It was a usual Thursday morning.

James Potter woke at six o'clock and took a shower. He cleaned his teeth and ran a comb through his hair. He stripped off his pyjamas and put on his work robes. He woke up his wife, who then also got in the shower, cleaned her teeth and put on her work robes, grabbed her briefcase from her wardrobe, put in her earrings, put on her mascara, tidied her hair and joined her husband downstairs, where he would be sat at the Kitchen table, drinking a cup of coffee and reading the Daily Prophet. This morning like no other, he had a cup of coffee beside him but it lay untouched. James was not scanning the Newspaper like he usually did, but instead, stared at the front page. Lily noticed this, and she put down her briefcase and walked into the Kitchen.

"James, is everything alright? What's happened?" He didn't say anything, and Lily went to stand beside her husband. She read the headline over his shoulder, and she gasped. "Oh my God!"

Pettigrew escapes from Azkaban.

Lily never thought she would be so frightened of four words. She glanced backwards towards the door, and had an idea to check that it was locked. But that was a silly idea, and would most definitely frighten James that she was worried.

"Sirius went to all that trouble to get him in Azkaban, and twelve years later he's gone and escaped. I thought Dementors were supposed to guard Azkaban and not let anybody out. The idea of a prison is to keep people in, not to let them run free... How could he do it?"

Lily shook her head. "I – I have no idea! We need to see Albus."

"We need to keep Harry safe."

Lily nodded. "Yes, of course. I'll stay here. You go and see Albus."

"If I know Albus as well as I do, then he'll make a home visit by lunchtime."

"And if Pettigrew gets to us before Albus?"

James barked with laughed. "Pettigrew may be a traitorous little shit, but he's not stupid enough to try and attack us. He'll be hiding down in a sewer somewhere with the other little rats."

Lily bit her lip. "Do you think that's how he escaped Azkaban, by using his Animagus?"

"I hope not for Remus' sake; he'd never forgive himself if that was how Pettigrew escaped."

James stared down at the table. He was furious. He wanted to get his wand and go out searching for Pettigrew himself, and he would have done, if he didn't have a wife and two sons to look after. Sirius wouldn't be so calm; he would probably be out there now, exterminating every rat he found. James felt useless. If he had become an Auror like his Dad wanted, then he could be out there searching for him. But he worked for the Department of Magical Games and Sports, and that job would give him no reason to go out hunting for Pettigrew.

"James, you have to promise me that you won't go out looking for Pettigrew."

"Lily-"

"James," she insisted. "You have to promise me! You're not as young as you once were, and I can't bare losing you to him. I almost did once, and if anything happened to you I don't know what I'd do."

"I can't just sit back and do nothing!"

"You can help them," reasoned his wife. "By telling him that Pettigrew was an Animagus."

James rose from his chair. "If I tell the Aurors that Pettigrew was an Animagus, then Remus gets exposed as a Werewolf and Sirius and I get thrown in Azkaban for breaking the law."

"Albus didn't mind-"

"-Because it was done selflessly and we were in the middle of the war and couldn't afford to lose three of his best duellers."

"They might not throw you in Azkaban."

"No, they might not do," James agreed. "But what do you think will happen to Remus if the Ministry find out he's a Werewolf? Do you think they're just going to let that go? Do you think Callie's going to be able to visit him wherever they lock him up? She'll be taken away from him and he'll never see her again. Yeah, it may be crucial evidence that he's an Animagus, but Albus and Minerva can use that information how they want. If they tell the Ministry, then Albus will form a negotiation to keep us out of Azkaban and to keep Remus safe."

Lily didn't say anything, and she glanced upstairs. "What about the boys?"

"We have to keep them safe."

"How, when they're going to Hogwarts next month?"

"Hogwarts is the safest place in the Wizarding World."

"Voldemort got in there twice."

"Pettigrew can't; there's no way he'll get past Albus' enchantments and spells."

"He got past the Dementors."

James fell silent. "We have to continue with our life. Keep our children safe, of course, but we can't deny them going to Hogwarts. They're much safer in Hogwarts, with a large group of students than here with us: an unprotected house."

"You're right," Lily agreed. "And what if, before now, Pettigrew tries to murder Harry in his bed?"

The brunette shook his head, and he put an arm on his wife's shoulder. "The whole Wizarding – and Muggle world is looking for him. He won't last the month."

"We need to speak to Albus."

"I know," said James. "What do we tell Harry?"

