Daughter of Black

6.01

In honour of his death, dad's innocence came to light. Fudge, having now seen Voldemort, now believed what Harry had said to him, even two years ago when he claimed that Peter Pettigrew was alive and behind the murders of the Potters and the muggles that Sirius was thought to have killed. While people were still skeptical, but for the most part, they believed whatever they read in the Prophet.

For a while after his death, I only surrounded myself with the Weasleys and Harry. I couldn't take the looks of pity and the very many people that would say 'I'm sorry for your loss', even though we both knew that they didn't mean it. Rita Skeeter wanted an interview with me - a long front page story that told a sad version of my life. I declined and I kept declining every time she asked, until she got bored of that idea and moved onto her next. There were still so many days where I found it hard to even get out of bed, letting the thought of my father's death consume me until I was a mess.

But there was George (and of course Fred), who I would not have been able to get through all of this without. He was so patient, and so calm, and caring and understanding with me. He made sure that I ate and drank regularly, bathed even when it was hard to get out of bed, and held me for as long as I needed. There were some days where he filled the hard times with laughter and other times that just needed soft and gentle words of comfort. Now, more than ever, I knew that George was the person I wanted to spend the rest of my life with.

The Weasleys had been a god-send. While I was at Grimmauld Place, Molly made sure to help cook and clean. Even though the Weasleys were meant to return to the burrow, upon Dumbledore's request, they stayed with me until I had packed the last of my things. Fred and George had gleefully asked me to move in with them in the two loft areas above the new shop. I wasn't exactly sure how they had done it, but they had managed to pay for the entire building. And knowing that I would say yes to moving in with them, Fred opted out of living with us. His exact words were, "I don't want to risk walking in on you two when you're..." He couldn't manage to even say the word sex without throwing up in his mouth a little. I wasn't going to sell Grimmauld Place, wanting to keep it in the family, or let Harry live there if he wanted to. Selling it was too much right now. Plus Remus could stay for as long as he desired. I had packed everything that was mine, which wasn't a whole lot, apparting it to the loft we would live in. I left almost everything that was my dad's. I didn't want to look through it and I didn't want to throw it out. So it stayed exactly where he left it. I took my mother's wooden trunk. I had never finished looking through it, and at the moment, I didn't want to. Not when neither of them were here with me. Though I supposed the idea of them being reunited was romantic. But I wasn't about to just leave it at Grimmauld Place for someone to come upon and take, especially Kreature. I had looked into his room. It still smelled like him. I didn't let myself cry, closing the door to his room and then heading to the first floor to say goodbye to Remus. He looked like a proud father, saying goodbye to his first born.

"You have everything?" He asked, looking around for my stuff. I just nodded.

"It's all already there. Easy and simple. I'm sure George is already unpacking." Rather, I hoped he was. We had a plan and he knew how I felt about plans. Plus, I wanted to be done moving by the end of the day. It was just my stuff, seeing as he had moved in weeks ago.

"How are you, Bella?" I looked past him at the spot where my dad always used to sit when we read at night.

"I'm managing." I answered as I looked back at him. I felt bad for having a hard time communicating with Uncle Remus. "You?" I switched the subject. "You lost him too." His smile fell, replaced by a sad frown.

"I miss him. I always will. Fred and George remind me so much of him, their spirits." I cracked a smile. "You and George remind me a bit of your parents. It makes me happy to see them living in you." I looked at the trunk that was sitting in the corner, ready to be transported. Remus wore a warm smile.

"I wish I got to meet her." I sighed, looking back up at him.

"She was smart and she was never afraid to put anyone in their place. She set your father straight more than a few times. She was so kind and beautiful; it was impossible not to love her. And Sirius loved her more than any of us. He picked flowers for her everyday. They would talk for hours, late into the night. The night she told him that she was pregnant, he went out and picked so many flowers. Sprout was absolutely mad." He smiled up in the air, as if he was remembering all the things about them. "She was terrified when she found out she was pregnant. It wasn't a part of her plan. But she fell in love with you and she never wanted just one. They had been trying for a second when Harry was born. She always wanted a big family." He smiled softly as he shook his head. I wanted to meet her. The idea of having her in my life all of this time seemed like a fairytale come true. I could picture being close with the Potters and having a sibling that was Harry's age. I could imagine all the trouble that we would've gotten into if there were more Blacks and more Potters. Though a larger part of me wonders if I would have ever met Fred and George if all of that would have happened. "You remind me so much of her every single day."

"They must have been so in love." I mumbled and Remus' expression softened.

"They were. And when he lost her, he lost a big part of himself as well." Remus then lifted my chin so I could look at him. "Your father was so proud of you. And your mother... she would have been too. I can only imagine the happiness that they feel when they watch over you." I choked back the tears, not wanting to cry. He pulled me in for a hug, holding me. "I'm so proud of you, Bella. I can't wait to see all the wonderful things that you do."