Sunflowers

Meeting The Marauders

Thia began to venture out more in the weeks following that first weekend. In the company of her godmother, Teddy, Remus, or Kai, she went to the library, the kitchens, and, in the case of the boys, the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff common rooms. But eventually, she grew bored with seeing the same faces and going to the same places. Thia began going out on her own, exploring the halls of Hogwarts and meeting the ghosts and teachers.

She stayed away from most of the students, especially the older boys and girls. Boys and men still scared her, while most girls treated her like an infant, pinching her cheeks and cooing down at her. As you would expect, Thia didn't take too well to people like that.

Often, during these times when she would wander, her godmother was busy brewing potions or taking care of the students. She worried for Thia, scared that she would have a breakdown where Poppy couldn't help, or that one of the students would try something. Her biggest fear, though, was that they would find out about Thia's prosthetics. She already received enough attention with being the youngest person in the castle, not to mention rarely showing her face. Poppy didn't want her to become a thing of gossip.

"Thia, love, it's almost time for dinner!" Poppy called to her goddaughter, who was colouring on the floor beside one of the beds. Thia nodded, picking up her crayons and colouring book. She set them gently on top of the table beside her. As she was pulling her sweater on, three students burst through the door, carrying an unconscious forth. As they set him on the bed, Thia saw that one of the boys was Remus. He looked around, catching sight of her.

"Thia, will you grab Madam Pomfrey, please?" She nodded, running back into the office.

"Aunt Poppy, there's a boy here. Remmy brought him in." Her godmother looked up from the potion she was stirring. Hurriedly, she set down the spoon. Poppy went out to see to the boy as Thia followed close behind.

"What happened?" The matron asked as she rolled up her sleeves. Remus shared looks with the other two boys.

"Err... He fell," offered the smallest one, shaking a bit under Poppy's sceptical gaze. She turned away from the boys, focusing on her patient.

"You three head down to supper. I'll send word when he wakes," she said, "And Mr Lupin, would you be so kind as to take Thia with you, make sure she eats?" Remus nodded, offering his hand to his young friend. They walked with the other boys out the door.

"Thia, remember how I told you about my dorm mates?" Remus asked her, getting a nod in response, "Well, meet Sirius and Peter. The boy we brought in is James."

The wild-haired one, Sirius, grinned down at her. She didn't quite like the way he looked at her, and she moved closer to Remus. Peter gave her a shy smile, one that she didn't like either. Thankfully, they reached the Great Hall. The four of them joined the Gryffindor table, Remus helping Thia up to sit between him and a redheaded girl. 

With the help of Remus, she began putting food on her plate. Thia went to take a bit of cake, but her arm was too short to reach. Determined to get it, she stood on the bench. She lost her balance and fell into the redhead's lap. The older girl grinned down at her.

"Well, hello." She helped Thia sit back down, "I'm Lily. Was this what you wanted?" When Thia nodded, she plopped a large slice down for her.

"Thank you, Lily." Thia gave her a big grin. 

"What's your name?" The younger girl swallowed her bite of cake.

"Helianthia Rae Simmons. My friends call me Thia."

"It's nice to meet you, Helianthia. How old are you? You don't seem old enough to be a first-year."

"Eight," Thia yawned, her eyes fluttering closed as she leaned against Remus. He looked down with a smile, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. Lily caught his eyes and he sent her a grateful look for being so nice to the girl.

"Alright, boys. I should get her back to Madam Pomfrey. I'll see you later." Remus went to stand up when Lily rested a hand on his shoulder.

"I'll take her up, Remus. I'm heading back to the dorms anyway." When Remus nodded, she picked up the girl, balancing her on her hip.

"Hey, Lily? Would you mind seeing how James is doing? He managed to hurt himself earlier," the scarred boy asked. The redhead, although she didn't particularly like the raven-haired boy who managed to hurt himself, found herself nodding. 

"Thanks."

"Madam Pomfrey?" Lily called out softly, Thia still asleep on her shoulder. The matron came rushing out of the office.

"What is it, dear? Is Thia alright?" Poppy anxiously took her goddaughter out of the girl's arms.

"She's fine, she fell asleep at dinner. Remus just wanted me to ask how James Potter was doing."

"Well, thank you for bringing her back up. And you can tell Mister Lupin that his friend will be just fine, but I will be keeping him here until tomorrow night."

"Thank you, Madam Pomfrey. Goodnight."

As Poppy tucked Thia in that night, she thought of little Lily Evans, who was so very like Thia's mother that Poppy had almost had a heart attack when she saw her. From the scarlet curls to the bright green eyes, even the smattering of freckles on the girl's cheeks mimicked the poor eight-year old's mother.

Poppy hummed to herself, an idea forming in her head. But if it were true, it would change much for her little sunflower.