Author's Note:
I feel like I could apologize at the beginning of every chapter left in this story and it still wouldn't make up for my long absence. Real life takes priority as I'm sure you all well know, but it still feels like an excuse somehow. But that's what happened. Real life wrecked havoc for a bit and derailed my writing mojo, but I've got a feeling this is it. This story has been screaming at me, pulling at my insides to get posted, so it shall be done. Period. With each new chapter, I beg your forgiveness for being absent for so long. I sincerely appreciate your patience and thanks again to everyone who reached out just to check in.
So, I've got a fire lit under my ass to finish this up for you lovely readers and by God, I'm gonna. If it's the last thing I do. If you're reading this and rolling your eyes, determined to wait until the story is complete to read it through again, I totally get it, this thing is a monster. I look forward to delighting you with regular updates anyhow :)
I was gone long enough from the manuscript that I had to reread everything once again, and of course, I've noticed silly mistakes here and there, little details left by the wayside, and the fact that my writing has certainly improved since the first chapter, lol, so thanks for sticking it out with me and making it this far. I decided to repost chapters 55 and 56 to fix one of those mistakes since I misnamed a house elf!
Please enjoy! Hopefully, this chapter chips away at the annoyance I've no doubt incurred due to the lack of updates! It's a shorter chapter, but I couldn't let 2022 end without posting at least something!
P.S. I won't ever abandon this story, so don't worry! Also, after plotting out more details of the remaining story, be forewarned that as the Death Eater activity picks up, so does the violence, and the demons that Ava has to deal with as a result.
Review shout-out: Thank you SO VERY much to…ThePhantom998, Lady Luci Lorde, amk41196, AvidReader1997, convalla91, , and why spy! I love hearing from everyone!
I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters or anything else resembling what J.K Rowling introduced us all to. Just the plot and OC are mine.
Previously, on Love Knows No Bounds:
Ava and crew have returned to Hogwarts following the Christmas holiday break, and Ava started training with Moody. She's learning how to properly duel and how to sense magic being cast around her. Moody is also aware that Remus is a werewolf and that Ava transforms on full moons. She attended her second Order meeting and met the Weasley boys (Bill, Charlie, and Percy). Charlie really took a liking to her, and Ava offered to babysit at some point. Then Dumbledore, the higher-ups of the Order, and Ava destroyed the diary Horcrux, though Dumbledore faltered and a specter of Ariana emerged, allowing for Ava to finish off the Horcrux and save the Headmaster from having his dirty laundry aired. Ava jumped at the opportunity to tell Dumbledore that he owed her one, and he begrudgingly accepted. Ava's now in for a busy first weekend back at Hogwarts! No sexy times this chapter, but that's coming up next ;)
Chapter 59
Avalynn's breath puffed out into the frigid air, forming a cloud as she watched James and Sirius instruct her favorite little Slytherin. She quietly cast yet another Warming Charm over herself and Remus as the boys allowed Benedict to get reacquainted with the school broom. They may have been outside for only fifteen minutes or so, but the Scotland winter ate away at the magic keeping them all nice and toasty.
With a glance at Benedict, Ava could see him shiver and stepped forward to recast the spell on him as well. She stopped in her tracks when Sirius pulled out his wand and pointed it at the first-year. Though she wasn't close enough to hear exactly what the Animagus muttered, Benedict's resulting beam was telling.
For a moment, Sirius appeared taken aback, but then he ran a hand through his hair and gave the younger boy a tiny smile.
Progress, Ava thought with a grin of her own. Benedict may not be the exact Slytherin that she wanted Sirius to be friendly with, but it was a step in the right direction.
When Ava and Remus had approached the snow-lined Quidditch pitch with Benedict in tow, butterflies had swarmed in her stomach, not knowing how well her Gryffindor friends would get along with the first-year. While she didn't think James and Sirius would be outright mean to Benedict, she wasn't one hundred percent sure about how welcoming they'd be either. But they had promised to at least be civil and try their best, so she forced herself to relax and kept her hands and voice from shaking when she introduced the three boys who had each become so important to her.
Remus drew her mind back to the present as he laced their fingers and gave her a squeeze. "You don't need to worry so much, love."
She returned his tight grip for a moment, but didn't take her eyes off of Benedict, who was now being shown how to mount his broom by James on the bright green, magically maintained, grassy pitch.
The messy haired wizard looked her way for a split second, but then rubbed the back of his neck and resumed giving Benedict some guidance.
Remus spoke up again. "They might not like Slytherins, but I've been around Benedict enough to know he's a good kid. Sirius and James will see that soon enough too."
