chapter nine
Marigold had been invited to stay at Remus’ house for the summer, where Sirius would be crashing as well as he prepared to fully move into the Potters’ home. A lot of secrets had been discussed between the three of them, starting that day after April’s full moon.
It mostly occurred in the shrieking shack for the utmost privacy, sometimes in one of their beds with the sheets drawn over their heads like children, and sometimes in a stolen moment after class.
Remus confided in the girl about his werewolf condition, a conversation he feared would only amount to pity or fear. Instead, she wanted to learn what it felt like, to be ruled by the moon and hold all that power.
Sirius had opened up about his parents' emotional abuse, and the way he felt discarded and shamed at home. How hateful almost his entire family was to muggles and how deeply it affected him to be associated with them. He was running away to live with James, but he couldn’t deny it didn’t also feel like he was being kicked out of his childhood home by his parents.
Marigold indulged the boys with discussions of her absent parents, the way she’d had to do most of Alexander’s parenting even as a child herself. She loved her brother with everything in her, but she had not been able to experience the joys of adolescence the way others had. Such was a fact that she’d hardly mentioned to anyone besides her closest three female friends, and now the two boys.
She only felt truly taken care of by her mother’s parents in Greece, or here at Hogwarts.
“You’d make a good mother,” Remus observed out loud after Marigold had hugged her brother goodbye for the summer.
“You reckon you’d like to be a father Mooney?” Sirius slung an arm around the tall boy next to him.
“I’ve considered it,” Remus shrugged.
“I don’t think I could be a mum for a long time, I like having my own fun far too much,” The three had exited the train and now stood waiting for Mr. Lupin to pick them up from the station.
“Well of course, but you’ve thought about it, yeah?” Sirius continued.
“How about you, Siri, hm?” She deflected the question with a playful smirk and crossed arms.
“I want as many children as possible, or at least two daughters and two sons,” He beamed proudly.
“So you’ve put a lot of thought into it?” Remus peered.
“Of course, I want a family more than anything,” Sirius agreed lowly, before spotting their target in the crowd. The other two looked at each other sadly. “Hello, Mr. Lupin! How do you do?"
“Hello young Mr. Black,” The man smiled and shook Sirius’ hand, then turned to his son for a hug.
“Father, this is Marigold Noble,” Remus wrapped an arm around the girl proudly.
“Pleasure to meet you, dear, my son writes of you endlessly in his letters,” The jolly man winked, taking a hand of hers to shake. Remus flushed and tensed a bit.
“So do I,” She grinned at Remus, then focused back on the gentlemen. “Thank you so much for allowing me to stay,”
“Hope is so delighted to have you both, she’s back home preparing some food, I hope you’re hungry!” The man led them to the car.
“Endlessly, sir,” Sirius laughed, opening the back door for Marigold to climb in behind the driver's seat.
Mr. Lupin got in the car and turned to the passenger seat where he expected to find his son. The seat next to him remained empty, and he did a double take to the backseat. There, his son, Marigold, and Sirius had all squished in together, perfectly content with cramped leg space and elbows pressed into each other.
Mr. Lupin’s brows furrowed slightly, but he didn’t press it. He started the car and they began their journey to the English countryside.
Sirius had fallen asleep on the ride, his head slumped onto the girl’s shoulder next to him, while Marigold and Remus entertained his father.
“Where are your folks from?”
“My mother’s Greek, but my father’s English, from Brighton. They live in London now, we have a flat on Lilac Street,” She gave politely. She was a people person, she never minded socializing with parents.
“Her father’s an artisan, he’s like a blacksmith,” Remus urged.
“He’s a welder, but Remus makes it sound much more romantic! My mother’s a healer, she’s very busy.” Marigold smiled softly at Remus, he had a way of making the most mundane things seem lovely.
Tucked away in rolling hills, was an adorable little cottage that the Lupins called home. A great juxtaposition to the modern apartment Marigold was used to above the bustling city and loud streets. It served as a comfort to Sirius as well, who was so tired of a cold and drafty mansion with bleak walls and emotionally withdrawn family members.
It was jolly, with plenty of baby pictures littering the walls, depictions of Remus without scars and without pain. His mother was a delight, with a fresh pie baked upon their arrival, clad in an apron and a broad smile.
“My grandparents sent this with me, as a thank you!” Marigold produced a bottle of fig wine her grandmother had crafted from scratch.
“She’s the sweetest thing I’ve ever met, Rem,” Mrs. Lupin hugged the girl and nodded at her son in approval.
While Remus blushed bright pink, Sirius stood next to him smirking and jabbing him with jokes just to tease. They didn’t see the point in competing, they were equally appreciated by the girl.
The guests took great comfort that summer, splashing in the creek behind the house, going for barefoot hikes in the woods just beyond the property, adoring the baby books that Mrs. Lupin showed them at the breakfast nook, and helping Mr. Lupin in the garden.
“How does she have her coffee?” Mrs. Lupin asked Remus one morning. Marigold was upstairs in the shower, leaving the two boys to help set the table with the parents.
“Black with honey,” Sirius gave, catching his friend's mother by surprise.
“Oh, what an attentive friend you are,” She smiled and poured five cups of coffee.
Sirius winked at the other boy. Yeah, some friend, he thought. They couldn’t explain the situation to adults, they wouldn’t get it. Even their classmates had too many questions to answer.
Marigold didn’t have a boyfriend, but the boys did belong to her in a certain way. She belonged to them just the same, an unspoken agreement of exclusivity between the three. It was fun and it was sweet, they were young, and they didn’t have to use a label to justify their feelings.
“And yours, Sirius?” Hope hummed again.
“It’s sacrilegious, mum, the way he drinks his, it’s like he doesn’t even drink coffee!”
“Hey, there’s nothing wrong with a bit of milk and sugar, is there?”
“There is with the way you do it, just a splash of milk for me please mum,”
“Good morning all,” Marigold stepped in with wet, wavy hair. Her cheeks were pink from the steam, and she wore a white summer dress that Sirius proclaimed as heavenly.
“Good morning,” Remus kissed her cheek as she sat next to him, making Mr. Lupin grin when he glanced over the top of his newspaper across the table.