We hadn't seen Harry all day. He had disappeared off somewhere in the Leaky Cauldron with Hermione and Ron after taking the most recent news pretty badly. Actually, more accurately, he hadn't reacted at all. After Remus told him about his connection to Sirius Black, he had gotten up and left without a word.

"So, Harry's off taking the news like a champ?" George asked sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

"I don't get what the big deal is anyways," Fred said.

I looked at him dubiously.

"The first time Sirius Black was mentioned in association to my family we got into a huge fight," I replied distastefully.

I saw his cheeks turn pink as he bowed his head down.

"Oh, right," he replied sheepishly.

The Weasley's were spending the day buying their school supplies in Diagon Alley while we all waited for Harry to come out of hiding.

We weren't allowed to split up though since our families were all worried about Sirius Black coming after one of us, so I was sitting at a table with the twins while we waited for Mrs. Weasley and my dad to return. They had insisted on getting all the supplies while us kids waited safely at the inn.

"So, how are you handling things? I mean we know how it feels to have a git for a brother…" Fred said provokingly. "But we are worried about you."

I took a deep breath.

"Harry is just trying to swallow the news without showing us his anger. He'll come around when he's ready," I shrugged. "But, honestly, I feel exhausted. I haven't really slept much since I saw the news report and I'm worried Harry might be in trouble… again."

"Well, I mean he's already been up against You Know Who, twice! And that's only since his first year. Sirius Black can't be that big a problem for him," George said cheekily.

I gave him a half-hearted glare before sighing again. I didn't have the energy.

Instead Fred nervously cleared his throat and I looked over at him only to see him staring back at me.

"Would he come after you?" Fred asked in a worried tone.

I had been so focused on Harry, I hadn't stopped to think about me.

"What interest would he have in me?" I asked skeptically.

"Marnie, it's time to go home," I heard my father call from behind me, before anyone could answer.

I saw Harry sheepishly standing behind my father which I guess indicated that we were leaving before he disappeared again.

I stood up and hugged the twins good-bye before exiting the inn and being quickly herded into a Ministry provided car.

My eyebrows rose in surprise with the amount of attention our family was currently getting in lieu of Harry. They had never seemed at all interested with us before.

The car ride home was excruciatingly silent which lasted all the way until we walked through the doorway. Right away Harry went to make a run for it up to our room but Remus stopped him.

"Hold it," was all he said in a firm voice.

We both stopped in our tracks and turned to face him. He was pointing towards the couch to motion for us to sit down.

Dad and Remus joined us as we all sat in a continued, uncomfortable silence.

"Now, we have given you the day to digest this information and we understand that you may still be angry with us, but there are some rules that we expect you to adhere to," Remus said while Harry remained brooding.

"Now, unfortunately we are assuming that Sirius has escaped for some reason to come and seek you out Harry, and we need to make sure you are safe here," Remus pressed on.

"So, there is no sneaking out or leaving unattended for any reason," dad said sternly.

I could see they were trying to shake the anxiety from their voices. They were extremely apprehensive about Harry and his known recklessness.

I noticed Harry clenching his fists before exhaling loudly.

"I just can't believe he betrayed them," Harry said meekly, with a catch in his voice.

I realized Harry was trying to keep his emotions to himself instead of trying to contain any anger.

"He betrayed us all," Remus replied softly, emotion filling his voice.

We remained silent for a while before dad got up and started making dinner. I had since moved over to sit right next to Harry and held his hand. He squeezed it in return and was yet to let go. I had had a lifetime to somewhat come to terms with what Sirius Black had done to this family, Harry had only had a day.

Plus, now his life was in jeopardy again, for like the third year in a row, from the man who could have been his godfather. It was a lot for anyone to handle.

XXX

Dad was quiet the whole way to King's Cross as the four of us were escorted in a Ministry car, just like we had coming back from London.

Remus was going to board the train with us since he would also be living at Hogwarts for the year.

"Be safe," dad said as he brought me into a tight embrace.

We were beside the scarlet steam engine and dad was trying to hide the blatant worry in his eyes.

I couldn't help but feel worried for him in return, we were leaving him behind after all.

"I'll be fine Little Badger," he said knowingly as he patted me on the head. But he pulled me aside before allowing me to board the train. "Marnie, I have to warn you," my father started uneasily. "I know Remus and I have been very focused on Harry since hearing of Sirius' escape, but I don't want you to let your guard down."

"Dad, I'll make sure to watch over Harry," I said reassuringly.

"I know you will darling, but that's not what I'm getting at," dad continued. "Sirius may decide to come after you…"

"What?!" I exclaimed, not believing this was the answer my father was giving me to the initial question Fred had asked me back at the Leaky Cauldron.

"Well, your mother played a large part in foiling his scheme, plus they had a pretty complex history," my father explained nervously.

But before I could ask anything, the whistle blew from the train, cutting off any response I could give.

"Go find Fred and George, I'm sure they're waiting for you," dad said and sent me away without another pause.

I waved when I boarded the train and watched Harry and Remus say their own good-byes. I don't think it was any easier for them.

