September 1993

They missed the sorting and Venus was quiet for the rest of dinner. Dumbeldore's speech only sent Venus into a worse mood.

"Welcome," said the Headmaster. "Welcome to another year at Hogwarts! I have a few things to say to you all, and as one of them is very serious, I think it best to get it out of the way before you become befuddled by our excellent feast. As you will all be aware after their search of the Hogwarts Express, our school is presently playing host to some of the dementors of Azkaban, who are here on Ministry of Magic business." There was a hardly detectable sour note in Dumbledore's voice.

"They are stationed at every entrance to the grounds," Dumbledore continued, "and while they are with us, I must make it plain that nobody is to leave school without permission. Dementors are not to be fooled by tricks or disguises — or even Invisibility Cloaks," he added blandly, and Harry and Ron glanced at each other. "It is not in the nature of a dementor to understand pleading or excuses. I therefore warn each and every one of you to give them no reason to harm you. I look to the prefects, and our new Head Boy and Girl, to make sure that no student runs afoul of the dementors."

"On a happier note," he continued, "I am pleased to welcome two new teachers to our ranks this year. First, Professor Lupin, who has kindly consented to fill the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher."

Ginny, Neville, Mali, Harry, Ron and Hermione clapped very hard. Venus didn't move. She hadn't yet had the space to work out how she felt about the new Professor.

"As to our second new appointment," Dumbledore continued. "Well, I am sorry to tell you that Professor Kettleburn, our Care of Magical Creatures teacher, retired at the end of last year in order to enjoy more time with his remaining limbs. However, I am delighted to say that his place will be filled by none other than Rubeus Hagrid, who has agreed to take on this teaching job in addition to his gamekeeping duties."

This applause was louder and even Venus gave a halfhearted applause.

"Well," said Dumbledore once tha applause had concluded, "I think that's everything of importance. Let the feast begin!"

The tables were suddenly groaning under the weight of a hundred full platters.

Ginny and Mali tried their best to keep up a normal conversation over dinner. But Venus' mood was thundery and she didn't speak, simply stabbing at a few sausages, butchering them rather than eating them. She had no appetite. As soon as the feast was over, Venus hurried quickly upstairs and had drawn the curtains around her bed before anyone else even stepped foot in the dorm.

*

Venus' mood persisted into the next day. She sat silently at breakfast and didn't cause a fuss in Transfiguration. Their second lesson was Defence Against the Dark Arts, which Venus was dreading. She wasn't ready to look Remus Lupin in the eye. It hadn't taken her long to connect the dots after meeting him, knowing that he was the man who had sent her the cards throughout the years.

Mali and Ginny practically tiptoed around her, but she had noticed that the whispers that followed her in the corridor had increased this year.

Black's daughter

He has a kid?

She looks just like him doesn't she.

So she sat at the very back of the Defence Against the Dark Arts class and tried to disappear. She had considered skipping the lesson all together, but she wasn't sure what Lupin would make of that and worried that he might seek her out if she was absent. She also didn't want to risk being issued a detention with the man as she didn't want to have to speak to him more than necessary.

She hardly listened to the overview of what they would be studying that year.

"Miss Black, would you hang back a moment? I'd like a word," was the first thing that Venus properly acknowledged in the lesson. Everyone was packing up around her and she grabbed her unopened textbook and shoved it in her bag.

"I'd rather not Professor," Venus said, "got to get to Charms. Can't go skipping lessons on the first day now can I?"

She hurried off after Ginny and Mali, not sparing the Professor a moment's glance.

*

"Do you want to talk about it?" Ginny asked that evening when the three girls were sat in the dorm.

"Not particularly," Venus said.

"I think you should," Mali said. "Why are you avoiding Professor Lupin?"

Wordlessly, Venus reached into her trunk and pulled out the shoe box. She threw it down on the bed.

"Oh!" Mali realised with a jolt, "Remus Lupin? The same one?"

"Don't reckon there is more than one," Venus muttered, throwing herself into her pillows.

Ginny, who had never seen the letters and cards, opened the shoe box and read a few of them.

"He sounds like he cares about you," said Ginny eventually.

"You think I should talk to him," said Venus, staring up at the canopy over her bed.

"I didn't say that," Ginny replied, "but... well, don't you think it'd be good?"

"How could it possibly be good?"

"He knew your mum too, right?" Mali asked.

"Think so, yeah."

"Well then he could tell you about her too then, couldn't he," said Mali.

"I have no interest in learning about a dead woman," said Venus flatly.

This philosophy only lasted so long. By the end of the week, McGonagall had given her a detention for not turning in her summer homework and she turned up for the detention on Friday evening to find that Remus Lupin would be the one conducting it.

"Why are you here?" She demanded rudely as soon as she entered the classroom to see him waiting for her.

"Professor McGonagall asked me to administer your detention," said Professor Lupin.

"Why?"

"I think she thinks variety would be good for you," he said, gesturing for her to sit. "I hear that you've amassed quite the track record for detention." Venus sat.

"What am I doing then? Lines?"

