Sirius popped open the bottle of wine, and everyone in the living room broke out into applause. Arthur Weasley was finally discharged from St. Mungo's, and everyone was on cloud nine.

The adults had their share of wine; the children had their butterbeers. To join the company at Grimmauld's Place, Remus and Tonks had arrived too. And after years, Sirius Black had this joyous grin on his face. His house being filled with people that were basically his only family was overwhelming him.

"Oh.. Godric, I wish I was there! Are you kidding me?" Ginny groaned, her expressions showing just how content she was after hearing the story. Even Hermione, who'd usually disapprove of such things, and Harry, who was a bit off these days, had huge smiles on their faces.

"Can we like.. preserve your memory or something?" asked Ron, grinning. "I would love to watch that on loop."

"No way!" Ria chuckled as the group of children laughed. She turned towards the woman who had narrated the incident to them. "Tonks, how did you know that?"

"Does it really matter, though?" asked Fred, thoroughly amused. "You slapped Umbridge, then hexed her, then stomped on her nose, twice! Is that not enough?"

"Asteria Marlene!" Isabella exclaimed as she walked towards her, along with Remus. "You did such a thing, and didn't mention it to me?!"

Asteria gasped at Remus. "Moony! You snitched, didn't you? To both of them?!" she asked in disbelief, while the man gave her an apologetic look. "I trusted you!" she exclaimed, having a look of fake hurt on her face.

"You told him and not me? Your own mother?" asked Isabella, resting her palm on her chest, and the group chuckled again. Ria rolled her eyes.

"Anyway.. Forget it." Isabella chuckled. "But— But you actually did that.. Honey.." she trailed away, and no one could miss the 'proud mother' expression that was gracing her face.

"Such a bad influence.." Remus muttered under his breath, chuckling. But she had already heard it.

"Excuse me?" She asked, appearing offended. "I am the bad influence now? I'll tell you what, children.. Tonks.." She grabbed Remus's ear and showed his face to everyone. "This man.. your Professor, who pretends to be so innocent.. was the mastermind behind the biggest, dirtiest, but the best pranks we ever played while we were children."

Remus attempted to walk away, but Isabella pulled him back again, making them laugh. "This man.. came up with the brilliant plan to set up fake, scary clowns, and enchant them to scare Slytherins on the night of Halloween."

Some of them gasped, while some laughed. "Saints! I would've hated you." Ria gaped at him.

"Merlin, Remus! How many children did you traumatise?" Tonks asked with a laugh.

"I did not!"

"Oh, stop lying, Moony! You did traumatise quite a few!" Padfoot exclaimed as he walked past the group, and they broke into a fit of laughter.

Remus horribly failed to conceal his smile, so he attempted to hide his face behind his hand. And Tonks had to look down at the floor to hide her big grin and red cheeks.

"Oh.. You weren't innocent either, Isabella." said Moony with a small smile.

"I know! But at least I accept that." She justified.

Their chats died down once Arthur clinked his glass. "A Christmas toast, please?" The crowd settled in a circle, raising their goblets.

"To Asteria and Harry.." He looked at the pair, who were standing just beside each other. "Without whom, I would not be here."

All of them looked at the two, smiling. "Cheers." He said, and the rest followed, raising their glasses before enjoying their drinks.

"How are you feeling?" Ria asked softly, looking at Harry.

And he only glanced at her for a quick second and gave her a nod. The small smile on her face faltered. She took a quiet sip from her butterbeer to hide her frown.

She knew he was just thinking things through, trying to get through them.. that was why he was a bit quiet since that nightmare. He was just disturbed because of whatever that had happened; she knew that. She knew that he would talk to her, not now, but eventually. And his behaviour wasn't going to last for long, but..

But a small part of her couldn't help but feel upset at the way he was ignoring her.

Inside Harry's mind, there was this dense cloud of thoughts that he didn't seem to get rid of.

Maybe Dumbledore had a good reason to stay away from him. Maybe he knew about Harry turning into a snake, or into Voldemort's pawn, eventually. That might be the reason Dumbledore did not even meet his eyes; maybe he was afraid that the vivid green might suddenly turn scarlet, with snake-like slits for pupils.

