I made my way through the great oak doors and out into the grounds of Hogwarts, carrying a small basket of fruit, courtesy of Blinky.

"Padfoot!" I called, when I neared the Whomping Willow. "Padfoot! Where are you buddy?"

Woof!

I spun around at the familiar bark. There stood the shaggy, black dog, joyful as ever, wagging his tail.

"Hey." I said as I sat down, placing the basket beside me. Before I could completely turn however, Padfoot had tackled me onto the ground, licking my face.

"Alright! Alright! I missed you too!" I said as I managed to calm the hyper dog down, and sat up. "Here," I opened up the basket and pushed it towards Padfoot, "I brought some food, seeing you might not have had much chances of eating out here. Also, happy holidays, even though it's pretty late for that, and I'm pretty sure you might not be able to understand what I'm saying." He howled, almost as if he was laughing. He immediately buried his face in the basket, biting anything that came into contact with his mouth.

I chuckled at the sight, and slowly shifted my gaze towards the majestic castle. Hogwarts. I smiled happily to myself, thinking of my second home. I started humming a tune to myself, and slowly closed my eyes, leaving my surroundings and entering my own world.

I lost track of time but suddenly remembering I had a friend in my company, my eyes snapped open and I looked towards Padfoot, who seemed to be watching me with amusement.

"I'm sorry, I totally forgot that you were here. You know," My eyes trailed upwards towards the blue sky, with fluffy white clouds, "I haven't had much time to myself, and if I do I only have one thing on my mind, which is Christmas." The warmth on my face had been replaced with something else. A broken expression. Sensing my emotions, Padfoot laid his head on my lap. Mindlessly, I was stroking his head as my thoughts poured out uncontrollably.

"A huge truth was revealed to me and it isn't pleasant." Something boiled inside me. Anger. "I can't believe he'd do that!" My hand had formed a fist now. "That traitor, and I have to live with the fact that he's my father! Stupid, treacherous Sirius Black!" Padfoot stiffened.

I took a relaxing deep breath in, and exhaled, blowing off some steam. "You know what? It doesn't matter if he's my dad. Barely anyone knows, in other words, no one cares. I don't want anything to do with the likes of him" I huffed.

I heard a growl, and looked down only to find Padfoot had vanished. He was up on all fours, looking almost infuriated.

I swiftly stood up, alarmed by his sudden change of behaviour. "Easy boy." With my hands raised, I cautiously took steps backwards. There was a look in his eyes that I couldn't quite decipher. Suddenly, Padfoot turned and bounded away, deep into the darkness of the Forbidden Forest. I was frozen on the spot, dumbfounded.

"That was weird."

***

I raised my hand to knock upon the door leading into the Defence Against the Dark Arts class. Professor Lupin opened it, his face contorted into surprise at my sudden visit.

"Rubina, what are you doing here? Harry said you were sick and had to miss the Patronus lesson."

I grinned sheepishly as my gaze fell onto the floor. "Yeah, well, I may have lied."

Bewildered by my reply, Lupin asked, "But why?"

I sighed. "Well, there was something bothering me, and due to that I didn't want to attend the lesson."

His face softened. "You want to talk about it?" I nodded.

"Come into my office then." I silently followed him into his office. He sat down behind his desk, while beckoning me to do the same. I, however, remained standing.

"What's bothering you?" He asked with the concern reflected in his voice. I shut my eyes, and took a deep breath in before speaking. "I know the truth."

His face paled but his voice was unwavering. "Come again?"

"I know Sirius Black is none other than my father." His expression mingled with pity.

Tears pooled in my eyes against my will. "I can't believe he betrayed everyone like that." Sensing my breakdown, he moved over to me, wrapping me in a hug. "I can't believe he'd betray Uncle James and Aunt Lily like that. He even tried to kill me and Mum." In Lupin's comforting arms, the last bit of my emotions came gushing out. He gripped me tighter, as he stroked my head, attempting to calm me down.

"I'm sorry." Was all Lupin said in return.

Afterwards, we were swallowed in an awful silence, only my occasional sobs penetrating it. I pulled away once the last of the tears had shed.

"Are you feeling alright?"

"Much better actually, thank you." He eyed me hesitantly before he spoke out the next words.

"Do you also know that-"

"You're my Godfather? Yes, I do." I gently smiled before it faltered and became a frown. "Um, I don't know how to ask this." I started shifting uncomfortably from foot to foot. His face turned into worry with a hint of fear.

"Um, are - um-" I couldn't bring myself to ask the question, that had formed because of my suspicions. "Are you a Werewolf?" I asked rather fast, cringing, but it didn't matter because the words still reached his ears.

Remus Lupin's face drained of any remaining color it had, as his eyes widened. "How - How did you find out?" He asked with shock.

"Well, from Snape's essay and your Boggart seems to be the moon, so it made sense, but I thought maybe I was just being stupid about it."

He sighed. "Well, that's why Severus assigned the essay, in hopes of someone discovering my secret."

"That git." I muttered angrily.

"You hate me, don't you? You think of me as a monster, don't you?"

I shook my head, and placed a hand on his arm, reassuringly. "No, I don't hate you, nor do I think of you as a monster. Just because you are forced to turn into something you can't control every month, doesn't make you a monster. You're a very kind-hearted person. If I hated you, I wouldn't even be here right now, talking to you." I beamed at him. "You know, I was really happy when I found out you're my Godfather. Why? Because you're a good person." At those words, his face brightened and he embraced me once again.

"Thank you."

I didn't reply but merely smiled.

Once we released the hug, his face turned somber again. "When did you discover the truth about Sirius?"

"On Christmas. I'd heard a few... things, while at Hogwarts and I got suspicious. I confronted Mum about it on Christmas. She was reluctant at first but gave in, and she told the story."

"I'm really sorry Rubina. You didn't deserve this, both you and Fiona didn't deserve this."

"Well, it's not your fault."

We stood there in awkward silence until my Godfather cleared his throat. "It's almost past curfew. You should head back."

"Alright, see you Professor." I said as I made my way towards the door.

He smiled. "You can call me Remus, you know."

"Oh." I paused and frowned. "That'll be an adjustment. Bye Professor - I mean Remus." I said cheerfully, while adding a wave.

He chuckled, shaking his head.

Hey!

Um, not really an exciting chapter but I thought these conversations were a bit necessary. I hope the chapter wasn't a total snooze fest though.

Again, not sure if I've asked this before:

Who is your favorite marauder?

For me, it has to be my favorite character, which is Sirius Black!! :)

Have a good day! :)

Mini-Padfoot