( chapter xxxv. LET THE MEMORIES FADE AWAY )
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The days following were all a haze. She couldn't tell them apart and she wasn't sure if she wanted to. Everything happened in the following days and yet nothing did as well. For the first week, Uncle Pads was detained again for his supposed crimes but this time he got a trial. Her Uncle Regulus - fresh from the dead and having to answer for his own illegal faking of his death - and Aunt Nadia fought for the trial, as did everyone else in the Order.
Calypso went back to school, along with the other members of the D.A. Most of them were in the hospital wing for injuries sustained during the battle. Maia was in shock and Calypso didn't comfort her; she couldn't.
When her uncles' trials came, she testified for them both. Told nothing but the truth because otherwise it would be perjury and because the truth helped them. Veritaserum was used for Sirius' trial and everything came to light; Peter Pettigrew was the real criminal and Sirius Black was another one of his victims.
Peter Pettigrew was responsible for the deaths of James and Lily Potter, for those twelve muggles, and the twelve years Sirius Black had been wrongfully imprisoned in Azkaban. The Ministry took the blame for not having a trial at the time, more so putting it on the late Barty Crouch since he was in charge of overseeing the trials at the time.
Her Uncle Regulus' trial was harder, seeing as he had staged his death, had others lie on his behalf, and kept the secret for so long. But, after a long fight, he was free as well. The trials were quick and by the time summer break began, they were free.
Everyone was free and safe, but not everyone was still breathing. Remelda Black's life had been stolen from her the day of the battle, the day she believed her uncle had been taken by Voldemort himself because of a false vision from Harry Potter and the words of her cousin who didn't know what was happen. Who told her what he knew, and what he knew led them to the Department of Mysteries where her mother died.
She did not blame Leo, he had not lied to them, he had not been tricked by Voldemort. He told her everything he knew and what he knew didn't tell them exactly that Sirius was right there in the kitchen with him for their eyes to see. So, they acted on what they knew and what they knew was wrong.
Calypso couldn't say she didn't blame Harry.
She wanted to free him from blame, really. She knew Harry, she knew he cared for Sirius and just wanted to keep him safe; to save his life and return the favor. She knew that. She did. But she also knew that he had a direct link to Voldemort and that the villain played on it. Tricked him. He had been tricked and instead of telling an adult (but who could they tell?), he got her and so many others involved and as a result, her mother died.
Her mother. The person she loved more than anyone else in the world, her hero, her savior, was gone. Dead. Killed right in front of her hiding eyes. A man without mercy murdered her without a second thought and then he walked away with a victorious smirk on his face. He was proud of himself for the kill, he wanted to end her. He didn't wait, hesitate, or show any sign of humanity.
He killed her, and he would pay for that. She would make sure of it.
The funeral occurred her first weekend out of school. For the time being, she would be living with Remus since she couldn't go home. They had to sell her childhood home, the morning of the funeral she went and saw it for one last time. She walked around the house she grew up in. Her whole life had been spent there, and now everything was changing.
She looked around her old room. She knew exactly where her mirror was, the placement of her bed, where Nala would tear up the carpet (which annoyed her mother more than anything), and where her posters had been. It was all empty now.
The living room held nothing in it. Everything was barren, all sign of life, all signs that a family had lived there, had a life there, were gone. It was a fresh home ready for the next family. All the memories were gone.
She didn't cry, though. She saved her tears for later.
Uncle Pads was moving back in with Aunt Nadia and them, seeing as they had restarted their relationship during the year they had stayed at 12 Grimmauld Place. Uncle Regulus was staying - in his human form - and had taken residence at said house.
He hated it, but he took up redecorating and Calypso could already see the change in the house. All the darkness was gone, the curtains were open, and every piece of furniture was burned. Kreacher stayed because he couldn't leave and Regulus liked him. He also found out how to get rid of the portrait so Walburga was gone. The old Black family was gone; the new one was starting fresh and that meant painting.
But first came the funeral.
Regulus and Sirius spoke about her early life, who she was growing up. They smiled but there was sadness in their eyes and they laughed when the recounted tales of their sister. Remus spoke of how brave she was and how kind. She was so accepting through everything and loved him through all his problems. Calypso was the last one to speak.
She stepped up and went to the podium, looking on to the waiting eyes. Her uncles were there, as was her aunt and cousins. Andromeda, Ted, and Nymphadora came as well. Birdie was there with Lee with her own moral support, not for her mother since they didn't know her when she was alive.
There were other faces that Calypso didn't know as well, nor care as much about. They looked at her with sympathy and sorrow, knowing that it was her mother. Her mother was dead, this was her funeral, and Remelda was never coming back.
"I've never been good at describing my mother," Calypso started off, voice strong as she looked at the audience, "There's always been too many things to say about her. She was so many different things. To me, she was the best mother ever. She was my hero, she saved my life so many times. She taught me how to be strong and how to love myself, to be kind to everyone. To hold my head high and look forward."
She paused, swallowing down her sobs and clenching her eyes shut to keep the tears from falling. She had to speak, she couldn't cry now. She had to continue.
"I always wanted to be her. She was so strong, through everything, and risked everything. She's done everything for me and I owe her so much. I loved her so much...she loved me so much. She loved everyone so much," her voice finally wavered, "She would do anything for those she loved, no matter the cost. And she did - she did so much for everyone. She was so good.
"She saved me so many times, but I couldn't save her," Calypso said, "I saw her die and I did nothing. I just watched, scared, and she fell down...I didn't save her. I could have saved her and I didn't. She was my savior, but I wasn't hers. After everything..."
Calypso turned back to the casket, she couldn't face them. She knew she was crying, she couldn't stop it. Her hand touched the closed coffin and she swallowed down her cries for a second, a silent sorry to her dead mother.
