Diary of an Orphan (re-written)

by StrangeLittleWeirdo

Jenna grew up alone in an orphanage with no knowledge of who she was or where she came from. It wasn't until an owl arrived with a letter for her, and a man named Remus Lupin walked into her life, that she learnt she was so much more than she originally thought and her life would never be the same again.

14. Blackened Blood

Chapter 13

Blackened Blood

It was late when Lupin finally returned to Moonlake from wherever he had been. Granddad had stayed with me until we heard the familiar crack of Lupin Apparating into the front garden. We both rushed outside in time to catch Lupin as he stumbled towards the door. I saw he looked tired and ill, and the scars on his face were becoming more visible due to his paler skin. Together we got him inside and got him settled in a chair in the living room. Granddad vanished briefly into the kitchen, coming back a few minutes later with a cup of tea for Lupin. He took it gratefully and sipped the warm liquid with a sigh. Despite being visibly shattered, Lupin sat up enough to look at me.

'I'm sorry I didn't come collect you from the station,' said Lupin. 'While I haven't felt as ill this time, I didn't feel that I could face the crowds at the station.'

'That's OK,' I replied.

'So, how was school?' Lupin then asked. 'You didn't get any more detentions this year, I hope.'

'Well,' I said hesitantly, 'not exactly.'

Lupin eyed me suspiciously. His eyebrow arched and his moustache twitched.

'What did you do?' he asked. 'How many rules did you break this time?'

I didn't answer straight away and gave Lupin an innocent shrug. Lupin sighed, resting his head back against the chair. Granddad chuckled at his son's reaction.

'I only helped Harry, Ron and Hermione brew a Polyjuice Potion to try and find out who was opening the Chamber of Secrets then worked out who was behind it and got myself taken down to the Chamber where I met Tom Riddle and his Basilisk.'

Lupin looked at me, blinked, then let his head fall back on to the chair for a second time.

'I should have known when I heard about the attacks that you four would be involved in some way,' he muttered.

A part of me couldn't stop the smirk that graced my face at Lupin's reaction. I bit my lip to try and hide it, smiling nonetheless.

The full moon arrived the next day. Lupin remained in his bedroom all day having absolutely no energy to be able to get out of bed. When I poked my head around the door I saw him buried under his duvet. He hadn't touched the food I'd brought him, which never was a good sign. Lupin still needed to eat something even if he felt too ill to do so. I took the cold toast and orange juice away, noticing a goblet of strange potion with blue smoke coming from it beside his plate. I gave it a sniff and instantly wrinkled my nose. Whatever it was smelt disgusting. I made to take it away when a hand stopped mine.

'I need that,' muttered Lupin. 'It's the last dose for this month.'

'What is it?' I asked him.

'The Wolfsbane Potion,' said Lupin. 'It helps me.'

Lupin lost conscious again and fell asleep. His hand released mine. I left the potion where it was and took the other things and left the room so he could get a bit more rest before tonight.

Transforming again proved a bit of a challenge. Having spent a year away at Hogwarts during which time I hadn't transformed once, I had become rusty and so my first attempt at transforming into a wolf before the full moon that night was slow and stiff. I shook out my fur and tail once I was fully changed and stretched out my legs. It felt strange to be an animal once again but nice all the same. I twitched my ears having heard something moving upstairs. I padded through the living room into the hall and saw Lupin coming downstairs. He didn't notice me and went straight outside. Not wanting to see him in pain I waited inside until the familiar yells had stopped and I knew Moony was now waiting outside. I crossed the hallway and used my paw to pull open the door.

Moony was sitting on his back paws on the grass. He was staring up at the moon the same way Lupin would whenever he was waiting for it to appear. His ears twitched and he looked round. He must have heard the door close behind me. Moony looked at me with his brown eyes slowly recognising the wolf standing in front of him.

You have returned, said Moony. I was beginning to wonder where you had gone.

I went travelling, I replied. I walked over to Moony and sat beside him. He was once again staring into the sky. Wanted to see more of the countryside.

I find that hard to believe, snorted Moony, considering you aren't really a wolf.

I looked at Moony, confused. My ear instantly twitched up straight from its usually flopped over position.

What d'you mean? I asked.

I mean you are the Lupin girl, said Moony. You're the one my human takes care of, aren't you? The one who possesses the same magic as Tails.

Whose Tails? I asked, confused.

Another form of my human's sister, replied Moony. Better known by the name Hooves.

Hooves was my mother, I said nervously, and no, I'm not a wolf.

Moony looked at me. His eyes wandered up and down me.

So Hooves had a family, said Moony. My human's sister had a cub.

How did you know I wasn't a wolf? I asked, confused. I never told you I wasn't one. How did you find out?

My human began taking a potion, explained Moony, a potion that began to ease the effects of the lycanthropy if it is taken in the week leading up to the full moon. It makes the sickness milder but he remains exhausted each time it approaches. But it is another effect that made him choose to take it.

What does it do?

It allows him to keep his human mind.

Moony got to his paws and walked off over to the gate and out of the garden. I followed. I vaulted the gate and trotted along to catch up to him. I matched his pace, taking two short strides for every one of his long ones.

You mean you know who I am? I persisted. You know who you are?

I know of my human life, replied Moony dismissively. I have vague memories that I do not recognise, memories of my interactions with other humans and of events I do not recall myself. I can feel the things my human feels, much to my annoyance. I do not wish to be burdened with these human emotions, however, I respect the reason why he is taking the potion. I know what he thinks of being a werewolf.

Lupin's a good man, I said. Moony nodded.

As for you, Moony continued, it was these memories that told me you weren't all that you seemed, as weren't the animals that I used to roam the forests with when I was younger. His human friends becoming animals just to help him and his sister part animal herself, just like you. You are important to the human and he doesn't want to see you get hurt. He was relieved when the investigation came back with no decision to take you away made.

Moony fell quiet. We walked for a few minutes through the forest in silence before I braved asking him something I was scared to ask.

Do you not want to know these things? I asked.

I have no desire to know my human life, said Moony derisively. My two lives and two forms are completely separate. I have no desire to have his memories just as he has no desire to have mine and represses them to avoid the guilt he'd feel remembering what he might have done or who he might have bitten. However, if it means I become less vicious, less dangerous, then I will accept that I will have to live with them while he takes the potion. Not all werewolves choose to live up to their reputations.

I wasn't sure how to take this news, that Moony was now aware of his human life and didn't like being burdened with it. From what I could gather from his behaviour, however, Moony was still his same old self even with the human side of him just more conscious now. He still walked with the same proud air and spoke with a certain abruptness in his words. The only thing that did seemed different was that he seemed glad that I was back, almost as if he'd been lonely while I had been at school. He didn't say it directly but I had the feeling it was implied as he didn't seem to ignore me that night as much as he used to.

The Wolfsbane Potion appeared to have its benefits both before the full moon and afterwards. Lupin's recovery normally took at least a week whereas this time he was back out of bed within three days of the transformation. I got up the following Tuesday surprised to see Lupin up making breakfast for us considering two days ago he could barely wake up. When I asked him how he was feeling Lupin told me he felt a bit tired but otherwise perfectly fine. I was glad to see that Lupin hadn't had any ill effects from this potion but he explained to me he had been using it for the past few months while I'd been at school to see if it was safe.

'It was on the recommendation of Felix Scamander,' Lupin told me. 'He was one of the men who interviewed you during the Christmas holidays. The Potioneer, Damocles Belby, created it a few years ago, but very few werewolves wanted to test it out due to the fact many distrust wizards as much as wizards distrust them. When it was finally tested, the results were positive and so he made it available for those affected with lycanthropy to buy it if they chose to. Felix recommended it to me as a way to help my case and it proved good advice when they interviewed me a few weeks after you.'

'So as long as you take the potion leading up to the full moon, you'll keep your own mind?' I asked.

'To a certain extent, yes,' confirmed Lupin. 'I retain memories and such although I remain wolfish in attitude, but I no longer feel the same lusts I would without it. If anything I become tame.'

I was intrigued by what Lupin had told me. I guess I'd just have to wait and see what Lupin would truly be like under this potion in the coming months when I am with him during the full moons.

The summer was warm and bright. It was one of the times I liked the fact I lived out in the middle of the countryside. The fields around our home were beautiful to look at in the summer sun and the nearby forest was full of life. Every morning I was greeted by a beautiful sunrise and every evening I watched the sun sink back down behind the hills with a warm reddish glow. I spent as much time in the garden I could to make the most of the summer weather knowing that in a short few weeks I'd be back at Hogwarts for my third year of school and so would be spending a lot of time back inside the castle having lessons. Having chosen Care of Magical Creatures as one of my new subjects, however, meant at least one of my classes was going to be out in the grounds.

Speaking of school, Hogwarts was not completely pushed from my mind over the holidays. The teachers had set us a mountain of homework to keep us occupied over the summer that I decided to start on as soon as possible so that I'd have the rest of the holidays to enjoy once it was all finished. I knew Hermione would not approve if I'd left it all to the last minute like some people might. As I sat doing my homework, I began to think about what my future classes might hold when I suddenly remembered that there was a vacancy going at Hogwarts, as once again the Defence Against the Dark Arts position was unfilled after Lockhart's forced resignation at the end of last year. In two years I'd had two different teachers for the subject both of which didn't last past the end of the year. I was beginning to wonder if they would ever find a permanent replacement.

My ponderings on the empty Defence Against the Dark Arts position were soon answered. On Monday morning when the post arrived, I saw a letter baring the Hogwarts crest on the back of it. Thinking it was a bit early to receive my third-year letter, I turned it over to see it was actually addressed to Lupin. Curious I handed it to him. Lupin opened the letter and read the contents. His eyes seemed to take on a confused look the more he read.

'What is it?' I asked.

'It's about the Defence Against the Dark Arts vacancy at the school,' said Lupin. His eyes were narrowed in thought while his voice echoed his surprise. 'They want me to take up the position of Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher.'

'Lupin, that's amazing,' I said, beaming. 'You'd be brilliant as a Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. You know lots about that sort of thing and about Dark creatures. You'd be an amazing teacher.'

'Jenna,' Lupin held up his hand to stop me, 'I can't take the position.'

