"Hear me out," Sirius pleaded with me. "Hang on," I grabbed a pillow and I threw it at him, hitting him right in the face. "I deserved that."
"You're such an idiot!" I freaked out. "He saw you! What if you'd been caught?! You would've been sent back!""
"I get the damn point!" Sirius snapped at me, making me flinch. His expression softened. "I'm sorry, Joy, I am but I caught a whiff of his scent and..I couldn't help myself."
Sirius took hold of my hands and looked me right in the eye. "It was a stupid and foolish thing to do and I scared the life out of that Weasley boy, I'm sorry, Joy."
"Just promise me you'll give me a heads up next time?" I murmured. "I promise," he reassured me, pulling me into a tight hug.
He rested his hand on top of my head. "I know something that's coming up on Sunday," Sirius said to me.
"Sunday?" I frowned.
"Your birthday," Sirius laughed. "Oh, that, I kind of forgot," I mumbled. "Wait you know when my birthday is?"
"Of course I do," Sirius chuckled. "April thirtieth."
I smiled at him. "Did you only come here to scold me?" Sirius asked me. "Yes, I ditched Potions," I admitted.
"Really, won't Snape get annoyed?" Sirius frowned. "Worst I'll get is another detention," I shrugged. "Adios."
I made a quick getaway and I made my way back to the castle. Luckily lunch started so I was first in the Great Hall.
Hermione joined me. "You weren't in Potions, is everything alright?"
I nodded. "I could do a day without Snape breathing down my neck."
Harry and Ron walked into the Great Hall. "See you later," Hermione walked away as Harry and Ron sat with me. "Where were you?" Ron asked me, diving into the food. "Wasn't in the mood," I smirked. "If Snape finds you, you're going to get detention quicker than you can say oops."
"Eh, I don't care," I mumbled, eating a sandwich.
"Hagrid wants to meet the two of us at six," Harry told Ron, then he looked at me. "Is Hermione okay?"
"She's okay but still upset," I explained. "So what are you going to do on Sunday?" Ron asked me.
"No idea," I frowned. "I kind of forgot about my birthday. We can get a drink in Hogsmeade, on the Saturday."
"Yeah, we can do that," Ron nodded. "At least Hermione isn't nagging us about Black."
"I'll take the map and the cloak," Harry said. "We can celebrate Joy's fourteenth."
I smiled at the boys.
***
Ron and I got the carriage into Hogsmeade that Saturday. "So, what do you want for your birthday?" Ron asked me. "I don't mind, the drink is enough," I said to him.
"You've been distant, very distant, are you okay?" Ron asked me. "I'm okay, just stressed is all," I told him.
"First stop, Honeydukes," Ron smirked. "Ooh yes please," I smiled. Ron had bought me lots of chocolate and the two of us left.
I felt something poke me in the back. "Ow!"
"Sorry," I heard Harry mumble. "Where were you?" Ron asked him. "Snape," he explained.
The three of us headed for the Three Broomsticks. "Take the cloak off, please," I begged Harry. "For my birthday?"
Harry took it off and glared at me. "I'll get the drinks," Ron offered.
Tia came into the Three Broomsticks and ran over to our table. "Happy Birthday!"
She sat down with me, Harry and Ron. Harry was getting to know her a bit and asked her a question that's been racing through his mind.
"You knew my father well?" Harry asked her. "He babysat me a bit during the summer," she told him. "Your father was actually Joy's godfather, he was like a big brother to me, I still miss him. You look so much like him, except for the eyes, Lily's eyes."
Harry smiled at her. "Now, I need to steal my niece for a second," Tia told Harry.
I joined her at the booth. "Like your little surprise?" she winked at me. "But why now?" I asked her. "Here, happy birthday," Tia smiled at me, handing me the document.
I read over it and each word made my smile shine brighter and brighter. "They said yes," she grinned. "To visitation rights....as long as I'm there."
"What?!" I gasped. "That's amazing news!"
Tia looked thrilled and she looked sheepishly at the floor. "I want to ask him about...the night she...."
She looked down, thinking about Mum. "I want to talk to him because I want to know what happened that night and I want to hear it from him."
Tia looked down. "A wife and mother weren't the only things lost that night. I lost a sister. I lost my best friend."
She brushed some dust off her robes. "I'll see you later then, Joy."
I gave her a hug before she left.
She ruffled my hair before leaving. "Tatiana Jones!" Rosmerta came over to her. "You haven't stepped in here since your seventh year, sucking your boyfriend's face off."
Tia rolled her eyes. "Come on, have a drink, on me," Rosmerta led her away.
"Shall we go?" I asked the boys. "You, cloak."
"Yes ma'am," Harry rolled his eyes, doing as I asked. "Come on, Shrieking Shack," Ron said.
We hiked up the hill where the shack was situated. "The villagers said to Dumbledore that they heard this loud shrieking, a girl," Ron told me and an invisible Harry.
"You do know that's where I am during the full moons right, the screaming's all me, it's very painful," I told him.
