Pranking hearts

Remus Lupin was in his house on the night of Halloween 1981. He has just come back from the business he had for the Order. He was to convince the werewolves of the north to join the Order of the Phoenix in the battle against the dark wizard that has been ravaging the wizarding world with the help of his Death Eaters.

All this planning was to be kept as a secret from his other friends, James, Sirius and Peter. Dumbledore's orders. At first, Remus didn't understand why but after a while he slowly started realising what it truly meant to be seeking allies at such dangerous places. He knew his friends wouldn't agree with him going alone and would foolishly follow him, most likely getting themselves killed somewhere.

This secretive attitude of his, however, gained some suspicions from his best friends. Mainly Sirius. The lad has been on edge with his trust in people ever since Marlene McKinnon died. So the secrets Remus was keeping from the group of Marauders raised some doubt in the mind of the pure-blood.

Sirius has become distant from his friend, saddening Remus to no end. Not only was he cut off from his best friends, but it has been quite some time since he last saw his goddaughter. The little girl will be three years old this winter and Remus could only hope he would be able to see her until then.

Of course, he couldn't wait to see Harry as well. The baby boy of James and Lily had his birthday not even too long ago and he couldn't attend the small party, due to him having to travel abroad. It has been a while since he last saw them all. He only has been keeping in touch with Lily through the letters but that was never the same as talking in person.

Sitting down on his small couch with a sigh, a bottle of butterbeer in his hand. His eyes scanned over the letters on the glass bottle. The memories flooding back to him as his eyes stared at the small picture of a cauldron in the middle. The nights of Halloween that the group of them spent at Hogwarts. In their dorm that the four friends shared. Having a butterbeer, along with tons of sweets and cakes became a tradition for them. It was their annual way of spending the holiday and they all loved it.

Today is the first time that he isn't with them during this time of year. First time after nine years. It felt strange to Remus. Of course, he complained most of the time that his friends were way too loud and all over the place, but now, surrounded by deafening silence he felt so alone.

After months of distancing, he would have thought that he got used to solitude. Most days he wouldn't even notice how much he misses all of them. He would be too caught up in work and travelling. It is now when he is sitting in his house, which was just last year packed with all his friends, that he realises how truly alone he was.

He misses the noise that James would bring wherever he stepped. He misses the jokes and lame pickup lines that Sirius would try on them whenever he could. He misses how Peter would always eat most of the sweets they had and still complain about being hungry. He misses his friends.

The bottle of butterbeer in his hand is maybe opened but has yet to take a sip from it. The pack of chocolate sits on his table in front of him. Usually, he is all in for taking the first bite. But now...it just doesn't have the same meaning to it. He put the bottle closer to his nose, taking in the sweet buttery and caramel scent of the liquid it contained.

But before he could even consider taking a sip from the sweet liquid a hurried knocking on his door stopped him. Confused, he put the bottle on the table in front of him and stood up to walk towards the door. On the way there he grabbed his wand, which was place on the couch next to him. Gripping the wooden stick in his hand in a nervous manner.

Who could've been knocking on his door at this late time of the night? The banging against the wooden door got louder and more urgent as he approached the door cautiously. Whoever it was, they sure were in a rush.

Warily, Remus creaked the door open slightly to see who was behind them. The sight of the person behind them causing him to freeze momentarily. He got over the shock rather quickly however and he opened the door fully to allow the person in.

"Sirius what are you..." Remus didn't get to finish his stunned question before he got cut off by Sirius bursting in.

"No time for talking Moony, I need you to watch Rhea for a bit." The pure-blood said in a rush, adjusting the little toddler in his arms. Remus still confused by the situation just run his hand through the mess of hair on his head.

"What? Sirius, why? Not that I mind but..."

"Just take her, I don't have time to explain." Sirius snapped, pushing the little blonde into Remus' arms. He smiled slightly at his goddaughter who giggled from the glee of being in the arms of her godfather that she hasn't seen in a long time.

