Don't Forget

As much as it hurt to embrace Sirius in a hug and then watch him go away for God knew how long, Estelle felt very relieved and happy in a sense. Less than an hour before, she was under the impression that Sirius was going to have his soul sucked out by the thing he probably loathed the most after all those years. He would've never been the same again. As of that moment, he was free. She felt like singing.

She held her daughter's hand, which made her feel much better after the fresh new loss. It was like cutting open a scar watching Sirius leave again.

"Mum, can I ask you something?" Andi said quietly.

"Of course," Estelle replied.

"Why didn't you just go with dad," Andi whispered.

Estelle shook her head, "I...said that without thinking."

"But you really could've gone, you know," Andi said.

"What, and leave you and my classes and Moony?" Estelle asked. "I have responsibilities. I have things to take care of. Most importantly, I have you!"

"I wouldn't have minded," Andi said. "I mean...I would've missed you, but I think he needs you more than I do."

Estelle sighed. "He'll be fine."

So she hoped. Suddenly, her security of him being free turned into a worry. He would be wanted about a hundred times more now.

On Estelle's way tot eh Astronomy Tower, she found herself face-to-face with a still angry Snape. He had been highly upset when they found out that Black escaped 'his capture'.

"I know it was you, Grant," Snape

"Oh?" Estelle asked.

"Mark my words, Grant," Snape sneered, "I've got something on Lupin and I will get something on you. You'll be out of this school."

"If that's what you think," Estelle said. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a few things to do before the end of the school year."

The next afternoon, Andi, Harry, Ron, and Hermione were released from the hospital wing. The castle was quiet and mostly empty due to the Hogsmeade weekend. Harry and Hermione told them that they used a Time Turner to save Buckbeak, Sirius, and that's how Harry had produced the Patronus that saved them.

Ginny and Kendra immediately surrounded Andi with questions. She promised to answer them all on the train ride home. Today, it still didn't feel real.

She didn't feel much like being around anyone. Still, she went to see if Moony was alright. When she reached his office, she found him packing.

"Moony...what are you doing?" she asked.

Remus smiled at her, fresh gashes along his cheeks. She gasped. "Oh, believe me, I've looked worse... Well, Andi, I'm not going to be teaching here next year."

"Why?" she asked. She thought earlier that there was no way she could be more heart-broken, but was quickly shown she could be.

"Someone let it slip...about my 'fury little problem'," Remus said.

"You can't leave..."

"I'm sorry, Andi," Remus said.

"What's going to happen now?" she asked.

"I...I don't know," he replied. "Things will probably be different though."

Andi nodded.

"Just know that I love you and your mother very much and I always will," Remus said.

"I'm staying with you," Andi said. "I don't care what Mum does."

"That's very nice of you, Andi," Remus said. "I just hope your kind gesture isn't necessary."

She hugged him.

"What's all this rubbish we're hearing about you being there when Snape caught Black?" Fred asked, as they boarded the Hogwarts Express for the trip home.

"I was there," Andi said. "It's a long story--and Snape is so full of crap."

"Well, we have a whole train ride to listen," George said.

Andi sighed, "Alright. I promised Ginny and Kendra I would tell them on the train ride. If you too are so nosey that you have to know too, come on. But it's nothing you can go blabbing about. Understood?"

"Yes ma'am," they said together.

Inside their compartment, by the end of Andi's story, she had gotten pure silence out of the others. She began at Hagrid's and ended at Lupin's transformation.

"But Pettigrew got away..." Andi said. "Everything just happened at once."

"After all of that, he got away?" Fred asked. "That rat bastard."

"I can't believe it," Kendra muttered.

"Well, believe it," Andi said.

"How did Professor Lupin know that you were in the Shrieking Shack? How did he know Pettigrew was there?" George asked.

"Like I said, he kept talking about a map," Andi said.

"Hold on," Fred said, "a map?"

"Yes, the Marauders Map, whatever that is," Andi said.

"The Marauders Map!" Fred exclaimed. "How did Professor Lupin figure out how it worked?"

