Remus came to pick me up right after lunch. He congratulated all of us on beating Kronos. I hugged my friends and brother goodbye before grabbing Moony's hand. With a crack, we disappeared. I felt like I was being squeezed through a tube. It was much less comfortable then when I had apparated with Bill. I felt really queasy. Moony didn't look so good either. "First time apparating?" he asked.
"No, I apparated once to get to Kings Cross last year with Bill Weasley."
"Ah, yes. Bill's here, actually. So is Charlie." Remus handed me a piece of paper. It said 'The Order of the Phoenix resides at number twelve Grimmauld Place.' "You got all that?" he asked me. I nodded and looked up. A door was appearing in front of me. I love magic. We were about to walk in when a cry interrupted us. I turned and saw a little girl hiding behind the garbage bins. She poked her head out to see who we were before hiding again. Remus looked at me before going up in front of the bins. I heard a squeak, and the little girl ran out from her hiding spot. She ducked behind my legs and couldn't have been more than 3. I turned around and scooped her up as Remus walked over to me. She buried her face in my shoulder, shivering.
Rubbing her back, I asked, "What's your name, baby girl?"
"F-Freya. Y-you're not g-gonna take me back to my mommy are you?"
"Why don't you want to go back to your mom, Freya?" Remus asked.
She flinched back from him. "Sweetheart," I tried, "you're gonna have to tell us."
"Sh-she's mean. She gives me boo-boos. I don't like her. Please don't take me back." I looked at the little girl in my arms. There were bruises and cuts up and down her entire body. Her right arm was crooked. It looked broken.
"What about your dad, Freya?" Remus asked.
"I don't have one. He had to go away before I was born, and mommy says it's my fault. She doesn't like me."
"How old are you, Freya?" I asked.
"Five," she said, proudly holding up her left hand to show me."
A demigod Remus mouthed to me.
I think she's Apollo's I mouthed back. "Freya, what's your last name?"
"R-Roberts. My l-last name is Roberts"
That's the name of Apollo's daughter he told me about yesterday. "Don't worry, Freya. You can come home with us. Do you know how to read?"
She nodded eagerly and I handed her the paper. She frowned slightly as she struggled through reading it. I switched to Greek so I could talk to Remus without Freya hearing. She's a daughter of Apollo. He told me about her. We can keep her with us and then I'll take her back to camp over winter break.
This is Sirius' parents house. It's not really good for kids.
I don't care. I'm sure Sirius will enjoy meeting his baby cousin anyway.
She's your future step-daughter, Remus shrugged. I glared at him.
"You ready, Freya?" She nodded her head eagerly. I walked up to the door and opened it with the hand that wasn't supporting the little girl. As soon as I was inside, a wand was in my face. In pure childish curiosity, Freya poked the tip with her tiny finger. The tip illuminated and I saw the thin face of Bill Weasley. Freya reached out and pulled on his earring. He winced but didn't put his wand down.
"When and where was our first meeting, and what were you eating?"
"At my apartment in Manhattan before the Quidditch World Cup last year. I was eating cold pizza." Bill nodded and stuck his wand into his leather boot.
"Good to see you again, Nina. Who's the kid?"
"This is Freya. Freya, this is my friend Bill Weasley."
"He's got a fang." Bill chuckled as Remus closed the door. Bill beckoned me forwards into the kitchen. There were a lot of strange faces. Freya squeaked and hid her face in my shoulder.
"It's okay, Freya. They won't hurt you. They're nice." She looked at all the people cautiously. Mrs. Weasley squealed and ran forward to take Freya from me. Freya hid her face again and I glared at her. Mrs. Weasley seemed very put out. Mr. Weasley pulled her back into her chair.
"Guys," Bill introduced, "this is Nina and Freya for those who don't know. Freya's the little girl. This is Dedalus Diggle, Hestia Jones, Nymphadora Tonks, she prefers Tonks, Mundungus Fletcher, and Kingsley Shacklebolt. I think you know everyone else."
"Thanks, Bill. C'mon Freya. I'll show you my cousin." I brought Freya to the head of the table where Sirius was sitting. "This is Sirius. He's really weird."
"I resent that."
"I speak naught but the truth," I said, sticking my tongue out." Freya giggled and held out her left arm to Sirius. She kept her injured one by her side. Sirius took her from me and sat her down on the table in front of him.
"What happened to you, midget? You don't look so good." Freya whimpered.
She's a daughter of Apollo, I told him, switching to Greek and leaning in to whisper. She said her mother did it. We found her outside behind the trash cans. Sirius growled and pulled out his wand to heal Freya. Freya flinched back and tears formed in her sapphire blue eyes. I noticed they were the exact same shade as Apollo's. None of his kids had the exact same shade as him.
"It's okay, Freya. I'm not gonna hurt you. I'm going to make you feel better. I promise it will only sting a little," Sirius said. I had never seen him like that. Freya nodded and grabbed two of my fingers with her little hand. "Episkey," Sirius said. The bones in Freya's arm snapped back together.
