Forget Me Not

“I'm afraid it’s not much”, Remus said, entering the small cottage. Maggie was still holding onto his hand, but she looked around in awe at their house (her house?). There was an entire wall dedicated to pictures of Remus, Sirius and their friends. Maggie studied them carefully, taking in everyone’s smiling faces. The oldest one was of Remus, Sirius, a boy with black hair and a pudgy boy with blond hair. They were all wearing cloaks with a red symbol. 

“That’s us at Hogwarts” Sirius said, pointing at the picture.

“That's Hogwarts?”

“Best school for witches and wizards, it’s brilliant” Remus answered. He looked like he was reminiscing on good memories. She stared at the picture for a while longer. Sirius looked the same but no tattoos, and Remus looked the same but he didn’t seem to have any scars. Maggie frowned, maybe he was bitten after Hogwarts, maybe she won’t be allowed to attend at all. She was too afraid to ask during their short hospital visits.

“What’s wrong?” Remus asked, sensing the change in mood.

“Will I be allowed to go? I wasn’t even allowed out of the third ward, said i'm too dangerous”

Remus chuckled, “I was allowed to go, I see no reason why you wouldn’t be able to”

Maggie’s eyes widened, “really”

“Really”

“Good thing too” Sirius interrupted, “ or else i'd be all alone, and we wouldn’t have pullen off some of the most legendary pranks those halls ever did see”

Maggie turned to Remus, “You pulled pranks”
“Course I did, others wouldn't have gotten anywhere without me”

“When can I go?”
“I expect you’ll get your letter this summer”

“I can stay that long?”

Sirius frowned and looked over at Remus, Remus looked at Maggie

“What do you mean”
“I dunno, it’s just I was told this was temporary”, Maggie bit her lip, she will not start crying over this. She was really over crying.

Sirius got down at eye level, “I don’t know what you were told but unless you snore really loud, you are stuck with us, you’re part of our pack” he placed a hand over his heart and nodded his head as he said it.

Maggie let out a small laugh and shook her head, “that sounds creepy”

Sirius started laughing too, “it’s a figure of speech, but i'm serious about the snoring”
“I don’t think I snore”

“Right then, you’ve got nothing to worry about Mags”, said Sirius seemingly pleased with his little speech. He got up so quickly he hit his head on a shelf. Remus and Maggie dissolved into laughter, Sirius glared at the two, but soon joined them in their fits of laughter.

“Alright alright, lets get settled in yeah” Remus said, still wheezing. He placed a hand on Sirius to steady himself, grinning. He led Maggie down the little hallway and into the first bedroom. It was mainly empty, the bed was a bit bigger and it just felt more like home than any other place she’d been before. She rushed to flop on the bed and sighed approvingly. Sure she’d only known Remus and Sirius for a week, but it all just felt right. 

They told her she could stay, they were funny, and they cared about her. 

“Is it good?” Remus asked, Maggie looked and nodded. Sirius leaned against the doorframe and looked around. “We can go shopping so you can make it how you want”

“No it's good the way it is”. Okay maybe it was plain and could use a different bedspread, but she learned a while ago not to push her luck.  Apparently she wasn’t very convincing because Sirius pushed himself off the doorframe and walked into the room. “Mags, this is your room, and I know that you don’t want to keep it like this, so tomorrow the three of us are going shopping okay?”
Maggie grinned an idea sparking in her mind, “alright, can I get a camera?”

“Sure, what for?”
“I want to start a picture wall in here, if that's alright”
Sirius seemed like he was about to jump around at the thought “I LOVE that idea, in fact follow me”

Sirius dashed out of her room and opened the door across from Maggie’s. If Maggie thought her room was homey, this room was the most welcoming room in the world. There was a large bed in the center with three blankets thrown over it, and about eight pillows. There was a nightstand on either side, one had a pile of books, spare parchment, and a jar filled with some yellow sap. The other had black nail polish, a hairbrush, a few books and a black camera that Sirius grabbed and put into Maggie’s hand.

“Take mine” 

“What?”

 Sirius grinned, “I’m serious, take mine, it’s yours”

“Alright! Yeah cheers”

Maggie looked up and saw Remus smiling at the door, his curls falling over his eyes and hand rubbing his hip. Sirius looked up too and seemed to completely melt in his presence. Maggie thinks it's sweet that they have been together for so long and Sirius still looks at him like the most wonderful person on the planet. But the love flickered for a second to concern. Sirius walked over and whispered something to Remus, Maggie could make out the word ‘hurt’. Remus grumbled that he was fine, but Sirius told him to sit down and practically dragged him onto the sofa. 

“Hungry Maggie?” Remus asked, “I’ll go get some lunch”

“No you don’t, you sit there, i'll get the food”, for as bubbly as Sirius usually is, he becomes very protective when he wants to be. 

Remus threw his hands up in defeat “Alright alright fine, i'll stay right here”

Once Sirius was out the door Maggie looked at Remus, he was laying on the couch with a hand on his forehead. “What's wrong?”

Remus stared at the ceiling and sighed, “Just my hip, Sirius gets a little overprotective sometimes” 

“From when you slipped?”
Remus smiled, for real this time, “how’d you know about that”

“Uhm, I heard Sirius talking when they brought you in, my hearing is strong after uhm you know”

Remus sighed, “Yeah it gets like that”

This was the first time Remus and Maggie talked about being a werewolf. Maybe Remus doesn't want Sirius to know, maybe he doesn't talk about it. Maggie doesn't blame him, it's not her favorite thing to talk about either.

“So that's normal?” Maggie had no idea what came with being a werewolf and what came with being a witch.

“I’m a bloody idiot” Remus blurted out, “I haven’t been much help to you have I”

“No,” Maggie agreed. 

