CHAPTER TWO
↳ wisteria and clifford

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A dream held deeper thoughts and feelings no human could possibly comprehend without spiralling into utter chaos, shielded from reality through a thick and eternal blanket of naivety.

Elara Lily Lupin could not comprehend what she had seen in her dreams.

Her best friend's dead corpse, she pointed out darkly. She was still heaving as she sat up in bed, Laurie still fast asleep by her feet. The curtains casted no shadow, it was late at night, no light, no sunrise, just the empty absence occupied by the vivacious stars.

This couldn't be happening. No. No. No. No. This couldn't possibly be a possibility. She refused to acknowledge it. Maybe if she snapped out of the spiral of horror, then she'd be able to think perfectly and decide that this was just a dream. Cedric would be fine. Her mind just decided to fabricate such a pathetic fear of hers. Yes! That must be it. Elara felt her insides turn as she thought about her dream. How dead he looked.

How his once smiling face, gleaming silver eyes, were replaced with something foreign: fear. His eyes exclaimed his sheer terror, the terror he felt in his last moments.

Why him? Why couldn't he be okay? She couldn't breathe. She felt her throat close up and her lungs scream for air. As they pleaded over and over again, wanting to take a simple breath. Silent, unheard tears fell down her cheeks, dripping gingerly on the sheets as she clenched them tightly in her hands.

Elara hadn't felt like this since she was four, when she first saw the boy in the lake. The feeling of trapped despair, hopelessness, she had felt this all when she was just a small, fragile child and she, even after over a decade of experiencing those emotions, hadn't been able to block them out. Elara tried to breathe in and out, tried to intake the stale air that she required ever so much, but the fear as her heart shuttered in her chest froze her. Her body coursed with shivers as she rocked herself back and forth on her bed, still making no sounds and Laurie still at her feet.

"What am I going to do?" She sobbed to herself, laying her head gently down on the pillow, eyes etching the ceiling as she felt tears collapse down her cheek, scarring them as she tried closing her eyes, only to open them when Cedric's cold grey eyes played in her mind. No one would come and hug her, not her papa, nor her dad, no one. The only comfort she got was the occasional purring that came from Laurie as he slept carefree.

All Elara Lily Lupin could think was how she would change this, because Cedric Amos Diggory would not die.

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Somehow Elara had managed to fall asleep. She didn't know how, but eventually she fell into a dreamless state of mind. The soft dews of the previous rainfall bejewelled her bedroom window, cascading down gently as the seconds. She was sitting on her bed now, Sirius ( or Snuffles as she and her papa had decided to call him for a while ) laying at her feet, listening to her hums as she read 'Little Women'. Everything felt peaceful. The breeze whispered nimbly, the coolness caressing her as it prickled her skin. The warm hues of the sun collapsed in the room, illuminating her light brown skinned face as her eyes trailed the pages of her book swiftly, mind filling up with the images of the scenes playing out.

Laurie purred contently by her side as she placed a hand on his feathery fur. "Why does everything seem too peaceful right now?" She mused delicately, thinking for a moment why the whole scenery before her felt harmonious. Then, a shutter of a bang sounded, along with a plethora of screaming yells that sounded all too familiar.

"MORGAN STOP STEPPING ON MY FOOT!"

"MAYBE YOU SHOULD HAVE SMALLER FEET!"

"OH SOD OFF YOU DICK!"

Placing her book down with a sigh, Elara pushed herself up. "C'mon Snuffles, let's go see them," Sirius let out a small growl of discontent, perhaps too comfortable to get up. But, nevertheless, he pounced off the bed and began trailing after Elara as she opened the door and began moving down to the living room. Remus was in the kitchen, stifling laugher as Morgan and Lois continued to bicker. It was something along the lines off 'your feet are so big' and Lois immediately replying with 'have you seen yours? last time we had to buy clown shoes for you!'

