Chapter 1: Harsh Truths

Just a one-shot that I've always wanted to write. And I don't ownHarry Potter

Remus Lupin woke up early that morning in his tumbledown hut by the seaside, away from prying eyes. The newspapers screamed Sirius Black's disturbing escapade and Remus had been in two minds ever since he got wind of the news. He was torn between righteousness and loyalty and the dilemma was rather overwhelming.

He knew how Sirius escaped and he had still not done anything about it.

His ultimate test, however - the one that forced him to make up his mind - came in the form of a newspaper clipping and a note on his table.

'Do you find the rat on the paper familiar?'

Remus wasn't sure what the that statement meant, the almost illegible scrawl wasn't helping either, but before he went on the read the rest of the note, he took a peek at the newspaper and realised that it was a picture of the red-headed Weasley family in Egypt that he'd seen on the Prophet a few days ago.

Strange. Remus wasn't sure if weasels were related to rats in some way, but that statement was cruel in itself. Let alone the fact that it was sent from one person to another, even if the note was sent to him by mistake, if it was a mistake.

Remus turned back to the note and barely made out the second sentence, 'See the missing toe on his left paw!'

Missing toe? Remus snorted and turned to the clipping again, maybe just to confirm that this was some kind of a joke. A rat with a missing paw, amongst a family of nine humans, whose toes were all well hidden. Ridiculous.

Maybe it really was a joke. A sick, cruel joke.

Remus sighed and turned back to the missive.

'See him spread out there so comfortably on the boy's shoulder. The traitor! Do you find him familiar?'

Now this was too much. Remus decided it wasn't worth wasting his time on. He had to, after all, find a new job and the earlier he started on it, the better.

He put aside the note and clipping and kept his kettle on the stove. While it heated, he dressed into his most dignified clothes, muggle shirt and trousers. How he missed his days at Hogwarts... Good food, wonderful friends, no need of looking after himself...

He sat at the old rickety table and poured himself a cup of tea. That was all he needed for now. He'd eat something more substantial once he was affirmed his job.

But somehow, as Remus sipped his steaming tea, his curiosity got the better of his pride and he reached out and picked up the newspaper clipping. He looked on the shoulders of the nine happy people and finally found a rat on the shoulder of one of the younger boys.

So, the rat indeed had a missing toe but was it familiar? It did remind him of a very old and dead friend of his. Sirius was responsible for Peter Pettigrew's death, as well as that of the Potters and those Muggles.

Remus sighed and took a better look at the rat... Those ears were almost human, almost like the one's Peter would have once he transformed into his animagus form. Why was the rat on the picture referred to as a traitor? What was going on?

Unable to look at the rat again, Remus turned to the note and this time, he noticed that it was written on muggle paper. The next statement read:

'The rat is the boy's pet and the boy goes to Hogwarts. Daisy Potter goes to Hogwarts too.'

So? Why was the message so intent on making him miserable? Why was it trying to dig up painful memories? Poison pen wasn't a very nice thing.

'Keep Daisy away from Pettigrew! Keep Daisy safe!'

There. End of note... It wasn't even signed.

"What in the world?" Remus breathed out. What was going on? Remus set his old brain working and in no time he assumed that the person who wrote the letter considered the rat to be Peter. This also meant that there was someone else other that Sirius Black and him who knew of Peter's animagus abilities.

A paper airplane flew into his window and landed in his left hand. Surprised, Remus opened it and saw another note, scrawled in a hurry, which was a little longer than the first.

He lifted it up and read.

'Peter Pettigrew is well and alive, living in his animagus form with the Weasley family for the last twelve years. The only part of him that was found, as you remember, was his left index finger which he had actually cut off once he knew there was nothing else to do. He betrayed the Potters, he was their secret keeper... We switched.

You will find this ridiculous and I know I haven't explained it thoroughly in my first message. If you can just give me five minutes to approach you and tell you what had exactly happened in '81, I will be grateful. If you agree to it, Remus, simply nod and I will kneel before you with my hands behind my head and explain.

Give me the chance, Remus, give me the chance no one ever did. I wasn't given a trial, in case you aren't aware of it. Please Remus, I wish you no harm.

Sirius Black.'

