CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Here's To New Friendships!
December 11th, 1978.

Daphne had been surprised many times in her life but she never thought she would get that surprised. Earlier today, a black owl knocked on her window and while she expected a family letter, she ended up reading Remus' letter. His handwriting was complicated to read, considering the whole thing felt rushed. But to her surprise, Remus Lupin was inviting her over for drinks in an apartment not too far from hers. Technically, it was the one she had spied on for months before joining the order.

As expected, there was no news from her family, not even Evan. Just an invitation for Christmas Eve dinner at Narcissa's Manor. 

"Knock knock!" Fabian's voice echoed and she recalled giving him spare keys earlier in the week. "Hey, where are you going?" He asked, once he had reached the bedroom and had given her a kiss.

"Believe it or not, Remus Lupin has invited me for drinks."

"Well, is your idiotic cousin going to be there?"

Daphne rolled her eyes, "Do not call him an idiot. It's Sirius, he's... he's complicated."

"Love...Sirius is anything but complicated. He's reckless and sometimes naive. He might come at you again."

"Trust me," she started, taking a pause to look at herself then turned to look at Fabian. "We've been there before. He shouted at me and implied he was ready to kill me so I can handle a few nasty comments."

"You shouldn't have to."

"I do not mind," she answered. "Right. I'm going to be late. Will you be there when I come back?" She asked.

He sat down on the bed, shrugging, "If you want me to."

"Then yes, please."

Fabian chuckled as she leaned down to kiss his lips tenderly. Grabbing her coat, she headed outside and shivered at the cold wind. Ever since she had secretly joined the Order, she'd get a little paranoid going out. She knew she wasn't being followed, but little parts of her couldn't help but be aware of her surroundings.

Minutes later, she was already in front of Remus and Sirius' building. To be honest, Daphne was dreading the moment she would sit down and have to talk, or see Sirius.

"Oh, Daphne. Hi," Remus' voice echoed from behind as she turned on her heels to see him holding grocery bags.

"Remus, hello. Am I early?"

He laughed gently, checking his watch, "Not at all. I'm the one who is late," he told her as she chuckled.

"Need a hand with the bags, Remus?" She asked, knowing the full moon wasn't far and he was probably getting too weak. Daphne could see he pondered the offer for a second then ended up accepting. "How have you been since that last meeting?"

"Well, I've been alright. I should be the one asking that question really."

"I have been...alright," she replied honestly. "Is it where you and Sirius live then?"

He hummed, fumbling with the keys in his hand as he managed to open the door, "I reckon you already knew that," he said.

Well, touché.

"Right."

"I'm sorry..." he said right away. "I didn't mean to come off rude, Daphne. It was not my intention."

"I know, Remus," she answered with a smile. "Though, you are right. I knew where you lived."

"Do not stress yourself too much about it," he said, his back facing her. "I'm past that."

"Are you?"

"Yes," he answered, glancing at her. "Make yourself at home, Daphne. Tea? Muggle beer? Firewhisky?"

"Firewhisky."

"Rough time?" He asked, handing her a glass as she thanked him quietly. "It's been rough on all of us," he added after a minute.

"It is rough but I'm trying to look past that because it's been rough with my family," she said. "Give me a few more glasses and I'll definitely talk about it."

Remus chuckled softly and Daphne couldn't help but notice the few more scars on his face, though he still looked quite pretty.

"I think...Dumbledore thinks you're going to help us. I think so too, the others aren't so sure," he spilled out.

Daphne ran a hand through her hair and sighed, "Well, it was expected. I'm not looking for forgiveness or friendships. I'm just trying to make the right thing," she said softly.

Remus nodded as though he was letting the words sink in then went on, "And you are."

"Why did you invite me?"

He shrugged, "To tell you that you're absolutely mental to spy for us and also to tell you that...that I had mixed feelings about you for months really. You are loyal, aren't you?" Daphne nodded her head as he continued. "And, parts of me cannot help but to trust you blindly and it is overly scary."

"I..."

"I trust you, Daphne. I don't think Sirius is right by saying that you are not worthy, whatsoever. Or Peter telling us that you are just a snake, crawling your way in the Order. Is it stupid of me?" He queried.