"He said he wrote it," Andi said. "He, Sirius, my mum, Harry's dad, and Pettigrew. Something about nicknames being signed on."

"Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs," Fred and George said in union.

"It sort of makes sense," Fred said.

"Well, since Pettigrew was a rat," George said.

"Wormtail," Fred said.

"And then Black was a dog so that must be Padfoot."

"Moony! That's what Andi calls Professor Lupin!"

"Why didn't we notice that before?"

"I don't know. That's weird though, isn't it?"

"Andi, you and Harry are practically a demiGods in our eyes," Fred said.

"What?" Andi asked.

"Your parents wrote the map!" Fred said.

"How do you two know about the map?" Andi asked.

"Nicked it from Filch's office, of course," George said.

"First year," Fred added.

Breakfast the morning after leaving Hogwarts felt very odd. It was dead quiet at the table. Andi poked at her eggs without really eating them. It was easier, being surrounded by people, even to talk about what happened than to sit in silence. Remus was reading the Daily Prophet without touching his plate either. Estelle didn't even bother to fix herself a plate. She sipped her coffee and looked at the table.

"Well, there's still nothing in the Prophet about what happened at Hogwarts," Remus said. "I suppose that's good."

"Yes, I suppose Cornelius Fudge decided he'd been embarrassed enough for one day without it all to end up in the Prophet as well," Estelle said. "Losing a 'dangerous' Hippogryph and a Mass Murder all in one evening? I wonder if they've thought to connect the two yet."

"Not likely," Remus said. "Fudge isn't as bright as we'd like to hope that he is." Remus put the paper to the side and looked at Estelle. She quickly looked away and he followed by picking up his fork and sighing.

"Can I be excused?" Andi asked, rather bitterly.

"You haven't eaten anything," Estelle said.

Andi dropped her fork. "I'm not hungry."

"You've got to eat," Estelle said.

"I'll eat when I'm hungry," Andi said.

"Don't take that tone with me, Andi," Estelle said. "I know you're upset, but that doesn't mean you can take it out on me."

"But it's your fault!" Andi exclaimed.

"It's my fault your upset?" Estelle asked. "As if I don't feel guilty enough. I've done all I can do."

"It's not even about letting Pettigrew escape," Andi said. "It's about how it feels right now just to be in this house."

Estelle sighed, "Well, I'm sorry. Again."

Andi stood up and walked out of the room.

Remus cleared his throat.

Still, Estelle didn't look up. "It's your turn to talk to her."

"We've had our talk already," Remus said.

"Have you?" Estelle asked.

"Yes," Remus said. "But there's really nothing left to talk to her about, is there?"

"Not really," Estelle said.

"We're the ones who need to do some talking, don't you think?"

Estelle stayed quiet.

"I take that as you're not ready to talk?" Remus asked.

"What's there to talk about, Remus?" she questioned. "About how I did wrong. About how I messed everything humanly possible up? Well, there. I messed up. I'm sorry you were stuck in the middle of this mess."

"I should've known, really," Remus said. "Ah, well, just shows that some things never change, doesn't it? I'll always be the fool in this."

Mornings continued like this throughout the whole week.

Estelle sat back in her chair and avoided eye contact again. Remus rose from his chair and left the room. Groaning, Estelle sat down her coffee cup and buried her head in her hands. For twelve years she had lived with Remus, thinking she'd never see Sirius again. At first, it had been simply a friendship, but as the years went on...it was sometimes more than that. It all depended on who was feeling lonely, but either way it was wrong. Estelle knew she could never love anyone else properly.

Smaller, lighter footsteps belonging to Andi came back into the kitchen. "Mum, I can't stay here and listen to this. I do this."

"Andi, it isn't like we're forcing you to chose sides and say who's right--"

"I've already chosen my side," Andi said. "To be honest, Mum, I think you're the one who's wrong."

"You don't know everything, Andi," Estelle said. "You can't just get mad at me. It's not my fault about what happened. Your thirteen years old. You don't understand."

