Disclaimer: I don't own HP, only Evan and Iris.

People have mentioned how Lily would be a bit creepy in Chap 8 if you didn't know the truth. I agree. But we know the truth and Aludra was too tired to remember that part, so *shrugs*. It's kind of irrelevant, anyway. Just wanted to show that Lily really does regret what happened and want to connect with Aludra.

Read, enjoy and review!

8-2-2024

Chapter Nine

The Yule Holidays

Soft whispers brought Aludra back to consciousness the second time around. She forced her eyes open, wincing at the bright white of the Hospital Wing, and saw she was surrounded by her father, Neville, Susan and Cedric. They all looked horrible, pale with dark circles beneath their eyes. Sirius looked especially discomposed, his hair and robes askew. He was gripping Aludra's hand for dear life, as if it was his only anchor in the midst of a stormy ocean.

"Daddy," she croaked out, drawing their attention immediately.

"Oh, Ally, you're awake!" Susan exclaimed, looking near to tears.

"My girl, my precious little star," her father said in relief, leaning down and hugging her desperately.

"Daddy, I'm so sor-" she began, feeling tears of guilt sting her eyes.

"Now, now, none of that," he said sternly as he released the embrace and settled back in his chair, still holding her hand. "This wasn't your fault in any way, alright? No blaming yourself for it. Remus will start Patronus lessons with you and Evan as soon as he's back on his feet, and there's going to be a rotation of Aurors dedicated to keeping the dementors under control, especially when students are on the grounds. This won't happen again, I promise you."

Aludra frowned. "Why can't they just get rid of the dementors already?" She said frustratedly. "It's not as if they stopped Pettigrew getting in on Halloween, after all. Or breaking out in the first place, for that matter. Why not just have Aurors patrol the castle?"

Sirius huffed, looking annoyed. "Believe me, Ally, the Black Alliance has been having that argument since Fudge came up with this ridiculous idea, but he 'needs to be seen doing something', so he's being stubborn. One more incident, though, and they'll be removed."

Aludra nodded, then decided to change the subject, turning to her anxious friends. "Did Gryffindor lose the match then?" She asked. She dimly remembered her grandfather saying that the first time she woke up.

Cedric looked down guiltily. "I'm so sorry, Ally," he apologized. "I caught the Snitch and turned to see you falling into the dementors that were swarming around Evan. I managed to catch you, but you were so still and pale that I thought-" he cut himself off with a grimace and a shudder. "I tried to get Madam Hooch to agree to a rematch, but she refused."

"You won, fair and square," Aludra assured him. "I'm a bit disappointed, yes, but I'm not upset with you. Something like Quidditch isn't going to stop you from being my older brother, no matter what Oliver says."

He slumped in relief. "You still have a shot at the Cup, anyways," he said encouragingly.

"We do," Aludra agreed with a small, tired smile. "How's Evan, by the way? And what day is it, for that matter?"

"It's Tuesday afternoon," Neville replied. "Classes finished half-an-hour ago. Evan's fine but, well when he fell, his broom ended up getting trapped in the Whomping Willow."

Aludra winced. "How bad is it?"

"Bad," Susan said succinctly. "As in, barely recognizable as a broom bad. Lord and Lady Potter have promised him a new broom for Yule, but he's still pretty upset."

"I think he's more upset about you than the Nimbus, though," Neville said. "He's been spending as much time as Madam Pomfrey will allow in here with you. She practically had to hex him into leaving."

"Alright kids, that's enough for today," Aludra's father spoke up. "Dinner will be served soon, and Aludra needs to be looked over by Madam Pomfrey."

Reluctantly, the boys and Susan said goodbye and left. As soon as they were gone, Sirius pulled Aludra into another hug. She felt a bit of dampness in her hair and guilt twisted her insides. She'd been unconscious since Saturday. Almost four full days. It was the third time in three years that she'd ended up in a coma of varying severity. Her poor father. "I really am sorry, Daddy," she whispered.

"It's not your fault, little star," he answered thickly. "Just, please. Try to be more careful? I wouldn't survive losing you. You're everything to me."

"I'll try," she vowed.

He sat back, eyes slightly red, and gave her a strained smile, fixing a loose strand of her hair. Aludra smiled back, but it swiftly faded as she remembered what the dementors had made her hear.

"Dad," she began tentatively, making him straighten and give her a concerned look.

"Yes, Ally?"

"Has anyone ever, accused you of killing their child?" She asked. He lost the colour in his cheeks, looking like he'd just been hexed.

