This is dedicated to my mother, who I never appreciate enough. I love you, Mom!

Chapter Two: An Early Return

Remus Lupin led a relatively quiet life. It was only relatively so because he worked as a teacher at a primary school. Things generally weren't quiet when one worked with seven and eight-year-olds. But he loved his job, even though he'd been fired because of how many days he'd missed. That was just fine by him. Professor Dumbledore had graciously given him a teaching post at Hogwarts. Dumbledore had been so good to him when many others hadn't. He couldn't help but smile at the thought of the headmaster's deeds.

Another good thing was that he'd be able to see his goddaughter and her brother much more often. He loved the pair of them like they were his own. He took a sip of his tea. He could even adopt them if he could! Unfortunately, because of his condition…

Tap! Tap! Tap!

Remus looked up from his breakfast of chocolate cereal and tea. A barn owl holding a letter was perched outside his window. He opened it. The owl deposited the letter and quickly glided out the window.

He opened the letter and started to read.

Come to the Shrieking Shack.

There wasn't a signature, but it didn't need one. Remus recognized the shaky handwriting. He'd seen it so many times when he was at Hogwarts. He and Remus had passed so many notes with James, even though Remus had objected at first.

Remus raced to his bedroom and dressed at top speed before grabbing his wand. He Disapparated to Hogsmeade.

When he reached the village, he didn't dare stop to admire the architecture like he normally did. Instead, he raced to the end of the road, where the Shrieking Shack towered. The building was old, decrepit, and leaning. Occasionally, shutters would open and close as the Shack swayed. He could hear it creaking.

He threw open the door, wand at the ready. What he saw wasn't what he expected. At all.

Harry and Danielle, unconscious, bruised, and bleeding, were leaning against the wall. Harry's arm was bent funnily. Danielle's shirt was pulled up a little, revealing her bruised stomach. Fresh blood leaked from the twins' hairlines.

Rage and fear flooded Remus' being: rage at whoever had done this and fear for their safety. Remus raised his wand once again. A silvery creature flew from it and up to the castle to Professor Dumbledore. He prayed that the headmaster would be there soon.

"-don't know how this happened, headmaster. I found them in the Shrieking Shack like this."

…

…

"Sirius Black was in Number Four Privet Drive last night. He'd cast some magic using Harry's wand, which was how we discovered Black had been there… What puzzles me is the magic he used."

Her body felt strangely numb and heavy, yet she could feel warm sunlight on her face. The words almost made no sense to her. The voices were vaguely familiar.

"He used Stunning spells and Obliviate. The latter spell, he only used once. But why?..."

The next time she was aware, she could feel someone holding her hand. This other hand was stroking the back of hers. Her hand unconsciously tightened.

"Rosie, can you hear me?"

A heavy breath escaped her lips. The hand tightened its grip. She opened her eyes and immediately closed them again. It was too bright. She decided to squint instead.

When her eyes adjusted, Danielle took in her surroundings. The room she was in was large and white. The ceiling was high, and there were many windows. Sunlight streamed through them. Placed periodically on the opposite wall was a row of beds. Between each of the beds were curtains. It was the hospital wing of Hogwarts.

The bed next to hers seemed to be taken. The curtains were drawn around it. In the chair next to her bed sat a very familiar man with graying brown hair and blue eyes and shabby robes.

"Moony?" Danielle mumbled. "Why am I here? Where's Harry?" She could feel her heart pumping faster. "Where are the Dursleys?"

Remus frowned at the mention of the Dursleys. "Vernon is in prison for child abuse. Marge was deflated and her memory modified. As for Petunia and her son, they are at Privet Drive."

Danielle flinched as she remembered what had happened that night. But then she sighed in relief. She wasn't there anymore. She wouldn't be subject to ridicule. She couldn't understand how Harry dealt with it year after year. Wait- "But where's Harry?"

"He's asleep in that bed." He pointed to the bed with the curtains drawn. Remus was silent for a few moments. "Do you know how you left your aunt's?"

She flinched again. "Uncle Vernon… He-He attacked us!" She felt her eyes sting. "After Aunt Marge started floating, he turned on us, hit Harry and broke his glasses. He just kept hurting us, and-and Major-" Danielle's eyes widened in realization. "Major! He tried to protect us! Where is he?"

"Who's Major?"

"He's my dog. He stood in front of us… But then it all went dark." She shook her head. "Please tell me you saw him!"

"I am so sorry, Rosie, but I haven't."

Danielle lowered her green eyes. They were prickling again. "But… he couldn't've left by the time you found us."

Remus took a deep breath before responding. "It wasn't me or anyone here who found you. It was Sirius Black."

