Lizzie woke up. She hardly woke at night. But the room was suddenly freezing. Outside, the window was frosting. Lizzie sat up and began rubbing her care arms trying to eradicate the goose bumps. She got up and went to the window. She wiped away the frost and just outside, gliding by like a reaper, was one of te dementors from the boundaries. Lizzie jumped back, squealing a little. They were supposed to stay at the edge of the school boundaries.

Another drifted in front of the window and looked her right in the face. Lizzie scrambled away and dropped to her knees. Her hands clamped over her ears and her eyes were closed tightly. Through the muffle her palms provided, she could hear raised voices. When Lizzie opened her eyes, she was in her living room in her own home, and in front of her was her mother and the blonde haired man in combat. Her mother's wand flew out of her hands. There was a flash of green and suddenly her mother crumpled to the floor. The man, hood down now, smiled at her. "Pretty child..." he uttered before turning and leaving.

Lizzie screamed. And she blinked. She was back in her Hogwarts bedroom again. Her body was covered in sweat and tears on her cheeks. Without thinking, Lizzie stood and ran from the room, through her father's bedroom and the office, down the stairs, through the classroom, and out the door into the corridor.

She ran. She didn't know where she was going and didn't know who she might come across, but she ran anyway. She rounded one corner and another. Everything was dark and she was confused. Where was her uncle's office? He was the headmaster he would want to know that the dementors were going against his orders again.

While she was running and thinking, Lizzie ran into someone and got knocked on her backside. She looked up and saw that it was Harry. He looked down with a concerned look. "Lizzie?" He crouched low and said quietly. "Are you all right?"

Lizzie was breathing hard and reached for Harry, who offered and hand and helped her up. He still had to bend over to her level, but Lizzie was calm enough to speak. "Dementors outside my window…scared the wits out of me…it was awful…"

Harry pulled her into a hug and said soothingly, "It's all right, you're all right." When he pulled away, Harry added, "I'm looking for someone. Want to help me?"

Lizzie nodded and together they walked. They walked for a long time, Harry holding an illuminated wand. He said that Peter Pettigrew had shown up on the map. Harry was tracking him. "But I thought he was dead," Lizzie commented.

"So did I. Your dad know about this?"

"No he thinks Peter is dead." She stared at the map in Harry's hands. "What is that?"

Harry explained dhow it showed where every school exit was, showed where every person in Hogwarts was and marked them. Sure enough, Peter was on the map.

After a while Lizzie started yawning. Harry knelt down and picked up the little girl. She held the map, however loosely while Harry followed the tracks. They were close, very close. But they watched as the footsteps passed by them, seeing nothing, no one. But before they could decide where to go and what steps to take next, the footsteps of Severus Snape appeared on the map just around the corner from where they were standing. Harry quickly put Lizzie down and tapped the map, whispering "Mischief Managed," before extinguishing his wand.

Not a second later the corridor was alight again, this time by the wand of Snape. "Potter," he sniveled. "What are you doing wandering the corridors at night? And with a young child no less. Good evening Miss Lupin."

Lizzie said nothing in return. Harry reached for her hand. Both of them were now free; the map had been stuffed into his sweatshirt pocket. "I was sleepwalking." It was an inane answer, clearly, but at least there was no semblance of Harry trying to cooperate. Any explanation that could be half true would leave one of them out to dry so instead he was opting for complete falsehood.

"You're extraordinarily like your father, Potter," Snape said lowly. "He too was exceedingly arrogant, strutting about the castle."

"My dad didn't strut," Harry countered forcefully. Feeling the grip on his hand tighten, he lifted Lizzie in his arms again. "Nor do I. now if you don't mind, I would appreciate it if you could lower your wand. I do have a kid in my hands after all."

Snape did, but he trained the light instead on Harry's pocket, which was bulging slightly. "Turn out your pockets," he commanded quietly with a hint of suspicion. When Harry made no move to obey, he repeated more forcefully, "Turn out your pockets."

