for the one i love ; fred weasley

chapter 16

note: lots of flashbacks (italics) and i invented a spell, i'll explain in the AN below.

NARRATOR'S POV

After Carina uses a cleaning spell on the man and creates a heating charm around the Shack for him, Sirius finishes eating the apple. "I'll tell you everything, but you have to promise you won't tell anybody, I mean that, Carina, not a soul," he says to the girl, looking down at her. They're both sitting down on the floor, backs resting against the wall. "Nobody, not even Remus," Carina turns to him with wide eyes.

It's been twelve years since the last time Sirius has seen her and yet, nothing's changed. If anything, he loves her even more now. She's everything he dreamed, with her big green eyes, her pale skin - her black hair came as a surprise... Carina is the reason why he kept pushing through all those years. Evidently, Harry was also in his mind, same as Remus, but she... He wants to hug her, have her against his chest, hold her like he used to -

"Why wouldn't I tell Professor Lupin?" She questions with a frown, pulling him out of his head, "He would love to hear you're innocent... I have a feeling that he misses you," Sirius looks like he needs something to live for, so Carina decides to give it to him. The man feels his heart clenching at her words. He misses Remus more than she'd ever know, "Why wouldn't they use the Secrecy Sensor on your trial? Or Veritaserum?" Asks the green eyed girl, pursing her lips.

Sirius sighs, "Well, that's part of the story I'm about to tell you, but I didn't have a trial," he mutters, anger bubbling up in his stomach at the memory of that eventful birthday of his. "I wasn't given one, didn't even get a hearing or anything of the sort. Veritaserum is illegal during trials, and Secrecy Sensors fail sometimes, they're not reliable enough to be used during one..."

"Sending you to Azkaban without a trial is not exactly legal either," mumbles Carina, shaking her head. In any other situation, Sirius would've laughed at how obvious her statement was, but he doesn't have the energy to do that.

"Well, in that moment they didn't care. All they wanted was an escape goat, and they had me," Sirius shrugs, even though he's clearly not over it. And how could he be? He spent twelve years of his life locked up in the most horrible place known to Wizard kind.

"You know," Carina begins, clearing her throat, "When I first read about you I couldn't believe it. Something about the story never quite fit... I tried to ask my mum about you but she told me she'd explain when I got older. I haven't been home in a while," Sirius feels his chest grow warm at the idea of someone on the outside trusting him. He never thought this was a possibility, even less so when it came to Carina. "How did this happen?" She asks, biting her lip. "Who did this to you?" She doesn't want to be kept in the dark any longer. She can't take it.

"You have to promise me first, Carina," Sirius says sternly, handing her the Secrecy Sensor, "Promise me you won't tell anyone." The girl takes it in her hand with a broken expression, shaking her head, "I'll tell Remus myself. He'll understand when I do, just... please?"

"I don't want him to be mad at me," admits the young girl. Disappointing Remus would be the worse thing in the world, of that much, she's sure. Sirius' gaze softens as he looks over at her, "I - I think we've gotten pretty close and I wouldn't want to jeopardise our... friendship," if I can call it that, she confesses quietly, holding the Sensor with a sad look on her face.

"I can't have you run back to him with this," Sirius murmurs, shaking his head. "I want to be the one that tells him... I have to be. It's been twelve years since the last time we saw each other. For twelve years he's believed me to be the reason for our best friends' deaths..." he whispers. The pain in his voice makes her waver. "I want - I have - I have so many things to tell you, Carina, please?" The girl thinks about it for a second before nodding slowly. "Say it."