"Ally, who said-?" He began, voice shaking.

"Nobody," Aludra said hastily. "I just-when I'm near the dementors, I remember overhearing an argument between you and a man I don't recognize. He's saying that you killed his daughter."

Sirius looked away briefly, running a hand over his jaw, before turning back to her. The look in his eyes was as haunted as when he talked about the War. "Aludra, I've always been honest with you, even when everyone else disagreed with me. I don't want to start lying now so I'm going to ask you to please drop it. I will tell you eventually, but not yet. Deal?"

"Deal," Aludra agreed. She squeezed his fingers softly. "I love you, Daddy."

"I love you too, my precious little star. More than anything."

It was a relief to return to the noise and bustle of the main school on Thursday, where she was forced to think about other things than the image of her father dying and the mysterious accusation against him (one she had no doubt was false, without question), even if she had to endure Malfoy's taunting. Malfoy was almost beside himself with glee at Gryffindor's defeat. He was constantly doing spirited imitations of Evan falling off his broom (he didn't dare make fun of Aludra, of course). Malfoy spent much of their next Potions class doing dementor imitations across the dungeon whenever Professor Slughorn's back was turned; Ron finally cracked and flung a large, slippery crocodile heart at Malfoy, which hit him in the face and caused Slughorn to take twenty points from Gryffindor. He took another twenty from Slytherin when Aludra informed him of why Ron had snapped, causing all the Slytherins to give venomous looks to their Housemate, who finally stopped.

He continued it in the halls though.

Aludra was impressed at the way Evan ignored the Slytherin's petty mockery, instead pouring all his energy and free time into studying the Patronus Charm.

"If the Minister insists on keeping those things around, then I'm going to be ready for them next time!" He proclaimed determinedly as he poured over the book on advanced defensive magic he had borrowed from Aludra.

Remus had returned to lessons looking tired but happy to be back, and he launched right into the lesson as soon as the classroom door shut behind Seamus and Dean, the last two to enter. Aludra knew he was trying to distract the students from asking awkward questions about his absence. He held her and Evan after class.

"I heard what happened at the game," he told them gently. "How are you two feeling?"

"I'm alright," Aludra promised. "And Healer Blishwick is coming for an appointment on Sunday. Daddy insisted."

"As he should have," Remus replied calmly. "What about you, Evan?"

He looked down at the floor. "I can make out what Grandma is saying, now," he said shakily. "She begged Voldemort to kill her, not us. And Aimee...I just can't stop hearing her cry out for me." He looked up quickly. "Please, can we start the Patronus lessons soon? If I keep hearing this, I'll go mad!"

"Of course, Evan," Remus said sympathetically. "That's the main thing I wanted to speak with you two about. We can have our first lesson on Saturday evening, if that suits you both? I know the weekends are a bit inconvenient but-"

"That's fine with me," they both cut him off, speaking in unison. They glanced at one another in surprise, then turned back to Remus, who briefly had a strange expression on his face before he replaced it with his usual gentle smile.

"Then Saturday after dinner it shall be. Bring some sweets, preferably chocolate, with you. You'll be expending a lot of energy trying to cast this spell."

"Yes Remus," they agreed, again surprising themselves by speaking together, before rushing off to their next class.

They practiced the Patronus Charm every Saturday evening in Remus' office, using a Boggart to project a dementor, the shape of Evan's worst fear. Aludra quickly realized that no amount of study could help her with this spell. It worked on power and the strength of the memory chosen. Unfortunately, none of the memories she tried produced more than a wisp of silver smoke. Evan was stuck on the same broom, only managing to produce some faint mist.

Snow arrived two weeks before term break, and with a Hogsmeade weekend. Aludra spent the trip in Remus' office, getting his help with her Arithmancy project (Arithmancy was assessed by a project worth 45 percent, and an exam worth 55 percent, and the project was due at the end of January). She was interested in Arithmancy, and the way it helped create new spells, but it was very complicated. Probably her weakest subject, except Herbology.

Evan and Iris arrived a few minutes late for their tea, and passed the time whispering to each other as they flicked through Which Broomstick, looking for something to replace Evan's destroyed Nimbus. Aludra was mildly suspicious, but mostly distracted by her project.

Two days later, they took the Express back to London, where Sirius was waiting to collect her. Aludra flung herself into his arms, eager for a peaceful Yule with no thoughts of insane Death Eaters or Voldemort.