She grimaced, chugging on her glass before answering, "I have no bad intentions towards Sirius nor Peter. As you pointed out, I'm loyal but not to you-know-who. I'm loyal to the ones I love—"

"I know that."

"—And, I think...I think I'm starting to feel good again. I'm sure James was a wreck when we split up but I was too, and no one knew like you all did so I suffered in silence," she ranted. "I asked—begged Regulus to give me sleeping potions because I wasn't able to sleep, and everywhere I went I would hear about bloody James and..."

"It got a little too much, didn't it?" He pondered.

She hummed, agreeing, "Exactly."

"You know...I'm sorry," he spoke up once their glasses were filled again. "I'm awfully sorry you had to go through that but have you tried to understand his point of view?"

"I did and I'm not mad at him for feeling betrayed," she told Remus because that was the truth. She didn't care about that, but he wasn't the only one suffering. "I just...I just felt lonely."

"You didn't deserve that."

"Yeah, well...we always get what we deserve, don't we?"

Remus looked at her sheepishly before taking a seat next to her, "I don't this is entirely true."

"Why?"

He shrugged, "Well...we don't always get what we deserve. For example, I didn't deserve that scar," he pointed at the one on his face. "And you didn't deserve to be a Death Eater."

"I accepted the offer, though."

"Was it? Was it an offer?"

"No."

"See?" He said. "You didn't deserve it."

Daphne kept her mouth shut for a few minutes, debating if she should argue with Remus but truth was... he was totally right. It wasn't an offer at all.

"So, you and Fabian then?" He asked as she snorted lightly. He looked at her sheepishly, shrugging his shoulders. "I had to ask, sorry."

"No worries, Remus," she replied. "Yes. Fab and I. Is it so surprising?"

He exhaled before answering, "No, not really actually. He's a lot like James...in some ways."

"Is he?"

"Yes and no. See, Fabian, he's...enthusiastic and he's loyal, so is James. Though, James...he's, you know..."

"James can be arrogant and mischievous," she added. "He also can be too closed-minded."

"You seem to find a lot of negative points for someone who used to go out with him," he said softly, sipping on his beer. Daphne was about to reply, but he continued. "You're right though. James can be all that."

"Yes."

Daphne didn't want to talk about James because she hated talking about him now, it didn't feel right. He wasn't hers anymore and she wasn't his. How could she even criticise who he was? Perhaps, he had changed, matured. Who knew?

Remus hummed softly, "Why did you exactly deflect?"

It seemed like she didn't need to have all those glasses to speak about it, "It's stupid but I became a death eater because Evan was too young," she said. "He was too young and my father absolutely wanted someone so I said yes but asked for Evan to be kept away from this. It turns out, my father didn't listen and now the only person I've protected my whole life isn't safe."

"Oh—"

"And, I want him safe," she continued, cutting him off. "Because before having James, Rebecca, Pandora or Barty...I only had him."

"I get that."

"And I had Regulus too," Remus winced at his mention and she harboured a smile. "I know you must not love him because of all the things Sirius told you but—you know, Reg can be a bright mind. He's like no others and Sirius used to see it too. Does he talk about him sometimes?"

"When he's angry," Remus admitted. "He blames everything on his brother and his parents too, sometimes he blames you too."

Daphne hummed softly, "Well, I can't blame him. I'd blame myself too if I was him."

Before she could speak, the front door unlocked and she could hear the same heavy boots that made her way to her at the meeting. Sirius'. Remus didn't seem scared, instead, he slightly moved his body so he could see Sirius walking their way.

"Why is she here?" Sirius spat.

Remus sighed, "Hello to you and I have invited her," he told him. "I had questions to ask and I'm sure she'd be delighted to answer yours if you have any."

"I don't."

"Shame."

"Why did you deflect only now?" Sirius queried after a moment.

Daphne shrugged, "Because I've seen things and they're terrible. Regulus doesn't seem alive anymore, Evan is a death eater now and acts like he's on the top of the world when truly he's closer to the bottom of it."

"We don't see Regulus anymore. I've tried to track him down but he's slick."

"He dropped out of school, but I think you knew that already," she said. "He is mainly around, recruiting people...I don't think he's in England right now."

