Lollipops ↬ Sirius Black

Lollipops - Chapter 43

Glancing at the letter in her hand, she said in the form of a question, "Lemon drops?"

She was instantly granted access. She walked in, and when she reached his office, she apprehensively knocked on the door.

Within seconds, she heard the familiar voice of Professor Dumbledore, "Come in."

With a deep breath, she lightly twisted the door handle and walked into the room. Professor Dumbledore was calmly seated at his desk, and in front of him was another man, but Naomi couldn't see who he was, as his back was facing her. The only thing she could see was his head of dark brown, slowly greying hair, but other than that, the man was unidentifiable.

"Professor?" Naomi uneasily asked, wearily glancing at the man whose face she couldn't see.

She wondered why the man was even there, but when he slowly stood up from his chair and turned around, it was like time stopped.

His identical bright blue eyes, his days-old stubble, his dark brown hair; it was Rodrigo Serdeys, in front of Naomi.

She gasped, her mouth dropping wide open as she stuttered, "D-Dad?"

"Ms. Serdeys, your father received a letter that you sent him, and he wanted to see you. I'll leave you be," Professor Dumbledore said respectfully, giving Naomi a knowing look before he left the room.

"I—W—What are you doing here?" She stuttered incredulously when she heard the door close, completely taken aback and surprised.

"I got the letter you sent me," he said in a croaky voice, taking a step closer to her. "I had to see you one last time before you..."

That was when Naomi realized; her father still wasn't aware that she had gotten cured; he was still under the impression that she was going to die within the next few weeks. But, she stayed quiet, not telling him anything just yet.

"Naomi," her father began. "I know that you must hate me, and I've neglected you when you needed me the most, but—"

"Stop," Naomi commanded in a firm voice. "You're right, you were never there for me when I needed you. When mom died, you shut everyone off, and you stopped caring for me. And when I was diagnosed with cancer, you weren't there to give me hope; to help me."

Her father gave her a weary look. "I know—"

"But," Naomi continued as though she weren't interrupted, "that doesn't mean I hate you. You've been a terrible father, but you're still my father; I could never hate you, even if I tried," she admitted exasperatedly.

Her father looked at her with surprise. He said, "You have to understand, when your mom died, I felt like I had lost my entire heart; you and her made up my entire world. So when you were diagnosed with cancer and expected to die, it had felt like you were already gone. I was weak; I couldn't handle the pain of losing you two."

Naomi frowned thoughtfully. "I don't think that what you did can be justified," she carefully said in a slow voice. "It'll take me some time to fully forgive you,"

He frowned sadly.

"But," she continued. "I have all the time in the world; my cancer's gone. I was cured three days ago."