During the past week, Professors McGonagall and Flitwick had taken it upon themselves to tutor Harry and Danielle. This comprised of revision of their first and second year classes and extra practice with the spells. This coming week, they would be looking at some third year content. The teachers wanted their students to be ready for Sirius Black.

Danielle looked up from her book. Sirius Black. It was earlier that week that she and Harry had learned that the convict escaped from the dreaded wizard prison, Azkaban. The reason Black had been there in the first place was because he had blown up a street and killed thirteen people in the blast. He had also been Lord Voldemort's right hand man. Now, Black had escaped to exact his revenge on Danielle and Harry.

Dani knew that Harry wasn't worried much about Black. They were at Hogwarts! Surely Black could never get inside? Danielle wasn't so sure. The convict had broken out of Azkaban, the most feared place in all the wizarding world.

But then, Dumbledore was there, one of the most powerful wizards in history. Voldemort was scared of him, so Black must have been as well.

Still, the story didn't seem… right. Why had Black rescued them from the Dursleys? Every way she looked at it, all the evidence was pointing against Black. Why did she feel like this?

There was a rustle of feathers next to her. Her screech owl, Nightwing, perched on a rock next to her. He was holding a letter in his beak. She took it and opened it.

Dear Dani,

I've really missed you over the summer. I can't believe there's just a week left! Maybe we can meet at Diagon Alley on Saturday. Dad's off work that day. He and Mum are dying to meet you. I hope to see you there!

Love, Cedric

"Love." Cedric had used "love". Why? Dani's stomach felt fuzzy, like it was doing backflips. She smiled. She decided she liked it.

Saturday came, and Remus, Danielle, and Harry stood before the fireplace in the headmaster's office. Remus and Danielle would spend the day with the Diggorys. The Turpins would be arriving later on. They had invited Harry with them, more for his protection than anything else.

They reached the Leaky Cauldron to be tackled by a thirteen-year-old with curly, strawberry-blonde hair and brown eyes. "Oh, sweet Merlin!" she shouted. She had the twins around their necks with each arm. She pulled them closer and accidentally bumped their heads together.

"Lisa, can't breathe," Danielle gasped.

Lisa Turpin released them immediately. "Oops. Sorry."

A man with ginger hair stepped up to them and shook their hands enthusiastically. "Oh, it's so lovely to meet you, Harry and Danielle. Our Lisa's talked about you so much!"

"Oh, Phillip," the blonde woman reprimanded. "You're scaring them." Mr. Turpin stepped back a little, but he seemed more in control. "My name is Sarah. You'll have to excuse Phil. He's a bit ecstatic at times."

"That's okay, Mrs. Turpin. Dani here can be like him sometimes."

"Hey!" After returning to Hogwarts early, the twins' bond had grown. They were almost like they had been before the Chamber of Secrets fiasco. Danielle was appreciative of this closeness, especially when Remus was the only other person she could converse with.

Mr. Turpin finally seemed to have gotten over the shock of meeting the Potter twins. He stopped gawking at their scars, anyway. He and Mrs. Turpin made small talk with them. During this, Danielle discovered that Lisa had an older sister, Martha Turpin. She had graduated from Hogwarts the year before Lisa had started.

Dani was sure that Lisa had told her, but she had forgotten after the Memory Charm.

The fire in the fireplace turned emerald, and three people stepped out. One was a woman with light brown hair and blue eyes. The next was a man with a scraggy, brown beard and laughing gray eyes. The last one (the fuzzy feeling was back) was a fifteen-year-old boy with brown hair and stormy gray eyes.

Cedric Diggory stepped up to Danielle. "Hey, Dani." He searched her eyes with his own. "Are you okay?"

Danielle arched an eyebrow. "Fine. What's wrong?"

He sighed. "You and Harry being kidnapped was all over the Prophet. They say Sirius Black did it."

"Cedric, we're fine. My godfather found us. We've been staying at Hogwarts ever since." When he still looked doubtful, she continued. "Really, we're fine."

Some of the stress eased from his eyes. He smiled, and she returned it. It was only then that she noticed that Harry and the Turpins had already left.

Mr. Diggory handed Cedric a money bag. "Here you go, Ced. Don't spend it all on your new girl."

Dani spluttered, her cheeks burning. "W-we're not together," she muttered. Cedric, strangely, reacted the same way. Why?

"Oh, Amos," Mrs. Diggory sighed. "Not in public!"

If it were possible, Danielle blushed deeper. "C-c'mon Cedric. G-gets low, I-I mean, let's go." She hurriedly left for the courtyard and pulled out her wand. She busied herself by tapping the third brick from the left above the trashcan. Cedric soon stood behind her.