"I hope so," Ava muttered, keeping watch. Maybe it was her own paranoia seeping through, but a portion of her nerves stemmed from the fact that James and Sirius could use this as a great opportunity to prank a Slytherin. But they promised to be on their best behavior, she reminded herself. "James is acting a little off, isn't he though?"
Remus chuckled, drawing her gaze away from the boys, who were now all hovering on their brooms.
"What?"
"James is more nervous than you are, Ava."
Her eyebrows popped up.
"Don't look so surprised. James recognizes how much Benedict means to you and probably doesn't want to mess up."
Ava snorted and looked back at the boys. "Fat chance. They may be Gryffindors, but Benedict practically idolizes those two. He knows they're great at Quidditch and nearly fainted when I told him what we were doing this morning. James could probably fall out of the sky and Benedict would praise him on how well he stuck the landing, thinking it was a feat of genius."
Remus laughed. "I still don't think you have anything to be concerned about."
Brows furrowed, Ava grumbled, "For the moment, at least," watching James and Sirius rise higher off the ground, coaxing Benedict up along with them.
Ava's magic flickered in her chest at the sight. She took a deep breath. Nothing's going to happen. He's not even that high up. They floated about ten feet above the grass, and compared to her ride with James a couple months ago, they really weren't that far up.
Remus released her fingers and wrapped an arm around her. "C'mon, love. They'll be just fine. Now, why don't you tell me about how your classes are going after our first week back?"
She knew the werewolf was just trying to distract her but was willing to play along. "Well, I'm in Charms with the rest of you hooligans, so you know that's going smoothly." She peeked at Remus to see him roll his eyes.
Academically, she might've been performing well in Professor Flitwick's class, but being paired with the seventh year Slytherins was proving to be fraught with tension. Though, Ava supposed that she wasn't helping things by choosing to close the distance between the two houses and plop herself down between Severus and Remus. Not to mention, the asshole baby Death Eaters took it upon themselves to begin bullying her half-blood best friend once again. Apparently, seeing him comfortable around a blood traitor was enough for them to send hexes and jinxes Severus's way. But of course, he brushed it off and told Ava not to worry about it. She might've listened to him this time, but if the Slytherins went after him again, they were all fair game.
"I'm up to sixth year for Defense," she continued. "But with how much extra practice I'm getting between dueling with everyone and training with Moody, I'll be testing out soon enough."
Remus sighed and dropped his arm from her shoulders. "I still don't really like the idea that he knows about me. About us."
With a shrug, Ava said, "It was bound to come out sooner or later. One of our trainings or an Order meeting would probably end up falling on a full moon, and I would've had to make excuses that Moody wouldn't have taken at face value."
"I guess."
"Anyway, I'm learning a lot from Moody." With a little bite to her tone, she added, "And he's not about to betray our confidence."
"I never said that," he muttered.
Ava's attention returned to the flying lesson for a moment. James and Sirius were taking turns gently instructing Benedict to fly parallel to the ground, back and forth across the pitch, giving him advice on adjusting his hand or foot placement on the broom.
Glancing back to Remus, she continued, "I'm in fifth year for both Potions and Transfiguration, and Aunt Minerva let me drop Astronomy, thank the Lord. She's still making me take the O.W.L. for History of Magic though, but I don't have to go to the class anymore."
He quirked a brow.
"She's letting me study on my own, so I'm testing out of that as soon as I can. That way, I can focus on the more important classes."
"Don't let Lily hear you talking like that," Remus said with laughter coating his words.
Ava smiled and shook her head. "I know it's necessary to understand history and it's certainly helped me acclimate to the Wizarding World a bit better, but you've got to admit that if I encounter any…unsavory characters, whatever facts about the Goblin Rebellion of 1612 I'm armed with won't help me if someone sends a Crucio my way."
A growl tore out of Remus as his eyes flashed amber. "That better not happen," he ground out around clenched teeth. "I would rip them limb from limb."
She smiled and pat his arm. "I appreciate the sentiment, but I really don't think it's likely to happen anyway. Moody even said my training with him isn't to prepare me for Order missions or anything of the sort."
"And you fully intend to stay far, far away from Death Eaters?" the werewolf asked in a gravelly voice.
"Yes, dear." She barely refrained from rolling her eyes. Depending on how you looked at it, Ava surrounded herself with Death Eaters on a daily basis if you counted Severus, Regulus, Barty, and Rabastan. And Peter. Though, she had a study date planned with all four Marauders the following day, and Peter had seemed friendly enough recently.
The winter wind had just begun to have a chilling bite to it once again, but Remus cast another Warming Charm over the both of them. The Christmas gifts from her friends helped only a smidgen when they were totally exposed to the elements out on the Quidditch pitch. Regardless, Ava tugged down the knitted hat from Benedict a bit more, making sure her ears were completely covered and snuggled further into the maroon scarf from Barty, bunching it up around her neck. Though her hands were tucked into her coat pockets, the gloves from Rabastan added an extra layer of insulation from the frosty air as well.
