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CHAPTER FOUR:

NINE MONTHS (FLASHBACK)

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    It had been six months since Sirius and Magnolia gave their baby girl to Remus. It was exactly six months to this day.

     In the beginning, it was the worst, it was only a day that they had her for. Aurora Black managed to change both their lives more than they could explain in one day. The way she was brought into the world was unacceptable: she was cut from Magnolia's stomach - which took months to heal - and was brought into this cruel world. They had one day with her: time wasn't enough. They needed an infinitive amount of time with her. That was all the two of them wanted. They spent the entire day, her first day in this world, right beside her, trying to memorise every single detail of her small face.

    The second day the two of them were a mess, neither of them tried to hide it. It was the worst day of their lives at the time, neither of them slept, ate, or even spoke to one another. Everything felt painful. She was a thousand miles away, they had no idea where either: Remus decided it was best that they did not know in case something happened and someone found out where she was. She could have been anywhere, up in a cabin in the mountains, in a different country (which would have probably been the safest), she could have been living in a small cottage with Remus in the middle of the woods.

    Neither of them knew and it ate away at them every single day.

       After the first month, they reminded themselves it was the best for her. She needed to be safe. Their daughter needed to be safe and protected from the evil people who were trying to find her.

      She would never even know about the circumstances of her upbringing into the world until all of Marcos' following was gone from the world. Neither of them ever wanted her to feel any bit of fear at the thought of those people.

        She was not a normal child, they both accepted and understood that but she deserved a normal life: she deserved unlimited happiness.

       That's what kept them going the first month, knowing they needed to do it. They knew it was the best thing for her.

       (It was hard not being able to get any letters or even know what she looked like? Did she have black or brown hair? What did she look like? Did her eyes change a different colour?)

       They had no idea.

        However, after the first month, it felt like it got worse if that was even possible. They both started to desperately need to know something, needed to know what she was like if she was happy if she was safe. It was eating away at them every passing hour. Magnolia sobbed throughout the house every single day, Sirius tried to remain there for her, he tried to be strong but he knew how she felt. A piece of them was missing.

     Magnolia got worse as the months went on, and Sirius decided to push his feelings aside and care for her during the months. She needed him now more than ever. She always wanted a child, and when she thought she couldn't have any, he never sees her sad - until now of course. Originally and Sirius was not ever going to admit this to his daughter, he wasn't the happiest when Magnolia was pregnant. Sirius never wanted children. He was certain about it from the time he was a child himself. He always believed that having a child would ruin his life and would provoke him easily.

  How wrong he was.

   He spent almost every single passing hour of the day missing his daughter, he missed her more than he thought possible. It was a completely different type of love he never thought was possible.

  Two months turned into three, three turned into four, and next thing it had been six months since they saw her.

   Six entire months without ever knowing about their daughter.

   It felt antagonizing, like a part of them was missing, their hearts in a sense.

    Their daughter was six months old and they were only in her life for one day. She would not recognise them. She grew up with Remus, she was learning with Remus. He was the one teaching her right now - caring and loving for her. Neither of them knew anything about her or where she and Remus were staying. James and Lily were both trying to help them through it, claiming it was the best thing they could do at the minute.

   "Harry is in danger too," Magnolia was arguing one day in Godric's Hollow. She and Sirius were sitting on the couch, arms wrapped in one another. She had her head on his chest and he had his chin resting on the top of her head. "You've still got him here. It's unfair."

    Harry at the mention of his name, tore his small green eyes away from his father's brown ones. Harry was sitting on the floor on James' lap squinting at his fathers with love. James was shaking his head at Harry and Harry was copying with his movements. Magnolia had never seen James so absorbed by anything. He was like a different person around Harry.

   Harry stood up and waddled over to Magnolia, extended his arms, Magnolia picked him up and he pressed a kiss on the side of her face, "There, there."

     Magnolia frowned lightly at the boy, holding him tightly, this boy was probably the sweetest child she had ever met. He was a small boy for his age and his black shaggy hair was sticking up in all different directions. He seemed to understand emotions very well for someone his age, he seemed to know his godfather and her were upset. Every time he saw Lily cry, he was always by her side trying to find some way to get up into her arms and comfort her.

   The fact that both her daughter and James and Lily's son were put in danger before they were even born was not fair.

