I am SOOOOOO sorry that I let two weeks pass! I've been spending my whole day at college Monday through Friday and I spent the entirety of last weekend doing homework for my senior thesis.
Anyway, thank you to everybody who is favoriting and following this story! You give me strength to move forward!

Disclaimer: Elizabeth is mine. Regina is mine. My pants are mine. That's about all that is mine. Everything else (including my heart, soul, and sanity) are property of JKR.

Halloween in this chapter, and I think we all remember what THAT means. ON WITH IT THEN...

Halloween is a Hogsmeade weekend, but it's also a full moon. I tell my friends that my uncle isn't feeling well, and that they should go ahead of me and I'll meet them later.

I haven't had more than a few strained conversations with my uncle since the day I stormed out of his quarters, but it's a full moon and he's still my uncle, almost a father, and I can't go off to Hogsmeade without checking in on him.

I find him in his office, sitting at his desk and doing paper work, a pair of reading glasses perched on the edge of his nose. I can tell he's looking over them to read.

"Glasses? Really?" I ask, closing the door behind me.

"I'm afraid a few of my students have already seen me wearing them on my weaker days. They might find it strange to see that I suddenly don't need them to read," he pulls them off and folds them carefully, placing them in the pocket of his robes. I walk over and kiss his cheek, "Shouldn't you be in Hogsmeade?"

"Not without coming to see you first," I say, sitting in front of his desk.

"Oh, there's no need to worry about your old sickly uncle," he waves away.

"You are not old," I say firmly, "You are prematurely gray, which many women find attractive."

My uncle's eyes fill with what I call the Marauder glint, "And what country would that be in?"

"Mexico," I answer sarcastically.

There's a knock on the door before he can say anything else.

"Ah, that'll be the Grindylow. You go on to Hogsmeade with your friends, my flower. I'll be fine. Severus will bring me the potion later. It will help immensely."

"If it doesn't poison you," I mutter, standing up. He looks at me disapprovingly, "What?"

"I will be fine," he repeats, taking my shoulders and leading me toward the back door that leads to a tunnel connected to his quarters. "Go off to Hogsmeade, Elizabeth Rose. Take the shortcut. You shouldn't be going alone. The dementors will smell something particularly close to Sirius' scent."

"I've got chocolate," I hold out a bar that was in my robes, "And I'll try to keep away from them."

"Still, I would advise you find somebody else going into the village to walk with."

I sigh, knowing there'll be no winning, "Alright, Uncle Remus. Take care. I'll come and visit you as soon as I can. Tomorrow if I can."

"Either way, I'll see you at the feast," he smiles, touching my shoulder.

"The feast? Do you really want to risk that?" my eyebrows knit together.

"Yes, Doctor Worry, everything will be alright," he answers, "Now get out of here before I have to give you a detention!"

He ruffles my hair one last time and I walk out through the tunnel leading to my uncle's quarters. The teachers' quarters are off to the side of the entrance hall, except for Snape's who sleeps in his precious dungeons close to the Slytherins, and Hagrid who insisted on remaining in his hut. There's a door off to the side of the quarters which are close to the front gates. As I'm walking across the grounds toward the gate, a great bellowing of my name makes me turn around.

"Headin' ter the village, Lizzie?" Hagrid grins.

"Hello, Hagrid," I smile and wave, "Yeah, I'm heading to Hogsmeade. Are you?"

"On my way to grab a drink at Rosmerta's," he nods as he catches up to me, "What're you doin' out here all by yerself? Shoulda headed down with yer friends. The dementors are right nasty ta be walkin' past alone."

I smile and shake my head, "Hagrid, did my uncle ask you to walk with me to Hogsmeade?"

Hagrid goes slightly pink beneath his beard, "He mighta mentioned it."

"It's alright, Hagrid," I assure, eyeing the fast approaching front gates warily, "He's just looking out for me, I suppose."

"That's right," he says, "Wouldn' want anythin' ter happin to yeh."

