The twins' newfound freedom was strange, but very welcome. After the first day of confusion, Calla and Harry found themselves settling into life at the Leaky Cauldron and Diagon Alley. Uncle Moony had written a letter to them, asking that they explain fully to him what happened when they next saw him, and that he would be coming to pick them up to stay most of the rest of the Summer in two days' time. Once they'd written a hasty reply, Calla and Harry had set off into the alley, both to explore and to shop. When Calla had first come to Diagon Alley, she'd vowed that she'd get herself some nice clothes with the money she had in Gringotts. While the clothes in the Diagon Alley shops were far from the latest Muggle trends, she was determined to find somewhere she could get outfits that weren't either medieval or oversized hand-me-downs.

"I want to look at Worldly Wizardwear," she said to Harry, who looked utterly bored at the prospect. "Then if I can't find anything there, Madam malkin's, Twilfitt and Taffling's, and Chapman's."

"All of this," Harry said, gazing around at the street, "and you want to look at clothes shops?"

"You don't have to," Calla said, elbowing him in the side. "But I want something better than just my school things and Dudley's old clothes, and those hideous dresses Aunt Petunia gets me, wouldn't you?"

"I guess," Harry said as they passed Gambol and Jape, the joke shop. His eyes were clearly drawn to it, and Calla sighed.

"Just go look at you want to," she told him, and suppressed a grin at the relieved smile on his face. "I'll meet you at one for lunch, yeah?" She checked her watch: it was a quarter to eleven.

"Alright," Harry said, beaming as he stepped closer to the doorway of the joke shop. "I'll see you at the Leaky Cauldron, okay?"

She nodded as he disappeared inside, and she could turn her attentions to Worldly Wizardwear, which was on the other side of the street and along a bit nearer to the Gringotts bank. The street wasn't as crowded as it had been the last few times she'd visited, which she welcomed; Calla skipped along the alley merrily, and to the little blue storefront. The bell above the door chimed sweetly as she stepped inside.

There was a middle-aged woman behind the counter, chatting merrily away to someone in a back room. She turned at the sound of Calla's entrance and smiled broadly. "Ah, hello there, sweetie," she chirped, bustling over to greet Calla. "Can I do anything for you today?" The woman - her nametag read Corrine - smiled and her eyes flickered over Calla's shoulder to where the doorway was, and her smiled faltered a little. "No one with you today?"

"Just me," Calla said as cheerfully as she could. "I'm, er, looking for some more casual robes? Other than just the regular Hogwarts ones that I have, they're my only other... Non-muggle clothes."

"Of course, dear," said Corrine, and grasped Calla's shoulder gently as she turned. "Our girl's section's over that end of the store, and there are changing rooms just behind." She pointed along to Calla's left, where there were racks of brightly coloured robes. "Let me know if you need anything, alright, dear?"

Calla nodded and headed off in the direction that Corrine had pointed her. Rows upon rows of clothes confronted her, and the idea that she could buy some of them, and buy whatever she wanted, was more of a shock than it really ought to have been, she thought. They were categorised by tops and skirts and shirts and robes and cloaks and trsouers and vests and honestly, it was rather overwhelming. She picked things off the racks by colour, and gathered a rather large bundle of options. Then she made her way over to the changing rooms.

In honesty, most of it looked like a muddle. She grimaced at the hot pink robes that she'd thought would look nice but actually just looked ridiculous against her skin. That was a no. By the end she only had a few items picked out - a light yellow top, pale grey robes, light blue trousers, and a pair of black trousers, dark blue robes, a white blouse and a pretty violet shirt. She carefully placed everything else back on its rack and then headed over to the shop counter, clutching her bag of coins. Corrine peered at her curiously. "That'll be fourteen galleons, seventeen sickles." Calla counted the money out carefully, still not entirely used to it, and then handed it over to Corrine, who swiftly waved her wand and made the clothes fold themselves back up and dive into a bag. "There you are," she said, smiling as she put the galleons and sickles into a neat black money box. "Anything else for you today?"

