A/N: I apologize, I am very much American, and therefore have no real knowledge on the country or geography of Europe. So, everything has to be American culture, money, and I shall be using a made-up map of England. Sorry to anyone who this bothers.

I left the beach quickly, wandering up and down the town's streets. There was no doubt that the Ministry had heard about our escape, and it was only a matter of time before they began swarming the land surrounding Azkaban.

I entered a Muggle grocery store, unsure of what to do. I wandered aimlessly, touching random things… I had almost no knowledge of the Muggle world, so how the hell was I supposed to survive in it? The wallet Sirius had given me contained fifty-two dollars. I really didn't want to spend the money, but I felt as though I didn't have much of a choice. I bought a box of hair dye the same color blonde as my brother's hair, a pair of scissors, and the cheapest map I could find. I chopped off my long hair in the store's bathroom, getting a lot of strange looks from other shoppers, and then dyed. I said on a toilet while I waited for the dye to work, staring at the map. I needed someplace to go, and fast. There was no way that I could stick around this beach town forever.

I looked in the mirror to check out my new hair. It was also orange, instead of the promise white blonde. Muggle products were so unreliable, I thought to myself as I washed the burning dye out of my hair in the bathroom sink. I tugged at my short, uneven hair and frowned. While I didn't look like an entirely different person, it was a big enough change in my appearance. Hopefully it would keep the Ministry fooled.

I left the store and began wandering through the streets again. According to the map (which I was now wary of trusting after the hair fiasco), I was about a hundred and fifty miles from home. I figured my parents might have some advice, or be able to help me a lot more than thirty dollars and a map would. It would be a long walk, and part of me knew I wouldn't be able to make it. It would be too easy to get caught by the Ministry… I could hitch hike, bum rides off of Muggles headed the same way I was, but that would also be dangerous. What if some Muggle freak tried to kill me? I pondered the decision in silence, finally choosing to just find someone trustworthy looking.

I sighed and staked out a brightly colored building. Cars filed in and out, and I waited to find someone I would feel safe travelling with. Finally, small white vehicle pulled in and three girls around my age hopped out, laughing together. They looked like they could be good travelling buddies. I shyly headed over. I cleared my throat and the driver, a tall girl with long blonde hair, jumped. "Can I help you?" She eyes me suspiciously as she hooked her cark up to some kind of machine.

"Um… Maybe. I need a ride somewhere, and I was just wondering if you were heading that way?" I could feel my cheeks growing hot. I had always been naturally shy, and I had no idea how to interact with Muggles. They were from a completely different way of life.

She nodded slowly, still unsure of me. "Where are you headed?"

"Right around Raven Lake, I know it's far but-"

"Raven Lake?!" One of the other girls screamed from inside the car. "We're going there to go camping!"

The blonde shot daggers at her with her eyes. "Yeah, we actually are. Do you have money for gas?"

I blinked stupidly. Gas? Alice was a half blood, and she taught me a little bit about the Muggle world, but obviously not enough. Gas for gas lamps? I pulled the wadded bills and some coins out of my pocket. "Yeah, I have… Um," I unrumpled them and counted them quickly. "Thirty six dollars. Will that be enough?"

The blonde looked apprehensive. She slowly held her hand out, and I faithfully placed the money in it. "I guess… But any funny business and you're out."

I nodded solemnly. "Understood."

It was a horrible car ride. I had never ridden in one before, but I can't imagine that this was the norm. I ranked it as worse than Apparating, which meant it was truly awful. The driver, the blonde girl who I discovered was named Melanie, and her loud friend Lilliana, blared obscene music and yelled at each other the entire time. The third girl was just as quiet as I was, and I wondered if she was just a traveler they picked up like I was. Melanie sped through traffic like she was late to her own funeral, and we nearly crashed a few times.

Finally, we managed to get into the country safely, and her driving got better as she turned short corners on pot hole filled roads. "Can you stop up there by those hedges, please? That's where I live," I asked, reaching for the door handle shakily. I had been hoping to get a little bit of sleep in during the ride, but I was so afraid for my life that sleeping hadn't been an option.

"Whoa," Melanie said as she rolled up to the large gate blocking our long driveway. "You must be pretty rich, huh?" She asked as one of my father's peacocks strutted across the yard.

I shrugged, opening the door. "I guess so."

"Hey, if you want, we'll be in Cabin 14 by the lake if you wanna stop by later tonight," Lilliana turned around in her seat, grinning at me.

"Thank you. I just might do that," I tried to smile back, but I was entirely too tired. I exited the car and watched it lurch forward, swerving around a corner and disappearing.

I sighed, taking the long way around our property, through the woods. There was always the possibility that the Ministry could be sniffing around, waiting for me to show up at my parent's, and I could never be too cautious.

