Happy Halloween! I would like to thank all those who decided to follow this story and liked it, and a big thanks to mmauney12 for being the first reviewer. I too look forward to when I can finally write the scene of Sirius' innocence.

Song of the Day: The Astronaut by Jin

Fun fact of the Day: South Africa has more than one capital city

It all happened in a flash.

One moment she saw the dog, the next there was a scream as Harry fell from the sky. A dark wisp formed around the stadium. The Dementors had come, Eliza realized with horror. They were too curious about the elevated ambience and had left their posts.

Dumbledore shot up. He held his hand out, softening Harry's momentum. Then he produced a patronus in a burst of silver light. A phoenix swung around the stadium, making its rounds before it chased the Dementors away as quickly as they had come.

The game was over.

Cedric Diggory had caught the snitch and was triumphantly holding it in his hand when he landed. Yet when no roar came, his face faltered. The boy turned around in horror to see the body lying on the pitch.

Poppy was never at Quidditch games, which made no sense as she should have been there for first aid reasons. Ignoring the mud staining the edge of her cloak, Eliza ran down to the pitch.

"Madame Hooch, I didn't know – I demand a rematch!" Cedric Diggory exclaimed. "It was unfair. Harry would have had it were it not for the Dementors."

"No, we won fair and square," the Hufflepuff captain complained. "I don't see why we have to bend the knee just because Potter couldn't stay on his broom."

"It was the Dementors!"

But Madame Hooch had shook her head and the game was ended.

Eliza touched Harry's pulse. It was slowed, but he was otherwise fine. The fall would have knocked him unconscious, no matter how softened the ground and the fall was.

Dumbledore appeared next to her, a grave look on his face.

"He will be fine," Eliza assured. Years of practice stopped the panic from showing on her face, but she was still concerned. It was quite the fall. "He'll be okay."

"I'll have a stern words with the Dementors," Dumbledore said slowly. A storm was brewing in his eyes.

She took him to the hospital wing on a stretcher. He was fine, he would be absolutely fine –

Sirius was at the game.

Harry was okay.

Was he just…watching?

"What happened?" Madame Pomfrey demanded. She explained and, upon hearing about the Dementors, Poppy let out a noise of exasperation.

"They've been getting restless! Potter is not the only one who has been near on fainting near those creatures. He'll wake up, but he should stay here overnight. Any other injuries?"

"Minor ones from the other players. I'll help you."

Others arrived in the hospital wing. Some were feeling extremely faint from the proximity of the Dementors and needed a small pepper-up. Eliza tended to these cases while Poppy dealt with minor injuries to the Quidditch players.

Professor Flitwick came by at some point, carrying a blanket.

"It's Potter's broom," he said gravely. "I'm afraid it's beyond repair."

"Oh dear," Eliza accepted the small blanket gingerly.

The broom was splintered into many parts so badly that even if they had tried to repair it, it would have chunks missing. The Nimbus 2000 used to be the greatest broom on the market and had served Harry well over the years. McGonagall even told her how she gifted it to Harry ("I know it may seem pricey," McGonagall had said. "But it was worth it.")

The entire Gryffindor team arrived no sooner than later. Then Harry woke up, blinking the sleep out of his eyes. Eliza left the team alone, hoping that they could break the news to him in a better way. It seemed the Quidditch captain was nowhere to be found ("Possibly trying to drown himself in the shower," one of the Weasley twins said).

Eliza went to check up on Remus this time. He was in hos room, wrapped in a blanket and had made himself a cup of chocolate.

What Remus had told her last night was still fresh in her mind. She didn't want to fight with him, especially not so soon after a transformation.

"You know, wolfsbane is not so bad if it weren't so… complicated. And expensive to make."

Eliza let out a weak smile and checked if any bones or limps on Remus were out of place, but he was fine.

"I should thank Severus at some point," Eliza mentioned. "He seems alright… sometimes."

"Sometimes?"

"You've heard how he is to other students," Eliza plumbed herself down on a free chair and rubbed her head. "Do you need an ibuprofen? Or something stronger. I think I need one after today."

Sirius was at the game. Sirius was at the game.

"Are you alright?" Remus frowned.

