for the one i love ; fred weasley

chapter 19

NARRATOR'S POV

"You're taking twelve O.W.Ls?" Asks Sirius, looking at his daughter with a proud look on his face. Carina nods, a light blush setting on her cheeks. "Merlin! I mean, I did quite well in school, and Marlene wasn't half bad either - but twelve O.W.Ls! That's quite the achievement, Star!" He exclaims, putting his hand on her shoulder. It's been a week since the Quidditch match, a week since the last time they'd seen each other. Carina can't stop herself from smiling at how proud he sounds. "I'll have to think about another present for you," Sirius thinks out loud.

"Another?" Asks Carina, tilting her head before it dawns on her. "You got me the Firebolt, didn't you? For Christmas?" Sirius hums, looking at the ground with a nod. "C.M... That's not for Carina Malfoy, is it?"

Chuckling, Sirius shakes his head. "Carina Marlene," he tells her with a wistful smile. They are sitting on top of a blanket, resting their weight on their hands, fingertips grazing. "She was an amazing witch," Carina looks at him with curiosity, making him smile. "Marls and I were really good friends, all through Hogwarts. We never wanted anything more, she was in a relationship with this girl called Dorcas - and to be honest, I only ever really wanted Remus," explains Sirius, remembering all about those days.

"So, what happened?" Wonders Carina, pursing her lips. "I mean, you don't have to tell me anything -"

"I want to tell you, you deserve to know," Sirius stops her, shrugging his shoulders. "Dorcas was the first one of us to fall victim to Voldemort's power. He took her life first and Marlene was destroyed," he mutters, sighing deeply. "So, one night, we were all drunk and one thing lead to another... Well," he clears his throat, laughing, cheeks slightly red at the implication. "She got pregnant. Which is something that she'd always wanted. She wanted to be a mother, she was ready. It's something that I'd always wanted too... From the second we found out about you, we loved you. All of us did."

Growing up, Carina never really felt loved by anyone other than Draco, so all of this has her chest feeling a warmth she's never felt before. "Really? All of you?" Sirius nods vigorously, and she doesn't doubt him for a second. She used to have a village standing behind her and she didn't even know about it. "But, what did Remus have to say about you sleeping with someone else?"

"We weren't together then. We didn't get together until during the pregnancy," he admits, "The way he reacted when he found out I'd slept with Marlene was enough to make us both realise our feelings ran deeper than we'd led on," Sirius can vividly remember how hard Remus screamed at him in the kitchen two days after that eventful night. And he can remember just as clearly how they started kissing seconds later.

"And what happened when he found out she was pregnant?" Carina questions, staring at her dad with wide eyes.

Sirius can't help but laugh happily at the memory, "At first he was frustrated, of course. I understood that, and I still do. But, it took him less than two days to come around. He said that he loved me, and that he knew he would love my child as if it were his own, no matter what," he tells Carina, a loving smile on his face. "And he did. As soon as you were born - long before that really, he loved you. Rem was a great father to you, so protective and caring. Marlene approved, she liked having us around to help. Trusted him more than me," chuckles Sirius.

Suddenly remembering the ending to this story, Carina deflates slightly, "But, she died at nineteen didn't she?"

The long haired man bites his lip, nodding slowly, "She did... just weeks before your first birthday," he says. "Her mother had invited her to spend a weekend in their family home so that she would rest. Remus and I said we'd watch you. Unfortunately, she never made it back," Sirius speaks gently, not wanting to make Carina more upset than he has to. This is her mother they're talking about after all. "It was tough, for all of us."