" I'm a flower, you're my bee
It's much older than you and me
I'm in love, I'm alive
I belong to the stars and sky
Let's forget who we are for one night "
--CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT--
July 23, 1978
Sunday
9:00 am
It was Sunday morning, and it was the day Arabella had agreed to go over to the burrow for lunch. She had to admit that she was over the moon that she would get to step foot in the burrow again. Sirius had invited Evan and her to join their friends at the lake, but Arabella had to decline. They were sitting in the kitchen while Arabella was baking an apple crumble to bring over to Molly.
"I am almost positive I can take myself to the Potters," sighed Evan. Arabella had told him he would not be apparating alone in case he got splinched since Evan didn't exactly have his license yet.
"Do you want to die?" she asked bluntly by pointing the cutting knife in her hand to his face.
Evan visibly paled, "I mean, I could either die here with you pointing that damn knife to my face, or I can die getting splinched. I'll take my chances with the latter."
Arabella looked down at the knife and gently put it down, "My answer is no, Ev. I'll drop you off."
Evan grumbled deeper into his seat but made no effort to argue with the older witch.
"Besides, I haven't seen the boys in ages."
Evan grabbed one of the apple slices she was cutting, "Yeah, Remus told me that he missed you."
Arabella raised her eyebrow at the boy, "Remus told you? Does that mean you have been writing to him?"
"I'm I-"Evan stuttered. "It was him who sent me a letter first."
She decided not to give Evan a hard time opting for a small smile and a nod.
"Doesn't mean anything—just two people writing to each other. Means nothing," he muttered, though it was mostly for himself.
Arabella giggled and threw him a knowing look, "Sure, means nothing."
"Anyways, who are you meeting again?" he asked.
"Molly Weasley."
"Weasley? Never met one before. Father always told me they were blood traitors."
Arabella stopped her cutting and looked at him, "Aren't you?"
Evan nodded, "and proud of it." he then jumped out of his chair, "I'm going to shower."
"Thank Helga," Arabella muttered, which made Evan turn back and flip her off.
----
Potter Manor
2:00 pm
"Oh, for fuck sake, wormtail don't eat that!" bellowed James. They were all sitting around the living room waiting for Evan to show up. It was the only day that everyone was free to hang out, so the boys had invited the girls to go swimming in the lake nearby godric's hollow.
Peter stopped his hand halfway to his mouth, "But I thought it was for everyone?"
"Mum said the cookies are for Evan to take to Arabella. If she sees someone is eating it, she'll have my head."
"Why isn't she coming again?" asked Sirius with a frown.
Remus shrugged, "Evan said something about going to lunch. Don't know with who, though."
The girls walked through the kitchen door holding baskets of food and towels.
"Hello, losers!" greeted Dorcas as she walked in hand in hand with her girlfriend.
James got up from the couch, kissed Lily on the cheek, and helped her with the food baskets. Marlene and Dorcas took their spot on the loveseat while Mary started braiding Marlene's hair. Alice went to sit down by the fireplace while she painted Sirius's nails.
Once they all settled, they continued their conversations, that is until they heard a knock on the front. Rushing from his seat on the floor, Sirius stood up and opened the door to come face to face with Evan and Arabella, who appeared to be arguing.
"I can't believe you pushed me into the puddle!" Arabella shouted, causing Evan to double over in laughter. They didn't even notice Sirius had opened the door.
"Ara, it was not my fault you're clumsy."
"I-" she started though was cut off by someone clearing their throat. The two newcomers shut their mouths and turned their attention to the marauder.
"Hello?" Sirius said, unsure what he had just interrupted.
"Hi, Sirius!" Arabella's mood instantly changing once she caught sight of him.
"Arabella's here?!" someone asked from inside the room, followed by a commotion of footsteps. Marlene pushed Sirius out of the way, making the boy stumble backward, and threw herself onto the brunette witch.
"Marley! Oh, I missed you," Arabella breathed out.
"Missed you too!"
Marlene let go of her, only for Arabella to be tackled into many other hugs. Once they were all inside, they settled into the couch, Arabella sitting near the edge and the others scattered around.
"What are you doing here? I thought you weren't coming," asked Sirius.
Arabella shrugged, "I came to drop off Evan since he hasn't taken his apparating exam yet, and we don't have the floo network connected to the apartment."
"I could have done it," muttered Evan, who was next to Remus.
"No, you couldn't. Last time we practiced, you ended up in a pond."
"Whatever."
She shook her head at the boy, "Anyways, I have to leave like right now. James, do you mind if I use your floo?"
James nodded, "Be my guest."
"Oh, Bella, please come back after! Remus said it was just lunch, so when you're done come meet us at the lake," Lily begged.
"Yeah, Bella! It's not going to be the same without you," said Mary with big puppy dog eyes.
