The next morning, I woke up feeling tired but relieved. Allowed to leave the Hospital wing around noon, I parted ways with Harry, Ron and Hermione and made my way back towards the Gryffindor Tower, in order to find my friends. Giving the password to the Fat Lady, I entered when she allowed me but immediately someone pulled me into their arms.
"Where have you been!"
Fred
I pulled away, looking up to see Fred waiting impatiently for an answer.
"And what's the whole situation with Black getting away?" Another voice popped up, and looking behind Fred, I found his twin.
"Yeah, that's what we all got involved in, it's a long story."
Pulling the two into a private corner, I explained everything, although leaving out anything that mentioned my relationship with Sirius Black, since George was never informed of this in the first place, and didn't explain how he got away either, as it would be ideal to tell Fred this alone afterwards.
"You had me- us!" Fred suddenly spoke in a higher tone, "worried."
At this George let out a loud chuckle, "Even after you told us not to come looking for you, this one over here, went out, I did too but he," and George grinned widely, "got caught and has detention until the last day!" He completed saying, ruffling Fred's hair before moving away to join Lee on the couch, and Fred had a slight scowl on his face.
I gasped dramatically, "Fredrick Gideon Weasley getting caught? Preposterous!"
"Yeah, yeah." He mumbled before his eyes fell upon my bandaged hand and took it within his.
"How did this happen?" He asked in a softer tone.
I shrugged, "Just one of the few." I said, waving a hand to my forehead and leg. "I think this one happened when we were at the Lake."
Fred was looking at me intensely, and I couldn't help but look back. Those chocolate brown eyes were addicting, and I felt myself losing in them. There was something visible in them and then, he opened his mouth to say something,
"Rubi, I-"
"Rubi!"
I tore my gaze from Fred who let go of my hand and rolled his eyes annoyingly, to Harry, who had an unsettling expression visible upon his face, making my stomach slightly twist.
"Professor Lupin! He's resigned, he-"
"He what! Why!"
"Snape, he told the Slytherins about his um- problem, and word spread."
Anger coursed through me. "He did WHAT! THAT FOUL, GIT, I-"
"Professor Lupin's leaving." Harry said again, immediately shutting me up.
"Where is he?" I asked, jumping to my feet.
"In his office."
I looked at Fred who encouraged me to go on, and without wasting another second, I dashed towards the entrance and out and kept running, slowly coming to a halt as I reached the Defence classroom.
The memories were flooding in, such as when I threw a whole tantrum about Snape, to running hurriedly out of the classroom with a chocolate bar I'd stolen as Remus called out after me. Shaking my head, I walked the rest of the path until I stopped in the doorway, the Headmaster was there, giving him a final word before the two adults paused, looking at me and Dumbledore wished a farewell before departing.
He had packed his things. The grindy-low's empty tank stood next to his battered old suitcase, which was shut and ready to go. Remus was bent over something on his desk and looked up again at the doorway.
"I knew you would be coming." said Remus, smiling.
"Harry just told me that you resigned." I said, "Is it true?" I asked, a small ray of hope in my heart for perhaps my Godfather wasn't leaving.
"I'm afraid it is," said Remus, making myself feel deflated again.
He started closing the empty drawers.
"Why?" I questioned. "The Ministry of Magic don't think you were helping Padfoot, do they?"
"No. Professor Dumbledore managed to convince Fudge that I was trying to save your lives." He sighed. "That was the final straw for Severus. I think the loss of the Order of Merlin hit him hard. So he - er - accidentally let slip that I am a werewolf this morning at breakfast."
"You're not leaving just because of that! Oh that slimy greaseball is going to get it!" I said.
Remus smiled wryly, "This time tomorrow, the owls will start arriving from parents... They will not want a werewolf teaching their children, Rubi. And after last night, I see their point. I could have bitten any of you... That must never happen again."
"Don't go, please!"
A tapping sound caught the attention of the two of us, and we turned to find an owl at the window with a red colored envelope in its beak.
Remus sighed, "See? The parents are already sending in letters apparently- Hang on, I've seen this owl before, oh wait it's-"
"Nightwing." I exclaimed, rushing forward to open the window and let the creature in. The Owl soared in and circled the room once, before perching itself upon my right shoulder. I rubbed my face against his, who lightly rubbed back. Nightwing happened to be an Owl who wasn't all that affectionate, only doing what was required of him, but would give in at times. Noticing the red envelope again, I took the letter from its beak, frowning.