"Dani, what was that about?" he asked as the archway to Diagon Alley appeared.

She deliberately didn't answer. What had that been about? She hadn't been like that before, right? Okay. She had been like that at the beginning of her second year when they had met. Well, more like crashed into each other. But after that, they were just friends, right?

"YOU!"

The pair jumped at the voice. It was very familiar. Please, please don't let it be her, she thought desperately. She didn't know if she could face her yet.

"Luna, where the heck have you been?" The newcomer pushed bystanders out of her way. "Where have you been? When you didn't turn up the next day, I sent a letter to Dumbledore, but I didn't get anything back! I even tried owling you and Harry, but nothing!"

Danielle sighed. "Tori, I'm really sorry. You're right, I should've owled you, but we've been busy." Then something hit her. "Wait, you mean you didn't read the Prophet?"

Tori scoffed. "Like I would really read a newspaper. Why?"

"They say Sirius Black kidnapped them and left them at Hogsmeade," Cedric said as he finally entered the conversation. "Remus Lupin found them the next morning."

Tori narrowed her eyes, her brows knitted together in thought. "Who're you?"

"Cedric Diggory," he said as he flashed a smile. There was something strange in her gaze, but it was only there for a split second.

"Tori Woods."

"Her name's Victoria," Dani said, "but she hates it. She's transferring to Hogwarts this year."

"Where from?" Cedric asked.

"The Salem Institute. Oh! Ice cream!"

Dani rolled her eyes. Once Tori got her mind on ice cream, it was impossible to have a proper conversation.

The next several hours were filled with laughter and shopping. Once they were finished at Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor, they moved on to the bookstore, Flourish and Blotts. There, they met Daphne Greengrass and Tracey Davis, both Slytherins. Danielle had never really spoken to Tracey, and for a good reason. Tracey was snooty and was a member of one of the riches Pureblood families of Britain.

As they went store hopping, Reaver the rabbit drew many curious glances from passerby. Tori, of course, was oblivious to it all. Alexander Moon spent a full five minutes gaping when they were in the Slug and Jiggers Apothecary buying potions supplies.

Finally, after a couple of hours, Tori claimed that she had to leave. At long last, Danielle voiced the question that had been bugging her for the past couple of months. "Where in the world have you been staying?"

"Can't tell you." Wait, what? As Tori weaved through the crowds to the Leaky Cauldron, Dani stared after her.

"Wha-?" she spluttered. "But- she can't expect me to believe that! We saw each other almost every day! And she can't tell me?"

"Hey, Dani, calm down," Cedric whispered. "It's not going to help if you get worked up."

She sighed. "I guess you're right."

"I'm always right," he joked. "C'mon, let's go visit Eeylops. I need to get food for my owl."

They spent three more hours visiting the stores and laughing together. Every so often, though, there would be a passerby that would stare at her and whisper to his friend. Danielle always lowered her head and ducked into the nearest store.

Unfortunately, the time came when Dani had to return to Hogwarts. The two slowly made their way through the thinner crowds. They were heavy laden with books, potions ingredients, and sweets.

Somebody bumped into Danielle, sending her books flying. The books clattered onto the cobblestone. Some of them fell open.

"Oh, Merlin."

The voice made her start and glance up. A boy her age with white-blonde hair was holding one of her books. It was Draco Malfoy.

Dani gathered the rest of the books. Draco deposited the last one at the top. Her arms wobbled a bit before she readjusted her grip. She finally smiled at him.

"Hey, Draco," she said. That fluttering feeling was back, but it felt different. She tried to ignore it. "It's weird seeing you here. I mean, it is Diagon Alley, and I don't see normally all of friends at one time here, so I didn't mean-"

"Okay, Dani," Cedric interrupted. "Breathe."

She felt her cheeks grow hot. She was sure her face was at dark as a tomato. Why, oh why did she start rambling?

"Heh, heh, sorry." She turned to Draco. "It's so nice to see you! How was your summer?"

"It was all right," he said. His face held a passive look. "Mother and I spent a month in Italy. Father doesn't care for vacations." Draco's eyes seemed to darken.

Danielle noted this. "I didn't know that. Does your dad get bad sunburns?"

Draco stared at her. This stare was empty, no sort of emotion whatsoever. "Yeah, that's it." Draco finally looked away.

He stalked away. Well, that was weird. What was wrong with him? Normally, he wasn't so cold with her. I've got to get to the bottom of this.

I know. This is way overdue. I've got no excuse. I've been working on future chapters, though, if that's any consolation. Oh, and character bios as well.

Anywho, may God bless you and keep you!