"Why are you being so impatient?" Helena sighed in frustration as she sipped on her tea.
"Because I want to see Remus!"
"You saw him not even two weeks ago."
"I've gotten used to seeing him every day, Mum," Grace rolled her eyes. "I know when September comes, I won't be able to see him again until summer." It was partially the truth. Grace was also nervous about what was going to happen when they got to the house. She had no idea what Remus and her dad were planning, or knew how they were going to tell her mother. She was also growing impatient, she wanted to see her dad. She couldn't quite believe he was safe unless she saw him for herself.
Helena sighed as she finished her tea, and folded up The Daily Prophet. Grace noticed the words on the front page: SIRIUS BLACK SIGHTED IN KENT."Alright, let's go. You won't leave me alone until you see him anyhow," Helena rolled her eyes and Grace grinned.
"Can I go first?!" she asked, bouncing on the balls of her feet impatiently.
"Fine, yes, yes, go on! Tell Remus I'll be there in five minutes! I've got to get a few things for lunch, then I'll be round!"
"OKAY!" Grace bolted to the fireplace, grabbing a handful of green ash, she threw it down. "Blue Cottage!" Blue Cottage was the name of Grace's childhood home, and Remus' current one. It was only named that because when she was four, she had a hard time telling the difference of blue and shades of gray; that and little blue flowers always grew around the house.
"Hello! It's me!" she called as she stepped out of the fireplace. She grinned when she saw her dad poke his head out from the doorway that led to the kitchen. She ran straight to him, and instantly wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug. He laughed softly, returning her embrace and he squeezed. "Hi," she whispered, pulling away from him.
"I told you we'd see each other very soon," he grinned. Grace thought her dad looked different, but she supposed that's what a good night's sleep, and a nice long shower would do to a person. The clothes he wore, she recognized to be Remus', were too big and hung on him, but they were clean.
"Where's Helena?" Remus asked, coming up behind her from upstairs.
"Oh, she said she'll be here in five minutes, she had to grab things for lunch," Grace shrugged before she hugged Remus tightly.
"Sirius," Remus started slowly, giving Sirius a look that made the man roll his eyes. "Don't. I told you that until I've told Helena, you've got to stay upstairs!"
"I'm perfectly fine being hidden here in the kitchen-"
"And what do you think is going to happen when she comes and goes straight to the kitchen thinking she's fixing lunch?" Grace looked at her father, who paused. "Exactly. Now, upstairs, the both of you!"
"But-" both of the Black's protested but Remus gave them both a look and pointed to the stairs.
"Upstairs!" Grace and Sirius rolled their eyes and made their way up stairs. Remus watched them, and when they were out of sight, he let out a long, deep sigh. "One I can deal with, but two? Bloody hell," he shook his head and he pinched his nose. "I don't even want to imagine adding Harry. What did I ever do to deserve this?" he asked himself.
There was the familiar sound of flames, and Remus looked up to see green fire fading. "Hello?" A familiar ginger haired woman stepped out of the fire place, carrying bags of food. "Remus?"
"Helena," he smiled softly as he approached her.
"Oh Remus!" she smiled at him, putting the bags on the chair before wrapping her arms around him tightly. " I'm so sorry," she whispered. Remus smiled sadly as he hugged her back. "I can't believe that slimeball would do – actually I can believe it!" she huffed as she pulled away. Remus couldn't help but chuckle at the fury in her hazel eyes.
"Well, we all know that position is cursed. I never got my hopes up for it lasting," he admitted sadly, as he took the bags and headed to the kitchen.
"But surely Dumbledore could've fought a little harder with keeping you?" Helena suggested as she followed him. "I mean, you're more than qualified for the position, and with Sirius still on the loose, you're the only person who would know how to protect Harry and Gracia from him-"
"Helena," Remus cut her off softly as he placed the bags on the counter. "I need to talk to you... about what happened at Hogwarts this year-"
"Don't tell me Gracia got into trouble!" she groaned, rolling her eyes. "I tell her, every year, that she needs to stay out of trouble and yet every year I hear she does the opposite! First it's trolls, then she is breaking school rules over a blasted stone, and don't even get me started on the damned chamber of secrets!" Grace, who was sitting at the top of the stairs listening, grimaced. Sirius, on the other hand, who's heart was soaring at the sound of his wifes (well, ex-wife) voice, frowned when he noticed Grace's grimace. "What's next? Are you going to tell me that she snuck out to go to Hogsmeade when Ideliberatelytold her she couldn't go?" Grace grimaced again, her shoulders hunching up. "Or did she fail something? I told her she needed to focus on school work and not that silly choir!" Grace clenched her eyes shut and balled her hands into fists.
"Grace isn't in trouble," Remus told her calmly. "She actually received top marks in all of her classes, Helena, all while being a part of the Frog Choir-"
"But I told her not to join it!"
