~ Mathilda POV ~
I broke down on the floor and when Sirius came over and tried to put his hands on my shoulder I quickly pushed him away. "I fucked up. So so much. I need to fix this! Stay here. Please stay here, all right. I will, no I have to fix this. But please Stay! And stay here," I sobbed, getting up and storming after Daisy.
I quickly sprinted outside but she was already gone and so I started looking around. She probably hasn't gone to my mother's or grandfather's house, but I had an idea where she went.
Whenever she was sad she went to this little creek in the forest. It wasn't for bathing, it was requite small and normally you could find a lot of animals and magical creatures there. She often let her feet tangle in the water. I remembered that she went there when her first cat died and later when one of her favourite birds diasappeared. She always went there, she had to be there. I started walking through the forest, the sun already started to set and it was getting slightly cooler outside. Tree branches crumbled under my feet and I brushed leaves out of my face, while making my way over to the little rock she always sat on.
I was still crying, wiping the tears from my face. She could not hate me. I knew she did not mean it, but I understood why she said it. She had all right to be mad and disappointed.
I was more than relieved when I saw her sitting on the rock, her legs pulled close to her body and her face covered in her hands. She was still shaking, weeping and sobbing into her hands and I quickly made my way over to her. Slowly and calmly to not scare her. I lifted myself onto the rock and brushed my hand over her shoulder, to which she flinched.
"Daisy, I would never choose him over you. You are the most important thing in my life. And if I had to, I would sacrifice everything for you. Even if that meant never seeing him again in my life!" I told her still brushing my hands over her back. "I never told you because I wanted to protect you, but I now know that it was wrong and that I should have done things differently. If I could turn back time, I would do it!" I breathed out, leaning onto her back and kissing her head. "Daisy you are my everything and I love you to the moon and back. I would never risk losing you. I am truly sorry for hurting you so badly!"
"So he is really my father?" Daisy suddenly spoke up and I felt her shift slightly. I lifted myself up and she looked into my face, pouting and with red puffy eyes. I nodded slowly and tears appeared in her eyes again.
"But he really is innocent. It was Peter Pettigrew. He framed Sirius for doing it, but no one believed him, no one believed me," I told her, brushing my hand over her jaw to wipe away some tears.
"Does grandma know?" I again nodded and Daisy huffed. "So I am the only one that was kept in the dark!" "I am so sorry," I cried and looked to the ground.
"Does she trust him?" "Yes she does. She was here the other day and she believes him, she always believed him. She always told me that I should tell you, but I did not listen to her." I let a cold laugh escape my lips and Daisy shook her head.
"I am sorry," she suddenly mumbled. "What for here?" I asked, sniffing and a small smile appeared on my lips while I looked at her. Oh my little Daisy.
"For saying those things and for saying that I...that I hate you. I don't hate you. I love you, mum. I just was so mad and disappointed and afraid that I would lose you," she cried, tears rolling out of her eyes again.
"Why would you lose me? I would never ever let that happen. I would never ever decide against you. It is and will always be you who I put first. You are my number one priority. Always. It is always you first, before everyone else," I assured her and she quickly wrapped her arms around me and I pulled her close to me. "Daisy. I am so sorry for causing you so much pain."
She sobbed into my shoulder, her small figure shaking in my embrace.
"Should we send him away? Or would you like to meet him?" I then ask her after a few minutes and she pulled away slightly, still pouting and looking into my face.
"Did you love him?" she asked and I looked at her in surprise.
"Yes, yes I did. A lot," I told her, smiling and she bowed her head. "And do you still...love...him? After all those years?" she then hesitantly asked. I bit my lip and grabbed her hands.
"Yes, I do. Even after all those years. I think, I have never stopped loving him."
"Then I want to meet him!" she said, now also a smile on her face.
"Does that mean you forgive me?"
"Yes, I do understand it partly. I mean I never showed it, but I saw the gazes that people gave you and sometimes also heard what they said, I just never understood what they meant," she huffed and I blinked away my tears.
"I knew I could not shield you from everything, I am so sorry. But it was so easy for them to believe that you are not his daughter. You were born in 1982 and he was already captured in 1981, so they just believed that you were from someone else. I did not want you to endure all of this too," I mumbled and Daisy put her arms on my shoulder. She has grown up so much, was so smart although she was only 12.
"I do understand, but please...no more lies. From now on you tell me everything. Please," she pleaded, looking at me with her big brown eyes and I nodded. "Never again," I breathed, kissing her forehead and pulling her close to me once again.
"Let's meet him then, huh?" she hesitantly said and I nodded, grabbing her hand and helping her of the rock. We walked back through the forest and I held her close to me, kissing her head constantly.
"I love you so much, Daisy. You can never forget that you are my everything and the most important thing in my world. My number one," I told her once more and she kissed my cheek. It was true. She was the most important thing in my life and would forever be.
We made our way over to the house and slowly walked inside, Sirius still sat on the couch, his face in his hands. When he heard us he lifted his head and looked at us.