"I didn't know we had red colored envelopes for letters at home."
I heard a faint groan come from Remus, and looking up I found an expression similar to mine whenever Mum scolded me. "That's because it's a Howler."
"A what?"
"You'll see, hand it over quickly before it bursts into flames." Remus instructed. Confusedly, I passed the Howler to him, who ripped open the outer layer and I jumped when I heard my mother's voice, my eyes wide as the letter had flown from Remus' hand and formed into what looked like a face hovering in the air.
"Remus John Lupin! What do you mean by "I have resigned?" You have a wonderful job and the students love you, you can't throw this away because someone holds a grudge against you! I'll deal with him later!" There was a pause before Mum began talking again with a sigh, "I-I'm sorry Remus, the choice is yours and I know what you're afraid of but the problem isn't you, it's the world and the people that live in it. Most of them need to change their mindset, and you, do not, and I mean do not go blaming yourself. You didn't hurt or kill anyone and I don't want you thinking that you could have injured someone. I can't ever stress this enough but Remus, you've been there with me through thick and thin, and that just proves you are not a monster! I'm very sure monsters don't fold their socks or read books and complete their assignments on time. I've known you since we were eleven Remus, I can read you like a book. Please take care of yourself, and remember I love you, you're that brother I've had since ages that I was able to share things with that I couldn't even talk about with my own twin." There was a pause once again and my mother sniffed. "You mean so much to me. I love you, Remmy. "
Remus had tears in his eyes, a warm smile on his lips. As for me, I found the whole situation heart-warming.
"That's one of your mother's greatest qualities, she always made me feel as if I was normal."
"But you are normal, you're-"
"Rubi, I'm a half-breed, I'm not a normal human." I opened my mouth to protest but Remus spoke again, "But it's having people like Fiona, Sirius, James, Lily, in my life, that made me not hate myself as much. They always saw the good in me."
I wrapped my arms around my Godfather's torso, "That's the definition of true friends, they are there to give a shoulder to cry on in tough times and to laugh along with you in good times. True friends are family."
Remus planted a kiss to my head, "And I couldn't be more proud to call you my Goddaughter."
Pulling apart, I saw a beautiful smile on my godfather's face and I could feel tears prick my eyes.
"Do you have to leave?"
"Darling, I've already explained I can't stay."
I shook my head, "But-"
"I'll see you soon."
With that I gave in, wiping my eyes and nodding, "How soon?"
He grinned, "Very soon." And something in his tone gave me the inkling we'd be seeing each other again in a very short time.
I smiled at him, "Alright then, see you soon." With that he picked up his old suitcase and the empty grindylow tank, and walked towards the door. He paused again and looked over his shoulder with a smile, I waved, and then he set off towards the gates of the school, where a carriage was awaiting him. My smile lessened and I glanced around the office, the countless memories flashing before my eyes, from when I first came in here, to making bets regarding Quidditch, to crying my heart out, to joking around. It had become one of my safe havens over the year and with Remus not being here anymore, it would just become another professor's office. With a sigh, I walked out the office and then the room, sweeping my eyes across the room one last time and exited, knowing next year I'd come back here to it being nothing more than a classroom.
***
Nobody at Hogwarts now knew the truth of what had happened the night that Sirius, Buckbeak, and Pettigrew had vanished except Harry, Ron, Hermione, Professor Dumbledore, and me.
As the end of term approached, many different theories about what had really happened circulated, but none of them came close to the truth. Malfoy was furious about Buckbeak.
He was convinced that Hagrid had found a way of smuggling the hippogriff to safety, and seemed outraged that he and his father had been outwitted by a gamekeeper. Percy, meanwhile, had much to say on the subject of my father's escape.
"If I manage to get into the Ministry, I'll have a lot of proposals to make about Magical Law Enforcement!" he told the only person who would listen — his girlfriend, Penelope.
Though the weather was perfect, though the atmosphere was so cheerful, I still couldn't help but feel a bit lonely after Remus' departure. Fred had been putting in extra effort to keep a smile on my face, since he knew how much Remus meant to me, even if we only did have less then a year to bond. I certainly wasn't the only one who was sorry to see Remus go. The whole of my Defense Against the Dark Arts class was miserable about his resignation.
