- 1 - 

I couldn't count the amount of times where my nerves nearly got the better of me.

My first Quidditch match.

The first time I met Cedric's family.

And of course when I thought Sirius was going to kill Harry.

But for some reason, this moment seemed to overshadow them all. My leg shook and my hair twisted tightly around my fingers. Christina and Irving sat across from me at the table, oblivious to the nerves that I was feeling. Irving was telling us a story, one that I should be listening to. Christina let out a loud laugh as Irving finished.

"Uh, I have... I have news." They turned to me with smiles on their faces, it was now or never. "Sirius Black is my Uncle." Irving looked shocked, his jaw hung open and it looked at a loss for words. Christina however, looked at me with a small, sad smile on her face. Relief washed over me. "But you knew that, didn't you Christina?" Irving looked between the two of us.

"Irving dear, close your mouth or you catch flies." She reached out across the small table and held my hand in hers. "I did, yes. I'm sorry for keeping it from you but I feared how you would react." I stayed silent, trying to process her words. "That doesn't change how I see you, sweetheart. You are becoming a kind and beautiful young woman. Who your uncle is and what he's done has no effect on that."

"No, that's just it." I nearly laugh at the irony. "I'm proud to be a Black." Christina stares at me, confused. She lets go of my hand. "I have more to tell you, and all I ask is that you listen and keep an open mind." She nods, hesitantly. Irving still looks between the two of us in confusion.

"Sirius Black is innocent, he didn't betray the Potters and he didn't kill those muggles." I take a deep breath, "Peter Pettigrew did those things and framed Sirius. Sirius, Peter and James Potter were animagus, Peter has been living as a rat from twelve years in hiding. That was until last year when Sirius broke out. There was an incident last year. I asked Dumbledore not to tell you as I wanted to tell you myself, however long story shirt I met my uncle." Christina let out an audible gasp. "I promise you, he is innocent."

"How can you be sure?" She cried, distressed. "How do you know that he wasn't just filling your head with lies?" I was ready for this.

"Dumbledore believes him, and so do I." I paused, unsure how what I was about to say would be received. "Currently, Sirius is on the run however for the next week he is staying with Professor Lupin. I'm trusting that you won't alert the authorities." Christina's eyes show the internal battle she is fighting in her mind. "You've always trusted my decisions before, so I need you to trust me now. I plan to spend the next week with both Sirius and Remus in order to get to know my uncle better." She sighed.

"Elora I trust you, I truly do. It's Black I don't trust."

"Please Christina, you and Irving have been my family for most of my life. But Sirius is the only biological family I have left. I need to know him." I could feel tears forming in my eyes, with a flick of her wand she would be able to confine me to the house with no way for me to escape. "Dumbledore can explain if you need a further explanation." We were all silent for a moment.

Christina runs her hands over her face, "I won't stop you from going." Relief washes over me and the tension I hadn't realize I was holding in disappears. "But I will be sending Dumbledore a letter. I trust you, I really do sweetheart. I just need to know of Dumbledore's opinion, purely for my own peace of mind." I rise to my feet quickly, and run around the table and pull her into a hug. She laughs at me, the anxious atmosphere leaving the room.

"I need to go pack!" I call out as I rush up the stairs to my room. The conversation went better then I expected, a lot better in fact. I had imagined tears and yelling. I had run over my escape route if Christina had forbidden me from going and locked me in my room. I decide on a backpack, not wanting to take my entire trunk with me for only a week. As I'm pushing the last of my things into my bag, I hear a cough from my doorway.

"So do I have to call you Elora Black now?" Irving jokes, though after years of knowing him I can sense the sadness behind his words he's attempting to hide.

"I thought it would be nice to go by my original name." His smile falters as he makes his way into my room and settles onto my bed. I stand up from where I was sitting on the floor, taking a seat next to him. "The fact we have different last names doesn't change who you are to me Irving. You're my brother, my family above anything else." He throws his arm over my shoulder and pulls me into a hug. "I love you Irving."

"I love you too." We stay that way in silence for a few moments. I will forever be grateful for this stupid boy who walked straight into a dragons den. "So Cedric sent me a letter," I pull away from him and look at him curiously, Cedric never sends Irving letters. "When were you gonna tell me about your boyfriend Miss Black? Or should I say, Mrs. Anthony Rickett?"

I groan and grab the nearest pillow, smacking him across the face. His loud laugh fills my room. I wouldn't give him up for the world.