"I'm alright," Calla said. "But do you know anywhere I could get some sensible shoes?"

Corrine looked like she was trying not to laugh a little. "Chapman's has a large selection if you want to try there. So does Twilfitt and Taffling's, but between you and me, they're rather expensive for the quality. I'd recommend Chapman's."

"Thank you," Calla said, smiling broadly as she took her bag. "I'll give them a try. Have a nice day, miss!"

She felt giddy as she skipped out of the shop - so giddy, in fact, that she almost crashed into someone going past. "Oh, I'm so sorry- Padma!"

Padma turned just as Calla yelled her name and squealed, rushing to hug her, almost bowling Calla over in the process. "Calla!" she cried in her ear, loud enough to deafen. "How are you?"

"I'm alright," Calla said, excitedly. "How are you? I didn't think I'd see you, is Parvati with you? How's your Summer been, we haven't spoken?"

"Oh, it's been lovely," Padma said. "But what about you? Have you seen the news? My mum said-" she dropped her voice and held Calla's arm. She knew what was coming. "She said Sirius Black's gotten out."

"I know," said Calla. 2It was on the muggle news too, everyone's worried." She bit her lip. "is it true he supported You-Know-Who?"

Padma glanced around nervously, and then nodded. "That's what everyone says, anyway. Mum didn't want us to come out today, but Parvati and I said he's hardly going to come to Diagon Alley in the middle of the day, is he, if he doesn't want getting caught?" She winced. "She's probably going to yell at me for disappearing off. Want to come with me to find her and Parvati? I think we're getting ice cream."

"I said I'd meet Harry at one o'clock," Calla said awkwardly, checking the time - quarter to.

"Well, he can come to then!" Padma cried excitedly. "Come on, Calla, I haven't seen you in a month and it feels like ages! Mum'll want to see you, too, make sure you're okay."

With a small grin, Calla said, "Alright. Let's find him - he's probably in the joke shop or looking at some sort of Quidditch thing."

"Oh, yeah, apparently there's some fancy new broom that's just come out," Padma said, as they headed back down the other direction of the alley. "I spoke to Mandy the other day, she said she's excited to see what it's like. You know she's trying out for the Quidditch team this year? But apparently Davies has already decided who he wants on his team, and he's only wanting boys." They both rolled their eyes. "I don't think any boy could beat the three Gryffindor chasers though."

"Don't tell any of the others I said so," Calla said in a mock conspiratorial tone, "but I think Gryffindor might win this year." She thought a moment, pursing her lips. "Also don't tell Harry, I've been denying it all Summer."

Padma laughed loudly and linked her arm through Calla's. "Your secret's safe with me. Oh, there's Harry!"

Calla looked in the direction Padma was looking and waved widely. "Harry!" she yelled down the alley, and her brother turned, smiling first at her and then beaming at Padma as he rushed towards them.

"Padma!" he said, grinning. "Didn't know you were coming here today!"

"I didn't know you guys were," Padma said, grinning. "I'm here with mum and Parvati - do you want to come for ice cream?"

Harry blinked in surprise. "Yeah, sure, I guess."

"Perfect!" said Padma, beaming. "Come on, mum'll go spare if I take much longer."

They made their way briskly back up the alley to Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour, where Parvati Patil was standing impatiently next to her and Padma's mother. Though at first she looked very cross, she brightened into a smile when she saw Calla and Harry, and was more than happy to chat away to them as they got ice cream.

It felt like no time at all before they were done and it was approaching two o'clock. "We had best start heading," said Mrs Patil. "My sister and her family are visiting later on, and we ought to get back in time to prepare."

Padma sighed. "Do we have to, Mum?"

"Yes," said Mrs Patil firmly, "I'm afraid we do." Then she turned to Calla and Harry. "But it was lovely to see the two of you. You are... You do have somewhere to stay, yes?"

"Oh, Yes," Harry said quickly. "We're staying at the Leaky Cauldron for a bit before Uncle Remus - Calla's godfather - picks us up and we can stay at his for the next couple of weeks."