'Why not?'

Lupin looked at me as if I'd forgotten something very important.

'I don't somehow think parents would take kindly to having a werewolf teach their children,' said Lupin. He folded up the letter, put it back in the envelope, and put it down on the table. 'I cannot risk it.'

'Lupin, you haven't had a proper job in years,' I said. 'You can't keep doing those temp jobs forever.'

'I have very little option otherwise, Jenna,' said Lupin.

'But this is an opportunity you can't miss,' I insisted. 'Wasn't it Professor Dumbledore who gave you a chance when you were kid? Now he's doing it for you again. Maybe he already knows a way to keep your lycanthropy secret from the students and teachers. Maybe he's already figured it all out so you don't hurt anyone.'

I could see the doubt in Lupin's face about the idea of teaching students solidly for a whole year – maybe more if he was offered to do so – when he became incapacitated once a month. He frowned as he thought through what I'd said. I tried my best to convince him but Lupin said he wasn't going to make any rash decisions and that he would think it over before sending his response back to the school.

'You have a letter too, by the way,' Lupin said, handing me the other envelope that had been on the table.

I took it from him. Lupin picked up his letter and left the kitchen. I heard the door to his office close in the distance. I turned over my letter and slit it open. I unfolded the parchment inside it to see Ron's untidy scrawl written upon it. It was a letter warning me against trying to contact Harry. I was confused at first when I read the first line but when I looked at the rest of the letter I quickly saw the reason behind it. Ron had attempted to use the phone number that Harry had given to him, Hermione and myself back at King's Cross Station when we arrived back from Hogwarts. He'd gone to Mr Weasley for advice on how to use the telephone only to have it go terribly wrong. Harry's uncle had been the one to answer and, not realising he didn't need to shout down the phone to be heard, Ron had managed to enrage Harry's uncle by bellowing down the phone asking to speak to Harry and was a friend of his from school. I chuckled at the image of Ron shouting down a telephone and the response he'd got. Unsurprisingly Harry's uncle hung up on him with all existence of Harry denied. Ron hadn't attempted to contact him since.

The letter finished advising me to stick to Owl Post if I was planning on contacting Harry. Considering Lupin didn't own a phone, it was what I had planned to do anyway. Besides, if I knew Harry's uncle as well as I thought I did based on all the things Harry had told me about him over the years, and the angry-looking glimpses of him I used to catch at school, I didn't somehow think he'd take kindly to someone from our world having his home phone number so my copy of it had remained in my desk drawer since I'd gotten home.

When I wasn't doing my homework I was out in the garden practicing my transformations. Like the night of the full moon, it took a while for my body to get used to transforming again and I couldn't hold the forms as long as I would like to. Once my body had adjusted back to the feeling I went over all the previous animals I had transformed into the previous summer before using my copy of Fantastic Beasts to look for some different creatures to change into. With Lupin's help I began expanding the number of creatures I could create in my head from the pictures in the books and practicing moving as that animal using the equipment Lupin set up for me.

In my search for new things to transform into, I also began to branch out in what type of animal I chose. I had mainly covered land mammals up till now and so I felt it was time I started to learn how to transform into birds and fly as them or aquatic animals and how they swim. Lupin's knowledge of creatures became invaluable as he showed me detailed diagrams and passages about how the various mechanics of flying and swimming as animals worked before helping me put them into practice. There were one or two accidents when I was practicing, such as my crashing when I attempted to land as a sparrow and not being able to get the rhythm right for my paws as an otter in the water, which Lupin found highly amusing whereas I didn't. It's not that fun when you get your paws crossed. It took a while but I eventually managed a flight between the house and the platform Lupin had set up in the garden, landing almost perfectly on top of it, and swimming from one side of the river to the other without being washed away. I had made some good progress over the weeks though I still had a long way to go to be equal in skill to my Mum.

July passed me by and soon August arrived. The last week of July was busy for me as I had both Harry's birthday coming up and Lupin was starting to feel ill again as the full moon was due on the second of the month. In the week leading up to it, Lupin began taking the Wolfsbane Potion again which I saw did indeed postpone the sickness he normally felt when the full moon was due although his tiredness seemed to increase as a side-effect.

On the Thursday before the full moon, however, Lupin found that his supply had almost been completely used up and he hadn't been able to order anymore due to not having the gold for it. The Wolfsbane Potion was a complex one to brew and so he always ordered it rather than making it himself. Having only enough to last until the next day and being too tired to visit Diagon Alley himself, and with Granddad currently unavailable to accompany me as he was having a long weekend in Cornwall, Lupin reluctantly had to allow me to go by myself to get him a fresh order of the potion so that he could finish this month's dosage.

Needing to go to Diagon Alley for the Wolfsbane Potion actually worked out quite well for as it meant that I could buy Harry's birthday present while I was there as well. His birthday was on Saturday and I hadn't found anything to give him in the various papers that Lupin received in the post so I was hoping I'd find something in Diagon Alley despite how close I was cutting it to the day. Gizmo had been needing some exercise as well having not done any deliveries since term had ended and so a last minute delivery to Harry's house in Surrey would probably do him some good.

On Friday morning, after leaving a tray of food in Lupin's bedroom for him, I went downstairs and grabbed my coat and bag to head to Diagon Alley. I went into the living room and pulled out the pot of Floo Power Lupin kept in the dresser. I took a handful and walked over to the fireplace. Large emerald flames bloomed in the grate the moment I threw the glittery powder into it. It crackled loudly with a rush of heat warming my face.

'Diagon Alley,' I said clearly and I stepped into the fire.

Moonlake disappeared in a blur as I span through the Floo network. Seconds later I saw the familiar grate of the fireplace in the Leaky Cauldron and I swung myself round to go through it. My feet hit the stone floor. I brushed the soot from my eyes and stepped out into the pub. It was quite busy for a Friday and I saw lots of wizards and witches sat in small groups around the bar deep in conversation with each other. I saw a few of them had copies of the Daily Prophet in front of them. Maybe something had happened that the Prophet had reported. I hadn't seen a copy for today so far as it hadn't arrived before I'd left so I had no idea if anything of merit had happened in the wizarding world. Whatever it was though, it had got the wizards in the Leaky Cauldron into quite a stir. They were all whispering frantically to one another with looks of concern etched on their faces. Though curious, I shrugged it off and went outside to the back courtyard.

Diagon Alley itself was relatively empty this early in the morning. There were the odd few people present doing some early morning shopping like I was but the majority of the street was empty. I made my way down the crooked street to head to Gringotts to get some gold out to pay for Harry's present and the Wolfsbane Potion. Once my purse was filled with enough gold I headed for Slug and Jiggers Apothecary to collect Lupin's order. I was greeted by a variety of smells when I stepped in the shop coming from the various ingredients that lined the tables and shelves inside. A man at the back desk looked up when he heard me enter.

'Can I help?' he asked.

'I'm here to collect an order,' I said. I dug into my bag and pulled out the parchment with Lupin's order on it. I handed it the man. 'It's for Remus Lupin.'

The man's eyes scanned the parchment.

'Wolfsbane Potion,' he read aloud, 'one month's supply, including two extra measures.' The man then looked at me. 'Any reason for the extra this month?'

'He ran out,' I explained. 'He had enough to last till today but his symptoms started a bit earlier this month.'

The man frowned but nodded. He disappeared into the back room of the Apothecary and begun searching through the various bottles in there. One by one I watched as he wrapped up several little bottles of no more than what looked like a goblet-full of potion and placed them into a box. A few minutes later he re-emerged with the box in hand.

'Make sure he doesn't overdose on the potion,' said the man, 'and that he's only taking the recommended amount. That'll be three Galleons and eleven Sickles.'

I handed the man the gold and took the box of potions, putting it carefully into my bag. Having collected those I went in search for a present for Harry. I looked in Broomstix, the Junk Shop and Gambol and Japes for something to get him for his birthday. There was lots of good stuff I could see Harry liking but none of it seemed right to give someone who was turning thirteen. Although we were wizards, turning thirteen for a Muggle was important, as it was the start of being a teenager so I wanted to get Harry something extra nice for the occasion. In the end I settled on buying him a new set of Quidditch bracers for his arms, knowing that his pair from the previous two years had gotten a bit worn and tattered. I also got him a box of Honeycomb Bombs from Sugarplum's knowing he had a sweet tooth. Pleased with my morning's achievements I walked back down Diagon Alley to return to the Leaky Cauldron and go home.

From out of nowhere I felt a hand cover my mouth and an arm go round my waist. I screamed in surprise when whoever it was grabbed me and dragged me away from the main street. They pulled me into a nearby alleyway and out of sight of the other witches and wizards. I clenched my eyes tightly closed as I struggled to get free from whoever it was who'd grabbed me. I guessed it was a wizard judging by the feel of his rough hand on my face that was muffling my screams for help and the grunts he made as he tried to keep hold of me.

'Scream and I'll cut your throat,' growled the man. His voice was deep but sounded like it hadn't been used in years. 'Now give me all the gold you have.'

As I wriggled in his grip I felt my fingers tense. They started to tingle before I felt them snap straight. A blue orb suddenly surrounded me breaking the man's grip and pushing him against the wall of a nearby building. I landed on the ground but before I could run away, the man had grabbed me again. He shoved me hard up against the wall, his hand once again covering my mouth while his arm held me still. I kept my eyes shut in fear of what might happen.

'Where did you learn that?' demanded the man. He pressed a knife he had in his hand into my throat. 'Who taught you that spell?'

I made a muffled sound as I tried to tell him I didn't know how I did that spell. Braving it I opened my eyes to look at my attacker. He had very long, matted black hair that reached all the way down to his elbows having not been cut for a very long time. His face was very close to mine. I could see his grey eyes had sunken into his skull and had large dark circles beneath them as if he hadn't slept in ages, and his skin was all waxy and yellowed. He looked as if his energy had been drained from him over a long period of time. The moment I opened my eyes, however, the man released me and backed away, dropping the knife.

'It's not possible,' he breathed.