"That he'll have to stay with us all the time, or, at least, with Molly and Arthur; their home is as safe as ours. Jacob will have to stay between ours and Sirius and Remus' house, too – all the children need to stay with adults where we can protect them. I'm sure Pettigrew won't miss the chance to kill Callie or Castor or Sybil if he had the chance."

"What a ghastly thought," said James, "they're children."

"They're our children, and we've put them in danger."

"It's not our fault... It's not our fault how Pettigrew turned out. We can't keep them safe forever."

"No," Lily mused. "We can't."

Pettigrew escapes from Azkaban

Notorious Death Eater, Peter Pettigrew (33), possibly the most infamous prisoner ever to be held captive in the Azkaban fortress, has escaped Azkaban in the early hours of this morning.

"We are doing all we can to recapture Pettigrew," said the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, this morning, "and we beg the magical community to remain calm."

Fudge has been criticized by some members of the International Federation of Warlocks for informing the Muggle Prime Minister of the crisis.

"Well, really, I had to, don't you know," said an irritable Fudge. "Pettigrew is mad. He's a danger to anyone who crosses him, magic or Muggle. I have the Prime Minister's assurance that he will not breathe a word of Pettigrew's true identity to anyone. And let's face it — who'd believe him if he did?"

While Muggles have been told that Black is carrying a gun (a kind of metal wand that Muggles use to kill each other), the magical community lives in fear of a notorious Death Eater, who was held responsible, twelve years ago, for the revelation of James and Lily Potter's safe house, which was penetrated by He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named on the Halloween of 1982. Since then, Pettigrew was held in Azkaban prison until his escape this morning.

Sirius had to refrain from reading the rest of the article out of anger. How could they have let him escape? Azkaban was the only way to keep Harry safe. Now Pettigrew was released and... Oh God... James and Lily could be dead in their beds already.

That thought frightened Sirius, and he felt his coffee coming back up his throat. Sirius closed his newspaper, downed the rest of his coffee and knew exactly where he was going to do.

"Sybil, you're not going out today," he declared.

His daughter was sat across the table from him. "What? Dad, you promised!"

"Peter Pettigrew's escaped."

She frowned. "Who?"

Sirius turned his back on his daughter, and began searching for his wand. "He gave James and Lily up to Lord Voldemort... He's the reason they were in a coma for the year... You're coming with me where you're going to be safe – GOD MERLIN WHERE IS MY WAND?"

"In the bathroom," Sybil said meekly.

Her father stopped. "I didn't mean to shout."

"It's fine," Sybil said, "I'll go get it for you."

"Get yours too," Sirius advised when his daughter stood from the table. "You might need it."

She ran up the stairs to get two wands. She passed her father's hers, and she kept hers for herself. "James and Lily won't be awake yet, will they?"

"They might," said Sirius.

"Am I in danger?"

Sirius considered it. "As long as Pettigrew doesn't know you exist, you're not, but he'll find out about you soon enough from newspapers. Sorry about today, but I need to keep you safe."

"It's fine, Daphne will understand."

Sirius bowed his head, and he looked at Sybil who went to sit back at the table. "I'm doing the exact same thing as my parents did to me: not letting you see your friends. Sybil, I'd love for you to go and see them, but I can't risk Pettigrew hurting you-"

"-Dad," Sybil interrupted. "I said it's fine."

"You're a good girl. Go and get dressed and wake your brother up and dress your sister; we're going to the Potter's."

Sybil frowned, but she didn't argue. She pulled her pink dressing gown tighter around her torso and advanced up the stairs. Sirius heard her go, and once her footsteps were out earshot, he cursed Pettigrew loudly, and grabbed the first thing he could find (a fork) and threw it at the wall.

"Fucking Pettigrew, I'll kill that shit," he vowed.

Half an hour later, his three children descended down the stairs and into the living room. Sirius was writing a letter to Albus, to ask him to meet him and the Potter's at lunchtime to explain what had happened. No doubt Remus would have read the paper and would be there, also. It would be his first priority: to keep Callie safe and do what he could to protect him and his friends. It was the second thing Sirius would do, the first was to find Pettigrew himself and kill him.

The flooed to the Potter's, where James and Lily were both sat together in the Living Room, listening to the radio. Remus was already with them, and all three adults seemed relieved that they were here.

"The kids are upstairs, Izzy can stay with us. You two: upstairs."

"Can't we stay?" Castor asked.

Lily shook her head. "Not today."

Sybil and Castor advanced up the stairs. Sirius rested Isabelle by the window on the floor. She was asleep, and Sirius envied her bliss ignorance; he wished he had woken up today and not read the paper, not worry about this children's safety, not having his main priority to murder somebody.