Am I.. Am I supposed to end up worse than I am? 

He knew Dumbledore.. that man put respect to the name of even his enemies. He called Voldemort by his real name, he praised his knowledge about magic, he called him a great wizard.  Even after all the years of chaos, he continued to address the Seer as Madam Lagarde, he continued to praised her wit highly.

Then what have I done? He gulped, feeling his anger slowly rise again. Or.. or what does he think I'm going to do? He always has someone keeping an eye on me.

"Harry.." sighed Ria, and when he looked back at her just to find her facing the front. His insides were screaming for her to not treat him the way Dumbledore was.

Please, look at me. Let me know that you believe in me.

And it was as if she had heard him, because the very next second, she was looking at him just the way she always did.. since the very beginning.

"I know how you're feeling.." she said in all honesty. "I know you are sad, angry, confused, and many other things crammed up in one place.. You can't really explain it. You feel like you want to throw everything away.. Hide yourself from the world.. Maybe lock your thoughts in a box and throw away the key.. or maybe scream out until your voice gives up.."

Harry stayed still, knowing too well that she had read him like an open book. But then again, was that really surprising? She always did that.

Moreover, she knew how it felt because she had gone through the same.. or worse.

"And it's okay to feel that way.." she whispered, "it's okay to feel bad.. It's okay to be furious. What's not okay, is.." She gently took his hand into hers. "Closing yourself off at such extent, that your own thoughts begin to choke you."

She knew. She knew how that felt.

"And I'm not asking you to never think about them again.." She added, "I'm just.. I'm just asking you to put those aside until you find the right way to deal with them."

He knew that was the right way. But he couldn't let it take too much time. He didn't want to be late to sort his thoughts out. He didn't want to mess up. He didn't want to hurt anyone.

He didn't want to hurt her.

"I know that I'm not the best person to tell you that." She said with a small chuckle. She never took her own advice. "But I think.. I think it might be easier for you to catch on, than it is for me."

His heartbeat was racing with the possibilities running around in his head.

What if you get too close? I know I managed to hold myself together from attacking Dumbledore.. but what if I couldn't anymore? What if it's you that's in front of me? 

"No matter what happens.." She started softly, but firmly, with a squeeze of a hand. "Just know that you are not getting rid of these people.." She said, tilting her head over to the crowd around the living room. "They all care about you too much to just let you go.."

He wants not just me, but you too. What if he uses me to get to you?

"And you're certainly not getting rid of me.. Harry James Potter." She concluded with a small smile. With her other hand that didn't hold the butterbeer glass anymore, she handed him something. He looked down to find a gift-wrapped box in his hand.

Asteria stood on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek. "Merry Christmas, Prongslet." With a piercing look that drowned Harry's worrisome thoughts for a hot second, she walked away to join Amelia, Ginny and Hermione.

Harry didn't know for how long he had been staring at her until a small cough took his attention. His eyes snapped down to his drink as his godfather walked towards him with a smile.

"Hey, Padfoot." He offered him a tight smile. "Merry Christmas."

He nodded back cheerily. "Merry Christmas to you too."

"If I'm being honest, I didn't think you were going to show up tonight." said Sirius, looking down at him. "You're rather closed off, these days.." He patted his shoulder lightly, sensing that he might be stuck in some kind of dilemma. "You want to talk about it?" He asked.

Harry's eyes didn't meet his. Instead, they kept wandering around the room, following Ria every once in a while. Her words were stuck in his head, echoing against the walls, making Harry wish upon every star that he'd have an easy way out of this problem.

His answer never came, but Sirius's lips slowly turned into a smile. And before he could stop himself, the words flew out of his mouth.

"You love her!"

And Harry couldn't remember the last time his head had turned towards someone that quickly.

Isabella, on the other side of the room, hurriedly gulped her drink and walked out, following someone. "Hey!" She called out, moments before he could reach for his coat. "Where are you going?"

"Oh!" Remus was surprised by the fact alone that she had followed him out. "Uh— Eggs! Molly said we were out of eggs. So, yeah—" He shrugged as he wore his coat. "I will be back in a jiffy—"

Isabella stared at him blankly. "Remus, you were supposed to be the smartest of us.." She said, her tone of disappointment. "You could've done so much better than.. eggs."

