*this chapter has been edited*
"Well that didn't go as planned."
"Oh really Sirius? I couldn't tell. Were you talking about how you scared our daughter or how said daughter passed out upon seeing you?"
"Maybe a little of both...I didn't break her, did I? Surely I'm not capable of breaking her, she's only-oh Godric Remus, she's thirteen, what're we going to do? This is all my fault, we've missed so much and-" he mumbles and begins to spiral, and I open my eyes a bit-
I'm not dreaming.
"This isn't some weird dream," I whisper. "Y-you're really here?" I turn to Dad, who nods.
"And you're really innocent?" another nod. I spring up and hug him, tears streaming down my face, and he doesn't hesitate to hug back.
"Oh Starshine," he mumbles into my hair, kissing it, "I missed you so much-and you're all grown up. Guess that means no more training brooms, huh?" he chuckles and I shake my head.
"No more training brooms indeed," Dad says to him, a proud smile on his face. "She's one of the best chasers I've seen."
"Oh trust me, except for her and Harry's little free fall, she's amazing," Dad-er wait, that's getting confusing, isn't it?
"Before I get to how you were able to watch that beautiful moment-truly one of my bests, though the Basilisk is a close second-what should I call you guys? Like, Dad and Dad is bound to get confusing." this causes a moment of pondering, all of us in a silent agreement.
"Call me Pop-or Poppy," Remus-Pop-says. "And call Sirus Dad. It's what you called us when you were a baby"
"Can do Pops," I smile, and turn to Dad. "Now, how exactly were you able to see me lose a fight with a lighting bolt and have a free fall? Which I might add, according to the pictures Collin took, was amazing to watch."
"I think you mean terrifying," both men answer at the same time, matching expressions on both faces.
"Wasn't the worst thing that's happened to be quite honest, I again bring up the Basilisk, and the fact that I got to face Modly Shorts in my first year when wearing his face on the back of your head was apparently a fashion statement, and a younger version last year. To be quite honest, it wouldn't be a normal year for Harry or I if we didn't have our little annual dance with death. Maybe we'll grow out of it, maybe we won't. Personally, I wouldn't mind facing on no-nose man in my wolf form."
Both of my Dad's answered at the same time, but with different responses.
"What do you mean, annual dance with death?"
"What do you mean wolf form?"
"Yeah, so I'm not quite sure you can handle my life story-full life story just yet, and as for the wolf thing-" I concentrate and turn into my animagus form, which causes Pop and Dad to yelp in surprise. After a moment of me sitting and wagging my tail, Dad breaks out into a grin.
"Atta girl, pup! Like father, like daughter, as they say." he smirks, and Pop rolls his eyes.
"Her animagus is a wolf, Sirius. Yours is a dog. You and your friends become animagi for OJ, didn't you?" Pop asks, and I nod, which causes Dad to celebrate.
"I knew she'd make a great Marauder! What'd I tell you Moony? Wait, are you guys illegal animagi or are you registered?"
I transform back. "Illegal. My friends and I did the same for one of the girls in the group as you, Uncle Prongs, and Ratface did for Pop," I smile, and Dad's smile only grows wider.
"She really is the perfect mix of us Rem," he whispers, and Pop scoffs playfully.
"What made you think that, Padfoot?"
"Oh don't get all smart with me."
"It's quite literally my job, I'm supposed to be smart to be able to educate children."
"Not always," I interject, "they hired Lockheart last year, and he was a stud. Blimey, he almost erased Ron and Harry's memories when they were trying to get in the Chamber to get Ginny and I out of there."
"I alway knew that old Dumbledore had a few screws loose," Dad says.
"A few? Love, why exactly do you think Amara wasn't raised by me?" Pop asks.
"I thought that the Ministry took her," Dad mumbles quietly, "I never really thought of how she ended up there, I just knew that she was put through the same torture that I was..."
"Oh Dad, that's the farthest thing from the truth. The ministry thinks that you adopted her according to Dumbledore." I answer.
"What do you mean 'according to Dumbledore'? Weren't you there, Remus? Weren't you involved?"
Pop sighs, and I frown, moving to sit on an old couch. "Sirius, after you were arrested, Dumbledore and Hagrid came to our home to take Harry-who went with Hagrid to the Dursleys-and before Dumbledore left, he informed me that he had to-he had to take Marrie away," he says, no trace of a joke on his face, and Dad's face fell.
"Wh-why?" he whispers quietly.
"He knew that when the Ministry came to investigate, they'd find her, and she'd be put to death, or worse because of what she is. So he took her, and for extra measure, he erased my memories of her-I didn't get them back until the beginning of this school year."