*

"Elora, there is one last thing I wish to tell you before you leave." I eye her curiously. The two of us are seated in the lounge room, waiting for Remus to pick me up. "Before I married Irving's father, I was a Nott. My family was unkind and while they did not disown me, they did not agree with my marriage. I chose to distance myself from them, especially during the war." She drew in a deep breath, and I grabbed her hand hoping to give her some kind of comfort. "However before all that, my family were relatively friendly with the Blacks." It was my turn to be speechless. Did that mean she knew my father? "Although I was a few years older than both your father and uncle, we got along quite well. So much so that well..." She paused and looked into my eyes. "Well, I was unaware of this fact until you turn ten and I put the paperwork through to adopt you. In any other case, you would have been taken from me, however, it seemed that your father ha named me your Godmother." A smile began to stretch across my face, "I still don't understand why he did it, perhaps it was because I was the only one who he knew that had managed to distance myself from both our families. I am glad he did though." She stroked my cheek, "I am so glad you came into my life Elora, and I'm overjoyed that you will now get to know your uncle."

"I'm glad as well."

She pulled me into her arms, and we sat hugging for a moment. As the doorbell rang, signally Remus' arrival we pulled apart. I saw her wipe away a few stray tears as she hurridly stood.

"Now, I'll be round to pick you up in a week." She pulled open the front door, greeting Remus who stood just outside the door. I stepped out of our house, "Stay safe, and have fun." Grinning widely, I hugged her. Remus looked at me with a smile and offered his arm.

"You ready Ace?"

"As I'll ever be!" I closed my eyes and welcomed the dizzy feeling apparating gave me, eager to see my uncle again. As my eyes opened, I was greeted with a small stone cottage. Vines grew up the side of the house, I glanced around at the gardens. Colorful flowers bloomed in the hot summer heat.

"It was my parents home," Remus said, watching as I took in my surroundings. "My mother adored her garden, so my father charmed them so they'd bloom year-round."

"It's so wonderful Remus!" I heard a loud crash from inside the house before the front door swung open. "Sirius!" I looked around at the surrounding houses. "Shouldn't you be staying inside?" He ran over to the two of us, pulling me into a hug.

"Dumbledore charmed the gardens, anyone looking in only sees the empty gardens." Sirius smiled, "As long as I don't cross that line..." he paused and pointed at a white line a meter behind me, "I'm fine to wander as I please." With his arm still around my shoulder, the three of us make our way into the cottage.

"Pads, what was that crashing noise we heard before you came outside?" Remus asks.

"Oh I tripped, but I'm fine," Sirius smiles sheepishly and I can't help but laugh. Remus shakes his head and enters the cottage, Sirius and I following closely behind. I glance around the small house, it's small but homely. Picture litter the ways of who I assume is Remus' parents and a young Remus. I pause at one photo, in particular. It's placed on the mantelpiece of the fireplace. The frame is new however the photo inside seems creased and old. I take a few steps forward to get a better look at the photo. Lily Potter is smiling at the camera, Harry in her lap and James with his arm around her shoulders. James however, is grinning to his left laughing at Sirius who holds me in his arms. I can't be much more than two years old, and I'm reaching upwards towards the tiny dragons Remus is producing with his wand. Remus is standing and smiling widely down at me. The photo seems to be torn, the scene abruptly ends.

"I put that up the day I came home from Hogwarts," Remus quietly says from beside me. "It was taken a month before Lily and James went into hiding. It was the last time we were all together before..." He trails off, a sad look on his face. "I couldn't look at it for years, not while thinking Sirius was guilty." He reaches forward, grazing his thumb along the right of the frame. "Peter was in it too, but I couldn't bear looking at him so I tore the photo."

"You all seemed so happy."

"We were... or we thought we were," Sirius spoke up from behind us. He laughs suddenly, "To this day I can still remember the joke James had told to make me laugh. It's actually quite ironic now." Remus thinks for a moment before his own laugh fills the room. "He'd said 'Watch out with that one Sirius, I reckon you've got a dragon tamer on your hands." My smile widens at the irony, "He didn't know how right he'd end up being."

I glance back at the photo, dreaming of the life I could've had. One where Harry and I grew up as cousins, one where I went to my aunt Lily for boy problems... One where I played quidditch in the backyard with my Uncle James.

"I wish I could have known them." My smile quickly turns into a frown as I glance back at Remus and Sirius, "I wish we could've stayed as a family."

"There is nothing I want more." Sirius smiles sadly.

*

Remus had left the house to run an errand earlier, leaving Sirius and me alone. Although we were unable to leave the property we found ways to entertain ourselves.

"Sirius..." I paused, the question had been looming over me the entire day. "Do you... do you know what happened to my parents?" The two of us had been sitting comfortably on the couch, drinking hot chocolates. He looked at me through pain-filled eyes.

"The last time I saw Regulus was the same day I became your guardian, it was also the same day I learned of your mother's death." He sighed, I could see it was hard for him to speak about my father. "Your mother's name was Arianna, she was a muggle-born. I never knew much about her except for that she and reg met on the train during their first year. I assumed that was where their interactions stopped, however that was obviously not true," he gestured towards me. "When Regulus dropped you off he seemed distraught, he informed me of Arianna's death and of course your existence then disappeared, saying he had something he needed to do." He looked down sadly, "The newspaper he next day described your mother's death as another death eater attack. I never heard anything about Regulus' death, however, I've always hoped he died fighting against Voldemort. Whatever he had to do... he saw it was important enough to leave his daughter with me, someone he hadn't spoken to in years."