Alarm bells rang behind Remus's brain. This was indeed, very ridiculous and really serious. What should Remus do? Did Sirius deserve that chance? He, Remus, had always believed in letting people explain themselves. But was that bit about Peter even true or was Sirius mocking him?

But the more he looked at the rat on the boy's shoulder, the more he began to believe that the rat did actually look like Pettigrew, especially when the rat in the picture licked his paw and rubbed his eye with it, just as Peter used to do back in the old days, just as Sirius had taught him all those years ago.

The facts sounded so absurd and yet Remus felt a tiny doubt pop it's way into his mind and before he realized what was happening, he found his loyalty for his friend get the better of him. He set his cup of tea aside and nodded and jumped almost out of his skin when an underfed black dog nosed it's way through his front door.

Remus's heart was pounding away and he kept his wand at the ready. He made himself invisible and then trained his wand at the black dog. Padfoot whined at Remus's actions.

"Change!" Remus commanded and Padfoot turned into Sirius. Immediately, Remus cast ropes around the escaped convict's emaciated body, which wound around him tightly, making Sirius fall to the floor with a grunt.

Remus felt no remorse.

"Explain." he said quietly.

"A few days before that Halloween," Sirius croaked, "I approached the Potter's and convinced them to switch secret keepers. I somehow knew I would be Voldemort's first choice and if he captured me, at least the Potter's would be safe... We suspected you to be the spy Remus and that was why we asked Pettigrew to be the secret keeper.

"Pettigrew had by then already got Voldemort's marking and he had been passing information to him for a while. Believe me, Remus, when Voldemort killed them," Sirius's voice broke almost genuinely, "I broke. I went to confront the traitor. But he turned the tables on me and yelled across the street about my betrayal and blew up the place.

"For years, I believed him to be dead until the Minister visited Azkaban with that Prophet and I asked him for it, because I wanted to do the crosswords and there, mocking me, on the front page was Pettigrew in all his glory. He's alive Remus! And he goes to Hogwarts with that boy. Daisy goes to Hogwarts too and she's in danger."

"Just a minute." Remus said as sternly as he could. "How was it that you weren't affected by the dementors after all these years? Surely you wouldn't have had the strength to ask the minister for the paper let alone escape. And howdidyou escaped?"

"I was innocent, Remus! That was the thought that the dementors couldn't take away from me. It kept me sane and then there was Padfoot. Dementors aren't able to sense feelings in animals and that helped me slip past the one who opened the door to my cell with food. I was thin enough to slip through the bars later at the entrance of Azkaban and I swam to the shore."

"Sirius," Remus said his name for the first time, "I don't believe you."

Sirius choked back a sob. But before he could say anything else there was a knock on his front door.

"Remus," a deep albeit familiar voice called out. "Are you in there?"

Remus took off the disillusionment charm and still keeping his wand trained at Sirius, he moved to the door and opened it.

"Headmaster!" Remus said surprised as he found Albus Dumbledore at his door. "It's a pleasant surprise."

Dumbledore chuckled merrily. "Oh, I have had a tough time tracking you down, Remus, but I've found you in the end. Have I interrupted something, do you have visitors?"

Remus looked solemnly at the old man. "You better come in, Headmaster, and see if you can help me out of a situation that I have found myself in just a few minutes ago. But please, Headmaster, take the time to listen before you act."

Dumbledore raised his bushy eyebrows, but he nodded.

"What is it?"

Remus led the way in and he felt Dumbledore stop in his tracks as he took in the sight before him.

"What has happened?" he said gravely, his wand pointed at Sirius.

Without wasting a minute, Remus began telling the old man about his friends animagus abilities and the letters he received this morning and then silently turned to a shaking Sirius and let him explain his side of the story.

Sirius did.

Once he finished talking, Dumbledore studied him for a few minutes longer and said, "You are aware, Sirius that I have the ability of detecting lies."

Sirius nodded, but his eyes did not leave Dumbledore's face.

Dumbledore sighed and said, "I believe your story Sirius... and now, with Cornelius Fudge as Minister, there is no way I can do anything for you at the moment but help you escape. I do know that Ronald Weasley is in young Daisy's year. To her good luck, however, he sleeps in a different dormitory...You must know that Ronald Weasley used to be Daisy's best friend.

"The least I can do for you is allow you to come to Hogwarts as the familiar of the new Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor...Remus."