"Where's Helena?" James asked.

"Work," Sirius answered shortly.

"Are you two alright? You didn't seem happy at Dinner last night."

"I don't know; I haven't spoken to her since; I slept on the sofa last night."

"And Sybil?"

"She knows the circumstances and she'll write to reschedule. I wrote to Albus, too, to ask him to explain what's happened. I don't suppose you've already done it, have you?"

James shook his head, and then he smiled. "I knew that would be the first thing you'd do."

"I'm gonna kill him. I'm actually going to kill him."

"We all want to," Remus said, "but I won't risk Azkaban for him. Leave it to the professionals like Mad-Eye Moody and Kingsley Shacklebolt; they know what they're doing and they're more trained than us."

"More trained than us," James scoffed. "We were in the Order of the Phoenix for Merlin's beard."

"We were a bunch of untrained eighteen-year-olds when we joined, and we were lucky to have survived."

The day suddenly struck Sirius, and it hit him like a blow to the stomach. Twelve years to the day, Sirius recalled, was the day he allowed Marlene McKinnon's body to be taken away from him. There was no body found for her at the scene. He attended her funeral with an empty casket, all because of him. All because he left her body behind. Merlin only knows what they did to her body. He hoped all they would do with it was burn it, but these were Death Eaters, and if anything, they would have mutilated it, fed it to the dogs and dragged it round the streets, her body naked, battered and bruised.

"She died today," Sirius told him. "Marlene... She died today."

"I know," Lily croaked. "It's horrible."

Horrible wasn't enough to cover it. "I wish she hadn't have died."

"If she didn't, then you wouldn't have your children."

Sirius nodded. "But she still shouldn't have died. I shouldn't have left her body."

"Sirius," James warned. "Get over it."

"James!" Lily exclaimed. "How could he get over that? How could any of us get over it? I cried all night when I found out – you remember that! If we'd died to the hands of Voldemort, do you expect Sirius to get over that? He loved Marlene – and I loved Marlene, too. She was a better sister to me than my own."

"Lily," James soothed, taking her hand. "This isn't helping Sirius."

"It's like Remus said: if Marlene hadn't have died, I wouldn't have my children."

A lengthy silence passed between the four adults, before Lily said: "None of them should have died; they didn't deserve to die: Fabian and Gideon Prewett, Edgar Bones, Caradoc Dearborn, Dorcas and Marlene... I went to school with them."

"Only five Gryffindor's out of twelve survived in our year."

"No, Mary's still living," Lily disagreed.

"Six then," James corrected. "Half of us and they all fought with us."

"We kept peace for ten years," Lily reasoned. "They didn't die for nothing."

"One day, people will forget about them."

"No they won't," Sirius disagreed through gritted teeth. "I won't let them."

They waited hours for Albus to arrive on that sofa. The children upstairs were growing agitated, that they were being kept away. Sirius offered to take them out for dinner when they had finished. Somewhere nice and somewhere safe in the Wizarding World. In the end, they agreed on the Leaky Cauldron, it was not famous for its good food, but it was one of the safest places Sirius could think of that they could go to.

Albus arrived through the Potter's fireplace; in his hand he held his own edition of the Daily Prophet. Today, Albus wore teal robes and a matching hat with gold stars. His glasses perched on the end of his nose, and he pushed them back to his eyes when he stumbled out of the fireplace. His robes were a little bit sooty, so he brushed them down onto the Potter's rug. He sat down in the armchair in front of the window, caressing his fingers through his beard, which, every few inches or so, was decorated together with shiny, silver beads. Albus looked to the side of his chair, to where Isabelle was sleeping, and he smiled down at her.

"Hello," Albus cooed. "And who might this little one be?"

"Isabelle," Sirius introduced.

"Ah, yes, I remember now. Isabelle: what a lovely name."

"Thank you," Sirius thanked.

Albus nestled himself into the armchair, and he stretched his arms out onto the armrests. "So, you've heard the news, then."

James nodded. "That's why we called you here."

"You were quite right to. All morning I have been speaking to the representatives from Azkaban and Cornelius Fudge. They have told me everything that they know, which, it turned out, is not a lot."

"Do they know how he escaped?"

"I think we all know the answer to that."

"Animagus," Remus sighed. "This is all my fault."

"No it's not!" James persisted. "How were you to know that he'd use it to break out of Azkaban?"

"You weren't," Sirius agreed. "Did you share your theory?"

At length: "How am I to reveal Pettigrew's Animagi form without exposing yours, also, and Remus' condition?"

"You can't, but you should."

"It's not worth it."

