• Serena Black •

„Better to die fighting for freedom
than be a prisoner
all the days of your life."

The news that Sirius Black was innocent had spread quickly through the wizarding world and had hit like a bomb. Opinion had split into two camps. One half claimed that they had always believed in his innocence and the other still doubted.

Katherine Parker was somewhere in between. While she didn't believe for a second that Sirius would ever hurt Serena or anyone else, her motherly concern remained. Eventually, however, she had agreed to let Serena visit her father during the summer holidays.

A complete doubter, on the other hand, was Nathan Novak, a childhood friend of Serena's who lived in their neighbourhood. They usually met a lot during the holidays, so Serena suspected that was why he was angry and not well disposed towards her father. She had to promise to write him a letter every day or he would show up personally to check up on her.

Her best friend Hailey, on the other hand, was happy for her, but Serena was supposed to report to her every day too. Not because she was afraid for Serena, but just out of curiosity.

Nervously, on a July morning, Serena sat in the kitchen at the table with a hideous light blue tablecloth on it, waiting for her godfather Remus Lupin. The sun was already slamming through the skylight at that early hour and within a few hours had already turned the entire flat into a giant sauna with no escape. The food that didn't belong in the fridge had been pushed to the shady side of the white shelf so that it wouldn't spoil.

Serena had rested her feet on the cat box where her cat was meowing pitifully. The British longhair just couldn't stand being locked in the box, but catching her would take forever, which was why she would have to endure the extra few minutes, willy-nilly. Meanwhile, Serena's mother was whirling around the house, cleaning every hidden nook and cranny. She always did that when visitors were announced, no matter how fleeting. 

"Can you clean the dishwasher, please?" she called from the next room. Grumbling, Serena rose from the shadow of the sloping roof and was about to do as she was told when the front doorbell rang.

"I'll get it!" cried Serena and stumbled into the hallway, relieved to be able to escape the chores. Her heart pounded excitedly in her chest and a wave of nervousness spread through her insides. She hadn't seen Remus for a few weeks now and spending the rest of her holiday with him and her father felt surreal.

Remus was still wearing a shabby cloak with many patches, but his face was adorned with a few less scratches and even the tiredness had partially disappeared from his gaze. He looked refreshed and perhaps a little happier. "Good morning! So, are you ready?"

Serena nodded. "I'll just get my things, come in, Professor."

"I'm not your teacher anymore, Serena," he noted with a smirk as he stepped over the threshold and followed her into the living room. "You can call me Remus if you want."

In her head, Serena gave a sigh, hating the fact that Remus had quit his job as Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher merely because Snape had revealed that he was a werewolf. Her godfather had been by far the best teacher in that subject she had ever had. His successor would have big shoes to fill, for she was certainly not alone in that opinion.

Serena was just turning into the kitchen when her mother also entered the room, but from the other side. She stood rooted to the spot in the doorway and stared at her former friend, whom she had made her daughter's godfather, as if bitten by the flubberworm. Merlin, what would happen if she came face to face with her father, Serena thought. But her mother had consistently spoken out against this. She didn't want to see him. At least not yet.

"Hello, Katherine," Remus greeted her somewhat guardedly and had also stopped. At that moment, life came to the blonde woman. With quick steps she had wiped out the spatial gap between them and had fallen into his arms. "Oh, Remus!"

Apparently she had forgiven him. Clearing her throat, Serena turned away and began gathering the last of her things. Since her mother and Remus had a lot to say to each other, she even cleaned out the dishwasher. Finally, a little later, she was standing next to her godfather with the cat box in her hand, ready, and he had taken the heavy suitcase from her. He held out his free arm to her in an inviting manner. "Have you apparated before?"

Confused, Serena shook her head, but hesitantly reached into the crook of his arm. "It might get a little uncomfortable now, then," Remus warned her. Serena took a deep breath and waved to her mother one last time. She herself threw a peck in the air with her hand as she leaned against the doorframe with a sad smile.

The Gryffindor curled her fingers into Remus' cloak and closed her eyes, expecting the worst. It took an agonisingly long few seconds before she was caught in a maelstrom. It felt as if her body was being squeezed and twisted around itself. Briefly, Serena thought she couldn't stand the feeling any longer without throwing up, when suddenly she found herself on a sunny pavement. She lost her balance and was just able to support herself with her hands on the warm asphalt floor. The cat box, including the cat, had hit the ground ungently when it slipped from her fingers.

Small stones pierced Serena's skin. With difficulty she straightened up and knocked some dust off her jeans. "You'll get used to it," Remus promised her with a grin. Unlike her, he had landed on the street as if he had merely stepped out of a car.