Arabella looked around the room, and everyone was giving her some type of pleading look, whether it was pouting or encouraging smiles.
She looked down at her watch and sighed, "Alright," they cheered. "I'll be back around three. Four the lastest."
She quickly got up from her spot on the couch and waved to everyone, "goodbye." Arabella threw the powdered down at her feet but not before saying, "The burrow."
----
The Burrow
Arabella jumped out of the fireplace with a start. She coughed and wheezed the soot that had managed to get in her lungs during her trip. When she first stepped out, she was instantly hit with a familiar smell. The homey place had not changed since the last time she had seen it. It still smelt of cinnamon and cedarwood, something that had been lost in her senses but was recently found. For the first time in a long time, Arabella had felt complete serenity wash over her; that is until she heard the sound of glass shattering.
"BILL WEASLEY! What have you done?!" bellowed a voice from the other side of the kitchen door.
She then heard running, and she saw the kitchen door opening.
Bill abruptly stopped his escape root and stared at her, "Mum! There's a lady in the living room!"
"A lady? There's no lady. Bill stop trying to distract me; I'm punishing you!"
Molly came barling through the door only to stop at the sight of Arabella, much like her son had done moments ago.
"Arabella, dear!" the red-haired woman came rushing towards her with her arms flung out in front of her, ready to embrace the daylights out of Arabella.
"Hi Molly," she smiled into the hug. "How are you?"
Molly pulled away, "I'm great, darling. The boys are just giving me a hassle. This is Bill, my oldest," she gestured for the young boy to come closer. Bill hesitantly raised his hand in a greeting, and Arabella was able to spot the slight blush on his cheeks.
She bent down to his eye level, "Hello Bill. I'm Arabella, but you can call me Bella."
"Hi, I'm Bill." The eight-year-old boy was a bit shy, much less confident than his older counterpart. "How old are you?" he blurted out.
Arabella smiled at the young boy, "I'm nineteen. And you?"
Bill stared at her in amazement, "Merlin, that's old."
Molly slapped him upside the head as a warning.
"I mean," he stammered, "I'm eight."
She was about to respond when another Weasley came rushing in.
The little boy, no more than about six years old, walked into the room with tears in his eyes.
"Mummy, Percy took my dragon."
Molly rushed to her son and picked him up, "Why don't we go see about that, huh?" she gestured for Arabella to follow as Bill ran ahead.
Arabella entered the kitchen, and it was like being home again. The stove was in full use, as was the kitchen sink with pots and pans cleaning themselves. The room was cluttered, but it was organized, just like the Weasleys liked it. At the kitchen table sat another little boy, a toddler, no older than two. In his hands was a plush green dragon: Charlie's dragon.
Molly came up to Percy and sat Charlie at her other side, "Percy, you don't take other's toys. Please give your brother his dragon back."
It took a few seconds of deliberation on Percy's end, but the boy handed over the toy nonetheless.
"Alright, is that settled?" Molly asked, looking between the boys. When they both nodded, she looked back at the young witch.
"This is Charlie, who is six, and this is Percy, he's two." both boys shyly waved at her.
"Do you like dragons?" Charlie asked, his eyes full of hope.
Arabella walked further into the room and sat down next to him, "I adore them. I like your dragon. Do you know its name?"
He quickly nodded, "It's a Romanian longhorn. They're my favorite."
"I like them too, but I think my favorite is the Swedish short-snout."
Charlie's eyes snapped up to her's, "I have a book on those. I'll bring it," he rushed out as he sprinted out of his seat and down the corridor.
Molly shook her head and smiled fondly at her son, "That boy and his dragons. I think he wants to be one."
Arabella shrugged, "Don't blame him. I love dragons too. Magical creatures in general."
She spent the next half hour talking Molly's ear off while the boys interjected with their own opinions once in a while. Percy, who she was never really close to in her past life, had taken a liking to her. He sat on her lap while Charlie read from his dragon book. After a few minutes of the six-year-old struggling to read, Arabella had taken the book from him and read to the boys instead. This promoted Percy to fall asleep in her arms and Charlie to lean into her with interest. Bill was ordered to clear out the garden of any gnomes.
Molly had asked her if she could put Percy in his room for his nap time. Walking through the first level of the burrow brought so many memories back to her: running with the twins and going back and forth from Ron's room before he changed to the top floor. Arabella had to fight the urge to cry as she held Percy close to her heart, wishing she could be back with them, to see them one more time.
She walked through the first door on the right only to stop at the sight of three cribs. One was empty because it was Percy's but the other two her occupied by two little human beings. Fred and George. Arabella had forgotten that by this time, they were both newborns, barely four months old. The twins were sleeping soundly in their beds as she crossed the room to set Percy down. He clung to her arm as if he never wanted her to leave, but as soon as his little red hair hit the pillow, he let go. Arabella sighed as she pushed his fringe out of his face and turned to leave the room. Though before she could fully walk out, a whimper came from one of the cribs. One of the twins started wiggling in the small bed, waiting for someone to hold him. She slowly crept over to the baby, hoping she wouldn't wake anyone else up. Once the small child caught sight of her, he wiggled and struggled in his awoken state.
