Part 1

Chapter 1

Between the mountains of Connemara in Ireland was a small wooden hunting cabin. Only one person lived there for eight months in 1977 before a second person arrived. They stayed together, just the two of them for four years until...

LB

Cordelia Dubois was only twenty years old when she gave birth alone at a safehouse. She birthed a baby girl, her one and only child and she named her Alexandra.
She had written the father a letter to say she was pregnant, but she never got a reply. She only found out she was pregnant after Dumbledore made her go into hiding. He told her she could come back when the time was safe, but it's been eight months and still no word, not one.

She was sitting in her bathtub and let the red stained water drain away as she held her daughter tightly to her chest. While the baby girl was drinking hungerly, she cleaned herself up and casts some healing charms over her, happy to have had her first healer training before she was forced into hiding, so she knew what to do. She tiredly climbed out of the tub and got dressed.
She made her way to her bedroom and went to the transfigured carton box turned crib. She laid the fully naked baby in the bed and went to get all of the clothes and diapers she had transfigured or bought at the small local store and placed them in the cupboard. She looked over her shoulder to Alexandra who was starting to doze off. Her head full of wavy black hair with grey eyes. She looked so much like her father; it made her heart break. With a sad smile she put on a little diaper and a onesie and went to sit at the desk at the window.

She took in a deep breath and started on the next letter. Her quill scratching on the parchment was the only sound in the room. On her right was already a large stack with envelops, all sealed magically only for Alexandra to open up when it was the right time.

LB

Alexandra, Alec was her go to name now, appeared with a little trunk with the initials CD, on the steps of a little apartment building on the edge of London. She was alone on the streets at just four years old, and the snow was starting to fall down. She shivered as she looked at the doorbells on her top left. With a tiny little frown, she compared the letters on the piece of paper her mother had shoved into her hands to the name plaques next to the bells. She put the trunk on the ground and climbed on top of it and reached for the right bell. When she didn't hear anything, she pursed her lips and kept pressing it.

After a few minutes the door flew open and revealed an angry looking young man with sandy brown hair and amber eyes. She could see a large scar on his neck that disappeared in his shirt. The man's eyes softened when he saw the little girl on the trunk, her hand still hovering over the bell. His eyes shifted from anger to surprise to worried, as he looked around the empty street.

"Uncle Moony." Alec smiled at the man, her eyes like saucers. Remus Lupin's eyes nearly fell out of its sockets as he looked at the girl in front of him.

"Uncle Moony?" He choked out. "Where are your parents, little girl?" It looked like he said the wrong thing, the girl got tears in her eyes and let the little teacup in her other hand fell to the ground. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Remus muttered, trying to soothe the child but didn't know how to do so. He was so out of his element.

Alec wiped the tears away and took a letter from her red coat and handed it over before she hopped off her trunk. "I'm cold." She said through shivering teeth.

"Oh, right." Remus shook his head as he looked at the envelope in his hand with his name on it. "Why don't you come in. I think I have some hot chocolate upstairs."

The little girl didn't answer, but just took her trunk and walked past him. He watched the girl wait for him at the bottom of the staircase and smiled as she tapped her tiny foot impatiently. Remus picked up the plastic teacup and walked over to the girl. "Follow me."

LB

Once settled in the kitchen, he put the envelope down and made work on two cups of hot chocolate. As he prepared the cups, he studied the young girl carefully. With her black wavy hair and those grey eyes, there was only one possibility on who she was...

"Here you go, little girl." Remus smiled nervously as he pushed a cup to her.

"Alec." She huffed as she pulled the cup to her.

"Alec." He nodded with a smile at the directness of such a young girl. "Is it okay that I read this now?" He asked her, holding up the envelope. She nodded at him before she took the cup in her tiny hands and brought it to her lips.

With a little shake in his hands, Remus opened the envelope and his eyes flickered over the parchment at rapid pace.

Remus

I'm sorry for springing her up on you, but I had no other choice.
They are coming closer; I can feel it. I'm no longer safe at the house Albus put me in.

