father who had no problem putting a roof under your head for the sake of family unity. You think lowly of my real mother, may she rest in peace. A woman who even Dumbledore reminisces in a positive light." Her face heated up in anger and her mouth was speaking faster than her brain was processing. "But then again, I could meet all the requirements and I would still be less in your eyes. Why? Because I am not your daughter. Isn't that right Mrs. Weasley?"
Mrs. Weasley's face reddened and she began to guffaw at Angel's comment, but Angel was not done. She found herself pushing her wall aside and wanting to go for the assault. The woman thought so little of her and for the first time ever this bothered her in ways she never knew.
"Please Mrs. Weasley, you would love it if Ginny won your Harry's heart, after all she's been pining for it since she first heard of him through your fairytales. Isn't that right? The Boy-Who-Lived? Well I don't give two shits about that boy; I care about Harry." her hands moved expressing her clear frustration. "He saved me my first year at school when your daughter nearly brought me to the brink of death. He sought ME out, he pushed everything I put in front of him aside and you know what Mrs. Weasley? He wants to be with me. And I want to be with him. Who do you think he shares his secrets to when your son is too selfish to listen to him? Or when Granger can do nothing but nag him? I'm there. Because despite how you might perceive me Harry still says he loves me."
"What do you two know about love? He doesn't know any better"
"Stop babying him! Stop making it seem like he's not capable of placing emotions! He's amazingly sweet, and kind and loving and he protects me" Angel continued her voice low. "And I protect him. I was there when no one believed him during the Triwizard tournament. And I'm here now for whenever he might need me. Because Mrs. Weasley I care about your surrogate son a lot."
"Well that's a good way to start the morning isn't it?"
Both women turned to the doorway to see Sirius. His smile was tight and annoyance clear in his eyes. The tension was clear in the room especially with his daughter's red face and Molly's huffing. He tried to be as calm as possible considering the others would wake soon and the argument wouldn't be good for Christmas. He had a feeling that Harry and Angel were indeed a thing, but he wasn't expecting it to run as deep as his daughter had admitted to Molly. And Molly…her distrust of the Malfoys was not surprising, but her treatment of his daughter did. She had no right to interfere.
"Good Morning Dad" Angel said civilly, acting as if nothing happened.
He leaned over to kiss her cheek and knew that she was pretending nothing happened. Good. At least when the others came in, she wouldn't be the center of the problem.
"Remus is coming later in the day"
"He is?" Angel's eyes brightened.
It seemed both were good at ignoring Molly despite her loudly slamming the pans for breakfast. As more and more of the kids went into the room, the atmosphere grew loud enough to signal it was Christmas. Everyone began to wish one another 'Merry Christmas', and Angel briefly thought about her parents. She wondered how they were doing without her. Would they even care? She didn't want to be found out and she didn't want to get Sirius in trouble.
'Aunt Bella is home, they won't miss me for a second'
'I….I do miss them though'
"Hey, you okay?" Sirius said softly.
She jumped surprised at being spoken too despite the chaos but nodded nonetheless. It seemed that she had spaced out longer than she had expected. But after the fight with Mrs. Weasley she had little energy to truly do anything. Everyone was rushing around to go visit Mr. Weasley. Remus had agreed to meet them all there. She had already expected to be alone, that is until Sirius began to order her to change.
"I can't just go to St. Mungo's, people will talk!"
"Oh come now, we must visit Arthur!"
"No, you have to go see Arthur. I'm perfectly fine staying here."
"Nonsense, just wear your huge spectacles and leave your hair curly. You'll do perfectly fine. Just dress like a regular kid and not so….girly"
She rolled her eyes but with the hopeful expression in Harry's face she found herself changing into different clothing. As she wrapped her coat around her, it seemed the whole family was ready to go. She never understood how a family could be so loud, but this was definitely how they were.
She had never actually been to St. Mungo's in her life. She never needed to, and she hoped she would never be a patient. As the older kids went to visit their father, she stood awkwardly as they were done. She never had any particular opinion towards Mr. Weasley, but her vision of Christmas day did not involve a hospital.
"Come for an autograph?"
Turning around in surprise she saw former professor Lockhart looking dazily at her. He made a grand gesture of signing the air and handing her the invisible notebook. She looked wide-eyed at the state of her former professor. He was never good at his job, but she hadn't expected him to be this bad since her first year.
"Mr. Lockhart please leave the child alone."
