The Squib and the Werewolf

61. Othala

Raya enjoyed her lessons with Moody, and she felt like she was really progressing as the weeks went by.
One evening she returned home and found James talking to his parents in the living room, with a grave look on his face.
"Hello sweetheart, did you have a good training session?" Questioned Euphemia.
"Yes. Moody taught me a new way to untie myself if I ever get caught by death eaters" answered Raya.
"That is a useful skill" replied Euphemia.

"It is. I didn't know you were joining us for dinner, James. Not that I object of course, as it is always great to see you" said Raya, as she went and sat next to her friend.
"It was an unscheduled visit" sighed James.
"Is something wrong?" Asked Raya.
"Why do you ask?"
"You look a little solemn, that's all. Is Lily O.K?"
"Yes, Lily is fine, and so are the rest of the Marauders"
"Oh, that's good. You had me worried for a minute".

"The Marauders are all in perfect health, as far as I'm aware. But they are not the ones you need to worry about" informed James, before looking over at his parents.
Raya frowned, and looked at Euphemia and Fleamont.
"Is everything O.K?" She asked.
"I'm afraid dear, that Flea and I have had some rather bad news" revealed Euphemia.
"What is it? Can I help?" Questioned Raya.
"That is kind of you. But I'm afraid there is nothing you can do to help us. You see, our old age has finally caught up to us, and the healers don't think we have very long left" admitted Euphemia.
"What! No, that can't be right".

"Tell her the whole truth dear" encouraged Fleamont.
"Alright then. Well, Flea and I have contracted a disease known as Dragon Pox, and it has shortened our life span considerably" admitted Euphemia.
"I've heard of Dragon Pox, but it isn't a death sentence, you can fight the disease" insisted Raya.
"There is no cure for Dragon Pox, I'm afraid. You can fight the illness, if you are young and healthy, but unfortunately my husband and I are neither of those things" replied Euphemia.
"But you can't die. You just can't. It's too soon".

"Every living thing must die, that is a part of life, and we are no exception" reminded Fleamont.
"But you can't die yet, you are too young" replied Raya.
Fleamont chuckled, "Maybe we seem young in your eyes. But we really aren't".
"We had James very late in life. Long past the time most people become parents. He was the gift we never thought we would recieve. And then he bought you and all your friends into our lives, and we were happier than we had ever been before. We would love to watch you all grow up even more. But alas, it is time for us to move on, into the next life. Afterall, you don't need us anymore" admitted Euphemia.

"Are you joking? Of course we still need you. You might think we've grown up and matured, but we really haven't. And I don't turn 18 for another month, so I definitely still need you" informed Raya.
"You should have more faith in yourself. You and James have come such a long way, since you first started at Hogwarts. You've grown up right in front of our eyes, and we are so proud of you" beamed Euphemia.
"But, I don't want you to go... I've already lost my mother. I can't lose you too. I mean, what will I do without you?" Asked Raya, as she tried to hold back the tears.
"You will be alright, I promise you. We won't leave this world, and just abandon you to fend for yourself".

"That's not what I mean. I don't want you to stay because I need your money and your food. I want you to stay because I love you. You became my surrogate parents, and I don't want to live in a world without you" admitted Raya.
"And we love you too, dear. As if you were our own daughter" replied Euphemia.
Raya moved forward to hug Euphemia, who was sitting on the sofa opposite her. But James held her back.
"It's best if you keep your distance, as Dragon Pox is quite contagious" warned James.

Raya shook her arm free and glared at James, "I can do what I like. Anyway, how can you just sit there, accepting their fate?".
"I have had all afternoon to process what is going to happen. But that doesn't mean I am O.K with it. If shouting and waving my wand around would take away my parents illness, then I would scream until my lungs exploded. But shouting won't do any good. There is nothing either of us can do to help them" admitted James sadly.
Raya lept to her feet, "But there must be something. We can't just let them die".
"There isn't a cure, if there was the healers would have found it by now. Which means we cannot save them" replied James.

