1

Leo eyed the Azkaban guard with distaste fitting an heir of the House of Black. A mist emanated from its listless flapping robes. Beneath it was a patch of frosted grass that puzzled the neighborhood muggles. Their home had become a weather anomaly since the Ministry insisted on stationing the dementors by their front and back door. Now and again Leo heard them whisper about the dark clouds that never seemed to dissipate, and the fog and frost that was out of place in the middle of summer.

His mother had argued against the dark creature's placement at their home. An auror was all they needed, she had said. But the Ministry refused to budge. They didn't care about the effect of the dementors on their day-to-day lives. It wasn't their problem that every time Leo had to walk past them to leave home, memories of last year were wrenched back to mind.

A smeared red trail that led into Professor Cooper's office. His elderly body propped up against the wall, his wrinkled face slackened in permanent surprise. The cream coloured robes he favoured were congealed in the pool of blood he was sat in. A message of death written above him on the bricks, letters painted using what once provided the wizard with life. So strong was the stench of blood, Leo could taste the copper in the air.

That was of no concern to the Ministry. All that mattered to them was catching his notorious father.

He slammed the curtain shut with a shaky hand and backed away from the window. The whole situation was ridiculous, and at times felt like a nightmare come true. His mother had even considered pulling him out of Hogwarts and tutoring him herself. That had been a fun argument. But as soon as she realized how their new body guards affected him, she relented on the idea. His mum was serious about his education and safety, but not at the expense of his mental wellbeing.

"Leo!"

Giving the curtain a final glare, he turned to face one of his best friends. Artemis was running down the stairs like a troll was chasing her. She had a level of excitement on her face that he'd never seen before. Her dark blonde hair whipped around in its high ponytail as she leapt off the last two steps. "You'll never guess what I found!"

His eyes were immediately drawn to the silver bracelet on her wrist. Artemis was not a jewelry kind of girl. Even if she had wanted jewelry, which she didn't, her aunt and uncle deemed her unworthy of such luxury. His jaw tightened at the thought of Alecto and Amycus. They belonged in Azkaban with his father, but it seemed that being friends with the Malfoys meant they could get away with anything.

"What is it?" He squinted at the gleaming bangle. Tiny runes were engraved into the metal. If he was reading the letters right, they read Selene.

"It was my mother's," she touched the metal gently, "I found it in the box of her belongings. It was hiding at the bottom." Artemis looked around the room before meeting his eyes once more. In a lowered voice she said, "I can barely hear your mind right now."

"Are you serious?" Leo's eyes widened. In response she nodded vigorously.

"It's true! I think my mother may have created it herself, or something."

"Artemis, that's amazing!"

"I know. Oh, Leo, I'm so excited! With this I'll actually be able to stand sitting in the Great Hall for meals, and actually focus on my lessons, and-"

"You'll be able to come with us to the World Cup next year!" Leo grinned, her excitement infecting him.

Artemis rolled her eyes but if anything, her smile grew. She let out a small laugh, "Yes. That, too."

"Lily's going to be so happy for you." Leo could already imagine the look of excitement on their best friend's face. They wandered into the dining room where they spotted a tawny owl with talons clinging to a chair. The two looked at one another and almost ran to the bird. Artemis untied the envelopes slowly from its leg, making sure to be gentle. Leo stood beside her with mounting impatience. He bit his tongue to keep from making any critical comments.

She handed him an envelope with his name on it and he wasted no time in ripping it open. He glanced over the parchment.

"Did they not send the Hogsmeade Permission slip with the list?" Leo asked with a frown. His mum had been telling him about the wizard town all summer, and he was excited to finally visit. He double checked the envelope, but there was nothing else inside it.

"I didn't get one either." Artemis said in disappointment. "I wonder if it will be coming later, then?"

"Weird. Why wouldn't they send it now?"

Artemis shrugged. "I suppose we'll find out sooner or later."

The two were busy comparing their book lists when a knock came at the door.

"Leo, could you get that please?" His mum called from the kitchen.

"Okay!" It was probably their muggle neighbor, Mrs. Henry. Absolutely mad, that woman.

Leo walked to the door, and then turned to Artemis at the last second. He motioned toward his face. "It hasn't changed, has it?"

She shook her head.

Relieved that he hadn't subconsciously transformed, he steeled himself and opened the door.

But it was not Mrs. Henry. A man with greying hair stood on their porch. There was a pale scar lining his face. His clothes were frayed, and in several places patched with mismatching material. He looked at Leo as if he had seen a ghost. His mouth dropped open but no words came out.

"Um," Leo said after a moment passed. "Can I help you, or…?"

His voice seemed to snap the man out of his thoughts. He cleared his throat.

"I'm sorry. I wasn't expecting to see you, Leo. You look just like…" He trailed off and looked pained.

A surge of annoyance at the mention of his father made him clench his jaw. Why did everyone have to remind him of this all of the time? A scathing retort was on the tip of his tongue, but he barely managed to hold himself back.

"Was there something we could help you with, sir?" His grip on the doorknob tightened.

"I was hoping to speak with your mother, Elizabeth. Is she in?"

Leo nodded, relieved to end the conversation. "Yeah, let me call her for you." He shut the door and went to the kitchen. His mum stood at the stove, wand in hand, tasting what looked like pie filling. Did he smell apple? On another counter was a pie plate lined with dough.

"Who's at the door, dear?"

"I, um, forgot to ask." He cringed the moment the words left him. Stupid.

"Leo!" She sighed and shook her head. He could almost feel the disappointment coming off her in waves. With a flick of her wand the burner turned off. "Do we need to have this discussion again?"

"No, no," he said hurriedly. "No need. But, um, he's waiting for you on the porch, mum."