He chuckled nervously. "C'mon!" Bella urged. "Where are you going?"

When he didn't answer, Isabella placed her hands on her hips like a strict mother. "Remus?"

He gulped. I don't know.. I don't know what it is that's telling me to go back there..

"I.." He hesitated. "It's Dumbledore.. He's given me some work. I'll be quick—"

"Work?" She interrupted. "Remus, it's Christmas!"

"I know!" He answered in the same tone.

Maybe, it's a warning in my head. Maybe, I'd find something there.. something that could make things easier.

Isabella chuckled humourlessly. "Oh— no, no!" she said, taking his arm and trying to pull him inside. "You're not going anywhere— especially not on Dumbledore's orders. I know he helped save Arthur and everything.. But I still don't trust that old, two-faced—"

"Bella, it's okay." He said, taking her grip off his forearm. "I'll be back soon, I promise."

Her eyebrows scrunched with worry. "Will you be alone?" She asked, and Remus's heart skipped a beat.

"No." He lied. "No. No. Vance will accompany me. Emmeline Vance."

"Oh." She nodded, a bit relief returning to her. "Okay, well.. be back soon, yeah?"

He proceeded to put on his coat before walking out of the house. "Yeah, as soon as I can."

"Take care. And if Dumbledore throws any batshit crazy orders your way, don't follow them—"

"No promises." He joked.

"Remus, I swear, if you die, I'll bring you back just to kill you again!"

"Deal!"

"That's— That's wonderful, Harry!" Sirius rejoiced, ruffling Harry's hair, while his face was as red as a tomato. "Ah.. young love gives me such joy.." he muttered, clasping his hands together like an excited grandma.

"I— I said— maybe—"

"Does she love you back?" asked Sirius with a wide grin. "Oh, who am I kidding? Of course, she does! Did you tell her, though?" He gasped. "Wait— I have the perfect plan—"

"Padfoot— Padfoot!" Harry tried to calm his overjoyed godfather before he began planning his marriage. "I'm not sure, okay?"

"You're not sure?" He scoffed. "I asked you that question, and you gave me an answer the very next second. That's definitely not a sign of being unsure, Harry."

"It's not—" Harry sighed out in tension. "It's not that, Sirius.."

Sirius's wide grin changed into a slightly confused one. "When I— When I saw.. Mr. Weasley get attacked.. I wasn't just watching.." He hesitated for a second. "I.. I was the snake.."

His godfather's smile faltered. "And afterwards.. when I was in Dumbledore's office, there was a moment when I.." He left a shaky breath. "..when I wanted to.." he could feel those words choking him.

"This connection between me and Voldemort.. What if the reason for it is that I am becoming more like him?" His breaths were slightly heaving by that moment. "I just feel so.. angry all the time."

"You are scared that you'll hurt someone?" asked Sirius. And Harry nodded frantically.

"Yes! And what if.. after everything I've been through.. after Ria and I have been through.. something's gone wrong inside me? What if I am becoming.. bad?"

Sirius shook his head and held him by his shoulder. "I want you to listen to me very carefully, Harry."

Harry focused on calming himself down for a moment, and then nodded. "You are not a bad person." Sirius said, his tone firm. "You're a very good person, who bad things have happened to. You understand?" At his question, the boy nodded.

"Besides, the world isn't split into good people and Death-eaters. We've all got both light and dark inside of us.." He continued. "What matters is the part we choose to act on. That's who we really are.."

Harry nodded again, but that thought still bugged him. "But what if.. he uses me?" He asked, and Sirius raised a questioning eyebrow. "What if he uses me to get to her?"

"It would— It would be good if I at least try to stay away.. Maybe, show that we're not as close anymore. Maybe, she'll be safe that way— " Harry tried explaining, but Sirius shushed him down.

"Listen, I just—" Sirius sighed, "I know. I know you're worried. But pushing people away.. especially someone you love, never turns out good." He explained.

Harry nodded, looking down for a quick second before looking at him again. "But what if.." he said again. "What if I do.. hurt her?"