Serena followed his gaze, which was directed towards a driveway of a property surrounded by a silver fence. Hanging from it was a wooden sign that read Crystal Cottage. Beyond the gate, a long path led to a mansion-like house all in white. It even had two towers and loads of windows. She let her eyes wander down the road. But it was the only house. The rest of the surroundings were wild shrubs and wide meadows.

"Welcome to Brightshire," Remus announced then, pointing in a direction where Serena could merely stare against several tree trunks. "You can see down into the town from the house. It's merely inhabited by wizards, much like Hogsmeade."

Serena merely nodded, feeling the excitement welling up inside her again as her godfather finally opened the gate to the beautiful house. Heart pounding, she picked up the cat box again, from which Nahla was glowering at her, and followed him with legs made of Jell-O. She was a little nervous about facing her father again. She hardly knew him, after all.

To the right and left of the narrow path stretched a gloriously flowering meadow with numerous wildflowers. Butterflies and bees cavorted around them. With the snow-white towers of the house in the background, this made for an extremely lovely overall picture. Serena couldn't help but be amazed. If there was a complete opposite to Azkaban, it was certainly this building.

She had been so distracted by the sight that she hadn't realised they had already reached the front door. It was also white with mirrored small windows in the shape of a star. Remus took a key from the deep pocket of his cloak and unlocked it. Sharply, Serena sucked in a breath.

Not only because what she could see of the interior was already at least as beautiful as the house itself, but because her father was already smiling broadly at them. His extravagant cloak blew behind him. It was made of velvet and burgundy with golden stitching. His dark hair was still shoulder-length. It curled in a similar way as Serena's did. When he reached her, his grey eyes shone at her and at first it looked as if he was going to embrace her, but then seemed to change his mind and merely put his hand on her shoulder. "It's good to have you here."

"I'm happy too," Serena returned a little shyly. She was a little uncomfortable with the situation. It felt strange for her to suddenly have a father in her life and didn't quite know how to handle it yet. Maybe that would ease when they spent more time together. After all, she had quickly got used to Remus, too.

She gave her godfather a helpful look. He seemed to notice her discomfort and cleared his throat to break the emerging silence. "Why don't you show her around, Sirius?"

"Yeah, sure. Come on, you can pick a room," he said. His hand moved from her shoulder to her back and he began to guide her from there towards a white marble staircase. Serena, however, still couldn't take her eyes off the beautiful living room he was leading her through. A huge cream-coloured living room landscape stood in front of a large fireplace made of dark stone. A chandelier sparkled above it.

Further back was a long dining table, which, like the fireplace, was rather dark. To the right was a door behind which Serena could glimpse a kitchen. Large windows let in oodles of daylight, but unlike her attic flat, it wasn't nearly as heated. "Everything is so bright," she finally observed in a whisper.

"Quite a contrast to Azkaban," her father agreed with her. He let his gaze wander thoughtfully around the room. "Maybe that's why I liked it so much."

Then he climbed the stairs ahead of them both. "You should have seen how nervous he was running around the house all day," Remus murmured in Serena's ear as they climbed the steps. In fact, Serena had to grin a little at the thought. Especially when her father turned to his friend with a scowl, obviously having heard his words very clearly. He didn't say anything about it, though. He finally led her up to the first floor and down a long corridor where a total of five rooms branched off.

He pointed to the door opposite the stairs first. "That's my room and Remus sleeps in the one next to it." He then headed for the room at the very end. "I thought you might like this room. If not, you can choose another..."

But when Serena saw the room, she didn't want another. It was just as flooded with light as what she had seen of the house so far. But the lilac walls brought some colour to the décor for the first time. The opposite wall was rounded, which made her guess that it must be in one of the towers. The white queen-size bed looked tempting to her. At home and at Hogwarts she only had a single bed.

Wide-eyed, she stepped over the threshold and now also spotted a spacious wardrobe, as well as a vanity table. "There's also a larger room at the end of the corridor otherwise. We can move the furniture..."

"It's perfect," Serena interrupted her father. "Thank you."

He returned her smile. "Once you're settled, I'll show you the rest of the house."

Nodding, Serena grabbed the handle of her suitcase and that of the cat box and heaved both into her new room. Nahla gave a pitiful meow and she seemed rather suspicious of the new surroundings, which might have been because the smell of a dog and werewolf was in the air. At this point, Serena had no idea that her cat's instinct might be right. Why should she also assume that her father could take pleasure in chasing the poor animal across the garden in its animagus form?