Freya winced slightly. She wiggled her arm and was happy to find she could move it. "That's just like magic," she giggled.
"It was magic, Freya. I'm a witch and Sirius is a wizard. So is Remus, the man I was with, and Bill."
"Bill is the guy with the funny earring, right?"
Bill laughed. "Yup, that's me." Freya waved shyly at him. He grinned at her and ruffled her golden hair. She tried to flatten it back down, but it was as messy as he father's. It could use a good brushing too. You're just in time for dinner, by the way."
"Oh, I just had lunch. It is only noon in New York. Are you hungry, Freya?" She looked like she wanted to say something but shook her head instead. "It's okay if you are, Sweetie. I can make you some soup if you don't like what they're eating."
"Mommy only gives me breakfast. I don't eat dinner. She says only good girls get dinner, and I'm a bad girl."
"Freya, you aren't a bad girl. You can eat whenever you're hungry, love," Sirius said. He picked her up and pulled her into his lap. She tried to struggle away, but he ignored it and pulled her closer to him. He kissed her forehead and held her closer. "You want macaroni cheese?"
"What's that?"
"You've never-never mind. C'mon, let's go make some. You'll love it." He set Freya down on the table and asked her pulled a sauce pan down from above him. "Hey, Nina," he whispered in my ear. "Can you summon a box of Kraft from your bracelet?"
I rolled my eyes but ducked down behind the island and summoned a box of white cheddar, my favorite. When I stood back up, Sirius had already started magically boiling the water. I dumped the pasta in went to get butter and milk from the fridge. Sirius dumped that in after draining the water, and Freya mixed the concoction.
Sirius brought the hot pot to the table. By this time, everyone else had joined us. Harry flashed me a grin and sat down next to me. As soon as he sat down, he started brooding. Sirius sighed so I assumed Harry's been doing this the entire time he's been here. Hermione sat down opposite of me and Ginny was next to Harry. fred and George each hugged me before taking places near Bill and Charlie. Freya hopped up onto my lap and Sirius was next to me.
Sirius scooped mac and cheese in his dish and Freya's. Right before he could take a bite, Mrs. Weasley shrieked, "Sirius Black!" Freya flinched away from the yelling and I covered her ears. "You can eat what the rest of us are having. You will not eat children's food!"
Sirius stood up. "This is my house, Molly! I will eat what I want to. I am a grown man and don't need you telling me what to do so just shut up!" Sirius sat back down and Mrs. Weasley looked like she was about to say something else. Mr. Weasley pulled her back into her seat. She glared at her husband then turned her glare to Siri. I removed my hands from Freya's head. She whimpered and curled into me. I murmured comforting words into her hair as I ran my fingers through it. Eventually, Freya calmed down and let me feed her some mac and cheese.
When she was done, she curled back into side. "I like that," she sighed. "That's my favorite food." She yawned, stretching her little arms.
"Let's get you to bed, midget," Sirius grinned. "You want to stay with Nina?" Freya nodded her head and rested it on my shoulder. I brushed her hair out of her eyes.
"Christina is just a child, Sirius. She can't take care of a little girl. Freya can stay with me and Arthur. It's not like you know how to raise a child either."
"Shut up, woman! I helped raise Harry, didn't I?" Mrs. Weasley hadn't expected a comeback. "If Freya wants to stay with Nina, she can stay with Nina. You have no say about what goes on in this house! C'mon, Nina, Freya, you can stay in my brother's old room. I'll transfigure some old clothes into pajamas for you, midget." Freya giggled and held out her arms to Sirius. He took her from me and led us up the stairs.
We were in the room across from Sirius'. He took his mother's hair brush and transfigured it into a pair of footsies with little frogs on the feet. Freya rolled onto her back on the bed and lifted up her feet. She played with the frogs on her tiny toes. It was the most adorable thing I'd ever seen. I pulled the covers over her tiny body and kissed her forehead. Sirius did the same. I sat next to her. "Do you want me to sing you a song?" I asked.
"Would you?"
"Of course."
You are my sunshine, my only sunshine
You make me happy when skies are grey
You never know, dear, how much I love you
Please don't take my sunshine away
The other night, dear, as I lay sleeping
I dreamt I held you in my arms
When I awoke, dear, I was mistaken
So I hung my head, and I cried
You are my sunshine, my only sunshine
You make me happy when skies are grey
You never know, dear, how much I love you
Please don't take my sunshine away
I'll always love you and make you happy
If you will only say the same
But if you leave me to love another,
You'll regret it all one day
You are my sunshine, my only sunshine
You make me happy when skies are grey
You never know, dear, how much I love you
Please don't take my sunshine away
Please don't take my sunshine away
I looked down to see that Freya was sleeping. Sirius smiled and helped me up. After he closed the door behind us, I said, "I'm sorry about Luke. I know you didn't know him well and all, but he was your brother."
