September 1st 1993

"I still don't see the point in this."

"Rachel," Andromeda glared at her youngest daughter as she crossed her arms over her chest and flopped down at the kitchen table. "You should learn to not be so ungrateful."

"I'm not being ungrateful." Rachel replied indignantly. "I just don't see the need for an Auror escort to get on the bloody school train!"

"Watch your language." Andromeda snapped. "This is for your own safety-"

"I highly doubt Sirius Black is going to attempt to snatch me away when I'm trying to get on the school train," Rachel spat back angrily. "I really don't think he's that stupid."

Andromeda opened her mouth to reply but her husband cut her off. "That's enough from both of you." He turned towards the young girl who was half-heartedly picking at her breakfast. "Rachel, you know fine well there's a possibility you could be in danger. Your mother and I just want to keep you safe. All we ask is that you let Dora and whatever Auror who is with her see you onto the train safely. Can you do that for us?"

Rachel sighed dramatically, hating that Ted had to always make her feel guilty whenever her and Andromeda got into an argument. "Yes, dad, I can do that." She glanced over at her mother, who was sitting, thin lipped and white with anger, on the opposite side of the table. "Sorry, Ma, I know you don't want anything bad to happen to me."

Andromeda's expression softened slightly. "We just want to protect you, Rachel. You know we've barely seen you all summer. Why you wanted to live here with Nymphadora I do not know, and now you're going back to school-"

"Andromeda," Ted said in a warning tone. "Leave off, eh? She's going back to school now, there's no use bringing up this old argument."

"But there is an old argument which can be brought up." Dora said, glaring at her mother over the top of the newspaper.

Andromeda rolled her eyes and glanced at the kitchen clock. "You best go and get ready Rachel, are you fully packed?"

Rachel scrunched her face up in thought, turning her hair lilac as she did so. Andromeda's eyebrows knit together whilst Ted and Dora shared a smile. Metamorphagy seemed to be a Black trait, rather than a Tonks one. "I won't be long."

"Good morning, Auror Shacklebolt." Andromeda said warmly. Tonks made some sort of joke concerning his earring and Ted shook his hand jovially. Rachel stood to the side watching with a rather sour expression and a sour taste in her mouth to go along with it. Did they actually think she needed two Auror's to escort her onto the bloody school train?

"Come along Rachel." Andromeda grabbed her by the elbow, whilst Dora slid her arm through her own. "Let's get you onto the platform."

Rachel bit her lip to stop herself from saying something cheeky, and allowed her step-mother to usher her through the barrier and onto Platform 9 and 3/4. The moment the train came into view, she felt a sense of relief. Once she got to Hogwarts, things would be okay. She'd be a seventh year and would be treated with respect and not treated like a little kid who couldn't look after herself. She turned to see Ted and Kingsley appear on the other side of the barrier, wheeling Rachel's trunk and her owl Moony towards the train.

"Look after yourself kiddo." Tonks ruffled her sister's hair and kissed her on the cheek. "I'll see you at Christmas, yeah?"

Rachel grinned and hugged Dora around the middle. "Kick those dark wizards arses for me. Don't work too hard alright? I'll miss you."

Dora felt herself begin to tear up. "I'll miss you too, write me?"

Rachel smiled and allowed Andromeda to pull her in for a hug. "Every week."

"Now you behave yourself this year, okay?" Rachel made a face. "I'm serious, Rachel. You're in your last year now, it's time to grow up a little bit."

"I'm Head Girl mum, in case you've forgotten." Rachel caught Tonks's eye and grinned. Andromeda had been crowing about "her little head girl" all week, she most definitely hadn't forgotten. "I can't exactly get myself in detention anymore, can I?"

Andromeda beamed with pride. "Yes, well, sometimes I think you're heading down the same road as Nymphadora. I don't want my baby looking for Death Eaters everyday-"

Tonks made a growling noise in her throat whilst Rachel rolled her eyes. "I've already told you I want to be an Auror like Dora, mum."

Andromeda's eyebrows almost disappeared into her hair. "You most certainly will not!"

"Leave off, Andie, let her live her own life." Ted hugged Rachel and patted her on the head. "Tell Oliver we said hello."

At that moment, she heard the faint sound of someone calling her name. "I guess I better go, it was good seeing you again Mr Shacklebolt."

Kingsley smiled and patted her shoulder briefly. "You too Rachel, enjoy your last year."

She hugged and kissed her family one last time before jumping on the train, where Ted had already stowed her trunk and Moony's cage. "See you guys later."