My eyes narrowed, confused. It was like I reminded him of someone. The man stared at me but before I could say anything he turned and ran. He disappeared down the alley into the darkness. I made to follow but he'd completely vanished. I looked around but he was nowhere to be seen. I guess he must have Apparated out of there or something but I hadn't heard a crack so I had no idea where he'd gone. I turned round. The knife he'd been carrying was lying on the ground. I walked over to it and carefully picked it up by its handle. Suddenly I felt a pain shoot through my head and I saw several images flash over my eyes.

An alleyway … a body on the ground … a man crying beside it …

A park … a man shouting someone's name …

I dropped the knife and stumbled backwards. I felt my heart thumping in my chest from the shock. I blinked furiously to get rid of the images I'd just seen. What just happened? In the space of a split second I'd seen two different places where two separate events had happened with the exact same man in them. It was the man who'd just attacked me only he looked younger, healthier, a handsome roguish quality about him instead of the dead-looking appearance he had currently. What confused me though was that I knew both of those images. The first had been from the day my Mum died while the other had been of the park I was found in. But why would I see those images? What did this man have to do with me?

A thought suddenly hit me. My eyes widened and I felt my heart lurch. It couldn't be – it wasn't physically possible – that couldn't have been … my father? Quickly I grabbed the knife, wrapping it in the paper that Harry's present had been in, and put it in my bag. I then ran out of the alleyway and towards the Leaky Cauldron. Without a glance at the wizards and witches inside I went straight for the fireplace. I chucked the Floo Powder into it, said clearly my address, and stepped inside. I reappeared minutes later back in Moonlake's living room.

I hurried into the kitchen looking for Lupin only to find he wasn't in there. I dumped my bag on the chair and went to see if he was in the garden when I saw a copy of the Daily Prophet lying on the table. There were two large articles on the front page both with pictures accompanying them. My eyes scanned the page to see what the articles were about having recognised one of the photographs to be showing none other than the Weasley family. I read the article that went with the photo, momentarily distracted by why they were in the Prophet.

MINISTRY OF MAGIC EMPLOYEE SCOOPS GRAND PRIZE
Arthur Weasley, Head of the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts
Office at the Ministry of Magic, has won the annual Daily
Prophet Grand Prize Galleon Draw.

A delighted Mr Weasley told the Daily Prophet, 'We will be
spending the gold on a summer holiday in Egypt, where our
eldest son, Bill, works as a curse breaker for Gringotts
Wizarding Bank.

The Weasley family will be spending a month in Egypt,
returning for the start of the new school year at Hogwarts,
which five of the Weasley children currently attend.

I looked at the photograph. The Weasleys stood grouped together in front of a pyramid in the desert, all looking very tanned and happy. Mr and Mrs Weasley stood in the centre with their children surrounding them and all were dressed in what looked like traditional Egyptian robes and hats. Fred and George were both grinning from ear to ear; Ginny waved happily at the camera; Percy was standing with his chest puffed out in pride; and Ron was smiling next to his mother, his pet rat Scabbers sitting on his shoulder. At the back I saw two more Weasleys that I didn't recognise. I assumed this had to be Ron's older brothers Bill and Charlie.

While happy that Mr Weasley had treated them to a holiday with the gold he had won, I brushed the article aside to look at the second one on the front page. This one was of a much more serious tone and the picture accompanying it was in the style of a Muggle mugshot. I read the article that went with it with both curiosity and mounting fear.

IMPOSSIBLE ESCAPE FROM WIZARDING PRISON
Sirius Black, one of the most famous prisoners to be held in Azkaban for crimes during the First
Wizarding War, today was reported to have escaped from his cell deep inside the fortress and
made his way back to the mainland. It is unknown how he managed to slip past the Azkaban
guards having no wand to aid him in his escape, and it is believed that there has been no outside
help and that Black is working alone.

'We do not want to cause the magical community any alarm,' said Minister for Magic, Cornelius
Fudge, this morning at a press conference. 'We request that if anyone has any information on
where he might go or who he might try to contact to please come forward to assist in our search
for him. We want to get him arrested and back in Azkaban as soon as possible without resorting
to extreme measures or having to involve the Muggle parliament.'

Black's whereabouts are currently unknown, but it is believed that he may have managed to
retrieve his wand from the Azkaban's security vault within the upper levels of the castle, although
this is currently unconfirmed. It has been advised, however, to presume him armed and dangerous.
As a precaution, all previous associates of Black have been contacted for information.

'Sirius …' I read. Why did I feel that I knew that name? Where had I heard it before? It bothered me and not because he had the same surname as me. The Black family had loads of relatives; having my surname didn't mean he was directly related to me.

I looked at the photograph of him. I gasped when I saw it was the same man who'd attacked me in Diagon Alley. In the photo he glared at the camera as he held up his prisoner number, and he was dressed in black and grey striped robes. Every so often he would let out a scream as he pulled against the chains attached to his wrists. It unnerved me as I looked at it but not because of how mad he looked. It was his eyes. I recognised them. Abandoning the paper I ran upstairs to my bedroom and over to my desk. I pushed my books aside to reveal the photograph I had of my mother and father. To my horror the pictures matched as I recognised the pair of grey eyes before me to the ones in the paper and the ones I'd looked into in Diagon Alley.

I dropped the photo and ran back out of my room. I rushed downstairs, out of the kitchen and into the back garden. Lupin was there busily setting up what looked like some sort of obstacle course for me to use if I chose to practice transforming today. I could see he looked very tired but it didn't stop me. I marched up to him with only one thought in my head.

'My father's Sirius Black!' I said straight out. Lupin instantly stopped what he was doing and looked at me. I could see the shock in his eyes. I'd never seen him look so troubled before, not even when we had that visit from the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. At that moment though, I didn't care. I needed answers and I needed them now. 'You knew all along! How could you not tell me?'

'Jenna, listen to me,' began Lupin but I stopped him, shouting, 'All those times you took me to Azkaban and you never let me see him! You stopped me every time I wanted to know who he was, stopped Granddad from telling me about him, hiding my own father from me!'

'I was doing it to protect you,' said Lupin firmly. 'I didn't want you to know what he had become. I spent ten years looking for you after he abandoned you, I didn't want him to know I'd found you, not after what he did. I didn't want to risk losing you again.'

'But why is he in prison?' I asked. I could feel tears welling up in my eyes. 'Why didn't you want me to know who my father was?'

Lupin sighed and looked away from me. He seemed almost ashamed of what he was about to tell me. After a moment had passed, he faced me again.

'Because he's a murderer.'

I gasped. I didn't know what it was but when Lupin had said that I felt like my world was falling apart. My father was a – a murderer? It couldn't be.

'No,' I breathed. I shook my head, the tears finally falling. 'No, it's not –'

'I'm afraid it is, Jenna,' said Lupin. 'I'm so sorry.'

I blinked and looked down at the ground. Tears streamed down my cheeks. I felt a hand on my shoulder and Lupin pulled me into a hug. I put my arms around him and buried my face into his chest. I cried silently into his robes at the thought of my father killing someone. I had always known my father's family had been supporters of Voldemort and blood purity but my father had been in Gryffindor, not Slytherin like the rest of them. I couldn't understand how he could have done something so terrible when he came from a House known for its courage and bravery. What had happened that had made him change?

After a few minutes Lupin led me back inside and into the living room. He sat me down on the sofa and took the seat next to me. He gently stroked my hair as he watched me. My mind was spinning as I didn't know what to say or do until finally I found the question I wanted to ask the most, one that I myself was surprised that I asked.

'I want to know what he did,' I said quietly. 'I want to know what happened and how he ended up in Azkaban.'

Lupin hesitated. He looked at me with such concern, worried what my reaction to the information might be. I was scared myself, scared of what I was going to hear.

'Jenna, are you sure you want to know?' he asked. 'What your father did, it's beyond forgivable.'

'I'm sure,' I replied. 'Please, tell me what he did.'

Lupin sighed and relented.

'I knew Black when we were at school,' Lupin began. 'He was one of my best friends along with James Potter and Peter Pettigrew. He and Peter were the other two I told you about who used to keep me company during the full moons.' I nodded. Lupin continued. 'After your mother died, I began to mistrust Black and it turned out for good reason. Unknown to me, and to James and Lily, Black had defected to join Voldemort's Death Eaters and was working as a spy for them, said to be in his inner circle alongside his cousin, Bellatrix, and Lucius Malfoy. I had no idea he was a Death Eater, not even when your mother was murdered.

'James and Lily went into hiding when we discovered Voldemort was after them,' continued Lupin. 'They used a charm to hide their home from Voldemort, and Black was entrusted with the Secret that kept them safe and hidden from him. But Black betrayed them and told Voldemort the Secret. The night that James and Lily died, Black lost everything. His master was destroyed by his own spell rebounding upon himself, and Black would have been the one responsible for aiding Voldemort's downfall by sending him to his defeat. Knowing the other Death Eaters would be after him, Black went on the run.

'It didn't take long for someone to track Black down,' Lupin finished. 'It was our friend, Peter, who found him the next day. He tried to make Black confess to what he did but Black didn't listen. The Aurors got there as quickly as they could but they arrived too late. Black blew up a street with a Blasting Curse, killing Peter and twelve Muggles with a single curse. The Aurors arrested Black immediately afterwards. Black was still laughing as they took him away. He was imprisoned without trial due to number of witnesses and has been there for the last twelve years until his escape earlier this week.'

My head was spinning with all the new information I had to process about my father's past. Being a Death Eater; betraying his friends and handing them over to their death; killing so many Muggles and a wizard who used to be his friend. I found it horrifying to be related to him.

'He killed that many people with one curse?' I asked.

'The Blast was so powerful, the street they'd been in was completely destroyed,' said Lupin. 'The Ministry had to cover it up by saying it was a gas explosion. The only thing that was left in amongst the debris was some remains of the Muggles and Peter's finger which was returned to his mother for whatever comfort that gave her, her son dying a hero.'

Lupin observed my reactions carefully, not sure what I was going to do. I wasn't sure what to do either. A part of me wanted to scream; another part wanted to cry; and another was just confused by the whole thing.

'Why did you go to Azkaban when it's obvious you don't like him?' I then asked. 'If you don't like Black then why did you keep visiting him?'

'To get something back from him that's rightfully yours,' said Lupin, 'something he's had for years: your mother's necklace.'