"Dementors. They made Harry fall from the sky – he's fine now, mind you. Hufflepuff won the match though. His broom is also broken."

She would not mention seeing the dog.

"What? Dementors in Hogwarts?" Remus's jaw dropped.

"They're restless," Eliza pursed her lips. She looked out the small window. She wondered if the Dementors had sensed that he was there, too.

Could Dementors sense animal feelings? Was that perhaps how Sirius escaped? What dumb luck that he was unregistered. One thing, Eliza noted, was that this was the third time he was in the area and had not struck.

"Could you send my thanks to Severus for covering my class yesterday?" Remus interrupted her thoughts. She nodded.

But any thanks towards Severus were quickly retracted when Remus told her of the essay Severus tried to make the students write.

"What are you even trying to achieve?" Eliza had furiously knocked on Snape's door after his last potion lesson.

"You'd think third years would notice," Snape snarled.

"And get him fired? You know how hard it is to find a job! He's a perfectly capable teacher. Just because you want the job –"

"That has nothing to do with it."

"Then what are you trying to do?" Eliza crossed her arm. "If you think he may have loyalties to Sirius –"

"Oh I think Lupin was as loyal as you are to Black," Snape said in a disgusted tone. "They would have made a wonderful couple if you had still stayed with the other Black, but I supposed you prefer traitors."

"How is pining for Lily even in death like, Severus?" Heat rushed to her ears. "What's it like knowing you called her –"

"Don't remind me!"

"Two can play this game," she reminded. "You spew all of this non-sense but only care when it comes to the person you love and hurt. Do you think I don't know you tried to get her recruited for the Dark Lord? That it was you who heard the prophecy that killed her? But no, you did one good thing and told Dumbledore that they should go in hiding. Self-hatred is a wondrous thing."

"How do you know that?" Snape's eyes widened. "Who told you?"

"Albus, of course," Eliza crossed her arm. "I never stopped being up in people's business, Snape. You were a spy, so was I."

"So up in people's business that you couldn't tell that your very own would betray you," Snape snarled.

Eliza clenched her jaw. "Well, we both took a big loss from that, didn't we?"

Snape stayed silent. The Potions master seemed to be struggling with what he wanted to say.

"You… you can't argue that Potter was arrogant when we were children."

"He was, but he changed. I am not asking for you to forgive him for what Potter and friends did, but Remus has showed you nothing but kindness since he came here. We're not children anymore, Severus. Be a better person."

"I am," he said darkly. "I brew his potion each month."

Eliza held a tight grip on the handle. "Then keep going. Brewing a potion is one step forward, but you'll be taking several steps back if you tell someone's secret that isn't yours to tell."

When December came around, Eliza was knee-deep in essays and Christmas shopping. The last weekend of the term was for Hogsmeade visits, but Eliza took that time to visit muggle London to buy presents for her family.

It was at Piccadilly Circus that she ran into someone she hadn't been expecting. Eliza heard the voice before she saw her, the shortly permed brown hair that accompanied the shrill voice talking about only having the best for her Diddy-kins.

Petunia.

Eliza froze, clutching the new sweater she planned on giving Remus when Petunia tsked.

Please don't notice me. Please –

"Can you believe it?" Petunia wasn't even looking at her. "They don't have any clothes in my little Diddy's size."

"Well," Eliza said awkwardly. "The market is pretty discriminatory."

"Wha –" Petunia turned around and, upon seeing Eliza, froze. "You… I know you…you were Dudley's Kindergarten cook!"

Well, at least she remembers that.

"I was," Eliza cleared her throat.

"I head you quit recently for a better paid position – tell me, are you?"

"Uh… yes, I am. I guess."

"You guess?" Petunia raised her eyebrow. "Couldn't you compare your pay slips or is that something people don't do nowadays?"

"Petunia, frankly, I do not know the currency exchange between galleons and British pounds."

Upon the word galleons, Petunia clutched her bag closer. Her expression hardened.

"You," she looked around. "And you taught among us?"

Eliza frowned. "You can't possibly tell me you forgot."