As a Healer came to take Mr. Lockhart away, Angel found herself talking a few steps back. That is until she heard barking. She noticed she had reached the floor she had only heard rumors about: the permanent residents. She was now sure she hated this place. Where was Sirius!?
"Are you leaving already Mrs. Longbottom?"
That sure caught her attention. Looking over curiously she saw an old matronly woman wearing a large fox coat and a hideous hat. The boy beside her caught Angel's attention more than anyone else: Neville. She noticed that the boy looked miserable as he stared forlornly at a man and woman looking like they could only look at the ceiling. It took her but a second to understand it all; she remembered briefly hearing stories about these two: the rumors seemed to be true. Neville had parents that had gone bonkers. She felt herself feel sorry for the boy. She had to get out before he noticed.
Rushing towards the exit, it seemed that her escape was short lived as she saw Ron and Harry walking her way. She looked wide-eyed ready to leave, but as Ron tilted his head he noticed Neville. The stupid boy that he was, the redhead immediately called out:
"Neville!"
"Shut up Ron!"" Angel hissed.
Harry was confused until he took notice of the room. He realized why she was so horrified and tried to pull Ron away only for the boy to become louder.
"Are those your friends Neville?"
Oh Merlin. The old woman walked their way and bowed graciously as a greeting. Neville looked as though he would rather be anywhere in the world but here. A dull purple flush was creeping up his plump face and he was not making eye contact with any of them. Angel felt for him a great deal; while she was never his friend, she did know the boy was sweet.
Slowly, it all became all the more awkward as Mrs. Longbottom began to introduce herself and tell them about how Neville was a sweet boy, but not as talented as his father was. It took a long while for Ron to even realize what was meant when Neville's parents were. As she introduced herself (with only her first name) the older woman looked at her and tilted her head.
"And Neville has never said anything about you. Neville who is she?"
"N-No one grandmother. I-I –I mean"
"Oh is she your girl friend Neville? My aren't you sweet paying attention to my grandson. He isn't that bad you know"
As the old woman rambled on, Angel's cheeks began to redden at the misunderstanding. It was that moment that she felt that she had truly changed; in any other instance, even a year ago, had they made that assumption of her she would have been so horrified she would have roughly denied it. But the way Neville looked and how mortified he probably felt...well she bit back the snappish comment. Taking a deep breath, she then smiled widely, enough for her dimples to show and nodded at the woman.
"Mrs. Longbottom, Neville is more than 'not that bad'" she laughed softly lightly touching Neville's arm. "He is very sweet and I would be honored if he viewed me that way. But we are just friends, I assure you." she smiled kindly at Neville before looking back at his grandmother. "Maybe if Neville changes his mind I will be the lucky one. Now we must be heading out, shouldn't we Harry?"
Harry merely nodded. She quickly waved goodbye and rushed off as Mrs. Longbottom began asking Neville questions. As they walked away Ron was the first to speak.
"I never knew," said Ron rather hoarsely.
They all looked at Harry. "I did," he said glumly. "Dumbledore told me but I promised I wouldn't mention it … that's what Bellatrix Lestrange got sent to Azkaban for, using the Cruciatus Curse on Neville's parents until they lost their mind."
Angel's face grew paler and he gripped her arm to calm her down as best as he could. As soon as the group came together it was clear that it was time to go home. Harry never once let go of Angel's hand, and she made no motion to pull away. All the thoughts swirling in her mind made her dizzy.
Her Aunt Bella had done such horrible things to Neville's parents. She had never known that the woman was capable of such a thing, no matter how much she spoke about killing. Merlin, Angel was so naïve. She was frustrated at her inability to just make the connections. She wanted to apologize to Neville in some way, but it would have no weight and it would be useless.
Later in the day Sirius was yelling for her to come over. She was in the middle of crushing Ron in a game of chess that is until his excitement got the best of her. Peeking her head into the other room she noticed people dusting themselves off from the chimney. The Floo Network was always such a mess, but as people began to hang their coats she tensed up seeing the man make eye contact with her: Moody.
At least, this was her first time really meeting him. She was unsure how to react; after all she had bad memories of her previous year with this man. He looked unsure that is until a woman popped her head close to Angel's. Her eyes widened at the woman's lack of personal space. She had a round face and dark eyes with bright bubble gum hair. Her smile was wide and looked excited to meet her.
"Wotcher Sirius! Who's this?"
"She's-"
"Angel?" Before Sirius could reply, Remus interrupted in genuine surprise. He looked between the two and seeing her look so calm, he knew the signal that this was the surprise that Sirius was talking about.
"See darling, I brought you your old uncle Remus!"
