Lady Stardust

26. Home Sweet Home

A/N: I just saw that this story got 1k reads, and I can't believe it. I'm so happy and I love everyone that has read this far. Thank you so much!

June 30th

Ariene woke up that morning with a headache. She couldn't remember her dreams after how much she had smoked with Remus the night before. They had gotten high and talked about the year, reminiscing on the best times they had shared. Ariene had a very nice year at Hogwarts. She remembered how much she used to make fun of it at her old school, cracking a joke and smiling as everyone in her dorm laughed. She loved Hogwarts now. She didn't want to leave. Ariene rolled over on her side and pulled back her bed curtains. She saw Sirius's hair peek out of his comforter, which was pulled all the way over his head, as usual. James's bed was empty and made. Peter was still deeply asleep. Remus was lightly snoring in his bed, turned away from Ariene. She got up and stretched, smiling as she saw Bowie do the same. She got dressed in the clothes she had left on her empty bedside table, all her stuff carefully packed in her trunk, other than a tin case of Remus's hand-rolled cigarettes. She turned around and winced when her foot hit the edge of her bedside table. She saw Peter stir, and he opened his eyes and looked up at her.

"Alright, Ariene?" He asked, smiling slightly. Ariene smiled back.

"Alright."

***

Remus packed the remaining of his belongings in silence. Ariene and Remus spent quite a long time with each other rolling cigarettes that day, knowing that they would need them for the summer, and she watched him carefully pack them next to his clothes.

"Will you write?" Peter asked Ariene, sitting on his trunk trying to get it to close.

"Peter," Ariene raised an eyebrow and the trunk slammed closed. Peter shot up, eyes widening as he turned back to his trunk.

"Wow, um, thanks!" He said, rubbing the back of his head.

"Anytime." Ariene turned back to her own trunk, which was perfectly clean and packed neatly.

"So will you?" Peter asked, walking over to her.

"Will I what?" Ariene asked, putting Bowie in his pet carrier.

"Will you write?" Peter asked again. Ariene turned to the other boys, who looked up at her, waiting for her response. Remus continued packing his trunk, his back turned to her.

"Sure," Ariene lied. She knew she wouldn't be able to, and she knew she wouldn't try.

"Good. Cause we will miss you over in mar-see-ellie," James smiled. Ariene snorted.

"Marseille," She corrected in her french accent. "And I don't live in Marseille, James." She rolled her eyes.

"Right, I know. Mar-say." James sounded like he was coughing up cotton. Ariene and Sirius snickered, and Ariene immediately gave him a look. He paled and looked away, ashamed.

"Mar-say," James tried again, frowning at his incompetence.

"No, James, Ma-saiy," Peter tried, getting it wrong as well. Ariene smiled as the two fought each other on the pronunciation. She would miss them. She would miss them so much.

***

Ariene sighed as the train slowed to a stop at the Kings Cross Station. Mary and Sirius snogged half of the way there, as well as Peter and Desdemona, but Ariene didn't care. Marlene was either silent the whole way back or quietly talking to Lily, never making eye contact with Ariene.

"Well. I guess this is it." James looked at Ariene, who snorted.

"Don't be so dramatic. We can say goodbye when we get off the train," Ariene said, with a nervous laugh. Sirius gave her a look, and Ariene made eye contact for a second, before looking away. Remus was sitting in another carriage and Ariene had sat with him for most of the train ride before he insisted on being alone. The Marauders got up and pulled their trunks out of the shelves, dust flying out as well. They made their way out of the train and anxiety twisted in Ariene's chest. Ariene looked up and immediately saw Regulus who was solemnly walking through the platform with his mother, who Ariene recognized from her childhood dinners and events. Regulus didn't meet her gaze and continued staring at the ground, his posture completely stiff. Please let him be okay, Ariene pleaded silently.

"Okay, is this it?" James asked Ariene. Ariene smiled but widened her eyes when a friendly-looking couple pounced on James, giving him a hug. Ariene smiled as she looked at Remus, who rocked back on his heels, hands in his pockets.

"Aw, you've all gotten so big," The woman said. She looked over to Ariene and smiled. "You must be Ariene! You're even more lovely in person," She gave Ariene a hug and Ariene chuckled awkwardly.

"Fleamont Potter," James's dad said, extending his hand.

"Nice to meet you," Ariene said, shaking it.

"This is Euphemia," He gestured to the kind woman who had hugged her.

"Euphemia, I loved your mince-meat pies at Christmas," Ariene said.

"Oh, thank you, dear," She smiled. Ariene now knew how James was so sweet, so loving. She already loved his parents. Ariene looked at James, who was blushing, clearly very happy to be back with his family.

"I've got to get going," Remus said, shifting his feet awkwardly. Ariene looked at him, smiling. She walked over to him and hugged him, standing on her tiptoes so she could put her arms around his neck.

"I love you, Remus," Ariene said. Remus sighed and hugged her back.

"I love you too. Take care of yourself, Ariene," He said. Ariene nodded and pulled away. James and Peter gave her a hug as well, but Ariene just gave Sirius a glance. He looked at her with half-parted lips, studying her eyes. Ariene blinked and broke eye contact.

"I've got to get going as well," Ariene said.

"Well it was lovely to meet you," Euphemia said, her arms wrapped around James.

"Ariene, wait," Sirius said. Ariene turned to him.

"Yes?" Sirius walked over to her and grabbed her hand, wrapping her fingers around his compact mirror. Ariene blinked.

"Sirius, keep it. I'll be fine." Ariene pushed it back into his hand and dropped her hands back to her side. He was frowning, trying to understand. Ariene decided to leave before he could.

"But Ariene," He started.

"Bye guys, I'll see you next year," Ariene was frantic to get away all of a sudden. She picked up her trunk and turned around, rushing away. She ran out of the platform, sniffing away tears.

"Ariene," Marlene said softly. Ariene turned around to see her standing there, her family behind her chatting amongst each other. Marlene looked up through her blonde eyelashes at Ariene like she used to.

"Marlene I-" Ariene started. She didn't know what to say. "I'm so sorry," She said before rushing away. Her tears wet her eyelashes and Ariene blinked them away, staring at the floor as she went to find the nearest floo network.

***

Ariene slowly looked up. She was back at Genet Manor, standing in the fireplace, her family studying her. Her parents stood tall behind her four sisters, who were all looking at her like she was cat sick.

"Ariene," Her eldest sister Madeleine remarked. Ariene exhaled.

"Hello," Ariene said, fixing her posture but shifting her eyes back to the ground. This house had appeared so many times in her dreams at Hogwarts, terrorizing her, reminding her of all the awful things from her past. Ariene looked back up to her sisters.

"I'll show you to your room." She said. Ariene frowned. I don't need to be shown to my room. Ariene nodded and picked up her trunk.

"Don't worry about that, Master Ariene," Her house-elf snapped. Ariene looked down at him. It had been a long time. Remi, she believed his name was. There were approximately 15 house elves working at Genet Manor, that was if her mother hadn't fired any. There were eight bedrooms, 13 bathrooms, a queen-sized dining hall that could feed more than forty, a ginormous kitchen, a massive garden outside that looked out to the sea, and a library containing every work of wizard literature that has been written.

"Thank you," Ariene said. The tension in the air was thick, and her parents still had not said a word.

"Come with me," Her older sister called, and Ariene walked through the haunting halls she knew like the back of her hand, the portraits hanging making nasty remarks about her hair, clothes, actions, Ariene tried not to listen. Home sweet home.