The Choices We Make ∆ Harry Potter Sister

Chapter 5.16

Ellie tossed and turned in her bed  after Bill left. She wanted to sleep like the dead. Merlin, she wanted it more than anything, but she knew sleep was still a little out of reach for her until she dealt with her brother and godfathers. Mercifully, both Remus and Sirius would need a minute or two for them to pop up from whatever hell hole they were hiding in. She had no doubt Harry was already planning to hunt the remnants of the horcruxes. If he was smart, he'd keep the Gryffindor sword at bay and the goblin as far away as possible. He'd survived so far, and with Hermione and Ron still by his side, she prayed he'd survive for some more.

Sick of tossing like a little worm, she jumped out of bed and off to the window with the view of the shore. The sun was already hanging low, probably a little after six. With the warm glow of the sun and the crashing of waves, she could almost pretend she was on a holiday on the seaside with her brother and friends. She could almost pretend everything was right and she was just another sixteen years old with her heart on her sleeve ready for it to bloom or be broken. She could almost pretend the worst thing that would happen to her was failing her exams or being stuck with Dudley for the whole summer. Nevertheless, almost is just that. Almost.

She was about to return to the bed when something caught the corner of her eyes. Before the figure fully came into focus, Ellie had sprinted down the stairs, through the back door, and straight to the beach where two men had apparated. Ellie sobbed as she buried her face in Remus' chest. When her godfather engulfed her in his arms, she couldn't help it anymore. It was as if a flood gate had opened and the water came crushing.

"Let's get you inside, baby girl," said Sirius as he gently pried Ellie off of Remus.

The walk inside was terrifying to say the least. When she sprinted down earlier, she was on such a whim that the world around her had blurred together. Now that things finally cleared out, it felt like walking to her death. She thanked all heavens and holy beings up above for the greatest human who is Sirius Black, who did not waste a second to grabbed his godson into his arm - and distracting Harry from her presence altogether. Ellie took her remaining party back to the room assigned to her, and close the door behind her.

"Alright, Padfoot will be busy for a while downstairs," said Remus as he took a seat at the edge of the bed, "Why don't you two start from the night we thought you were dead? Why can't you send us any word?"

She was about to make a stand on that particular hill, but Remus beat her to it. Holding up a hand, he added, "The patronus that Xenyk sent didn't count as word. You two didn't make it back to the Burrow. Anything could've happened to you. I've assumed the worst was happening to you two. And to have a semi-conscious George to tell us that's your message?"

Remus stood up then, pacing the floor with his hands crossed behind his back, the check on his temper fraying on the edges. He was the perfect picture of a disappointed father with Ellie sitting meekly on her bed, head hanging low.

"What about after that night, hmm? You couldn't get hold of any of us? You couldn't spare us the trouble of letting us know that you're alive? That my only goddaughter is alive and well? It was a cruel, wicked game you two played, to make us wait on the radio every single day for a hint of news from you. Which brings me back to my point. You two bothered to make contact with the twins, but not us. Why?"

Ellie wanted to say something, to tell him that she did think of him, of Sirius. She wanted to tell how broken she was, but all she could manage was, "I don't know, Moony."

"Moony, let her off of this one," said Sirius as he entered the room and dropped next to her on the bed. For all of his wildness, he had never been gentler than this moment and it only made Ellie want to burst into flames, leaving nothing more of herself than a handful of ash. "Did you realise how much worry you put us through?"

Ellie nodded, not trusting herself enough should she open her mouth.

"Good. Don't ever do that again. Whatever you're planning, let us in, baby girl. I know you have Morozov, but we are your godfathers. We worry, that's what we do."

Ellie nodded once more, still not trusting herself. Sirius sighs and threw a crumpled pillow to a still pacing Remus. It took a few seconds for the latter to wipe the flabbergasted look on his face and joined his best friend and goddaughter on the bed, filling the rest of the space with his long legs.

Three on a bed, arms around each other, cocooning themselves from the rest of the world, was the crowd Ellie needed to shield herself from herself. With her head rested on Sirius' shoulder, she whispered her words to the little space between her and her godfathers.

"I'm so very tired of this, of everything."

"I know, baby girl," said Sirius with a weary sigh. He had never sounded older than he was at the moment, and it broke something inside of her. "Why don't we get you home? Then we can talk this out, figure everything out. Together."

"That means no more going missing without contacts," added Remus, "with only cryptic messages as a lifeline."

Ellie shut her eyes and nodded. She felt ridiculous with the amount of nodding she had done in such a short time, but she was safely surrounded by her godfathers, even if only for a moment. It was enough. They peeled themselves off of each other and made for the bedroom door. With a hand on the handle, Sirius half turned to her.

"You best prepare yourself, baby girl. We're going to have a talk with Harry first."

•••

A/N
This took a whole damn year, and it's long overdue, and I'm so truly sorry. But it took that whole damn year to put these few words down, and I don't even know if anyone is still on this very long story (though I do hope someone is). Still, I'll try to get this to a closure.