"He?" She raised a brow.

"Yeah. He recognized me, so he must be a wizard." If anything, his words upset her further. She shook her head again and gave him a stern look. He knew that look. It meant we're talking about his later. Without another word she bustled out of the kitchen. He didn't get a chance to tell her she had flour in her hair.

As Leo approached Artemis, who was sat on the living room sofa with her sketchpad, he heard his mum gasp. He paused mid-step. Curiosity overwhelmed him. With practiced ease Leo transformed his human ears into pointed dog ears. They twitched and he was hit with an overwhelming world of noise. Leo tried to tune everything else and focused on his mum.

"-many letters, Remus, and you never replied to them in ten years!" His mum hissed.

"I'm so sorry, Liz." Remus said. Leo frowned at the nickname.

There was a pause. Then his mum spoke again. "Let's not stay out here."

Leo moved further into the living room as he heard two pairs of footsteps enter their home.

"I'm assuming they're here because of him?" Remus said after the door shut.

"Yes." His mum replied. "I'm sorry about my son leaving you out like that. They-they affect him more than I thought."

"I read about what happened in the Daily Prophet. I'm sorry Leo had to see that."

"I never thought that he would have to go through something like that at Hogwarts. Never." His mum spoke with emotion.

"I must admit I'm surprised that Dumbledore was fired – especially when he and Professor Cooper were the ones who found and dealt with the basilisk."

"I know. I still can't believe it." There was a pause in the conversation. "Oh Remus, I'd like to properly introduce you to Leo, then we can have some hot cocoa and chat, yes?"

"Yes, of course. I'm afraid I didn't make a good first impression with him. In my surprise, I had mentioned how much he looks like his father. He didn't appear too pleased by the comparison."

Footsteps sounded. Leo quickly transformed his ears back and almost leapt onto the sofa. Artemis' arm jerked from the sudden movement. She looked up at Leo, unimpressed, and showed him the sketchpad. He cringed upon seeing the jagged black line that was supposed to be an eye. Before he could apologize, his mum entered the living room.

"Leo?" He looked up at her voice. "I'd like to introduce you to an old friend of mine. This is Remus Lupin. Remus, you've met my son Leo already, of course. The young lady next to him is his friend, Artemis Carrow."

He greeted Leo with a kind smile, but his expression turned to surprise as his gaze fell on Artemis. "Artemis... are you by any chance related to Selene Carrow?"

Leo looked at Remus sharply. Beside him Artemis stared intensely at the wizard. Whenever the subject of her mother was brought up her hazel eyes gained a hungry look. Leo supposed his would, too, if he knew nothing of his parents.

"She was my mother. Did you know her?"

Remus gave a slow nod. "We were in the same year at Hogwarts." He paused. "You look so much like her."

Artemis brightened at the words.

"We'll be in the kitchen if you kids need anything," Leo's mum said. "I'll be preparing hot cocoa as well, so feel free to drop by and have a cup."

...

It was dark out when Artemis carried her luggage down the stairs. As usual, Leo was sad to see her leave. He knew it was stupid. It wasn't like he wasn't ever going to see her again. In fact, the three of them were planning to meet at Diagon Alley before the first of September. But as he helped place her luggage into Mr. York's car, he felt the impending loneliness creep into his heart.

"Why's it so cold here?" Mr. York said, his breath visible in the night air. His arms were covered in goose-pimples and his hands shook. "You got some weather spell on the house?"

"Er, not exactly, Mr. York." Leo mentally sighed. It seemed Lily failed to explain dementors to her step-father. Though, he understood why she didn't. If his mum were a muggle, he wasn't sure how he would explain soul-eating creatures to her either without her pulling him out of school. His mind searched for an answer that wouldn't freak the man out.

"Leo," Artemis spoke.

"Yeah?" He was thankful to be distracted from having to answer Mr. York.

Her face was serious. Leo thought he could detect worry in her eyes. He was no legilimens like Artemis, but he had a feeling he knew what this was about. His muscles tensed in anticipation of her words.

"Please, be careful." Her voice was gentle. "I know you hate the dementors, I understand that believe me… but please try to stay inside? At least until they catch him?" Although it was dark, he could see her eyes shine.

"Artemis," he started.

"I don't want him to hurt you, Leo!" He could see the tears now. "You're my best friend, and a-a great person." Without warning, Artemis hugged him. "Please don't go wandering."

Leo bit back a sigh and rubbed her back as silent tears wracked her body. He lightened his tone a bit, "Hey now, I'll be alright. Anyway, I'm a metamorphmagus, remember? If I go out he'll never recognize me. Besides, we'll all be at Hogwarts soon."

"Promise me you won't wander off. Please." She sniffed, pulling away from the hug. "They're terrible creatures, but they'll keep you safe."

He couldn't help but think that they were the opposite of safe. His father had already gotten past them once. What made the Ministry think two of them could take him down this time?

She wrapped her hand around his wrist, bringing his mind back to Earth. "Please."

"I promise." He said.

Artemis gave him one final hug before leaving to Lily's house. As the car left their driveway, Leo couldn't stop the empty feeling from forming as it always did when his friends left. He shivered in the night. His eyes were drawn to the dementor floating next to the fence. As if it sensed his glare, it turned its hooded face and made an unnerving rattling sound.

The memories started flooding back. His hand shook as he unwrapped a chocolate he kept in his pocket. As soon as it melted on his tongue, warmth returned to his body. Leo hurried toward his home and slammed the door behind him.

I hope you enjoy the first chapter! I want to explore a HP AU where some of the other Marauders have children and how that can affect the wizarding world and, of course, Harry Potter and his story. My outline is ready, I just need to get writing. Any and all feedback is appreciated. Thanks!