She waved one last time, before turning away, hearing a distinct popping sound as her family and Kingsley disapparated. Finally feeling free from the protective clutches of her mother, Rachel sighed with happiness and made her way through the train, on the lookout for her friends.

"Oi, Black, in here."

Rachel turned and doubled back, coming to a halt outside a compartment that housed three other people. Brenda Jorkins from Ravenclaw jumped to her feet and helped Rachel stow her trunk and owl cage above their seats, before Brenda flopped down, and turned to their two friends.

Clementine Spinnet was Rachel's fellow Gryffindor and hated her first name almost as much as Dora did, preferring to go by Tina and threatening bat bogey hexes to anyone who called her otherwise, whilst her twin sister from Ravenclaw, Bella, was almost as much of a Quidditch fanatic as Brenda, and spent half her days pining over Cedric Diggory, a sixth year Hufflepuff seeker with achingly pretty features and a nice personality to go along with it. Rachel had met Tina her first time on the Hogwarts Express, and through Bella, met Brenda, and for the past seven years, the four girls had been practically inseperable when not in lessons.

"Alright ladies." Rachel said with a grin, and was rewarded with three grinning faces in return. "As much as I'd love to stay and chat, I have a meeting to get to.."

"What the bloody hell is that on your chest?" Tina demanded. Bella took a closer look and let out a squeal.

"Who in Merlin's saggy left ear would name you Head Girl?" Brenda asked, mystified.

Rachel rolled her eyes. "Tell me about it. I always did say Dumbledore's off his rocker. Anyway I better go talk to the Prefects, I'll be back as soon as I can!"

After reminding the sixth year Prefects of their duties, and instructing the fifth years of theirs, Rachel turned to Percy Weasley with a smile. "That wasn't so bad, was it?"

Percy sniffed. "Listen, Rachel, I don't mean to be rude, but you have spent almost as much time in detention as my delinquint twin brothers... I hope you plan to change your attitude this year."

Rachel fought hard not to roll her eyes. "I promise I'll be good this year, Perce. Lighten up, another year of this place and we'll be free!" Percy didn't appear to share her optimistic attitude, and after another disapproving glance, Rachel suddenly understood.

"I'm not my father." She hissed as she slipped out of the Prefects carriage and went away to find her friends. She slid open the compartment door and flopped down next to Brenda. "Good summer lads?" She asked wearily.
"Oh yeah, the best." Brenda nodded enthusiastically. "Bertha and the folks wanted to go to Albania for a while, so we went there and..." Rachel zoned out halfway through her friends ramble about her summer holidays and instead took to staring out the window, imagining what could possibly be instore for her and her friends during their final year at-

"And what do you lot make of that Sirius Black escaping? Bloody barking that, innit?"

Rachel flinched slightly, and tried her best to cover it with a cough. Tina shot her a sympathetic glance as Bella nodded her agreement.

"No-one's ever done it before." Bella said with a solemn expression. "He must know some amount of dark magic to be able to get past the Dementors."

Brenda nodded her agreement, but Tina stayed silent, observing her friend with a knowing expression on her face that did nothing for Rachel's rapidly deteriorating mood. "Rach, you okay?"

Brenda and Bella shared a sheepish look, only just now realising the reason for their friends pro-longed silence. Rachel turned to them with a false smile on her face, and motioned towards the pack of cards Brenda had brought along. "Enough talk about depressing subjects, who's up for a game?"

Hours later, when they'd raided the food trolley and stuffed themselves with snacks, and frightened each other senseless by screaming needlessly when they heard word of a Dementor, Rachel decided to go looking for her boyfriend, Oliver Wood. She'd had enough girly gossip and badly veiled hints about Sirius Black to last her the rest of the night, and the last thing she needed was a fall out with her best mates first day back.

On her search for Oliver, she heard word about Harry Potter's collapse, and felt a small bout of sympathy stab at her chest. Poor kid, she thought, no-one'll even begin to understand the horrific memories he's got to re-live.

She finally found her boyfriend surrounded by all his Quidditch mates. But the moment he caught sight of her, he excused himself and followed her out onto the corridor, where she immediately wrapped her arms around him and buried her face in his chest.

"I can't handle this." She murmered. "Everyone's looking at me like I helped him escape or something."

Oliver frowned and kissed the top of her head. "Well then they're idiots. Just ignore them. You know you're nothing like him, and I know that, and Brenda and Tina and Bella know that. And your parents and sister know that. We're all that matters, okay?"

Rachel nodded, feeling instantly better. She reached up on her tiptoes to place a kiss on his lips. "Thank you, I have extra hope that you'll win that cup this year."