"Right," said Mrs Patil, though she still looked a little wary. "Well, I'm glad you seem to have everything in hand." She handed a handful of coins to Parvati. "The two of you couldn't go on and pick up some Floo Powder before we head home, could you?"

"Mum-" Parvati protested.

"Now, don't start your complaining, Parvati. It won't take you two minutes."

"Fine." Parvati rolled her eyes, and she and a giggling Padma set off across the street to get Floo Powder.

"Now, while I have the two of you a moment," said Mrs Patil, "I know you'll have heard the news about Sirius Black, and I know the girls will have doubtless told everything they can, but I feel I must say something. You've both been in a great deal of danger the past two years, and Padma I'm sure hasn't even told me the half of it. I don't pretend to know everything, but please, the two of you, Black is dangerous. No matter what you're told and what you think, you must take care of yourselves." She looked down. "Perhaps it isn't my place, but bear it in mind, few places are safe at the moment. I'd half a mind to keep the girls at home today." She looked at then sternly. "No doubt Remus will be able to say more, but the two of you stick together while you're here, yes?" They both nodded. "Good. Now," she said, brightening as she straightened up, "there's the girls coming. What's Parvati got - another hair clip, gracious." She smiled fondly. "Do the two of you have any plans for the rest of the day?"

"I was just going to do some of our homework," Calla said quietly, and Mrs Patil smiled.

"I wish Parvati had the same dedication." The twins returned into the parlour, Padma looking disgruntled.

"I swear she can't go anywhere without buying a hair clip," she muttered to Calla. "Look at it, who wants a jewelled frog in their hair?" Calla giggled, knocking Padma's side.

"Well, we'll be off. I trust you'll both be in touch," said Mrs Patil, looking at them sternly. Calla nodded assuringly. "Good. Enjoy the rest of the Summer, or until we see you next - I'll see if we can have the two of you over someday soon, alright? And ask Daphne, too, of course."

She beamed, and Padma whispered, "She's decided she really likes Daphne now."

Calla laughed. "It's sweet."

Padma pulled a face. "It's weird. She keeps thinking she's cool."

"Padma!" called Mrs Patil, as she and Parvati stopped on ahead. "Come on, now." She beamed just before they ducked around a corner. "Stay safe, you two."

After the Patils departed, Harry turned to Calla. "We need to get the rest of our books," he said. "I've really just remembered, but I have to get my new books for Divination and the Standard Book of Spells."

Calla nodded. "I'd been thinking we could do it later with Uncle Remus, but if you want to get them now, we can." Harry nodded, and the two of them set off in the direction of Flourish and Blotts.

They headed into the shop and the little bell tinkled overhead. Calla felt immediately more at ease among the books, strange as that sounded. She said as much to Harry, who looked at her like it was indeed very strange. "You sound like Hermione," he said, frowning.

Calla shrugged. "I like Hermione."

"I do too," Harry said. "But it's still weird."

A manager came hurrying towards them as they pulled out their booklists: while Calla already had her books for Divination and Care of Magical Creatures (the teacher had set the Monster Book Of Monsters), she needed books for Ancient Runes and for Transfiguration, as well as the Standard Book Of Spells, Grade Three.

"Hogwarts?" he asked abruptly. "Come to get your new books?"

"Yes," Harry said quickly, "we need-"

"Get out of the way," he said, brushing past them. Calla leaped back in surprise. He put on some thick brown gloves and reached into a cage where bound leathery copies of the Monster Book Of Monsters were snapping about at each other.

"Oh, no!" Calla said, stopping him. "We've already got those ones!"

The manager stepped back and seemed to sag in relief. "Oh, Thank goodness. I've been bitten five times this morning already. Anything else I can help the two of you with?"

"Er, yes," Harry said. "I need Unfogging the Future by..."

"Cassandra Vablatsky. I don't need that, but I need Ancient Runes Made Easy by Lauren Zoo, the Rune Dictionary, Magical Hieroglyphs and Logorithms and Spellman's Syllabary."