When Elara finally wandered down the stairs, Cedric immediately beamed up, shaking the back of his head sheepishly as he looked at his boyfriend who was now pouting at his sister. "Hey Lara!" Snapping out of their argument, Lois and Morgan both smiled at her as well, running and embracing her warmly.

"Hi," she looked around, confused. "Where's Wis, Gaia and Daphne?" As if one cue, there was a knock on the door and Remus, placing the bowl of melted chocolates on the table, walked over and opened them, each girl smiling at him warmly. The three girls all looked a bit different from their school personas. Gaia's hair was worn in braids, hanging down by her waist and accessorised with green beads. She looked really beautiful and the green really did suit her. Daphne's hair had also been done, her hair now in a bob in comparison to her hair which usually reached her waist. Wisteria looked practically as she always did. Still short, rosy freckled cheeks, but her hair was now straightened.

The small girl seemed extremely energetic, still having her iconic stutter as she greeted her previous teacher, "Hi-hi P-Professor L-Lupin!" Wisteria beamed at him. Remus almost let his smile falter when the smaller girl smiled up at him. His mind ran back to the fact that she knew he was a werewolf, trying to convince him that she didn't care. But the warmth she gave him, standing at the door with Daphne and Gaia ( both smiling as well ) told him that they didn't see him as any different.

"Erm- call me Remus," he rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. He really wasn't expecting the overall kindness from her.

"O-Okay R-Remmy!" She chirped. Her eyes widened and she immediately yelled out, "C-Clifford!" As she ran towards Sirius, immediately going and petting him. Remus snorted, going to cover it with a cough as he looked at Elara, who was pursing her lips to suppress a laugh. "L-L-Lars! Y-You d-didn't t-tell m-me you had him! H-Holy shit! H-Hello boy," she fussed him, bushing aside the fact this was a 'mass murderer'. Sirius didn't seem bothered by the fuss he was getting, rolling on his stomach so that he could get a belly rub. Everyone, knowing who 'Clifford' was, was trying to suppress the laughter, Morgan snorting and Cedric hitting his side to silence him.

"Who's going to tell her?" Lois whispered.

"I'm going to tell her," Morgan went to move forward, only to be pulled back by Cedric.

"Don't you dare," before Morgan could pull away, Cedric pressed his lips on his, lightly kissing him. "Don't tell her,"

"Okay fine," gently pressing his fingers to his lips with a giddy smile. "Only if you kiss me again?" Cedric kissed him again and sighed out, exasperated.

Wisteria ran over to Elara and gave her a massive hug. "I-I've m-missed y-you so much!" She exclaimed, Elara's arms wrapping around her as the two friends embraced.

"I've missed you too Wis," Elara smiled warmly.

Gaia and Daphne walked, awkwardly, into the room, Gaia immediately hitting Lois over the head. "I thought we decided to knock," Gaia crossed her arms at her girlfriend.

Snorting, Lois scratched the back of her head. "We decided you'd knock and the rest would have a fantastic entr-" before she could continue, Gaia pressed her lips on top of hers, melting into a kiss that was returned. "- anyways, you're a fantastic kisser, love,"

"I know,"

The whole group now was clustered in the living room, Wisteria now sitting on the floor and fussing Sirius, Daphne holding Pepper upside down to get a spoon that she had stolen, and the rest sitting on the sofa.
Soon enough, after a lot of ushering from Remus to have them out of the living room, the group were clambering in Elara's bedroom, Cedric jumping onto her bed simultaneously as he sprawled his body out.

" I don't think I'll ever forget how soft your bed is," he sighed out dramatically.

Grabbing a pillow that had fallen on the ground, she threw it at him. "Great job on messing my bed up, ten out of ten!" She said sarcastically. "Get off!" Cedric shook his head, patting the spot besides him where Morgan now sat. Placing her hands on her waist, she shook her head. "Why do I even put up with all of you?"