Oliver's entire face lit up, the way it could only do when Quidditch was being spoken about. She managed to last the rest of the train ride listening to his ideas for the team this year, before changing into her robes and disembarking the train. She stood beside Percy, but not quite next to him as they watched the students leave the train and hop aboard the carriages. Deciding to screw Percy and all that he thought, Rachel slipped into the carriage that held her friends, happy to leave Percy dealing with the students. Being Head Girl was daunting, but she didn't relish another year of disciplining the Weasley twins.

Well, trying to discipline the Weasley twins.

"You okay, you're being awful quiet?" Bella piped up as their carriage made it's way through Hogsmeade towards the Castle, where Rachel imagined a huge plate of roast potatoes and gravy before some chocolate pudding and then bed. She was rather tired, even though she'd done nothing all day except hang out with her friends, eat sweets and kiss her boyfriend. On second thought, she'd done quite a bit of hard graft to earn a decent meal and a good nights sleep. "Rachel?"

She glanced at her friends, who were staring at her in concern. Forcing a smile on her face, she replied. "I'm fine, just tired. I wanna get the feast over with and then get to sleep, I'm knackered."

She caught her friends sharing unconvinced glances, but didn't bother acknowledging them. They couldn't understand how she was feeling. No-one could. She didn't even know how she was feeling herself yet. It was hard to wrap her mind around. Her murderer father... on the loose... possibly close by. Would he try to contact her? See her again for the first time in twelve years? She didn't want to find out.

Settled at the Gryffindor table in between Tina and Oliver, she didn't bother looking up at the Staff table before resting her head on her arms. Between Andromeda's overprotectiveness, her tantrum that morning about the Auror guard and the responsibilities she was expecting to face now that she was Head Girl, it had been a long, long day.

"Hey Rach... isn't that your Godfather up there?"
Rachel's head shot up to glance at the staff table. Sure enough, there sat her Godfather, Remus Lupin. Catching her eye, he gave a short wave and a small smile, before turning his attention back to Professor Flitwick, who was explaining something to him while the rest of the students filed in from the Great Hall.

Rachel could hardly believe it. Remus? A teacher? Her teacher? It was so exciting and embarrassing and weird all at the same time. It would be dreadfully hard having to call him Sir all the time. And what would he do now at full moons? Would Remus let her spend the moon with him like he normally did during the summer? Or would the added risk of being amongst school children scare him into banning her from coming near him? She had so many questions she wanted to ask him, so many worries she'd like to tell him. But right now, Dumbledore was sending them all off to bed after a scrumptious feast. And she knew she wouldn't have time to talk to Remus until the next day. Hopefully she'd be able to have a chat with him during lunch or between lessons or something. But right now, the Gryffindor girls dorm room looked like it had an insanely comfortable bed with her name on it.

"Rachel." Tina pulled apart her bed hangings and pointed towards the window. "There's an owl for you, I think it's Tonks, that looks like a Ministry owl."

Rachel got to her feet and accepted the letter from the huge barn owl, wondering what sort of antics her sister could have possibly gotten upto in the space of a day. Tearing the seal and flattening out the parchment, Rachel couldn't stop the gasp from escaping her lips as she read over her sisters untidy scrawl.

"Bad news?" Tina asked in concern.

Rachel slowly tore the parchment into shreds and set it on fire, hardly believing her eyes as she relayed the words over in her head.

"Dora's been assigned to the Sirius Black case." Rachel said eventually, after taking a moment to calm down. "She's coming here to interview Remus..... he's their prime suspect."

Tina frowned. "I don't understand. If he's innocent... they won't have a leg to stand on, right?"

Rachel sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "I wish it were that simple it's just...." Rachel trusted Tina with her life. She was her best friend in the whole wide world and knew more about her than anyone else did... save maybe Dora. She'd never had to hesitate when divulging secrets to her best friend... until now. "Remus has certain secrets that no-one knows.... except me."

"And?"

Rachel sighed again and flopped backwards onto her four poster bed. "And.... if Dora finds out that I've kept important stuff like this from her, she'll kill me. First as a sister. Then she'll arrest me for withholding information to an Auror."

"But Dora's not fully qualified yet, she's just a trainee Auror." Tina pointed out.

Rachel nodded slowly. "Yeah, and I suppose if I explained things slightly, she wouldn't get the wrong end of the stick."

"So what's the problem?"

Rachel glanced over to her friend, barely noticeable in the darkness. "Kingsley Shacklebolt's coming with her."