Even if he was glad to have the little one in his arms after such a long time he didn't fail to notice the almost insane look that Sirius had in his eyes. He seemed distressed and his eyes were bloodshot red as if he was about to cry. It was scaring Remus to see him like that.

For as long as he had known the long-haired boy in front of him he had never seen him like this. Of course, there was this time when his mother wrote to him in their first year. Sending him a howler that shook the whole Great Hall. But at that time they were all just kids. One other time when Sirius was on the verge of tears when Marlene was killed. But he still managed to hold himself together. Whatever reason Sirius had now for the state he was in, it must have been serious.

"Sirius can you just stop for a while, calm down and talk to me? You are babbling like some madman." Remus said, sternly. His voice filled with worry for his best friend but he didn't want to alert the little girl in his arms. The father of the little girl however didn't show any intentions of sharing anything with his friend as he started for the door.

The tight grip he had on his wand told Remus that he surely didn't have anything good planned up in his mind. Just the thought of it made Remus uneasy.

"I...Moony, I can't. I'll tell you everything when I get back." Sirius snapped and marched out of the opened door leaving Remus in the house with the small child.

Stunned by the previous actions, Remus blinked a few times, shook his head and used his wand to close the door. He locked them for extra protection, being slightly frightened by the look in Sirius' eyes. He looked at the small girl in his arms whose eyes were drowsy. It was a late time of the night after all and the small child should've already been in bed.

"Your father is a strange one, huh, Rera," Remus muttered, adjusting the little girl in his arms. He walked back towards the living room. His hand running through the long mane of hair that the little child already had. He felt her head fall against his shoulder as she slowly started drifting off to sleep. Remus smiled contently, feeling happy to finally be able to be with Rhea.

He finally felt like he was fulfilling his role as a godfather now. Of course, when her father is Sirius Black he would have expected times like this to be more regular. But surprisingly Sirius was a very responsible father. Remus could say that he was very proud of his best friend for doing such a good job at parenting the small girl alone. Knowing Sirius, Remus and James were betting on how long it will take for him to do something stupid so the two of them would have to step in.

For almost three years of Rhea's young life, there wasn't a time when Sirius would make any major mishap in her parenting. Sure he was mostly a laid back father that would give his small daughter everything she would point at. The ridiculous amount of toys she has back home was a nice proof of that.

But no one could dispute the fact that he cared for her deeply. She meant the world to him. Everyone could solely see that. He matured slightly with her, not enough to be still considered a normal adult but he was trying to keep explosions and pranks around her to the minimum...of course after the scolding from Lily.

Growing tired of waiting for Sirius, Remus took Rhea upstairs to the little room that he had here set for her. Sirius and the other boys along with Lily would often crash here on the regular days before things went down the hill.

And because wherever Sirius went so did Rhea and the talks of the group could be endless, Remus decided to make a room for the little girl where she had some of her toys, a bed and a wardrobe with some spare clothes. All in all, Remus was like always, very well prepared for everything.

He laid the toddler down carefully, putting her in the small bed. Pulling the covers over her as she immediately snuggled to the toy of a little black dog that she had there. Remus couldn't help the smile that rose to his lips as he watched the baby. He stroked her hair out of her face and left the room to let her sleep.

Deciding to wait for Sirius he walked downstairs and once again crashed into the living room. Sitting down on the old couch his eyes fell on the table in front of him. Looking over at the butterbeer that still sat on the table he shrugged and reached for the bottle taking a swing from the liquid.

"Happy Halloween then Remus." He muttered to himself as he downed the rest of the drink.
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He found out in the morning. Early in the morning when the sun wasn't even fully up yet. He woke up from his slumber on the quite uncomfortable couch. He was slightly alarmed by the fact that Sirius didn't show up last night, but he thought that his friend just got caught up somewhere.

He went to retrieve his copy of the Daily Prophet that he had already waiting for him in front of his door. His neighbour is a very nice old witch that gets up before the first sunbeam and she always brings him a copy of Daily Prophet when she is getting back from her morning walk.