Percy had got his top-grade N. E. W. T. s; Fred and George had scraped a handful of O. W. L. s each. I had done pretty well, Snape had surprisingly boosted my mark. Gryffindor House, meanwhile, largely thanks to our spectacular performance in the Quidditch Cup, had won the House championship for the third year running. This meant that the end of term feast took place amid decorations of scarlet and gold, and that the Gryffindor table was the noisiest of the lot, as we all celebrated.
Before we knew it, we were packed and boarding back the train to London, I sat by the window in the very same compartment I had first arrived at Hogwarts in. My eyes stayed glued upon the majestic castle, trying to memorize every small detail until the school gently faded away from sight, making me release a small disheartened sigh.
I felt a hand on my thigh, making me tear my gaze from the outside world to the ginger beside me, "Don't worry we'll be back before you know it, and next year will be a spectacular one, like no other!"
Those words stirred something in my heart, for perhaps Fred was speaking the truth. I smiled and leaned my head on his shoulder, "Yeah, it will be." I let my eyes shut and slowly fell asleep, although I think I heard George say something along the lines of, "It better be good, as in, you tell her, or it's time for the George and Lee team to take some action."
***
Feeling someone prod my shoulder, I gently opened my eyes to see Fred staring down at me with a slightly guilty expression, "As much as I'd love to annoy you, I didn't wake you up on purpose, Harry's here for you." I blinked upon hearing the words spoken, playing them in my head and slowly realized what he said. It occurred to me, my head was on Fred's lap, making me look up at him questiongly who replied, "Thought you might want to be comfortable."
Getting up I found the compartment empty apart from Harry at the door. Before leaving, I kissed Fred on the cheek, "Thanks for that." And a light blush covered his face to my surprise, "Um- yeah, you're welcome?"
Shaking my head with a grin, I followed Harry out who awkwardly watched the exchange between Fred and I. Pulling me into the compartment he was sharing with Ron and Hermione, he pushed a letter into my hands. Upon receiving a questioning eyebrow from me, he said, "Padfoot." That one word brightened up my face like a million stars and I eagerly teared open the envelope before carefully unfolding the parchment.
To,
Daddy's Little Princess,
(Yes I will call you that because I have been doing so ever since you were born. Deal with it.)
I smiled broadly at that, before a pang of sadness washed over as it occurred to me how much time we really had lost. Shaking my head, I continued reading.
Buckbeak and I are in hiding. I won't tell you where, in case this owl falls into the wrong hands. I have some doubt about his reliability, but he is the best I could find, and he did seem eager for the job.
I looked up, to find a very small, extremely energetic owl fluttering around Ron's head, who didn't look all too happy about the situation. I giggled at the sight before returning my gaze to the parchment held in between my fingers.
I believe the Dementors are still searching for me, but they haven't a hope of finding me here. I am planning to allow some Muggles to glimpse me soon, a long way from Hogwarts, so that the security on the castle will be lifted. There is something I never got around to telling you during our brief meeting. It was I who sent you the Firebolt — I used your name and told them to take the gold from the Black Gringotts vault (Your mother may have been notified depending on if the vault is still in use). Please consider it as a small step into recovering some of the precious time lost in the last thirteen years.
Darling, if you could ask your Uncle Remus, I want the two of you to inform Fiona of the true story. I am afraid she will deem my words false if I speak with her first (or she will attack me with her wand, Merlin knows what goes on in that woman's head). I want to have the people she trusts to break the truth to her, I know she will need time to accept and cope with it all. Please make sure she doesn't go blaming herself for everything, it wasn't her fault, I'm the one to blame. I'm sorry for deserting the two of you that night, I should have never made the mistake of trusting Peter and tell Moony once again, I'm sorry for having suspected him as the traitor.
Tears were streaming down my face. I felt a hand on my shoulder, wiping my face and turning, I found Hermione looking at me with concern, the same expressions on the faces of Ron and Harry.
"What does it say?"
I shook my head, "Mistakes, betrayals, truth. A lot."
The three gave me a confused look before it dawned upon their faces and they nodded.
Take care of yourself and your mother, and I hope to see you soon. Remember, I love the two of you with my whole heart.
Love,
Dad
P.S. Send a letter with your Owl if you can, Hedwig knows where I am and can take your owl too. It would be beneficial to have more than one Owl to use, in case someone decides to trace one to me, the other can be put in use.
