Chapter 7: Finding Hope

That night, Remus put Tonks to bed. Andromeda was far too upset to do so. No one was more upset than Tonks. She was so innocent, and she saw only the good in everyone. She was only a little girl. She could not believe that her "Uncle" Sirius or "Aunt" Cassie would do such a horrible thing. Tonks tired herself out crying and asking why her "Uncle" Sirius and "Aunt" Cassie had to go to Azkaban and when they would come back.

Remus did not know how to answer those questions. He did not know how to process anything that had happened. James, Lily, and Peter were dead. Sirius and Cassiopeia were the murderers. Remus was very confused and heartbroken. It broke his heart to see Andromeda and Tonks so upset. It wounded him that all of his friends were gone. Remus had never felt more alone than in this moment. Remus sat by Tonks's bed until she fell asleep, tired from asking questions. Remus then exited the room to meet Andromeda, whose eyes were still red from the tears.

"How is she?" Andromeda asked out of concern.

"To be completely honest, she's terrified," Remus said sadly.

"Oh no," Andromeda groaned. "I should not have brought that Daily Prophet."

"It was nothing you did, Andromeda," Remus comforted. "Tonks was bound to find out. I do wish it wasn't like this."

"She loves Sirius and Cassie so much," Andromeda said with a wet smile.

"I know. That's why it's so hard on her," Remus said gravely. "She is so young. She doesn't know what death or betrayal mean. She saw only the best in Sirius and Cassie. Just like me."

"I cannot see any fault in my cousin. I will never believe he or Cassie would do such a thing. I don't care what the Ministry or the Daily Prophet say," Andromeda said firmly.

"Even if there's a chance they might have done this?" Remus asked dubiously.

"Remus, don't say that!" Andromeda said angrily. "Don't ever let me hear you say that again, especially not in front of Nymphadora. I have to have faith in my cousin, Remus. Sirius and Cassie are what few family I have left."

"You mean from the Black family," Remus said wisely.

"Yes," Andromeda replied. "Sirius accepted me when I was thrown out. Cassiopeia treated me like a sister. I feel so lonely without them."

"As do I," Remus said glumly. "I feel as if I do not have a friend in the world now. All of my friends are gone. Sirius, Peter, Lily, James, and Cassie accepted me. They didn't care about my illness. They would've gone to the ends of the earth and beyond for me. Now I feel so alone."

"You don't have to," Andromeda comforted. "I have always considered you a friend and part of my family. Perhaps we could find some comfort in that."

"That is a great comfort," Remus said, at little at ease. "Thank you, Andromeda."

"It's the least I could do, Remus," Andromeda said earnestly. "Or should I call you Moony?"

Remus smiled for the first time since Halloween. "I'd like it if you called me Moony."

"I wanted to know if you could do me a favor, Moony," Andromeda said, giving a half-smile when she said Moony.

"Anything, Andromeda," Remus replied.

"Could you keep close to Nymphadora?" Andromeda asked, the concern showing in her eyes

"I will," Remus whispered sincerely.

"She is so very close with you. She loves you just as much as she loves Sirius and Cassie. She'll be so lonely without them. I need you to be with her so she will not be upset about Sirius or Cassie. You loved them as much as she did. I thought that you could help comfort each other," Andromeda said.

"I'll be as close to Tonks as Sirius was to me," Remus promised.

Andromeda smiled brightly. "No wonder Tonks likes you so much."

Remus blushed, his face going a deep red like Tonk's hair.

The next afternoon, Tonks stayed in her room all day. This alarmed Andromeda, Ted, and Remus. They knew that this behavior was serious. Of course, they all knew that Tonks was still hurt losing not only James and Lily, but Sirius and Cassie as well.

Andromeda gently knocked on the door. "Nymphadora, sweetie, please come out."

"No!" Tonks protested from behind the door. "I'm not coming out! And don't call me Nymphadora."

Then, Ted tried. "Dora, love, why don't you come out and show me the faces you can do?"

"No, I don't want to!" Tonks shouted.

Ted sighed, turning to Remus. "My poor little Dora. I've never seen her act like this before. I suppose no one is more upset about this than her. I can't even imagine how upset she must be. My poor girl."

Then, Andromeda spoke softly. "Remus, could you try talking to her?"

"That's a brilliant idea, 'Dromeda," Ted said brightly.

"I don't know if it will work," Remus said apprehensively.

"I think it will," Andromeda said confidently. "Think about it. Nymphadora loved Sirius and Cassie as well as James and Lily. You were their best friends. You have something in common. I think she will listen to you."

"Besides, she fancies you," Ted jested, nudging Remus in the ribs with his elbow.

"Thanks, Ted," Remus said, his face going as red as Tonks's angry hair.

Remus slowly opened the door and tiptoed inside. The first thing he noticed was Tonks. Little Tonks was on her bed, and her face was buried in her huge, purple pillow. Although her face was hidden in her pillow, Remus could her Tonks's muffled crying and sniffles. Gingerly, he sat down next to her and stroked her hair, which had gone dark brown.

"Hello, Tonks," Remus whispered, running gently down Tonks's hair.

Tonks stopped sobbing for just a moment. "Hello, Uncle Remus."

"Tonks, sweetheart, I know that you're sad about Uncle James, Sirius, and Aunt Lily and Cassie," Remus whispered.

"I want Uncle Sirius and Aunt Cassie!" Tonks cried into her pillow.

"I know, sweetheart," Remus soothed. "I want them back, too."

"I want them back, and I won't ever see them again!" Tonks sobbed.

"I don't think that's true," Remus whispered.

Tonks stopped sobbing. Finally, her head rose from her pillow and she looked at Remus.

"You don't?" she asked in surprise.

"No, I don't," Remus answered, wiping away Tonks's tears. "Want to know why?"

