disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, just Arabella and her story. Hello all, welcome to the re-write of the third book! Hope you all like it!

The Breakout

"So, I'm assuming you know what happened?"

Remus glanced down at her for a moment and then nodded. They were heading out of King's Cross to the alley in the back. He was really quiet when she took his arm and they Apparated to the outskirts of their house. In the distance she could see that the house was empty with only the kitchen light on.

"The Tonks will not be joining us tonight," said Remus. "But they have invited us over for lunch tomorrow. I told them that we would be there. Andromeda will want to know how your second year went. Whether or not you choose to tell her about the Chamber is up to you."

Arabella pursed her lips at his tone. He was clearly upset at her. Very well, if he wanted to be this way.

She looked at Shay and let him out of the cage. He swooshed away and stretched his wings. Arabella smiled after him.

They entered the house and Arabella put her trunk away and re-entered the kitchen. Remus was preparing something for them and glanced over his shoulder as she took a seat at the table.

"I spoke to Alastor recently," he said idly, "and he said that he would be willing to take you to the Ministry for a day to show you around the place and what they do. It will probably be in a couple weeks' times."

Arabella was slightly taken back. "Oh, great. Sounds good."

Silence passed as Remus continued to prepare their food. Arabella watched him and occasionally glanced out of the window. She could see Shay outside flying around, making loops and hooting happily. Soon enough, Remus set down a plate of chicken and rice in front of her. They began to eat in silence and it was infuriating beyond belief.

"I helped brew a Polyjuice Potion to figure out who was opening the Chamber of Secrets," said Arabella abruptly, almost slamming her cup down. "And I went down to the Chamber because someone I knew was in danger. I wasn't going to stand by and do nothing, Moony!"

Remus blinked at her for a moment and sighed. He pinched and bridge of his nose and closed his eyes for a moment. "I know. Once I had heard about the attacks… I just knew you were going to be involved, I just knew you were. I understand you going to the Chamber and investigating with all the attacks going on, but – but the fact that you put your life on the line was something that just irked me when I heard."

"But why?" asked Arabella, beyond confused.

"Because it just seems like you don't have any regard whatsoever for your own life," said Remus simply. "You are willing to stand in front of Voldemort and go to the Chamber of Secrets to save someone's life, but you could have died and – and – " He sighed once again, struggling to find words. "I am proud that you care for your friends and others, and that you are willing to stand up for them in this way, but I want you to care about yourself, I want you to protect your own life just as much as anybody else's. You mean so much to so many people and if something were to happen to you… well… I don't know what would happen."

Remus looked defeated at the thought and she hated making him feel this way. She reached out and took his hand, giving it a small squeeze.

"Hate to break it to you, Moony," she said sincerely, "but it's going to be hard to get rid of me. I'm indestructible… and I've got the scars to prove it."

Remus snorted and gave her a small smile. There were so few times where she ever joked about her scars or mentioned them lightly, but she always meant well when she did so.

"I suppose you're right," admitted Remus. "But please, please promise me that you will be more careful from now on."

Arabella shook her head and shrugged. "No promises, Moons. You never know, there could be dragons on campus one day and do you really think I'm going to pass up that opportunity?"

The rest of dinner was light. They spoke animatedly about Remus's newly accepted position, but he didn't give her any hints about their upcoming lessons and wouldn't comment if he started planning them or not.

"So you haven't started planning yet?" asked Arabella, narrowing her eyes at him. She put their plates away as he got their ice cream.

"Not telling," sang Remus. And he couldn't help but smirk at her.

"So it's been a week or so since you've got the position and you haven't been planning your lessons?" asked Arabella, astonished. "I'm am disappointed in you, Moony. You've been slacking! I expected better from you!"

She placed her hand over her head and fainted in her chair. Remus rolled his eyes at her antics.

Lunch the next day at the Tonks was mostly spent with her reassuring Andromeda that she was fine and that I promise I will never do that again, Andy, I promise, please let me enjoy this lovely fish, I promise, oh Merlin, I promise. Andromeda fussed over her and berated her the whole time, alternating between being caring and strict. Ted was glad to see that she was safe, but did take Andromeda's stance when it was plausible. Nymphadora was the only one that seemed to find the whole thing quite hilarious.