"What do you mean," Petunia looked away. "Oh look at the time –"

"Petunia," Eliza warned. Eliza had visited Lily many times during their school year, especially right after the engagement with Regulus was finally broken off. The Evans' had even known Eliza's father as he had been Mr Evan's surgeon for when he had fallen off his ladder and broken his bones over Christmas. Eliza was not a stranger to Petunia, but Petunia acted as though she was.

"I don't want anything to do with your kind," Petunia took a step back. "I think I'll never come back to this department store anymore."

Petunia obviously didn't want to make a scene. Petunia looked around and dropped the stack of clothes she had been holding. Before she could leave, Elia called out.

"Do you want me to get something for him? For Harry?"

Petunia stopped in her tracks. Eliza watched Petunia's shoulder move up and down, deep in thought. Then, she turned around slowly.

"Well, if you're paying for it – and I certainly will have nothing to do with it – get that boy a new pair of jeans. It will save me the effort of getting them tailored."

"Alright," Eliza clutched the sweater closer to her chest. She would buy Harry as many jeans as possible. "Well then… uhm, Merry Christmas, Evans."

Petunia shot her a look – Was it contempt? Hatred? – and left the store.

With a stuffed bag – magically enhanced so that it didn't look like there was anything in there – Eliza returned to Hogwarts with a frown on her face. Petunia weighed on her mind. Lily's parents had died not so long after Lily married James, both succumbing to pneumonia after a cold winter. It had been terrible. Petunia had also lost all of her family in such a short time.

It was in this daze that she walked up the stairs of Hogwarts, only to run into Harry.

"Ouff – sorry, Harry," Eliza should have been aware of her surroundings. "I'm a bit –"

"You knew my parents," Harry said suddenly. He had a photo album clutched in his hand, a particularly clouded look on his face. "You knew my mother."

Eliza felt her mouth go dry.

"Yes," she wasn't going to lie. "I knew her."

"So you knew Black, too?"

Her heart pumped against her chest. Harry opened his photo album and pointed out a picture. It was the picture of Lily and James on their wedding day. He pointed at the corner of the picture where Sirius was standing and Eliza had her arm hooked into his. Harry looked determined to find something out. It was the same look that Lily had whenever she was concentrating on charms or when she was ready to give someone a stern lesson.

"Follow me, Potter," Eliza said softly."I see we have things to talk about."

She leads him to the Muggle studies classroom and into her office. Harry followed her without any question. In her office, she conjured salep and a little bit of butterbeer in case he didn't like it. Harry looked around.

"This looks like Mr. Weasley's garage… just cleaner."

"Oh I know Arthur," Eliza noted. "I gave him a rubber duck once. He was quite fascinated by it."

"He asked me what the function of it was once. I said it floated."

"I don't know why it was invented either," Eliza didn't make him sit on the seat across from her. "Now, why did you want to talk to me about Black?"

Harry grabbed the cup and eyed it. "Well… I overheard some teachers, uh, in the halls talking about him and…I know that he was my godfather."

"Yes, he was… is, I guess," Eliza said sadly.

"And that he was best friends with my dad," Harry trailed on. "And that he betrayed them. How come nobody told me?" he sounded accusatory. "Nobody ever tells me about…about the day they died."

Eliza's heart ached. "Because it still hurts to talk about it, Harry."

"I hear her, you know. Whenever the Dementors are near. I hear my mother screaming."

Eliza shut her eyes for a second. She couldn't imagine it, didn't want to imagine it. It was like another puzzle piece that fell into place in her memory.

"I think the adults decided not to tell you in case you might do something drastic," Eliza said. "You are one for troublemaking, I hear."

"I am not… okay, MAYBE I am," Harry shrugged. "But trouble tends to find me."

"Sounds just like what your dad would say," Eliza mentioned.

"And I also head Madame Ros – the teachers say that you and Black were… a couple."

"A bunch of tea gossipers, aren't they?" Eliza didn't believe for a second that this conversation happened within the walls of Hogwarts. It seemed as though Harry was going to say Madame Rosmerta and Madame Rosmerta loved a good gossip.