"Sirius.. I don't want to make it harder for her." Harry said, his eyebrows furrowed in worry. "She's been through enough."

"You have too, haven't you?" He asked.

"It's not about me."

"It is, though." He answered in all honestly. "It is about you.. about both of you. And I'm not— I'm not trying to disregard Ria's struggles.. But that is one of the reasons why.. you two understand each other better than everyone else does.. Isn't it?"

Harry didn't agree, but he couldn't deny it either. "Harry, if you truly do love her, be true to her.. be honest about how you feel. Don't try push her away. It will do nothing but hurt the two of you."

Harry thought upon his words for a moment, then he looked across the room, at Asteria. A bright smile adorned her lips while she laughed wholeheartedly at Ginny's imitation of Umbridge. 

She looked so.. so carefree. He wished he could see her like that for the rest of their lives.

The girl looked at him, and the way her eyes crinkled when she did.. he forgot the world for a moment too. It made Harry question whether it would really be worth it if he ever let her go.

Sirius smiled to himself as he glanced between the two. It was like watching James fall in love all over again.

Or..

Or watching someone fall in love with Isabella.. all over again.

Sirius put a fatherly arm around Harry's shoulder. And the boy snapped out of his dreamland. "Do you know why I'm telling you this?" Harry raised a questioning eyebrow. "Because I've watched this play out before.. and it didn't end well."

"I had.. two friends." Sirius started with a sigh, and Harry could see the longing in his eyes as they glossed. "Both of them were.. uh— how do I explain.." He trailed off, trying to find the right words without giving away too much. "Both of them were pretty doomed by their fates."

"What do you mean?" asked Harry, but Sirius's eyes travelled towards Isabella.

"Well, er.. they had their problems; pretty serious ones. But it wasn't their fault, you know? It wasn't something they could control.." Sirius shrugged, and Harry nodded before looking at his front, towards his girlfriend.

"By the time they were your age.." He continued with a small smile. "You could take one look at him and just.. just tell how madly in love he was.. with her."

Molly called everyone to open their gifts before they could have dinner. "In a minute, Molly!" answered Sirius.

"Didn't she love him back?" asked Harry quietly.

Sirius shrugged. "She did like him more than a friend. She knew about his problems, and she was ready to risk it all too. But it didn't go as far as love."

"Why?"

"Because of my stupid, stupid friend.." Sirius's eyes trailed away to find the werewolf in the room, but he couldn't find him anywhere. "Instead of thinking like her, he gave his everything to push her away."

"He knew about her problems too, and he didn't care about them. But he feared that his problems would ruin her life. He believed that she would be better off without him. He even told himself that his feelings weren't real.. that what he felt was only a result of how alike they were."

Harry was intrigued by now. "What happened, then?"

"Well, she was really hurt, at first. But she eventually got over him." He sighed out again, replaying all the moments from school when they used to act like they had no worries in the world.

"It took him some years to realise that he had made a mistake by pushing her away. But until then, it was too late."

Harry instantly looked at Sirius, slightly concerned. He looked at his godson, too.

"She fell in love with someone else." said Sirius, with a pitiful smile. 

Even now, he could see that look in Remus's eyes when Isabella was around, but most of it had changed to a mixture of hurt and longing. Though Sirius knew he still loved her, he doubted his feelings were still romantic.

But he did care about her, a lot.

It took Harry a while to snap out of his thoughts. "Were you close to them?" Sirius nodded with no hesitation. "Then you must've felt really bad for them.."

Sirius took his time to answer his doubt. "I felt bad for him.. Yes."

"Only for him?"

He nodded. "Even though he's a good friend.. I don't think he.. or anyone else would have been perfect enough for her." He answered. "The boy she fell in love with? I doubt anyone would have loved her as much as he did. And I think my friend agrees too."

"But now.." Sirius took a sip from his drink, looking at his cousin, Nymphadora Tonks. "I think he will find love too.. soon."

He snapped back from his thoughts. "So.. er—" Sirius left a tensed breath. "I just.. just told you what I experienced with my friends, Harry. I doubt the same would happen to you."

"It's only that, I don't want to see my loved ones get hurt again." With a tight smile, Sirius gave his shoulder a quick pat before walking away.