"Divination and Ancient Runes, eh?" asked the shopkeeper, taking his gloves off as he led the two of them to a back display, full of books on all manners of Divination.

Calla stared in wonder. Titles such as 'The World of the Future', 'Predicting the Unpredictable: Insulate Yourself Against Shocks', and 'Broken Balls: When Fortunes Turn Foul', leapt out at her.

"Oh, you don't want that," said the shopkeeper to Harry as he pressed a book into his hands, gesturing to a book entitled 'Death Omens: What To Do When You Know The Worst Is Coming' featuring a great, hulking, and all-too familiar black dog on the cover. "Read that and you'll start seeing death omens everywhere."

But Harry had gone exceptionally pale. He gave Calla a very significant look that plainly asked if she thought the dog that they'd seen was an omen. She shook her head. "Omens," she told Harry, turning him away from the book on display, "are incredibly unreliable."

"But you don't think-"

"Harry, it wasn't a death omen," Calla said as firmly as she could. At least, she didn't think it was, and that was the best that she could do. "You're fine."

"Are you sure, because that looks a lot like-"

"If you were going to die," Calla said under her breath, "don't you think you would have by now?"

Harry stared at her, probably surprised. "That's not very cheerful."

"Oh, come on," she said, flinging Unfogging the Future and The Dream Oracle into his basket. The shopkeeper has already gone on to find her Runes books, and she hurried after him. "I need my other books, too."

XX

It was a few days later when Uncle Remus arrived at the Leaky Cauldron. Harry hauled his trunk down the stairs after Calla, half of his jumper sleeve hanging out from the space under the lid. Calla rolled her eyes. "You seriously need to start packing earlier," she told him, and he pulled a face.

"It's fine," Harry muttered. "It all fit in, I just had to... Cram it a little bit."

She scoffed. "A little bit? If you folded things, it'd be so much easier-"

"Leave it, Cal," Harry said, rolling his eyes with a huff.

"I'm just trying to help," Calla said chirpily, as the Leaky Cauldron fireplace ignited in green flames and a figure stepped out.

A smile split her face as Remus entered. "Uncle Remus!" she called to him, waving widely. "Over here!"

He turned to them and his wan face broke into a seemingly relieved smile as he strode across the room. "Calla!" he cried, "Harry!"

They both rushed to him, and Calla squeezed him into a tight hug. "How are you, we-"

"I should be asking you that," he said tersely, and Calla frowned as she stepped away, looking at him. Harry looked sheepish. "What were you thinking, running away from Privet Drive? Anything could have happened!"

"I'd blown up Aunt Marge!" Harry said. "We couldn't stay, Uncle Vernon-" He tensed, dropping the words he was about to say. They didn't go into specifics about the Dursleys, and Uncle Remus looked stressed enough as it was. "He was furious."

"Even so," said Remus. "We'll have a talk about this when you get back to my house, not here." His eyes flickered around the room, as though he was looking for danger. Calla frowned, and glanced to Harry. She supposed he was right to be worried, now that she knew what she did about Sirius Black. She shivered. "Come on now, then," he said. "Is there anything else you need to get while we're here?" They both shook their heads. "Alrighty then. Let's get the two of you home."

They dragged their cases behind them to the Floo, and stepped inside. Calla hated the feeling of it; it was hot and cramped and turned her stomach, and it was even worse than Apparating. She stumbled out of the fireplace in Uncle Remus' living room, and coughed the smoke out of her lungs as she leapt onto the carpet. Harry bumped into being a split second after, and grimaced as she dragged his trunk into the room. "I hate that," he groaned, as Uncle Remus stepped effortlessly out of the fireplace.

"You'll get used to it eventually," he assured him with a smile. "Still makes me feeling a bit nauseous, though, I do have to say."

Calla grimaced. "it's awful."

Remus laughed loudly. "Right, I'll get some food going for you while you unpack your things. Harry," he said, with a glance at his trunk, "please watch that sleeve that's hanging out the lid."

