Huddling on the ground bent into the fetal position, Piper was tucked into the corner of the kitchen. She had crawled into this location in seek of the comfort the false sense of security lent her. Dried tears stained her cheeks leaving them parch and dry. Her limbs refused to cease their trembling.

It had been horrible.

Her father, Duff MacPherson, had found a new spell, ever the explorer. As a retired scientist of sorts, the aged man had been eager to practice the spell. This spell- this hex- this curse was a mild variant of the cruciatus curse, as he had informed her before performing the spell. It had the same effects as the cruciatus but with the added commodity or isolating the body part being tortured. Piper was still in such a state of panic-stricken shock that she had yet to locate the origin of the excruciating pain.

Taking cautious steadying breaths, Piper sat up slowly, leaning her back against the cheap cabinetry, and bending her legs, bringing her knees to eye level. She squeezed her arms in between her legs and abdomen, and then placed her head in her hands. Her head vibrated on the shaking foundation of her palms. Piper concentrated intently on forcing her hands to steady. Her efforts were futile. The more she attempted to cease their shaking the more violent the trembling escalated. Determinedly she removed her hands from her head and placed them under her knees squeezing them between her calves and her thighs in an attempt to quench the shaking. She was successful.

Now she focused on normalizing her erratic breathing. She won this battle with much more ease than her subsequent venture. After she regrouped, she leaned forward until she was on her hands and knees. Reaching and placing one of her hands on the nearby countertop, she pulled herself to her feet. Once drawn to her full height she reached a tentative step forward.

The exact moment her foot made contact with the ground an electric shock like pain traveled from the sole of her foot to the nape of her neck. Whit it did to the spine during its journey was unbearable. With a sharp cry Piper doubled over, over balanced and fell once again to the floor. She braced her palms readily, and caught herself before she crashed into the filthy linoleum.

Her spine.

He had cast the spell on her spine. She could feel it now, a lingering ache stinging her vertebrae. She wrapped her arm around her back and pressed her fingers lightly to her spine. She was testing her back, its resilience to the pain, and was pleased to find there was none. She challenged her discovery, pressing harder. Nothing happened. Flexing her spine experimentally she leaned back and pushed herself to her feet, without suffering any anxiety. Exiting the kitchen gingerly she peered into the parlor and discovered vacancy.

She crossed the stuffy room to the staircase, gaining ease and speed as she did so. At the base of the steps she distinctly heard the shuddering snore emanating from the second level of her home. Climbing the steps quickly she did not even bother herself with inconspicuousness. Her father had probably drunk himself into a coma after his exercise and was in no danger of waking until late tomorrow morning.

After reaching the top step she entered the only door on the right of the narrow hallway. Once inside her bare, and nearly empty, bedroom she approached her bureau and tugged open the top most drawer. The cheap, white, acrylic paint chipped at the corners. She rummaged her hand inside until finally locating the thin wooden shaft she had been searching for. Wrapping her fingers around her wand she unearthed it and tucked it securely into the waistband of her jeans.

Turning on her heel she bolted out of the door, down the stairs, and onto the front porch. The porch had only two beams at either side of the house supporting the shingled awning that sheltered it. There was an old wooden fence around the perimeter of the porch. Most all of the railings had been knocked out or devoured by termites. Piper jumped over the two solitary steps that led to the ground. They were both near collapse and Piper treasured her ankles too much to test their stability.

The sky was dark, not black, but a midnight navy blue. The stars were magnificent. They, coupled with the moon, provided the only light that would be necessary for the moment. She walked rapidly to the congregation of trees a few yards to the left of her house, her hand protectively covering her wand.

Piper endured the lonely journey by recalling something Remus had once told her. He had mentioned the stars while describing his school to her, claiming that they were never as exquisite at Hogwarts as they were here. Hogwarts had too many windows, all of which contained light that challenged, and cheapened the generous shine of the stars.

With a final glance to the heavens Piper smiled to herself before disappearing into the forest where the stars could no longer reach her, wand held in front of her.

"Lumos," she whispered, and her wand tip ignited shedding light on the thick of trees in front of her, navigating through the vines and branches that seemingly loomed out of nowhere. She was grateful for Eton's more lenient rules on underage magic. Students who attended Eton were allowed to perform magic outside of school, such as the Lumos spell. But those who attended Hogwarts were under strict laws to keep their wands to themselves. Remus had told her that.

Piper found temporary solace in the thought of her friend. But it was hard to maintain the warm feeling of comfort when she was submerged into pitch black forest where plants and roots tripped, and scraped her, where her wand was the sole provider of light. The subsequent stars and moon were of no service to her now as the tree tops entirely obscured them from her sights, and she from theirs.

Pushing her way through the offending forest that detained her from her destination, she longed for the inspiring sight of the stars. But even more so she longed for the arrival of her destination, and the solace she would find therein.

She rejoiced as she noticed the decrease in the plant population, as the trees grew fewer and far between, and shafts of light penetrated the barricade of the forest. Encouraged by her progress she flailed her wand free arm wildly, dissuading the branches that obstructed her path.

Until finally after pushing a branch aside she revealed the tiny run down flat that stood lonely, but proudly despite its dishabille, among a large clearing in the forest. She faced the front of the house, with an old wooden frame that had mosquito net windows, and no reinforcing doors behind it proffering an easy view into the cramped front hallway.

Relief overwhelmed her and a true sense of home coming accompanied it. Piper couldn't describe what it was about this house that inspired such a comforting feeling in her breast.