Remus is grateful for the old lady as she is the best neighbour he could ask for. Not even the slightly noisy visits from his loud friends can't seem to tick her off. Unlike the muggles that lived all around them. Those folks sure weren't as accepting.

He walked outside taking the newspaper in his hands as he made his way towards the kitchen to get himself some coffee. When he was done brewing the dark concoction he poured it in his favourite mug he got from James two years ago. It was a simple white mug with a picture of a wolf howling to the moon. It was so cliché but Remus still loved it.

He leaned against the counter and lifted his mug to his lips and started scanning through the pages. His heartbeat stopped when he got to the second page. The world seemed to stop spinning around him and a feeling like everything was closing in on him overlapped him.

He couldn't stop reading the words over and over again. Trying to find any sign that the boys could've left. Anything that would assure him that this was just some sick prank played from the side of his friends to get him back for his long-term absence. But there was nothing.

There it was, written in bold black letters in front of him. The pictures at the bottom breaking his heart over and over again. He didn't want to believe it. It couldn't have been true. They couldn't be gone.

The shock caused him to drop the mug in his hand. The shattering of ceramics against the tile floor of his kitchen echoed through the house, shortly followed by the pained sobs that escaped the young wizard's mouth. Sinking to the ground slowly, his back leaned against the cabinets as he stared at the papers spread in front of him.

He lost them. He lost all of them. He was left alone. With no one there anymore to help him. The feelings mixing in together. He felt the depressing sadness spreading through his body, causing a numb ache to envelop his heart but there was a flicker of anger that he felt towards the dark lord and to the person that betrayed all of them.

How could he? How could he do it to James and Lily? How could he do it to Harry? Those were the questions racing through Remus' mind at that moment. But he wouldn't be able to get those questions anymore.

He was so engulfed in his own emotions that he didn't notice the little girl slowly stepping closer towards him. Her steps a bit wobbly, but she still made her way to him. She stopped a few feet in front of him, looking down at the shards of glass and the black spill that spread through the tile floor.

"Uncle Moony?" The toddler stammered out of herself. Her eyes filled with wonder as she watched her uncle slowly realise she was there. The realisation hit him like a truck. He quickly swooped the little girl in his arms so her bare feet wouldn't get cut on the mess on the floor.

"Rhea," Remus breathed out her name in fear. As if thinking that she might disappear too. He hugged her close to him to assure himself that she was actually still there.

"Uncle Moony, why you sad?" The little girl asked innocently. How was he supposed to explain something like this to a child? To tell her that her father was taken to Azkaban for betraying his friends and getting them killed. For killing twelve muggles and his other friend. Explaining this to a child as young as her would be quite difficult.

"Rhea, darling I..." A knock coming from the door stopped him from talking more. Furrowing his eyebrows, Remus stepped over the shattered mess on the ground and set Rhea down. "Could you go to the living room while I see who's at the door?" He asked the little girl who nodded with a smile and skipped towards the living room.

He had completely forgotten to take his wand with him. Only now realising it as he approached the wooden door. He grabbed the handle of the door and opened it carefully to reveal his old head of a house and headmaster. Standing in front of his door, a troubled expression on their faces. Professor McGonagall didn't even try to mask the obvious worry in her features while the headmaster managed to muster a small smile.

"Good morning Mr Lupin. I hope we are not interrupting you in any way." Dumbledore greeted kindly.

"Oh, certainly not Headmaster. I was just about to write a letter regarding..." He cut himself off. The pain he felt near his heart when thinking about it was too great.

"Regarding what, Mr Lupin?" Headmaster asked again, even if he already had the idea of what the young wizard had in his mind.

"Is it true?" He stuttered out of himself. Looking at the Headmaster and Professor with sadness filling up his green eyes. Professor McGonagall was having a hard time watching him. For her, the four Marauders were something special. Their way of causing mayhem around the castle never failed to surprise her and in some cases, she must admit that she laughed at their jokes. The group had something to them.