"I beg your pardon!" Remus exclaimed.

"Yes, Remus. This was why, I was looking for you. You were the only one who knew Sirius the most and having you on the staff this year would be very helpful, especially now that I know we have a murderer amongst the students. Please accept this offer, Remus. It would do you both some good. Even Peter would be shaken up when he sees you both."

"Won't that trigger his resolve to hurt Daisy?" Sirius asked from the floor.

"Sirius, I'm sorry." Remus blurted out.

He moved forward to take those ropes off his friend, helped him to his feet and hugged him.

Over Remus's shoulder, Sirius looked pointedly at Dumbledore.

The old man sighed and said, "Daisy won't be entering Gryffindor tower again."

"Why?" Remus asked as he broke away from Sirius and and heated his kettle pot a set two morecupson the table. "And did I hear you correctly, when you said that the Weasley boyused to beDaisy's friend?"

Remus never made use of chairs for he was never at home long enough to use them, a rickety stool was all he actually needed to sit on, but now, he decided that he really needed chairs and conjured three comfortable ones.

Dumbledore sat on on of the chairs and accepted the mug of steaming black coffee and sighed, "It's a long story..."


The scene ripples and changes to the infirmary of Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry.


"The poison somehow made its way into her mouth, probably as she screamed when she killed the Basilisk." a very worried Dumbledore was telling Madam Pomfrey and Professor Snape.

"Hence her voice has been affected?" the dour man said dryly.

Madam Pomfrey nodded as she stole a look at the peacefully sleeping child.

"Can't your phoenix do something?" Severus said.

"He did, Severus." Dumbledore said. "Fawkes took out the poison from her mouth, but unfortunately, he couldn't heal the damage it caused on her vocal cords."

"How come?"

Dumbledore sighed, "Severus, young Daisy has that connection with Voldemort. That scar is so close to all five of her senses, it's a wonder the connection hadn't damaged her brain. But such connections, if I've heard correctly, prevent their holder from being damaged.

"The connection had already closed over the damage, by the time Fawkes took off the poison and his tears couldn't penetrate through that new barrier...Daisy will look as she has always looked, but speech shall not return to her until that connection is broken."

"And how exactly will it be broken?" Madam Pomfrey said.

"I will have to begin looking it up, Poppy...I believe Voldemort has made other connections too and I will start searching with more vigour. Give me some time, a year at least. That is all I ask of you."

"Who will be looking after her now?"

"Her relatives of course. I can't ask the Weasleys to take her, now that the youngest boy has made it clear that he wanted to have nothing to do with Daisy."

"What?" Severus said, taken off guard.

"Yes, Severus." Poppy sighed sadly, "Her friends both decided they were better of without her. They created quite a racket out here and the poor girl was so upset once I chased those two out, I had to dose her with a calming draught. The drought wasn't that strong, but it knocked her out."

They stared at her for a few minutes longer.

"Now, why did you want my presence here, Headmaster?" Severus said finally.

"Nothing much, Severus. The girl will remain here until the end of this school year. After that Severus, I simply want you to drop her off at Number four, Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey. I would also wish you to give Petunia and her family a sound warning."

Severus looked at the old man for a few seconds and then nodded with a sneer but said nothing.

The end of term approached and Gryffindor won the House Cup thanks to Potter's two hundred points and Severus was most ashamed to say that he found a part of himself believing that the girl deserved it. He wouldn't have guessed even in his wildest dreams that he would ever feel sorry for Daisy Potter, but that was his state at present... He felt pity for the unusually silent girl.

Potter had now become more contrite. She had surprised Severus by looking up at him without her usual scorn and they even managed to have a decent conversation. Of course, she could only nod or shake her head and Severus had not been snide to her. That must have helped as well... or was it the fact that the girl had both, her mother's hair and eyes?

The shape of her mouth, her smile and her narrow forehead was all that she had inherited from her father.

To Severus, it was a big relief, for he was positive he wouldn't last seven years, teaching a carbon copy of James Potter. He always shuddered at the thought of his state had the child been a boy.

Now, Severus managed to summon every one of Daisy's belongings. He was not surprised to see almost everything damaged, be it her tattered books, torn clothes and even her Nimbus 2000 which seemed to have suddenly obtained charred marks. Severus's outrageforthe girl was a new feeling, but unfortunately, there was nothing he could do for there wasn't any proof to show that her possessions were damaged by the girls in her dormitory.

