"I owe you an apology."
The words came out before Violet could say anything, stopping her as she turned to look at me with wide eyes.
"I shouldn't have reacted like that the other night." I continued, my voice even, but lacking its usual bite. "What I saw... that was my problem. Not yours."
She opened her mouth, probably to deny it, but I didn't give her the chance.
"And I shouldn't have let my feelings affect you like I did." I added, quieter this time. "You didn't deserve that."
"No, I was the one who showed you the mirror! I was the one who caused the problem! I was... I was..." Tears were running down her cheeks as Violet tried to convince me that what happened had been her fault.
This irked me.
"Violet." I put my hand on her shoulder, halting her words while she hiccuped with tears. "What happened was not your fault. I reacted the way I did because I was not mature enough to control my emotions. Stop blaming yourself." I said strongly, but not unkindly.
"Please, do not taint what you saw there with tears because of my shortcomings." And then I pulled her close and hugged her, letting her cry on my shoulder.
For as long as she needed to.
-------------
The scratching of a quill against parchment filled the circular office, steady and unhurried.
Stacks of paperwork lay neatly arranged across the desk, each bearing the seal of the Ministry, the Board of Governors or one of the many departments that insisted on inserting themselves into Hogwarts affairs. Albus would have usually found such matters tedious at best, something to politically mess with those sending them in vengeance was a more prominent reaction though.
But this day, he welcomed them. They were simple and predictable, much like those who sent them.
Unlike certain children standing before ancient mirrors.
Even now, thinking about the oncoming meeting between Violet Potter and Sirius Black was making him feel at least twenty years older.
Two people he had failed. It wouldn't be inaccurate to say that they were the ones he had failed most alive except for maybe his brother Aberforth. Violet had spent ten years in a house where she had been abused, all because Albus hadn't been able to comprehend that the sister of Lily Evans would have had the heart to abuse an innocent little girl that she shared blood with.
And it would be easier to list the ways he hadn't failed Sirius.
The young man had spent his whole life rejecting the ways of his family, their mad obsession with dark arts and pureblood supremacy. Albus had watched over Sirius be the friend of James Potter for seven years. Sure, there were some moments where Sirius had shown certain similarities to the rest of his family; like the time with Severus. But he still had shown loyalty throughout his life in Hogwarts and the years beyond in the Order of the Phoenix.
And Albus had done nothing as he was imprisoned in Azkaban.
He could have come up with any kind of excuse like trusting his government or being far too occupied with keeping their society safe but what good would that be?
Excuses, much like regrets, did nothing to change the past or present.
Albus exhaled slowly through his nose before setting his quill down, the soft tap of wood against the desk sounding louder than it should have in the quiet office.
What mattered was what came next.
His gaze drifted to a single parchment set apart from the others, its contents far more important than the rest of the stack combined. A form of authorization for Violet's visit to Sirius' room in Saint Mungo's.
Amelia had several Aurors keeping guard around the room and the hospital and the street. The chances of one of Tom's still free followers, of which there were far more than he was comfortable with, trying to target Sirius was unacceptable. Even if Amelia's motivations were likely rooted in having Sirius take up the Black seat and cut off some of Lucius' political power. Not to say that she didn't care about Sirius' safety, only that her concerns were a bit more... militant.
Still, that did suit Albus just fine. Sirius was almost done with all of his tests to be declared a fit member of the society; meaning that he would be taking the role of a guardian for Violet. And then Albus could focus on more important things. Like how he is not supposed to go to Little Whinging and torture the Dursley family to either death or insanity. Even if this last school year did make him understand his father even better than before.
It would have been so easy. He wouldn't even have to do it himself. Just a single visit to any kind of newspaper or anywhere of similar origin and a little hint would all it take to have those wastes of space ruined.
And put Violet in the middle of a new scandal.
No, he couldn't do it to that little girl. Not after already causing her so much pain with his decisions. It didn't matter how much Petunia and her family deserved to suffer, the number one priority had to be Violet.
Not his desire to pretend he could make himself less guilty by hurting others.
His thoughts were cut abruptly as the flames in the fireplace flared emerald without warning.
Albus' gaze shifted immediately, wand already in hand before the head of Remus Lupin formed within the fire.
"Remus?" He said, calm but alert. "This is unexpected."
"Sorry for the intrusion, Albus," Remus replied, his voice carrying a tension that did not quite reach panic, but came close. "I wouldn't have called unless it was important."
Albus did not comment on the fact that Remus had made it clear in their last meeting that he didn't want anything to do with him unless it was important.
"I assume it is."
Remus hesitated for a fraction of a second before continuing. "She called me."
"...can you elaborate?"
"Madame Xanadu." Remus clarified, more quietly now. "She called me a few minutes ago. Asked me to inform you that she would be meeting with you when you will be accompanying the child of crossroads and that you needed to talk."
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