That made Harry spiral into infinite thoughts and possibilities.

He took the gift-wrapped box out of his pocket and carefully opened it. And it made a smile blossom on his lips, one that he couldn't hide even if he tried. He looked up at Asteria, who was looking over at him with a smile, because she knew he had liked the gift.

Maybe Sirius was right.

The crowd began taking seats around the table after opening their gifts. Ria could feel her stomach churn as the smell of the broth hit her nose. Though a loud call for Isabella stopped the crowd's chatter.

All their heads moved simultaneously towards the man standing at the doorway.

"Oh, Remus." The woman in question sighed. "You're back. Great timing, we were just starting dinne—"

"We need to talk." No one had seen him that.. that angry before. Ria and Harry exchanged nervous glances. "Now." He said before Isabella could say something.

She only stared with confusion. "Right. Fine." She stood up, pushing her chair back with a long creak.

"Sirius." said Remus, his eyes still not moving from her. "You too."

Sirius had to double-take the request before completely comprehending it. "Is everything okay, Remus?" He gently asked.

He looked at him with a smile that seemed ingenuine. "Why don't you come with us and find out?"

Anxiously, he looked between his two friends for a moment, before getting up from his place and walking towards him.

The three of them left the room, while the others just kept staring at the doorway. Mrs. Weasley cleared her throat. "Maybe you children should have dinner. You lot seem hungry." She suggested, waving her wand to lay plates out in front of them.

"Er— we'll wait, Mrs. Weasley. It's Christmas after all." Hermione suggested.

And Ria stood up too, not being able to control her urge. The previous hunger had tranformed into anxiety bubbling in the pit of her stomach. "Ria, dear, where are you going?" Molly was quick to ask her.

But she did not wait to answer. "I.. Just— Just to the toilet, Mrs. Weasley."

Sirius led the two to the room farthest away from the kitchen; his room. He held the door open for them, then followed after. His heart had started to race now. Why had Remus been acting this way? He never spoke to Bella like that.

Isabella took a seat on the bed, looking expectantly at Remus. "So.."

"Why are you doing this?" Was the first question that left his mouth. 

She furrowed her eyebrows in question and exchanged glances with Sirius, who seemed confused as well. "What.. What am I doing?" She asked calmly.

"How long have you been hiding it from her?" He asked almost immediately, his voice quivering.

"Hiding?" She asked with a humourless chuckle. "Remus, what are you talking about?"

He nodded, smiling in defeat. He looked down and dug into the pockets of his coat for something. "I went to your house at Magnolia Crescent—"

"You what?" Isabella seemed slightly enraged now. "What— What are you? Mad?"

Sirius blinked. "Are you serious?"

"Remus! I used to live there! For all we know, there could be death-eaters roaming around, looking for me—" She stressed. "And no one lives there anymore! That street was abandoned the day some fiendfyre burned it, fifteen years ago—"

Her words were cut off once she found a bunch of letters clutched in his hand.

"Letters?" She said in disbelief. Who would send letters to an old, burnt, collapsed house?

Before she could take them though, he took his hand back and towards Sirius. He took them with hesitation, inspecting the first one closely. "Addressed to—" He paused, the tiniest bit of humour in his eyes fading away. 

He looked at Remus, his gaze holding concern. "This— This has to be a joke.. Tell me it's a joke."

The scarred man shook his head, fury still evident in his eyes. "You can tell she wrote them, can't you?" He added.

Sirius nodded hurriedly. "Yes, I can, but—"

"Care to explain what this is about?" Isabella interrupted, looking at the two in question.

"No, Isabella!" thundered Remus, making her flinch in surprise. "The one who owes an explanation right now, is you!"

"About what?" She questioned back, genuinely not knowing what they were talking about.

"Ria's been writing to Daniel."

Bella's stern expression slowly faded away, and she blinked at him. "She—" Her voice was as weak and shaky as a crumpled leaf hanging loosely on its stem. "She's been.. what?"

"Yes," Remus confirmed, "she's been writing letters to him. Do you want to look at what she's written?"

She leapt towards Sirius, her hands trembling as she took those letters. There were eight of them.. each one of them addressed to no one other than Daniel. But with the sheer panic in Isabella's mind, she could only read and comprehend some lines in each letter.