However, an hour before the train would leave from Hogsmead, Severus entered the hospital wing and stopped dead when he saw Neville Longbottom and Draco Malfoy conversing softly to Potter. Severus disillusioned himself and stealthily made his way to them to see Potter write on a notebook:

"You shouldn't have done it Draco."

"I have done many things, Daisy. Which one would you be talking about?" Draco said with nonchalance, surprising Severus with their being on first name basis.

Potter scowled but Longbottom chuckled and said, "Come on, Daisy, it was his choice!"

"But this puts him in danger in his own house!" she scribbled furiously. Severus was glad he thought of getting her a couple of those special dictator quills that could do the writing for her simply by force of her thoughts. The quills were safely tucked in his pocket. A parting gift, that he intended to give her later.

"Your condition, puts you in danger in your own house as well!" Draco deadpanned once she was done.

"That is not the point!" Potter wrote lamely, "It wouldn't have happened if you hadn't befriended me."

"Oh, shut up, Daisy!" Malfoy snapped. "I made friends with you... That's my choice...My friends now want to have nothing to do with me... That's their problem... I have you and Neville and I can ask Snape for protection, he's fair... My parents gave me another chance and I declined...That's my problem... My parents decided to disown me... That's their problem... Neville's invited me to stay with him."

Severus had had enough of this bizzare behaviour.

He made himself visible again and growled, "Would you care to explain how the three of you have suddenly become so chummy?"

Longbottom and Draco jumped off the bed, while Potter simply opened her notebook and wrote, "Professor, the three of us have been friends since we met for the first time in Diagon Alley on my eleventh birthday at Madam Malkin's. Draco's father warned Draco against befriending either of us, but Draco ignored him and we kept exchanging letters throughout the holidays.

"Then, we needed to keep up our appearances and Neville chose to be the clumsy boy and Draco, the arrogant little git. Ron came and sat in my compartment and I sort of got into a conversation with him and then Neville and Draco came in one at time so we knew we had caught the same train. But Ron -"

Draco placed a hand on hers, effectively curbing her statement and nodded, "Daisy's right, Professor. It was less than a week ago that Pansy Parkinson caught me talking to Daisy and she sent a letter to my parents. End of story. But Neville's Gran was swell enough to invite me for the hols. We're just wondering if it was okay if we could get Daisy to stay with us too, but she told us of the wards around that house and that she'd have to stay there."

Longbottom said, "Professor, her relatives won't look after her-"

Potter hit Longbottom with her notebook and opened it again and wrote, "I can look after myself!"

She underlined the words furiously.

Severus's lips twitched but he said, "I will see to it that she is well provided for."

Potter huffed but didn't move to write anything else. Severus continued, "How about you two head down and grab a carriage to Hogsmead? Have a good summer."

Severus waiting for the children to say their farewells and leave before he turned to Potter and said, "Let's get you home, Potter."

Severus shrunk the girl's possessions which he painstakingly repaired and put the trunk into his pocket and sent the owl flying to Surrey. Then they left the castle together and slowly moved to the gates of Hogwarts.

Once they reached there, he held the girl close making it quite clear to himself that he was doing this for Lily and not for the girl he had developed a sudden fondness for over the weeks, and he took the floo to Arabella Figg's house in Little Whinging, Surrey.

With a swift nod at the batty old squib, he put the girl down and handed her the special quills he had bought for her (he made sure he spent fifteen minutes teaching her how to connect her thoughts with it) and placing a hand on her shoulder, he steered the twelve year old to Number four.

The door was opened by Petunia Dursley and Severus was surprised when he noticed her looking no different than what she looked the last time he saw her.

"Get in quick!" she snapped and Severus and Potter barely got past the threshold before she slammed the door shut.

"I trust you received the letter from the Headmaster of Hogwarts?" Petunia, pursed her lips and nodded tersely.

"Let's get you to your room, Potter." Severus said just as a huge man lumbered into the room. He grunted at them and Severus was beginning to wonder how Potter was going to make it through the rest of the month.

From the girl's stiffness at the very mention of her family, Severus deduced that they hadn't been treating her well, but the instruction from Dumbledore telling him to warn them simply confirmed the fact.