"So, it's not haunted?" Harry asked me. "No, it was built in 1971, Dumbledore encouraged the rumours so no one would go in," I told him.
"How much does it hurt?" Ron asked me. "Feels like I got set on fire," I responded. "The fevers make me feel so tired and the vomiting is draining."
I heard voices coming from behind. "Oh, shit," I swore. Me and Ron turned around to see Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle. "How long till the full moon?" Ron whispered to me.
"Three days, I might punch him," I grumbled. "You'd love to live here, wouldn't you Weasley. You'd get your own bedroom instead of living in one room with your entire family," Malfoy taunted him.
"I'll deal with him," Harry whispered to us. Thankfully he was still under the cloak.
"We were discussing your mate, Hagrid," Malfoy said to us. "Do you think he'll cry when they cut off.."
Suddenly, wet mud hit Malfoy in the back of the head. "What the.."
Me and Ron held onto each other as the laughter escaped from us. We couldn't stop laughing. "Who did that?!" Malfoy demanded.
"Who knows?" I shrugged. "After all, this place is haunted."
They kept spinning around like headless chicken, looking for the source. Crabbe and Goyle got hit in the face with green sludge. "It came from over there!" Malfoy pointed in a certain direction.
Crabbe was knocked over with a big stick. He looked at us and charged towards us. Harry had tripped him up but the cloak slipped off his face.
"Shit," I muttered. "ARRRGGHHH!" Draco screamed and he, Crabbe and Goyle ran.
"Harry, get back to the castle, pronto," I ordered. Harry fixed the cloak and left.
"I think we have to cut our stay short too," Ron murmured. "Run?"
"Run."
The two of us ran as fast as we could back to the carriages. We literally leapt onto it. "Hurry up!" I shouted at Ron. "Bloody hell, cool it," Ron rolled his eyes. The carriage made its way back to Hogwarts. "Crap, we're in deep shit," I grumbled.
We made it back to the entrance hall. "Split up," I told Ron and the two of us took off.
I ran to the dungeons and burst into the first room I saw, Snape's office, which contained Snape, Harry and Lupin, I was extremely out of breath I might add.
"I got that....stuff for Harry," I pointed at the stuff on the table, panting, trying not to pass out. "Christmas."
"Well, that clears things up," Lupin clapped his hands together. "I'll take this then, Harry, Joy come with me please."
We followed Lupin out. "Professor.."
"I don't want to hear any explanations," he snapped at us, once we got the Entrance Hall. "I happened to know this map was confiscated by Filch about sixteen years ago, I don't know how either of you got your hands on this but I am astounded that none of you thought to turn it in! What if Sirius Black got his hands on this?!"
Well, he helped create it in all fairness.
"I won't be covering for either of you anymore," Lupin told us. He turned his back on us and walked off. "Can I borrow the cloak?" I asked Harry. "Why?"
"I'll tell you later," I mumbled. I threw the cloak over myself and followed Lupin.
My aunt came in through the Entrance Hall. "Remus!"
Lupin leapt out of his skin and turned around. His face morphed to shock once he laid eyes on my aunt. "Tatiana?! Goodness...you've grown. Why are you here?"
"I am here to talk to Dumbledore and to see my niece, since you asked for help with the Firebolt," she told him. "I also wanted to talk to you."
"Why?" he asked her.
"What happened Remus? The night she died, I want to know what happened."
"Tatiana..."
"She may have been your wife, Remus but she was my sister, I have a right to know!"
"Can we talk about this in private?" Lupin asked her. "I'm not having this argument in public."
***
I followed them to Lupin's classroom and I ducked inside just on time before Lupin shut the door. "Why now, Tatiana?"
"Because of Joy, I met her, she's a great kid and I'm the only blood relative that can have custody."
"Thank you for reminding me," he rolled his eyes. "What happened to Alivia?" Tatiana asked him.
"She kept her big mission a huge secret, she didn't trust me," Lupin muttered bitterly.
"She did trust you, don't get on your high horse," Tia said. "It was dangerous enough to get her killed."
"Dumbledore wanted her to look in Voldemort's mind, find his weakness, she must have done, why else would he want her dead?" Lupin sighed. "That's all she told me, not what she saw or the dreams she had."
"Like what?" Tia asked him. "She could predict death, Tatiana," Lupin told her. "She dreamt of your parents dying, she dreamt of Joanna, Marlene, herself! She'd see them all die and prophecy is the one thing no witch or wizard could interfere in!"
Lupin sighed. "Alivia disappeared for a few days and she reappeared with this cup," Lupin told her. "I asked her about it but she refused to tell me, saying she couldn't tell me yet. Next day, I saw her trying to destroy the cup outside and she got frustrated. I asked her about it but she broke down into tears. She was trying for days to destroy that cup. It belonged to Helga Hufflepuff. I don't know why she wanted it destroyed but she was determined."
"She tried to destroy it?" Tia frowned. "What else?"
