Hey guys, so got this chapter up two months or so after I published the last one and I'm sorry for not doing it sooner. For some reason this book is a lot more challenging than I thought it was going to be. I know what I want Gus to do in the story and where I want her to make changes but its difficult writing them in, especially when we're I've only made a dent into the story line so far. I originally planned for this chapter to be longer, though I chopped it up just because I didn't want to delay publishing it anymore just because I couldn't fill in some dialogue at the way end of the chapter. But here it is.

Please tell me what you think. I'd really love to know the impression Gus is leaving so far on people other than myself, because I'm the author and obviously a bit biased towards my own character.

I used two chunks from the original Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (the British publication, as there are some slight differences between the US and UK versions) and am not claiming those quotes or anything you recognize as my own. They're all JK Rowlings.

But please review and let me know what you think about the story. Like anything is awesome for an author to hear.

-Meg

Gus had been to the car park of Kings Cross Station several times, all for Harry's trains to and from Hogwarts. She had never been inside the station as her Aunt had forbidden her from seeing Harry off to school; Harry's first year at Hogwarts the Dursley's hadn't even waited for Harry's trunk to hit the ground before they peeled out of the car park and onto the busy London street. Unlike Petunia who knew of Hogwarts existence, as Harry and Gus's mother had gone for seven years, Uncle Vernon had wanted Harry to find out that the entire thing was a giant joke on him. Though Gus knew that Hagrid wouldn't have lied to either of the Potter children, it wouldn't fit with his kind nature.

That day had been particularly difficult for Gus, as that was the first time Harry and she had been separated. Dudley had made fun of her the entire ride to the hospital for his appointment to get his pig tail removed, as she had turned to watch the station and Harry disappear from her view. He was over the moon when she had actually started to sniffle and tear up.

Unlike what most people had said about being separated from someone they loved, it wasn't the first few days that took the most out of her. It was a few weeks later in the first term of school when she was walking home from school that the pain of the separation had hit. So many things that had been such an important part of Harry and her relationship such as discussing their days or whispering and giggling about something stupid Dudley had done in the playground at break had just been ripped from her. And from the letters that Harry had been sending, he had someone to fill up all the empty parts of his life that Gus had filled in the form of Ron, and later on Hermione.

So when she actually got to go through the invisible barrier that led to platform 9 ¾ she had an excitement that couldn't even be dampened by the lingering emotions from her and Harry's fight. Gus was excited to see what the school held for her, because if Harry could find people who were kind and wonderful she probably could to.

Mr. Weasley had been on the back fringes of the group as they travelled along the long platforms of Kings Cross. After they entire group had made their way through the barrier at Platform 9¾ he tapped both of the Potters on the shoulders.

"Harry, Augusta," said Mr Weasley quietly, "come over here a moment."

He jerked his head towards a pillar, and the Potters followed him over behind it, leaving the others crowded around Mrs Weasley.

"There's something I've got to tell you before you leave-" said Mr Weasley in a tense voice.

"It's all right, Mr Weasley," said Harry shooting a not so subtle glare in Gus's direction, "We already know."

"You know? How could you know?"

"Well Harry heard you and Mrs Weasley talking last night."

"I didn't mean to overhear. Sorry-"

"That's not the way I would've chosen for you two to find out."

"Especially when Augusta could've told me a week ago."

"How'd did you find out Augusta?"

"The woman who met me at Privet Drive mentioned it to me." Gus left out the part where she actively went looking for the story of why Sirius Black would want to come after Harry and her. She didn't want to give Mr. Weasley any reason to believe she'd go after him in search of more answers.

"She shouldn't have mentioned that." He looked away from them for a moment before continuing, "You two must be very scared-"

"I'm not," said Harry sincerely. "Really," he added, because Mr Weasley was looking disbelieving between the two. "I'm not trying to be a hero, but seriously, Sirius Black can't be worse than Voldermort, can he?"

Mr Weasley flinched at the sound of the name, he turned to Gus, "And you Augusta, if you need anything, anybody to talk to you can send an owl over to our house. Ask one of the boys or Ginny for our addess-"

"Thank you Mr Weasley but I'll be fine." He gave her a doubtful look and she relented, "If I need anything I'll make sure to write to you."

"I want you two to know that I know you're made of stronger stuff than Fudge seems to think, and I'm obviously pleased that you're not sacred, but-"

"Arthur!" Called Mrs Weasley, who was now shepherding the rest of the group onto the train, "Arthur, what are you doing? It's about to go!"

