"Poor Harry," Lizzie sighed, setting her boos down for the day. "I suppose boggarts aren't the worst thing to come across, but when it turns into a dementor…I couldn't face it."

Remus watched his daughter shuffle around her room and set things back in their places. It was true, his lesson with the third year Griffyndors and Slitherines had been insightful if nothing else. Harry's boggart had turned into a dementor, suggesting that boy only truly feared being afraid. Wise for a boy his age. What had surprised him more was that Lizzie had been moving toward the back of the room every time she started getting close to the front of the line. Strange. He had thought she would be one to fight to be first. From the other professors over the course of her first week, he had determined that she was a bright student, unafraid of answering, confident, and often correct. Why would she hide from this?

Remus sat on Lizzie's bed, motioning for her to join him. She did and with a comforting arm around her shoulders, Remus asked quietly, "Is there something that scares you about boggarts? More than the average?"

Lizzie never lied to her father, even when it meant she was in trouble. And so the girl nodded. "That one time we had one at home…when it found me it turned into him."

The him she was referring to was Lucious Malfoy. The man had likely caused the death of Lizzie's mother. Lizzie had been two years old, and Miranda was home alone with her while Remus was out at another of his short standing jobs. They had a fine living. Not rich, but Lizzie never wanted for anything. Miranda was a profiler for the Aurors. She examined cases and determined the kind of person they should be looking for. It helped law enforcement narrow their suspect list.

That night, Miranda was in the living room reviewing a case file, Lizzie was playing in front of the warm fireplace. There was a knock on the door. Miranda got up to open it. seeing that it was a man with the crest of the Hogwarts' Governor's Board on his robes, she opened the door, thinking something with her mother, her great uncle perhaps. Instead the man, hood raised, rushed inside and struggled with her. Miranda did not have her wand in her hand, but she fought without one somehow. It still wasn't enough. A killing curse hit her square in the chest. During the struggle, the man's hood fell and Lizzie, the toddler with tears in her eyes from fear, looked up into the face of Lucious Malfoy, blonde hair flowing down either side of his visage. When Remus returned, he found his wife dead on the floor, and his young daughter, hiding behind a chair, thumb in her mouth (which had never happened before), and tears rolling down her face.

It had ben four years, and still the child could not let it go. Remus took both her hands in one of his and drew her in close. "It must be terrifying, my dear. I never knew. Why didn't you tell me?"

"I don't know," Lizzie responded tearfully. "I just…didn't think it was important. I should be able to face a boggart…"

Her voice trailed off. Remus drew back from her and looked hard. "There's more. Come on out with it."

"Dementors aren't very good either. They make me see everything, all over again. Like I'm not even where I am. Like I'm back in our house and he's right there, fighting with her."

Remus' heart ached for his little girl. She carried such heavy burdens for a six year old. To lighten the mood he smiled a bit and said, "Well, special as you are, I agree you should be able to handle a boggart. Come on." He stood and tugged on her hand to make her stand with him, and together they walked from her bedroom, through his bedroom and office, into the classroom they had left earlier. As they walked down the staircase, Remus said quietly, "Just think of something funny."

"Like what? Nothing about him is funny."

"Make something up. Like clown shoes, or-"

"I've got a good one."

Remus positioned his daughter, counted to three, and before he knew it the figure of Lucious Malfoy was floating toward the ceiling suspended by several dozen helium balloons fastened to the seat of his pants.

After stowing the boggart again and quelling the gales of laughter, Remus crouched beside Lizzie and said with as serious a face as he could muster, "You know what I'm going to say; we've discussed this before. There's not enough evidence to charge Malfoy. So keep the story quiet. Particularly around here since his son is in school. We're not always among friends. Remember that."

Lizzie nodded solemnly and together they walked down to the great hall for dinner.