'And how did he escaped?' I said. 'The Dementors are horrible and can feel human emotions. How would he get past them? And why would he even escape when Voldemort's been gone for so long?

'Nobody is sure how he did it,' said Lupin. 'A thought crossed me that maybe he transformed to get out but Black has been in Azkaban for many years. It would be unlikely he'd still be able to change into his old Animagus form having had his life force drained away over the years. The reason why he escaped, however, it appears he has some unfinished business and wants to finish what he started, by killing Harry.'

A stab went through my heart. I gasped, staring at Lupin with shocked eyes. It couldn't be true, it just couldn't! I didn't want to believe my father was the same insane murderer who had looked up at me from his photo in the Prophet and that he was after my best friend all to get revenge for his fallen master. I didn't want to think that the smiling photo of my father was the same man whose wanted picture was now all over the paper. And for some reason … I didn't.

I blinked, my tears suddenly stopping. I thought through all of what Lupin had just told me, and what I already knew about Black from previous conversations. Something … wasn't making sense. Something in my head was telling me that what Lupin had said wasn't true. Something just didn't add up about it when I compared the information about Black's attitude now to the boy Lupin had known at school, the one pictured smiling with his best friends who Mum had written about in her diary. I glanced at Lupin to see he was still watching me closely.

'Jenna?' he said. 'I know it's awful, what Black did, but you don't have to fear him. I won't let him get anywhere near you.'

'What about Harry?' I asked. A thought had suddenly occurred to me; Black was supposedly after Harry to finish what he started and I was Black's daughter. I daren't imagine Harry's reaction if he ever found out I was related to this murderer. All Harry knew about my father was that he was absent as that was all I had ever known. This was going to change everything. 'He'll hate me when he finds out.'

'Harry won't hate you,' said Lupin firmly. 'You have nothing to do with Black and are certainly not responsible for his crimes. All you have to do is tell Harry you only just found out yourself and that you were shocked at the news of who your father really was. Harry will see you don't have any connection to Black other than your blood.'

Yeah, my blood, I thought. I was a Black by name and by blood only, I had no familial bond with this man, but my name had just been blackened more than I could have imagine by my father's actions.

-o-

A sharp crack echoed through the silent night. From out of the shadows of the trees, Black looked across at the small cottage in the middle of the fields. He had only visited this place a handful of times in the past but it was the only place he could think of that she'd be. Silently Black walked forwards and transformed into a large black dog. He charged through the grass as quickly as his paws would carry him towards the house. He didn't slow until he reached the hedges surrounding the garden where he gracefully leapt them in a single bound, landing effortlessly on the other side. He lifted his head to look round for any sign of moment. There was a light on in one of the front windows but that was all. Careful not to tread into the light, Black crept round to the back of the house.

Another light was visible at the back of the house coming from one of the upstairs rooms. Black raised his head to see where it was coming from. A person was just visible through the window. It was a young girl. Black felt his heart skip. It was her. He had been sure of it the moment she'd looked into his eyes back in the alleyway. He would recognise his wife's eyes anywhere. Black took a step forwards to try and get a better look at her when he heard the door suddenly open. He cowered towards the hedge and back into the darkness.

'It was foolish of you to come here, Black.'

Remus stared at his former friend, recognising the black dog as if the years hadn't passed since he'd last seen that form. Black stood straight and walked away from the bushes. He transformed back and shook his long hair out of his face. Remus saw the toll Azkaban had taken on Black; his body was thin and frail and his prison robes hung off him. His face looked dead and his eyes drawn with tiredness. Black glared at Remus, torn between both hurt and relief at what he had just seen.

'Why didn't you tell me?' Black asked, his voice low. 'Why didn't you tell me you'd found her?'

'I didn't have to tell you anything,' snapped Remus angrily. He kept his voice quiet though so Jenna wouldn't overhear them. 'I am Jenna's legal guardian. I make the decision as to whether you have the right to see her or not.'

'She is still my daughter,' snarled Black, striding up to his former friend. They stood face to face, Black only a few inches shorter than Remus. 'Tala wouldn't want –'

'Don't you dare bring up my sister,' said Remus. He drew his wand and pointed it at Black. 'Don't you dare say her name.'

Black held up his hands in submission to show he had meant no harm. He took a breath to regain his temper.

'Remus,' said Black, his voice calmer now, 'please, just let me see her, that's all I'm asking.'

Remus shook his head, 'You're not getting anywhere near her. Jenna has had a hard enough time as it is, having learnt recently what you are and what you did after reading of your escape in the Prophet. She's terrified how Harry's going to react to learning she is related to the man who got his parents murdered.'

'Harry?' repeated Black. 'James and Lily's son? She's friends with him?'

'You're surprised?' retorted Remus. 'Seeing them together was like watching you and James again. They get in just as much trouble together as you used to.'

Black felt his heart lift once more at the news that his daughter was friends with his best friend's son. It was more than he could have hoped for the two of them after what they'd both been through. He felt the smile lift the corner of his lip but it never fully formed, not when he remembered that none of them knew the truth of what had happened that night twelve years ago.

'You aren't going to let me see her no matter how much I ask, are you, Remus?' Black sighed.

'You presume correctly,' replied Remus.

'Just answer me this,' Black continued. 'Is she anything like Tala?'

'More than you can imagine,' said Remus.

The two wizards stood in silence. Remus kept his eyes on Black the entire time as he gauged his reaction. Black took a deep breath as he fought to keep control of his emotions. He closed his eyes briefly as the memory of Tala came to his thoughts. After a few minutes Remus spoke.

'You better leave,' he told Black. Remus put his wand back inside his robes. 'For Jenna's sake, I won't turn you in but I warn you not to try and come here again. If Jenna gets put in danger because of you, I can assure you I won't hesitate to contact the Aurors to arrest you.'

Black nodded, and said, 'Thank you, Remus.'

'I don't need your thanks,' Remus retorted. He turned away to return inside. 'Now go before I change my mind.'

Black heeded Remus's warning and turned to leave. In one swift movement he transformed back into a dog and had leapt over the hedge disappearing off into the darkness.

-o-

For the following weeks I read every copy of the Daily Prophet that got delivered to Moonlake in case there was anything more about Sirius Black's escape in it. My eyes scanned the pages for anything about Black, a passing mention, a photograph, a whole article if there was one. Most were only small snippet's about Black's possible whereabouts or guesses by wizards who'd been interviewed about Black's miraculous escape. Every time I read his name though, I shuddered; despite the fact he was my father, I couldn't physically acknowledge him as my "Dad". The only article I found with more than just a sentence on him was in the copy of the Prophet that arrived on my birthday.

BLACK STILL AT LARGE
Sirius Black, possibly the most infamous prisoner ever to be
held in Azkaban fortress, is still eluding capture, the Ministry of
Magic confirmed today.

'We are doing all we can to recapture Black,' said the
Minister for Magic, Cornelius Fudge, this morning, 'and we beg
the magical community to remain calm.'

Fudge has been criticised by some members of the
International Federation of Warlocks for informing the Muggle
Prime Minister of the crisis.

'Well, really, I had to, don't you know,' said an irritable
Fudge. 'Black is mad. He's a danger to anyone who crosses him,
magic or Muggle. I have the Prime Minister's assurance that he
will not breathe a word of Black's true identity to anyone. And let's
face it – who'd believe him if he did?'

While Muggles have been told that Black is carrying a gun
(a kind of metal wand which Muggles use to kill each other),
the magical community lives in fear of a massacre like that of
twelve years ago, when Black murdered thirteen people with a
single curse.

'I suggest you don't dwell on Black,' said Lupin. I looked up from the paper. I hadn't noticed Lupin watching me. His eyes focused on the paper in front of me. He reached and picked it up. 'You have some post, by the way,' he then said, handing me three packages. 'It appears your friends have sent you some gifts for your birthday. Your Hogwarts letter has also arrived.'

I took the packages and put them down on the table. I could easily recognise the three different handwritings belonging to Harry, Ron and Hermione on the accompanying envelopes and there was a fourth letter baring the Hogwarts crest on it which had to have my third-year letter inside it. One by one I opened them to see what they had given me for my birthday.

Dear Jenna,
Happy birthday!

I hope this letter reaches you in time for your birthday but the Post here in Egypt is not as
reliable as it is in Britain. They use falcons instead of owls here to deliver their mail so while it's
faster, they aren't as easily tamed and tend to rip the letters with their talons. They deliver them
to the coast where other birds take over and deliver them across the sea before the British Owls
collect them.

Sure enough, there were a few tears in the envelope from where the falcon must have held it.

In case you hadn't seen the article in the Daily Prophet, I've been on holiday with my family in
Egypt visiting my brother, Bill, who works here as a Curse Breaker. He's taken us all round the tombs
and stuff. You wouldn't believe the sorts of curses those old Egyptian wizards put on their tombs
to prevent the Muggles from stumbling upon them. Fred and George kept trying to scare Ginny and me
by hiding round the corners in the tunnels until Mum shouted at them to stop, threatening to leave them
trapped inside the tombs with the mummies.

We were all really surprised when Dad won the Daily Prophet Draw. Mum was beside herself. We won
seven hundred Galleons! Most of it's gone on this holiday, but they're going to buy me a new wand for next
year to replace my old one that I broke.

We'll be back about a week before term starts and we'll be going up to London to get my wand and
all our new books for next year. If you can make, we can meet up with Harry and Hermione to get all
our stuff together.

Hope to see you in London in a few weeks time.
Ron

P.S. Percy's Head Boy. He got the letter last week.

I put down Ron's letter and opened the accompanying parcel that had arrived with it. I unwrapped the brown paper and opened the box that had my present inside it. It was a puzzle by the looks of it. Inside was a collection of golden coloured pieces that looked like they would fit together if assembled in the right way, all made up of different shapes and sizes. I put it to one side making a mental note to try and build it at some point. I liked things like that that relied on logic. I then picked up the next letter from Hermione.

Dear Jenna,
Happy thirteenth birthday! I can't believe we're all teenagers now!