"It's mainly your fault!" Andi exclaimed. "If you knew that you were still in love with my dad then why did you lead Moony to believe you loved him too!? Mum, I may be thirteen years old, but I know what's right and what's wrong."

"It was hard, Andi!" Estelle said. "It was hard to be alone after what happened, alright? You don't know how I felt, you don't know how Remus felt. Just stay out of it."

"How can I stay out of it when I can hear you talking about it! These walls are kind of thin, you know!" Andi exclaimed.

"I never asked you to eavesdrop on our conversations."

"Eavesdrop? Why the hell would I want to eavesdrop on it! It hurts."

"Will you watch your mouth?"

"No," Andi said. "I don't think I will."

"Andromeda, just go to your room. We'll talk about this later."

"What if I want to talk about it now. It's bothering me now!" Andi yelled.

"Don't raise your voice at me," Estelle said, shocked. He daughter had never acted like this before.

"Fine, then," Andi said. She took her wand from her pocket and pointed it at the vase of flowers on the counter. The vase shattered.

"What do you think you're doing!?" Estelle stood up. "Go to your room right now! Don't you ever use magic outside of school again!"

Andi muttered sorry and walked out of the room.

"Let's talk, right now," Estelle said.

"Okay," Andi said quietly.

"I know I'm putting you through too much emotional stress," Estelle sighed. "If you still feel like you need to be away from this situation, I'm going to let you go stay with the Weasleys. I've talked to Molly and she and I have discussed what your punishments can be. She needs lots of yard work done and I'll be there to monitor you doing it a few times a week for a couple of weeks. It's nothing too dreadful, but you can't use magic outside of school when you're underage. Got that?"

"Yes ma'am," Andi said. "I just...I just got upset. It really isn't my business, Mum. I worry about you and Moony. I love you both."

"I know, dearest," Estelle hugged her daughter. "I wish I could make you feel better."

Dear Andi,

Once again, I will say my apologies for the way you had to meet me. I never dreamed of the situation unfolding the way that it did that night. After all that happened, what I'm most sorry for is Pettigrew escaping. If it hadn't been for him, I would've been there for you in the first place. I can only imagine life that way. It would've been wonderful.

I'm so proud of you for being such a strong, smart, and beautiful young woman. It pains me to continue being away from you even more now that we've finally been able to meet. It's too dangerous right now...but soon, I'll come to see you.

I can't tell you where I am, but it's very warm and beautiful. I can see the ocean from here. It hardly compares to what it would feel like to be there with you and your mother.

I was reckless that night, all those years ago, when I went after Pettigrew. things could've been different, for all of us. I hope you've found it in your heart to forgive me.

I'm happy to see that you and Harry are close. The two of you mean the world to me, you know. I hope you're both careful and safe. There is so much that I wish to say to you, but I've just coming to a loss for words. I love you very much and I'll do everything that I can to protect you.

Love,
your father

Andi turned the letter over in her hands many times while she sat on a over-turned bucket in the Weasley yard. She thought she would write her father back tonight and send the letter when she could. She read the letter again wishing instead of that, she could be talking to her dad.

"Who's that from?" Fred asked.

Andi looked up, "Oh, hey," she half-smiled. "It's from my dad..."

"Oh..." Fred turned another bucket over and sat next to her. "Anything good?"

She looked back down at her hands and the letter in them, "It's just nice to heard from him, finally." She felt tears in her eyes and tried to blink them away.

"What's wrong?" Fred asked.

She shook her head, "What isn't wrong? My whole life changed in a matter of an hour. I feel terrible that I once hated my dad. I'm so worried about him now. Mum's worried too/ then, poor Moony. He loved mum and she...just can't love him back. I just...don't know."

"Well, that's a lot," he said. "But I think you're worrying much too much about everyone else. You should just worry about you,eh?"

"Not so easy," Andi said.

He put his arm around her and gave her a squeeze. "Well, get up. Want to learn Quidditch or not?"