When the door slammed behind the Gryffindor, leaving her alone with her thoughts, she had to take a deep breath. It was quite a lot that had affected her at once. The new surroundings. Her father, still a stranger. Her former teacher, with whom she would now live under the same roof. There was a lot to digest. After all, it was a new phase in her life. When Serena thought back to last year's summer holidays, she never imagined that she would now find herself in this situation. But that was the way it was and as much as the circumstances confuse her, she wouldn't want to change anything.

Over the next few days, Serena did well to settle into her new life and explore the house. One of the other two rooms on the first floor belonged to Harry and the other and those upstairs were all guest rooms. The room above Serena's, which was directly under the roof of the tower, had been converted into a library. While it didn't come close to the smorgasbord at Hogwarts, it certainly had more books than ordinary households. In the other tower was a study that reminded Serena of Remus' office. She suspected he had taken over most of the furniture.

As the sky outside slowly turned orange, Serena put aside the quill she had been using to work on a Potions essay. Teachers giving homework to their students over the holidays seemed like a violation of human rights to her. Tired, she stretched her stiff limbs and made her way downstairs. It had almost become a tradition for the three housemates to have dinner on the large terrace during sunset. As soon as Serena opened the door to her room, a heavenly smell hit her nose. Hungrily, she followed it down the stairs.

The living room was bathed in a golden hue and the crystals of the chandelier cast reflections of light on the walls. Serena kept to the left and crossed the large room to a glazed wall, which was also the door to the terrace. Remus and her father were already seated at the wooden table, behind which, on the horizon, the sun had turned the sky orange and pink. Directly below was the wizarding village of Brightshire. The roofs of the old half-timbered houses lay peacefully in the valley, with a church tower rising up between them. Remus hadn't exaggerated when he said they would have a fantastic view.

Serena let her gaze wander over the set table. The plates were filled with cutlets and the bowls with green beans and mashed potatoes. Since the dish looked edible and not the least bit burnt, Serena concluded that it must have been Remus who had whipped up the meal for them. Even if it took forever, her godfather managed to make simple dishes according to instructions. Although her father had been against it, Serena had also offered to join in the cooking. After all, she had been used to cooking her own food from an early age when her mother had been at work all day.

As she sat down, her father was already impatiently starting to shovel food onto his plate and Remus put his book aside with a sigh. Silently, Serena put green beans on her plate. "Are you finally done with homework? You should enjoy the holidays more. I'll never understand why teachers think they have to give you homework over the holidays.... I never did them myself," her father mumbled with his mouth full, earning a reprimanding look from Remus in response. "Sirius!"

"Moony, you're not a teacher anymore and I dare say you used to be upset about it too," he interjected and even though Serena shared his opinion, she kept it to herself at that moment. Remus merely rolled his eyes and turned to his plate without replying. Serena sighed and pulled an unhappy face. "Snape just overdoes it with the amount."

"All the more reason not to do them." Her father screwed up his face at the mention of his former classmate. "By the way, the food tastes really good."

Serena nodded in agreement. Remus, who had tilted his head down, smiled in satisfaction. Silence then fell at the dining table. The Gryffindor had no idea what to talk about and instead popped one piece of cutlet after another into her mouth until her father finally broke through it. "Is there actually still this obsessive rivalry between Gryffindor and Slytherin at Hogwarts?"

"Yes," she replied between bites, "but it's mainly the Slytherins who are provoking. There's nothing you can do about it."

"Oh, we used to stand up to them all the time back then." He laughed, memories of days gone by glittering in his grey eyes. "In astronomy we used to swap their telescopes for Zonkos' boxing ones every now and then, it never got boring really."

Serena had to laugh, that actually sounded pretty funny. "I once threw a dung bomb at one."

Her father's expression fell a little. "That's it?"

Slowly, she nodded. A little disappointed, Sirius lowered his fork. "Well, I think that must have been pretty funny too." Theatrically, he then sucked in a breath. "I suppose it takes a bit more than mere blood relations with one of Hogwarts' biggest troublemakers to pull off real pranks."

Amused, Remus grunted into his food. "I suppose you forget who was the mastermind behind your great pranks." No sooner had he uttered those words than he was met with a withering glare. Serena looked back and forth between the two. "I can pull of pranks!" she then defended herself indignantly. "It can't be that hard."

"Not that hard..." Her father closed his eyes dramatically, then leaned back in his chair. "Prove it! I bet you can't fool a genuine marauder."

Challengingly, he looked at her. Remus, meanwhile, muttered something about parenting and looked at them both with horror. Serena stuck out her chest defiantly, unaware at that moment that she would regret the decision.

"Challenge accepted!