"Surely it would be if we could catch Pettigrew and kill him."

"Not even then."

Silence, until: "What's going to happen with Hogwarts? How do we know that Pettigrew's not going to find his way into Hogwarts? He found his way out of Azkaban easily enough, who says he's not going to get into Hogwarts the same way he got out of Azkaban: by being a rat."

"Hogwarts is taking some new security measurements to ensure student's safety," Albus began. "We're putting Dementors around the grounds."

"Dementors? What are they going to do?" Sirius questioned. "He got past them once, who's to say he won't do it again?"

"Dementors are the least of Pettigrew's worries; we have the magical enchantments placed around Hogwarts to protect Harry, Prefects and Head Boys and Girls protecting the grounds, and then, Pettigrew has to get past the Professor's."

"I doubt Pettigrew's scared of some fifteen-year-olds with a badge."

Dumbledore didn't respond straight away. "Hogwarts is still the safest place."

"Until Voldemort's involved."

"Are you still sending Harry and Jacob next year?" Albus asked, quickly.

"Yes, of course-"

"-So why are you questioning my school's safety? You don't think that your own home is safer than mine, do you? No, it's not. Not where Voldemort is concerned."

James frowned. "Touché."

"I like you, James, I like you a lot. I think you're a devoted father and a loving husband, a skilled duellist and very talented at your job, but you should leave Pettigrew's capture to the professionals. Sirius is part of the Auror department-"

"-Not really," Sirius interrupted. "I just go with them sometimes to get a firsthand account of the arrest for the trial."

"But you fight?"

"Not unless I have to."

"I suppose you'll be taken whenever they seek Pettigrew's location, so that you can get a 'firsthand account on the arrest for the trial'?"

"I hope so, but they may select someone else."

Albus rose from his chair. "No they won't; I'll request that Alastor Moody give the job to you."

"Are you leaving – so soon?"

"I think I've said all that there is to say, but I do have to go; I have an interview with a new possible candidate for the Defense against the Dark Arts position. I don't think he'll get the job, poor bloke; he lacks the certain skill and qualifications."

Remus shot his head up to Albus, who was walking to the fireplace. Remus jumped up, and Albus studied him. "I didn't seen an advertisement for a job in the Daily Prophet at Hogwarts, Albus."

"Oh we don't put them out publically; we don't want just anyone getting them."

Remus bit his lip. "Could I apply?"

"No," said Albus, "because if you're interested in the job it's yours."

"Really?"

"Of course; from what I know you're very talented when it comes to that subject, and you fought alongside us in the Order and against Voldemort. I think you'd be very suited to the job."

"Just like that? The job's mine in an instant?"

Albus smiled, and he nodded. He extended his hand. "If you'll take it."

Remus' mouth dropped open, and he firmly shook Remus' hand. "I'll send you a letter with further details about the job. Welcome to Hogwarts: Professor Lupin. James, Lily, Sirius, good day."

Albus disappeared in a fit of flames, and Remus stared in awe after him.

He was going to be a Professor. An actual Professor of Defense against the Dark Arts. Teaching had always been his dream; he had always wanted to be a Professor ever since he could remember. It was what his father wanted him to do, too. Not only would it make Remus himself happy, but it would make his father proud. Remus was in another daze.

"Professor Lupin," Sirius said with a smirk. "I can't imagine you giving out detentions."

Remus shook his head in shock. "Neither can I."

"Congratulations, mate!"

James gave him a hug, but Remus was still too shocked for words to return it. Sirius laughed, and then he clapped his friend on the shoulder in congratulations. "Something for us to be happy about. I can rest in peace with you being there, knowing that my children will be safe," said Sirius.

Remus looked at Lily, who was not as thrilled about the idea as her husband. "Lily?" Remus prompted.

Lily looked down at the floor. "I'm happy for you Remus, I truly am but... But the job's jinxed?"

"So?" Sirius said, smiling broadly, swinging an arm over his friend's shoulder. "He's going to be a Professor."

"But he could die!"

Sirius removed his arm, and he scowled at Lily. "Come on, he's always wanted to be a Professor, don't spoil his mood by telling him that he's going to die."

"You're right," Remus realised. "I wouldn't last the year."

"You better make it a good year, then."

"And I'm a werewolf," Remus continued, the smile on his face slowly dying.

"Albus didn't mind when you were a student back then, and he obviously doesn't mind now otherwise he wouldn't have offered you the job so suddenly."

"What about Callie?" Remus asked.

"What about her?"

"She won't like it that I'll be at Hogwarts with her."