'Hey Dad,
It's been so long, hasn't it? How are you?'

'I don't know why I'm ranting to you.. You haven't even replied to the first letter. But, I just feel better after writing to you. Is it weird?'

'But the guy I went to the Yule Ball with? His name's Louis.. He asked me out on a date! This Valentine! Which is also my birthday! (I hope you remember that)'

'I'm sorry if this letter seems hard to read.. I'm just really hurt, right now. I'm trying.. I'm trying so hard..'

'Oh, Merlin.. I can't really explain it in the letter but.. we lost Cedric.'

'I'm a hopeless destruction.
Is this why you've never replied? Am I still hopeless to be trying?'

'I just wanted to know where it went wrong.
I've been trying so hard to make up for whatever it is..
Just tell me why.. and I'll leave you alone.'

The words on her letter went from slight hesitation to comfort.. from light-hearted to such hurt that the words were blotched with tears.. from careful words to straight-forward questions..

All that until her warmth died down and showed up emotionless on the last one.

'Goodbye, Daniel Edwards. I hate you with all my life, and I wish you were never my father.'

Isabella had been staring blankly at the last letter, not moving, not making a noise. She didn't know how many times she had read it now.

What.. What have I done?

"You don't know what to say, do you?" asked Remus with a humourless chuckle, but she didn't dare to move her eyes. "I didn't either."

"Bella, what's going on?" asked Sirius, his voice a mere whisper of disbelief. "Either Ria seriously needs help.. or that you.. you—"

"You asked us to not mention Daniel because it would upset her." said Remus, taking a shaky breath. "But.. But tell me the truth, Isabella. Does she— Does she even know?"

Isabella's lips were trembling now.. her eyes were watering, pouring down onto the tightly clutched letters in her hands.

"Does she even know about his death?"

She shuddered at those words, her mind filling with horrible memories, a jet of green light.. cries that had made her throat hurt for days later, and the loneliness that had followed her like a ghost for the next six years.

"She doesn't.. does she?" He asked, his scarred face scrunched with wrath. "Why? Why would you do that to your own daughter?"

"I— I.. I don't.." The words were at the tip of her tongue, but she couldn't get them out.

"Daniel loved her with all his heart." Remus stressed. "Why would you make her believe otherwise? And— And who do you think gave you the right to hide his death from her?!"

"I— I couldn't let her.. have it worse.." She whispered, those letter now held close to her chest.

"She's already having it worse.." Moony whispered back. "It would've hurt her less if you'd told them the truth."

He felt pity for her. He could always tell what Ria's gaze expected when she looked at him. She asked for a father's love.. but she couldn't expect it from him. He wasn't meant for it.

If he could never take Daniel's place for Isabella.. then he certainly couldn't take it for Asteria either.

"What happened to you, Bella?" He was still furious, but his voice was softer now. He spoke as the friend that was always going to be there for her. "I don't remember you being like this.. Where did the woman who would risk her everything for her daughter go? What happened to her?"

He shouldn't be the one to speak.. Isabella's fury awakened too. He's the reason.. both of them are..

"She did nothing to deserve that pain in her life.." She said, her teeth gritting.

It's me too.. All my selfishness has led to this. I shouldn't have wished for a normal life.

"She doesn't deserve the lies either." said Sirius.

"Lying is better than seeing her suffer."

Remus stared at her, the softness and worry disappearing. "Are you fucking serious, Bella? What has happened to you? Why would you do this to her?!"

"Lying is better than seeing her suffer again."

She hadn't screamed, she hadn't raised her voice, but her words had managed to silence the two. She looked up at them, eyes red and filled with tears.

They had been lucky to not be anywhere near her the night James, Lily, Kora and Daniel had died. Or else they would've burned along with the entirety of Magnolia Crescent.

"What.. what are you talking about?"

"For years, I've been saving you the guilt." Isabella chuckled humourlessly. "But if you want to know that badly.. then here it goes."

"Did you know.. the night they all died.. she was there standing in my house.. standing right where Dan— Daniel's body was.. Jade Carrow." She sniffed, jaw clenched with anger and hurt. "I was.. I was hurt. I was crying over his body when I.. when I realised I couldn't hear Ria.."