Did Ron tell you about the phone call he made to Harry and that his uncle answered? I couldn't
believe Ron shouted down the phone at him! I would have thought Mr Weasley would have told him
that you could speak normally and the person on the other end of the line would be able to hear you
clearly, given how much Mr Weasley likes Muggle things. I assume you also saw the article about Ron's
family winning that gold? I was so happy for them when I saw it. I'm really jealous he's in Egypt. The
Egyptian wizards would be so interesting to study.

I'm on holiday in France with my parents at the moment and so wasn't sure how to send this to you
but when Hedwig showed up to collect a present for Harry, I sent this along with her hoping she might
deliver it to you, as it was only small, after delivering Harry's present. If you've received this then I guess
she did so.

There's some interesting local history of witchcraft here, too. I've re-written my whole History of Magic
essay to include some of the things I've found out. I hope it's not too long, it's two rolls of parchment more
than Professor Binns asked for.

Ron says he's going to be in London in the last week of the holidays and has asked Harry to come if he
can. Can you make it too? Will your uncle be able to drop you off? I hope so, it'll be good to see you all
again before school starts. If not, I'll see you on Platform Nine and Three-Quarters on September first.

Love from
Hermione

P.S. Ron says Percy's Head Boy. I'll bet Percy's really pleased. Ron doesn't seem to happy about it though.

Hermione's gift, predictably, was school related. She had given me some refills for my diary that she had brought me back in first-year so that I could continue using it, them magically fitting into the book whilst not making it any thicker or heavier than before, as well as a book on owl care called You and Your Owl she thought would come in handy while we studied Care of Magical Creatures next year. The final letter was from Harry. It wasn't as long as Ron or Hermione's but Harry had never been one to mince his words when talking to me.

Dear Jenna,
Happy birthday. I bet it must feel good knowing how old you are after so many years not knowing
while you were in the orphanage. I know my birthdays were never great here with the Dursleys but you
never even got to celebrate yours when you were younger. All the more reason to make up for it now.

I hope you like your present. It took me ages to think of what to get you but I'm pretty sure you'll like it
when you see what it is.

Ron says he wants to meet up in Diagon Alley on the last week of the holidays. Hope to see you there!

From
Harry

Harry was right when he said I'd like my present when I saw it. While I wasn't as much of a practical joker like Fred and George, I did have a good sense of humour and so when I saw Harry had bought me a book called Saucy Tricks for Tricky Sorts I couldn't wait to get a moment to have a look through the different jinxes and spells it contained for causing mischief. I bet Fred and George probably knew this book off back heart. I put the book with Ron and Hermione's presents then opened my final letter from Hogwarts. It contained the same information as always and there were a couple of new books I had to purchase for my new subjects Divination and Care of Magical Creatures. There was also a third sheet of parchment with it this year that was a permission slip. Apparently the third-years and up were allowed to visit the village, Hogsmeade, that was below Hogwarts over the weekends throughout the year but all students needed the permission slip to be signed before they were allowed to go down there. I took it out of the letter and went to Lupin's office to get him to sign it for me. However the moment I asked, Lupin refused.

'Hogsmeade is too out in the open,' Lupin told me, taking the permission slip from me and putting it in the pocket of his robes. 'If Black comes anywhere near Hogwarts or Hogsmeade looking for Harry, there's a chance he might see you and recognise you due to your similar appearance to your mother.'

'But Black doesn't even know I'm alive,' I said. 'That's what you said, he didn't know about me.'

'Even so,' said Lupin, 'I'm afraid I can't risk it, not until Black is arrested again and back in Azkaban.'

My face fell at Lupin's answer. I guess I wasn't going to get to see Hogsmeade this year, not while Black was still on the loose. Lupin saw my reaction.

'Tell you what,' he said, 'how about we head over to Diagon Alley today and I'll get you something special for your birthday. Anything you want. How does that sound?'

'But you've already given me my present,' I said, confused. 'The broomstick care kit was great. The twigs on my Thunderbolt III were needing a trim.'

'I know but, as I've decided to take the job as Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor, I'll have a little bit more gold this year so I thought maybe I could treat you to something special for your birthday.'

I thought about it, thinking it sounded like Lupin was trying to make up for something. I wasn't sure what Lupin had to feel guilty for, considering he couldn't be held responsible for me discovering the identity of my father. I didn't really want him to buy me something just because he felt guilty about something. Seeing the expectant look on Lupin's face though, I conceded and agreed to let him take me to Diagon Alley. There was something I had been thinking about doing recently and going to Diagon Alley would be a perfect place to get it done.

'A haircut?' Lupin repeated when I told him once we'd arrived in Diagon Alley. 'I thought you liked having long hair?'

'I do,' I said, 'but I'm thirteen now. I want to do something with my hair rather than keep the same style I've had since I was five.'

It was more than that that I wanted a haircut. As much as I looked like my mother, I had seen that my hair was very clearly the same as my father's when I saw the photograph of Black in the Prophet. It was almost identical to his, the same neat black locks falling either side of my face, only his were a bit more ragged after the years he'd spent in Azkaban. I knew that if he hadn't spent years in prison his hair would be as sleek as my own. If I changed how my hair was styled then perhaps there'd be less of a chance of anyone at school connecting me to Black. Though apprehensive, Lupin agreed and took me down the street to the Hairspellers. He left me with a plea of not to do anything too drastic then disappeared as he had to organise some things for the coming school year.

A witch bustled over to me when I entered the Hairspellers and sat me down in a chair in front a mirror. Her eyes took in the length of my hair.

'My, my, you do have long hair,' she mused. 'So, what would we like done today?' She ran her fingers through it from my forehead and back over my head. 'We've got some lovely new styles just in. They'll really liven up your hair if you're open to some experimental styles.'

The witch showed me a copy of Witch Weekly that had a small section of the latest wizarding fashion styles. I looked at all the different hairstyles, my nose wrinkling at the sight of some of them. All of them were really showy and glamorous, something I knew I wasn't.

'How about that?' I asked, pointing at one of the last few pictures. The witch in it had two-toned hair, the shades blending together with what I guess was her natural colour. 'I like that.'

'Hmm, you're a bit young to get your hair spell-dyed,' muttered the witch. 'You're at Hogwarts, aren't you?' she then said. I nodded. 'I think we might be able to work around it. So long as it's not too over the top.'

The witch took her wand out and the next moment my hair was covered in multicoloured bubbles as she gave it a thorough wash. Once the various shampoos and potions had been washed out of my hair the witch gathered my hair into a ponytail and, using her wand, cut off the bottom couple of inches to neaten up the ends. I bit my lip as she did it, having not had my hair cut in so long I was hoping she wouldn't take too much off it. I waited with held breath as the witch snipped and trimmed my hair with her wand, moving from side to side around me and pulling my hair this way and that. I watched worriedly as she pulled my hair forwards over my face and took off almost all of it giving me a fringe for the first time in my life. I stared at the strands hoping it was going to look all right. After almost an hour of cutting and spelling and drying, the witch stepped back and held up a mirror so that I could look at the back of my hair.

I gaped at my new reflection, amazed how different I looked now with my new haircut. I glanced up at my fringe, loving the soft sweep it created over my forehead and stopping just above my eyes having had my parting changed from a central one to one to the side. My hair still fell down my back only a few inches shorter than before but was now cut into a series of layers that gradually got longer and created a lovely flowing effect in the strands. The best bit though was definitely the new colour I had in amongst my black natural colour. Weaving subtly in between my black hair now were streaks of bright red colour, hidden beneath the top layer of my hair but blending almost naturally in between them. It looked amazing. Lupin, on the other hand, didn't look too thrilled about it.

'I said not to go over the top,' he frowned when he saw it. 'Spelling your hair is discouraged at Hogwarts, especially for the younger students.'

'Lupin, there's a boy a few years above me with bright green hair!' I argued. 'No one's told him off for it.'

'Jenna, is this about your father?' asked Lupin resignedly. I gaped at him. Lupin raised his eyebrow at me. 'Because you don't want people to know who he is? Because you don't want Harry to know?'

I looked at Lupin, stunned, then said, 'OK, yes, I did it so I wouldn't look so much like him and so Harry wouldn't notice the similarities between us. Do you know how much he'll hate me if he found out that my dad is responsible for the death of his parents? It won't even matter that I don't know him –'

'Jenna, Harry's your friend,' said Lupin. 'He won't judge you on who your father is when he knows you didn't know who he was yourself. He probably doesn't even know Black's after him let alone who Black really is apart from being an escaped prisoner. You have nothing to do with Black so you shouldn't be so worried.'

I wasn't convinced but I nodded nonetheless.

The end of the holidays came and for the first time I was not looking forward to returning to Hogwarts. I dreaded what would happen if people began to realise I was related to the escaped murderer when I had grown up without him in my life. I could already imagine the stares and whispers I'd get in the corridors if people found out. I just hoped Lupin was right that Harry wouldn't judge me on something I couldn't help and that he, Ron and Hermione would accept that I had nothing to do with Black when they eventually would find out what relation he was to me.

Lupin took me back to Diagon Alley on the last day of the holidays so that I could meet up with Harry, Ron and Hermione to get our school things even though it was leaving it pretty late to do so, but it had been the only time Ron could do it as he and his family got back from Egypt only three days before the end of the holidays. We arrived late that morning as Lupin still had some last minute things to gather for the following day and had been falling behind in his preparation due to the approaching full moon again. He dropped me off in the Leaky Cauldron to wait for the Weasleys, Harry and Hermione and disappeared off into the street to run his errands. When the Weasleys finally arrived, Hermione being dropped off shortly after them, Mr Weasley told us Harry had been staying at the pub since the start of August and should already be here.

It was clear that both Ron and Hermione had been on holiday. Ron was much more freckly than before while Hermione was a very distinct shade of brown from the tan she had received in France. There was no sign of Harry in the pub when we looked round the main room for him. Having been told by Tom the barman that Harry had already left and was somewhere in Diagon Alley, Hermione, Ron and I went with the rest of the Weasleys out the back of the Leaky Cauldron to go through the barrier separating us from the street behind. We stopped by Madam Malkin's to get some new robes as both Ron and I had grown a few inches over the summer, and went to Ollivanders so Ron could get his new wand, then went to Flourish and Blotts with Ron's parents to get our new school books.

