Sadly, Mr Weasley was not well enough to come home in time for Christmas. Caelen nearly felt guilty when, four days prior to Christmas, her own father had walked quietly into the room. She'd squealed leaping from her place on her godfather's lap, eliciting a pained grunt from Sirius. Remus hadn't been more than a few feet from her for nearly every moment since.

Christmas morning found the young girl clutching to her father's side. "Good morning cub, happy Christmas." Remus murmured brushing her brown hair back and placing a gentle kiss to her head.

"Happy Christmas daddy," she replied sleepily, burrowing further into his side.

Remus chuckled loving the feel of his child back in his arms once more. "Cub I'm not going out again until Harry and the others are back to Hogwarts, you don't have to stay so close. I promise I won't sneak away."

Caelen ignored his promise, however, and continued to cling to him as if he would disappear were she to let go. Remus smiled sadly at his child, he couldn't help but realize his continued disappearances and absences were doing nothing for the nervous little girl's confidence. In the time he'd been speaking to the werewolves for Dumbledore, the progress Caelen had made, feeling comfortable away from her father or others she was certain cared for her, had depleted greatly until Remus most often found himself carrying her around as if she were a toddler and not a nine year old.

It wasn't that she was reverting, if anything the girl acted old for her age in most areas. She picked up on emotions and tension quicker than most adults. She possessed enormous amounts of empathy and would quickly stand up for anyone she felt was being mistreated, regardless of her own feelings towards them or the size of her opponents. A fact which Ron and the twins had quickly become aware of when the twins had teased Ron a bit too mercilessly. But in terms of her feelings towards adults she wasn't well acquainted with, Caelen had definitely regressed. She shied away from Mrs. Weasley any time the woman began to berate one of her unruly children. Even Tonks, whom she'd begun to bond with, she now hesitated with instead. Uncertainly keeping just out of arms reach of the puzzled woman. "Won't be much longer cub, I promise." He vowed kissing her head once more. "I give you my word Caelen, I'll be finished with the werewolves soon. Now, who wants presents?"

Caelen leapt from the bed then rushing over to her wardrobe and removing a tiny package. "Uncle sirius helped me, since we couldn't go out, we made our presents this year."

Remus smiled taking the messily wrapped, red and gold package. He tore away the wrapping carefully, despite its already tattered appearance, to reveal a golden chain with a tiny carving hanging from it. At first he wasn't certain what the wooden shape was meant to be, it's tiny size obscuring the details, but as it touched his hand the creature came alive. Curled around each other was a large werewolf and his small cub and racing around the pair protectively, as he ran along the chain, was padfoot in all his shaggy doggy glory. Remus laughed as he put it on watching the dogs antics, so like his dear friend.

"Do you like it daddy?" Caelen questioned quietly tapping the werewolves with her tiny hand. "Uncle Sirius did the magic, we wanted you to have it, so we'll always be with you."

Remus brushed aside a tear quickly, pulling his child to him. "I love it cub, I'm glad you'll be with me, uncle Sirius too." He laughed as his cub raced towards the door, "aren't you going to open your gifts little one?"

"Later daddy! I'm hungry and want to see how uncle Sirius likes his!"

Remus chuckled following behind at a more sedate pace. He entered the kitchen to find Caelen wrapped around her uncle in a bear hug.

"You really like it uncle Sirius?"

"I love it puppy, much better than the old one!" The man replied laughing.

"What do you love?" Remus questioned, wondering what had elicited such a large grin from his friend.

Sirius reached behind him holding out a painting, "my little puppy here painted our family tree Remmy." He replied offering the large picture.

"I asked uncle Sirius if I could paint over one of the old paintings in the library upstairs, a landscape not a person." The girl supplied smiling happily as she cuddled against her godfather.

Remus found himself grinning as he looked over the painting. It was a large tree painted as if the last rays of the sun were setting its leaves ablaze. On the branches in no apparent order, as Caelen hadn't realized the significance of the connecting branches, were small portraits of Remus, Sirius, Caelen, and Harry. The portraits all grinned, glancing at each other. "That's amazing Caelen!" Remus breathed out enthralled with his child's skill. "I had no idea you could paint so well! How did you add the magic to make the portraits move?"