The childlike nature mixed with the brilliance of their intellect created something not everyone could quite comprehend but she knew they were all special in some way. Especially their close bond and the way they supported one another. So seeing one of them being so broken without the others wasn't something unexpected for her. But even if she knew how bad it would be she couldn't prepare herself for it in any way.

"I am afraid so." Dumbledore nodded, a sad sigh escaping him.

"Mr Lupin, we came here mainly on the note of retrieving Miss Black. We have been informed that she is to be here with you." McGonagall spoke for the first time. But what she said didn't make Remus happy.

"Where will you be taking her?" Remus asked, concern for his goddaughter evident in his voice. Dumbledore and McGonagall exchanged a look. Both knowing they Remus wouldn't like what they were about to say.

"To her grandmother's. She is the only family she has left..." McGonagall went to explain but got cut off by Remus.

"She most certainly is not!" Remus yelled, not being able to contain himself. But his manners quickly came back when he realised what he had done. "Sorry." He muttered softly. "I just...you can't send her to her grandmother. I am her godfather, I can take care of her. As legally chosen guardian by her parents, I should have the right, no?"

"Mr Lupin," McGonagall sighed. She knew there would occur a problem like this. That the young wizard would fight for his goddaughter. But there were some aspects that made the matter more difficult than any of them would like. "As chivalrous as it is of you to take in the daughter of your friend's, you need to consider your condition. Taking in a child would be highly irresponsible and foolish."

"Foolish is wanting to give her to a woman that doesn't know what love means," Remus stated coldly. Not ready to give up the one thing that gives him happiness. "Professor you must remember all the tortures he went through with her, I doubt that she would show a sign of mercy on his descendant." Remus continued, retelling his favourite Professor everything she already knew. She was far too familiar with this story already. "And she disowned him anyway. Which means she shouldn't be considered as a family anymore."

"As correct as you appear to be Mr Lupin, there are still things concerning your condition. You have to admit that at that time of the month you might endanger her life." Professor stressed, concerned about the life of the child. Dumbledore watched the conversation between the two. His mind silently racing for solutions of how to make both parties happy.

Suddenly a sound of footsteps was heard down the hall, and a small girl with long blond locks and a smile waddled into the picture. Dumbledore couldn't help but smile at the little girl as she slowly and carefully made her way towards her uncle.

"Uncle Moony?" Remus and McGonagall both turned to the source of the voice to see the toddler on the ground looking up at them. Mostly at Remus. McGonagall's face softened when she looked at the little girl that couldn't be even three years old. She looked exactly like her mother. From the hair to the tip of her nose. Exactly as one of her favourite students. But with a glint in her eyes and a smile that couldn't deceive anyone of who her father was. "When is daddy coming back?" Rhea asked innocently.

The small child didn't understand the seriousness of the situation. How could she? She was only just a baby. Remus' heart broke at her question and he looked back at his Headmaster and Professor with uneasiness written in his eyes.

"Um...he, will be gone for a while, Rera. He had something very important to take care of." Remus said quickly. He knew that one day he would have to tell her where her father really was but at the moment it seemed too cruel to say that to a child.

"Oh...but you will stay wif me till he comes back 'ight?" She tried to pronounce the words carefully so the adults would understand her. Just like her daddy taught her. At the sound of the question, Remus looked back at the two people behind him. He knew they would give in. He could already see it on Professor's face.

"I'm afraid..."

"That is a delightful idea." Dumbledore chimed happily. His colleague looked at him questioningly. "I am sure that Mr Lupin will be more than able to take care of the little one, of course only until her father can come to get her back," Dumbledore said playing along with Remus as to not distress the young child.

"But Albus, what about..."

"I am sure Mr Lupin can figure it out," Dumbledore said kindly. Remus allowed himself to smile, feeling blessed with the sudden support of the Headmaster. McGonagall sighed. Not feeling on the boat of this little plan of their but she couldn't have much of a say now.

"Looks like it is settled then. Miss Black will stay here." She said reluctantly. Albus smiled and nodded.

"Splendid, Mr Lupin, Miss Black," Dumbledore said nodding to each one of them as he then turned around and started walking again.