"Trouble seems to be following you, doesn't it?" asked Nymph, her eyes shining.

Andromeda was telling Remus to keep an eye on her next semester and he was nodding, though there was a part of Arabella that knew he was barely listening. The full moon was creeping up on them and he was looking quite haggard as Andromeda launched into a full on speech.

"Well, Andy, you never know," commented Arabella hastily, "there could be dragons on campus next semester and I wouldn't mind seeing one up close. My friend's brother is some sort of dragon tamer, I am sure he will be able to keep them at bay. He's got a few burns on his arm, but I'm sure it will all be fine."

Oh, Merlin. Andromeda turned red and it looked as though she was about to pop a vein in her neck. She reminded Arabella of Professor McGonagall. Andromeda soon turned her attention on Arabella, leaving Remus alone for now. He gave her a small smile.

"Dragons are not some sort of play thing!"

Arabella and Remus returned back home later that night, after hours of Arabella being berated and receiving a long lecture. Remus remained in bed for the rest of the day, buried under a mountain of blankets. Arabella made him some eggs, bacon and warm honey milk for dinner. He was very pale and barely touched the food.

She stayed with the Tonks the next day, spending most of the time with Nymph as she took Arabella to Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour at Diagon Alley and they gazed at the new broomstick at Quality Quidditch Supplies.

"It's beautiful," whispered Nymph, practically pressing her nose against the window.

"It's the fastest broom in the world, isn't it, Dad?" squeaked a kid next to them.

"Irish International Side's just put in an order for seven of these beauties!" said the owner of the shop. "And they're the favourites for the World Cup!"

"Troy is going to be on one of these?" asked Arabella, her eyes widening. "He's going to be unstoppable!"

"The Firebolt, ladies and gentlemen!" roared the shop owner to the gathering crowd. "Our new state-of-the-art racing broom with an acceleration of a hundred and fifty miles an hour in ten second! This beaut' sports a stream-lined, superfine handle of ask, treated with a diamond-hard polish and hand-numbered with its own registration number AND it has been honed to aerodynamic perfection, giving the Firebolt an unstoppable balance and pinpoint precision! This blows The Nimbus Two-Thousand and One out of the waters, people!"

Arabella and Nymph began to leave as the crowd grew. She never wanted anything more in her life right now than that broom. It was beyond beautiful and there was no doubt in her mind that it was be amazing to ride on it, but it was so new it was going to be expensive and she already had a decent broom at home.

"Oh, well, it's just a broom," said Nymph and Arabella could hear the small longing in her voice. "Brooms come and go, after all. Just you wait, in a year or two, there's going to be a Nimbus Two-Thousand and Two and a Firebolt Two or some other name."

Arabella did not quite understand Nymph's tone of voice. It was not as though she was brilliant on a broom or on her house team. But she would be blind if she did not recognize an excellent looking broom in front of her.

Remus collected her the following afternoon, looking even more pale and exhausted than before. He put up a good front, but the moment they left the Tonks, he practically fell on the couch. Arabella grabbed a pillow and a couple blankets from upstairs and came back to a sleeping Remus. She gently lifted his head and placed the pillow under his head. She then threw the blankets over him and left him alone the rest of the day.

She went to the kitchen and found that there was a letter on the table waiting for her. She saw Ron's rushed scrawl across the envelope.

Arabella –

DO NOT CALL HARRY ON THE PHONE! I tried to contact him with the phone thing the other day and his uncle picked up instead of Harry. He was shouting at me over the phone and told me to never call their house again and that there was no Harry there. I spoke to Dad about it and he reckons I shouldn't have yelled as well. That phone thing is really confusing! Are you supposed to talk and listen at the same time? And how are Muggles supposed to hear us at all from it? Muggle inventions, I swear, they're something else.

Remember, don't call!

Ron.

It was quite hilarious to think of Ron shouting at Harry's uncle over the phone. Part of her wished she had witnessed that in some way or another.

