▌𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐓𝐰𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐲-𝐎𝐧𝐞 ━︎━︎ 𝐄𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐩𝐞 𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐀𝐳𝐤𝐚𝐛𝐚𝐧 ▌

━︎━︎━︎━︎𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐍 𝐑𝐄𝐌𝐔𝐒 𝐋𝐔𝐏𝐈𝐍 got the daily prophet that morning, the first thing he did was make it to the home of Anastasia and Juniper black. The sun had barely broke and when Anastasia had received a knock on her front door, she knew exactly who it was. Hurriedly, she pulled the door open and her eyes immediately met Remus's.  She stepped to the side, letting him in quickly before shutting the door and following him into the kitchen. Remus stood there for a moment saying nothing, staring down at the Daily Prophet that was placed on Anastasia's kitchen table with a worried frown on his face.

Neither of them knew what to say, neither of them knew what to do. Juniper was upstairs in her room fast asleep with Shadow laying beside of her, completely unaware of the circumstances that were at hand. Anastasia took a seat at the table, interlacing her fingers and placing them against her lips as she tried to think. Remus took a stand beside of her, placing his hands in his pockets.

     "What do I. . . what do I do here, Rem?" Anastasia asked. "We're supposed to be meeting the Weasley's, Hermione, and Harry at the leaky Cauldron tomorrow morning. She's going to find out." Anastasia ran a hand through her hair, shaking her head. "Maybe I should keep her home this year."

     Remus took a seat beside of Anastasia, placing a comforting hand over top of hers. "Ana, Hogwarts is the safest place she can be."

     "The last two years have proven otherwise." Anastasia whispered. "First she gets attacked by a troll and discovers the Sorcerer's Stone, next she discovers the Chamber of Secrets and students are getting attacked. And now. . . her father has escaped Azkaban. He knows that place inside and out. He did help create the Marauders Map, he knows all the secret passageways."

     "What do you think will happen?" Remus questioned.

     Anastasia shrugged, opening and closing her mouth as she tried to form words before she took a deep breath, collecting her thoughts. "Remus, if by some miracle he remembers her, if he remembers that he has a daughter, he's going to want to find her. As much as I want to believe he's still the same, he's been in Azkaban for twelve years. He's probably went insane from being locked up." She nodded towards the Daily Prophet. "That photo of him just proves my point. Remus. . . the looks. . . they're going to come back. The comments are going to be hurtful. She was just beginning to actually like Hogwarts. She was beginning to make friends. I don't want that to just disappear."

     "It won't." Remus assured, placing a hand on her shoulder. "She has good friends, Ana. If Harry is anything like his father than he's going to be the best friend that she has. Hermione and Ron are both good kids as well. She will be alright." Remus pulled a letter from his pocket, handing it to Anastasia. "I haven't told Juniper yet."

     Anastasia furrowed her eyebrows before opening the letter. She read the letter before looking up at Remus with surprise. "Dumbledore gave you a job?"

     "I'm just as surprised as you," Remus chuckled. "I'm the new Defense Against the Dark Arts Teacher. I'll be there to protect Juniper. I won't let her out of my sight. Hell, if I have to transform my sleeping chambers into a two bedroom place I will. Whatever you want, but she will be safe." He gave her hand a squeeze. "I won't let anything happen to her."

     Anastasia squeezed his hand back, some of the weight being lifted from her shoulders. "Thank you, Remus." The two adults stood up.

     "I can stay." Remus told her.

     Anastasis shook her head. "No, you need to get ready for your new job. I'll see you soon."

     "Soon," Remus promised giving her a kiss on the top of the head before walking out of the home and leaving.

Anastasia sat at the table with the Daily Prophet in her hands, staring at the picture of her husband. His hair had grown slightly past his shoulders and his time in Azkaban really made him look like he'd grown old. A sigh left the older woman's lips. Not only was her daughter going to be getting looks, but everyone at the ministry were going to give her looks as well. Anastasia used magic to start making breakfast whilst she continued to look at her husband that was on the front page. For the first time, Anastasia felt fear for her daughter when it came to her father. She may still love him, that part of her would never go away, but if he was as insane as he looked, Anastasia would not hesitate to step between him and her child to keep her safe. Even if it meant she had to kill him.