'The Monster Book of Monsters?' repeated the shop assistant faintly when we asked him for the book we'd be assigned for our Care of Magical Creatures class. He seemed to pale when we told him we needed three copies of it before disappearing into the back and returning moments later carrying what looked suspiciously like some meat on the end of a long pole. He took it over to a large cage that I saw contained a pile of thick bound books. The moment he inserted the pole, the books went for it until one latched on with a set of teeth in its pages and it was pulled from the cage.

'Did Hagrid had some influence on our textbooks for this?' asked Ron weakly as we watched the shop keeper go for the next copy.

'It looks like it, doesn't it?' I muttered.

The only other books Ron and I had to get was for our Divination class as well as the next volume of The Standard Book of Spells. I picked up the latter then headed into the Divination section looking for a copy of Unfogging the Future by Cassandra Vablatsky. As my eyes drifted over the various books they fell upon a copy of a book sitting on a stand on a nearby table. I looked at it, curious by its cover. A large black dog with ragged fur stood growling in the photo with its teeth bared; it's white eyes stared at me from the front cover. I read the title: Death Omens: What to Do When You Know the Worst Is Coming. I looked back at the dog. For some reason it looked familiar to me but I couldn't think where I might have seen it before. I wasn't given time to think on it though as Hermione's voice called over to me saying she had got all her books and the Weasleys were getting ready to leave. I took one last look at the book then turned away to pay for my things, the dog remaining forgotten.

I didn't really have much more I needed to buy for the upcoming school year so Ron, Hermione and I decided to go to Fortescue's as none of us needed to refill any of our potion kits or writing equipment. The Weasleys left us at the ice cream parlour and disappeared off down the street. Getting a table out the front so that we could see Harry if he appeared, we each ordered something for lunch and sat eating while Hermione and Ron told me about their various holidays. Ron pulled out the photograph of his family in Egypt that had been in the Daily Prophet but Fred snatched it out of his hand before he could show us.

'Not flashing that clipping again, are you, Ron?' said George.

'I haven't shown anyone,' protested Ron. He tried to grab it back but Fred held it out of his reach.

'No, not a soul,' said Fred. 'Not unless you count Tom –'

'– the day maid –' added George.

'– the night maid –'

'– the cook –'

'– the bloke who fixed the toilet –'

'– and that wizard from Belgium.'

'Come on, you two, behave yourselves,' said Mr Weasley. 'If you're done teasing your brother, we need to get your books for your O. .'

Hermione and I grinned at each other at the twins' antics. Fred and George, who were starting their fifth-year at Hogwarts, relinquished their hold on the photograph and gave it back to Ron. They sloped off with their father leaving us to wait for Harry and Ron open to tell us about his time in Egypt without interruption.

'Egypt's got nothing on what Harry's been up to this summer,' said Ron after he finished recounting all the different things he'd done on his holiday. 'Dad says Harry almost got expelled if it wasn't for the Minister for Magic changing his mind.'

'What d'you mean?' I asked.

'Harry blew up his aunt,' said Ron, half smirking. Hermione gasped. I stared at him.

'You're joking, right?' I said.

'Harry didn't really, did he?' said Hermione. Ron nodded.

'It's what Dad said,' he shrugged. 'You can ask him yourself if you want. Harry!'

I looked round to see Harry making his way through the crowd of wizards and witches. Ron jumped up from his seat and both he and Hermione waved and shouted his name to get his attention. Harry spotted us, grinned, and walked over to where we were sat. He pulled up an empty chair and joined us.

'Finally!' said Ron. 'We've been looking for you everywhere. We went to the Leaky Cauldron, but they'd said you'd left, and we went to Flourish and Blotts, and Madam Malkin's, and –'

'I got all my school stuff last week,' said Harry. He looked as happy to see us as we were to see him. 'And how come you know I'm staying at the Leaky Cauldron?'

'Dad,' said Ron simply.

'Did you really blow up your aunt, Harry?' Hermione then said, using that familiar tone we'd heard before when she was serious about something.

'I didn't mean to,' said Harry. Ron burst out laughing. 'I just – lost control.'

'When you say aunt, I'm guessing it was your uncle's sister, Marge?' I asked Harry. He had told me years ago about his uncle's brutish sister; though I had never seen or met the woman – for obvious reasons – I had been told that she was built similarly to his uncle and bred bulldogs. She was apparently a very unpleasant woman for a Muggle, even more so than Harry's aunt and uncle were.

'I wouldn't be here if I'd blown her up,' said Harry. 'My uncle wouldn't have let me leave the house alive if I'd done that.'

'It's not funny, Ron,' said Hermione sharply. Ron was still laughing about the whole thing. 'Honestly, I'm amazed Harry wasn't expelled.'

'So am I,' said Harry. 'Forget expelled, I thought I was going to be arrested.' He looked at Ron. 'Your dad doesn't know why Fudge let me off, does he?'

'Probably 'cause it's you,' said Ron. 'Famous Harry Potter and all that. I'd hate to see what the Ministry would do to me if I blew up an aunt. Mind you, they'd have to dig me up first, because Mum would've killed me. Anyway, you can ask Dad yourself this evening. We're staying at the Leaky Cauldron tonight, too! So you can come to King's Cross with us tomorrow! Hermione's there as well!'

'Mum and Dad dropped me off this morning with all my Hogwarts things.'

'Excellent!' beamed Harry. He then turned to me. 'Aren't you staying, Jenna?'

'Depends on how my Uncle is,' I replied. 'He's been a bit unwell recently so I can only stay if he doesn't need me to help out around the house.'

'Well I hope he lets you,' said Harry. 'It'd be a bit pointless going home to come back to London again the following day, wouldn't it?' I shrugged. Harry smiled. 'So, have you got all your new books and stuff?'

'Look at this,' said Ron. He dove into his bag and pulled out a long thin box. He opened it and took out a brand new polished wand. It was a much lighter brown in colour compared to Ron's first wand and there was a small but distinct handle at its base. 'Brand-new wand,' he said proudly. 'Fourteen inches, willow, containing one unicorn tail-hair. And we've got all our books –' he pointed at the bulging bags under our table. They were mainly Hermione's as she was taking a lot more classes than we were; mine and Ron's books had all fit into our bags. 'What about those Monster Books, eh? The assistant nearly cried when we said we wanted three.'

'What's all that, Hermione?' Harry asked, pointing at her bags.

'Well, I'm taking more new subjects then you, aren't I?' said Hermione. 'Those are my books for Arithmancy, Care of Magical Creatures, Divination, Study of Ancient Runes, Muggle Studies –'

'What are you doing Muggle Studies for?' said Ron. 'You're Muggle-born! Your mum and dad are Muggles! You already know about Muggles!'

'He does have a point, Hermione,' I agreed. 'Doing Muggle Studies when you grew up with Muggles does seem a bit pointless. Even Harry and I wouldn't really need to do it considering both of us have lived with them for most of our lives.'

'But it'll be fascinating to study them from a wizarding point of view,' said Hermione eagerly. I could see the glint in her eye she always got when she was excited about something.

'Are you planning to eat or sleep at all this year, Hermione?' asked Harry while Ron sniggered at his remark. Hermione ignored them.

'I've still got ten Galleons,' she said. Hermione had pulled out her purse and was rummaging through the remaining coins inside it. 'It's my birthday in September, and Mum and Dad gave me some money to get myself an early birthday present.'

'How about a nice book?' said Ron casually. Hermione sent him a look.

'No, I don't think so,' said Hermione. 'I really want an owl. I mean, Harry's got Hedwig and Jenna's got Gizmo and you've got Errol –'

'I haven't,' said Ron. 'Errol's a family owl. All I've got is Scabbers.'

From out of his pocket Ron pulled a rather dull looking rat. Scabbers, whose age Ron had never known and whom he'd inherited from Percy when he was given his current pet, Hermes, a screech owl, was a rather rounded brown rat with a long pink tail and beady brown eyes. The years had clearly taken his toll on him though as now Scabbers was thinner than before, his whiskers weren't straight, and his fur was starting to fall out. He looked in a right sorry state even for rat. On his front right paw he had lost his toe I guessed in a fight with another animal.

'I want to get him checked over,' Ron said, looking at him. 'I don't think Egypt agreed with him.'

'There's a magical creature shop just over there,' said Harry. He pointed towards Magical Menagerie. 'You can see if they've got anything for Scabbers, and Hermione can get her owl.'

We paid for our ice creams then gathered our various bags and crossed over the street towards the shop. Inside there was very little room to move about as there were cages upon cages of different magical creatures lining the floor and the walls. There was a rather unpleasant smell in the air that you'd expect in a shop like this and you could barely hear yourself speak over the noise of the different animals in there. A witch stood behind the counter in the middle of the shop floor busily advising a man on caring for his double-ended newts while Hermione began to look at all the different pets available for purchase. Once the newt wizard had gone, Ron took Scabbers over to the witch for her to check him over. While he and Harry did that, I helped Hermione pick out an owl.

'So what kind of breed do you want?' I asked her. 'Have you thought about what sort of owl you want?'

There were several different owl breeds all standing on their perches in the back corner of the room. There were owls as big as the screech and owls as small as the pygmy and elf breeds. Hermione looked at each in turn muttering about the advantages of having a barn owl over having a tawny owl, or a long-eared over a burrowing. As she went through the different breeds I had the feeling that perhaps an owl wasn't what she was after if she was having this much trouble trying to decide what breed to get. When I first got Gizmo, something about him just made me want to help him when I saw him in distress. Maybe that's what Hermione needed, a moment that would tell her she'd found the right pet to get.

A sudden commotion behind us drew Hermione and me away from the owls. We looked round in time to see a giant ginger cat land on top of Ron's head before propelling itself forwards on to the counter. It let out a very angry hiss and was baring its teeth at Scabbers. The witch at the counter tried to grab on to Scabbers to get him away from the cat but it swiped a clawed paw at her to stop her.

'NO, CROOKSHANKS, NO!' cried the witch.

Scabbers let out a loud squeak of fear and shot off the desk, avoiding both Ron's and the witch's attempts to grab him. He bolted across the floor and out through the door to the shop that had just opened as another set of customers entered the shop in amongst the chaos.