    Why did the universe have against her? Was a question she asked herself every night. All she wanted was to hold her girl one more time, just even once. All she wanted to know was that she was safe and happy. She wanted her daughter to have a normal life without fear that someone was going to come after her.

    This is why she and Sirius spent every passing month, every day, travelling around Europe and eliminating all those threats that made their daughter have to leave in the first place. Every single one of them that they found hiding: every single person who wanted to kill their innocent daughter.

   They only got back a few weeks ago.

   "If it makes you better. I have our last letter from Remus." Lily told him, rising to her feet, her red hair swinging over her shoulders gently as she walked over to the top of the fridge and cleaned up, and pulled down a piece of parchment. "We haven't spoken to him in a few months but he did send us this."

Sirius takes the parchment folds it open.

Prongs,

I'm completely fine and safe, I hope you all are too. I miss you all very much but I imagine where I am is far more pleasant. Nonetheless, I wish I was with you all.

I know why you're sending me this, and I hope Magnolia and Sirius are doing alright. I can't imagine how they feel.

She's perfect. Won't stop biting my fingers and hates the taste of carrots but she is utterly perfect. She is learning what the word 'no' means and cries every time I use it.

Although I doubt her parents will ever use it on her.

Only three months left.

- M.

It was the best piece of news Sirius and Magnolia could in months.

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   Nine months without their daughter was the worst thing that ever happened to them in their entire lives.

        When the day finally came a letter came through the window with an address on it: 11 Brighton, in an unnamed town neither of them heard of.

     "Should I wear a suit or something....?" Sirius questioned nervously tugging his shirt off and throwing it onto the ground. He reached out and opened the wardrobe, searching around whilst anxiously rubbing up and down his hands. He looked around and pulled out one of his suits from his old families dinner parties. It probably still fit him.

    He turned around to show Magnolia but she was laughing. He loved hearing her laughter. She looked happy, the first time in months.

     "I don't think it'll matter. She's just a baby, she won't know the difference."

   "She's not just any baby, she's my -- our daughter," Sirius mentioned, throwing the suit back in. He looked into the wardrobe and bit his lip, "I need to make a good first impression."

     She smiles at him, eyes softening. "I love you."

     "Of course you do." He grins.

   "This is it, Sirius," Magnolia tells him, lips going into the bewitching smile that made him love her ten times more. Her excitement was evident. "This is what we've been waiting nine entire months for."

   Nine months, said the small voice in Sirius' head, nine months, an excessive amount of time to not see his daughter. That would never happen again.

     Sirius grinned, "I don't think I've ever felt this excited before."
 
      Their happiness did not leave them once, even in the hours it took them to apparate to the destination Remus gave them on the parchment. By the time they reached their destination, they had no idea where they were and feared they had the wrong place.

       The sun was shining and they landed in front of a small moss-covered cottage, it was in the middle of nowhere, and there was a Muggle car outside it. There were two windows in the house.

       There was a path leading to the back of the house and they walked around it and was met with a large garden.

        Remus was there, sitting against a tress and looked up at them.

        Then their eyes landed on their baby.

       A nine-month Aurora Black was a sight both of them cherished instantly. She sat up on Remus's chest and the first thing they heard was her captivating, small mumble of vowels. She was delicate-looking like if they held her too tightly she would crack into pieces. She had a full head of black hair, almost as dark as Sirius', it swept just over her forehead lightly. As they paused coming in front of her, the sun was glistening on her face when she looked up at them both. Undeniably, she had Sirius' grey eyes. Her ones were light, very light, but perhaps that was just the sun. Her lips were small and her nose was short and slightly red. It was very obvious Remus had dressed her, she was wearing a denim blue dress, and a large jumper, probably for a baby of a bigger size.

       And she was sat back on top of Remus' legs, back to his chest and his hands were around her gently, her small fingers were on top of his hands, and she was looking up at them.

     Sirius' eyes softened.

         "Hi," Magnolia whispered, falling onto the blanket on the ground that they were lying across. Aurora looked at Magnolia and only her, big grey eyes examining her. Magnolia wished she could know everything the small girl thought. "Oh, you...you are just everything,"

       She was perfect in every single way possible.

      Magnolia reached out and touched her hand and Aurora looked at her.

        "Go on, Aurora, stand." Remus urged gently, but Magnolia barely heard a word he was saying. He moved up and held Aurora up, she stood for a second before falling back into Remus' chest.

