Come Back to Me (Don't Save Me Book 3)

Chapter 58: Friends

"Woah," Sirius whispered. "How did you do that?"

"Do what?" I asked, nonchalantly.

"That!" His hand gestured to my face and I chuckled, suddenly realizing what he meant.

"Ah, uh..." The room grew silent as they waited for me to answer. "It's something I taught myself a while back... I wish I would've learned it when I was at Hogwarts but it's a useful skill to have when the ministry is constantly watching you and sometimes you have to shut it off."

"Oh, Y/n," Remus whispered, sadness filling his eyes.

I looked around the room, noticing how they were all staring at me like a wounded puppy. I chuckled softly, trying to break the strange silence that had formed in the hallway.

"Why are you all looking at me like that?" I asked and Remus was the first to speak.

"You shouldn't have to 'shut it off.' You should be able to cry without worrying who's standing around watching you."

"Rem, it's fine. Sometimes you need to cry but then life moves on and you have to turn it off."

"No, love. You shouldn't have to feel that way," he soothed.

I sighed. "Rem, I love you but I can't have this conversation right now. Arthur called me here for a reason. I have to deal with that and then I have to figure out what the hell I'm going to do about my father. There isn't time for me to break down." I began walking away but Remus pulled me back to him, wrapping his arms around me.

"Y/n, I love you but you are so bloody stubborn sometimes." Laughter filled the hallway as I allowed him to hug me. "You're always allowed to cry here, young lady. No bottling things up on my watch."

"That's ironic, coming from you, Moony."

"Oi!" he chuckled.

"Well, it's true!" I laughed.

"Come on. Let's go to the kitchen, mom," he said, pulling me with him.

"Yes, my son."

Molly, Arthur, and Sirius laughed as they made their way into the kitchen. At that moment we heard the kids come rushing down the stairs.

"We thought we heard Y/n! Is she here?" Hermione asked as the others looked around.

"She's in here." Arthur laughed as he stepped to the side. All of the Weasley children, followed by Harry and Hermione, ran into the kitchen, surrounding me in hugs.

"We thought you wouldn't be here until later!" Harry exclaimed.

"Thought I'd come see my favorite kids," I chuckled as Remus gave me another sad look. He walked up behind me, placing a hand on my back.

"Y/n is going to be staying with us for a while," he said, plastering on a smile. I was grateful to him for his ability to focus on the positives.

It was as if someone had told these children that their favorite celebrity was coming to stay. Their faces lit up as they hugged me once again, nearly knocking me over in the process.

"What made you decide to stay here?" Harry asked. "I thought you were living with Snape."

There it is. You could feel the immediate switch in the atmosphere as Harry had asked this question. He looked around, noticing how the adult's eyes were on me.

"What? Did I say something wrong?" Harry asked. "I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean-."

"Harry, it's quite alright." I sighed before continuing. "Unfortunately someone let slip the location of my whereabouts to my father. Severus helped me pack a bag and I had to leave quickly. We didn't use magic for fear that my father would be able to sense the use of a packing spell left in the house. He always had a sense for knowing when a spell was used and it could get Severus killed if my father believes he hid me."