Remus had a phone in the house, but it was a lousy thing with terrible connection. Also, she knew better than to contact Harry's house at all. From what Harry has told them about that side of the family, they were not the pleasant type and – they locked him inside his room like some sort of criminal! The thought of calling that house and having to speak with Harry's family was repulsive.

A couple weeks passed by before she heard anything else from her friends or from Hogwarts. Errol, Hedwig and a beautiful tawny owl tapped on her window and dropped envelopes on her bed. The tawny owl and Errol left at once while Hedwig stood on the ledge. She still had a package tied to her.

"Is that for me?" asked Arabella. She looked closely and saw that it was for Harry. Arabella smiled at her. "You're too good for Harry, you know that right?"

Hedwig, the large snowy female, gave her a small nip with her beak, as though agreeing with her.

"Bruce and Shay are on the porch," Arabella told her. "There's some food and water as well. I've wrapped up his present but I didn't write the card yet. I should be done in a couple minutes. Bring Shay with you, I don't want you to carry it all."

Hedwig blinked once and left the ledge to join the other owls. Arabella then sat down on her bed and picked up the thicker envelope first. It bared the Hogwarts crest and she slit it open, pulling out the first page of parchment.

Dear Miss Black,

Please note that the new school year will begin on September the first. The Hogwarts Express will leave from King's Cross Station, platform nine and three-quarters, at eleven o'clock.

Third years are permitted to visit the village of Hogsmeade on certain weekends. Please give the enclosed permission form to your parent or guardian to sign.

A list of books for next year is enclosed.

Yours sincerely,

Professor M. McGonagall
Deputy Headmistress.

She looked at the new book list that she was going to need for the coming year, and the Hogsmeade permission form. It was going to be wonderful to visit Hogsmeade on weekends with the others, especially going down to Madam Rosemerta's for butterbeer.

She then picked up Ron's envelope and two pieces of paper flew out. She picked up with newspaper clipping first. It came out from the Daily Prophet and had a black-and-white picture of all the Weasleys, smiling widely and waving furiously at her. Behind them was a large pyramid and right in the middle was Ron, his ret rat, Scabbers, and his arm around Ginny.

MINISTRY OF MAGIC EMPLOYEE SCOOPS GRAND PRIZE

Arthur Weasley, Head of the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office at the Ministry of Magic, has won the annual Daily Prophet Grand Prize Galleon Draw.

A delighted Mr. Weasley told the Daily Prophet, "We will be spending the gold on a summer holiday in Egypt, where out eldest son, Bill, works as a curse breaker for Gringotts Wizarding Bank."

The Weasley family will be spending a month in Egypt, returning for the start of the new school year at Hogwarts, which five of the Weasley children currently attend.

It was lovely to see the Weasleys look very happy. They are a wonderful family and they deserve the gold more than anyone she could think of. She then picked up Ron's letter and unfolded it.

Dear Arabella,

It's amazing here in Egypt! Bill's taken us around all the tombs and you would not believe the curses those old Egyptian wizards put on them. Mum wouldn't let Ginny come in the last one. There were all these mutant skeletons in there, of Muggles who'd broken in and grown extra heads and stuff.

I couldn't believe it when Dad won the Daily Prophet Draw. Seven hundred galleons! Most of its gone on this trip, but they're going to buy me a new wand for next year.

Got Harry a Pocket Sneakoscope for his birthday. Wasn't so sure on it since Bill says its rubbish sold for wizard tourists and it's unreliable. What did you get him? Should I get him something else?

We'll be back about a week before term starts and we'll be going up to London to get my wand and our new books. Any chance of meeting you there? I'm going to ask Hermione and Harry as well to see if we can all get together.

See you soon, hopefully,

Ron Weasley

P.S. Percy's Head Boy. He got the letter last week.

He didn't seem too happy about Percy getting Head Boy. Quite understandable. He was insufferable at times. She looked back at the photo and saw Percy looking particularly smug at the camera with his Head Boy badge pinned to his robes. Arabella then turned to the last envelope. It was from Hermione.