"Merlin..."

"Sirius, I know I've done bad things in the past and I've hurt James," she started softly and she suspected the drinks to push her out of her comfort zone. It felt like she was under veritaserum and couldn't stop talking. "But, I'm trying to be better and I want to help the Order."

"But, Daphne, how can I know that you won't betray us again? I'm not James nor Remus, I'm not willing to put all my trust in you again," he explained. "Of course, I miss having you around, it was painful to see you being around Regulus all the time and just ignore me."

"I know but it was painful to know that you've gone away."

"How do you plan on helping us? Really?"

"I've made a deal with Dumbledore. I don't want them to touch Evan, Regulus, and Barty. I'll handle it. I gave an entire list to help them and I plan on being a spy for the Order. Moody also asked me to teach some of you Occlumency."

"I see..."

"I've seen Andy," she started as he looked up with a frown. "Actually, I saw her this summer too."

"How is she?"

Sirius hadn't tried to contact her ever since he left his house. He had been too caught up in everything to send her an owl, he had received some from her though--all of them talking about Nymphadora until one day, they stopped. He was fully aware that the Tonks were part of the Order but they had never attended a meeting nor tried to make themselves known as allies.

"Andy? She's happy, so happy. Ted, he's--he's bright and Salazar, he does love smiling. Nymphadora is the perfect mix of their love, she is...she is brilliant. You should see how her hair changes colour when she's overly obsessed with someone or something," she ranted happily. "Andromeda made me her godmother and they were home not too long ago."

"Wow...Do you think she's angry at me for never replying to her letters?" He queried.

Daphne rolled her eyes, "Please, Sirius. Have you ever seen Andromeda mad at you?"

Sirius snorted, shaking his head, "She never could be angry at me. I used to be her favourite."

"That's right. Used to."

Sirius gasped loudly and dramatically as he felt something. He couldn't quite put his finger on it but it felt like nostalgia. Daphne used to be his favourite cousin, the one he looked for in the ballroom or during family dinners. Despite his bragging about Andy being his favourite, it always had been Daphne and he absolutely loathed the fact that she had to become a death eater. It did sting when James admitted as he cried heavily that Daphne was one of them. He hadn't quite registered the fact that his sweet Daffy could be a death eater, yet there she was, in that hospital, pointing her wand at him.

"Right, I guess I'll head out," she said, releasing a breath as she raised to her feet and started to gather her belongings.

Sirius glanced at Remus who was mimicking for him to not let her go away.

Remus smiled at her, "It was great having you, Daphne," he said as Sirius admired how kind his Moony was. "You can owl me anytime if you ever need to."

"Thank you very much for the drinks. It made me feel less...less lonely."

Something struck in Sirius. How could he let her be so miserable? After all, Daphne used to be family—well, she was still family to him. Daphne, Andromeda, and uncle Alphard had been the only ones who didn't give up on him when he ran away.

"Wait!" He said louder than he intended to. "Would you—Do you want to stay for dinner maybe? Remus is cooking his favourite pasta."

Daphne pondered the offer for a minute, debating if she should go home to Fabian or stay here with them. Remus, who had been nothing but supportive and sweet towards her; then Sirius, who had been awful with her but how could she refuse? She had been trying to get along with Sirius ever since he left the house.

"Alright. I'll stay then."

"It doesn't mean I trust you," he warned as Daphne smiled softly. "Are we clear?"

She gave him a firm nod, "Very clear. Thank you."

Remus put a hand on his shoulder and gave it a squeeze, "I'm proud of you," he whispered in Sirius' hair, kissing it softly before joining Daphne's side again.

When Daphne went home and lay in bed where Fabian was already in a deep slumber, she smiled. The dinner had gone perfectly, she genuinely never expected it. Coming from Sirius, she expected screams and injuries but instead, she got a small smile and some eyes rolls. 'Happy' was a recurring word lately, but weirdly she did feel happy despite a hard time.

—————
authors note, i'm back with an update, enjoy those happy
chapters while you can! 🤩🫶🏼

also, i've published a sirius black fic if any of you are interested!! it's so good so far—it's called wishing star 💫

anyways, i love you! thank you for 3k votes and 60k reads. it means the world!