chapter four ; hogsmeade

SIRIUS BLACK'S FACE WAS TAUNTING.

Tempest stared back at the HAVE YOU SEEN THIS WIZARD? poster with a deep frown on her face, almost as if she were ashamed to recognise it. He looked the same, but still so incredibly different. Where his skin was once clear and youthful, it had become aged and stressed, half covered by an unkempt beard. His greasy hair was still of a questionable length, hanging just above his shoulders in an untidy fashion. 

But, what cut her most deep were his eyes. Even though the moving image was in black and white, she could still envision the colour and the way they used to crinkle when he laughed. Now, he still laughed, but it was mocking, derisive and almost insulting. There was a sickening feeling in her stomach as she watched the picture play over and over again, not being able to understand how he had become like this. 

She remembered the way he used to look at her with those same eyes like she was the only person in the world -- she used to look at him that way as well. She wished she still could see him the way she did when she was twenty, but she knew she never would. Now, his eyes had lost their innocence and now appeared to look like he knew something she didn'tShe still remembered the night it all happened, the night he betrayed two of her best friends and then proceed to kill a third, as well as twelve muggles. 

Even though he had obliterated the trust she had in him that night, there was still something deep down that wished there was a way he could be proved innocent. She knew there was nothing she could do, for he had made it quite clear he was on the side of the Dark Lord when the Wizarding War ended. She didn't know how she could have missed it -- she was with him almost always, but he still managed to deceive her and the others she loved. 

Though what hurt most, was that she could have stopped it. If only she had noticed any giveaways that he had been speaking to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named secretly, she could have stepped in the way and made a difference. Harry Potter, her godson, could have had two healthy, living parents to raise him rather than his cruel muggle relatives. 

"Do you really think it's the best idea to torture yourself before we go to Honeydukes?" Remus asked as he came up behind her. Tempest whipped her head around to see the tall man smiling softly, though his eyes were understanding and concerned. The woman sighed quietly, and her friend placed his hand on her drooped shoulder, squeezing it comfortingly. "Are you alright, Tempest?"

"I don't know," she shrugged, her eyes flickering back across to the poster, the same sneer on Sirius' face. The same familiar guilt and nauseating feeling stirred inside her, and she felt the urge to rip the paper down from the notice board. "He still haunts me, Remus. Every night when I'm sleeping, I see him."

"What does he do?" Remus asked, stepping up beside her, though his eyes fell on the side of her head as she hesitated before replying. 

"He was just...him," she whispered, slipping her hand into her friend's, needing the assurance that he was still there. "That's what was so horrible. I see him laughing, talking with James and Lily, as if he wasn't about to have them killed. I can't move or say anything when I try to warn them, and every time I wake up I remember that I didn't actually know him the way I thought I did. He lied to everyone around him for so long, and nobody realised."

Remus was silent, unsure of what to say. He removed his hand from hers and instead pulled her into a hug, understanding the torment she felt inside. He too suffered from the guilt and regret that he hadn't been able to save James, Lily and Peter when he had so long to do so. When he pulled away, he looked down to see Tempest open her mouth and close it again, as if she wanted to say something else. "What is it?"

"It's just..." she trailed off, glancing back at the poster despite the hurt it caused her. "Sometimes I hope that what he did was just a misunderstanding, as if maybe I wasn't wrong in thinking I knew him inside and out. It's ridiculous, I know--"

"It's not ridiculous," Remus chuckled, though he chose not to look back at the laughing face of his former best friend. "I often think about that too. It still confuses me today, how he seemed so devoted to the Order, to helping both the Wizarding and Muggle worlds from Voldemort's wrath, but was instead his loyal servant all along."

"I hate him," Tempest muttered, causing Remus to purse his lips and tilt his head slightly in question. She was staring straight forward with watery eyes, still clearly broken by the rise of her past love. 

"No, you don't," he shook his head, watching as she wiped her face with her long black sleeve, trying to hide her hurt. "You and I both know that you could never hate him. Try as you might, there's still a part of you deep down that still wishes to get that young Gryffindor back in your arms. I know this because I miss him too. Not as much as I miss James, Lily and Peter, but no matter how hard I try to forget him, he will always remain a figure from my life. Yours even more so."

"It doesn't matter if I never forget him," Tempest scowled at the picture, her eyes burning red. "I'll never forgive him."

★☆

"Aunt Tempest?" The inquisitive voice of Tara Thatcher-Grover appeared from behind Remus and Tempest as they crossed the courtyard. Tempest was now sporting her new scarlet cloak, looking far for witch-like than she did before. Remus didn't let her buy anything for him except a pair of socks, which he wore with guilt but admitted they were very comfortable. 

Tempest turned around, seeing her niece staring up at her with furrowed eyebrows. Her Hufflepuff Quidditch uniform was slightly muddy at the bottom from where she had trekked across the school grounds, and she was holding her broom in hand, clearly heading off to practice. Two of her friends were behind her, one of them she recognised as Cedric Diggory, who she had seen playing when she'd come to watch their games. "Oh, hello Tara."