"Why wouldn't he just wait until the investigation was over?"
"Because he said that we would meet again when 'the time was right'. I never thought that it would be almost thirteen years before he decided that father and daughter should be reunited. Merlin, I bet that if you hadn't escaped, that the time still wouldn't be right."
"But since he's decided that it was the right time, I'm still moving back in with you right?" I ask quietly. "I won't have to go back there again?"
Dad and Pop look at each other, and then turn to me. They both move and sit on either side of me, each taking a hand.
"Lion, I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't fighting with Dumbledore everyday to make that happen, the last thing I want is to see you go back to being miserable."
"It's not that bad guys, you don't have to worry about me," I lie.
"Starshine-"
"I promise you, it's not that bad. Of course some days it's worse, but I'm fine most of the time, just a few small scratches."
"Do any of your friends know this? Surely Harry does, seeing as he-" Dad trails off after he sees mine and Dad's confused face.
"Well obviously the girls know. After OJ told us about her Furry Little Problem, I figured that if she can trust me with something like that, I can trust them with mine. Other than that, Harry, Ron, and 'Mione. I normally put a concealment charm on whenever we left for the platform, and once we got in a compartment I'd take it off and she'd heal me. Although we were almost caught by Pops though this year," I chuckle.
"I swear to Merlin the second I get my freedom we're going to have a very-ignore the pun, lack of words-serious conversation about his decision to leave you with the Bonavich's." Dad grumbles, and I squeeze his and ops hand, who was nodding in agreement with Dad, his jaw set.
"I'm going to tell you both what I always tell everyone when they get worried about me-which is way too often for my liking. Am I still breathing?" I ask, and they nod. "Then I'm fine. You're only allowed to panic when I'm not breathing anymore, but nothing before that, even if I'm a little panicky."
"I don't like that rule," Dad and Pop answered at the same time.
"Too bad it's a mandate, not a rule," I smirk. "I'm fine, I promise. It's better this year since I was allowed to stay at school for Christmas, and I'll be staying for Easter. Normally I'm not allowed to. But I got in an argument with them on the platform and this was my 'punishment'. Personally, this was the best birthday and christmas that I've ever had."
"So stubborn, Starshine," Dad chuckles, "wonder where you get that from?"
Pops gives Dad a dead-pan look. "Are you kidding me?"
Dad smirks, and I know where this was going. "No, I'm Sirius. I thought that after fifteen years of being engaged you'd remember my name, Love"
"You mean you two were never able to get married?" I ask, sadly looking between my two fathers, who shake their heads.
"We planned it to be on your first birthday," Dad says, "but obviously due to certain events, we had to postpone for a certain amount of time."
"Well, it won't be for much longer, not if I can help it, and in the words of Wonderboy 'and Merlin, I can'."
Dad looked at me, and I started to back into Pop slowly, seeing the matching knowing grins on both of their faces.
"What? Did I say something wrong?"
"Moony," he says calmly, a smile on his face, "you owe me ten sickles."
"What in Godric's bloody name are you talking about?" I ask, surprised at his reaction
"Oh nothing, just remind me to have a friendly chat with Harry once I formally meet him Moony."
"Oh don't worry," Pop chuckled, "I intend to have that talk to him with you. Not to mention the little clue I dropped when he confiscated the map from him last night"
"I'm still mad about that," I grumbled. "Now how am I supposed to see when the Snake Pit's all clear to go and get OJ and Le so we can-I just answered my own question, it'll just be a little more challenging, but it's not like Harry's lost the cloak or anything-he hasn't lost the cloak has he?"
"No, he didn't. His father's invisibility cloak is still in his possession."
"Thank Merlin," I breathed.
"She-she has the map? Does it still work?" Dad asks in wonder.
"Of course it does, how do you think that the girls and I could be better than the Marauders if we weren't in possession of the greatest thing they did? Of course, we do share it with the twins...but for the most part, I have it, except for when I decided to be nice to Harry since he's also a son of a Marauder so technically it's just as much his birthright as it is to me."
"And you took it from them?! Honestly Remmy, you're crazy sometimes."
"You're forgetting that I still have to act like I want nothing to do with you if I even stand a chance of having more parental claim over our daughter."
"True," Dad says, lost in thought with the faintest frown on his face.
From the inside of my bag, something ruffles, and Dad and Pops both protectively stand up in front of me, as if out of pure instinct. I'm completely lost on what could be inside of my bag that causes movement, then it hits me.
"Archie!" I cry and push past my Dad's and reach inside of the bag, pulling out the little Niffler.