I've put a vial of my memories in Alec's trunk and Alec is the final memory. You can take it from her while she sleeps, it won't hurt her. I've put it ready for you.

I have written letters for her, for every birthday that is to come. Please, please take care of her. I don't have anyone left. I just read the paper today, about Sirius... I can't believe it.

You'll find her birth certificate in the envelope with this letter.
I wish I could've introduced her to you sooner, but seeing the circumstances...

Tell her I'll always love her and watch over her.
Please look after her, Remus.

Love,

Cordelia Dubois.

He didn't look at the girl in front of him, but just took the next piece of parchment in the envelope and folded it open, a birth certificate.

Name: Alexandra Fae Black

Date of birth: October 30th, 1977

Place of birth: Connemara, Ireland

Mother of the child: Cordelia Fae Dubois

Date of birth: Januari 20th, 1958

Nationality: French

Father of the child: Sirius Orion Black

Date of birth: November 3th, 1959

Nationality: British

"Sirius." He whispered as his hand clenched around the parchment. It was only a little over a month ago that Lily and James were killed, that Sirius betrayed them and delivered them on a silver platter to Voldemort. It never sat right with him what happened, that Sirius could've betrayed them but still what other explanation was there.

He looked up from the birth certificate and saw the girl, Alec, asleep on the kitchen island. He rubbed his hand tiredly over his face as he sat halfway on the barstool, his eyes fixed on the sleeping young girl. What is he supposed to do with her? He was a freaking werewolf; he wasn't made to raise a child. But what were his options? Maybe he could find Cordelia before it was too late? After staring at the young girl for fifteen minutes, he decided to watch the memories first. He picked up the young girl, and the girl snuggled in his chest, like it was something she always did.

He frowned when he kicked open the door to his small second bedroom. It was being used as a storage room; piles of boxes stacked against the walls. With great difficulty, trying not the wake little Alec, he took his wand out of his holster and transfigured one of the boxes into a small bed. He placed the girl softly on the bed and scavenged through the boxes to search for his spare blankets. When he found a red and blue checkered one, he covered the girl and walked out of the room.

He picked up the little trunk from the ground next to the chair Alec fell asleep in and put it on the kitchen counter. With a tap of his wand, the chest enlarged to one of Hogwarts' school trunks. His fingers went over the initials, it was Cordelia's old trunk. Remus and the others all knew Cordelia from school. They weren't close as she was a year ahead of them and she was in Ravenclaw; but they were familiar. They grew closer after school, when Cor joined the order, especially with Sirius. Remus believes if they had the time, they would've fell in love with each other. They cared for each other greatly, and Sirius wanted her to be safe. So, he agreed with Dumbledore to send her away, for her own safety. Cor was angry and fought them with everything she got, but she was made by one of the death eathers one night. That was when she reluctantly agreed to go into hiding. Sirius promised to come back for her, but then all hell broke loose. Now Voldemort was defeated, Lilly, James and Peter were dead, Sirius in prison, and Remus left all alone. Not so alone anymore as he has a four-year old girl in his spare room.

He inhaled deeply as he clicked open the trunk. He saw the stack of letters neatly tied together with a piece of string on top of some clothes. He smiled at the stuffed dog, that looked a lot like padfoot and placed it on the counter. That's when he saw the vial full of memories floating around. He studied it up close before he put the vial down and picked up the stuffed dog. He walked back to his spare room and softly pushed the door open. The girl was still peacefully asleep, and he placed the dog in her arms. Alec turned around and snuggled close to the dog. Once she was laying still again, he crouched down next to her. He looked over his shoulder and summoned another vial. With a trembling breath he placed his wand on her temple and pulled out the memory Cordelia had put ready from him. The girl didn't even stir and with a firm grasp on the vial he stood back up and walked out of the room, leaving the door ajar.