Angel laughed softly and found herself rushing to hug Remus. It had been a while since she had seen him and she had missed him greatly. He was a good man, a very good man. As he embraced her, she gripped his shirt tightly. He was a lot skinnier than she remembered and she worried about him, that is until he held her even tighter around himself. This was the man that was supposed to be her godfather, the one who would have raised her had she not been taken in and the man who had an unwavering loyalty to her before Sirius even knew of her existence.
"Hi Uncle Remus" she murmured amused at her father's glee. Remus flushed lightly and patted her head in an embarrassed fashion.
"I'm Tonks! I didn't know Sirius had a little pup! I guess you're my cousin?" she laughed gleefully. "Why wasn't I told anything?!"
As the explanations began she found herself feeling a bit better that there were other people here and she wasn't intruding on a more family environment. As the food began to cook and people began to relax it felt a bit more like Christmas. Not what she was used to, but great just the same. Slowly she smiled and allowed herself to truly take everyone in.
...
Since everyone came Angel properly took a good look of the fresh faces. Moody was still the same and spoke with Harry about the randomest things much to her amusement. Tonks, Charlie and Bill turned out to all be good friends and chatted with her over their adventures with friends and trouble they got into. The pink haired woman was nothing like anyone she had ever met. She was so comfortable in her skin and in others. She laughed as the woman tried desperately to take her out of her shell.
There was one moment when the woman won a special place in her heart. As they both sipped hot chocolate, she turned to look at her in a soft expression and uttered simple words.
"You know...I know it can be hard to be excluded from people you love very much. Growing up my mother made it very clear that there would be few people in the world that would accept an outcast. And I don't mean being" she pointed at all of her uniqueness and smiled. "But I mean literally being kicked out of the House Black. My mother loved her sisters dearly" it was clear she spoke about Narcissa and Bellatrix. "But the idea of being shunned hurt her more than she even tells me sometime."
Silence fell between the pair. Both women looked on as Sirius and Remus played around acting like teenagers themselves. It was nice to see them so overjoyed with being around one another and seeing them be not so lonely.
"I know you're new to all this but...but if you ever want to visit my mum, our home, I would really enjoy it. You mean a lot of them and well if you bring joy to those old men, I think you could bring joy to my mum"
Angel was surprised at Tonk's invitation, but she quickly understood as she stared longingly at Remus of all people. Remus was not classically handsome; he looked beaten and roughened up from his monthly transformation, his clothes were never properly kept and he was so lonely. It was not all by choice but society who thought of him to be less than. Yet Tonk's eyes shined so brightly that to Angel meant that she truly saw his beauty: while shabby he had a big heart, was incredibly intelligent and thoughtful. Lowering her gaze she found herself smiling.
"I'd really like that" she murmured softly. "And….if you ever really think about going after my uncle, know you have a definite supporter"
The surprise and flushed expression from her made Angel laugh softly. Placing her hand lightly over the woman's own, she flashed a sincere smile.
Tonks shuffled her feet. "Am I that obvious?"
"Well no not really...but" her eyes trailed over to Harry. "I know the feeling"
"I see" Tonks murmured her own curiosity growing. "I like that"
It was her own turn to blush at Tonk's commentary and she laughed as they chatted over their boys. Before Moody went over and began to rant and rave about the Order and what was expected of them as Aurors.
…
It was nice to be around her uncle Remus. He was never overly talkative but was never shy about expressing himself. He was so frail sometimes, and his appetite was a lot more than a man his size should be able to take in. She worried over him and considered giving him money for Christmas solely for him to be more comfortable. When she had voiced her concerns with Sirius, he stopped her by saying that now he would take over and care for his brother as he should have done from the beginning. That had warmed her heart.
So as the piano was played by Sirius who was hamming it up to everyone, she found Remus sitting beside her on the couch away from everyone.
"This is nice isn't it?" she commented softly.
"It really is" he murmured. "I'm not sure how you got here and what you had to do to be here but I'm very happy to see you here"
Turning over she properly looked at him and smiled. "Really?"
"Angel...the year I was a Hogwarts I was so relieved to have found you" He admitted. "You..Harry...people that were born from some of the best people...it comforted me in knowing their spirits lived on within you."
"Do they really?"