Her fists clenched at the sight of Benedict speeding across the pitch. He was still only about fifteen or twenty feet from the ground, but he was flying faster and faster, becoming only a blur when he got close enough to zoom in front of Ava and Remus.
Benedict, the little adrenaline junkie, let out a whoop of delight as he sped past.
James and Sirius stayed hovering at one end of the pitch, but Ava could clearly hear their laughter as they beckoned the first-year back over to them.
"I'm really beginning to regret setting up this lesson for him," she muttered. "Next thing I know, they'll have him practicing Wronski Feints and other crazy maneuvers, just begging to be killed in some horrific accident."
Remus chuckled. "I know you're newer to the Wizarding World, love, but you've got to get used to people flying around on broomsticks at some point. You've even done it yourself a few times."
"Yeah, yeah, I know." She shifted on her feet. "It still just makes me nervous. I can't help it." She tracked Benedict's movement as he floated even higher alongside James and Sirius. "He's just so tiny, what if he falls? He could get seriously hurt." Warm magic skittered across her skin at the thought. But there wasn't anything she could do to protect him if something happened on the opposite side of the pitch—or too far up from the ground. An Arresto Momentum might not reach him in time.
"Ava," Remus called softly, tucking his hand into her pocket to grasp at her fingers.
She tore her gaze away from the boys on their brooms to look at him.
"I think you're letting your imagination run away with you. Your concern for Benedict's well-being is admirable and adorable—" he kissed her cheek "—but not wholly necessary. James and Sirius wouldn't let anything bad happen."
Ava released a frustrated breath and leaned into him. "I know, I really do."
The werewolf nuzzled the side of her head, down to the juncture of her neck and shoulder, inhaling deeply. "I know you'll be a great mother one day."
Her stomach fluttered as her cheeks warmed. Ava was positive that her face was flushed beet red.
Remus had the audacity to laugh. "No need to be embarrassed, love. It's a compliment."
She sniffed and lifted her chin, feigning nonchalance. "Obviously."
Whether it was becoming part of the Order or seeing Horcruxes destroyed first-hand, lately Ava had been feeling more optimistic about settling down in this world and stopping the impending war and Voldemort's rise to power. She could actually picture a future with Remus, surrounded by all of her friends, Gryffindor and Slytherin. With the seventh-years' career advisory meetings quickly approaching, Ava could feel life outside of Hogwarts creeping up on her.
"I still want to graduate with everyone," she told Remus, her eyes laser-focused on Benedict as Sirius tossed him a quaffle. Ava knew from experience that controlling your broom with one hand wasn't very easy, but the little Slytherin seemed to be doing alright so far. "Anyway, once I finish up History of Magic, it shouldn't be too long before I catch up to seventh year Defense, Potions, and Transfiguration. I've got plenty of time before N.E.W.T.s."
Doubt leaked through their bond and Ava turned to see Remus giving her a side-eye.
"Don't you think that's rather ambitious, love?" he asked. "Couldn't you take your N.E.W.T.s over the summer? You've been taking your O.W.L.s whenever you've needed to, so why wouldn't the Ministry let you do the same with your N.E.W.T.s?"
Ava pursed her lips. She didn't like the idea of not being a full-fledged witch by the end of the school year. The sooner she graduated, the sooner she could do more to help the Order with dismantling Voldemort's regime. Anxiety was breathing down her neck at the thought of letting Death Eaters run amok more than absolutely necessary, and Ava knew their behavior would only get worse as time went on. Better to stop it before it even really starts.
Remus continued, "But that way, you wouldn't need to spread yourself so thin between classes and everything else you've got going on." He rose his eyebrows as if Ava needed to be reminded of all of her extra-curricular activities.
She rolled her eyes and turned to check on Benedict just as he lunged for the quaffle not too far from where she and Remus were standing.
His hand slipped off the broom handle and he jerked midair, suddenly dropping towards the ground.
Ava sucked in a breath and withdrew her wand as she sprinted towards Benedict, casting a Cushioning Charm on the ground beneath him. Arresto Momentum was on the tip of her tongue as she raised her wand once more, but Benedict managed to get a good grip on his broom and leveled out. Now that Ava had closed the distance between them, she could see his eyes were shot wide and his chest was heaving.
"You okay?" she called out, craning her neck to watch him float around twenty feet above her.
"Ye—yeah," Benedict managed to shout back, voice cracking. He shook himself and cleared his throat. "Yeah, I'm fine. I just slipped."
Ava glared at James and Sirius who had now joined them with a whoosh of their brooms. "Don't you think he was up too high?"