Harry scowled and Calla laughed, with a smug smile at her brother.

XX

When they traipsed back down the stairs after unpacking (Harry took much longer, due to the fact his trunk was never organised in the first place), Remus was waiting for them with bowls of lentil soup. Calla broke into a grin, eyes lighting up as she and Harry went to sit at the table. "Well," Remus said, as the three of them started to eat, "bring me up to speed, I still don't have all the information?"

The twins glanced at one another, and Calla nodded, deciding to let Harry take the lead. "Well, Aunt Marge visited," he said, already grumpy. "We tried to be on our best behaviour, we really did, but-"

"But she's Marge," Remus said, nodding with a knowing smile. "I understand. Go on, Harry."

"She started going on about Mum and Dad, she-" Harry clenched his fists- "she called them useless, and wastrels, and she called Calla lazy, and she started talking about them - saying they died in a car crash, and they were drunks, and- and-"

"I see," said Uncle Remus gently. "So you left?"

"I..." Harry glanced at Calla nervously. "I sort of... Blew her up?"

Uncle Remus looked like he didn't know whether to laugh or tell him off. "Yes?" he said in a slightly strangled voice.

"Like a balloon," Calla said, biting her lip. "It was accidental, obviously-"

"But Uncle Vernon was furious," Harry said. "And there was yelling, and - and we just had to get out. We weren't going to stay there any longer, so we left."

"Harry..."

"I know it was impulsive," Harry said quickly. "But I couldn't stay there! We couldn't stay there!" Calla nodded hastily in assent.

"And we're safe now," she said, in an almost pleading way. "We went to Magnolia Crescent and then we hailed the Knight Bus and came to the Leaky Cauldron and Fudge met us and you know the rest of it."

Remus looked like he was considering them very carefully. "We're not going back," Harry added boldly. "We can't, and we don't want to anyway."

There was a moment of silence before Remus spoke. "There's a lot I haven't told the two of you about your parents' and I's time at Hogwarts. Much of that was because, well, I honestly thought it was too sad for you to be told. You didn't need to go into Hogwarts knowing what happened to us after we left."

Calla and Harry exchanged confused glances. "Yes?" Calla asked uncertainly. "What... What did happen?"

"You know your father and I were best friends at Hogwarts, and that he and your mother became an item around the end of our sixth year." She and Harry both nodded firmly. "In those days, there were many more people at Hogwarts. Your year is... Small."

"Because of the war?"

He nodded grimly. "Because of the war. We still enforced five to a dormitory, and there were maybe thirty of us Gryffindors in my year?" There were barely more than thirty students in Calla's year, she realised - the nine Gyffindors, ten Ravenclaws, nine Slytherin, eight Hufflepuffs. "We had a dorm of five, us and another boy, Kingsley, but there was four of us that were closest. Kingsley was quieter, had a lot of friends in Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff, and he thought your father rather a show-off." He laughed at the appalled look on Harry's face. "He wasn't always wrong. But he was nice and we all got along well. The other two boys were Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew."

Cala and Harry both took in deep breaths. "Mrs Patil told me about him!" Calla said. "He... I didn't know you were friends. I thought he..." Well, she'd thought he must have been a Slytherin, to go over to You-Know-Who.

"Gryffindor," said Remus sadly. "Sirius and your father were best mates from the first time they met. It was surprising, maybe - Sirius was from the most ancient pureblood house, and James was a new money blood traitor. Everyone thought Sirius would be in Slytherin, but he wasn't; he wound up with us in Gryffindor. I didn't like him much at first - Well, I didn't really like any of them but Kingsley. They were all, even if James liked to forget it, purebloods, and more than that, they were all posh gits." Calla giggled. "Peter was nice though, a bit shy and a bit nervous, but we got along well and before I knew it, I'd gotten myself dragged into the loudest group of boys in the school when all I'd wanted to do was to fly under the radar."

Calla thought that was a bit like her. She didn't want to be known at Hogwarts or get into mischief, but her brother always dragged her into his adventures and at this point it was just a given that she'd be there.