Despite her relief, she wasted no time in continuing to her objective. Immediately after her release from the forest she began making a wide cautious berth around the house, skirting just at the edge of the woods, until she was at the back of the house, where no windows threatened exposure, but only two wooden doors buried in the ground. These wooden doors led to the flat's cellar. Approaching the large wide doors she knelt on the ground and reached for the iron chain lock that was intertwined in the hooks of the doors and coupled them firmly together.

"Nox," she whispered, the flame from her wand immediately extinguished. Next she placed the top of her wand to the keyhole of the chained lock and said mutely, "Alohomora." She flinched as the chain slid immediately out of the lock and crashed on the door below creating a loud, hollow, thud. She didn't allow the noise to detain her any longer and began relieving the handles of their chained burden with practiced movements and nimble fingers. Piper threw the chain and lock into the surrounding grass before grasping one of the handles, and lifting it open as she rose to her feet. She let the door fall to the floor and began her descent down the concrete stairs, leaving the portal open behind her so that the glow of the moonlight could penetrate the darkness of the basement and aid her in her plight.

The light illuminated little in the dank cellar, except for cold concrete and the solid brick walls that refused to yield to the earth it was submerged into. But the moon glow merely worked as a spotlight, illuminating only the small area that it could reach, the area around Piper. But outside the perimeter of the light rested a calm, solitary darkness. She gripped her wand and held it bracingly.

"Lumos," was uttered and a light appeared, but Piper had not cast the spell, and it was not her wand that was now shining a light in the pitch dark. The light shone a few feet in front of her, and the welcome beacon of light revealed the announcer of the spell.

Casting a glow over a young man's face, the light allowed Piper her coveted apparition, she smiled wanly at the groggy expression of her friend as he stood; a few feet from his bed, wearing old flannel pants that had been mended repeatedly and a large shirt that dwarfed his already runty physique.

"Alright Remus?" She greeted in a hushed voice.

"Piper," he intoned in a cracked voice.

"Did I wake you?" She asked guiltily.

"What," Remus replied, "Oh, no, I'm always awake at," he paused to pull his leather strapped wrist watch into the light. "1:37 in the morning. You know how I'm an early riser," he finished in monotone.

With a grin alighting her face she apologized. "The chain fell out too fast. I wasn't expecting it. I can only imagine that's what woke you."

"Probably," he concurred. "So what motivated you to flee your home and break into mine at such an hour?" he questioned as he turned away from her to flick the light switch near the ascending stairwell. The cellar was overwhelmed with fluorescent light that originated from two rectangular hanging lights that were held to the ceiling by white electric cords.

After Remus extinguished his wand he turned about to face her. Piper quenched the shiver that threatened to wrack her at the memory of her father's game. Remus understood the silent signal, and Piper did not miss the knowing expression on his face, a familiar expression Piper knew well. Completely ignoring his question she raised a precarious eyebrow and indicating the wand she questioned "What was that?"

Taking a seat in an old shoddy recliner he replied "What?"

Piper crossed the cellar and seated herself on the bed Remus had silently offered and replied "Magic, Remus? Outside of school? Is that not against Hogwarts regulation?"

"No, actually it isn't. I'm of age now, so I am at liberty to perform all the magic I want including a simple Lumos spell." He grinned triumphantly.

Piper's heart immediately fell and she exclaimed mournfully. "Oh that's right! Yesterday was your birthday. I'm so sorry, I can't believe I forgot." She put her head in her hands shamefully and mumbled, "I know it was coming up soon but I…your mum, she usually invites me…" Now Piper felt embarrassed and hurt. Why hadn't Remus invited her yesterday?

"Yesterday I wasn't feeling all that sociable," Remus said quietly. Piper raised her head to him, and then immediately peered out of the cellar door that Piper had entered, the door still open she saw knowledgably the 3 quartered orb- the first waning phase of the moon that implied a subsequent full moon. She turned apologizing eyes to Remus. Despite the uplifting of her spirits she realized that he hadn't neglected to invite her but could not invite her.

"Oh," was all she could think to say.

"But my Mum is planning on inviting you today to make amends."

She pushed herself up on his bed and crossed her legs. "What do you want for a gift?"

"Merely the pleasure of your company." He replied. "Besides, the Marauders got me more gifts than I know what to do with, and Sirius got me gifts that I have no clue what to do with." Remus' cheeks turned a suspicious shade of red.

Piper raised an eyebrow, "What did he get you?

Remus shifted awkwardly, cleared his throat twice and said, "Just . . . guy stuff."

Piper persisted, "What kind of guy stuff?"

"Nevermind."

"So how are all of the Marauders?" Piper giggled as she thought fondly of the outrageous tales Remus had spun about his mischievous comrades. Although she had never met them she felt as if she had known them, as Remus had, for years.

"They're all well and good…except Sirius…"

"Padfoot, right?" Piper interjected.

"Right. He's having more trouble with his family. You know, they're purebloods, and well…" Remus finished with a shrug. "They have very set ideas about their social position, and Sirius doesn't necessarily agree with their notions."

"That would be so horrible, to be an outcast in your own family." Piper voiced quietly.

"Sirius can handle it"

Remus and Piper, congregated in his morbid, yet familiar cellar, conversed mildly until the sky turned a pastel shade of violet as the navy blue sky segued into a bright morning that arose as stealthily as the sun. When overhead Remus and Piper heard busy movement in the kitchen area, Piper bid a reluctant adieu and climbed out of the cellar and immersed herself once again in the thick forest. Now, made less daunting by the bright sun which permeated the forest bed far more effectively than the morose moon and subdued stars had several hours prior, she made her way stealthily to her own house. Once she emerged again, a sick sense of foreboding greeted her as plainly as the large ramshackle house that stood, dauntingly before her.