The gates are getting closer, so I try to keep talking to Hagrid and step slightly closer to him, "I bet Honeydukes will be completely full today."

"Bein' the firs Hogsmeade weekend I expect it will be," he answers just as we pass the Dementors.

I focus hard on the warmth and color of Honeydukes, even as I'm plunged into a biting cold and everything starts to take on a grey tint. I push back the explosion that seems to be happening before my eyes with all my might, and try to open my mouth to speak as an unhinged laugh echos in my ears. My feet feel so cold…the ground is getting closer…

"Whoa there," a shake brings me back to my senses. Hagrid has set me on my feet before I can fall more than a few inches toward the ground. I must have stopped walking altogether, because we're still at the gate. Hagrid half pushes and half carries me for another three meters before I regain composure and begin to walk on my own.

"Thanks, Hagrid."

"Good thing yer uncle's bin lookin' out fer yeh," he says, patting my head with his giant hand.

"Yeah," I answer and take the chocolate bar out of my pocket, "Care for a bite Hagrid?"

"Just a small piece, then. You'll be needin' it more."

I break off a square of chocolate and hand it to the Gamekeeper. We walk the rest of the way into Hogsmeade in silence as I finish my chocolate bar. The streets are busy with both students and villagers.

"You got a meeting place with yer friends set up, Lizzie?"

"Er…yes!" I lie as a thought pops into my head, "We all need some Potions supplies, so we planned on meeting up at the Apothecary. I'll be going there now."

"Need me ter go with yeh?"

"No!" I answer a bit too eagerly, making Hagrid raise his eyebrows. "Err, no thank you, Hagrid. You go on to the Three Broomsticks and enjoy your drink."

"Alrigh' then. Take care o'yerself."

I wave at Hagrid and walk in the opposite direction toward the Apothecary. I hope the twins are still running about Zonko's and haven't headed toward the Three Broomsticks or I'll be discovered. I usually don't hide my shopping list, but I rather not have them worrying about me when they see what I need. I could get it from Madame Pomphrey, as well, but she'd probably tell my uncle, and then he would worry.

Luckily, there are no Hogwarts students in the Apothecary aside from a couple of Hufflepufs looking at basic potion ingredients. I'm glad I wore a jacket instead of my school cloak, and pull the hood of it over my head as I walk toward the front counter.

"How can I help you, dear?" the motherly witch at the counter asks.

"Er, I need something for insomnia," I say, keeping my voice low and trying to sound oh-so-innocent, "My mum's been having nightmares that wake her up every night."

"I have just the thing," she smiles, fumbling with jars and bottles beneath the counter and pulling out a light blue bottle, "This is a basic Dreamless Sleep Potion. Guaranteed eight hours of deep and relaxing sleep from the moment your head hits the pillow. Have your mother take one spoonful every night at bedtime, but make sure she'll be able to sleep the full eight hours, because if she's awoken earlier she could get some pretty nasty headaches."

"I'll tell her," I smile and pull out my money bag.

After I've paid for the potion and hidden it well within the confines of my purse, I head out to look for my friends. I walk for about ten minutes down the busy street before I hear five voices calling out my name. Katie, Angelina, Lee, Fred, and George are coming out of Dervish and Banges, running madly towards me. Lee is waving some strange object in my face going on about magic Cleanses.

"Where have you been?" asks George, "You took ages!"

"I got caught up with my uncle," I lie smoothly, "We hadn't talked in a while. Where are you headed to now?"

"Honeydukes!" Katie laughs, bouncing on her feet and flailing her arms about.

"Katie, how many butterbeers have you had?" I ask, looking at her rosy cheeks and bright eyes.

"They were three for the price of two before noon!" she giggles.

"And you had…?"

"She had about eight," Angelina laughs. I shake my head and take Katie's arm, leading her toward the sweetshop.

"Officer, I swear to Drunk, I'm not Merlin!" she laughs wildly. The boys practically fall to the ground in laughter, and it takes us a good twenty minutes to make the less than ten minute walk to Honeydukes.