"Oh yes. I can imagine Sirius already telling you but there are certain moments when I can't help but think that Amorette is standing in this very room" he chuckled. "Your mother was the first person outside of our group that didn't really care about my condition. She was like a sister to me and her and Lily…"his eyes saddened. "They were gone too soon"
Looking down she found herself growing shy. "I don't think I ever properly thanked you for how supportive you were when dad and I hurt one another or when I cried over everything during the Third task. But I am thankful and I'm relieved to have a godfather like you"
As his hand gripped hers she looked up and saw him be misty-eyed. It was clear he did love her and the feeling was mutual. "I thought over and over again how it would have been if I had raised you. I forced myself to admit that I could never have given you the lifestyle you deserved, but I would have loved you with all I had" he sighed and squeezed her hand. "But I now know I want to make it up to you. Severus might be your official godfather in the eyes of everyone else, but I want to not only be your godfather but your friend. I am here for you no matter what happens."
The conviction in his words made her heart clench and she found herself hugging him tightly. This was a love she had never experienced in her home. There was no fear in his tone, and he hadn't offered her anything tangible, yet he had offered her something she did not even realize she missed in her early years: Unconditional love. It was clear that Sirius and Remus had suffered but they were willing to give so much, it warmed her heart.
"I love you Uncle Remus" she murmured softly.
"Merry Christmas Munchkin" he murmured softly.
Laughing softly they both chatted over everything and she swore her heart grew a size.
...
Dinner began to wind down and people were very full. Sirius, Remus, Tonks and Moody talked seriously over Order business. Molly fawned over all her children being there, and the kids tried to avoid all the smooches as much as possible. Yet eyes travelled from everyone in search of one specific person. For some reason, Harry had disappeared from the room. She frowned wondering where he was. This was his Christmas and he was nowhere to be found.
Slowly she began to climb the stairs in hopes of not making too much noise. She knew where he would be; as she kept climbing to the roof she found herself stopping as he sat outside the roof merely taking in the city. She found this to be incredibly stupid considering the weather. Still, as she wrapped her sweater tightly around her, she pushed the window open and popped her head out.
"Harry? Harry, what are you doing here?"
He had clearly been lost in thought because as soon as he heard her he jumped. She frowned and slowly climbed outside, scared of falling. She curled herself beside him as she took the sight he was taking in. She was thankful of the charm that the mansion held; though no one could see them, they could see the muggle world. She saw the way they ran through the streets cheering over Christmas, the singing, the bright lights. So different from them and she couldn't help but smile slightly.
"You aren't here to take the views are you?" she asked softly.
"No, not really" he responded after a while.
"What's wrong? You know you can tell me anything…"
He said nothing, but as he pulled her into his embrace she curled herself against him, thankful for any extra warmth. Snuggling closer she hummed pleased with the position they were in.
"This is nice isn't it?" he asked aloud.
"Mhm…" she murmured. She looked from the corner of her eye that Harry looked like his mind had wandered. "Isn't it good that Mr. Weasley is here for Christmas?"
"Yeah…" he trailed off once more.
"You know…I've never had a Christmas like this" she began guessing what was bothering him. "I love my parents…they give Draco and I everything we want but…sometimes the walls are so quiet, or the ballrooms are full of fake laughs and friends. Sometimes…sometimes it's nice to not have to fake who you are"
She felt his grip around her tightened and she sighed.
"This is my favorite Christmas, you know why?" Angel continued knowing that if he was going to be quiet she should at least make it up.
"Why?"
"I'm with my real dad, I am sort of getting along with your friends and more importantly I'm with you" she whispered kissing his cheek.
As Harry began to blush, she grinned knowing she was getting him to warm up. She kissed him again softer and hummed once more.
"It's okay to miss this tomorrow you know…"
"I figured you guessed what was going on" he grumbled.
"This could be us in the future; who is to say this is our last Christmas all together?"
"Despite it all, everything is going too well" she knew that he was not really demonstrating what he felt. "do you get that? Merlin Angel, you're here, Sirius is here, Remus, Tonks, everyone. And I know that when things are going to well, everything sours. "
"Oh Harry…you don't know that this is a bad omen for what's to come. You immediately sour your mood by doing that. You can always visit Sirius, and the rest. And you and I…we've been through worse. Remember when your biggest fear was your friends and I not getting along?" he nodded, "Well look at us now!"
"They don't exactly know we're dating you know…"
"How stupid are they that they can't guess that. Mrs. Weasley found out you know.."
"What?"
As she told him the story she tightened her grip around his waist and he pulled her closer. He had no clue the things that were occurring right under his nose. That morning, he hadn't realized how tense it was.
"I'm sorry she did that" he mumbled.
"Don't be silly, it's not your fault. The woman loves you, I just happen to love you more" she teased and kissed his chin.