Dear Arabella,

I'm on holiday in France at the moment and I don't know how I was going to send this to you but then Hedwig showed up. I asked her to give this to you so I hope she understood, but I'm sure Harry will tell her as well if he opened this.

Did you see the article on Ron and his family in Egypt? I bet he's learning loads! I'm really jealous – the ancient Egyptian wizards were fascinating. There's some interesting local history of witchcraft here as well, but Egypt would be perfect to learn more.

Did you hear about Ron yelling at Harry's uncle? I thought Mr. Weasley would have told him not to yell over the telephone, surely. I hope that incident hasn't gotten Harry into too much trouble. After all, it wasn't his fault Ron was yelling over the phone.

Ron says he's going to be in London in the last week of the holidays. Can you make it? I hope you can, if not, I'll see you on the Hogwarts Express on September first!

Love from,

Hermione.

She smiled and got out Harry's present from her drawer. It was a new pair of Quidditch goggles and gloves. She picked up her quill and began to write a letter for him.

Dear Harry,

Ron wrote to me and told me about his phone call to your house. Hope you're okay and they're not bringing you down. Say the word and we'll come get you again.

So far the holiday has been a little mundane, nothing exciting happening really. Went to Diagon Alley and saw the new broomstick – The Firebolt! You'll really love it, Harry. It's beautiful and faster than Malfoy's broom. I didn't want to ask the price of it but I'm sure in a couple months or so it will be cheaper. But it looks wonderful!

Anyway, how have your holidays been? Done anything interesting? Is it okay to send an owl to you at all, will your uncle mind? What time is better?

Ron says he'll be in London in the last week of the holiday and if we can set a date, I'm sure I can get Remus to take me to Diagon Alley or the Leaky Cauldron. Let me know as soon as possible.

See you later,

Arabella.

She looked over her letter a couple times and nodded in satisfaction. She tied the letter to the package and stuck her head out the window, calling for Hedwig and Shay. Within a couple seconds, they flew to her ledge and Arabella tied the present to Shay's foot.

"This is for Harry," Arabella whispered. "Hedwig will take you straight to him, just follow her, all right?"

Shay ruffled his feathers, stretched his wings and took off though the window into the night with Hedwig leading the way.

Someone was whispering in her ear…. Where are you coming from?

"Come to me…." Where are you? "This way…. Don't you want to see me…." I do… I do…. Please… show me…. "Help me…."

She was running to nowhere and running wildly. So many doors, so much darkness and yet the voice was still calling to her. Where are you? Show me…. Tell me…. Please…. Let me help you…. Please….

A body was then laid out in front of her, bleeding… bent… broken…. It was the body of a small woman with jagged bones poking out from its skin… The body turned its head to look Arabella in the face and she became all too well of the pounding sound in the room – it was her heart.

The thing… the body… it opened its mouth and a voice came from it that sounded as though it did not suit them.

"You did not care…. You did not help me…."

The voice was low and rough and it sounded as though it belonged to some deadly force, not this broken woman.

"This is all your fault…." I'm sorry…. I tried…. Please…

"It's all your fault…. You did this…. This is all your fault…."

"Arabella… wake up…."

I'm sorry…. Arabella…. Please…. I'm so sorry…. Please…. Arabella….

Her eyes flew open and she inhaled sharply. She looked up at her ceiling for a couple seconds before her eyes found Remus. He looked worried for a moment.

"Did you have another nightmare?" asked Remus. "Your arms are bleeding."

Arabella slowly sat up on her bed and nodded. "Yeah, just the regular stuff, you know. Whispers and whatnot."

"Are you sure?"

She squeezed her eyes tight for a moment and said, "There… there was this woman? I'm not so sure if it was a woman and she turned her head to me and she, um, blamed me for not saving her? I don't know, it was all a blur, really."

Remus nodded and said, "You've been getting nightmares since you were a kid."

"I know, Moony," she whispered. "This one was a little different, though. It was just whispers and it wasn't Bellatrix's voice, it was someone else, I don't know who. They… blamed me for something. I think they were dying and… yeah, I don't know. It's just a dream, right?"