   She was able to almost stand by herself and if she wasn't so pleased to finally see her daughter, she would have cried - she already missed too much. Instead, she continued smiling at her daughter.

     She was perfect.

       "Can't walk yet," Remus mentioned, keeping a steady set of hands on the child. "She can't do much yet. She understands her name, the word no, she can make some noises, she can stand up for a few minutes, and she knows what she likes and doesn't like."

     Aurora steadied herself in Remus's hands before she extended her hands up to Magnolia, wanting to be held by her mother. Without hesitating, Magnolia wrapped her arms around the girl lifting her into her arms. It took her a second to realise she had her living, breathing, safe daughter in her hands. She let out a relieved, contempt sigh holding her tightly.

     Magnolia would not let single thing harm this child.

      "Does she sleep through the night?" Sirius asked, he was hanging behind, hands in his pocket.

      "She sleeps too much," Remus told them happily. "She cried a lot at the start...Merlin did cry, bawled throughout the night. It's the worst noise in the world - so loud. My heightened ears didn't do me justice then. She doesn't like sleeping by herself, needs to be in a room with someone." 

      "Nightmares?" Sirius asked fearfully. "Maybe she's having nightmares-"

      "She has nothing to have nightmares about," Magnolia whispered, trailing over Aurora's hand which was clasping her finger. "She is safe. That's all I wanted."
 
          Magnolia pulled away and examined her face. Aurora leaned into the touch of her hands and let out a high pitch hum. 

      "It's really good to see you two again. Can I have a word?" Remus questioned Magnolia who nodded.

    Hesitantly she nodded, she took another look at Aurora. How was it possible to love someone this much? She didn't think it was possible but here she was.

       There was a hesitation with Sirius to take her from Magnolia's hands. Anyone could see how nervous he was.

   The second Magnolia handed Aurora to Sirius she started crying and extending her fingertips back out to be in Magnolia's gasp.

      Both Magnolia and Sirius' paused at the sound of her crying voice.

     "I don't know what to do!" Sirius says in a panic. "Magnolia take her-"

     "Just sit down with her. I'll be a minute." Magnolia told him despite wanting to take the child back the second she cried.

    "Magnolia!"

    "She's your daughter!"

    When Magnolia walked away, Sirius watched as his daughter's teary eyes followed her over to the porch where she went with Remus. She then turned to him and looked at his hair, her small hand reached out and she placed her hand on the side of his face whilst looking at him.

      Oh, Merlin, you are the most loveable person I have ever met.

      He held her in his hands whilst he sat back down on the mat. He placed her down across from him. She sat up intrigued.

      "I got you this," Sirius mentioned, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a stuffed toy wolf. Her eyes examined the stuffed animal. He handed it to her.
 
        Aurora did not even look at the toy and put it into her mouth declaring it as another thing she could eat.

         "Oh, we can't eat that," Sirius interjected, and she looked at him confused. "Okay, you can. It won't hurt you anyway."

         "Ah," Aurora grumbled, bitting down on the toy. She looked at Sirius and gave him a smile, his heart, seemingly happy with the toy.
   
       When Magnolia turned away from her conversation with Remus - which was his worry about James and Lily - she looked over at Sirius.

      He was lying down on the mat now and Aurora was lying next to him and in all of Magnolia's time of knowing Sirius, she saw him looking at someone the way he was that baby. 

       It was quite obvious who his entire attention was going to go towards now.
  
       Magnolia walked and took a closer look - Aurora was lying back in his arm, and was holding the wolf he got her with a sense of fascination. Sirius was keeping his eyes on her, smiling widely at her before pressing a kiss on her forehead.

        Another low hum from the baby girl.

      "For her." Sirius mumbled, "I'm going to make sure nothing hurts her. She's so perfect."

      Magnolia lay back down on the mat and turned to her daughter, who turned to meet her eyes. "For you, little one."
  
      She let out a grin, looking between them, with no worries in the world other than how she was going to get the wolf in her mouth.

        Sirius and Magnolia could not imagine going through those nine months again.

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Would NOT recommend listening to rescue by Lauren Daigle whilst reading this chapter.

I am so evil with the end of this chapter, oops, but I hate how short this was but still let me know if you liked it! I love the gif at the top. I thought it was better than cramming it in with another chapter!

anyways they're the best parents