Carefully folding the letter, I put it into the pocket of my shirt. Taking a quick leave from the three, I strode towards my compartment. I paused in the doorway. Lee was nowhere to be seen, George and Fred were playing Exploding Snap. Realising it was just the three of us, I hastily shut the door, causing the two to share a questioning glance.
"What's up with you?" George asked.
"Sit down, I have some explaining to do." I replied whilst beckoning with my hands to take a seat. I released a breath, while the twins sat with bated breath. "I have to confess something."
"If it's a confession, I'm not sure why I'm here, I'll leave the two of you alone." George exclaimed, making me feel confused.
"What? What are you going on about?"
George stood up, grinning widely, his eyes flickering between Fred and I, "About how hopelessly in love the two of you are with each other."
My hair turned pink while Fred's face went redder than his hair. "No you tosspot, you're the one who isn't in on the secret I'm going to tell."
"Aw, are you guys dating already?" He sang in a high pitched voice. I shut my eyes, pinching the bridge of my nose in frustration and Fred dragged George back down, grabbing him in a headlock.
"Now, if you two have stopped behaving like children, may I speak?" I suddenly snapped, causing the pair of brothers to quieten and sit straight.
"Thank you for cooperating." I gritted my teeth, throwing George a slight glare who winked in return. "Now," I said, straightening my posture and releasing a breath, "George, Fred already knows this but you don't, so I think it's fair to tell you now though." I paused, "My father is none other than Sirius Black."
***
After revealing, George threw a small tantrum about not being told the truth before, and then he grinned saying I'd only tell Fred because he's obviously my boyfriend, earning a kick and a punch from Fred and I.
Pulling into King's Cross station, we bid goodbye to Lee, and went out to find our respective family members. I didn't find my Mum anywhere, causing me to halt confused.
"Rubi!" I heard a voice out, except it wasn't the soft, sweet voice of my mother. It was different but I knew the familiar voice, and the words very soon floated into my mind and I smiled brightly upon realising who it was and turned swiftly, finding Remus standing with a gentle smile on his lips, hands in his pockets, not too faraway, close to a pair of gingers.
"Remus!" I exclaimed with joy, and rushed into his arms.
He embraced me tightly, " I told you we would see each other very soon." I only hummed back, before breaking apart and finding the twins over by their parents, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. Not too far away happened to a man with a large, beefy moustache, and beside him, my cousin.
"I'm going to say bye to Harry and the others."
"Bye you idiots, I'll see you soon!" I exclaimed when I walked up to the twins, before giving each a hug.
"I'll send you a letter about the World Cup." Fred said when we pulled apart, to which a smile graced my lips.
I went on my tiptoes and ran a hand through his hair, "See you soon." With that I moved my eyes from Fred to Harry and his uncle. "Watch this." With a smirk, I strode across and paused, grinning slyly up at Vernon Dursley before putting an arm around Harry's shoulders, startling the green eyed boy.
"Rubi!" He exclaimed.
"Who're you?" Vernon asked with hate lacing his voice and a dirty glare.
I smirked more, "Oh, I happen to be his godsister, you know the daughter of the man who happens to be a convicted mass-murderer and on the run, who is also his godfather, and he likes to make sure we aren't troubled..." I trailed off, twirling a piece of my hair, whilst holding in a laugh regarding the expression of horror upon Vernon Dursley's face.
"I already played that card, thanks for adding more to it." Harry whispered in my ear, and I ruffled his hair,
"No problem." I planted a quick kiss on his cheek, "See you soon, Harold." To which Harry made a funny face before grinning. "And," My gaze turned cold as I moved my eyes onto Vernon, "and a not so good day to you, sir." With that, I flicked my hair over my shoulder and strutted away before grinning at Remus, whose expression made me know that he knew what I just did.
"Come on, your mother is waiting."
"Are you coming home?"
"No, I will visit another day, I will just be dropping you off."
"Oh, alright." I let my eyes sweep the platform once more before departing into the Muggle world.
Hey!
So this was the final chapter for PoA, and I have to start the next one so not sure when I'll be updating next, but there will be a new book coming out soon, so if you read this book, please do check out that book (you'll see why once it's posted)!
Have a wonderful day and see you in the next one! <33
-S.B.