"Of course," said Remus instantly. "These dream are just dreams. They don't matter, they're not real. You know what does? You matter, you're real."

Arabella gave him a small, lopsided smile. "All right, Moony. Pulling out all the stops, huh?"

Remus returned her smile and said, "Come on, take a shower and get ready. Alastor will be here soon. Try to make yourself look nice, you could run into Amelia Bones."

Quickly, she took a shower and scrubbed her arms. After drying herself off, she wrapped her arms with fresh bandages. She tied her hair back and out on her best clothes. For a few moments, she sat on her bed, unable to move. She looked at the picture of Kassandra on her table stand for a moment.

Arabella picked nervously at the threads on her brown long sleeved shirt. She took a deep breath and nodded to herself, trying to boost her own moral. The dream was still on her mind. So much of it was running through her mind. It was her fault, she didn't get there in time…. There was so much to process.

After a couple more moments, she went downstairs to find a plate of eggs ready for her and Alastor Moody having a cup of coffee.

"All right there, Mad-Eye?" she asked, taking a seat across from him.

Mad-Eye's magical eye swirled to set its sight on her. When she was younger she always hated that artificial eye, but now, she was just used to it. His rough face is covered in scars with a chunk of his nose missing and his wooden leg stuck out from under the table.

"Yes, yes, fine," said Mad-Eye. "You ready? I've got Auror training today and then I can show you around the office. Tonks will be there. Part of my last batch before I got off to retirement."

"Retirement?" asked Remus. "Really?"

"Getting old, Lupin," said Mad-Eye. "Lost a leg, lost one eye and a good chunk of my nose. Best get out while I'm still alive. I'll help out the Ministry here and there if they need me, but after this year, I'm off to retirement. I think I'm suited for the quiet life."

Arabella snorted and looked at Remus. The quiet life? Hardly something that was ever going to happen to Mad-Eye. But from what she knew about his career as an Auror, he deserved to retire whenever he wanted.

"Ready?" asked Mad-Eye, drowning the rest of the coffee. "Got your wand?"

Arabella nodded and gestured to the wand in the back pocket of her jeans.

"Don't put your wand there, Black!" roared Mad-Eye. "What if it ignited? Better witches and wizards than you have lost buttocks, you know!"

"Who do you know who's lost a buttock?" asked Arabella.

"If you must know…." He looked at Remus, who shook his head. Mad-Eye sighed irritably and said, "Never you mind, you just keep your wand out of your back pocket!" growled Mad-Eye. "Elementary wand safety, nobody bothers about it anymore…." She stumped off towards the living room. "And I saw that," he added as Arabella rolled her eye.

Mad-Eye took a pinch of Floo power from the mantel and threw it into the fireplace. With a roar, green flames appeared and Mad-Eye stepped right into it and shouted, "The Ministry of Magic!" and he vanished. Arabella followed suit, giving Remus a small wave.

She landed on the cold floor with a thud. It was a very long and splendid hall with many witches and wizards moving about. Mad-Eye helped her to her help and they joined the crowd. Many people moved aside when they say Mad-Eye and nodded their heads at him respectively. Halfway down the hall was a large fountain with large golden statues.

"Over here," said Mad-Eye, grabbing her arm and leading the way.

The crowd was thickening as they headed for the golden gates. They joined the crowd into one of the elevators. She found herself jammed against the back wall of the lift while Mad-Eye seem to have all the room he needed. The grilles slid shut with a crash and the lift ascended slowly, chains rattling all the way.

They moved upward with a cool female voice speaking at each level. Many people left at each level until it was just Mad-Eye, Arabella, and several paper airplanes above them.

"Interdepartmental memos," grunted Mad-Eye. "Used to use owls, but the mess was something else. This is better."

"Level two, Department of Magical Law Enforcement, including the Improper Use of Magic Office, Auror Headquarters, and Wizengamont Administration Services."

The airplanes zoomed out as Arabella followed Mad-Eye down the corridor.