"They're coming, Molly!" Said Mr Weasley, but he turned back to the two and kept talking in a lower and more hurried voice. "Listen I want you two to give me your word-"

"- that I'll be a good boy and stay in the castle?" Said Harry gloomily.

"Harry!" snapped Gus; she was beginning to tire of Harry's patronising tone towards Mr. Weasley. It was as if Harry wasn't taking the whole 'I have a crazed follower of a genocidal wizard after me' as seriously as he should be; especially when everyone else seemed to be.

"Not entirely," said Mr Weasley, who looked more serious than Harry (and Gus in her short time with him) had ever seen him. "Augusta, Harry, swear to me that you won't go looking for Black."

Harry stared at Mr Weasley. "What?"

There was a loud whistle. Guards were walking along the train, slamming the doors shut.

"Promise me," said Mr Weasley, talking more quickly still, "that whatever happens-"

"Why would we go looking for someone I know wants to kill me?" Said Harry blankly, looking from Mr Weasley to Gus who was looking at Harry, waiting for his agreement to Mr Weasley's promise rather than also being confused.

After Mr. Weasley had released Harry and Gus from their conversation Gus had run off to one of the middle cars along with the twins, looking back several times at Harry.

"I need to talk to you in private," Harry muttered to Ron and Hermione as the train picked up speed.

"Go away, Ginny," said Ron.

"Oh, that's nice," said Ginny huffily, and she stalked off.

Harry, Ron and Hermione set off down the corridor, looking for an empty compartment, but all were full except for the one at the very end of the train.

This one had one occupant, a man sitting fast asleep next to the window. Harry, Ron and Hermione checked on the threshold. The Hogwarts Express was usually reserved for students they had never seen an adult there before, except for the witch who pushed the food trolley.

The stranger was wearing an extremely shabby set of wizard's robes which had been darned in several places. He looked ill and exhausted. Though he seemed quiet young, his light brown hair was flecked with grey.

"Who'd you reckon he is?" Ron hissed, as they sat down and slid the door shut, taking the seats furthest away from the window.

"Professor R. J. Lupin," whispered Hermione at once.

"How d'you know that?"

"It's on his case," replied Hermione, pointing at the luggage track over the man's head, where there was a small, battered case held together with a large quantity of neatly knotted string. The name 'Professor R. J. Lupin; was stamped across one corner in peeling letters.

"Wonder what he teachers?" said Ron, frowning at Professor Lupin's pallid profile.

"That's obvious," whispered Hermione. "There's only one vacancy, isn't there? Defence Against the Dark Arts."

Harry, Ron and Hermione had already had two Defence Against the Dark Arts teachers, both of whom had only lasted one year. There were rumours that the job was jinxed.

"Well I hope he's up to it," said Ron doubtfully. "He looks like one good hex would finish him off, doesn't he? Anyway…" he turned to Harry, "what were you going to tell us?"

Harry explained all about Mr and Mrs Weasley's argument from the evening before and the warning Mr. Weasley had just given. He also told them about how Gus had known of the whole situation for several days and hadn't shared it with him. When he'd finished, Ron looked thunderstruck, and Hermione had her hands at her mouth. She finally lowered them to say, "Sirius Black escaped to come after you and Augusta? Oh, Harry… you'll have to be really, really careful. Don't go looking for trouble, Harry…"

"I don't go looking for trouble, said Harry, nettled. "Trouble usually finds me." He crossed his arms grumpily over his chest before he continued, "It would have been helpful in avoiding trouble if Augusta had shared the information that she had learned."

Hermione shot a look over to Ron at Harry's venomous tone towards his sister, though Ron ignored the comment about Gus, as he knew better than to comment on a feud between siblings. It was like his mother always said to their father when any of his siblings fought, 'they need to figure out how to get along on their own'.

Though unlike him Hermione didn't have the grace to keep her mouth shut about the comment Harry had made about Gus, "Harry I'm sure Augusta had a good reason for keeping the information to herself. Maybe she wanted to know all she could, instead of coming to you empty handed?"

"It's not like she'd be able to do anything to protect me from him. He has magic and she doesn't. It'd be pretty damn hard for her to protect me from a crazy wizard, let alone Dudley or anyone else."

"Maybe keeping that stuff from you was her way of protecting you, she didn't want you to go out looking for Black for more answers."

"How thick would Harry have to be, to go looking for a nutter who wants to kill him?" said Ron shakily.