"You took Archie with us? He was in your bag this whole time?" Pop questions.
"Well yeah, we've been inseparable since he showed up in his little box," I answer with a smile on my face while I tickle his stomach.
"I still can't believe you got her a Niffler, Pads. Let alone the leather jacket." Remus chuckled.
"Well, I figured the one she wore as a baby was too small, and there's a reason behind the Niffler. Not to mention the fact that she told me that she's always wanted a pet of her own-the owl she has is the Bonavich's; she borrows it for school."
"When did she-"
"He's perfect," I say, ignoring Pop's question. "Drive's Harry insane, but I think it's because the two are in the middle of a war for my attention," I giggle.
"We should eat now, shouldn't we?" Pop asks, bringing out a miniature picnic basket from the inside of his coat pocket. "It's around the time you would normally sneak off to the kitchens with the girls so you don't have to come in for dinner right?"
"You notice that stuff?" I ask, setting Archie down so he can explore the shack.
"Lion, I'm your Dad. I notice when a single hair isn't on it's normal side of your head, let alone when you don't show up for meals."
I smile and feel my eyes beginning to water, but instead of letting that show I run up to both of my Dad's and hug them both tightly. And for a moment, just a moment, I believed that everything was the way it should be-that I've grown up with both of my father's raising me, that one wasn't a wanted murderer, and the other not even allowed to know that I existed for almost thirteen years.
~time-skip to like two hours later, and 3rd person POV~
After covering their sleeping daughter in a blanket they found, Remus and Sirius went to the small window in the other room.
"I think she had a good time, Rem."
"You think? Sirius, the two of you chased around after dinner in your animagus form until she almost collapsed from exhaustion. This was probably one of the best days of her life."
Sirius began to feel guilty. This would've been a normal day if he just stayed, stayed and helped his family get their lives back together after one of the worst nights in their lives. Instead, he passed his hysterical baby girl back to his husband and was sent to Azkaban, dooming her to a life that he vowed for her never to live.
"I'm sorry," he whispers finally, and Remus turned to face him, a quizzical look on his face. "This should've been a normal day, she shouldn't have to lie-to anyone, let alone us-whenever asked about her childhood. If I had just stayed-if I wasn't so stupid-"
"Peter would've come for us next, and Amara would have had a fate worse than the one she was left with. As much as I wish that it isn't the truth, it is. He's still alive, and our daughter-and godson-has suffered because of him for the past thirteen years."
They heard a noise come from the room their daughter was sleeping and they both peaked in through the cracked door to check on her, and smiled softly when they saw her peaceful sleeping form.
"She's so bloody perfect Moony," Sirius whispered to his fiance. "I couldn't have asked for anything better for a daughter."
"She is the best little mix of us, huh? Your hair texture but my color, my eye-shape but your signature grey eyes with the tiniest hint of brown sprinkled around randomly. Other than that-"
"A female version of me," Sirius breathed, with the biggest smile on his face. "Not to mention the beautiful blend of both of our personalities."
"Oh yes, because dealing with a mini-you every day is absolutely amazing,"
"Oh you love it Remmy, don't lie."
"I really do, even before I remembered everything," Remus smiles.
"We need to get her out of the home she's in now, if you can even call it that." Sirius decides, even though the two have known this since their first reunion.
"How bad are they really? The Bonavich's?"
"She's sugar-coating everything. I was only there for a week and you have no idea how hard it was to not go charging in the second I heard her screaming. I don't care how, I don't care if I have to go back to Azkaban for it, but so help me Merlin we're getting her out of there. She's also forgetting that she confessed half of her homelife to me as a dog."
"Sirius-" Remus was cut off by the sound of Amara stirring. "We'll talk more on this later, I have to get her back to the castle before curfew." he said, the two of them walking over to their daughter.
"Good morning Pup, sleep well?" Sirius asks, smiling.
Amara sees her two fathers standing beside each other and her tired face breaks out into a smile. "Even better now that I know that tonight wasn't some weird fever dream."
"How in the world would you be sick?"
"You underestimate the power of the Weasley twins, Dad. What time is it? We aren't missing curfew are we? I don't want the others to get nervous, the girls try to sneak around the school to try to find me, and Harry-"
"It's not curfew yet Lion, we're leaving now so you're back on time. They just finished dinner up at the castle."
"Is Dad-er, Snuffles coming?" she asks.
"I wish I could Amara," Sirius sighs, sitting next to her. "We just can't risk anything. It's one thing if they catch me, it's a whole other problem if the Dementors-"
"You mean the old, rusty, cloaked vacuums?"
"Yes. We-what did you just call them?"
"Old, rusty, cloaked vacuums?"