"Come on, catch up," grumbled Mad-Eye as they turned a corner into a pair of heavy oak doors. "Get ready, kid."

The room was an open area, cluttered, and divided into cubicles. Airplanes were zooming in and out of cubicles and many people were talking to each other and some standing on their chairs, yelling at each other. The cubicles were covered with pictures of families, wanted wizards, posters of favourite Quidditch teams and articles from the Daily Prophet. At the end of the large office was another office with the words AUROR HEADQUARTERS above it.

"That's the Head Auror's office," Mad-Eye said carelessly, pointing at that door.

He led her to another set of oak doors and down a small corridor to a single door. She could hear shouting and people being thrown on the floor through the door. Mad-Eye put his hand on the door knob and turned to her.

"This is our training room. The trainees will be going through an obstacle that I set up with Kingsley Shacklebolt. You'll meet him later."

He opened the door to a large, dark walled room with a high windowed ceiling. It showed that it was sunny outside, but they were still underground. It must be enchanted like Hogwarts. There was about a hundred or so people in there, talking and pretend wrestling with each other. The room fell dead-silent the moment Mad-Eye entered.

Mad-Eye Moody clunked into the room and looked completely frightening as ever. He stood there for the longest time, staring at each of them with his normal eye while the magical one was looking all over the room.

"Today, you will all be going through an obstacle that was set up by two Aurors – myself and Kingsley Shacklebolt. You will need to think quickly on your feet, dodge curses and apprehend the Dark witch or wizard at the end of the obstacle. They will use illegal curses on you. They are not going to be nice and polite and neither are you. You need to be alert, you need to be prepared and you need to stop making face at your friends when I'm talking, Curates!"

A young lady jumped and blushed. She tried to hide her face under her hair, but the others were looking back at her anyway, eyeing her skeptically.

Mad-Eye then gestured towards Arabella. "We have a guest with us today. Try not to embarrass yourselves. You will not speak to her, you will not look at her, do I make myself clear?" There was a general murmur of agreement. "Good. Anderson, you're up first. Let's go!"

Anderson had barely readied himself with the door burst open with a loud thud against the wall. In walked a scrawny looking man with blonde hair, pale as a ghost and a layer of sweat covering his face. Arabella and many trainees jumped back in the sudden shock of his entrance. Mad-Eye scowled at him.

"What is the meaning of this, Jones?" barked Mad-Eye. "We are not to be interrupted in here!"

"It's Mr. Shacklebolt, sir," said Jones breathlessly. "It's an emergency. He told me to get you. They're with Mister Scrimgeour. The whole office is in an uproar, sir!"

The whole office is in an uproar? Everyone around with murmuring at each other in interest. Mad-Eye looked at all of them and scowled. He then grabbed Arabella's shoulder and steered her towards the door.

"You will all stay here," he shouted over them. "I'll get this sort out quickly."

Arabella saw Nymph on her way out. She smiled and gave her a small wave, which was returned.

"Tonks!"

Nymph immediately dropped her hand as they left the room. He led her right back to the Auror office and everyone was in a frenzy. They were all shouting incomprehensibly at each other, standing on top of desks, chairs, throwing things at each other, running around like headless chickens. Mad-Eye stirred her towards the Head Auror's office. There was a small plaque on the door in gold letters.

Head Auror
Rufus Scrimgeour

"Wait here," Mad-Eye said shortly, gesturing towards the chair beside the door.

Arabella nodded as he entered the room, clanking along the way. After a couple seconds, she pressed her ear to the keyhole. It was hard to tell what they were talking about with everyone else shouting as well. But she could tell that there were multiple people inside the office. There was a muffled shout and a couple more minutes of silence.

Clunking footsteps came closer towards her and she moved quickly away from the door and sat down on the chair. Mad-Eye came out first, followed by a tall black wizard with broad shoulders and a bald head, and, to her surprise, Amelia Bones came last.

"Madam Bones!" said Arabella, jumping up her seat. "It's nice to see you again."

Amelia Bones had a square jaw with grey hair and she looked grave. She inhaled sharply when she saw Arabella.

