The Missing Marauder: A Harry Potter FanFiction

Chapter 21

"Wolf!" Edon screamed from the door of Honeydukes.

"Ha!" Rowan laughed, "They actually think I'm a wolf."

"Hate to break it to you," Sirius said, "But you are a very convincing carnivore."

"Gee, thanks."

"Not a problem."

If they'd been in human form, she would've punched him gently on the arm. Instead, she rammed her shoulder into his side playfully.

Something in the pit of her stomach told her she shouldn't have done that.

"Hey, you okay?" Sirius asked, his tone sounding worried.

"Yeah, fine," she replied.

She wasn't fine.

But how could she tell him?

The night prior...

"Lily, I don't know what to do!" Rowan mumbled. The two were sitting under Lily's covers in the middle of the night, only the light coming from their wands to illuminate the darkness.

"How long has it been?" Lily asked, "How late are you?"

"Almost two months," Rowan replied.

"And how long ago did you...?"

"Two months."

"That doesn't technically mean that you are-"

"Don't say it!"

"Sorry," Lily whispered after hearing someone's sheets rustle, "That technically doesn't mean anything. You could get it any day now."

"But everyday I don't is another reason to get worried," Rowan said, "How am I going to tell Sirius?"

"I don't know!" Lily responded, "How do you tell a seventeen-year old guy that in seven months time he might or might not be a father?"

"If I knew, I wouldn't ask you!" Rowan murmured, "Oh my God... I feel nauseous."

"Morning sickness?" Lily asked.

"I don't know..." Rowan whispered, "Probably."

Lily was silent for a moment. Then, she sat up and suggested, "Maybe, if you even are...you know, you should, I don't know, abort?"

Rowan shook her head frantically, saying, "Definitely not. I...I knew the consequences of doing what I did, and I did it anyway. It's my fault, and now I have to deal with it."

"You're a saint," Lily said, leaning over and hugging her hard, "I wish I knew what to say to help you."

"There's nothing you can say," Rowan muttered, "And I'm not a saint. I'm too stupid to be one."

"You're not-" Lily began, but stopped when Rowan pulled away and glared at her. "You made a mistake," she said, "Everybody does."

"I made an incredibly stupid mistake," Rowan countered, "And, in seven months time, both Sirius and I are going to have to pay for it."

"What?" a small voice whispered, and suddenly the sheets were lifted off of the two girls on the bed.

The girl standing there had olive-toned skin, pale blue eyes, and pure white hair. She was rubbing her eyes sleepily with one small hand and holding square-framed glasses in the other.

"What are you two talking about?" she yawned.

"Marigold!" Lily exclaimed out of shock, and then waited for a stir, heard nothing, and whispered, "It's nothing."