"Thank you... for taking me in I mean." He smiled at me, and we sat in silence for a moment.

"Now there's something I have to discuss with you Ace," I looked up at him, the cheeky grin on his face making me worry. "I seem to recall seeing you asleep, on a couch with a certain Weasley boy. While I'm proud of you for sneaking into a common room that isn't your own, I must admit I'm unsure how I feel about my sixteen-year-old niece sleeping with a boy." My face burned at the memory. The party that in all honestly, I couldn't quite remember, waking up to Ron's screaming and the look on Fred's face as he realized how we'd been sleeping.

I groan at his grin that widens at my blushing face, "I promise it's not like that." He laughs at me, still not quite believing me. "In all honestly I don't remember how we got there, I guess I drank a little too much..."

"Okay well the parental figure in me is telling me to tell you off, however, the marauder in me says good job!" Sirius holds up his hand for a high five and I reluctantly comply.

"Still though, Fred and I are just friends. In fact I..." Shit, I haven't even replied to the letter Anthony sent me yesterday. "I have a boyfriend, his name is Anthony." Sirius' eyebrows furrowed.

"Again, Old man Sirius thinks your too young to be dating but marauder Sirius can't forget the fact he was probably on his third girlfriend at age sixteen..." He paused, shaking his hand at the memory of his time at Hogwarts. "As long as your happy, and he treats you well, I'm happy. Plus if he ever breaks your heart, remember you've got a mass-murdering uncle that wouldn't mind helping you out." He winks at me and I can't help but laugh.

My week with Sirius and Remus flies by and before I know it I'm packing my bag and waiting for Christina to arrive to pick me up. I'm shoving the last of my belongings into my bag as Remus' enters the room.

"Hey Ace, how you going?" I look up at him, blowing the hair that's fallen into my eyes away from my face. "You Blacks never were great at repacking, here" He laughs at me, and with a flick of his wand, all my things are neatly stacked into my bag.

"You could've done that an hour ago," I grunt, pushing myself up off the ground. "Is Christina here yet?"

"Not quite, but I've got something for you." He holds two frames out to me. The first is the photo I looked at on my first day here, however, the second is new. The picture shows Sirius and I in the garden, he has a wide smile on his face as he throws a handful of mud in my direction. The picture captures my shock as it hits me in my face, then my grin as I retaliate, throwing mud and hitting him square in the face. "I thought you'd like a copy of the old photo and I took this during your mud fight the other day."

"Thank you Remus', I love them." I smile at him and throw my arms around him into a hug. "And thank you for letting me stay this week, it's been incredible." I run to the front door when I hear a knock. I swing open the door and Christina stands there, looking uneasy but hopeful.

"Hello Chrissy," Sirius' voice surprises me, I spin around and see him standing in the archway between the hallway and kitchen. "It's been a while." A smile stretches across Christina's face and tears spill from her eyes. She runs forward and pulls him into a hug. "Careful there, I don't want to suffocate."

"It's good to see you, Sirius, I'm glad you're out." Christina smiles at me widely. "Sweetheart, how was your week?"

"Absolutely incredible." I beam, I sling my bag over my shoulder. I link my arm through hers and smile back at Remus and Sirius. "Don't forget to write okay?" The men, nod back at me.

"If you ever need a place to stay, Sirius... my home is always open to you." She reached out and squeezed his hand.

"Thank you," he paused and looked between Christina and me. "For everything." Christina and I apparated away, the last thing I see being my two smiling uncles.

Dune sits on her perch as I enter my room, the letters that had come for me while I was away piling up in a neat stack next to her. Christina had advised I didn't tell anyone where I was, due to the fact I was visiting a wanted criminal. I tear into the one from Cedric, knowing that he would be annoyed having not heard from me in a week.

___

Elora,

When you said you couldn't write to me for a few days I expected it to be two days, AT THE MOST! Where in merlins name have you been? It's been far too long and I've got news! Sorry but it just couldn't wait for you to send me a letter first.

Dad got a spare ticket to the Quidditch World Cup! I know that Christina and Irving arent huge quidditch fans so I assumed they wouldn't think to get tickets, so I asked dad to get an extra for you.

Dillion, Kelby, and Eli's parents all got tickets, and Jamie made sure to get an extra for Tommy, so we'll all be there! Dad even said he'd be fine with us sharing a tent with them all. Basically what I'm saying is you have no choice but to come unless you wanna be considered a loser for the next four years until we can all go again.

You better reply soon, or I'll have to disown you as a friend.

Much love!

Cedric x

___

My eyes widen at the letter, I was going to the Quidditch World cup!