After buying a Sobering Sour Candy Spray for Katie, we take our time buying treats from Honeydukes. I spend as much as I can manage on a basket for my uncle, laden with every type of chocolate I can think to get him. We head to the Three Broomsticks for lunch, making sure to order water for Katie, then go back to Zonko's when Fred realizes he forgot to buy more fireworks. By the time we finish, then take a walk down the village, and finally get back to Hogwarts, we have about an hour left until the feast.

I go up to the dormitory and shove my purse into my trunk, making sure that the Dreamless Sleep Potion is safely hidden under a few layers of undergarments. After a quick washing up and changing into our robes, Katie and I head back down to the common room ten minutes before the feast. Angelina and Lee have already left, leaving us to walk down with the twins. George quickly falls into step with Katie to take the mickey out of her some more, letting Fred and I lead the way.

"How's your uncle?" asks Fred.

"He was feeling a bit better," I answer, trying not to look at Fred's face, "He said he wouldn't want to miss the feast for the world."

"Who would?" laughs Fred. "But, Lizzie…"

"Yes?" I turn to face him. Something in his voice is suddenly hesitant, and his walking has slowed.

"Look, I…I don't mean to be pushy or…or anything, but you know your uncle doesn't have to hide forever."

I quickly swallow the lump that has formed in my throat and feel it clunk down into the pit of my stomach and grow into a tight knot. I twist my features into confusion, tilting my head and parting my lips slightly, "What are you talking about, Fred?"

"It's alright, I haven't told anyone. Not even George," he assures in a whisper, "But I was thinking about the Marauder's nicknames and I figured it out. Moony. THe moon."

I shake my head and walk faster, "You're not making any sense, Fred Weasley."

He catches my arm and whispers again, "You know I am, Elizabeth. And I'm sure people would be fine with…"

"Of course they wouldn't!" I hiss back, "Imagine what the parents would do if they knew. It was hard enough for him just to go to school here! Dumbledore planted the Whomping Willow over a tunnel that leads to the Shreiking Shack so he could hide out."

I look up and down the corridor, but it's practically empty. Fred must have led us down a different way without my even noticing, "That's why people think it's haunted. All the screaming and howling and breaking they heard was from…from a werewolf. Back then there weren't any potions that could help people with his condition. There's one now but very few people are even willing to make it. Dumbledore is letting my uncle teach here so long as he takes the potion every full moon."

Fred takes a step closer, and I realize that I've backed myself into a wall, and his hand is resting rather close to my head. I can see my face reflected in his bright blue eyes. They're a lot nicer than mine, which are muddled by flecks of grey and have always been too clear for my liking.

"Fred," my voice sounds scratchy and I can feel tears forming in my eyes as I plead with him, "You can't tell anybody. Please."

"You know I won't," he mumbles quietly, then clears his throat and stands up straighter, taking half a step back, "You have my word."

"Thank you," I straighten and take a step toward the staircase that's visible at the end of the corridor, "Shall we?"

"Please tell me you've got something planned for tonight," Katie says in a low voice to the twins as we pile food onto our plates at the feast.

"The fact that you could even doubt us is insulting, Miss Bell," George answers, cutting into a piece of roast.

"Just wait until Malfoy tries to cut into their roast pig," Fred wink.

Sure enough, no less than five minutes pass before one end of the Slytherin table starts to erupt in fireworks. Some of the teachers look worried. Snape looks rather sour. Professor Dumbledore is smiling widely, trying his best not to laugh along with the rest of us. Between bouts of laughter, I chance a look at my uncle. His eyes are glittering, but he's managed to keep a very serious face and behave as though nothing has happened. I look up at the sky in the ceiling, but there doesn't seem to be sign of the moon yet.

The pranks continue throughout dinner. Every plate of chicken wings seems to have had one wing that will turn into a rubber chicken on the second or third bite, making everybody proceed to eat their wings with a fork. I manage to stay safe until dessert.

"Hey, Lizzie, mint chocolate chunk ice cream," says Fred, passing me an empty bowl and pointing to a large mound of ice cream in front of us, kept cold with a cooling charm, "And look, there are plenty of gummy worms."