The sound of paw steps came trumping down the steps, alerting her that her daughter was awake. Shadow made his way to his water bowl and started lapping the water loudly, moving to eat some of his food. A few moments later, Juniper came walking down the steps, still rubbing the sleep from her eyes. A yawn left the young Black's lips as she entered the kitchen, taking a seat beside of her mother.

     "'Morning." Juniper yawned again.

     "Good morning, sweetheart." Anastasia smiled, discreetly hiding the Daily Prophet. "How did you sleep?"

     Juniper shrugged. "Slept okay. I thought I heard another voice down here."

     Anastasia nodded. "Remus swung by for a quick second. He said he would have stayed, but he was sure he was going to see you soon." Juniper nodded. Anastasia stood up, placing the finished food on two plates and handing one to Juniper and placing the other in front of herself. The two ate in silence and Anastasia's nerves grew by the second. Juniper seemed to notice.

     "Alright," Juniper said, placing her fork down. "What's the matter with you?"

     Anastasia looked at her daughter, ready to deny it, but Juniper gave her a knowing look. A sigh fell from the woman's lips before she hesitantly handed her daughter the Daily Prophet. Juniper looked at her with a frown before gabbing the paper. Her eyes fell on the front page and her face completely fell. Anastasia cleared her throat. "It seems that your father has escaped Azkaban and is on the loose."

     Juniper stared at the photo of her father, watching the moving picture and the yelling father that was placed on the paper. She swallowed thickly, trying to not let the fear and doubt encase her. "He looks. . ." She didn't want to say crazy, but that's what came to mind. Instead she never finished the sentence and instead sat the paper down and looked at her mom.

     "Honey, listen to me." Anastasia moved closer, placing a hand over Juniper's and rubbing her thumb across her skin. "If you don't feel safe leaving home, you can stay here. I can teach you myself so that you can stay caught up with your fellow classmates. Dumbledore will understand."

     Juniper shook her head. "No, I want to go to Hogwarts. I want to be with my friends." Juniper looked at her mother. "I know enough spells to keep me safe. So. . . if anything happens, I can protect myself."

     "You shouldn't have to protect yourself, that's the thing." Anastasia sighed. "You just turned thirteen and you've already been through a lot. This does not need to be something else you have to face."

     "Mom." Juniper met her mother's eyes, staring at her for a moment so that her point came out clear. "I will be okay."

     Anastasia sighed, closing her eyes as she nodded her head. She pulled her daughter into a hug, placing one hand on the back of her head and wrapping the other around her body. She gave her a kiss on the side of the head. "I know."

⋆.ೃ࿔*:･⋆.ೃ࿔*:･

━︎━︎━︎━︎𝐌𝐎𝐋𝐋𝐘 𝐖𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐋𝐄𝐘'𝐒 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐃𝐒 were clear as she looked at all of her children, specifically the twins and Ron. No one was to make a comment about Sirius Black as soon as Anastasia and Juniper stepped for inside the Leaky Cauldron. Molly had promised her children that she would keep them home from Hogwarts if they even dared to utter a cruel word about the man. Hermione had read the Daily Prophet and she had immediately felt for Juniper. She couldn't imagine what the girl was going through and she knew that this year more than ever she was going to have to be there for Juniper.

Anastasia stood there with Juniper, holding her daughter's hand. They walked into the Leaky Cauldron and Juniper subconsciously held her breath. As soon as Hermione saw her she immediately ran over to Juniper pulling her into a hug. Juniper hesitated for a moment before hugging her back, holding her a little longer than needed. She pulled away, clearing her throat and Hermione sent her a small smile.

     "May I steal your daughter for a moment, Mrs. Black?" Hermione asked, turning to look at Anastasia.

     Anastasia smiled. "Please, call me Ana. She's all yours, Hermione." Anastasia squeezed her daughter's shoulder and walked away towards Molly who welcomed her with open arms.