'Scabbers!' shouted Ron. He ran after Scabbers, Harry following closely behind. The witch, meanwhile, had grabbed on to the giant ginger feline and was trying to restrain him from chasing after Scabbers again.

'Oh, Crookshanks, you naughty beast!' snapped the witch. The cat yowled as she grappled with him, trying to claw his way out of her arms. 'No wonder no one wants you when you keep chasing their pets!'

Beside me, Hermione's eyes lit up.

'Oh, he's gorgeous!' squealed Hermione. She walked over to the front desk to get a better look at the squirming cat. It was still pawing at the air trying to escape the witch's hold on him but stopped when he saw her. Hermione raised her hand and gently scratched his ear. The purr that followed sounded like it had come from the engine of a tank. 'You're gorgeous, aren't you?' cooed Hermione, stroking his head. 'What did you say his name was again?'

'Crookshanks,' said the witch. 'He's been a right nuisance since the day we got him. Hardly anyone wants to buy him and he keeps chasing everything.'

Hermione's eyes were still beaming as she took Crookshanks from the witch. I think she'd had her moment. I looked at the cat now purring happily in Hermione's arms. He was rather large for a cat, a good few inches taller in the legs than a regular Muggle cat. His fur was a strange ginger-striped colour and was very bushy and matted in various places due to its length. I guess he didn't like being brushed. His tail in particular was very wild. If I had to describe him, he looked like a miniature lion. When Hermione placed him back on the counter I saw his legs were rather bowed and his face looked squashed as if he'd run headfirst into a door with a permanent scowl upon it. Despite his appearance Crookshanks seemed very affectionate. He kept running his head along Hermione's chest to get her to stroke him again. That's when I noticed something. Crookshanks' ears were a lot larger than a normal cat's and very pointed at the tips.

'What kind of breed is Crookshanks?' I asked, curious. If I was right, Crookshanks wasn't a full Muggle cat breed.

'He's a Persian,' said the witch, 'but we think he's got a bit of Kneazle in him. He always manages to get out of his cage no matter how many times we lock him in it.'

I nodded. It seemed to make sense. Knealzes were known for their intelligence and over-sized ears, some traits that Crookshanks clearly had. At least his tail looked more like a bottlebrush than a pom-pom like a full Kneazle would have.

'What d'you think, Jenna?' asked Hermione. 'Should I get him?'

'If he's what you want,' I said. 'He definitely seems to like you.'

'How much is he?' Hermione asked the witch.

'Six Galleons and three Sickles,' said the witch.

Hermione handed the gold over to the witch. She took the payment and quickly went to the back of the store to collect Crookshanks' cage and bed. I raised my eyebrow at the speed of which she returned. It looked like she was quite relieved that someone had finally bought Crookshanks. I glanced at him as Hermione picked him up. He looked back at me with narrowed yellow eyes. He let out a low meow at me; quietly I hissed back at him in a very cat-like manner. Hermione didn't notice. With Crookshanks firmly held in her arms, Hermione and I left Magical Menagerie to go find the boys. Hopefully they had found Scabbers too. They appeared just as we stepped back out into the street. Ron gaped when he saw Crookshanks in Hermione's arms.

'You bought that monster?' he said.

'He's gorgeous, isn't he?' said Hermione. She gave Crookshanks another scratch under his chin making him purr again.

'Hermione, that thing nearly scalped me!' snapped Ron.

'He didn't mean to, did you, Crookshanks?'

'And what about Scabbers?' Ron pointed to the lump in the chest pocket of his jacket. I could just see it quivering. 'He needs rest and relaxation! How's he going to get it with that thing around?'

'That reminds me, you forgot your Rat Tonic,' said Hermione. She dug into her pocket and handed Ron the small red bottle. 'And stop worrying, Crookshanks will be sleeping in our dormitory and Scabbers will be in yours. What's the problem? Poor Crookshanks, that witch said he'd been in there for ages: no one wanted him.'

'I wonder why,' said Ron. I noted his sarcasm. 'You just keep that bloody beast away from Scabbers or I'll turn him into a tea cosy.'

'He's a cat, Ronald, what d'you expect?' retorted Hermione. 'It's in his nature.'

'It's like they've never been apart,' I whispered to Harry. He nodded in agreement.

Now that Ron, Hermione and I had got all our school books and Hermione had bought herself a pet – much to Ron's chagrin – the four of us headed back to the Leaky Cauldron. We walked through the barrier into the back courtyard and on into the bar of the pub. I saw Lupin wasn't back yet from whatever he was doing but Mr Weasley was sat reading a copy of the Daily Prophet at the long table in the middle of the room. The rest of the Weasleys didn't seem to be back from their shopping yet either.

'Harry!' said Mr Weasley jovially. 'How are you?'

'Fine, thanks,' said Harry.

Mr Weasley got up and put down his paper to shake Harry's hand. As he did so I saw the face of Sirius Black staring at me from the front page. I felt a shiver race down my spine. Black had so far not come up in conversation between the four of us though I knew it was only a matter of time before he did. I just hoped my haircut was enough to make me look less like him. Harry and Ron's reactions to it had been more surprised rather than complimentary, remarking why would I decide to streak my hair with red of all colours when my hair was jet black. At least Hermione had said it suited me though.

'They still haven't caught him, then?' I heard Harry ask Mr Weasley. I glanced at him. Did he not know who Black was or why he had been imprisoned?

'No,' said Mr Weasley. His smile had been replaced with a very serious frown. 'They've pulled us all off our regular jobs at the Ministry to try and find him, but no luck so far.'

'Everyone?' I repeated, stunned. 'Is that necessary?'

'Black's a dangerous wizard,' said Mr Weasley gravely. 'He was deep in the Dark Arts when he was captured, one of You-Know-Who's most active supporters.'

'Would we get a reward if we caught him?' asked Ron. 'It'd be good to get some more money –'

'Don't be ridiculous, Ron,' said Mr Weasley. 'Black's not going to be caught by a thirteen-year-old wizard. It's the Azkaban guards who'll get him back, you mark my words.'

A loud noise coming from outside diverted the conversation away from Black, much to my relief. I had seen out of the corner of my eye that Harry had been watching me, as I must have paled at the mention of Black like I usually did. Lupin had told me my face always seemed to whiten whenever I was reading about him in the paper. The door leading to the courtyard swung open and the rest of the Weasleys came inside with their arms laden with shopping. Ginny blushed the moment she saw Harry and said a quick 'hello' before going off with Mrs Weasley to go through her school list. Percy, Head Boy badge pinned proudly on his chest already, strode over to us and shook Harry's hand solemnly, his face as serious as his father's had been.

'Harry, how nice to see you,' he remarked.

'Hello, Percy,' Harry replied.

'I hope you're well?' Percy continued.

'Very well, thanks –'

'Harry!' Fred appeared from behind Percy, shoving him out of the way and bowing deeply in front of Harry. 'Simply splendid to see you, old boy –'

'Marvellous,' added George, pushing Fred aside and shaking Harry's hand as well. 'Absolutely spiffing.'

I bit my lip to cover the laugh that threatened to escape them. Percy scowled at his brothers' mockery. Mrs Weasley wasn't impressed either.

'That's enough, now,' she said, her hands on her hips.

'Mum!' said Fred, as though he had only just realised she was there. 'How really corking to see you –'

'I said, that's enough,' repeated Mrs Weasley firmly. She put down the handful of bags into an empty chair then came over to us. 'Hello, Harry, dear. I suppose you've heard our exciting news?' She pointed at the badge on Percy's chest. 'Second Head Boy in the family!' she said proudly.

'And last,' muttered Fred. Again I fought to suppress my laughter when I heard him.

'I don't doubt that,' snapped Mrs Weasley. She must've heard him too. 'I notice they haven't made you two Prefects.'

'What do we want to be Prefects for?' said George. 'It'd take all the fun out of life.'

'You want to set a better example to your sister!' snapped Mrs Weasley, Ginny giggling beside her.

'Ginny's got other brothers to set her an example,' said Percy pompously. 'I'm going up to change for dinner …'

Percy turned on his heel and disappeared up the staircase at the back of the bar. George let out a sigh.

'We tried to shut him a pyramid,' he whispered to Harry, Hermione and me. 'But Mum spotted us.'

'Shame really,' added Fred. 'I think he would have fit right in there with his ancient personality.'

I smirked at the twins. I always did enjoy their unique sense of humour.

I ended up staying at the Leaky Cauldron with the Weasleys, Harry and Hermione as Lupin had been forced to return home shortly after we'd arrived. He had left a message for me with Tom before he'd left saying that he had booked me a room for the night and to go with the others to Platform Nine and Three-Quarters the next day where he'd most likely see me on the train. Though concerned with whether or not he was OK, I waited for Granddad to bring my school trunk and Gizmo from Moonlake to the bar. He assured me that Lupin was just suffering from exhaustion as usual due to the full moon being so close now before speaking to Mr and Mrs Weasley about taking me with them to King's Cross Station the next day. I saw the familiar concerned look cross Mrs Weasley's face as she spoke to him.

'I must say, it's rather irresponsible of Jenna's uncle to do this,' I heard her say disapprovingly. 'Leaving her alone in Diagon Alley without letting her know he had to return home. She's thirteen-years-old.'

'Unfortunately, he has a weak immune system,' explained Granddad to her, 'and so there are moments when he is suddenly unable to cope without risk of collapse. Jenna's been aware of this all her life and has gotten used to being left in other people's care at short notice when he is taken ill.'

Mrs Weasley frowned but accepted Granddad's excuse.

'Well, we'll see Jenna to the Platform with the others,' she said. 'You can tell her uncle that we're more than happy to look after Jenna if needs be.'

I turned away from their conversation and back to the heated debate Hermione and Ron were having across the table from me while we waited for dinner to be served, on whether or not Scabbers would be safe from Crookshanks after the latter had made another attempt on the old rat's life earlier that evening. Ron was convinced Crookshanks had it in for Scabbers while Hermione defended him stating that cats naturally chase rodents. Beside me, Harry nudged my side. I looked at him.

'You OK?' he whispered. 'You seem worried about something.'