It didn't take long for me to find my group of friends. Just follow the sounds of boisterous laughter. Sure enough, everyone was looking excited when I entered the compartment and stowed my trunk.

"Is everyone ready for our fifth year?" Katie asked as I sat down between Fred and Lee.

"I don't know, can the boys survive the OWLs?" I responded smartly.

"Ha ha, very funny Hare," Lee said banally.

The train ride went about smoothly, it felt good to finally laugh after the boring and then stressful summer I had.

Part way through however, the train jolted to a stop.

"Who turned down the thermostat?" Lee asked, trying to sound joking but we could all hear the fear in his voice.

Moments later we also saw Draco Malfoy run down the hallway, a panicked look etched onto his face. I leaned over into Fred when I started to shiver. All of the panic and fear I had felt over the summer came racing to the surface.

Alicia gasped and cried aloud when we saw a horrible, black-cloaked creature gliding down the corridor. It turned to look into our compartment before deciding to open the door. I could hear someone whimpering from beside me but couldn't make out who it was. Instead I was transfixed on the creature who seemed to be staring into me. I felt as if all the hurt I had ever felt was being ripped right out of my skin. It was too much to bear.

I saw the faces of James and Lily followed by an image of their graves. I heard Remus howl from outside when he transformed and I was too young to understand that I wasn't going to be eaten alive. I heard my father crying late at night when he thought I had gone to sleep. I saw Marcus Flint approach me in a threatening manner as if he wanted to take my life. I saw all the dreams I had ever had, including a pair of sad, gray eyes crying in front of me. I saw my mother, standing in front of me with her blank stare.

"Lena, please," was the last thing I heard before everything went black.

xx

"Marnie!" I heard several people shout from above me, causing me to finally open my eyes in a confused haze.

"What happened?" I asked, taking Angelina's hand to stand up.

"You passed out," Katie explained, worry evident in her voice.

"Because of that thing?" I asked, a shudder going up my spine at the mere thought of the cloaked phantom I had seen.

"That was a dementor right?" Ange asked, the others nodded in response. I hazily remembered reading about those in one of Lockhart's textbooks last year and how they apparently were the guards to Azkaban. I did not however remember the ludicrous made up story that would have taken up 50 other pages I would have read about Lockhart being a hero.

Fred put his arm around me and I could feel the anxiety coursing through his body.

"It was horrible, wasn't it," Lee shuddered.

The others nodded. I put my head into my lap as I tried to collect my thoughts. My mind was reeling while my body felt incredibly exhausted.

I heard the compartment door open. "Everything alight in here? Marnie?" I heard Remus ask.

I lifted my head to see him passing pieces of chocolate to all my friends.

"Eat it Marnie, you'll feel better," he said kindly.

His expression evident with concern. I'm sure I looked about as good as I felt.

I took the bit of chocolate and hesitantly put it in my mouth. It had an instant effect, like it was defrosting my body from the dementor's curse. Remus gave me another meaningful look before excusing himself. I knew he would meet with me later to check-in but wanted to respect my privacy in front of my friends.

I gave him a small, reassuring smile before I watched him walk away. Then I leaned on Fred and managed to doze off for the rest of the ride to try and conserve the rest of my energy.

XXX

The remainder of the night continued on with the same air of anxiety, especially when Dumbledore explained the rules regarding the dementors; basically, stay far far away from them.

I hardly had anything to eat at the feast and went straight to bed once we had been escorted to the common room by the head boy, Percy Weasley.

I hoped the familiarity of my four-poster bed would allow me to get a good night's sleep. I sluggishly crawled under the covers in exhaustion and was asleep instantly. When I opened my eyes, I was walking towards the library with a large stack of books in my hands.

"I don't know Lena, maybe you should give it a chance," the girl beside me said who had an equally large stack of books piled in her arms.

"Sure Lily, and why don't you say yes to James Potter," I replied smartly while I watched the girl turn the same shade as her hair.

"He's just as persistent as James and he seems pretty sincere," Lily continued, ignoring the comment.

"Yes, well he was sincerely snogging Marlene McKinnon the other day when I climbed through the portrait hole," I replied irritably.

I could hear the anger in my voice but still couldn't understand who mum was talking about. It seemed as if they were talking about boys and dating.

"Need someone to carry those for you Red?" I peered over my own stack of books to see Harry had come up to Lily.

No… it was James and he had a smug grin on his face.

"I've got them, thanks," Lily replied tersely, tightening the grip she had around her books.

I realized I was stifling a laugh.

"Something funny Tress?" I heard an almost seductive sounding voice ask me from behind.

I turned around to see a shining pair of gray eyes reflecting back at me.

Wait, these were the same eyes I had seen when I faced the dementor.

But they weren't sad this time, they looked confident and full of life, with maybe a hint of antagonization.

"Hello Sirius," my mother said blandly, all interest devoid from her voice.

The gray eyes belonged to Sirius Black!

I felt my chest jolt as I blinked my eyes. I had surprised myself awake.

I had never dreamed of Sirius Black before in these weird memories I somehow got from my mother. At least, not advertently. And definitely not when they had been in school together.

What did this mean? And why did it seem like my mother had had some sort of connection with him? No one had ever mentioned anything about it to me before.