They were taking the news worse than Harry had expected. Both Ron and Hermione seemed to be more frightened of Black than he was.

"No one knows how to get out of Azkaban," said Ron uncomfortably. "No one's ever done it before. And he was a top security prisoner, too."

"But they'll catch him, won't they?" said Hermione earnestly. "I mean, they've got all the Muggles looking out for him, too…"

Five or so hours later Gus found herself being bombarded with candy. The twins and their friend Lee Jordan were accompanied by two members of the Gryffindor quidditch team, Alicia Spinett and Katie Bell. Though at the moment Gus couldn't remember which girl was who, so she hoped that direct eye contact would infer that she was speaking to the dark haired girl on the right, "So which candy should I try?"

The girl opened her mouth to reply though Lee jumped in front of her "You had four sweetshops at your disposal and you didn't get any sweets while you were there?"

"I like my teeth." She replied blankly.

Gus was bunched up on the seat with the twins, and Alicia (she thinks) reached out an open bag to her from across the aisle, "The jelly beans. You'll get some horrible flavours but it's worth it."

Thinking the worst she would get was black liquorice Gus let her hand venture into the bag and pulled out a yellow jelly bean.

A second after it had entered her mouth Gus had spat out the offending bean into her hand, "Oh my god that's disgusting!"

She turned her head quickly to see if the twins were as surprised as her, though like everyone in the compartment but her they had wide smiles.

"Was that ear wax? Who the hell thinks that for a candy 'oh I'll add some ear wax'. Why does he even know the taste?"

"You've never tasted your own-"started Lee again though he was cut off by the girl on the left whom Gus had decided was Katie. "Apparently there's a bogey one as well."

"I'm rather found of the pumpkin juice ones. Dragons breath is good as well."

"Let's see how she does with a chocolate frog!"

One of the twins was wrestling a chocolate frog box out of their trouser pockets when the train came to a halt.

"Why have we stopped?"

"Scheduled maintenance?" Shrugged Lee.

"It's a magical train; it's not going to need maintenance in the middle of a storm." Alicia said dryly as she leaned into the window her hands covering the sides of her face as she peered out into the stormy night.

"Could Sirius Black have something to do with this?" asked Gus.

"It's nothing to worry about." Said George on her right.

The lights flickered off.

"Maybe it is something to worry about." Said Fred on her left.

"Harry." Muttered Gus, she stood and looked down at the twins, "Do you know which compartment they were in?"

"They were somewhere in the last car."

One of the girls, Katie or Alicia grabbed her arm as she stood, "You can't go out there."

"Like hell, that's my brother."

Lee, who throughout the entire train ride had a smile on his face, was now uncertainly staring at the door, "It might just be a prank."

"They'd have to be better than us to manage to stop the Hogwarts Express." Came one of the twins haughtily.

"I'm going."

"Gus!"

Breathless after running down to the last car of the very long Hogwarts Express, Gus was now wrenching doors open.

"Harry?" A group of huddled, unsorted first year students looked up at her with great distress.

"Harry?" A lone girl with bright white blonde hair looked up at her from an upside down magazine.

A couple, oblivious to the train having stopped were in a very intimate embrace, looked up at Gus with harsh glares. "So not Harry."

As she closed the couple's compartment door she turned to the last leg of the train car, Gus's eyes widened as a dark gloom at the end of the compartment was being forced back with a bright white. Suddenly as if the gloom had its own consciousness it fled out through an open window and into the violent storm. Knowing that Harry was always at the heart of these sorts of events she sped down the hall to the last car.

"Harry!" Gus called as she ran into the compartment where a skinny man was holding up a wand to the doorway, though she ignored him completely. Right now her brother was on the floor of the compartment and not awake. "Is he going to be okay?" she asked frantically as she fell to her knees beside him.

"Augusta." Said Hermione surprised as Gus joined her next to Harry.

"What happened? Tell me."

"There was a dementor. It came right at Harry. He just started having this fit-" Ron babbled.

"He'll be fine Miss Potter, give him a few minutes."

Gus looked up at the man frantically. "How do you know?"

"I'm the new Defence against the Dark Art's teacher, if I didn't know I wouldn't be a very good choice for this job."

"Like that really matters." Ron muttered.

"Ron!" growled Hermione.

"Our last few teachers have been pretty bad." Ron admitted, looking away from the frail and greying man.

Pocketing his wand, the man bent down alongside the two girls, "Let's get him up onto a seat, shall we?"