"I had your old notes from when you taught how to paint them at Hogwarts. The twins helped me every night since they got here, except for the first I mean." She replied cheerfully.

Sirius beamed, "it's a perfect present puppy, I love it."

Breakfast was going along well, Mrs Weasley sent Remus and Caelen back up to their rooms to fetch their sweaters before allowing them to sit down to breakfast, and had been bustling around since. Her face fell sadly when an owl appeared, dropping a package, clearly another Weasley sweater, at her feet and hurrying away. The twins scowled as their mother burst into tears.

"Ah mum don't worry about Percy." George started angrily.

"Yeah, he's nothing more than a humungous pile of rat droppings!" Fred finished equally as angry.

Much to the twins bewilderment this did nothing to calm their mother, who wailed all the louder. Remus passed Caelen to Sirius ushering he and the twins from the room quickly. "I'll take care of Molly, you lot are no help."

The twins spun shortly, disaperating who knows where. "Well then puppy, wanna help me give Buckbeak his Christmas meal?"

Caelen nodded happily joining Sirius in a rousing rendition of 'God rest Ye merry hippogriffs' as they waltzed down the halls.

_______

"He'll come around Molly, you'll see." Remus reassured quietly, offering a comforting hug to the sobbing woman.

"My son hates me!" She wailed. "He hasn't even asked after his father, imagine in hospital and his son doesn't even care!"

"I'm sure he does Molly, I'm sure he cares," Remus offered in a consolingly tone. "He's just misled at the moment, he'll see straight eventually."

"What if it were Caelen, Remus? What would you do if your little girl decided you were ignorant, that you were supporting something that was wrong. What if the morals you had tried to instill in her were disregarded, thrown aside for a bit of recognition in a corrupt government! The things he's said, the contempt he holds for his father and I, for Dumbledore himself! I just don't know what to think anymore!" The woman sobbed into the werewolf's chest.

Remus didn't have a response for that, were Caelen to do what Percy was doing he'd be equally as crushed as Molly clearly was. "I'm sorry Molly," he murmured, rubbing comforting circles into her back, "I'm sorry."

Eventually the woman's tears subsided and in true Molly fashion she began to order her children about in preparation for their trip to St. Mungo's.

With the absence of the teens and Mrs. Weasley's hectic bustling in the kitchen Grimauld place fell into a peaceful silence. Early afternoon found Caelen, a pile of sweets and books nearby, sleeping soundly across her father and godfather's legs on the sofa.

"Going out again when the kids head back to Hogwarts I assume?" Sirius questioned in a resentful tone.

Remus sighed, he'd been expecting this conversation but had hoped to avoid it, at least until after Christmas. "Sirius you harp at me as if we were an old married couple." He tried in a cheerful tone.

Sirius glared, his expression unreadable.

"Yes I'm going out again once the kids are back at Hogwarts," Remus finally admitted unable to ignore the scowl directed his way.

"What exactly are you hoping to accomplish?"

"Sirius we've been over this time and time again! I'm trying to recruit the werewolves, or at the very least keep them out of the fight that's coming." Remus snapped uncharacteristically.

Sirius continued to glare, his expression slowly morphing into more of a pout. "How many months have you been out there? Don't you think if you were going to accomplish anything you'd have done so by now?"

"Sirius, if you're going to start this every time I show up I may as well stay out. I probably would already were it not for Caelen." The werewolf snapped, missing the wounded expression that crossed his mate's face. "And yes I have made progress! Malcolm, Izzy, and Jacob are three young werewolves that, had I not tried, would either be dead or in the employ of Voldemort now! As it is they're currently meeting with Albus, joining us, helping us! I have made progress Sirius, and you'll not convince me that my time and effort hasn't been well spent! If I don't make an ounce more difference, if I don't convince another soul to support us or stay away from Voldemort, I'll still feel I've been a success." Remus paused breathing heavily to reign in his temper and avoid waking his sleeping child. "I've saved three lives Sirius, friends, brothers, like we were, I have made a difference." By the end he was nearly whimpering, tears filling his eyes as he wished someone had been there to make a difference, to save he and his friends.