“I’m sorry Maggie, I wanted to give you a loving home and help you with your lycanthropy and I think I failed on the ladder so far, but you need to understand so ask away”

***

“Anything?”

 “anything”

“Why does everyone hate us so much?” Remus was alarmed. Of everything little Maggie knew, why did she have to know about how ugly the world is? “Where did you hear that”

Maggie shrugged, “no one would talk to me at St Mungos except for Madam Blassen and I heard them whisper about me, plus the whole cage thing”

Remus wanted to cry, sweet Maggie really was alone for all those months. “Honestly, I don’t know about that one. There's been discrimination for centuries and as you’ve seen it still happens today. They only see us for the wolf, not the human”. He went on and explained all the rules and legislations written against ‘half-breeds’. How he isn’t Maggie’s legal guardian, how he and Sirius aren’t technically married. He gave the facts, but also assured her it’s not as bad as it could be. 

“Well that’s rubbish” Maggie sat next to Remus now and hugged her knees to her chest.

“Okay what else”, Remus was ready to tell her, she would not be alone anymore. 

“Does it…does it get any easier? Like when you transform”. Oh, the pain. Remus knew pain, the truth is the pain never leaves, it dulls down, but it's there constantly. 

“No”, Remus released the breath he was holding, “In my experience it gets worse as you get older, then it levels out a bit once you hit puberty, but it always hurts after. It’s easier when you're with others though, you don’t hurt yourself. You won’t hurt yourself anymore, I won’t let you”

Maggie looked hurt by the news, but nodded like she understood and continued. She stared off for a bit, seemingly debating with herself before asking “When were you bitten?”

“I was five”, Remus swallowed, his mouth suddenly very dry. He instinctively touched the spot where he was bitten, just above his left hip, “my da upset one, so he came after us and bit me”. He was crying now, he hasn’t told the truth about the pain to anyone,not even Sirius, but Maggie deserves to know. Maggie leaned over and gave him a hug, she was crying too.

“I’m glad I have you to help me”, she whispered, “I don’t know if I would be able to do it again”

“I’m glad that you’re here too”. Bloody Hell get it together. Maggie has been in his life for a single week and he’s already fallen in love. Perhaps he’s drawn to the wolf part, like they were meant to be together. 

“Alright I didn't know what you wanted so I got a bit of everything…” Sirius barged into the door, saw Remus and Maggie crying, dropped the food and rushed over to the two of them. 

His hands wiped the tears for Remus’s eyes, and Remus kissed him, it’s the only way to assure Sirius Black won’t talk. He didn’t want to tell Sirius about his problems, it took everything to be vulnerable to Maggie, and he only did that because she truly understands. She hasn’t just seen Remus transform, she has to go through it too. She knows what it's like for all of your bones to snap and wake up being unable to move. She knows how the moon messes with you in a way unlike any of his friends or family.

“You dropped the food you tosser,” Remus said, pulling away from his husband. 

“Oi I walk in and everyone is crying, what’s a man supposed to do?”

“Not drop my lunch, that's what, I’m starving,” Remus jokes. 

“Me too” Maggie said. She seemed to have calmed down and was smiling again. 

“Think we’ll need another fridge if Mags here eats as much as you do, won’t be able to fit it all” Sirius teased. Remus rolled his eyes and shoved his shoulder against Sirius. 

“Blame the wolf,” Remus said. “But right now I’m going to eat”

***

The first thing they did was go shopping and Maggie got a new bedspread and some paintings to hang up in her room. She already had a nice collection of pictures hanging on her wall. She seemed to capture everything, Remus and Sirius, a stray cat, the cottage, the stars. 

The three settled into a routine nicely. They’d go out to town some days to run errands or they would stay at home and play board games. Maggie and Remus even convinced Sirius to take them to an actual muggle movie theater. Other days Maggie would help her fathers at the bookshop when there was no one else available to run it for the day.

The holidays settled around and it was one of the best Christmas that Sirius ever had. Maggie was easily excited by the pile of presents under the tree. They brought Maggie to meet all of their friends just before Christmas and everyone adored her. She wasn’t as shy anymore and was almost as sarcastic as Remus at some points. Everything was perfect until the bloody moon.

Sirius knew it would be difficult, but he didn’t think it would be anything he hadn’t seen before. He’d seen Remus transform a hundred times before, why would this be different?

He spent all day putting up barrier charms around the small forest backing their home. Maggie was too young to handle sidelong apparition after the moon, so they had to stay at home. Remus frantically checked their potion stash to make sure they have every healing potion known to man, whenever he was feeling alright enough to do it. 

“Ya know” Sirius said to Remus during his fourth check, “you never take your own health this seriously”

Remus waved him off, “this is different I’ve been through this hundreds of times, but it’s only Maggie’s forth, she’s scared”

“So this isn’t about you?” 

Remus sighed and sat against the cabinet he was digging through “I dunno, I mean what if I hurt her, or what if something happens and she won’t want to stay here?”

Sirius sat next to his husband and placed an arm around his shoulder. “I don’t think she would leave us, we’re  too cool” Remus laughed and Sirius continued, “sides, you won’t hurt her I won’t let it happen. And as you’ve done a splendid job of checking, we have enough healing potions”

Remus leaned into his shoulder and Sirius kissed the top of his beautiful head, supporting most of their weight. Even sitting down, Remus seemed to have trouble keeping himself up. He was trembling slightly and was burning with fever, but it's not uncommon leading up to the moon. 

“Pads”

“Yes moony”

“If something happens, you help her instead of me. No matter what you help her instead”

“Nothings going to happen love”

“Promise me Sirius”

“Alright alright I promise, but it’ll all work out you’ll see”