'Oh, it's nothing,' I shrugged. My brain worked fast to come up with a plausible excuse for my zoned out attitude just then. 'My Uncle's been busy over the summer and so had to book me in here last minute. Granddad was just explaining that to Mr and Mrs Weasley and asking them if they could take me to King's Cross tomorrow with you guys.'

Harry nodded. I smiled to cement the excuse, glad that our food had just arrived and so the conversation wouldn't continue. As much as I didn't like lying to Harry – and I use the term loosely as I viewed it more as covering for Lupin rather than telling a blatant lie to him – it was necessary so he didn't find out about Lupin's lycanthropy. Harry bought it though and tucked into his starter. Maybe this whole excuse lark would be easier than I thought this year. Covering for Lupin's lycanthropy would be a piece of pumpkin pie though in comparison to what I might have to do if my relation to Black ever came into question. That I had no idea what I was going to say if it ever came up. The idea of admitting it seemed too horrible to think about.

Conversation at dinner soon turned to how we were getting to King's Cross Station the next day. I listened as Mr Weasley informed us that we were going by Ministry car to the station. Everyone around the table turned to him.

'Why?' asked Percy curiously.

'It's because of you, Perce,' said George seriously. 'And there'll be little flags on the bonnets, with HB on them –'

'– for Humungous Bighead,' said Fred.

'Why are the Ministry providing cars, Father?' Percy asked a second time, still retaining his dignified tone despite his brother's teasing.

'Well, as we haven't got one anymore,' said Mr Weasley. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Ron stare intensely down at his food. 'And as I work there, they're doing me a favour.'

Despite Mr Weasley's casual tone I couldn't help but think that there was more to it than that, especially judging by how red Mr Weasley's ears had gone. Lending Ministry vehicles to an employee just to help him get his children to a train station? Seemed like a waste of time for the Ministry to be bothered with it.

'Good job, too,' said Mrs Weasley briskly. 'Do you realise how much luggage you've all got between you? A nice sight you'd be on the Muggle Underground … You are all packed, aren't you?'

'Ron hasn't put all his new things in his trunk yet,' said Percy heavily. 'He's dumped them on my bed.'

'You'd better go and pack properly, Ron, because we won't have time in the morning,' Mrs Weasley called down to him where we sat. Ron glared at Percy.

'Snitch,' he grumbled under his breath.

After the large dinner slowly the group dispersed to go upstairs to their respective bedrooms and check that all their things were ready for the following day. Seeing as all my stuff had already been packed before Granddad had brought it here for me, I had offered to let Crookshanks go outside for a bit before bed and keep an eye on him while Hermione went and finished packing her new books into her trunk. I let the ginger cat out the back door and sat on the step watching him as he prowled around the dustbins. He eyed me suspiciously as I watched him. When he let out another low growl at me I merely hissed back in response like before. It was like he didn't trust me or something. After a few minutes Tom came out and told me he was locking up the courtyard for the night. I nodded and stood up. I held open for the door to let Crookshanks inside then followed after him.

There were very few people left in the bar when I came back inside. The barmaid was busily cleaning the table from when we'd had dinner, waving her hand to make the chairs turn upside down on to the table top and a glass vanish into her rag. There was a couple of wizards sat at the bar talking with Tom while another sat at a table reading a book and absently stirring his drink with a spoon controlled by a wave of his finger. I walked past them and made to go upstairs when I heard voices coming from the next room. I frowned when I heard them. It was Mr and Mrs Weasley and they were arguing.

'He's just a boy!' Mrs Weasley was saying. 'This is the last thing he needs to know right now.'

My frown deepened. It sounded like they were talking about Harry. I glanced round the bar. No one had noticed me, and Crookshanks had vanished upstairs to Hermione's room. I ducked beneath the wooden staircase so that I was out of sight. I closed my eyes and cleared my mind before thinking of a cat. My body transformed and moments later I emerged from the shadows disguised as a black cat. I quickly ran across the bar and into the next room. Mr and Mrs Weasley were sitting facing each other both with angry looks on their faces. I hid under the table to listen.

'Molly, please be reasonable,' said Mr Weasley. 'The Ministry's being unreasonable. It makes no sense not to tell him. Harry's got the right to know. I've tried to tell Fudge, but he insists on treating Harry like a child. He's thirteen-years-old and –'

I was right. They were talking about Harry and I had a horrible feeling I knew what it was about.

'Arthur, the truth would terrify him!' said Mrs Weasley, her voice high and shrill. It was quite painful on my cat hearing. 'Do you really want to send Harry back to school with that hanging over him? For heaven's sake, he's happy not knowing!'

'I don't want to make him miserable, I want to put him on his guard!' retorted Mr Weasley. 'You know what Harry and Ron are like, wandering off by themselves –' I couldn't deny he had a point there, '– they've ended up in the Forbidden Forest twice! But Harry mustn't do that this year! When I think what could have happened to him that night he ran away from home! If the Knight Bus hadn't picked him up, I'm prepared to bet he would have been dead before the Ministry found him.'

'But he's not dead, he's fine, so what's the point –'

'Molly, they say Sirius Black's mad,' said Mr Weasley, 'and maybe he is, but he was clever enough to escape from Azkaban, and that's supposed to be impossible. It's been three weeks, and no one's seen hide nor hair of him, and I don't care what Fudge keeps telling the Daily Prophet, we're no nearer catching Black than inventing self-spelling wands. The only thing we know for sure is what Black's after –'

'But Harry will be perfectly safe at Hogwarts,' protested Mrs Weasley.

'We thought Azkaban was perfectly safe. If Black can break out of Azkaban, he can break into Hogwarts.'

'But no one's really sure that Black's after Harry –'

There was a loud thump on the table above me from Mr Weasley slamming his fist down on to it, causing me to cower underneath it. So Lupin was right. Black was after Harry.

'Molly, how many times do I have to tell you?' snapped Mr Weasley. 'They didn't report it in the press because Fudge wanted it kept quiet, but Fudge went out to Azkaban the night Black escaped. The guards told Fudge that Black's been talking in his sleep for a while now. Always the same words: "He's at Hogwarts … he's at Hogwarts". Black is deranged, Molly, and he wants Harry dead. If you ask me, he thinks murdering Harry will bring You-Know-Who back to power. Black lost everything the night Harry stopped You-Know-Who, and he's had twelve years alone in Azkaban to brood on that …'

Silence followed. Carefully I edged towards the end of the table to look up at the elder wizards.

'Well, Arthur, you must do what you think is right,' said Mrs Weasley, defeated. 'But you're forgetting Albus Dumbledore. I don't think anything could hurt Harry at Hogwarts while Dumbledore's Headmaster. I suppose he knows about all this?'

'Of course he knows,' said Mr Weasley. 'We had to ask him if he minds the Azkaban guards stationing themselves around the entrances to the school grounds. He wasn't happy about it, but he agreed.'

I felt a shiver go through my body. The Dementors were going to be guarding the school? If they got anywhere near me, I'd collapse in minutes. Did Lupin know about this?

'Not happy? Why shouldn't he be happy, if they're there to catch Black?'

'Dumbledore isn't fond of the Azkaban guards. Nor am I, if it comes to that … but when you're dealing with a wizard like Black, you sometimes have to join forces with those you'd rather avoid.'

'If they save Harry –'

'– then I will never say another word against them,' finished Mr Weasley. 'It's late, Molly, we'd better go up and check on the boys and make sure they're in bed.'

I heard the chairs they were sitting on scrap back as they got up. Quickly I darted out from under the table before they could see me and slipped out of the open door back into the bar, passing through between someone's legs as I did so. I leapt up the stairs and along the corridor until I came to the room I was staying in. I pushed the door open with my front paws and went inside. Once inside I transformed back and shut the door behind me, my back firmly against it. I remained there for a few moments as I tried to comprehend all that I'd just heard. I jumped when I heard a knock at my door.

'Jenna, dear,' came Mrs Weasley's voice, 'are you ready for bed?'

'Er – yes, thank you,' I replied. 'Goodnight, Mrs Weasley.'

'Goodnight, Jenna,' Mrs Weasley said back. Her footsteps disappeared down the corridor.

I carefully peaked out my door to see if she was gone before closing it again. I sighed, saddened by what I had learnt, that Black really was after Harry. I looked up then walked over to the window in my bedroom. I stared out into the darkness. It was silent outside on both the Muggle and wizarding sides of London. It was comforting, however comforting silence could really be. To my left there was a mirror hanging on the wall above the chest of drawers. I walked over to it and looked into its reflective surface.

'I look so much like him,' I muttered to myself. I could see something in my reflection that had been in him in the picture of him and my Mum. Not to mention the black hair even with its streaks were a clear giveaway. But what I saw wasn't something bad. What it was I didn't know. 'He's got to be innocent,' I said, 'he's just got to be. He can't be what people keep saying he is.'

'You're holding on to very few threads of hope,' the mirror replied. I glared at it.

'What are you, a fortune teller or a mirror?'

It didn't say anything else.

I didn't sleep well that night. For the first time in what must have been two years now I was once again haunted in my dreams by the death of my Mum but this time it was different. I was remembering more of what happened, like when I had last been near the Dementors and when I had touched Black's knife. I could see Black kneeling there beside her, holding her body into his chest as he cried over her. But surely if he'd been a Death Eater, why would he cry over her when she was killed by his comrades? Surely he would have known she'd been marked down for death? The tears, however, seemed too genuine for them to be a lie. A man wouldn't cry like Black had over Mum's body if he wasn't truly affected by it. I woke with a start around two a.m. as the death itself was replayed. I lay back down with only one question on my mind: was Black really the man people believed him to be or was it all a big misunderstanding and that someone else had been responsible for all that Black was blamed for?

---

AN: first chapter of Prisoner of Azkaban down and I really like the changes I have made to it. I like the new way Jenna learnt about Sirius being her father, the added use of the shield she can produce which helped make Sirius realise who she was as he'd only ever known one other witch to make that shield, and the confrontation between him and Remus when he came to Moonlake to confirm whether or not it was his daughter he'd seen in Diagon Alley. I have even removed Jenna learning the Patronus Charm over the summer, feeling that it was now unnecessary in the rewrite for now. I hope you all like the changes and let me know what you think