Sirius and Remus's eyes widened.

"Carrow told me.. told me not to worry.." she chuckled bitterly. "That she was safe.. with her— her father."

"I— I believed—" She poked her finger into her chest aggressively. "I knew that my two friends, my sister-in-law and my fiance had died. She made me believe that my Ria had— had died too." Oh God, it hurt so bad even thinking about that day.

"That was why Magnolia Crescent burned.. I lost control.. I screamed until I couldn't talk for days.." Her amber eyes were on the verge of turning gold, but she kept herself together somehow.

"I— I felt like I didn't have anything to live for! I left! I fucking left, Remus!" She thundered. "The only people who knew where I was, were the Scamanders.. I lived in their Manor, working for them blankly, just— just waiting for Death to just fucking get me!"

"But she wasn't dead, of course." She left a shaky breath. "Do you know how long it took for her to be found? Six years!" She whispered with venom dripping off her tone.

"Six years.. she was missing while I mourned her death. Six years it took.. and do you know who found her? Rescued her?" She asked with a mocking smile. "The man you hate with your damn lives. Severus.. he saved Ria from the hell she was stuck in, and he almost died!"

She held back another sob. "She didn't.. She didn't remember me. Instead.." She took a breath to hold herself from breaking down. "She asked us to take her back to her abductor.."

Remus and Sirius hadn't moved, hadn't made a sound, but their eyes held tears now.

"For years, I've been saving you the guilt.." She truly was being merciful to them.

"I don't know what magic she had done on my Ria." She scoffed. "But she.. she asked us to take her back to Kathy."

Their hearts dropped to their stomachs. Kathy..

"I don't think I need to tell you who Kathy is.. in this case."

"Kath— Katherine Lagarde?" Sirius asked, horrified.

She nodded, glaring at the two. She wasn't just glaring, though. If she hadn't been tolerating and holding back the burning ache that was travelling through her, the two would've been down on the floor by then, dead.

She never had the right words to describe all the anger that had accumulated inside her all these years. She never took it out, but she was sure if she ever did.. she would take her own life at the damage she would do.

"She'd taken away Ria from me.." Bella finally looked away. Her eyes gazed out of the window and the glass shattered to pieces with a loud noise, but that didn't surprise the two. "I don't know what she did to her.. we couldn't find anything in her memories."

"When Severus woke up, he told us Ria was locked in a basement, under the grounds of the Forbidden Forest, surrounded by enchantments so she wouldn't be found." She gulped. "Lagarde's death made the enchantments fall down.. hence Dumbledore was able to track her down."

"When Severus had found her, she had been in the corner of the room, crying.. sitting next to Lagarde's rotting corpse."

Remus felt his skin crawl, while Sirius felt sick to his stomach. No, no, no, that poor girl.

"We had to give her potions, use— use complicated spells to make her forget about Lagarde. We put happy, made-up memories in her head," a hopeful smile adorned her face. "Ones where Daniel was alive. Where we were happy. Where there was no possible trouble or torture. Where there was only a safe place, and her loving family."

"But those memories were only worth the first seven years of her life. After that, I— I had to lie to her about Daniel.. I told her we weren't together anymore. That we were divorced. And she was hurt.. very hurt, but she bought the lies."

Then she chuckled in defeat. "But then.. Severus told me that it didn't matter— that she would be unsafe as long as she was here.. that the Death-eaters won't stop chasing her. That if Voldemort ever came back, he would be after her."

"Why? I didn't know." She shook her head. "Turns out, Ria wasn't supposed to be a part of this. She never was.. but the Seer was going to force her to be. And it pains me that so many years have passed since I've known this, and I still don't know how to stop it."

"But Severus.. he gave me option. An easy way out." She gulped. "He found a time-turner in the basement.. Lagarde's time-turner. He gave it to me and told me to flee."

She looked up at the two. "And I had no other thought in my mind, but to protect my daughter from that monstrosity called Voldemort." She said. "So I.. I chose a time where the war was over.. where Voldemort wasn't alive.. where— where people like me didn't exist." She said with disgust and hatred in her tone.