"Because you love us,"

"Obviously isn't that," Elara smirked. "If anything I love Wis more than all of you, I bet you'd all be dead if I wasn't here, minus Gaia and Daphne because they're the sanest,"

"That's rude!"

"So rude!"

"Quite fair,"

"Understandable,"

Wisteria beamed and hugged Elara. "You're so sweet! Thank you!" Elara felt her heart melt and gave Wisteria a bigger hug.

"Guys you do realise I do love you, to an extent?" Elara questioned.

Lois snorted. "You love Hermione Granger more,"

Almost on que, Elara heard knocking on her window. Opening the window, Prince flew in, landing just above Elara's face to give her a bite and dropped the envelope on the ground. "Stupid bird," she hissed out, walking to her desk and applying another plaster. When she had finally forgotten about the injury, Elara turned to look at the letter, her name written in Hermione's distinguishable handwriting.

"Are you two writing love letters now?" Lois laughed out, wincing when Gaia dug her elbow in her side. "I mean, "are you two writing 100% platonic letters that are, in no way, romantic sonnets of your unknown love?""

But Elara didn't respond to her question. In fact, she was two preoccupied by what Hermione had written. Her heart swelled as she read more and more of the letter, hands shaking lightly. She almost squealed when she finished reading, Cedric standing and grabbing the letter off her.

"'Dearest Elara'," he cleared his throat. "'I've missed you loads as well, you mean-' El, are you sure this isn't a love letter?"

"I'm quite sure,"

"Ced! Hurry up! I'm invested!" Lois called out, now laying on Gaia's lap as the dark skinned girl played with her curls. Gaia didn't bother reprimanding the girl, instead too focused in the softness of her hair, gently playing with it.

Coughing again, Cedric continued. "'You mean the absolute world to me and I absolutely love you loads as a friend,' ouch, friend zoned," he went and waved the paper, flattening it out. "'It was such a lovely surprise hearing from you and no, I haven't had any owls from either of the boys but I very much rather hearing from you.' This is so juicy," sitting down on the desk, Cedric continued. "'I am not surprised you've read Little Women so many times, it truly is a beautiful book-' blah blah blah something about you being like Beth blah blah blah- okay so to conclude, I have no clue why you squealed- oh 'Elara, you mean everything to me, I love you more than all the moons in Jupiter combined. You truly are a beautiful friend of mine with such a beautiful mind and I hope you know that I love you and will always love you in the upcoming years, love you to the moon and back and further, yours, Mione xxx'" handing the letter back to Elara, the older Hufflepuff sighed. "Elara, your idea of romantic is very different from me!"

"Ced, your idea of romantic is a freshly cooked steak served with some french mustard with a cup of orange juice," Morgan laughed. "Of course I'd know, I cooked it for you,"

"Don't forget the midnight screening of Star Wars,"

"Ced, the midnight screening of Star Wars was my idea," walking up to him, Cedric planted a kiss on his lips.

"And I loved that,"

Throwing a pillow at them, Daphne exclaimed out, "We don't need the constant pda! Get a room when we aren't at someone else's house!" She gagged. "I don't get how couples can be all lovey dovey,"

"Welcome to the world of love my dear friend," Lois sighed out dramatically.

"I never want to be in that world, thank you very much,"

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Sirius and Remus were enjoying some of the cookies that Remus had baked a little while ago. They had heard nothing but the constant screams coming from who they assumed was Lois as she yelled at Morgan.

"GIVE ME THE FUCKING £20 NOTE MORGAN OR I SWEAR TO GOD THIS 'BIG FOOT' WILL GO SO FAR UP YOUR ARSE AND I'LL MAKE SURE TO STEAL ALL YOUR PROPERTIES!"

"DON'T STEAL MY PROPERTIES!"

"GIVE ME THE FUCKING MONEY!"

Sirius gave Remus a questioning look. "Are these seriously the people our daughter hangs out with?"