"You can already tell I am not fond of this little idea of yours," McGonagall said looking straight at one of her favourite students. Remus nodded, slightly ashamed.

"I am well aware Professor. But there is no possibility for you to convince me to give her up."

"How come you are so foolishly stubborn Mr Lupin?" Remus shrugged at the question of his Professor.

"I am a Gryffindor." He said simply a small smirk playing on his lips. McGonagall shook her head, smiling slightly at his answer.

"I figured it might have something to do with that."
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"Mr Lupin, I wonder why was I invited to your house on such short notice?" Professor McGonagall asked as she was led inside the house. Remus closed the doors behind her and showed her the way towards the kitchen.

"I am sorry Professor, but I believe that I have a matter far too serious for just a letter discussion," Remus said offering the elder lady to sit down on the chair. She did and looked at him curiously.

"Very well then, what might be the issue?" Remus took a long calming breath in and then talked.

"I believe that Rhea should start school next September." He blurted out at his former teacher, catching her slightly out of the guard. She, however, had some experience with blabbering students so she was quick to answer back.

"Mr Lupin, I believe you can somehow remember how is it at the end of the terms in our school." She started calmly and Remus only nodded. "Then I simply cannot understand what possessed you to ask me to come over here asking such a foolish question when I have scheduled N.E.W.T.s with the seventh year students on the next week?" The woman looked ready to stand up and leave.

"No, but Professor you don't understand."

"I think I understand good enough Mr Lupin. You think that Miss Black is exceptionally talented and will be able to adjust to the environment of school quickly and effortlessly. But you are failing to comprehend that she is still far too young. The first years will all have reached the age of eleven when they step a foot in the school. While Miss Black won't be turning off that age for quite some time if I'm not mistaken." She reasoned. Remus, however, wasn't in the mood to be declined anything.

He has been watching the young girl carefully and he believes that there is something in her. He helped her with the basic things that he could with the equipment he had at home. But the feeling that this child can do so much more was strong in him. And he wants to give her the opportunity as soon as possible.

"Professor please, could you at least give her a try?" Remus pleaded, trying to stop the lady from leaving. Seeing the determination and hope in his eyes McGonagall sighed.

"I supposed that it cannot hurt, since I am already here. But we must hurry I still need to prepare papers for my tomorrow's lesson." She informed him. Remus grinned in glee as he walked towards the door of the kitchen.

"Rhea? Could you come down here please?" He called up the stairs towards the room of the now ten years old girl that he has taken under his wings. A few seconds later a rushed sound of footsteps was heard. In the kitchen appeared a young girl with long blonde hair sticking in every direction, her face slightly flushed and she looked frantically at her uncle.

"I swear it wasn't me who put the sticking charm on that nasty muggle kid that always bullies the others." She quickly rushed out of herself, putting on a charming smile for which none of the adults fell, but it was a nice try.

"I will talk to you about that one later," Remus said with a defeated sigh. McGonagall could now finally see the resemblance with her father that the girl carried. Her whole posture, her tricks, personality, everything was spitting image of her father all wrapped up in a beautiful face of her mother. "I called you so you can show Professor McGonagall what you have learned...for once you can use that bright mind for something good." Remus urged the little blond who nodded.

"What should I do then?"

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After almost an hour of tasks that Rhea excellently handled McGonagall was more than convinced that the young girl's education at school should indeed start as soon as possible. She intended to get back to Hogwarts and immediately prepare a letter for the girl.

Remus had already sent Rhea upstairs in her room, still a punishment for glueing the poor boy's shoes to the pavement. He now stood next to McGonagall in front of the door.

"So? What do you think Professor?" He asked hopefully. McGonagall allowed herself a small smile.

"I am sure Hogwarts will be delighted to have her." She answered and walked out of the door. Leaving Remus to let the happy news sink in. Words couldn't describe how incredibly proud he was at the moment. He could only hope that the young mischief-maker won't cause too much trouble. And that she will fit in well with the slightly older kids.