"A few days before she died, Alivia was insistent on tying up loose ends. Making sure everything was in order or hidden for that matter. I was about to go on a mission but she begged me not to go. I told her the mission important but she was hysterical. I tried telling her that she was being paranoid but that angered her beyond belief. She screamed at me and told me to leave. That was the last time I saw her. I came back to the house three days later and it was completely destroyed, furniture broken, glass broken. Mess everywhere. I ran upstairs and searched every room but there was no sign of them. Until I got a Patronus, asking me to come to an emergency meeting."
Tia sat down as Lupin sadly relived Mum's death. "I arrived, James was sobbing, I never saw him cry that much. Lily was in tears, Sirius was white in the face and Peter was just silent. Then the news was broken. She was dead. James saw it happen."
"What do you mean?" Tia asked him. "Alivia dropped Joy off at their house and fled. James went after her with the Cloak....he saw Voldemort come. He told me Alivia laughed in his face and told him to go ahead and kill her. Her exact words were 'I have birthed your downfall'. The Aurors asked James if he knew what Alivia meant. He lied and said he didn't but he did know. So did Lily. I begged him to tell me but he refused."
Lupin sat down. "Alivia and I had this way of communicating during a battle, a little whistle we'd do, like Marco Polo to check in on the other. But when I saw her body...."
He put his head in his hands. "Then the Ministry showed up and...they took Joy away to live with James and Lily, since James was her legal guardian if we died. I was considered too dangerous to raise her. Just because of what I am, I wasn't allowed to see her. After Halloween, I tried everything, I mean....everything to see her again. Then I find out this year about the horror show she's been put through."
Lupin took another deep breath. "I sent a letter to Hogwarts two years ago because I wanted her to know her dad was alive and that he still thought about her every day. I took this job so I could be near her."
"Remus.."
"Let me finish please," he sighed. "I lost the love of my life. The only girl who loved me for what I am, I can't lose my child too."
Tia was silent after he talked about the events leading to Mum's death. "I wanted to tell you that I spoke to the Ministry....they're allowing visitation."
Lupin looked up like a meerkat. "What?!"
Tia smiled at him. "It wasn't easy. But this way, you can see her whenever you want, come over this summer."
I had a big smile on my face. "She's a great kid, bit of a troublemaker," Lupin laughed. "Well, she's just like Alivia. I think it's time I tell her."
"About that...." Tia grimaced.
Lupin pulled out his wand. "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."
Crap, they're going to know I'm here. "Oh bugger," Lupin muttered. "Joy!"
I ran out the door like a bat out of hell.
***
"Happy birthday to you!" I heard the girls singing, waking me up. "Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday dear Joy! Happy birthday to you!"
"Fourteen," I smirked. "And still immature," Parvati said. "Oh bog off," I grumbled.
"Birthday letters," Lavender sang, handing me my post. "I'll sift through it later, I need breakfast," I smiled.
I went downstairs to the Great Hall in ripped jeans, a red t-shirt and a leather jacket.
I found three gold pins in one of the envelopes. They were from Sirius. One was a pair of antlers, one was a paw print and one was a crescent moon. Moony, Padfoot and Prongs, the true Marauders on the right side.
I pinned them to the lapel of my leather jacket.
I went downstairs for my breakfast and I got a bag of Zonkos tricks from Fred and George and more chocolate from Hermione while Harry got me new Quidditch gloves.
"Can I use Biscuit?" Hermione asked me. "I want to send a note to Hagrid."
"Yeah, sure, Biscuit likes you more than me anyway," I said. "I like the pins," Harry pointed at my jacket. "Thank you," I smiled. "Hello, boys," Tia greeted them. She put a box on the table. "You know your father saw you last night on the map."
"I know, that's why I ran," I smirked as I opened the box. "Isn't this that Muggle thing that plays music through a head..set right?" I asked her.
"Exactly, these things don't usually work in Hogwarts but your father and Dumbledore helped me to get it working," Tia explained. "So, I can listen to music when I study or read?" I asked Mum. "Exactly, let me show you how this works."
Tia put a tape in what she called a 'Walkman.' I put the headset on and the music played through them. "Wicked!" I smiled. "The music is really good. I personally prefer Muggle music."
"All the best ones are in there," Tia told me. "Happy Birthday, Joy."
I rested my head on my aunt's shoulder and looked over at the staff table. Lupin was looking right at me and Tia. I gave him a small smile. Summer would be good this year.
"I have to go, sweetheart," Tia told me. "My boss will skin me alive."
She sighed. "You heard everything about Livvy, right?"
I nodded. "He did love her, I wish she knew that."
"I think she didn't want to be alone that night," Tia sighed. "But she made sure we were taken care of. Your mother loved you more than anything. If prophecies could be interfered in, she would've done it in a heartbeat."
"Lovely to see you again, Tatiana," McGonagall said to her. "You too, Minnie," Tia smiled at her.
Fred and George started snickering. "Call me that, you automatically get detention," McGonagall warned them. "Wouldn't dream of it, Minnie," Fred laughed.
I burst out laughing. "I'll see you boys at summer," Tia told them. "Bye, Tia!" Fred and George called after her.
I put in another tape and put the headphones on.