"Unfortunately,"

"No, no," he dismissed. Sirius actually looked proud. "They're so cool!"

"Sure, Clifford," He bellowed with laughter. "And I thought 'Snuffles' from Prongs was hilarious,"

"Who even is Clifford?" Remus, however, ignored him and went to grab some hot chocolate powder from the cupboard and also a teaspoon. "Moony! Who's Clifford?" Remus continued ignoring him causing Sirius to pout and put another cookie in his mouth. "'Love a chocoholic' they said. 'Raise a child with the chocoholic' they said. 'It'll be fun' they said," he grumbled, bouncing on his feet towards his boyfriend. Pressing his chin on Remus' shoulder and wrapping his arms around his waist, Sirius asked, "What are you even making?"

"Hot chocolate," Remus turned on the stove, placing a pan on top and pouring in some milk and hot chocolate powder. "What's up with you today, love? Always so clingy one moment and the next you don't even want to hug. You can tell me, love," his voice held sincerity.

Sirius' smile faltered and his voice dropped quieter as the seconds grew. "I love you," Sirius breathed out and counted his heartbeat. Breathe Sirius, breathe, you need to be strong. "I'm sorry I'm being so clingy, It's just-" he couldn't even form any words as his voice betrayed him and showed his pain. Were there really any words? How do you exactly put into words that you haven't felt another human put their arms around you in twelve years? Sirius hadn't been feeling 100% at all and Remus was fully aware. Everything was overwhelming, his insides would quench with anxiety and his hands would tremble, but he tried to put on a facade that he was okay so that Elara wasn't too worried. He didn't want his little girl worrying over him. But he still does, even when he does that. Her lingering gazes enveloped in white concern directed towards him and transfixed harshly onto him. Sometimes, it didn't feel as though the dementors had left. He still felt numb, empty and he wasn't the reckless teen he used to be. His body felt more like a shell than a vessel. He wasn't the outgoing person who proposed all those years ago to the werewolf he loved. He wasn't the same father little Elara, his poppet, knew him to be. He wasn't constantly smiling, he was constantly numb. He felt like a broken shard of the man he was supposed to be. He tried cracking jokes, laughing forcefully at stuff, but it felt like a dementor was sucking all this life away and he was being forced to watch.

"It's just, I never even expected to see you or Elara again, and seeing the two of you is just so overwhelming," he took a shaky breathe and was about to continue when Remus pulled him closer. "And- merlin- sometimes I just ca-can't smile anymore- and I try to for you and Elara, but it's so hard and It fe-feels like I'm cracking and I just want to be fixed," his voice broke into those shards he was. "A-and sometimes I just want to-to be held and- fuck, I'm sorry-" he pursed his lips as he tried not to cry, "-and sometimes I can't stand touching people and I don't know who I am anymore- Remus- it feels like a dementor is always sucking on my happiness and sometimes, even when I wake up next to you, it-it doesn't feel like I can be happy because I be-betrayed Prongs and Lily and now- now they're dead and it's all my fault!" He covered his face as tears fell down his cheeks.

"Sirius," Remus quietly started. "Lily and James aren't dead because of you,"

Sirius looked up, his eyes wide with fury. "Yes they fucking are! If I hadn't been such a prejudiced bastard and used your lycanthropy as an excuse to believe you were a traitor then maybe they'd be alive and I just want them alive," he croaked out. "I just want-" he was hiccuping now, trying to catch his breath. "I-"

Remus shushed him gently. "You don't have to explain if you don't want to," Remus mumbled out. "You can take however long you need and I 100% respect and understand if you ever need alone time or you want to hug me because I love you and I want you to adjust and be mentally okay," he pulled away and looked into Sirius' teary eyes. "Is there anything you want right now?"

"Can I just have a hug?" And with that, the two men embraced, Sirius silently sobbing into Remus. It just had been so long and he was trying so hard to adjust and hearing the love of his life understand and respect his boundaries meant a lot.