"Do you even hear yourself!" Remus sighed. "Do you not know how talented she is! Flitwick himself asked her to audition! He only hadthreespots this year but loved Grace so much he made room for her!" Grace's eyes widened at the news.
"I don't care, Remus!" Helena sighed. Grace's posture slumped as she leaned against the wall on the top step. Sirius frowned as he listened. How could she not care about what their daughter was good at? Or what she was passionate about? "I want her to focus on school, not these little hobbies that won't do anything for her-"
"Do you hear yourself!?" Remus repeated, sounding angry. "For one second stop and think about Grace and what she wants! She's so talented, and smart! And next year I'm sure that she'll get on the Quidditch team because she loves to fly and she loves the game! If you would just let her do what she likes-"
"Don't tell me how to raise my daughter Remus! She's my daughter, not yours!" Helena snapped.
Then awkward silence fell over the house. Grace wrapped her arms around her middle as she rested her head on the wall, staring sadly at the bottom of the stairs. Sirius looked at his daughter, then looked around him. All over the walls were photos of her as she grew up. Photos of her in little dresses, photos of her on the sofa with Remus. There was a photo of her sitting at the piano, next to Remus, and one of Remus helping her fly on a childrens broom, she looked to be about three. He felt tears sting his eyes as he looked at them all. Every one of them were moments that he should've been a part of, that he should've been in those photos... but he wasn't. Remus was. Remus was the closest thing to a father that Grace knew, and while there was a part of Sirius that felt bitter about it, he was also grateful.
Sirius sighed as he took a seat next to Grace on the top step, and wrapped an arm around her. She sniffled quietly and moved to rest her head on his shoulder. He wondered, at what point did Helena become like this? He knew she was hesitant on becoming a mother, and Grace was an accident, a happy accident. They weren't expecting to have children that early in their marriage, but when they found out she was pregnant, Sirius was over joyed. Now, hearing her talk down about their daughter, he wondered what happened to Helena to make her that way.
"I'm sorry," Helena sighed. "I can't keep throwing that in your face, and it's not fair of me to do that! You've been there for Gracia her whole life and I know you love her as if she were your daughter-"
"Helena," Remus cut her off softly. "This isn't what I wanted to talk to you about," he confessed.
"Where's Gracia?" Helena asked, now realizing she didn't see the girl when she arrived.
"She's upstairs," Remus answered nonchalantly. "Helena, stop, put that down, please," he sighed. "I really need to speak to you-"
"Can't you tell me while I make lunch?"
"No, I can't," he said, and then there was a silent moment.
"Remus, what is it?" Helena asked nervously.
"Do you trust me?"
"...Of course I do, Remus, you know I do more than anyone."
"And you know that I wouldn't lie to you?"
"Of course... Remus, what is it?"
"Pettigrew's alive," Remus carefully confessed.
Clatter.
"No he's not."
Grace sighed, closing her eyes. She knew her mother wouldn't believe Remus.
"Yes he is, Helena-"
"I saw what they had left of him, Remus!"
"He cut off his finger-"
"He's dead! We both know he's dead!"
"Helena, listen to me! Please!" there was a pause and Grace held her breath. "I believed he was dead too until I saw his name on the Map."
"Map? What Map?" Helena asked, and then she gasped. "You don't mean The Map ,the one that you boys made when we were in school!" there was another pause. "No."
"Yes, I saw his name, Helena-"
"A ghost-"
"Don't you think Grace would've told you by now if there was a ghost at Hogwarts who knew her parents?" Remus asked, and Grace nodded in agreement. "I swear to you, I saw his name on the map and I saw him." There was more silence. "He cut off his finger and transformed into his Animagus form."
"But – but why? What was the point of doing that? Why hide for thirteen years?"
"Helena... Peter was the secret keeper," Remus confessed gently. Sirius' grip on Grace's shoulder tightened and she reached up and rested her hand over his.
"No he wasn't," Helena said, her voice dripping in disbelief. "You and I both know that James wouldn't have wanted anyone but Sirius to be his secret keeper-"
"I thought so too!" Remus interrupted. "But Sirius told James to make it Peter instead, they switched and never told any of us."
"No," Grace didn't need to see her mother to know she was shaking her head in disbelief. "No, because Sirius would've told me that James and Lily switched secret keepers."
"Helena... I didn't even know."
"He would've told me, Remus!" Helena's voice seemed desperate as if she was clinging onto the truth she's believed for thirteen years, not wanting to believe anything else could be true. "He wouldn't have James change-"
"He was scared, Helena," Remus cut her off again. "He was scared that Voldemort would try to use him for information, that Voldemort would try to use you or Grace to get him to tell where James and Lily were! ... He couldn't take that chance, so he told James and Lily to make Peter the secret keeper instead."
"But – but those muggles –"
"Peter killed them, made the blast, cut off his own finger and turned into a rat."