"George, quick, pass me the scoop!" I say in mock urgency and serve myself two scoops of minty goodness, "And it's from Diagon Alley!"

"How do you know if you haven't even tried it?" Katie laughs.

"Because Fortescue is the only one who adds white chocolate shavings on top," I answer, grabbing a handful of gummy worms to place atop the ice cream. The clouds shift above, making the candlelight and the stars flicker above us and reminding me of my uncle. I turn toward him and find him watching me, and have just enough time to notice the clever smirk on his face before…

SQUISH.

"Ugh!"

My eyes widen as I look down at my plate. The moment the gummy worms touched the ice cream, it all melted together into bright green goo, which is now bubbling and turning a deeper and deeper green, spilling over the top of the bowl with parts of it spilling into my lap.

"That wasn't us!" the twins say together.

I clench my jaw, resisting the urge to laugh along with everybody else, "Oh, I know who it was. I know exactly who it was."

The goo stops bubbling and smoking after another ten seconds, and my bowl is left with a round, green, jelly-like ball in the middle. I poke at it with my spoon, and am delightfully surprised when it stands up and squeaks.

"What is that?" Dean Thomas asks from Katie's side. I shrug, watching the little jelly thing with intrigue. It looks like a little chubby clay person, shaped a bit like a star. It's got a rounded end at the top for a head, two chubby little legs, and little arms with mitten-like hands.

"Hey, little fellow," I say in a small voice, and it squeaks again and waves at me. It looks around (although it doesn't have eyes) at the bowl, feels around the edge of it, squats, and does a perfect backflip out of it.

People start to crane their necks to watch my Jelly Boy do some more gymnastics, and walk by the places that were previously splattered with goo to pick it up, including my lap, leaving the place around me spotless and getting bigger with every piece of goo that it takes in. Once he's done a few more acrobatics, including running down the length of our table to jump and land on the head table, do a little dance for Professor Dumbledore with a nutshell for a hat, and blow a raspberry in my uncle's face, he calmly returns to my table, sits himself inside my bowl, and turns back into a mound of ice cream and gummy worms.

"That was brilliant!" Seamus Finnegan yells in awe after the show is over. I turn toward my uncle with a look that promises revenge, and he winks subtly while most of the hall applauds.

"I don't want to eat this now," I admit, pushing my ice cream away and grabbing some pumpkin pie.

The ghosts end the feast with some formation gliding and acrobatics before we're all sent to bed with full stomachs and buzzing heads.

"This has been the best feast we've ever had," says Katie as we walk back toward Gryffindor Tower behind Ginny.

I nod, linking my arm around hers, "I would have liked to keep my little ice cream glob, though."

We laugh, talk, and even sing all the way up the stairs, but when we reach the corridor that ends with the portrait of the Fat Lady, we're greeted by a mass of students, all deadly quiet and looking with wide eyes at the portrait.

"What's going on?" Ginny asks just as the Headmaster walks up behind us. Everybody moves apart to let him through, and I'm able to look through a gap of students for just a moment to see the tattered remains of the Fat Lady's portrait.

"Who in the name of…"

"Don't ask questions quite yet, my flower," somebody whispers behind me, and I turn to watch my uncle, Professor McGonagall, and Professor Snape walk past us toward Dumbledore. His words shake me, because I realize what he's thinking.

I half listen to what Peeves is saying to Dumbledore as horrifying thoughts of dark curses and slashed up students run through my head, until the Headmaster asks the most important question.

"Did she say who did it?"

"Oh yes, Professorhead. He got very angry when she wouldn't let him in, you see. Nasty temper he's got, that Sirius Black."

My vision blurs and all the sounds start to echo as if they're very far away. Somebody grabs my elbow to keep me balanced, and the contact seems to bring me back down to earth. Everybody is staring at me, of course. Some are looking for a reaction; others hold accusation in their gazes. Everybody starts to whisper, and it grows louder and harder to bear as we move toward the Great Hall. Katie still holds my left elbow, and Fred and George walk on my right, while Angelina and Lee follow directly behind me like a team of body guards.