Tara stepped forward to quickly embrace the woman, but was still extremely puzzled. "What are you doing at school?"

"Oh, I'm just doing a little research," Tempest responded, nodding down to the file under her arm, containing everything Dumbledore and Remus had given her so far. It was hardly large, but it still had vital information regarding Sirius' history, intelligence, as well as newspapers pinpointing where he had been seen last. "Don't worry, I'm not here on your mother's orders."

"Good," Tara exhaled in relief, though a smile graced her lips. "She sends me enough letters checking in about Sirius Black. Ah well, I'd better be off to practice. It'll be lovely to see you around, Aunt Tempest!"

"Bye, Tara," Tempest smiled as her niece rushed off past her and Remus. Cedric muttered a polite 'goodbye' as he passed, and soon enough they were gone, rushing towards the Quidditch pitch. Her expression faltered a little once they are out of sight, and she turned back around, holding the file a little closer. "I hate that Elizabeth's worrying."

"Do you blame her?" Remus asked as the pair began walking again, entering the main building and escaping the cold. Tempest chuckled dryly, shaking her head. 

"Not really," she responded, her voice dropping in tone as the area became a little more crowded. "Since Edward died, she became obsessed with keeping Tara safe. Every summer she dreads when the girl has to go away again."

"Maybe that's why Tara's such a troublemaker," Remus chuckled, nodding at his students who greeted them as they passed. "She's trying to prove that her mother doesn't control her, whether she admits it or not. Does that sound like anyone you know?"

Tempest scoffed, rolling her eyes, though a small smile played at her lips. "Hey, I chose to change my last name to Thatcher. I didn't want to be associated with my father, and it was mum who happened to be the one there for me when the war began. She might not have always been a good parent, but I loved her enough to give her something back."

Remus chuckled softly as they ascended up their final flight of stairs, stopping at the large door that marked the entrance to Tempest's new living quarters. It was modest and small, but big enough for the temporary member of Hogwarts. "I can still remember the year you came back with a different surname -- James was so upset by the fact that he had to train himself out of calling you 'Grover'."

Tempest felt a reminiscent grin appear on her tired face. "How could I forget? I swear he gave up halfway through the first week and gave me every other nickname he could find."

"Well, he always did find it entertaining to see how annoyed you could get when he called you Temper or Pest," Remus replied, an amused tone evident in his voice. Though the names once caused her irritation, the woman couldn't help but laugh softly as she remembered the times before everything went wrong. It served as a good distraction for the friends, and it helped them keep those they lost in mind in a positive way. Remus pulled his pocket watch to check the time, before sighing. "I'd best be off. I have an appointment teaching Mr. Potter the patronus charm."

"Ah, of course!" Tempest clicked her fingers, remembering what he had mentioned to her in the Hog's Head, after Madame Rosmerta had pointed and said: 'You were Black's girl, weren't you?' resulting in everyone in close proximity to stare at her in disgust and interest. She was unfortunately used to it, but after working in the muggle world for such a long time, it was an miserable surprise. 

"Have you seen him yet?" Remus inquired, and Tempest shook her head. 

"I haven't seen him since last summer when I ran into him at the supermarket," she scrunched her face up awkwardly. "He still doesn't know anything about me. I was his teacher at school before he came to Hogwarts, and he has no idea that I'm his godmother. He'd hate me for the rest of time if he found out he could have stayed with me instead of being bullied by those cruel people."

"You couldn't take care of him, Dumbledore didn't allow it," Remus sighed, his voice dropping slightly as a couple of first years fumbled past. "You're lucky he didn't step in when you took the teaching job when Harry started school."

"Petunia didn't care for him, Remus!" Tempest snapped, though she composed herself quickly in realisation of how she had just said what she did. "Sorry. It's just, it was the highlight of my day when he would come into my class to learn. Even after he left, he would come and talk to me about anything -- his work, his family, even the times when he turned Mary Lurches' wig blue in his maths class or how he mysteriously ended up of the roof. I could see so much of Lily in him -- but after all that Dumbledore said, I didn't want to compromise his safety. I couldn't bring myself to tell him."

"He'd forgive you," Remus assured the woman, who leaned into his side and rested her head on his shoulder. "Like you said, there's a lot of Lily in him. He loves hearing stories about her, and James. You can reconnect with him, explain why you couldn't take him in, and then I'm positive he'll overlook everything else."

"You think?" She asked softly, and he nodded with a smile. "Thank you, Remus. I don't know where I'd be without you."

"Probably dead," he chuckled, watching as she stepped forward and rested her hand on the door of her chambers. Remus then turned on his heel and waved at the woman. "I shall see you tomorrow, hopefully you can talk to the young Potter. You'll find he's got quite a name here."

"Why am I not surprised?" Tempest smiled. "Don't you remember his father?"

Something close to a grin appeared on Remus' face. "The man who turned your hair red in fifth year? How could I forget?"

★☆

this is the only book i'm updating at the moment lmaoaooaoaoOOOOoO i hate myself

anyway tell me what you thought!! i really like writing the present chapters cause the timeline is so much easier hA and also i lowkey ship remus and tempest but that's irrelevant