Infinity - G. Weasley

Chapter 26

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Katherine and Hermione sat on the train. Hermione blabbered about her studies; of course, she had excellent marks. Katherine smiled and nodded every few seconds. The Hufflepuff wasn't paying attention to what Hermione was saying. Katherine was too worried about the Weasleys, especially Arthur. George hadn't responded to her letter, which slightly angered Katherine, but she had to think about what George was going through.

Katherine looked out the compartment door. Students passed by with their friends and significant others. Katherine frowned at the couples; she wanted George. Rolf walked by and smiled. Katherine waved without smiling. Rolf frowned at her greeting but brushed it off. He thought it might have something to do with her boyfriend.

The train finally arrived at the station. Katherine eagerly got her luggage and sped out of the train with Hermione. The first face Katherine saw was George. She dropped her trunk and ran to him, embracing the boys in a tight hug. George laughed, making Katherine smile even wider. If he was laughing, that meant everything was okay.

"Didn't realize you would be this excited to see me," George said as they parted.

"Oh, shut it!" Katherine laughed.

Katherine looked around and saw Mrs. Weasley with Harry. Mrs. Weasley smiled and hugged her. Next was Harry, who looked shaken up. Hermione was behind her and hugged Harry. She began to talk to him about something, but Katherine wasn't paying attention. A black dog was sitting next to Mrs. Weasley.

"Molly, did you get a dog?" Katherine laughed, giving the animal a belly rub. George snickered along with Harry.

"You could say that," Molly huffed. "Now, let's go home. Harry grab my hand. Have a happy Christmas, Hermione!"

There were cracks, and suddenly everyone was back at Grimmauld Place. The familiar black walls surrounded Katherine. The Hufflepuff looked at the dog, who was starting to change into a man. Katherine let out a yelp at the sight of Sirius.

"I forgot you're an Animagus!" Katherine said in amazement.

"Yes. An unregistered Animagi, in fact," Sirius chuckled.

"Holy Helga, that's cool!" Katherine exclaimed. Suddenly, she remembered what she had discovered in one of her meetings with Dumbledore. "Can I talk to you?"

"Of course!" Sirius was now nervous. He never dreamed of having a niece, but he already loved her. Sirius led her to the room with the painted family tree. "So I'm guessing Dumbledore told—"

Katherine cut Sirius off by hugging him. The man let out a sigh of relief. He thought Katherine would hate him, but instead, she seemed happy.

"I have an uncle," Katherine chuckled. She pulled away and saw Sirius' big smile.

"You do, darling," Sirius looked at the family tree. "You have Regulus' eyes, but everything else is your mother."

"I always wondered where I got my eyes from," Katherine's laughter rang through the room and made Sirius's heart leap. The wrinkles around her eyes were another thing Katherine had inherited from his brother.

"Would you like to see a picture of him?" Sirius was serious when he asked the question.

Katherine nodded and watched her uncle pull the picture out of his pocket. It was a teen Regulus. He wasn't smiling; he looked sad. The same sadness she saw in the first Pensieve memory. Katherine studied the picture more; two adults were on both sides of him. The woman had a sour look on her face with black hair that seemed to be turning grey and dark eyes. The man had dark hair and the same grey eyes as Regulus and herself.

"Why is he so sad?" Katherine looked from the picture to Sirius, who was sadly staring at the picture.

"I don't know," Sirius sighed. "Regulus was always the favorite. He believed in blood purity like my parents and eventually joined Voldemort. He got everything he dreamed of."

Sirius sat in a chair and stared at the picture. Katherine sighed and thought about the memories Dumbledore has shown her. It made no sense that he not only saved but loved her mother. If he was a blood purist, why would he have been with a Muggle-born?

"I think there's more to the story," Katherine slowly said. Sirius looked at her with a confused look. "I've been having meetings with Dumbledore. To test my spell resistance—"

"You can resist spells?" Sirius asked.

"Yeah, did no one tell you?" Katherine laughed. Sirius smiled and nodded. "Anyways, the first couple of meetings, Dumbledore showed me memories. They weren't just his, but they were also Regulus. The first one he showed me was in the dining hall. You were with your friends as well as my Mum. Regulus was sitting by himself staring at you."

"Probably watching us so that he could tell mother," Sirius scoffed.

"No, he looked sad. You should have seen the look in his eyes. Regulus was jealous, and he was longing to talk to you," Katherine said.

Sirius bit the inside of his cheek. He never paid attention to his brother after he moved to the Potter's. Sirius had tried to convince him to run away, but Regulus denied the offer. Sirius always thought his brother hated him after he ran away. He even went as far as to make fun of him at Hogwarts, which was well deserved after Regulus had called Lily Evans a Mudblood.

"What about the other memories?" Sirius asked. He wanted to change the subject, and Katherine sensed that.

"The rest were of Mum with her friends, you and your friends, and Alden," Katherine began to explain. "The last one was pretty tough to watch. This Mulciber guy was messing with Mum."

"Mulciber was a prick! Messed with a lot of girls, but Mary the most. Probably because she was a Muggle-born," Sirius growled.

"Yeah, Mulciber was using the Imperius Curse on her when Regulus stunned him," Katherine explained. "Regulus saved her! That has to count for something. I don't think he was the blood purist you thought he was. Anyway, they started to kiss. The memory ended there, and that's when Dumbledore told me about Regulus being my father."

Sirius took in everything his niece was saying. Was she right about Reg? Did he just put up a front to keep their parents happy? Sirius felt a pit in his stomach when she thought about the way he treated his younger brother. If only he could turn back time.

"Uncle Sirius?" Katherine said. She saw how lost in thought he was and the painful expression on his face. Sirius' face shot up when she said, uncle.

"Did you just call me uncle?" Sirius had a poker face on.

"Well, yes. You are my uncle," Katherine nervously laughed. "Do you not want me to call you that? I can—"

Sirius interrupted Katherine with a hug. He lifted her up and spun around while laughing. Sirius let go of Katherine and cupped his hands around her face. The man had a massive grin on his face.

"I'm an uncle," Sirius softly said before laughing again. Katherine smiled at his laugh. It was the same laugh she heard escape his mouth back in 1976.