Till Forever Falls Apart

Chapter Fourteen: Lesson Learned

January 2, 1992

The days of the Christmas holiday passed quickly. Although the reminder of what had happened at Christmas dinner still loomed unpleasantly in the back of everyone's minds, things went back to normal, as if it had never happened. Yes, James had taken to calling her "Ms. Ravenclaw", and Lily and Mary could not go an hour or so without asking Val a question only to say "of course, such a Ravenclaw answer", but besides these new comments, the young girl was more than relieved not to be treated like fragile glass. In everyone's eyes, she was the same old Valentina, the child who ran before she properly learned how to walk.

Val could not wash away the sticky feeling of guilt that clung to her chest each day. It was her fault she had lied for months, turning what could have been a simple conversation into a tricky situation. It was not an easy thing to forget that your own daughter had lied for months, letting yourself think that you had told yourself it was because she was scared and that you thought you ended up being your dreadful parents. As much as Val tried to brush over the situation as best she could, going the extra mile to accompany him on whatever he had planned for his days, she still couldn't help but feel that she was walking on eggshells, ready to split and crack under her feet.

"I'll be honest with you, dear," Remus said to her a few days after Christmas when she was helping him clean the house. "It was a rather large thing to hide, even though some of us," he pointed to himself, "already knew. Your dad has always been hard on himself. You two need to give each other time to return to the way things were."

But Val had grown to have a tricky relationship with waiting.

And Sirius had never kept her waiting.

So, as her, Ron, and Harry were piling their things into the car Sirius had rented for them to take to the train platform, Val felt torn. She wanted to stay and spend more time with her dads, hating to leave things awkward and in-between with Sirius, but she also wished to be back at school, reading in her common room with a blanket loosely thrown over her as she sat on the velvet loveseat. Nothing ever bothered her during that time.

Sirius and Remus decided that they would be the ones to drop the children off at the platform, riding in the Ministry car until they had reached the station once more. The three kids took their heavy loads, cages, and books and crossed the platform into the wizarding world once more, craning their necks to see if they could spot any of their friends to greet.

CRACK!

James apparated before them, causing Val to startle a sleeping Ruttledge in his cage, sending him into a flurry of angry hooting at the rude awakening. Feeding him a few owl biscuits to calm his nerves, Val turned back to James to see why he had come.

"Forgot to give you two this," James panted with a charming smile, handing over a cloak made of silvery-blue fabric. Val recognized what it was immediately, taking it from James' hands and gasping loudly.

"We used it our first year, so we have finally decided to give you one of the legendary marauders relics," James pushed his glasses up. "It is up to you two to use it wisely now."

"You come from school phenomenons, you know," Sirius puffed out his chest. "Carry on the marauder name with glory."

"We have a few more things we'll give you when the time is right," Remus patted Harry and Val on their backs. "But for now you are amateurs."

"Babies," James added.

"Inexperienced," Sirius said wisely.

"I think I get the idea," Harry frowned, taking the cloak protectively from Val's hands and hugging it. James squeezed his son and pulled away, smiling at the kids.