Aludra woke up late the morning of December 22nd. They'd had the annual Ministry Yule Ball the night before and this time her father had let them stay late. Partially because she was thirteen now, and partially because they both needed a distraction from the thought of Remus suffering through a transformation alone. It didn't happen often, as Sirius typically Flooed to Hogwarts and hung out with Remus in his office while in Padfoot-form, but the Ball was too important to miss. It would be a big insult for the Chief Auror and Head of the Black Alliance to skip the event.

As usual, the Potters failed to attend.

Aludra had spent the night dancing and networking, and she sent a prayer of thanks to Hecate for Cushioning Charms, otherwise her feet would've been in agony from the stilettos gifted to her by her Aunt Meda during the summer. She was relieved to get home at one-thirty-five in the morning, collapsing in bed still fully clothed with make up on. When she woke up, though, she was dressed in her nightgown and her face clean. Her father must have changed her while she was asleep, she deduced.

She checked the time, surprised to see it was eleven-thirty, and dragged herself out of bed, tugging on a dressing gown and slippers before trudging downstairs, where her father and uncle were speaking quietly over mugs of tea. Aludra hugged her father and kissed Remus' cheek, eyeing him discreetly to see how he was doing. He looked worn and sore, but no worse than usual after a full moon.

"Merry Yule, Daddy, Uncle," she greeted them.

"Merry Yule, sweetheart," her father replied, raising his mug in salute. "We're going over to the Tonks' for dinner at two, alright? You can have breakfast and we'll do gifts before then."

"Okay," Aludra agreed. She ate a small portion of the English Breakfast prepared by Millie, before they made their way into the main living room for presents, Aludra pretending not to notice Remus' laboured breathing or the way he subtly leaned against the wall for support. She knew from experience that her uncle would only be embarrassed if she offered to help.

They gathered around the fireplace, and Sirius dispersed the presents to their respective owners with a flick of his wand.

Aludra glanced curiously at the long thin case that was her father's gift, but saved it for last on his request. She received a hairband that changed colours to match the wearer's clothes from Susan, some new sheet music for her violin from Neville, rain-repelling Seeker's goggles from Evan, some homemade fudge from Ron, new gloves from Cedric, a pretty charm bracelet with a (admittedly limited, it could only hold about fifty books' worth of stuff) storage feature in the trunk-shaped charm from Remus, ruby and gold stud-earrings with protective charms on them from her grandmother that had once belonged to Isobel McGonagall née Ross and her grandfather's old Ancient Runes and Arithmancy textbooks, complete with his annotations.

The best, and most surprising gift, came from her father.

Her jaw dropped in a very unladylike fashion when she opened the ashwood case to reveal, "A Firebolt? No way!" She gasped. She must have lost her mind. No way would Sirius Black spend that much on a broomstick, especially when hers was only two years old and still perfectly serviceable. "Daddy, there was no need-"

"Yes there was," Sirius cut her off firmly. "This broom will be much safer, given those death-defying stunts you insist on preforming. It has charms on it that will keep you from crashing. Besides, it was only fair. I paid for half of a Firebolt for Evan and James paid the rest. If I was helping my godson get a Firebolt, it was only fair I bought you one too."

Aludra flung her arms around his neck. "Thank you, Daddy!" She exclaimed. "This is brilliant! Oh, can I try it now?"

"No, we need to get dressed for the Tonks, but you can try it out when we get home if it's not too dark," he compromised.

She sighed a put-upon sigh but reluctantly packed up her presents and hurried upstairs to get changed into a suitable pair of dress robes for dinner with her cousin's family.

Evan came by that evening, looking nervous, asking to speak to Sirius alone. Although someone who didn't know him would think him completely composed, Aludra recognized the subtle signs of nerves around her father's eyes as he took Evan into the kitchen and cast a silencing ward.

Aludra left them to it, instead focusing on playing Exploding Snap with Remus in the living room. Hopefully this would help deepen the connection between Evan and Sirius. Lady Magic knew that her friend needed it. He wasn't like Aludra, blessed with a dozen adults who were willing to trust her and talk to her about whatever was bothering her. Aludra had her father, Remus, the Tonks, the Longbottoms, and four grandparents, (almost) all of whom believed that 'knowledge is power' and 'forewarned is forearmed'. Evan had his parents, but they were constantly trying to 'protect' him from the truth, not seeming to understand that all they were accomplishing was making him distrust them.

Looking at the Potter family made Aludra all the more grateful she had her big, dysfunctional, sensible family. She'd go mad if she had the Potters as parents.