"I'M NOT GIVING A FUCKING CRIMINAL SOME FUCKING MONEY!"

"THAT'S IT WE ARE HAVING A DIVORCE!"

"MORGAN GIVE CEDRIC THE FUCKING £200!"

Sirius snorted. "They sound like us and P-Prongs playing monopoly with Essie and Xavier," He took the pan off the stove and poured it into the mugs Remus had pulled out. Holding onto the glass, he began advancing towards Elara's room.

"Pads, don't you think- ah fuck it Elara's probably told them," Remus snorted to himself. "Clifford, why didn't we think of that? Wisteria's a bloody genius,"

Meanwhile, Sirius was happily, without a care in the world, skipping to Elara's room, careful to not spill it. Opening it, he was greeted with a pair of dice being thrown at him and it finally came to his realisation that he had now walked in on some aggressive children playing monopoly.

"MORGAN I TOLD YOU TO THROW THE DICE- I DIDN'T MEAN YOU LITERALLY THROW THEM!" Elara shrieked out.

"YOU WEREN'T SPECIFIC!"

"Hi!" Wisteria waved. Sirius blinked, not expecting everyone to act so cheerful to him.

"Hey dad," Elara looked up, standing and walking towards him. "Is that hot chocolate?"

"Uh... yes?" She took the cup off him, sipping it and sighing contently. "Hang on, why is everyone acting like as though I currently haven't got a whole bunch of galleons on my head right now?"

Lois smiled. "The only use we'd have with those galleons is fast food restaurants and films, which is why we aren't snitching that our friend is hosting her supposed problematic fatherly man who is in the run from the government,"

"That's besides the point,"

"Which is besides the point," Lois gave Gaia a pointed look. "What even is the point we are making again?"

"That we know that Peter Pettigrew committed those murders all those years ago?" She looked towards Elara who was nodding. Gaia nodded. "And that you're also an animagus she called Snuffles who Wisteria called Clifford,"

Sirius gave his daughter a questionable glance, thinking about how much he had told them. She just shrugged and continued sipping on her hot chocolate.

"Hey Clifford?" Wisteria perked up. Sirius brought his attention onto the small brunette who held her assortment of cash in her hand. "Can I have some hot chocolate too please?"

That night, Wisteria Ambrosia got her hot chocolate and Cedric Diggory never got his £200.

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OKAY OKAY I'M SO SORRY I DIDN'T UPDATE ON FRIDAY- SURPRISE SURPRISE BUR LIKE I MOVED INTO MY NEW BEDROOM AND WE HAD TO CLEAN IT OUT AND EVERYTHING BUT NOW I'M PLANNING WHAT TO DECORATE IT WITH ETC-

Cedric and Morgan give me serotonin. Like they have such an amazing dynamic and I live for them fighting about monopoly-

ALSO- I WANT TO EXPRESS HOW SIRIUS IS REALLY FEELING WITH THAT CONVERSATION- like he isn't gonna be 100% mentally okay and fanfics always forget that he was held in Azkaban for over a decade. That isn't gonna do you any good for your mental health and we can't wash that away. mental health, depression especially, is almost always washed down to be an aesthetic and FOR FUCK SAKE IT ISN'T. one moment, sirius can be all wanting attention because he was touch starved and hasn't had human contact in a decade and the next minute he could be so uncomfortable and we need to have his whole struggle after Azkaban addressed.

also remus responding how he did is something we need to normalise. a depressed person doesn't owe you an explanation unless they want to tell you. you have to have patience and listen when they need you to listen.

THNAK YOU ALL SO SO MUCH FOR 15K- THIS IS A DREAM COME TRUE AND I AM SO SO HAPPY RN LIKE OH MY GODDDDDD-

ANYWAYS- THANK YOU FOR READING AND I HOPE YOU ALL HAVE A BEAUTIFUL DAY / NIGHT !!