"It's nice to see you too, Miss Black," she said hesitantly. "Now, if you don't mind, I must get going. Gentlemen."

Mad-Eye and the other wizard dipped their heads as she left them, her robes moving around her swiftly. Arabella frowned at her wake but said nothing about it. She must be very busy, after all with everyone in the Auror office running about.

The black wizard smiled at her and searched her face. "Yes, I see what you mean, Alastor," he said to Mad-Eye. He had a deep, slow voice that was quite soothing. "You look exactly like Kassandra. Except for the eyes, of course."

"You knew my mother?" asked Arabella, blinking up at him.

"I did," said the tall wizard. "We used to work closely together before she died. She was a good friend and an even better Auror. I am sorry for what happened to her."

"Oh, um, yeah that's fine," said Arabella awkwardly. "Sorry, I didn't catch your name…"

"Ah, my apologizes. Kingsley Shacklebolt."

Arabella shook his hand and gave him a small smile.

"We have to take you home," growled Mad-Eye. He seemed to be in an even more sour mood. "Come on, let's go."

"But – but what about the training?" asked Arabella, following up behind him and Kingsley.

"Another day," said Mad-Eye as they exited the chaotic office towards the elevator.

The lift appeared and many witches and wizards got off, running in different directions. Mad-Eye gripped Arabella's shoulder tightly as many people started to bump into them. He did not let go, even as they entered the lift themselves. It was empty except for a flock of memos around Kingsley's head as he pressed the button for the Atrium. The doors clanged shut as he waved them away.

"What's going on?" Arabella burst out. "What's happening? Did something bad happen?"

"Not now," snapped Mad-Eye, his grip tightening. "We'll tell you when we take you back home. Stop asking questions."

"Why?" retorted Arabella. "What's so bad that you can't tell me now?"

Kingsley spoke before Mad-Eye could. "Arabella, it would be best to wait so that we could speak with Remus Lupin as well. Please, be a little patient and we shall answer all your questions. I promise, we will tell you everything."

The doors slid open and the Atrium was packed. Many seemed frightened while others were running about, carrying large stacks of paper with them. A man fell down, sending papers flying everywhere, and a young boy was standing on top of the fountain ledge, yelling at the top of his lungs.

"EXTRA! EXTRA! Read all about it! Azkaban Breakout, first of its kind! Read all about it for a single Galleon in the Daily Prophet! Only for one Galleon!"

"Breakout?" Arabella looked at Mad-Eye and Kingsley in alarm. "There's been an escape?"

Mad-Eye looked severely vexed at the sight of the little boy, while Kingsley sighed and nodded solemnly at her. He grabbed a Prophet before they made their way to the other end of the Atrium. She tried to look at it, but Kingsley folded and put it under his arm.

But… but what did the escape have to do with her? They joined the short queue of wizards forming in the last fireplace, waiting to depart. The boy was still yelling, but his voice became muffled as many thoughts were running in her mind. Was is Bellatrix Lestrange? Did she finally do it? Was she now coming for her, ready to finish the job?

Kingsley was the first one to go through the fire, then Arabella, and then Mad-Eye. Remus was already in the living room, his head bent over a couple books and some parchment. The moment he saw all of them, the grip on his quill tightened.

"Arabella," he said, standing up at once. He then looked at Mad-Eye and Kingsley. "What's going on?"

Kingsley exhaled softly and gestured towards the couch. "You might want to sit for this."

Arabella took a seat on her couch, but Remus kept standing ever so stubbornly. "I'm fine, thank you. Kingsley Shacklebolt, right? You used to work with Kas."

"Aye, I did," said Kingsley, giving a single nod.

Mad-Eye grunted. He was standing next to the window, his eyes surveying over the empty ground. It was quite a cloudy day. It might rain soon. Arabella always liked it when it rained.

"Show them."

Kingsley dropped the Daily Prophet in front of Remus and Arabella, showing them the front page. There was a large picture of a man with a sunken face and long, mattered hair. His skin looked waxy and he was glaring at the camera in stripped robes with his prisoner number held up in front. The only part of him that was lively were his grey eyes – Arabella's eyes.