"I didn't know your mother very well until about fourth year. We spoke, but that was mostly through James, who had liked her for about as long as any of us could remember. The five in her dormitory were near inseparable, but got up to far less mischief than any of us did." He swallowed deeply like there was a lump in his throat. "There was Dorcas, Dorcas Meadowes. Very quiet and very pretty, and she was excellent at Ancient Runes. Then there was Mary MacDonald, a muggleborn too, she was possibly one of the funniest people I've ever met. There was Alice Fortescue, your godmother, Calla, and one of the best Herbologists in our year. I think-" he broke off as if to collect his thoughts "-had it not been for the war, I think she might have been one of the greatest Herbologists of our age. She and your mother made an excellent team, a Herbologist and a Potioneer. They were quite the force to be reckoned with. And then there was Marlene McKinnon - your godmother, Harry. Oh, Marlene was brilliant, the only one of them who really joined in our pranks, she could come up with ideas to rival all of us out together. She was an exceptionally talented witch, they all were." He looked down and Calla worried over the words in her throat. She'd never met Alice, or Marlene, and Sirius was in Azkaban. Their fates, she worried, wouldn't be much nicer than her parents'.

"What happened to them?"

Remus pursed his lips like he was wondering where to begin. "Well, Kingsley's an auror now," he began. "Quite a good one, too. Mary's married and lives a quiet life, she comes around for tea when she can. Marlene and Dorcas, I'm afraid to say, were killed in the last months of the war." Calla gasped involuntarily. Her stomach tumbled in on itself. Maybe she should have been prepared, but she wasn't.

"And - and Alice?" she asked.

Remus sighed heavily. "You must promise not to share what I'm about to tell you," he said first, and she and Harry both nodded. "Alice married a man called Frank Longbottom. We were all in the order together, and they had a son just the day before you were born."

Calla felt like she'd just been doused in cold water. "Neville?" But he lived with his grandmother.

"Yes," Remus nodded. "Neville. Just after the war ended, a couple of death eaters, Rodolphus and Bellatrix Lestrange, went after them. They tortured both Frank and Alice-" he closed his eyes with a sad, low sigh "-into insanity."

Calla clasped a hand to her mouth. "That's horrible!" she whispered, thinking of Neville, the boy who always lost his toad and who always tried his best to be brave, and whose parents had met what may have been a worse fate than her own. "Poor Neville..."

"Now," Remus said sharply, "you must not say anything about this to Neville. I doubt he would want you to know if he didn't say."

"We won't," Calla said quickly. "We promise."

Remus nodded. "Very well. The four of us, though... Sirius was, until recently, in Azkaban for the murder of thirteen muggles. And please remember, both of you-" though he looked at Harry specifically -"I am telling you because you ought to hear it from me rather than from anyone else. When I tell you what happened, you must promise me that you won't do anything rash or stupid."

"We won't," Harry said, surprisingly solemn.

Remus nodded, then cleared his throat, swallowing deeply with a sort of wince. "I've already said Sirius was your godfather, Harry. He is, technically, named as the first legal guardian of both of you - in the event of his death it was meant to revert to me and then to Peter, but as he is alive, I do not technically have guardianship. Dumbledore chose your placement with Petunia and Vernon, and I regret everyday that I could not fight for it more, in those days immediately after the war." His eyes shone, and Calla's heart fell.

"It's okay," she said quietly. "You-"

"No, it's not," he said. "I... He walked out of his home, too. Ran away. He shouldn't have been in the situation he was, and neither should the two of you. I won't let Dumbledore force the two of you to return to Privet Drive, I promise." There was something heavy on the edge of his voice.

"But to continue. When we realised Voldemort was after you, Lily and James had to go into hiding. Dumbledore suggested the Fidelius Charm, so only one person would be able to tell someone their location; the Secret Keeper."

"And That was... Him?" Harry asked, disgust and fury on his face as pieces clicked into place for both of them.