He paced the living room, his eyes going back to the vials on the counter. He needed a pensieve. He knew Dumbledore had one, but he wasn't in the mood to explain Alec's situation to him. Honestly, he was afraid he might take her away, like he did Harry. He wasn't sure if he was going to keep her, but he wouldn't want her to be placed with muggles that wouldn't understand her. He stopped pacing, when he remembered Sirius had one in Grimmauld place. He was already one foot in the fireplace when he stopped. Shit! I can't leave her alone. He started pacing again, he needed to see those memories, to see what had happened. Who could he contact? He was running his hands through his hair so much it was standing in every direction. He stops in his tracks as an idea popped into his head.

"Of course." He mumbled before he headed to the front door. He didn't walk far just across the hall and knocked on the door. A few minutes later, the door opened to reveal his elderly neighbour, Beatrice.

"Remus, hello. Did you need any more sugar?" She smiled sweetly.

"No, Beatrice." He smiled back. "My niece is visiting, but I forgot to take her backpack. Do you mind keeping an eye on her? She's already asleep, and it wouldn't take more than half an hour."

"You know I would love to do it, but my son will pick me up in about five minutes to go to the doctor." She said a little sad.

"No worries, thank you." Remus smiled. "I hope you feel better." He nodded his head briskly and walked back into his flat. He was pacing in his hallway; he could hear the little girl breathing in the spare room. With a frown, he suddenly walked over to the basket full of muggle magazines. He had seen something in it that might be of use. He flickered quickly through the magazines and grinned when he found it. He grabbed a blanket from his couch and studied the picture carefully before he transfigured the blanket. He looked at the magazine again with a crease between his eyes as he tried to figure out how to put it on. It took him nearly ten minutes before he had figured it out, now putting little Alec in it... He walked over to the spare room and pulled the blanket off the girl. He picked her up gently trying not to wake her, her stuffed dog still firmly in her little hands. With great effort, he wrapped the "toddler carrier" or whatever it was called, over Alec's back and put the sturdy straps over his shoulders. He couldn't reach the clasp on the back, so he used his wand to fasten it up. He shifted her legs a little, so she was "sitting" comfortably, her head resting on his chest.

He took in a deep breath, one arm tightly around her just to be safe and he apparated out of the flat. He landed a little wobbly on the steps but straightened himself out before he tripped. He looked down at the girl, to check if she was okay. But she was still sleeping soundly against his chest. He looked back up and took in the large beaten-up black door before he tried the door handle. To his surprise the door opened. Maybe it was because he was carrying Alec, a Black heir. He slowly stepped in the dark hallway and looked around.

"Kreacher?" He called out as he covered the girl's ears. No answer. "Thank Merlin." He mumbled to himself as he walked further into the house.

He knew the house would be empty, as Sirius's mother, Walburga would be at her weekly pure-blood fanatics meeting. He quickly made his way to the library and began to rummage in the large closet. He sighed in relief as he found the portable pensieve. He reduced the pensieve until it fits into his pocket. When he turned around, his eyes widened, his hand stroking the girls head in an instant. The Black family tapestry had changed once again. Remus's eyes found Sirius's scorch mark, but right under his was a brand-new branch.

Alexandra Fae Black.

There was no denying it any longer, it was now with 100% certainty she was Sirius'. His brows gathered at the thought that Walburga must've seen the new addition on the tapestry, as it would appear on itself the day she was born. Maybe she tried to look for her but couldn't find her due to the safe house and not knowing who the mother was. Or maybe she didn't want anything to do with a kid that Sirius fathered. Either way, the old hag wasn't getting her hands on her. His eyes lingered for another minute on her name before he quickly apparated out of the house.

He put on the extra muggle locks for safety on the door, once he arrived home, and enlarged the pensieve when he placed it on his coffee table. He placed Alec back in the bed and covered her with a blanket. Once he was sure that she wouldn't wake up, he walked back to the living room. He poured Cordelia's vial into the pensieve, making the liquid cloudy and silver in the scale. He shook his hands nervously lose next to him, before he leaned down.