"Before you say anything, Harry," Eliza began. "I need you to know that the Sirius that I loved is not the Sirius Back that became a murderer. It was rather peculiar you see…" It felt weird to talk to a thirteen-year-old about her love life. She would need to make a map for Harry to understand and Harry didn't need to know those details.

"I won't go into detail. But he matched your father in wit. They were always together. I never would have thought he would do what he did. But if you have any doubts about it, then I need you to know that I will never, ever let him come near you if he's dangerous."

Harry stayed quiet and took a sip of his drink. "I like this," he pointed out.

"Your mum liked it too."

"Could you tell me about her?" Harry asked. His eyes lightened up. "My mum, I mean. If you can. I… I don't know how close you were."

"She was my best friend, of course. I was first introduced to her by Snape –"

"Snape?" Harry exclaimed.

"I know. Terrible," Eliza joked. "Back then, tensions were already high between dark wizards and normal wizards, specifically in Slytherin house. I grew up in the muggle world, you know. My father is a muggle. My parents never married – pureblood family nonsense and all – and my witch mother only got custody of me when I started going to Hogwarts. She lied about me growing up with some distant wizarding relatives and that my father was a wizard too – I supposed he was one. He pretended to be a magician for children birthday parties. It made good money. Anyway, it was my mother's way of keeping me far away from people like the Malfoy family," Eliza remembered the day she got her letter and how upset her father had been about it back then because he knew it meant she might not come back at all.

"So when I came to Hogwarts and Snape introduced us, we hit it off right away. I even knew your grandparents and aunt. I supposed your mother was the only one who really kept me grounded while I was in Slytherin house. In those days, I had to pretend that I agreed with whatever ideas they had so I wouldn't end up dead somehow. It also made me quite the valuable person to have around. Having your mother as my best friend at times felt illegal… but I didn't cared if it meant that I could stop them from hurting her. None of the Slytherins could touch her because they were afraid of me."

"But you're not evil, professor," Harry argued. "How could you be in Slytherin? And why were they afraid of you?"

"I kicked the Slytherin captain off the team and turned it into an anti-death eater team," Eliza noted. "Being in Slytherin does not make you evil, but I supposed the traits of Slytherin house are perfect for those who are incredulously ambitious. And I knew everyone's secrets.

Anyways, Your mother was bright. She learnt a lot about the wizarding world. She's a lot like your friend Ms. Granger that way."

Eliza walked around to her desk and pulled out a box that had pictures in it. She brought it along to look at it sometimes.

"Good old muggle photos. That's us the summer I stayed over at your grandparent's place. We watched so many movies then – oh and this one, this was the year your mother and father started dating."

Harry drank it all in. It seemed that the anger that may have been sickening under the surface faded. At some point, he started asking more questions. What was Lily's favourite colour, what was her favourite subject?

Eliza answered it all.

Then, upon seeing a picture of Molly Weasley and Lily, Harry nearly jumped up.

"You knew Ron when he was a baby?"

"Took care of all of the Weasleys, too," she added. "I even knew your cousin – I worked at the Kindergarten in Little Whinging."

At some point, she allowed him to browse the pictures. She didn't care that there were pictures of her and Sirius in there during their time at Hogwarts.

"Is that professor Lupin?" Harry exclaimed.

"Yes, he was friends with your dad, too." Eliza thought it odd how Remus never mentioned it to Harry. Then again, Remus was the king of avoiding tough topics when he didn't want to talk about them.

As was Eliza.

"You should get to bed," Eliza looked at the clock. "It's getting late."

"Alright," Harry yawned. "Mind if I keep this picture? Uncle Vernon won't care about it if it doesn't move."

Eliza nodded. Just as he was about to leave the room, Harry turned around again.

"Professor? How come … how come you're not my godmother?"

Eliza shrugged. "I'm not Christian. Besides, I gather your parents thought that it wouldn't matter in the long run if I had married Bl…Sirius."

"Oh," he looked sad. "That's…a shame. I would have loved to live with you."

A lump formed in Eliza's throat. She thought of Petunia and what it was like living near Privet Drive and how she was always told to trust Petunia. Arabella Figgs always had her suspicions of what it was like in Privet Drive but had stopped Eliza from doing anything on Dumbledore's orders.

"Trust me, Harry. I would have too."