jemina // sirius black

nine

They had made their own little family. Jemina and Remus had built something, and all I wanted to do was shrink back into my shack and let them have it. 

I wanted to be apart of their lives, but they didn't need me. 

How could I ruin something that made Jemina happy like that? I never thought she would smile that widely after James and Lily died. The last thing I expected was for her to be so openly joyous. 

She was always the kind of person to beat herself up for surviving. The guilt that she felt for simply surviving had always been her biggest source of pain. When her parents died, I could see the way that she would immediately deflate when she realized she was laughing. Every time that she realized she was enjoying herself, while they were dead, she would withdraw. She'd act like she was fine, but I saw the look in her eyes. 

Jemina didn't think she deserved to be alive if her family wasn't. 

To see her so happy, and to see her deflate just once in the many hours that they were in Hogsmeade, it brought nothing but joy. 

But I knew that it wasn't me making her happy. 

The Dementors came to a Quidditch match and wreaked havoc on the crowd. I knew that gathering a bunch of excited, happy, children in one space was likely going to be disastrous, given Dementors feed on that stuff. When the game started, I knew that they were going to come to the Pitch. 

I knew it was safe for me to watch from the forest, they would be too distracted by the happiness in the Pitch to notice me if I wasn't in my animagus form, let alone as a wolfdog. 

Esme seemed intensely focused, and as she and the other two chasers zipped across the Pitch, Harry floated around the area, his eyes following them when they weren't darting around. I knew he was searching for the Snitch, but the rain was making it quite difficult to see well. 

After about thirty minutes, Harry seemed to have caught a glimpse of the Snitch, as he started zipping around the pitch like he was a hummingbird. As he flew around, chasing the Snitch, I could see Jemina's eyes watching him like a hawk. I wondered how many times he had gotten hurt playing Quidditch. 

Harry started ascending, straight up into the air, and as he disappeared through the clouds, I could see, even from the forest line, the fear in Jemina's eyes. 

That fear was validated when the entire world felt as though it had dropped twenty degrees. 

Dementors finally came to suck the happiness out of the event. 

Jemina seemed to notice first, and when she did, she immediately turned to Remus. They spoke hurriedly, and Remus seemed to become just as worried as Jemina was, but his worry seemed to be directed at her. 

Before long, a handful of Dementors came below the cloud line. I could see the way the Professors seemed to look at one another, each of them seeing who would make the Dementors go away. Half of the Professors looked to Albus, half of them looked to Remus, but both of them were watching Jemina. 

I realized why when one came close to the stands where she sat and seemed to target her. 

She tried to sit with her shoulders squared, but before long she was swaying in her seat, and then, she wasn't in her seat anymore. The moment she passed out, Remus ducked down to her, shouting something at Albus. 

Why did they let that happen? 

Then, a body fell through the sky. 

I didn't get to see the end of the match, or who had fallen from the sky, as two Dementors started wandering too close to me for comfort. I was forced to take off deeper into the forest, nothing but confusion and concern running through my veins. 

It wasn't until almost Christmas that I learned the little one's name. 

Jemina, Esme, Aubrey, and the little girl had been back in Hogsmeade. They seemed to be doing Christmas shopping, as every time Esme went into a store before Aubrey could, she groaned in frustration and would go into a different shop. The little girl stuck beside Jemina, likely the only way she was allowed at Hogsmeade, and they would go into a different shop. 

By the time that Esme and Aubrey were finished with their shopping, the little girl seemed to be complaining about something. Esme said something, and Jemina sighed heavily. She seemed to agree to whatever they'd said, as Esme took the little girl into the stores on her own. 

The little girl probably wanted to get a gift for Jemina, and couldn't do that if she was watching her. 

I had moved to the forest behind the Three Broomsticks, almost immediately regretting my decision when the Minister arrived. I almost didn't see Harry with his friends, that is until Harry threw his cloak around his shoulders and disappeared. 

His friends seemed immediately exacerbated, and when Jemina came around the corner, the little girl holding her hand, smiling, they immediately went up to her. 

Being as close as I was proved useful, as I could hear what they were talking about. 

"I think Harry followed Minister Fudge into the pub. They mentioned Sirius Black, and I... I know that he doesn't know about the relations between you and him. I know he hasn't realized that Sirius Black is Aubrey's dad and your husband. I know you don't want him to know that."

"And what am I to do, Hermione? I can't follow him in there and drag him out. Not only would that be quite obvious to the Minister, but Harry would know you were trying to keep him from finding something out," Jemina sighed heavily. She looked at Aubrey, who looked extremely unhappy all of a sudden. Jem smiled softly at Hermione, "If Harry learns that one of his best friends is the daughter of Sirius Black, then so be it. He's known Aubrey for three years, I'm sure he won't hold her heritage against her. If he learns that I'm his aunt, then... so be it. That, he will be upset about, especially if he's as much like James as I believe him to be. I had a nasty habit of hiding secrets as a teenager, and James always got angry with me for it. I can handle Harry if he gets angry at me. I just hope he doesn't get angry at you lot."

"Mum, what if he overhears the Minister talking about what happened to Lily and James? The whole... thing."

"I don't know, Esme. It's not like I can dispute it, he won't believe me."

They kind of just stood there, and I watched them as they did so. Harry didn't know that Jemina was his aunt. He had no idea who I was, or what I did. 

He knew nothing about his life, did he? 

It wasn't long before the door to the pub opened and nobody exited. Shortly after that, a group of carolers was knocked over, seemingly by nothing. Once that happened, Harry's friends, and Aubrey, followed the trail Harry was likely leaving. 

The little girl went to follow her sister, but Jemina stopped her. 

"Lilian, we have to go back to the castle. They'll come back when they're ready."

Lilian? 

Her name is Lilian. I should have figured it would be something dedicated to Lily. Of course, Jemina would name her daughter after her best friend. 

Lily had begged Jemina to give one of the girls her name as a middle name, but Jemina always laughed it off and said that Lily wouldn't sound right with Esme or Aubrey. 

Now, all I needed to figure out is if she was Remus' daughter, or if she was mine.