"You do?"
"Harry…" she warned.
"Right!" he grinned.
As they both leaned in for a kiss, everything felt right. New snow was falling on the pair, the music continued to carry itself through the night and they were completely alone. Their lips pressed together softly, taking advantage of the privacy that they held. Pressing herself against him, he hugged her close, happy for the warmth and affection she was giving him. That is until…the crashing noise occurred. The pair jumped apart as they noticed the whole Weasley clan, Remus, Sirius, Tonks, the rest of DA and worst of all Severus Snape looking appalled.
Their faces began to turn red and Angel covered her face in shame. Never in her life did she think that this would happen to her. As quickly as she could she got up, only to stumble a bit on the snow; thankfully Harry grabbed her before anything stupid would occur. She lifted her head the way her mother would, pretending that her cheeks weren't flushed at being caught.
"Angel…"Snape began tentatively hoping to ignore the awkwardness. "Since I am here, it is time to escort you back. Your parents have been worried sick about you."
Her brown eyes went to her godfather whose tone was filled with contempt at what he had just seen. For a brief moment, Angel felt guilty at the actions and that she was caught, only to remember, no one there could truly judge her for her actions. She pushed her shoulders back and glared.
"So now they care for look for me? What if I don't want to leave?"
Sirius looked a bit distraught at the scene, as did mostly everyone in the room except for the two Slytherins staring down one another. Severus was surprised at how much venom was in her tone. She was clearly not over the realization of her parent's involvement to the dark side.
"You are not taking her anywhere!" Sirius snapped finally realizing what was happening.
"You are no one to tell me what to do" Severus snarled in return.
The two men were ready to throw hexes at one another, and Angel doubted that this started in this very moment. Whatever occurred downstairs carried over to this scene.
"I am her father and-"
"Barely" Severus interrupted, "I am her godfather and have more authority on her person than anyone in this room. Now come here Angel"
He had never spoken to her in such a way that Angel felt her defiance waver. She didn't want to return yet, but it was clear that his order meant that there would be consequences should she not follow.
"Are you taking me home? Or Hogwarts?" she said softly.
"Home of course" He replied quickly.
"I'm not going then" She crossed her arms. She ignored the fact that Harry had yet to let go of her and instead stood beside her taking the whole scene in.
The Weasleys in turn shuffled awkwardly not knowing what to do. What they had seen earlier was traumatizing enough; it was another thing seeing a young student defy the scary Potions Professor. Remus on the other hand knew that he needed to intervene soon. Sirius looked like he was ready to throw unforgivables should she be taken away.
"Angeline Marie Malfoy, your parents have been sick with worry after your disappearance. You have a few more days till school starts and you will come with me to at least spend the last day with them. They have been more than patient with your tantrum and I for one am tired of it." Wordlessly, he muttered a charm that pulled her despite her reluctance.
"But-"
"Dumbledore agreed you should head home"
It was then no one wanted to jump in. The moment that Dumbledore was mentioned everyone knew that this was law and Angel felt herself sadden. She wanted one more night with them, one more night with Sirius to play house, and one more night just being herself with Harry. But getting what she wanted was now getting surprisingly hard.
"I see…"
"Angel" Sirius whispered distraught.
She turned away from Severus only to hug her father tightly. The bubble had burst and she needed to return to her reality. She would not be safe in this home; the moment her parents found out about her location, they would destroy everyone involved and she could not have that happen. As Sirius held her close she forced herself not to cry. This was not the last time she would see him, but this was not how she wanted it to end. Some part of her wished he could have escorted her to the train like regular parents did. But normalcy was a rare thing in her life.
"I love you" she murmured softly, for the first time.
"I've loved you since you were merely an idea" Sirius replied in return kissing the top of her head.
It was a hard scene to take in. Everyone felt incredibly guilty for just being there and not being able to change a thing. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley felt their heartstring tug at the thought of having to give up their child to others and not keep them under their roof. Their children thought the opposite, to lose such happiness and return to the darkness that they imagined it to be at the Malfoy Manor. Remus, Tonks and the others felt helpless. And even Severus felt a bit awkward of destroying something he knew his goddaughter wanted.
"It's time to go" he said not bothering to tug her away.
Angel blinked back tears and nodded. She turned over to Harry and waved slightly before being led outside towards the Floo Network. She purposely left her things knowing that those would come in handy one way when she returned. Gripping her godfather's hand she said nothing but knew she had to return to her home before school started. Harry was right, there was a thing about too much happiness…it always soured.