James grimaced. "Maybe a little." His tone was meek.
Her brows furrowed, having expected at least some push back, but Ava resolved to figuring out what was up with James later. She glanced at Sirius, ready to lay into him about putting Benedict at risk. But the Animagus was slowly escorting the first-year back to solid ground, and the younger boy still seemed shook up from the slight fall. She didn't want to frighten him further by yelling out her own worry and anger.
As Ava walked up to them, she could feel James and Remus joining her side. Her magic was upset about Benedict being put in a dangerous situation, though she orchestrated it herself, and rose to the surface of her skin, buzzing in agitation. Ava still thought Sirius deserved a stern talking to and opened her mouth to snipe at him, but snapped it shut as soon as she saw how he was handling the little Slytherin.
The Black heir was crouched down to Benedict's eye-level, gripping the boy's shoulders, gray eyes roving over his face. "Are you hurt?" Sirius asked in a rough voice.
Benedict swallowed. "No—no, sir."
Sirius nodded. "Good. Do you know what you did wrong?"
The younger wizard ducked his head. "Yeah, I reached for the quaffle on my own, and I didn't use the broom to move myself towards it."
"Exactly. You just need more practice, but eventually you'll get more comfortable flying with one hand, and you'll have more experience to know when you're close enough to catch the quaffle and when you've got to maneuver yourself to it," Sirius told him a gentle, but firm tone.
Ava's eyebrows rose. She hadn't expected Sirius, of all people, to have such a calm demeanor and patience with a young kid.
The Animagus clapped a hand against Benedict's shoulder and stood. "I'm glad you're alright, little snake, but let's not make a habit of that, shall we?" He flashed a smile.
Benedict grinned and stood up taller. "Yes, sir. I mean—no, sir. Sorry." He flinched at the words fumbling out of his mouth.
Ava bit her lip to keep from smiling at the Slytherin getting all flustered in front of his Quidditch idols.
Sirius barked out a laugh. "Cut it out with the 'sir' stuff, kid."
He nodded enthusiastically. "Yes, sir—Sirius."
"You were doing pretty well up until that point, by the way," Sirius said.
Benedict bounced on his toes. "You think?"
"Of course, tell him Prongs."
James nodded. "He's right. Since you're just a first-year, and don't have a broom at home, you haven't had too much practice yet, but you did a good job today." He smiled. "Once you get the basics down, I'm sure you'll be racing around the pitch."
Ava gulped, envisioning Benedict falling from the sky. "Let's not get too carried away."
The younger boy spun to her. "But Ava, I have so much more to learn! If I ever want to get as good as these guys—" he gestured to James and Sirius "—I've got to keep practicing!" He gave her the biggest puppy dog eyes she'd ever seen from him and he even pouted his bottom lip a little.
"For crying out loud," she muttered before sighing. Ava ruffled his hair and pulled him in for a one-armed hug. "Fine. But I reserve the right to supervise any and all of these so-called practices."
Benedict squeezed the life out of her. "Yes! Thank you, Ava." He turned back to the Marauders. "Thank you."
"Oi," Sirius piped up. "Who said we'd keep hosting flying lessons?"
Though Benedict may have been faced away from Ava, with the way Sirius's expression morphed from joking to concern to guilt to resignation with a dash of trepidation, she could tell that the Slytherin had inflicted his puppy dog look upon Sirius as well. The Animagus heaved a dramatic sigh. "Fine, I won't speak for James, but I'll commit to two more lessons, but that's it, little snake."
"Awesome!" Benedict shouted before leaping towards Sirius, wrapping him up in a tight hug.
His eyes widened, and he floundered for a moment before patting Benedict's back. "No problem," Sirius said, his features softening as he glanced down at the first-year.
Ava's eyes narrowed, darting back and forth between the Gryffindor and Slytherin.
Remus grasped her hand and whispered, "I don't know what you're planning, love, but with the hope I can feel radiating from you, let me know if there's anything I can do to help."
She squeezed his fingers. "I'll let you know."
Maybe Benedict could melt down the barriers around Sirius enough to let Regulus back in. Ava could recognize that interacting with a friendly, eleven-year-old Slytherin wasn't the same as facing Regulus, raised in the same horrible household, ingrained with the ideology of the Sacred Twenty-Eight since birth, but something had to be done. Regulus didn't even subscribe to those beliefs, but Sirius hadn't had a real conversation with his brother in nearly two years.
Which is fucking ridiculous, Ava thought, knowing how much the two siblings needed and missed each other. If I can get Severus on board as well, it just might work, she mused, watching the Quidditch-crazy wizards animatedly discussing flying techniques.
Short and sweet, I know, but keep an eye out for the next chapter in a couple of weeks ;)