She looked back at them but didn't say anything, just took her seat next to her Uncle Regulus, who took her hand and held it. She leaned her head against his shoulder and he did not to move; just allowed her to rest. To take the comfort. She needed it.
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12 GRIMMAULD PLACE was much reformed and looked prettier and brighter than Calypso had ever seen it. There were bright curtains and the dining room where Calypso recalled all of the Order meetings being held was no longer plain with dark furniture and a China cabinet from the past now had light green walls, a white table and a new China cabinet with the other tea sets and Black family necklace.
The living room, across the hall, was rid of the old furniture that was much too elegant, showing off the wealth of the family and was now replaced with a modern couch, the same green walls, and a TV. There was pictures of the new Black family and Calypso started sadly at an old picture of herself and Remelda when she was a toddler.
Remelda looked so happy with her daughter and she was giggling, not looking at the camera in the slightest. It warmed her heart but made her feel so terribly hurt.
"I replaced the kitchen, too," Regulus appeared from behind her. She didn't jump - the Blacks never did, but did turn back to look at him, "It's all new and modern. Much brighter. Kreacher doesn't like it, but he'll just have to get used to it like everything."
"You know how he feels about light," Calypso commented, thinking about the rude house elf.
"It's like he's a vampire or something," Regulus teased in agreement. There was no smile on his face but none of them had been sporting one often. "I haven't started on the upstairs yet. Just got started on the bathroom down here."
Calypso nodded, "What room are you going flip after that? Your bedroom?"
He shrugged and moved more into the new and improved living room. "Yeah, I'll finally get it finished. It's just a mattress in there right now, but I did paint the walls."
"Oh, what color?" she asked, interested to see what color her uncle would choose.
"A light yellow. I was thinking about blue, but I really liked the yellow I had in my hotel room when I stayed in Hawaii a few years ago. Thought I'd bring it back," Regulus informed her.
She hummed. Her uncle always did love Hawaii for some reason. She had never been but she still had time. Maybe one day, after the war was over, her and Regulus would go. Or maybe she'd go with Birdie and Lee, maybe Cho if they got close enough again.
"That seems nice," Calypso compliment the color choice, even though she hadn't actually seen it yet.
"It is. At least, I think it is. Sirius isn't a fan, but he doesn't like anything that isn't red," Regulus said, "He even tried to convince me to paint all the downstairs a bright red shade. Said to smite our ancestors since red equals Gryffindor, which is a sin."
"I take it he didn't like the green that much then," Calypso guessed, knowing her other uncle.
Regulus nodded. "Yep, said it was too much like the past. I like it, though, a nice light green never hurt anyone."
"It looks nice," Calypso told him earnestly, "I like the change. It's so much brighter...homier, more welcoming."
"I tried. Out with the old and in with the new," Regulus agreed, "I think even this has our ancestors rolling in their graves."
Calypso huffed out a small laugh at that, it was probably true. She looked back at the old pictures before asking, "Are you going to be adding more photos?"
Regulus took a step beside her and looked at the pictures she was looking at before nodding, "I think it looks nice. Nadia is sending over some copies she has from the twins when they were younger, and others she has from school. I want to put them up everywhere, especially in her room."
"She's going to have a room?" Calypso asked, turning to her uncle.
"Sirius' old room. Well, they'll be sharing it. I'm giving everyone a room here, I have the room after all," Regulus shared with her.
She couldn't contain her shocked look, mouth agape before closing it asking, "Even me?"
Regulus sent her a look, as if asking if she was dumb. "Of course you're getting a room; you're my niece. I want you over whenever you can. I just don't know which room I want to give to you."
Calypso frowned, tilting her head in confusion, "What do you mean?"
"Well," Regulus started, "I'm deciding between two of them. There's my grandparents old room, where they stayed whenever they came over - Leo and Maia stayed in there last year - but there's also Remelda's old room."
And she understood immediately. "Oh," she let out, heart clenching at the mention of her mother.
Regulus nodded, understanding what was going through her head. "It makes sense, but I just - I don't know. I don't even want to clear it, to go through her things again like before at your old house, but I know I have to," he told her.
She said nothing but nodded. She understood, even she didn't want to go through that room. It was too much. It was confirmation again that her mother was never coming back, they'd never had another morning together. Remelda would never make her eggs again, they'd never bake cupcakes again. She wouldn't care for her after a full moon again or kiss her head when she came home from Hogwarts or send her off for her final year.
None of those things would happen because Remelda wasn't here; she was dead. She was gone but Calypso was still there, she was still breathing.
"We'll do it together, next month or something," Calypso found herself saying before she even realized that there were words coming out of her mouth, "After some time."
Regulus gave her a look of apprehension but she still stood strong. She had to do it; she had to say goodbye. Then he nodded, "Alright. Whenever you're ready."
She would never be ready, she wanted to tell him, but it was necessary. She needed a room here, after all. But that would be saved for later, at a different time in a different mindset.
"Uncle Regulus," she started off, "What was mum really like when she was younger? She never really told me, but I-I wanna know, I wanna know what she was like when she was my age."
Regulus gave her a sad smile before going to sit on the new couch, patting on the cushion next to him for her to sit down as well, which she did. "That's a long story, she changed a lot when she was your age - for the better," he told her, "But it's a good story. She was just so good."
Calypso swallowed, nodding in agreement to his words. Then he sighed, leaning back. "I think it really begins the summer before her sixth year. If I remember correctly, it was July fourteenth..."
authors note
this is such a short chapter compared to the rest this act, but i just wanted one all about her moving on and grieving remelda because calypso loved her mother so much and her death affects her so much.
also, just wanted to mention, the last bit of this chapter is the lead into broken crown which is remelda's story. just thought you guys should know