"Let's talk!" I said and Daisy and I made our way over to the couch.
~ Sirius POV ~
I was so nervous when I met Harry but that is nothing compared to how it had been in the past hours. I was going meeting my daughter. My daughter. I honestly did not expect it to turn out like that. I expected her to be mad and disappointed but to react like that, nope. I felt really bad for her saying that she hates Mathilda, although I think she did not mean it.
But I must say that I was also incredibly impressed how self-sacrificing she was for her mother. It really overwhelmed me. I deliberated for quite some time if I should leave and disappear because she clearly does not want me in her life. But no. I would wait. Maybe she would give me a chance. I needed to be there for her, to be a father for her. Mathilda grew up without one and I could not let the same happen to Daisy, not to my daughter.
My daughter.
The sound of it already made me smile. So long I have dreamed about having a family. A family with Mathilda and then I nearly had one and all fell apart. I sat back down on the couch and put my face into my hands. I hoped they would make up and give me a chance.
I heard footsteps and was more then relieved when I did not only hear one pair of footsteps but two.
I slowly lifted my head and looked at them. My fiancée and my daughter. It would be so easy. Everything could have been so easy. They looked very similar but she definitely also got a lot from me. The curly hair and the from of her eyes, which were now red and puffy.
"Let's talk!" Mathilda said and Daisy and her made their way over to the opposite side of the couch and sat down. I sat up straighter and looked at her, while she furrowed her brows and looked me up and down, squinting her eyes.
"How did you escape?" she suddenly blurted out. I was really taken by surprise about that being her first question. Mathilda just put a hand on her knee and looked at me shrugging her shoulders.
"Are you sure you want to know all of it?" I hesitantly asked.
"All of it!" she sternly said, gritting her teeth. I had to chuckle, shaking my head slightly and started to explain. Everything. How I starved myself, pushed myself through bars and swam through the sea. I also told her about Hogwarts, Hogsmead and Harry. She listened cautiously, her big brown eyes going wide. She had the eye colour from Mathilda. I saw her face softening slowly and she nodded when I finished with arriving here.
"That is bloody terrific!" she huffed and I had to chuckle again. "And how did you meet? I mean how did you meet back then?" she then asked.
"Well, I saw your mother on King's Cross in my last year and I think the second I saw her I fell head over heels in love with her!"
It was the truth.
I never really believed it myself, but the moment I laid eyes on her that day I fell for her. Mathilda shook her head slightly, blushing and smiling while looking onto the ground.
"Ew, stop that. That...flirting, it is...gross," Daisy laughed and my heart warmed. It was the first time that I saw her laugh, a sincere laugh. "I am sorry, but you asked," I then said, smiling and she lifted her brow.
"Whatever," she chortled and I was more than relieved about her reaction.
"Which house are you in, Daisy? If I am allowed to ask?" I then asked and she also sat up straighter a proud smile appearing on her face. Mathilda hasn't told me and I was really curious.
"You are allowed to and I am in Gryffindor," she said, grinning at me. I could honestly not describe how proud I was. I mean I kind of expected it by how she reacted when she first saw me but still it was nice hearing it. Fatherly pride rippled through me when I assessed her.
"Honestly, I already thought so. I was in Gryffindor, too!"
"Really?" she then asked, raising her eyebrow and I nodded.
Mathilda put an arm around her shoulder and pulled her close to her, placing a kiss on her head. "Do you forgive me for not being here those years? And...do you believe me?" I then asked, after a while of sitting in silence and her examining me.
"I mean, it wasn't really your fault that you weren't there, right? So I guess I forgive you. And yes,...I do believe you. If mum and grandma believe you, I do too," she said and looked at Mathilda with a small smile on her face. Mathilda pulled her close and placed a kiss on her forehead.
She was a great mum.
The best mum I could have wished for my child. She was amazing and strong and gave all her love to this child. I blinked away a few tears before thanking Daisy.
"So.... I don't want to call you Sirius, you know. That is weird somehow..... So...can...can I actually...can I call you...dad?" she then hesitantly asked, an unsure look on her face. She nibbled on her lower lip while she peeled on the skin around her nails.
My heart healed even more and I couldn't control the smile. I probably smiled from ear to ear when I started to nod my head.
"You have no idea how happy you make me with that!" I told her and she slowly got up and walked over to me.
She reached her arms forward and Mathilda looked at me in surprise. I quickly got up and her tiny and slim arms reached around me and she hugged me. I felt her tense a bit and only then realised how tiny she actually was. She was probably around 4'8 and I felt like a giant. Mathilda was already tiny, but she was even tinier. I also slowly wrapped my arms around her and I felt my heart heal completely. Tears slipped out of my eyes and fell on her head but I couldn't control myself from smiling and crying. This was on of those moments I was waiting for all those years in Azkaban. I heard Mathilda sniffle and looked towards her. She wiped the tears from her face and got up.
"I'll give you some time. I'm in the kitchen preparing dinner, if you need anything," she mumbled, close to tears, walking over to us, kissing Daisy's head and running her hand over my arm.