Sirius sighed reaching over to squeeze Remus' shoulder, "I'm sorry mate, I just don't like how Dumbledore is running things. Separating everyone, not filling us in. How're we to know how to protect one another if we don't even know what the other is up to? It's the same as before, had he just let us know what he'd sent you off to do we'd have had each other's backs instead of wondering about loyalty and being all secretive. If we'd trusted each other then maybe James and Lily would still be alive, or at the very least maybe I wouldn't have spent twelve years imprisoned for a crime I did not commit. Just seems like poor strategy to me."

Remus couldn't argue with that. As much as he trusted and admired Dumbledore, the old wizard had kept him from starvation several times, had given him a chance to attend school despite his affliction. Despite all that, however, Remus found he did question some of his more recent decisions, chief of which the lack of communication.

_________

Four days before the teens were set to depart for Hogwarts saw a very annoyed looking Severus Snape's reappearance in the ancient house of black. Caelen, who had wandered to the kitchen for an apple, was the only one about to greet him upon entry. "Professor Snape!" The child called happily rushing forward for a hug the professor returned with an awkward pat. "I've missed you professor! Oh! Hold on!" She gasped before rushing into the kitchen and back in a blur of purple pajamas. "Here you are professor. I couldn't buy you anything this year, I'm not allowed out of the house, so I made you this. Uncle Sirius refused to help me with it so I asked Molly when she arrived." She presented a messily wrapped, small square in black paper.

Severus glanced around uncertainly before quickly discarding the paper and peering into the little box. He pulled out a small carving that seemed to come alive in his hand.

"Uncle Sirius taught me how to carve things, he even gave me this knife!" The girl gushed holding out a small pocket knife. "It's us, making a potion see?" She pointed cheerfully at the pair of wooden figures, the smaller stood on the table peering into the cauldron, the larger watched cautiously his hand set to catch the child if she tumbled.

"It's great little one, thank you." Snape whispered placing the small figures into the pocket of his robes. "How are you? Sirius looking after you alright I trust? No more trouble with Kreature?"

"Nobody's seen Kreature since everyone arrived. Uncle Sirius thinks he's hiding upstairs crying over Mrs. Black's bloomers." Caelen giggled leading the surly professor into the dining room.

"What are you doing with my goddaughter, Snivilus?" Sirius snapped as the pair entered the room, causing Caelen to flinch in surprise.

Severus found himself placing a reassuring hand on the girl's shoulder. "Lurking in doorways are we Black?" He hissed in annoyance.

"My house, I don't have to lurk," Sirius responded simply strolling forward as if to place himself between Severus and Caelen. "What are you doing here?" He questioned angrily pulling Caelen towards him as he did.

Severus' eyes narrowed as Caelen stumbled under Sirius' hand. "Perhaps Caelen should run along before your hatred of me causes her undue stress." The potions master hissed.

Sirius moved to protest, angry that Snape would imply he'd do anything to hurt the girl. Caelen, however, had been warned by her father not to get between the two men and hurried from the room.

She sat quietly on the stairs, hoping to tell Severus goodbye. It wasn't long before the man exited the room scowling, his robes billowing behind as usual. Upon noticing Caelen the tiniest smile crossed his face. He paused at the steps dropping a small parcel in the girl's lap. "Happy Christmas Caelen," he murmured, "stay safe little one." With that the scowl returned to his face and he billowed dramatically out the door and away from Grimauld place.

Caelen smiled happily as she revealed a beginner potions book from the package. "Thank you professor Snape," she murmured quietly.

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Update!! Yay look at me! Took me long enough huh? I'm so sorry guys as you know we've decided to move and it's been just hectic trying to declutter and make our house sellable. 🙄 anywho here's your next chapter I hope you like it? I love love love your comments I know I've missed responding to a few which is unlike me I so very much appreciate your comments and feedback and try to respond to everyone if I can but again real life has been hectic. Sorry guys. Hope you enjoy this send me comments please? And I'll see you in the next chapter, hopefully quickly. Laters 😊