"Besides, what happens to us is our problem. And we have decided to deal with it in our own way. We don't want to take dozens of medicines a day, when we know deep down they will do no good. We aren't going to be admitted to St Mungo's either, for we want to spend our last few days at home" informed Euphemia.
"Days! You only have days to live!" Gasped Raya.
"The healers aren't sure. We could live another week or two, it all depends on how quickly the disease spreads through our bodies" replied Fleamont.
"But you must have known you were sick for a while, for the illness to be this close to killing you" frowned Raya.

Fleamont looked guiltily at Euphemia, before turning back to Raya and nodding his head.
"We have known since the start of summer that we were sick, but we weren't sure at first what was killing us. Last week we got our test results back from the healers, revealing our Dragon Pox diagnosis. Which is when we started to plan what we were going to do with our remaining time" revealed Fleamont.
"You've known all summer, and you only tell us now" said Raya.
"We didn't want to worry or upset you" replied Euphemia.
"No, we didn't. Which is why we held off telling you, for as long as possible" added Fleamont.

"I can't believe this is happening" mumbled Raya, before sitting back down beside James.
He took hold of her hand, and squeezed it tight, "I will always be here for you, Raya. You won't lose me, I promise. Even when my parents are gone, I will still think of you as a sister".
"Thanks James" muttered Raya.
"Just promise me that you won't go running into the night, once this conversation is over. Like you did when your mother died. Because Sirius would never forgive me, if something bad happened to you, while you were under my care" replied James.
"I promise".

"Now, we have to discuss what is going to happen when we die. Specifically who is being left what, in our will" announced Fleamont.
"Do we have to do this now?" Questioned Raya.
"Yes. It is imperative that we talk you through what is going to happen, so that you don't get a big shock once we are dead" answered Fleamont.
"Why would I be shocked?"
"Well, you might be a little suprised by what we have left you"
"Why? Aren't you leaving everything to James? Because you should be, and I don't want to take away anything that should rightfully be his"
"You may not be our daughter biologically, but we care about you, as if you were our own. And we couldn't bare it if anything happened to you, once we were gone. Which is why we want to leave you this house".

Raya's jaw dropped, "You can't be serious".
"We are. You still have a whole year of school left, and we don't want to leave you with nowhere to go when you come home for the holidays" replied Euphemia.
"I can just move back in with my dad, it's no big deal" reassured Raya.
"But we know you won't be happy there. We also don't want to put pressure on you and Sirius, by making you move in together, if you aren't ready. Nor do we want to make you feel like a third wheel, by staying with James and Lily. We want you to have your own place to call home, which is why we are leaving you the Potter Manor" revealed Fleamont.

"But I am not a Potter. This is not officially my home. It belongs to your family, and I am not a member of your family. The manor must go to your eldest child, and your heir, which is James. I will not take away what is his" informed Raya.
"It's O.K. Mum and dad have talked it all through with me, and I want you to have the house" revealed James.
"But it's yours" replied Raya.
"I have the cottage in Godric's Hollow, so I don't need the manor. The cottage is my home. It belongs to me and Lily. But you view this place as your home, and I do not want to take it from you".

"But you are the soul Potter heir. Everything your parents own should go to you, and no one else. Othala" said Raya.
"What's Othala?" Questioned James.
"Ignore me. It's just the inheritance rune... Look, as much as I'm flattered, I cannot take your house, for it is not mine to take" insisted Raya.
"But I say it is, and so do my parents. Besides, it's not like they are leaving me with nothing. The entire Potter family fortune, will go to me. Including the jewellery and other expensive items in our vault. I also have my cottage, which belongs to the Potters. So, I wouldn't say my parents are leaving me out of the will".

"James is right. The majority of our fortune, and most of the things in this house, will go to him. And he will of course be keeping the cottage. But this building and the grounds it stands on, will be placed in your name. We will also be leaving a small amount of our fortune to you and Sirius, so that you aren't left with nothing" announced Fleamont.
"Are you 100% sure about this?" Questioned Raya.
"Positive. We've talked it through, and we think this is the best way to look after you all" answered Euphemia.
"Alright then. Since I have no other choice, I accept your incredibly generous gift. I will become the next owner of the Potter manor" replied Raya.