"Of course she will," James denied. "She loves you. She'll love the idea that you're going to be sharing this experience with her."

Remus smiled at the idea, of staying with his daughter for an extra year or so. He would be able to keep her safe and keep an eye out for her. She would need protecting in her first year; it would be a scary time for any student, especially for one who's too innocent for the world out there. He would be able to protect her from Pettigrew if it would ever come to it.

When he came to tell Callie the good news, she thought that it was a joke and laughed and continued eating her dinner. But then Remus told her that it wasn't a joke, and he explained his conversation with Albus about it, and she wasn't very happy.

They were at home now, and it was evening. Remus had wished to tell Callie on her own; he had a slight feeling that she would not be keen on the news that he would be following her to Hogwarts, and must to his misery, he was right; Callie was distraught when he clarified that his 'joke' was true.

"You can't do this! Why do you have to control my life?"

"Callie," Remus said calmly, "sit down and let me explain this to you."

"You're going to ruin my life! Everyone's going to laugh at me because my Dad's going to be teaching at Hogwarts! It's going to be so embarrassing. Why did you have to do this – why now? Why do you only have to think of yourself?"

"Callie," Remus echoed. "Callie, you're being very selfish. Everything I have ever done was for you. This will be a good opportunity for me-"

"-Why so you can make sure I won't have any friends? That I'll be hated at school, begged to be taken home so you can keep me prisoner for the rest of my life."

"That wasn't my intention-"

"-I don't care about your intentions! Why do you hate me? Why did you have to do this?"

"Callie, you're being very rude and angry. Go to your room and we'll finish this conversation when you've calmed down."

"I'LL NEVER CALM DOWN BECAUSE I'M ALWAYS GOING TO HATE THIS IDEA AND I'M ALWAYS GOING TO HATE YOU. You have a job, why do you have to take one what will ruin my life?"

"It's not going to ruin your life, Callie," Remus said in a tiresome tone, and he rubbed his temple.

"YES IT WILL!"

"No it won't," Remus said and his voice rose louder than it usually would in an argument. "Callie you are acting like a spoilt brat and I suggest you stop it. No amount of arguing or you throwing a tantrum will make me change my mind. You can't and won't get your own way. I'm teaching at Hogwarts and that's final."

She hands turned into little fists, and her face turned red. She screamed at her father and stomped her foot. "I HATE YOU!"

She ran from the room up the stairs, Remus got up to go after her, but stopped when he reached the bottom. With a deep sigh, he stood back and leaned against the doorway to the lounge. He rubbed his head; he was getting a head ache and Callie wasn't helping him.

He must have known Callie was never going to like the idea, but Remus figured she would just have to get over it. He had never really been happy in his life, and he was certain that teaching was going to solve that.

He tried to think of some ways to reason with Callie, but he thought of none. The first one was getting Albus to change 'Lupin' to 'Greengrass' on the school register, but that was something that Remus did not want to result in doing. Callie was no more of a Greengrass than he was; just because that was the name of her mother does not mean that that should be Callie's name. He wondered if Callie would ever accept that he was going to be teaching at her school, and after her reaction, Remus could safely say that it was going to take a lot of persuasion to get her to go along with it.

Remus gave his daughter half an hour to blow off steam before going up to her room. He knocked and announced that he was going to enter. He heard no reply so went in, anyway. She was sat on her bed, staring down at her lap and picking the skin off her thumb, and she looked up at Remus.

"You can't control me forever," Callie confessed.

"I'm not trying to," Remus denied.

She smiled. "You are. I don't want you telling me who I can be friends with when I'm at Hogwarts; I don't want you to be like Aunt Helena and Uncle Sirius. If I'm in Slytherin and I make friends with people who are Death Eater's children, then you're going to have to let me be friends with them."

"I know," Remus said, "I'm happy as long as you're happy, and I hope you can be the same."

She sighed. "Just don't embarrass me when we get there."

He chuckled. "I won't, but you have to promise not to do the same: and that means misbehaving in my colleagues classes."

"I can promise that, but I don't think Jake and Cas can."

"I don't care about them; they're not my children. You are, and I don't want to do anything that will upset you."

She took a few moments to respond, and Remus hoped that she wouldn't make him give this up. "I don't mind if you teach me, just don't, like... I don't know... Just don't treat me different because I'm your daughter."

"I won't."

"It will be weird calling you Professor Lupin."

"I know," Remus agreed. "But I'm not letting you call me 'Dad'."

"Good," she smiled. "I love you, Professor."

Remus laughed. "Don't say that again."

"I love you, Dad," she corrected.

"I love you too."