FIRST EVER AZKABAN ESCAPE: SIRIUS BLACK STILL AT LARGE

"That's – that's impossible," stuttered Remus, completely and utterly shocked. "No one's ever escaped from Azkaban! How did this happen?"

"We don't know how he did it," said Kingsley. He looked tired at the thought. "We only just found out this morning. The only thing I know right now is this: the guards have told Fudge that he's been talking in his sleep for a while now. Always the same words, 'they're at Hogwarts… they're at Hogwarts.'"

Kingsley looked at Arabella when he said those words. Remus looked at her as well and his jaw locked at sight. She looked between the both of them quickly.

"M-me?" she asked. "You – you think he's coming after me?"

"It is possible," said Kingsley. "You are his daughter, after all. There is a chance that he will want to see you face-to-face. Years of absence finally got to him, I suppose."

Remus turned his head a little to the side as small cracks came from his neck. He looked visibly tense and his eyes lingered on Sirius Black's face. His eyes darkened and his nose flared. There was the shadow of the werewolf everybody was afraid of.

"What's going to happen now?" asked Remus, struggling to keep his composure.

"There will be some Aurors coming around your house in case he turns up here."

"We're not going to be here once the school year starts. I'm going to be starting my job at Hogwarts."

Kingsley nodded. "There will be extra security measures at Hogwarts. Fudge will be speaking to Albus Dumbledore on that matter and I am sure he will agree with the Minister." He glanced at Arabella for a moment. "This security measure will only last until you both are at Hogwarts. Keep an eye out and if you see anything unusual, please contact me. I have been put in charge of capturing Sirius Black."

Remus nodded stiffly and shook Kingsley's hand. With one last smile, Kingsley disappeared through the green flames.

"You all right, kid?" Mad-Eye asked, his normal eye still roaming over the ground. His magical one must be fixed on her.

Arabella nodded, running her hand through her hair. She leaned forward and placed her head in her hands. She did not know what to think right now. Sirius escaped. He's somewhere out there. That bloody murderer.

Mad-Eye then squeezed her shoulder once more and said, "Remember: Constant Vigilance!"

Arabella nodded as he shook Remus's hand. He left the living room in a flash as Remus picked up the newspaper, muttering angrily under his breath. His grip on the paper increased until he just crumbled the thing.

"There he goes, ruining everything," Remus muttered furiously. He shook his head and looked at Arabella. He sighed and said, "How are you holding up?"

"Fine," mumbled Arabella.

Her eyes were distant and she was sure Remus could see right through her lie. He plopped himself down on the armchair and they sat in silence for a whole. They were both lost in their own thoughts.

"What did Kingsley mean by 'they'?" asked Arabella suddenly.

"What?" asked Remus, snapping out of his thoughts.

"Kingsley, he said that Sirius kept saying, 'they're at Hogwarts.' What did he mean by 'they'?"

"I have no idea," said Remus, shrugging. "Black has been in Azkaban for twelve years now. His mind must have left a long time ago."

It felt as though he was holding back something from her, like he was hiding something big. There wasn't much time to dwell on that matter as Remus stood up and announced that he prepared them something for lunch.

That night she laid on her bed, her mind racing faster than a Nimbus Two-Thousand. Sirius Black escaped Azkaban. Her father escaped Azkaban. He was somewhere out there, lurking about no doubt. She closed her eyes for a moment.

Everyone at Hogwarts is going to know. They're going to know that her father who murdered thirteen people, escaped Azkaban and they're going to… she didn't know what they were going to do, but it will be terrible. The stares, the whispers… it's all going to be horrible, and it's all going to be his fault. The chance of her having a normal life, a life deprived of whispers and other people wondering if she was going to turn out like her father was taken away from her. He did all of that. He gave them another reason to hate her, another reason to fear her.

The only solace she had was that Remus was going to be at the castle this year, and she was going to be with her friends. And Sirius can't take that away from her.

Thank you all so much for reading! Tell me what you guys think!