Ethereal ✭Fred Weasley✭

63.

Remus sat at his dining table in the middle of the kitchen hunched over the photograph in front of him. His head was supported by his fists as his hair hung limply in front of his face, unwashed and graying faster than usual. The photograph replayed the scene of Hermione Granger, Parvarti Patil and Sophia Lupin smiling graciously before bursting out into laughter when Sophia sneezed silently in their Ball dresses. It was one of the only photographs that he had of his Daughter, the others being the one he sent into the Daily Prophet for them to use for her Missing segment and the ones Molly Weasley had that had been taken at Christmas at Grimmauld Place. He could never afford a camera so this was the only physical evidence he had of Sophia's existence.

The rickety old house sat silent around Remus, almost like it knew someone else should be there that wasn't. He had been trying to convince himself that Sophia was just away at school, but that little voice in the back of his head prevented him from staying in that fantasy. Tonks had been around frequently, giving him the smallest sense of comfort in his time of grief. She was understanding and knew when he needed to have some space. He had found himself liking Nymphadora regardless of the fact that she was quite a bit younger than him.

A small tap brought his attention from the moving picture up to the window, seeing a familiar brown owl that held a letter in its beak. The chair he sat in scraped backwards as he stood up and opened the window to the only owl he's ever really had. Taking the envelope from its clutches, the owl hopped down on to the kitchen counter and began to nibble at the small crumbs that were left from past meals that Remus hadn't bothered to clear. He sat back down at the kitchen table and read over the front of the envelope, his heart tweaking in the slightest at the name.

Miss S Lupin
The rickety house on the hill
Brighton
England

He flipped over the letter to see the official Hogwarts red seal keeping the envelope closed. Remus cracked the wax and pulled out the letter and immediately saw the title 'Ordinary Wizarding Levels' followed by Sophia's classes and grades from last year. He read over the entire letter, his mind in between the state of sorrow as well as pride.

Transfiguration: Exceeds Expectations
Potions: Exceeds Expectations
History of Magic: Outstanding
Herbology: Exceeds Expectations
Care for Magical Creatures: Outstanding
Astronomy: Outstanding
Charms: Outstanding
Arithmancy: Outstanding
Defence Against the Dark Arts: Outstanding
Divination: Exceeds Expectations

Her O.W.L results were amazing. He couldn't have really asked for better. Not that he ever would ask her to do better as everything she did was always to the best of her ability. The classes that she would need for her N.E.W.T's all corresponded to her career choice of Astronomy, meaning she would basically be on the path to be a fully fledged Astronomer. But that fact that he was the one reading her results made him remember the current situation and leave the letter to fall next to the photograph that continued to move on the table.

And for the first time since Hazel died, Remus cried alone in his kitchen.

At The Burrow, Molly stood at the sink in her chaotic kitchen washing the dishes by hand. Usually, she would just flick her wand and have the magic wash her pots, pans, plates and cups. But for some reason, Molly felt motivated and inspired to wash her own dishes tonight. She didn't know why, but she found herself enjoying the feeling of getting those stains out of the pans with her own hands and achievements. The sink was placed under the window that looked out into the field that surrounded The Burrow, allowing her to gaze out into the night that had the slightest of breeze to it that made the long grass sway.

The woman was scrubbing at a stain that was on one of her white plates, glancing up instinctively out the window and out onto the front of the house. As much as you can see at one fleeting glance, the fields seemed normal against the background of the starry night. But when she looked back down at the sink, she suddenly realised that something unusual was disturbing the long grass. Molly shot her head back up and looked out the window, to see a portion of the grass being disturbed and parted to make way for a small figure. Whoever it was, it mustn't be someone threatening as the enchantments that surrounded The Burrow only let specific people through the fields. The Order had decided to put these enchantments up once Grimmauld Place was deemed unsafe for meetings since Sirius's death.