A/N: This is a slightly AU fic. I have no idea how to define it. It follows along the main plot, but I think the addition of an aunt on James' side of Harry's family will automatically skew it a bit.

Chapter One: Escape

"JAMES!" Jules woke up in a cold sweat again. Her heart was pounding in her chest and her black hair was plastered across her forehead. She ran her hands across her face and did what she always did after having a bad dream. She shuffled from her bedroom to the next one down the hall and quietly opened the door. She made her way to her daughter's twin bed and pushed the black curls off of her forehead. After planting a kiss there, Jules made her way back to her bed and stared at the ceiling before trying to close her eyes again.

Julianne Potter had been incomplete for nearly 12 years. After her twin had been murdered, and her fiancé charged with the crime, she was broken. Nightmares had plagued her almost every night. When she was younger, her nightmares could always be comforted by her other half. Every bad dream left her aching for a life long gone and her brother, her James. Just as Jules' eyes began to drift shut, there was a banging on the door.

"Kingsley?" Jules pulled her bathrobe tighter around her as she adjusted her glasses on her nose. "What on earth are you doing here? Come in..." The towering auror walked into her tiny flat and made the entire place feel more cramped than the Burrow at Christmas. The silence filled the apartment

"Julianne, I regret to inform you that Sirius Black is on the loose," Kingsley Shacklebolt's voice echoed around in her brain before the words finally resonated. Her head started spinning and her hand reached for the rings dangling on a chain around her neck. Kingsley lead her towards the arm chair and sat her down.

"He escaped from Azkaban," Jules whispered. "He-" She took off her glasses and pinched the bridge of her nose. "I haven't told Harry about him, and I haven't said a word to Lucy... I can't- how am I supposed to-" Tears burned in the corners of her eyes. A thought clicked in her exhausted brain.

"You're here to search the place," Jules said as she placed her glasses back on. "You think I'm hiding the man responsible for James and Lily's deaths... Here? With my 11 year old daughter?"

Kingsley stared at his feet. He tugged at the sleeve of his robe and then said, "You're the first person he'd look for, Jules, it wouldn't make sense not to-"

Creaks on the floorboards made the two adults jump. In the hall was a slender little girl with a head of wild black curls and striking grey eyes. She stared at the auror and her mother with a look of confusion.

"What's he looking for, mum?" Her voice cut through the tension like a knife. Jules got up and walked towards her daughter. She wrapped an arm around her daughter's shoulders and then did something she had never done. She lied to her child.

"This is my old friend Kingsley, Lucy-goose," Jules said. "He's just here to make sure I'm not hiding any muggles for illegal magic testing." Jules kissed the top of her daughter's head. "I'll make some tea, alright, love? Just sit on the sofa where I can see you."

Jules met Kingsley's eyes for a moment and the two made a mutual agreement in that look to never speak of the lie that had just been told. Kingsley searched the flat with a location spell and Jules found chocolate just in case the dementors were the next unwelcome visitors she'd have to deal with at this hour.

11 years ago...

Remus Lupin walked into the psychiatric ward of St. Mungo's with a bunch of haphazardly collected lilacs. He knew that Jules loved lilacs and hoped it might bring a bit of joy to the pale blank walls of Mungo's. The nurses all watched him carefully as he went to the room that was visited only by two other wizards: Dumbledore and Molly Weasley.

Inside the dark room, Remus saw the silhouette of a now-quite pregnant Julianne. She was sitting in the windowsill watching the life occurring outside the barred, enchanted glass. Her hair was cropped short so that she didn't pull it out and her eyes had dark circles under them. He saw her shoulders tense as she registered his footsteps into the room.

"James won't come to visit, Remus," Her words shook and her hazel eyes met his amber ones. They didn't have the vivacity that they used to. "They won't even let me see Harry."

Remus placed the flowers at her bedside table and walked over to the window. The nurses had told him that it helped to remind her of the life inside of her. He thought it helped to remind her that she wasn't alone, no matter how isolated she felt. They said she cried for James and Lily a lot in the night. They said she started throwing things if they brought up him, but she wouldn't take off the ring. Remus placed a hand on her arm. Jules' eyes were staring at him but not registering him as there.

"How's the baby doing in there?" He smiled half-heartedly at the shell of the girl he knew and loved. He knew better than to try and feel her stomach. He'd ended up with a bruise the last time he tried. Silence. "I brought you lilacs, Julie... I know how much you loved picking lilacs at your parents' house around this time of year." Tears started to well up in her eyes. They fell without struggle down each cheek.

"Don't cry, love," Remus said gently. He helped Jules out of the windowsill and hugged her as tightly as possible with her protruding belly. "Shh..." He stroked her head and let the fragile creature crumble into his arms. He knew it was only a matter of time before she became so overwhelmed with grief that she would dissociate again. He let her feel and scream and beat his chest with her tiny fists. Remus sat her down on her bed and let her rage at the injustice the world had done to her.

He visited her four times a week, and every week was the same. She had stopped fighting her pain and the tears had stopped. Jules lay on her back with her hands balanced on top of her stomach. Remus got up and prepared himself to leave. He liked to think him being here did some good and that maybe he'd walk out of Mungo's one day with at least one of his best friend's still around. Maybe he'd still have a family one day.

"James won't come to visit, Remus," Jules' voice was distant again. There was a long silence. Remus walked towards the door and placed his hand on the doorknob. The visits always ended like they started.

"He won't come to visit, because he's dead." Remus' head snapped around to stare at her. She was sitting upright now and staring at him. "Lily. James. They're both gone. I'm alone now... Moony, please don't leave me, too. Don't leave me... I can't do this on my own."

Remus took three long strides back to her bed and placed one hand on either side of her face. He kissed the top of her forehead and his eyes began to water. He hadn't heard a word from her for months apart from the two dissociative ones she had mastered for anyone who would listen.

"I won't, I promise... Oh, Merlin... Jules, Julianne..." He started to laugh, "I'm bloody useless at sticking around!" For the first time in months he saw a smile start to spread across her face.

"Well, of course they'd leave me stuck with you! The bastards..." Jules began to laugh and she placed her hands on his shoulders. Tears fell down their cheeks and they laughed and giggled for the first time since the world they had both known and loved fell apart. She leaned his forehead against his and lead one of his hands to her stomach. The baby was kicking with a passion. It was in that moment, that moment of pure light and life amidst the darkness, that Remus and Jules formed a very fragile, very broken patchwork family.