Severus asked the girl, "Is your bedroom upstairs?"

She nodded.

"Let's go then."

She led him up the stairs and they soon arrived at a very small room, dusty from disuse.

"Your room?"

She nodded expressionlessly.

"I trust the Headmaster explained to you the protections around this place?"

She grimaced and nodded again.

"Personally, I don't think this protection even works correctly." Then, making a sudden decision, he sighed and said. "Nevertheless, I'll be seeing you in two weeks then."

Her eyes lit up immediately.

"I will drop you off at the Longbottom residence. But, until then, I shall be visiting you from four to five everyday commencing from today onwards...so that I can teach you the sign language, and I will then head to Longbottom's place and teach those boys the same. It will help the situations wherein you don't have any paper or quill on you."

She smiled for the first time since she lost her voice.

Severus then pulled out another parchment he bought for her and said, "If they give you any trouble at anytime, scribble a note to me on this parchment. Immediately. I have a copy of it and I will receive whatever you've written at that instant.

He held her by her shoulders, bent down and looked at her in her eye and said, "Even if you're bored, Daisy, you will write to me on that parchment. I don't want you dwelling on the unfairness of this situation. Things will take a turn for the better before you know it. I'll be seeing you at four today then."

She nodded slowly.

"Right then, I'm going to have a word with those relatives of yours. You will not come out, no matter what you hear."

Once he settled her down and cleaned up the room for her and fixed whatever there was to be fixed, he went down to meet the now three Dursleys sitting on the couch in their living room. With a size such as that, Severus was sure Dursley junior would die of heart failure in less than fifteen years.

A quick nonverbal spell was all it took and the boy would go running in the neighbourhood every morning and evening for the rest of his summer vacation. He'd reduce his quantity of food intake and he would insist that his cousin ate well too.

Now Severus pointed his wand at a golf club by the door and he turned it into a snake.

Petunia screamed and held onto her son, almost effectively cutting out his air supply.

"If that's what I did to that club, I am capable of doing a better job on you. I have placed protections around that girl and I will be visiting her every single day. If I see her injured or underfed, I. Shall. Kill. You."

"You w-wouldn't be able t-to!" Petunia screeched. "You l-lot have laws protecting us!"

"Ah, Petunia." Severus gave her a cruel smile. "I am a man of my own laws and...the Ministry keeps track of magic spells, not potions...I am, luckily for you, a Potions Master. A . Few. Drops. Of a poison could take you down. Painfully. Your son will go first, then your husband. And I might just spare your life."

Petunia screeched again.

"Get out!" Vernon's roared and Severus smirked.

"Touch that girl and I will kill you. Give her any grief and I will torture you before I kill you."

"OUT!"

Severus's smirk widened turned on his heel and disapperated.


The scene ripples and changes back to Remus Lupin's tumbledown living room.


"That's the story, more or less, there may have been a few exaggerations from my side or Severus's... " Dumbledore was saying. "Severus began the classes and and ended up taking that girl under his wing. I wasn't surprised when he came to me a few weeks ago telling me that he had adopted the girl."

"What!" Sirius spat.

"She adores him, Sirius." Dumbledore said. "He adores her. She's living with him now, visiting the Longbottom residence once in a while."

"He's a Death Eater!" Sirius roared.

"Not anymore, Siriu-"

"How can you tell!"

"That's between Severus and me." Dumbledore said coldly. "And, if your goddaughter was so close to your heart, you shouldn't have run after Peter Pettigrew in the first place."

Sirius deflated, but Remus couldn't find it in himself to feel sorry for him.

"They love each other, Sirius." Dumbledore said gently. "And I would beg you not to break her heart again, by hurting Severus in anyway. Heaven knows, she's had enough of those already."

Sirius nodded.

"What about that Malfoy boy?"

Dumbledore said calmly, "What about your relationship with your family, Sirius?"

Sirius scowled in understanding.

Dumbledore said with a little mirth in his eyes, "it is rumoured that Draco's parents are expecting their next child. and though Narcissa loves draco with everything she has, she can't side with him, fearing Lucius will harm him in some way... now, how about we discuss that Defence Against the Dark Arts position of Hogwarts..."

That's it. I really don't know if I will continue this story. I may change my mind based on my time and your reviews.

Take care!