Remus nodded, head heavy. "Yes. And I - I wish that it had been me, that I had been brave enough to take the mantle. But I had a different mission, infiltrating the werewolves, and I... I couldn't be there. He told Voldemort, you see."

"And then he found us," Harry said. Calla felt like the air had been taken from her chest, and a rope was strangling her neck. "He betrayed them!"

"Yes," said Remus, head hanging. "I should have... I should have seen it. We went together to the house, to find you and take you with us, and Hagrid came in and interrupted and Merlin, I was too grief-stricken to see Sirius truly, to realise how it had happened, and to think if Hagrid hadn't shown up when he did..." He choked on his words.

"Uncle Remus?" Calla said gently. "Uncle Remus, it's alright. We're safe."

"No thanks to me," he said quietly. "To think what might have happened... Sirius was furious, and I didn't realise it was of grief for his master, not for your parents. He went mad. I disappeared but he - he found Peter. He killed him and blew the street apart, killed another twelve people." A shudder went through Calla, even worse than it had been before. "All they could find of Peter was his finger."

Calla didn't really want her soup anymore. Both she and Harry was too stunned and lost for words. Remus bowed his head. "I'm sorry. I had to tell you."

"Yeah," said Harry in a hollow voice. Calla nodded too, feeling numb.

"But you see now why you're both in so much danger," Remus said quietly. "To run away from your aunt and uncle, you placed yourselves in massive danger, and exposed yourselves. Anything could have happened." She supposed asking for him to sign her Hogsmeade form was slightly out of the picture now; but suddenly she didn't want to go outside anywhere Sirius Black could find her. "I hate to have to tell you this, but Sirius... He is dangerous, to the two of you most of all. You two need to stay safe, understand?"

They both nodded sombrely. Calla's stomach was churning at the thought of Sirius Black, out there, somewhere, lying in wait for her and her brother. It chilled her, and there was a familiarly unpleasant feeling in her stomach, like something bad just waiting to happen. She looked between Remus and Harry nervously, and tried not to think about it; a task that proved impossible.

Xx

The rest of the Summer passed in an uneasy sort of happiness. As they hadn't had any exams last year, they had no results to worry about, and they were more or less both sorted for their school things. It should have been the perfect Summer, except for Sirius Black. Neither of them could get him out of their heads, and Harry seemed caught between fury and terror. Calla was herself, completely terrified at the thought, and the memory of his face on the news kept haunting her dreams. Those wild eyes, eyes that had looked at a street of muggles and destroyed it, the eyes that had once met with Voldemort's and handed him the secret of their whereabouts. Eyes that had lied to their parents, and Remus, and Peter Pettigrew, and had cost three of them their lives.

She couldn't pretend like it didn't scare her, and while she knew she was safe with Remus, she was nervous Sirius Black might find them, to kill them. Letters from her friends took her mind off it a little bit, but not enough. She and Harry both struggled sleeping some nights.

When it reach the 30th of August, the day before both Ron and Hermione were to return from their holidays, they began to pack their things for Hogwarts, and for their stay at the Leaky Cauldron. The 31st and the 1st were both full moons, and tomorrow would be the harshest night on Remus. As such, the two twins were going back to stay in Diagon Alley before they met him again in the morning to get on the train.

"Right," Remus said, as they went over to the Floo after dinner. He was already looking wan. "I don't think I have to tell you, but I will anyway. Keep to Diagon Alley - no ventures into dodgy side alleys - and when the Weasleys arrive, go and greet them and do as Molly and Arthur tell you to. I'll see you at half past ten between platforms nine and ten. If you're running late, send an owl and tell me, alright?"

They both nodded. "Alright." Remus handed them handfuls of Floo powder each. "Now on you go. And be safe."

A/N: Sorry for the delay in updating, uni is kicking my ass but I'm almost finished this semester and have a long Christmas break so hopefully more chapters should come soon! I've got most of the first back at Hogwarts chapter done, but the chapter between this one and that one is not started, so yeah. Hopefully I'll have another chapter up by the end of the year! :)