"No, you'll help me clean out some cages," he gestured at a shelf behind him where there were several tanks and cages holding strange looking magical creatures. "But I thought first we could have a chat."

"Haven't you got the memo?" Venus asked, "I don't want to speak to you."

"Yes I've noticed you sulking in the back of my classes if that's what you mean," Remus said. It was true, she had been sitting silently in the back of the classroom for every Defence Against the Dark class. She hadn't once opened her textbook and even avoided the practical lessons. Whilst the rest of her classmates gushed about Professor Lupin's classes, Venus stayed silent with a face like thunder.

"And you know why then?"

"Of course I know why," Remus nodded. "You don't want to be associated with Sirius Black. I assure you, neither do I."

"But you were his mate right," said Venus. "You're going to tell me how misunderstood he was, that he's a good person and that I remind you of him. I know what he was really like. He was a traitorus bastard who abandoned his family not only once but twice!"

She shuddered slight when she heard the words of her Grandmother tumble out of her mouth. For a second it felt like she had been plunged into an icy cold lake and she was five again, listening to her Grandmother rant and rave about her disowned son who left her with nothing but a bratty girl who couldn't follow the rules to raise as her Grandaughter.

Remus pursed his lips, "that is not what I was going to say. Black is just as dangerous as everyone says he is."

"Go on then, say whatever it is that you're so desperate to say that you cornered me in detention," she snapped, very keen to be back up in her dorm and draw the curtains around it so she didn't have to speak to anyone in that moment. If there was one thing that scared her more than the threat of a crazy father, it was the ghost of an awful Grandmother.

"I wanted to apologise to you," Remus said quietly.

"Apologise?" Venus blinked, if she had been standing, she would have taken a few steps back. As it was, she slumped back into the chair in confusion. Her mind felt like it was in two places, undergoing two different expereines at the same time.

"Yes," Remus sighed. "I feel I owe it to you. Sirius and I promised eachother that if anything should happen to the other one... eh.... Well, I was supposed to look after you. You were my responsibility. I shouldn't have left you to Andromeda-"

"I didn't grow up with Andromeda," Venus was breathing rather heavily at this point.

Sit up straight girl, a Black does not slump! Walburga's words echoed in her head. She sat up straighter almost subconciously, folding her hands in her lap and crossing her ankles under her chair.

Remus frowned. "But you got my letters? I sent them to her. Dumbledore said..."

"I moved to Andromeda's when I was seven," said Venus. "I lived with my Grandmother until she died. Then Andromeda-"

"You WHAT?" Remus' voice was sharp so suddenly that Venus felt herself flinch.

"You heard me," Venus said.

Keep that attitude in check! A Black does not snark! Walburga was pulling out her wand, ready to preform a silencing charm if Venus gave her a reason. Venus breathed harder.

Remus took a shaky breath, seeming to try and steady himself. He took a moment before he spoke, but when he did, it was as if he was forcing his voice to stay even. "I didn't know."

"Why would you?" Venus snapped.

"I wouldn't have allowed it."

Venus frowned. "Not really your prerogative is it."

Remus sat back in his chair. "You know, you have the Black family attitude."

"I've been told that," said Venus cutly, her fingers curling tightening into a slightly shaking ball on her lap, knuckles turning white.|

"You'd do well to learn to keep it in check."

"What do you want?" Venus said through clenched teeth.

"I don't want anything. I just want you to be careful. With Black at large... well I hate to think what could happen."

"He'd probably kill me if he found me, I know," Venus said, matter of factly. "The dementors too."

Remus nodded. "You'll find them perhaps more unforgiving than Black himself. I want you to exercise caution-"

"No," Venus jumped to her feet, shoving her shaking hands into her pocket and hoping that Remus Lupin would mistake the shaking for anger rather than the oncoming mental breakdown that she could sense. "If this is the only thing I'm here for I'll skip detention. You can't come in here after twelve years and pretend that you care about me when you clearly don't."

Remus raised an eyebrow, clearly mistaking her rising volume and slight shake in her voice for the anger she was aiming for. "Ah, so you do feel like I abandoned you then?"

Venus halted immediately. Still shaking like a feather, but feeling a real, proper cold shap pang of anger towards the man sat before her. Who did he think he was? How dare he come in and speak like he knew her thoughts?

Very suddenly, her gaze turned cold and her hands stopped shaking. She blinked at him, with narrowed eyes, which had turned as heavy as rainclouds and from years of experience with Sirius, Remus knew that he had gone too far, pushed too much.

"Can I go now Professor?" Venus strained to say through clenched teeth.

"Yes," Remus sighed. "I'll tell Minerva you served your detention."

Venus left. She walked swiftly from the room, finding herself lodged in one of her hiding places from the very beginning of school, a little nook behind a gargoyle near the library. There, she sobbed as the ghost of Walburga continued to scream at her. But it wasn't her grandmother, it was herself, older and meaner, with that same glint in her eye that she had always seen when Walburga was moving for her wand.

Venus woke the next morning in the little dark spot, with tears dried on her face and a crick in her neck from sleeping on the cold castle floor.