Abandoned

Chapter 1: Hope

The Night We Met by Lord Huron

Sirius' POV

    Remus was peering over a map that was spread along our round oak table. His wand occasionally gliding along different sections of London, a faint glow emitting from the end. I stood in the corner, leaning on the arched doorway to the kitchen, sadness filling my eyes. Ever since my name was cleared six months ago, we have been searching for our long lost daughter. Three years before James and Lily died, Remus and I had a child. When I was sent to Azkaban, Remus was so depressed that he gave Lyria up for adoption. It has always been his biggest regret but he had no idea how to find her. A few days ago we had narrowed it down to somewhere in London, but that's still such a large area. Suddenly, Remus stood up, a look of shock etched upon his face.
"What is it Moony?" I asked hesitant, afraid to allow myself to hope.
"I- I've found her." With that he broke out into a smile that was filled with nothing but joy and happiness. I rushed forward, not trusting my voice and hugged him with everything I had. Our daughter. Our beautiful little girl (though she must be 16 by now) was going to come home.
"Remus.." My eyes filled with tears that threatened to spill as I gazed up into deep pools of honey brown and rings of gold that grew more prominent as the full moon approached. "She's coming home."

    "What-" I took a minute to clear my throat, stepping away from the embrace, trying to regain order to my thoughts. "What do we do now, it's not like we can just walk up to her. She would think we were crazy, or trying to kidnap her."
Remus sighed and walked into the kitchen to make a cup of tea to calm his nerves.
"I'm not sure Sirius, I mean, what if she likes her home? Surely we can't just take her away from somewhere that she's happy." Silence seeped into the room as we both pondered the saddening thought.
"But she deserves to know all her options as well." I added. Both our heads nod in agreement.
"Well, we can't approach her now, it's wednesday and 4 in the morning and she's probably headed to school soon." he says, unsure of how we are going to introduce ourselves.
"I think we should follow her. We keep our distance and use magic to remain unseen by the muggles. We see if she's happy. That should determine how hard we fight for her. After school, let's introduce ourselves to her foster parents and go from there." Remus sighs at the idea of following her but doesn't object.
"Let's get ready, we don't have much time till school starts and I just, I really want to meet our daughter." He smiles at the last part, reality starting to set in. For our daughter isn't some distant dream that might never come true. She was real and she wasn't far away. We were going to see our daughter for the first time in 12 years and the feeling was entirely unsettling. The joy was still present but my mind was starting to make room for other emotions as I made my way to our bedroom so I could change into more muggle appropriate clothes. Fear and anxiety caused my hands to shake as I opened the drawer to my wardrobe. What if she was happy with her family and didn't want to come back with us? What if she wants nothing to do with us? I plop down onto our bed while I put my shoes on, my head still crowded with opposing emotions and thoughts. I don't even know how to be a good dad. What if she's a squib? Of course it wouldn't bother me but our society isn't accepting of them. What if she looks nothing like me? What if she only likes Remus? What if she doesn't like her room? I was unaware of Remus watching me in the doorway as panic filled my body to the core. He sat down next to me and wrapped me in a hug full of love, causing me to jump at the sudden contact. The years of abuse from my parents still had its lingering effects, even if I trusted Remus completely. Still, I let myself be held as my nerves, agonizingly slowly, faded. Remus was whispering encouraging words into my ear. I love this man so much. I calmed down and determination set in. I was going to meet my daughter and I wouldn't allow myself to go to pieces.