"Do you think she helped?"

"Black couldn't have entered alone. She had to help him."

"No wonder she was so cheerful at the feast."

"How do you think they did it?"

"IF I WANTED TO HELP HIM I WOULD HAVE GIVEN HIM THE GODDAMN PASSWORD!"

It's out of my mouth loud and clear before I can control it, but every single Gryffindor goes deadly quiet. Fred and George turn around as if to say, "Anybody else?" and Katie links her arm around mine and starts to walk faster. When we reach the Great Hall, I walk past everybody to sit in front of one of the large stained glass windows to watch the moon fill out.

Fred appears next to me after a few moments alone, "Does he still stay in the Shack?"

"No. The potion lets him curl up in his office and fall asleep," I answer, removing my eyes from the great glistening orb in the sky, "Were you the only one brave enough to come sit here, or did you have to draw straws?"

He draws his knees to his chest and shrugs, "Neither. I had to convince them to let me talk you alone first. They decided that in the meantime they'd turn themselves into your personal team of bodyguards." He motions with his hand, and I turn to see that my friends have set themselves in a semi-circle, each about two feet apart, and making everybody give me a wide berth.

"They'll make great security guards someday. Maybe even put trolls out of business."

"Well, if the joke shop business doesn't work out…" Fred winks. I strain a smile and turn back to the window.

"Why? Why tonight? Was he hoping to surprise us by getting into the tower before anybody else?"

"I don't know, Lizzie. Maybe he didn't realize what day it was. I doubt he keeps a calendar handy."

I sigh and remain silent for a while longer as more students from the other houses enter the Great Hall.

"He's not after me, you know? At least, not primarily. Harry's his target. But who knows, maybe I'll make a nice second edition to the list. Or maybe he's so mad that he'll kidnap me and force me to do whatever twisted things it is he does."

"Don't say that," Fred says a bit forcefully, "Dumbledore wouldn't let him get more than two inches from the castle with you."

"Fred, Dumbledore and a pack of Dementors couldn't keep him out of the safest building in Britain," I whisper as teachers start to come in as well, "People are going to have to watch Harry and me every living moment until he's captured. Harry because he might kill him and me because they probably think I'm working with him."

"Look, the others are just…"

"They're doing what anybody else would, Fred," I answer, blinking back the sudden hot tears that have sprung into my eyes, "Hogwarts is nearly impossible to enter without some form of help from inside. He didn't strut into Honeydukes and crawl down a hole in their cellar. What would any of us think if it were somebody else?"

"Lights out in ten minutes!" Percy calls from the other end of the hall.

I get up silently and head toward the sleeping bags. Fred follows without a word to get a sleeping bag with the others, and we retreat back into our corner by the window. My friends form a similar barrier around me as before, hiding me from the rest of the hall. I don't linger to chat anymore, just turn toward the window with a half-hearted smile at my friends and pretend to be falling asleep.

Mum and Uncle Remus wanted to believe so badly that my father is an innocent man, but after tonight, what shred of hope do we have left? The man who broke into the castle tonight is not the man my mother married, nor the man who I grew up thinking of as Daddy. My dad wouldn't have been carrying a knife. My dad wouldn't have slashed through the portrait. My dad would have gone to find Dumbledore, to explain he was innocent, not barge in and demand to enter the tower before defiling its guardian. My dad wouldn't be here for revenge. He would be here for me. Slowly, I'm coming to a final conclusion about my dad: He doesn't exist.

I am precisely back where I started. Fatherless, only now it hurts just a little bit more to know that I didn't lose my father through some heroic act. He left me, because a group of power-thirsty cowards were more important to him than his child.

I don't even dare try to fall asleep. Not that I could if I wanted to, but I don't think I could stand the look on everybody's faces if I woke up screaming. Instead I keep thinking, keep seething, and keep silently crying, my eyes following the moon until it's risen out of sight.