"Ria.. she doesn't know yet.. I don't know how. I thought.. I thought she would find out from school. I thought they'd call her names.. call her a freak, just the way they used to call me and treat me like one. But she doesn't know yet." She gave out a helpless chuckle. "And why— why would I tell her anyway?"

"Why would I tell her.. that she was cursed with a life of misfortune? That she was considered to be someone that didn't deserve the life she had been gifted? That the world hated her not— not because of something she did.. but because of what a damn ancestor of hers did a millenial ago?"

"That she was.. that she was cursed by Death?" Her cheeks were all wet with tears now, her lungs hurting. "How.. How could I ever take her joy away and tell her it is the blood of Azrael that runs through her veins?"

A heavy silence took over, and there was nothing else except for Isabella's heavy breaths. Remus and Sirius had no words left. Even moving and breathing with ease felt wrong. Now that they knew all this, the guilt was going to stay forever.. follow them like a shadow wherever they go.

It had been their fault..

"Do you know what I needed.. at that time? Before their deaths, before Ria's disappearing?" She asked, her eyebrows knitted close with rage. "Just a warning. A warning that said we were a target. I would've been enough for us.. for me to stay alert and protect my family from whatever that came our way."

"But instead.. what did you do?" 

Memories of that one conversation came rushing back to her.. the one chance Remus and Sirius had to tell her everything they knew..

"Hey.. I heard Dumbledore called you two in for a meeting. Did something happen?"

Remus and Sirius had exchanged a look. "Nothing.. he just wanted to talk."

"About what? Another mission?"

They hadn't spoken anything, which had made Isabella scoff. "Oh, come on! You can tell me."

"Um.. apparently, Lagarde has an heir. A grandchild no one knows about." Sirius had answered. "She told that to Dumbledore years ago.. that her grandchild would be someone important."

"Oh.. Strange. Dumbledore must've told you who it was, then."

And without any other thought, another blatant lie had left their lips. "No, he didn't."

"I trusted you two." Her lips were trembling again. "I trusted you two with my life, and you lied to me just because an old wizard told you to. That lie almost cost me my everything. So.. tell me.."

"What would've really happened if you hadn't lied?" She pointed her finger accusingly at the two. "Maybe I would've been a bit more cautious. Maybe I would've stayed with my family that night, instead of running towards the Potters' house and leaving them be. Maybe I would've killed Lagarde with my own hands the moment she walked into my house—"

"Bella, we're really sorry—"

"I don't care anymore, Sirius." She interrupted. "Look at me when I talk to you.. to the both of you. Don't you dare look away after all that you've done."

They had to oblige, painfully lifting their gaze to meet her eyes.

"All you had to do was just tell me.." All that anger had turned into hurt now.. telling them just how betrayed she had felt. "Tell me that Ria was the grandchild.. that I— I was the daughter.."

Isabella waited and waited for them to talk, but they didn't. Her glaring eyes fixated on them never dared to falter. She wanted them to feel guilty. Because they were.. after all.. a part of the reason she had lost the love of her life; her fiancée Daniel, and the girl she considered her sister; Kora Diggory. She had almost lost her daughter, too.

She had tried.. she had tried so hard to forgive them, to convince herself that they didn't do any of it knowingly, but her nightmares made sure she didn't.. 

Her horrible nightmares about losing everyone, made sure she would blame them over and over again, every time.

And now.. now, she didn't know how long she had. 

She was an Azrael, after all, meant to die early because her life was cursed. But she would be damned if she left this god-forbidden place before she lifted the Curse off her daughter. She was ready to pay any cost.

With heavy grief in her heart, she only managed to give one last bitter laugh. "So.. I hope the way I stay mad at the two of you is justified now." She said before spinning in her place to leave the room. But instead, her heart dropped at the sight in front of her.

Behind the almost closed door stood Asteria. By the way she appeared, with red eyes, heaving chest and a look of betrayal pooled in her eyes, it dawned upon Isabella that her daughter might have heard every word of the conversation she had had with Remus and Sirius.

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

[word count: 6495]

a/n: holy shit we're so close to where we first left off
also sorry hehe pls don't hurt me—