Harry let Lizzie down again to do so, drawing out the map they had been reading. "What is that?" Snape asked.

"Spare bit of parchment."

"Really? Open it."

Harry hesitated, but once he had unfolded the map, still blank, Severus set his wand at the center saying, "Reveal your secrets…"

Lizzie craned to see. There were words writing themselves on the parchment. Form her angel she could not read it. But Snape wasted no time ordering Potter to do so. Harry did: "Mssrs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs, offer their complements to Professor Snape and-"

"Go on."

"And request that he keep his abnormally large nose out of other people's business."

That did it. the potions master was fuming now. "Why you insolent little-!"

"Professor." The even tones voice from behind the small group cut him short. Everyone turned, and the professor shined his light. It was Remus.

"Well, well, Lupin," Snape sneered. "Out for a little walk in the moonlight?"

Remus ignored the snide remark and stepped toward Harry and Lizzie. "I've been looking everywhere for you. Are you all right?"

"That remains to be seen." He snatched the map from Harry hand with such speed and ferocity, Lizzie jumped a little and clung to Harry's arm. He picked her up once more. "I have just now confiscated this a rather curious artifact from Mr. Potter. Take a look Lupin," he handed the parchment over, "this is supposed to be your area of expertise, clearly this is full of dark magic."

Remus chuckled. "I seriously doubt it, Severus, this looks like a parchment merely enchanted to insult anyone who tried to read it, I would assume it's a Zonko's product." Snape made to grab the map back, but Remus was quick and pulled away. "Nevertheless, I shall investigate any hidden properties it might have. It is after all as you say my area of expertise." He looked over to Harry and his daughter. "Harry would you come with me."

Harry followed, carrying Lizzie. She was drifting off now, unable to stay awake any longer. Her head was lolling on his shoulder. "Professor," Remus said with a kind air, "Goodnight."

When they returned to the office, Lupin did discipline Harry for the use of the map and his wandering around at night. They discussed Peter and how the map must have been faulty, well, at least Harry thought so. Before dismissing the boy, Remus took his daughter off his hands and asked, "Why was she with you? She's a young child Harry. Putting yourself in danger tonight put my child in danger. I won't stand for it again."

"I bumped into her. she was running from your quarters because a demontor came up to the window and scared the living daylights out of her. she was shaking and terrified so I asked if she wanted to walk with me for a while." He paused. "I didn't know it was so dangerous. If I knew I would have brought her right back."

Remus nodded and dismissed the boy. After putting Lizzie back into bed, carefully, so as not to wake her, Remus sat up with a brandy in his hand, wondering what he was going to say about the map in the morning. Lizzie was going to ask he could feel it.

There was much sleep to be had that night. But when Lizzie emerged from her room the next morning wearing a red jumper and placing a headband in her hair, she merely smiled and bade her father good morning. But she looked twice, "You look awful. Are you all right?"

"I'm fine darling, please come sit." Remus was sitting at his desk in the office. Lizzie set her bag down and went to sit beside her father. Once in his lap, he sighed, rubbing the back of his neck before finally asking, "That map, do you know where Harry got it?"

"No," Lizzie replied. "But it was strange…I thought you said Peter was dead."

"I thought so, dearest, but now…I'm not so sure. You see when we were in school together we made a right bit of trouble, remember. A right bit of trouble indeed. I wonder…"

Remus didn't finish his sentence. But he did snap out of a deep pensive look moments later, saying, "Ah well, something else to keep under your hat love. Thing was probably malfunctioning anyway."

He saw her off with Hermione some ten minutes later, glad that his daughter hadn't pressed harder about the map. Did that mean she was confiding in Harry and the others? Remus hoped so. Lizzie had become such a social child since coming to the school. If she continued to grill him about this and that there would be no secrets between father and daughter. And some secrets were good after all. Like the secrets about some of his school life when he was a boy. If she was bouncing ideas off the others, there would be no reason for Remus to lie or even omit anything anymore in an attempt to protect her and himself. That was a cleansing feeling.