     "How are you doing?" Hermione carefully asked.

     Juniper nodded. "I found out yesterday morning."

     "That didn't answer my question."

     Hermione and Juniper walked over to a table in the corner, sitting down by themselves. Juniper looked down at her hands, a small frown pulling on her lips. The sudden urge to cry overcame her and she had to clench her jaw. "I always thought he was innocent, 'Mione. I mean, I still think he is. . . I think. I just feel doubt creeping in again and it's starting to win. I've always defended my dad without blinking, but I don't know if I can this time."

     Hermione placed her hand over Juniper's, giving it a small squeeze. She gave Juniper a reassuring smile. "It'll be alright, Juniper. I'm right here with you. So are Ron and Harry. You're not alone in this, okay? If anyone even looks at you, I'll hex them until they know better."

     Juniper cracked a small smile. "Thanks."

     "Hermione!" Ron's loud voice grabbed their attention. "Get your cat!" The two stood up and Hermione quickly grabbed her newly acquired orange cat, pulling him into her hands. Ron held Scabbers in his as he looked at Hermione with narrowed eyes. "I'm warning you, Hermione. Keep that bloody beast of yours away from Scabbers, or I'll turn it into a tea cozy!"

     Hermione rolled her eyes. "It's a cat, Ronald. What do you expect? It's in his nature."

     "A cat?" Ron scoffed. "Is that what they told you? It's more like a pig with hair, if you ask me."

     "I think he's pretty cute." Juniper smiled at the cat, rubbing his head causing the cat to send her purrs. They ignored her.

     "That's rich coming from the owner of that smelly old shoe brush!" Hermione looked down at her cat. "It's alright, Crookshanks. You just ignore that mean little boy." Juniper smiled in amusement.

     "Harry!" Ron suddenly said, causing the two girls to turn and see Harry on the stairs.

     Hermione smiled. "Harry!"

     Juniper gave the boy a small wave. "Hello, Harry."

     Harry walked down the steps, pulling Juniper into a hug. "Hey, June." He pulled away and she smiled at him.

     The group walked over to a table, Harry and Ron sitting on one side with Juniper and Hermione sitting on the other. Ron was telling them about how over the summer break he and his family went to Egypt. Harry stared at the photo of the Weasley's in awe. "Egypt―︎what's it like?"

     "Brilliant!" Ron smiled big. "Loads of old stuff, like mummies, tombs. Even Scabbers enjoyed himself."

     "You know the Egyptians used to worship cats," Hermione informed. Juniper smirked in amusement at her jab towards Ron.

     Ron's lip turned in disgust. "Yeah, along with the dung beetles."

     "You're not flashing that clipping about, again, are you, Ron?" George Weasley made his way over to them. Not far behind him came Fred. George snatched up the paper.

     "I haven't shown anyone."

     "No, not a soul," Fred retorted.

     "Not unless you count Tom. . ." George listed.

     ". . .the day maid. . ." Fred continued.

     ". . . the night maid. . ."

     ". . . the cook. . ."

     ". . . the bloke that came to fix the toilet. . ."

     "And that wizard from Belgium."

     Hermione looked at Juniper and the two stood up and walked away, making their way towards Ginny. The young Weasley girl smiled brightly at Hermione and Juniper. "Juniper, Hermione!" Ginny greeted.

     Juniper gave the girl a quick hug. "Ginny, how are you?"

     "I'm good. Ready to be out of that bloody house." Ginny rolled her eyes. "My brothers are insufferable." The three girls chuckled before walking over to where Harry was and taking a seat beside of him just as Arthur took him away from the table.

Anastasia watched Arthur talk to Harry and she almost immediately knew that he was telling Harry about Sirius. She clenched her jaw, glancing towards Molly who offered the woman a sympathetic smile. Anastasia glanced at her daughter, watching with relief as a laugh escaped her lips from something Hermione had said.

     "She'll be okay, dear." Molly softly said. Anastasia turned to look at her. "That girl of yours if very head strong."

     Anastasia gave Molly a smile of thanks. "I know. I just worry."

     "It is our job as mothers to worry about our children."