"But when they caught Sirius he was laughing-"
"Wouldn't you?" Remus asked. "Wouldn't you be in hysterics after watching someone you thought was your friend, someone you trusted, blow up a block and cut off a finger to keep from getting caught? Peter fooled us all, Helena."
"So... So Si-Sirius is –"
"Innocent, yes."
Sirius stood up, and Grace stared up at him. He held his finger to his lips, silently telling her to keep quiet, then started to make his way down the stairs. Grace stood up, and quietly followed him.
"This whole time?" Helena asked in disbelief. "This whole time, he – he's been innocent?"
Grace paused as she watched Sirius take the final step, and grip the banister. "Yes," Remus replied.
"Oh my God," she heard her mother gasp, her voice cracking. "I – I just believed them... they – they showed me auror's memories of that night and... and I just believed them! What kind of – of wife would do that-"
"Helena..." Sirius spoke softly. Grace held her breath as she watched from the stairs. She could see her fathers grip on the banister tighten, his knuckles turning white.
"Si-Sirius...?" Grace frowned, she had never heard her mother's voice sound so... so broken before. She watched Sirius let go of the banister, and took a step toward them, and then he was out of Grace's sight. "What – what are you doing... were you –" Grace grimaced, bracing herself for her mother's blow up. "Remus... you had no right!" Her mother snapped.
"Helena – " Remus started.
"NO! You had no right bringing him here and asking for Gracia and I to come over!"
"Helena, Please-"
"I haven't told her!" Helena's voice cracked. "She – she doesn't know! You had no right bringing him here when I haven't had the chance to even tell her-"
"And whose fault is that!" Remus snapped. Grace jumped at the volume of his voice, and she gripped the banister tightly. "I told you to tell her!" She shook her head as she continued her way down the stairs. She turned to the lounge, to see her mother's back to her, Remus was looking away from her mother in frustration, but she could see her father. His eyes shifted from her mother to her.
"You had no right to do this, Remus! What would've happened if she saw him and freaked-"
"I already know!" Grace spoke up. Helena whipped around and stared at her with wide eyes.
"What?" Helena whispered.
"I already know... everything," Grace confessed with a shrug.
"How – how long have you known?"
"I started questioning when I saw dad's picture in The Daily Prophet," she answered. "I – I knew for sure just before Christmas..." Helena stared at her in shock.
"How?" her mother asked.
"Yes, how did you find out?" Remus asked, frowning. "You never told me-"
"You knew!" Helena shouted, turning to Remus angrily. He grimaced and nodded. "You knew she found out and you didn't tell me!"
"There hasn't been a good time-"
"Not a good time to tell me that my daughter knows who her father is-"
"Maybe-" Sirius interrupted, "and this is just a thought, I might be wrong here, but shouldn't we learn the how from the source?" he asked, gesturing to Grace, who was standing there, playing with the hem of her shirt. "Please, love, enlighten them how you found out."
"Do you know how she found out?" Remus asked, and Sirius shrugged.
"I have an idea."
"How do you know how she found out?"
"I... well, I was my daughters confidant for quite a while," Sirius shrugged.
"Is that where she disappeared to?" Remus asked, and Sirius nodded.
"Disappeared?!"
"Can we stop talking about Grace as if Grace isn't here?" Grace spoke up.
"Yes, love, go right on ahead," Sirius smiled, then when he noticed Helena's and Remus' matching looks, it faltered slightly. "What?"
"How did you find out?" Helena asked, ignoring Sirius and turning to her.
"Well... er..." Grace paused, now realizing that she's going to have to confess that she and Harry snuck out of school to go to Hogsmeade. "Well, Harry and I found out because we, er, snuck out to Hogsmeade..." she confessed, wincing.
"WHAT?!" Helena and Remus both exclaimed.
"Do you have any idea how foolish that was! Especially with all the dementors! Did you two want to be caught by them again-"
"Again?!" Helena and Sirius both exclaimed, turning to Remus.
"We used the one-eyed witch passage way," Grace spoke up. Sirius and Remus' eyes widened in surprise, and Sirius began grinning.
"How did you find out-...the Map," Remus shook his head, chuckling.
"That's my girl," Sirius grinned proudly, and Grace couldn't help but smile. "Knew she'd be a little Marauderette-"
"No,no! Don't go putting ideas in her head!" Helena shook her head, but Sirius was grinning.
A/N: Welp... so Helena knows the truth :) there's that...
I was stuck between showing Remus tell Helena... and Grace just listening to it, and I've been back and forth on it for a while and debating if I should go back and re-write this chapter... However, I'm happy with how the chapter turned out. I think Grace sitting there and over hearing the conversation with Sirius, who is taking in everything around him while also listening, is more organic. It's also a bit of foreshadowing of what's to come too :) So...
So this chapter, the next will be centered around the four of them, and most of ch. 43 too, Harry and Grace won't be reunited until the end of ch. 43... but buckle up folks, it's now gonna start becoming a wild wide :)
Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed! :)