I snuck through the back gate, through the garden, and made my way into our large kitchen without being detected. There were supposed to be alarms that went off if someone other than Dobby tried going through the kitchen door, but it never went off. I walked through the house as silently as possible, paranoid that I was going to run into someone I didn't want to. I snuck my way into the library on my way to my bedroom, when I found my mother, sitting with an unopened book on her lap. She jumped up the second she saw me, waving her wand and causing a door hidden behind a bookshelf to swing open. "Get in there," she hissed, grabbing my arm and dragging me through the door.

I'd never really been in many of the hidden rooms throughout Malfoy Manor, and I looked around this one curiously.

Crates and boxes and display cases full of what I could only assume were dark objects were littered around. It was surprisingly dusty, and I wondered if even Dobby knew where these hidden rooms were located. "I knew you'd show up eventually," she said, sounding as tired as I felt.

"I didn't know where else to go," I looked down at my feet.

"I was so afraid that you had died. You have no idea the stress you've put met through today." I finally looked up. Her eyes had red rings around them- she had been crying a lot today.

I extended my arms to hug her, and she pulled me into her with intensity that only a mother has. "I'm sorry, Mummy…" I muttered into her shoulder, starting to cry. I was an awful daughter. A horrible, alcohol drop out who got sentenced to a maximum prison, and my mother still loved me.

She started sobbing with me, rubbing my back. "No, I'm sorry. We should have fought harder to visit you in Azkaban. Is that why you did this?"

I pulled away from her. "No, it's not that. I just… Mum, I didn't do it. I'm innocent, and I couldn't bear the thought of being in there for no reason."

"And Black?" Her eyes narrowed. "Why did he escape? The rumors are that he's after Potter, going to finish him off?"

"I have no idea," I lied quickly, working to block my mind. "We escaped together, but we went our own ways." That wasn't necessarily a lie, but I still kept my mind shut off. She was an extremely skilled Occlumens, and luckily she had taught me the craft after I had dropped out. It was a rare, difficult skill, though it came in handy when you wanted to keep secrets, which is something I dwelled in.

She nodded slowly. I knew she could tell I was lying, since I had tried to hide something from her, but she didn't force it. "What's your plan?"

I swallowed. My parents hated Muggles, and I did not have enough knowledge to functionally live with them. But, it was what I was going to have to do, unless I felt like living in a cave and eating rats. "I was hoping that you could help me get set up in the Muggle World. You know, so I can hide out there."

"I knew you were going to ask for that," she said, though her face remained emotionless. I wondered if she hated me now. She snapped her fingers and an unfamiliar house elf appeared. "Grab the files for me, Zippy." The elf bowed and disappeared. Apparently the elves did know that this room existed, but were probably ordered to never touch anything.

I nodded towards the spot that the creature just appeared and disappeared from. "Who was that?"

"Zippy. Potter pulled a scheme to free Dobby… Ugh, I wouldn't be upset if Black did get him," she crinkled her nose at the thought. I had obviously missed quite a bit while I was in prison.

Zippy reappeared with a small handbag. "Mistress," she bowed again.

My mother took the bag without a word and handed it to me. "I believe this should be everything you need. I did some research last night after I heard, just in case…"

I opened it and found it full of different papers and cards. Certificate of birth, license to drive… Muggles really did so some pointless things. I pulled out one of the documents randomly and looked at it. My mother had chosen the name 'Victoria Elizabeth Edmunds'. "Thanks so much… You've done so much for me- you should hate me by no-"

"You're my daughter, I could never hate you," she said quickly, her eyes starting to get teary again. "You should leave now, though… Your father's actually meeting with some Aurors now, discussing what they should do if… If…" She took a shuddering breath. "Well, you know."

"Yeah," I hugged my mother one last time, kissing her on the cheek. "Maybe someday I'll get pardoned, and we'll be a normal family again."

"I certainly hope so."

And with that, I was on my own for the second time in a day. I left the house and went back into the woods, heading towards the lake. With luck, I could sleep at the cabin that the girls were staying at before moving on. My mother had also put large stacks of one hundred dollar bills in the bag. I wouldn't be able to live off of it, but I had enough to cover my ass for a little while.

By the time I arrived, it was dark, and a party was well under way at Cabin 14. There were a lot more people then I was expecting, and I was instantly wary. I hadn't been to a party like this since I was thirteen. Melanie rushed over to me when she saw me, a red cup of something strong smelling sloshing around. "Hey stranger, you made it! Help yourself to something, or someone," she winked at me and turned towards another girl who just showed up, enthusiastically starting a conversation with her.

I had no intentions of socializing. I pushed my way through the crowd and into the cabin, finally finding the bedroom. It was relatively quiet and empty in that room, save for a few people who had passed out early. I stole a pillow off of one of the beds and settled down in the corner. The party was insanely loud, and the wooden floor was uncomfortable, but my body was more than ready to end the day. It took mere moments before I was dead asleep.