Recovered Ivory [1]

Four

"You'd rather be here then at Hogsmead?" Lupin asked, setting a cup of tea in front of me.

"I went to Hogsmead last weekend with Fred and George," I explained, shrugging. "I look forward to our talks, and at least this way no one gets any ideas."

The last two months had gone by in a blur. Classes kept us busy, but I had found time to spend with Lupin in order to pick his brain. It had taken a lot of questions at first before he began to talk freely. I learned so much about my mother, especially about how smart she was. I had gotten my brains from her, without a doubt. Lupin had become her best friend after Lily opened up to Lupin. The three of them were inseparable, even James and Sirius couldn't get in on their conversations. 

It was a lot harder to get him to talk about Sirius. He seemed torn about something, but I couldn't pinpoint exactly what it was. The reports said he killed that man, but Lupin had a hard time believing it. Especially since Sirius was then the sole guardian of Harry and still was to this day. 

"Do you think Sirius would like how I turned out?" 

Lupin looked at me for a long moment before sighing. "He would, until he found out Severus was the one who raised you."

"What happened, really, between all of you?"

Lupin suddenly looked ashamed. "Severus was always so protective of Lily and Gwen. James wanted Lily more then anything, but she was best friends with Severus and Gwen. He liked to humiliate Severus in front of the entire school, and Sirius joined in a lot. Peter and I, we didn't join in, but we didn't stop it. Both of us needed so badly to fit in with Sirius and James that we didn't want to. Eventually, the bullying..."

"Led Severus to say things he shouldn't have said," I supplied, nodding my head. "Lily and Gwen didn't talk to him after that."

"Severus tried to apologize," Lupin said, and I nodded, remembering the story. "Lily and Gwen were so mad. They both came to me, crying, Ivy, but there was nothing anyone could say. Gwen stayed with me and James over the summer so she could have time away from Severus to think. That's when her and Sirius began spending time together. After that summer, Ivy and Gwen were going to talk to Severus and tell him they would forgive him."

"It was too late, wasn't it?" I asked, playing with a cookie instead of eating it. 

"Without the light of Gwen and Lily, he fell into darkness," Lupin sighed, his eyes in the past. 

"I don't agree with the choices Severus made," I began, shaking my head, "but I do feel bad for him."

"It would have just taken one time for either Peter or I to say something to James and Sirius, but we didn't," he mumbled, offering me a small smile. "I don't think Severus will ever forgive me and I would never ask him to."

"Why did Mom even fall for Dad if all that happened?"

"To be honest, Lily and I could never understand it," he admitted, shrugging with a confused look on his face. "She went from hating him to loving him in a few months. We think it was to spite Severus, but we'll never know." He looked at me suddenly, smiling. "There was one good thing that came out of it."

"What's that?" I asked, glancing up at him. 

"You," he said pointedly. "You're completely different then what I ever expected you to be. The fact you're alive is wonderful, but you're kind and sweet like Gwen and Lily."

"Well, I don't like being mean," I said, smiling to myself. "I see how it is when Severus has been mean to someone, and I really hate it."

"I'm surprised he hasn't changed because of you."