Sirius looks at Remus, who just laughs and shakes his head. "We're going to ignore what you're calling them for the time being, but yes, We-I can't risk the cloaked vacuums getting to you or your Pop. That's why I have to stay here."
"But," Pop continues, "You can visit him whenever you want to, and I'll say that you're with me-as long as you don't try to come down here during classes."
"Alright, you two have to go back to school, work on homework, grade papers, you know, all the really boring stuff." Sirius jokes, and hugs his daughter tightly, kissing the top of her head. "I love you Pup," he whispers, "to the moon and back."
"I love you too Dad, to the moon and back" she whispers back with a smile on her face. Sirius and Remus say goodbye to each other and the latter and Amara begin the trek out of the Shrieking Shack and back to the castle, leaving a sad, but content, Sirius back inside the Shack.
~Time-skip and back to Amara's POV~
"Merlin Marrie, where were you? You were gone all day, we'd thought something happened!" 'Mione said at the sight of my return.
"Nope, Pop and I just went out for a day-it was well needed on both ends," I answer smiling, moving to sit down next to Reg, who was sitting across from Hermione.
"Not that I don't love seeing you in a happy and smiling mood," she whispers, "but you're telling me everything that happened later, right?"
"This might be something to tell you guys at once," I whisper back, "but I promise I'll tell you."
I look past Hermione and see Harry, Ron, and about six other kids all talking excitedly about something. Reg catches me staring and taps my shoulder.
"How long do you think it'll take until Wonderboy notices you've graced us once again with your presence?"
I chuckle, now seeing him lift up his Firebolt. "Not as long as getting Geophelia together I hope. That ship still has a long way to go before it sails, unfortunately." I sigh, just as Harry and Ron walk over, making a bee-line for Hermione.
If anyone's out there listening, I think, please don't let them do anything stupid.
"I got it back," Harry says grinning, presenting his broom to her, however not even seconds pass before he loses interest in showing her the broom when his emerald green eyes meet mine.
"Mara," he smiles. "When'd you get back?"
Before I can answer, Ron rolls his eyes at us and cuts me off, still not wanting to talk to me apparently.
"See Hermione? There wasn't anything wrong with it!" he exclaims.
"Don't dog-pile on 'Mione," Reg sighs, clearly done with this fight-much like the rest of us. "You and I both know, Ronald, that there could've very well been something wrong with his broom, and the last thing that I want to ever do is comfort Mara after Harry's been killed by the thing," she rolls her eyes, and a pang hits my chest, reminding me of Dad and his innocence, which no one but Pop and I know about.
Ron refuses to answer, but Harry nods his head in agreement. "I suppose so. I need to go take this upstairs-"
"I'll do it!" Ron cuts him off, "I need to give Scabbers his tonic anyways." From there, he races up to the boy's dorm, and Harry sits down next to me, wrapping me in a hug.
"How was your day Love?" he asks.
"It was amazing, Pop and I hung out for most of it-"
"Pop?" he questions, confused.
"Oh, that's just what I'm calling Professor Lupin now," I answer, remembering he nor anyone else can know the true context of his name change.
"I like it," he says, the smile on his face evident in his voice, "it suits him."
"I'm glad you think so," I chuckle. "How was your day? I didn't get to see you after I ran off from breakfast-"
"LOOK! LOOK!" Ron yelled, waving bed sheets in front of all of our faces.
"What in the name of Merlin's-"
"SCABBERS! LOOK! SCABBERS!" Ron bellows again, cutting Reg off. The name of the rat brings several emotions into my mind now. Anger, rage, and irritation are a few.
"BLOOD! HE'S GONE! AND DO YOU KNOW WHAT WAS ON THE FLOOR?" Ron continues to shout at Hermione, while Fred and George-who just walked into the common room-are ushering people out to cause as little attention as possible-and possibly the safety for all bystanders watching this go down.
"N-no," Hermione whispers, clearly shaken. If I wasn't mad at Ron before, I sure am now.
Ron doesn't verbally respond, instead, he just holds up three cat hairs. Three ginger cat hairs.
A/N: I'm so so so sorry for not updating earlier! I'm still getting things together with my other few books, so who knows when they'll be out. I also have another quick thing to address with y'all. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE NOW 800 VIEWS! I never thought that this little book would even get to 100, so this makes me happy :). Thank you all for the votes and comments (I love reading them!) and I hope to get the next chapter out as soon as possible! Feel free to comment and vote-as always-and I'll see you in the next chapter!
QOTD: If you could save only one person from dying in any of the books or movies, who would it be, and why?
~Potterhead/*