Sirius sighed. "I've lived a lot longer than most demigods, Nina. I've seen a lot of my siblings die. Most of them I hardly knew. It never makes it any easier." He looked at the ground for another second before looking up with his usual grin. "Shall we. We'll answer some questions about the Order for you and Harry."
"What is the Order of the Phoenix?" I asked as we started down the four flights of stairs.
"Its an organization Dumbledore started up. We fight Voldemort. I swear, he's almost as hard to kill as Kronos."
"Nothing is as hard as Kronos. I hope I didn't just jinx us."
"You probably did," Sirius laughed as he swung open the door to the kitchen. We regained our seats. Harry grabbed my hand under the table. I stepped on his foot really hard. He winced and pulled his hand back. Everyone stared at us, but I managed to keep a straight face. Harry, Ron, Hermione, Fred, and George were the others that were here to ask questions. Mrs. Weasley didn't look very happy about that.
"They're too young," she snapped.
"Since when did someone have to be in the Order to ask questions?" Sirius smirked almost lazily. "Besides, Remus, James, and I were Fred and George's age when we joined. Harry and Nina haven't gotten any news for nearly a month. They've got the right to know what's been happen-"
"It's not down to you to decide what's good for them. You haven't forgotten what Dumbledore said, I suppose?"
"Which bit?" Sirius rolled his eyes.
"The bit about not telling those two more than they need to know."
"I don't intend on telling them more than they need to know. But as they were the ones who saw Voldemort come back, they have more right than most to-"
"They're only 15! Nina just turned 15 yesterday!"
"And they've dealt with more than most of the Order."
"No one's denying what they've done! But they're still-"
"They aren't children!" Sirius was nearly shouting now.
"They aren't adults either. Harry's not James and I don't know who you think Christina-"
"It's Nina," I interrupted.
Mrs. Weasley ignored me. "Is, but she is still a little girl."
"I'm perfectly clear who they are, Molly. Nina is not a little girl! She has experienced far worse than you could even have dreamed of so I suggest you shut up."
"Those two are still in school and adults responsible for them should not forget it."
"Meaning I'm an irresponsible godfather?" Sirius growled, sounding more and more like his animagus form.
"Meaning you've been known to act rashly, Sirius, which is why Dumbledore keeps reminding you to stay at home and-"
"We'll leave my instructions from the man who let me rot in prison for his idiotic greater good out of this, if you please."
There was an awkward silence before Mrs. Weasley started up again. "Arthur! Arthur, back me up!"
Mr. Weasley didn't say a word. Instead, Remus spoke up quietly. "Personally, I think it's better Harry and Nina get the facts-all the facts, Molly. You heard Albus. They both deserve to hear the story."
"I refuse to allow it."
"Hey, I want a say in this. I've been taking care of myself since I was a little girl, Mrs. Weasley. I spent half my life out on the streets. I'm pretty good at eavesdropping as well, so either way-yes, even if you put curses up-I will get all the information."
Mrs. Weasley humphed and plopped down into her chair."
"I would ask about the whole living on the streets thing," Remus said, "but I know you and I figure I may get injured if I do."
"Good wolfy," I smirked.
"Alright," Harry said. "what's been going on?"
"Well, we know quite a lot," started Sirius.
"More than he thinks we do anyway," Remus finished.
"How come he's stopped killing people?" Harry asked.
"You two messed up his comeback. He can't bring attention to himself because it would be dangerous for him."
"How did we mess it up?" I asked.
"You two weren't supposed to survive," Sirius answered.
"Maybe if he wanted to kill us, he should have skipped the whole speech and just killed Harry instead of dueling him. Not that I want you dead or anything, Harry."
"Let's not talk about how he should have killed you, yeah?" Sirius said. "Anyways, you two and Diggory alerted Dumbledore about Voldemort which was the last thing he wanted."
"How has that helped?" Harry asked.
Bill snorted into his hot chocolate. "Are you kidding? Dumbledore was the only one Voldemort was ever scared of! Because of you and Nina, Dumbledore was able to reform the Order."
"So what's the Order been doing?" Harry prompted.
"Making sure Voldemort doesn't steal the secret weapon he's after."
"What's the weapon?" I asked, popping a piece of gum in my mouth. The conversation was setting me on edge. Whenever I'm on edge, I like to be chewing something. That's the main reason we put snacks out during war meetings at camp.
"That's enough," snapped Mrs. Weasley. You've given them enough information."
"But I just started my piece of gum," I sighed.
Mrs. Weasley glared at me as Charlie asked me for a stick of gum. She marched us all up to bed. Where do you think you're going, young lady?" she asked as I started walking up the next flight of stairs.
"Bed," I said.
"You'll be sleeping with Hermione and Ginny down this hallway," Mrs. Weasley frowned.
"Nope. Sirius already showed me my room. Goodnight all." I climbed up the next flight of stairs. I made a left and slowly opened the door so as not to wake up Freya. She was still sleeping quietly. I quickly changed into a pair of grey sweatpants and a red tank top before climbing into bed. Freya unconsciously curled up to me and I laid an arm over her tiny body. This was going to be a long rest of the summer.