"Hey there, little guy," she softly whispered. "Nice to meet you again," Arabella looked down to see his socks had the letter F on the sole. "Fred." she held a hand to her mouth to drown out the sound of her small cry. She quickly composed herself and realized that Fred was struggling in his crib. "Come here," she picked him up and placed his small form in her arm. Instantly he stopped struggling and stared up at her with pure curiosity. Arabella stroked his tiny cheek with her the back of her thumb to wipe away any stray tears that had left his eyes. His beautiful brown eyes. She had forgotten what they had looked like. She had forgotten what her best friend looked like.
"He's finally up," said a voice from behind her. Arabella turned around to see Molly looking at her with a warm smile.
"Yeah, I saw him struggling, so I picked him up. Hope that's alright."
Molly waved a dismissive hand, "It's alright, dear. You know he seems to like you. I can never get him to calm down. The only ones that can are my brothers." she walked over to pick up her other son, seeing as George was starting to wake up just like his brother had moments ago.
"George can't go anywhere without his brother. Come on now, the foods ready. You don't mind holding him, right?" Molly questioned.
Arabella looked down at Fred with a loving smile, "Not at all."
----
4:00 pm
Arabella had spent the remainder of the time at the burrow with Molly talking about everything, mostly getting to know Molly again since Arabella had no idea what she was getting up to during this time. Arabella spoke to the boys about magical creatures with Charlie and her time working at Hogwarts with Bill. During this time, Fred had not let her put him down; he stayed calmly in her arms for a reminder of lunch.
She had said goodbye to the whole family, promising to come back and visit sometime soon. She flooed straight back to the Potters at four on the dot. Walking through the foyer, she realized the manor was quiet. That is until she heard someone coming down the stairs.
"Arabella, sweetheart! What a pleasant surprise," greeted Euphemia Potter as she came closer to the witch. Arabella smiled at her and melted into the mother's embrace.
"Sorry for just stumbling in. I promised the others I'd come back and hang out with them."
Mia nodded, "Of course. If you want to start heading out, they are just out by the lake, a ten miniature walk from here. Would you like me to take you?"
"Yes, please, I'm afraid that I'm quite terrible with directions."
Mia led Arabella through the back doors of the manor into the spacious backyard. Mia talked about her garden and how she needed to prune her flowers soon. Arabella mentioned that she loved to garden, which promoted Mia to invite her to garden with her soon. Another promise that Arabella didn't intend to break.
They walked for a few more minutes until she heard shouting and water splashing.
"I'm sure you can get to them from here," Mia said.
Arabella nodded and smiled, "Yes. Thank you again."
Mia dismissed her, "Nothing to worry about. Please, before you are ready to go home, come back to the manor. I made cookies."
Arabella thanked her again; Mia gave her a swift kiss on the cheek and left her.
She rubbed her forehead, wanting the incoming headache to simmer away. Going back to the burrow and Potter manor, both Mia and Molly had reminded her how much she missed her own mother. She twisted the ring on her index finger, the one that her mother had gifted her on her eleventh birthday, and made her way toward the chaos.
She brushed back the trees, taking her time to bask in the smell of the bark and leaves. She stepped through the passageway and was presented with a picture-perfect scene before her.
James held Lily while Sirius had Mary as they played chicken fights in the water. Marlene and Dorcas were in their own little world as they skipped rocks on the shore. Alice and Peter sat on a large picnic blanket, sharing a sandwich and laughing at some Peter had just said. Then finally, Remus and Evan sat under a large tree, watching the others in the water.
Alice was the one who noticed her first. "Hi Bella!" she said as she waved her over.
Arabella smiled and walked over to them. "Hi Alice, Peter."
Peter waved, "Hi. do you want one?" he said, gesturing to the pile of sandwiches in the basket.
"No, I'm alright. Thank you. Have you all been here for a while?"
"For about two hours. They just got back into the water after eating," answered Alice.
Arabella nodded and looked back to her friends in the water. Lily was putting up a fight while Mary struggled to stay upright. Sirius and James were splashing each other with water, trying to distract the other as the girls were on their shoulders.
Arabella checked if no one was looking as she raised both her index fingers and pointed them to the water where James and Sirius were. She put her concentration on the water and felt how it was moving. She pictured what she wanted to happen. Though all of this took less than a second because, to her, it was muscle memory. She quickly swished her fingers inward and watched as a jet of water hit both Sirius and James in the face. It caused them to lose focus and drop their partners. Arabella barked out a loud laugh, attracting the attention of the others. They all looked over to see both James and Sirius coughing out water while the girls reprimand them for dropping them. Sirius looked around to find the cause of the loss, his eyes stopping on the Goldstein witch.
