I Was Younger Then

Family Heirloom

Spending time at Grimmuald Place was a good distraction for Penny, who found herself constantly occupied with something. While Sirius let up on the severity of his training of her, he still got her up before dawn every morning to exercise with him. Gradually, the course stopped being torture, her muscles finally remembering themselves making her determined to beat Sirius' time before she returned to Hogwarts. Penny found the early mornings also cleared her head and helped her mood during the day, so she couldn't complain.

Lupin sat in with Penny whenever she did her homework, helping and instructing her when it was needed, commenting on her efforts and talent, making the heart in Penny's chest constantly flutter with glee. It was a true dream come true for Penny, who loved Lupin's teaching style and to have his company. It reminded her of the single year of bliss they'd spent together at Hogwarts. Penny also couldn't help but notice how much Lupin loved teaching and how often he put extra thought into things they'd discussed during the week, coming back with what he thought was a better way to describe the concept to her. Sirius' input was much less laced in the reassuring comments, and got straight to the point. He'd read over her work, sometimes laugh, leave his dirty finger prints on her papers, and bluntly tell her what she needed to rewrite. He was a harsh critic, but Penny had developed a tough skin due to Snape, and she found she improved a lot on her essays because of Sirius' input.

Many members of the order came and went, most stopping to chat with Penny, ask about her schoolwork or to have a meal with them. Mrs. Weasley made a point to stop by a couple times a week, determined to ensure Penny was eating properly and that her caretakers were doing the laundry. She often brought Penny clippings of articles she thought Penny would enjoy, and small crafts to do in the evenings, which Penny found to be adorably thoughtful of her. Sirius did not feel the same and rather appeared to resent this, taking it as a criticism to his parenting skills, but came around when Mrs. Weasley commented on how much healthier Penny looked with the weight she'd put on, and even asked Sirius about the obstacle course he'd set up. She was much less pleased, and even a bit shocked when she learned the details, but she bit her tongue and kept her thoughts to herself, apparently deciding the benefits Penny had gained from it outweighed all the potential dangers of it.

All the day's noise, however, quieted in the evenings, leaving Penny trying occupy her mind to prevent herself from drifting into thoughts about the Dark Lord, while also wishing she could drown out the loud sex Lupin and Sirius liked to have each night, when they thought she was asleep. Unfortunately for Penny, her room was located below Sirius', so every thrust and moan made its way down to her ears, intriguing and mortifying her.

Though she was curious, much too curious, and the spot between her legs seemed to ignite every time they got going, Penny felt looking them in the face come morning would be too awkward if she listened to the whole exercise, so she'd retreat down the stairs into the sitting room in which Snape had allowed her to fall asleep on his lap over the summer. Curled up in a ball, Penny's mind would drift to her potions master, a horrible sorrow filling her heart to bursting.

Against her better judgment, she would lay there thinking about the man and the summer they'd had together, wishing very much she could go back, if only to capture those moments like one might catch fireflies to enjoy their beauty over and over again. But she couldn't, and the truth of the matter was, the thought of Snape brought her more pain than she knew she was capable of feeling. A mixture of emotions would course through her ranging from anger, hatred, betrayal, pity, heartbreak and disbelief. Part of Penny couldn't comprehend it, refused to believe the truth, and much like her time in the Hospital Wing, she found herself half expecting him to arrive through the door at any minute and they would go back to the way things had been. But every time she looked at the door only to find it empty, her heart would break all over again as the realization he wasn't coming back would sink a little further into her lonely heart.