Tonks nodded.

"Because we need to have hope," Remus said, taking Tonks's hand. "If we don't have hope, we have nothing. If we don't believe that we'll see Uncle Sirius and Aunt Cassie again, it will never happen. We have got to keep hope that we will see them again. If we do that, then we will see them again."

"We will?" Tonks asked.

"I am sure we will," Remus said with a smile. "You know, sometimes when grown-ups say 'forever' they don't really mean it. Sometimes they just mean a long time. Aunt Cassie and Uncle Sirius are not going to be gone forever. They are going to come back soon."

"They will?" Tonks asked, a hint of hope in her voice.

"Oh, yes," Remus answered. "I promised you that they will come back. And I keep my promises."

Tonks smiled.

"Until then, Uncle Sirius and Aunt Cassie wouldn't want us to be sad about them all the time," Remus said cheerfully. "I think that what we can do for Uncle Sirius and Aunt Cassie is be as happy as we can be until they come back. Do you think you can do that with me?"

"Yes, Uncle Remus," Tonks said, her hair going pink again.

"Then let's start being happy for Uncle Sirius and Aunt Cassie. Okay?" Remus asked cheerfully.

"Okay, Uncle Remus," Tonks replied, a smile crossing her face again. "I'll be the happiest I can for Uncle Sirius and Aunt Cassie."

Remus smiled seeing Tonks happy again. He only hoped that what he said wasn't just wishful thinking. He hoped that he would get to see his best friends again someday.

Meanwhile, Sirius and Cassiopeia were spending the first of many days in Azkaban. Both of them were in unspeakable pain. It was not losing James and Lily alone that caused their suffering; it was the loss of all their loved ones. By now, the Daily Prophet had delivered the news of Sirius and Cassiopeia's crimes to the entire wizarding world. Sirius and Cassiopeia knew that they would not have a friend in the world again.

Sirius and Cassiopeia had been suffering in silence since they arrived. There was just too much pain at the moment. Cassiopeia blamed Sirius for their predicament. Sirius knew that he was to blame for their situation. He wanted to put things right again. He didn't want to hurt or lose Cassiopeia. Cassiopeia sat curled up into a ball, her arms wrapped tight around her. Sirius scooted closer to her.

"Cassie, I know you don't want to speak to me right now, and I don't blame you," he said apologetically. "I've been a smug weasel, and that's saying it lightly. You were right. I should have told Dumbledore everything. If I had done so, we wouldn't be here. I'm sorry for being dumber than a troll. I know it's not much, but I hope it makes you feel better. I'm sorry, Cassie."

Cassiopeia gripped Sirius's hand. "I'm sorry, too, darling."

"For what?" Sirius asked.

"I overreacted that night," Cassiopeia explained. "I was so terrified about losing James and Lily and then Peter. I was so scared that I took it all out on you. I was wrong to despair like that. I will never let my fear get in the way again."

"Well, I did deserve that. I need to be told when I'm being a pain sometimes," Sirius jested.

"I love you," Cassiopeia said as if in remorse.

"I love you," Sirius repeated, filling Cassiopeia into his arms.

Just then, a Dementor floated into their cell. The ghastly creature was carrying one plate with an apple. The Dementor dropped the plate and floated outside again. It didn't help Sirius and Cassiopeia that their meal was served by a Dementor. Even their presence was unbearable. Cassiopeia and Sirius both shuddered helplessly when the Dementor came in and out.

"Cassie," he whispered. "Breakfast, darling."

Cassiopeia shook her head. "I couldn't. You take it, Sirius."

"Don't worry about me," Sirius said cheerfully. "I'll just wait to see what we're having for lunch."

A faint smile seemed to cross Cassiopeia's lips. "No. You need it more than I do. Take it, Sirius. Besides, I'm not hungry at all. Please, eat, darling. You need your strength."

Sirius sighed. "Alright, but I won't do this all the time. I won't have you getting as skinny as Remus."

Sirius tore into the apple. He devoured the apple, but he was concerned for Cassiopeia.

Then, for the first time since that Halloween night, Cassiopeia laughed. "Only you of all people could make jokes in here."

"I'm glad to see that smile again," Sirius said gladly. "It's our best defense against these Dementors."

"I know, but how long before the Dementors suck it out of us?" Cassiopeia said gloomily.

Just then, Sirius had an idea. "Maybe there's a way they can't touch us."

"How?" Cassiopeia asked, perplexed. "They make us freeze as soon as they come in here. All our cheer flies away when they're around."

"So we'll just think of something that they can't take away," Sirius said brightly.

"Such as?" Cassiopeia asked.

"The fact that we're innocent," Sirius answered. "We know that. It's not the happiest thought, so the Dementors cannot take that away from us. It will keep us sane while we're here."

"That's brilliant, Sirius!" Cassiopeia gasped.

"I can be brilliant from time to time," Sirius said smugly.

"I have another idea," Cassiopeia said.

"Go on," Sirius said, listening intently.

"Do you remember when we all became Animagi at school?" Cassiopeia asked.

"How could I forget," Sirius answered.

"I think that if we transform whenever the Dementors are near, there's a chance that may help us as well," Cassiopeia said, a touch of hope in her voice.

"Yes," Sirius agreed. "Our thoughts won't be so complicated as dogs."

"And we all know Dementors can't see," Cassiopeia added.

"Yes!" Sirius said excitedly.

"Therefore, they won't be able to hurt as much if were animals," Cassiopeia said.

Sirius kissed Cassiopeia deeply. "Cassie, you're absolutely, wonderfully brilliant!"

"I'm glad we think alike," Cassiopeia said lovingly.

Cassiopeia and Sirius had found a small glimmer of hope. They only hoped that this plan would save their lives. More importantly, they hoped that it might help them escape this prison one day.