Semper - Fred Weasley

Chapter XXXI

„Ouch.“, she looked around in shock, where a grinning red head who stood behind her had pinched her arm.

„What? You told me to pinch you,“ he laughed and she rolled her eyes.

Sirius slowly approached the bed and Penny made space for him. The twins observed the situation with some distance so as not to disturb the family’s moment.

„Hey.“, Remus whispered and a smile played around his lips as Sirius slowly sat down next to him.

The man with the black curly hair, moved in slow motion without letting Remus out of sight, as if he would wake up at any moment and realizing that everything was just a dream.

„Hey,“ Sirius whispered back, and his voice broke.

Penny bit the inside of her cheek, suppressing the tears that were swelling in her eyes.

Remus slowly stretched out his hand to his soulmate and when Sirius finally took it, he pulled him into his tight embrace.

Sirius buried his face in Remus‘ neck and Remus did the same with Sirius while the two men held each other tightly in their arms.

The fear was immense that the other would vanish into thin air before their eyes.

Because Sirius wouldn’t survive letting his best friend go again.

And that’s why in that embrace laid a promise.

The promise that they would never let go of each other.

Because they are the two who are left, and neither of them would risk burying another friend.

Remus briefly broke away from Sirius’s arms and pulled Penny closer to him.

The three held each other in their arms, while the young woman’s dams broke and her tears soaked Remus' Shirt.

The twins had long left the room, while the family of three lost all sense of time as they enjoyed the moment.

„You are awake. You can speak. Since when?“, Penny stuttered and looked her father in the eye.

Remus chuckled. „I woke up this morning and it just felt different. I could move, but I didn’t realize that I could speak until you came in,“ he smiled at Penny without letting go of their hands.

„That’s incredible,“ she slowly shook her head and a big smile played around her lips.

„We missed you. And you gave us quite the scare.“, Sirius laughed, tears brimming in his eyes.

„I didn’t ask to be poisoned, hung up and cut open,“ he tried to joke, but the attempt went visibly wrong.

All the color drained from Penny’s face and the girl felt her stomach twist.

„I’m sorry, petal. That wasn’t funny. But please don’t blame yourself. You did everything right, I wouldn’t have wanted you to stay. You got to safety and that was the most important thing. Do you hear me? It’s not your fault, no one blames you for what happened. It’s all good, I’m fine, I’m here. And I owe that to you, because you kept your promise and came back. Without you, I wouldn’t be alive anymore. So don’t blame yourself, you hear me? I don’t want that. I love you Penny. And I am so happy to call such a brave and strong young witch my daughter.“

And since that day, the mood in Grimmauld Place had been at its peak, for even though they were still locked up, Remus recovery lifted the spirits.

And in fact, the werewolf in him was dead. The lycanthropy was healed. What nobody had thought was possible had happened. And they would be forever grateful for it.