"You," he singled her out, marching out of the water.
"What?" she smirked. She knew that he had no idea how she had done it, but apparently, he was dead set that it was her fault.
Sirius came up to where she was standing with her hands crossed with an innocent expression on her face.
Rather than accusing her, Sirius smirked right back at her with an idea developing in his brain.
"I haven't seen you all day," he said, walking closer, "I need a hug."
Arabella caught on and started walking backward, "No, Sirius, you're soaking. Don't come near me."
"But bells, it would make me very happy."
She shook her head, "I don't care."
Sirius stopped and pouted but then started sprinting to her, making Arabella run away laughing. The others watched at the oblivious pair as they ran the length of the shore, quickly realizing that Arabella ran very fast. Sirius finally caught up with her, wrapping his arms around her waist and lifting her in the air.
"No," Arabella grumbled, already feeling her shirt start to cling onto her back.
Sirius put her down to see her turn around with a frown on her face.
"I hate you," she sighed.
"No, you don't."
She didn't say anything as she pinched the bridge of her nose.
"No, you don't," he sang again.
Arabella looked up at him, "You're right; I don't. But you're still an idiot."
Sirius laughed, "Now that is something we can both agree on."
"Come on then, I want a cookie," he said as he slung his arm around her. She leaned into his touch, somehow barely grasping the fact that he was shirtless. Arabella turned her head slightly to admire him as he yelled something to James. He was wet from head to toe, but that didn't seem to bother him. She could see the small tattoos he had gotten over the years spread out all over his chest and arms. She was so caught up in studying his chest that she didn't even notice he was smiling at her.
"Like what you see?" he asked, bring her attention back to him.
Arabella blushed, turning her eyes away, embarrassed that she got caught. Sirius laughed at her reaction, which caused her to push him away and mutter, "shut up."
She sat down on the picnic blanket just as everyone started gathering around and picked up the remaining deserts. Sirius wrapped himself in his towel and sat down next to her, close enough for their legs to be touching.
"Arabella, please tell Marlene that mermaids don't live in lakes," Dorcas said as Arabella took a bit out of her cookie.
She quickly swallowed, "They can if they wanted to,"
"Aha!" Marlene yelled.
"But they should live in the ocean cause it's bigger; more space to roam," Arabella finished.
Dorcas gave her girlfriend a smug look as Marlene pouted.
"How was your lunch?" Evan asked from across her way.
Arabella perked up, remembering the great time she had, "It was fun! Got to meet her sons; they're the sweetest things."
"Who?" questioned Lily.
"Molly Weasley."
"Oh yeah, mum always talks about that lady. She says that Molly and Arthur are in the order."
Arabella nodded, "Yup. she'll be there next meeting."
"Do you know when that's going to be?" asked Peter.
Arabella shook, "No, Uncle Al hasn't said anything. He's probably going to send something out beforehand."
Everyone nodded and broke off into their own conversations.
She turned to Sirius, "How are you?" she said, but Sirius was already looking at her.
"I'm great. Nothing but work these days, but it's going alright. Moody decided to take us on small patrol the other day, so that was interesting."
"Constant Vigilance," she mumbled, remembering all the times her Moody would yell that in her face.
"That's right," he laughed. "That man needs a vacation."
"Desperately, though I doubt he even knows what the word means."
After a few moments, Sirius got up and spoke, "Fancy a walk?"
Arabella looked at him to see a charming smile on his face.
"Alright," she replied, taking his extended hand.
They walked away from the group, though they didn't notice the watching eyes following their figures.
"Oblivious idiots," Marlene grumbled as she popped a grape into her mouth.
"So I wasn't the only one who noticed it?" Evan asked the group.
"Nope, Sirius is enamored with her, and Arabella seems to be in denial," Remus interjected.
"Remus and I made a bet last week that Sirius would never fess up to his feelings. So far, I'm winning," James said.
"We have to make sure Sirius does it soon before someone else does," Mary said.
"What do you mean?" Peter questioned.
"Mary has a point. Arabella is gorgeous and very single. Sirius needs to buck up before some other person walks into her life and steals her way," Alice replied.
Marlene snapped her figures in realization, "So that means we need to bully Sirius until he says something, or at least drop enough hints to make Arabella realize that she likes him too."
"I like the bullying Sirius part," Dorcas agreed with her girlfriend.
"Me too," the rest of the group agreed.
"Right then, it's settled. We bully Sirius until he grows a pair and tells her, agreed?" Remus questioned.
They all looked back to see Arabella laughing as Sirius failed to skip a rock, "Agreed."
----
A/N- sorry it took me so long to update:( anyways thank you all for the lovely support! it means the world to me!
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real love baby by father john misty