Alex's eyes stayed on the sky as she waited to see if she could spot her mum and dad flying off just one more time, almost like she was trying to tell herself that they were alive and okay.  But she didn't because Hermione spoke up.

"Guys!" She exclaimed as she tugged at both of their sleeves.  "We've got exactly ten minutes to get back down to the hospital wing without anybody seeing us - before Dumbledore locks the door -"

"Okay," Harry agreed, taking his own gaze off the sky, "let's go..."

The three of them took off down the spiral staircase but the sound of voices made them stop and glance at each other. Flattening against the wall in the darkness, they listened carefully and Alex immediately recognized the voice.

"... only hope Dumbledore's not going to make difficulties," Snape's voice spoke. "The Kiss will be performed immediately?"

"As soon as Macnair returns with the dementors. This whole Black affair has been highly embarrassing. I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to informing the Daily Prophet that we've got him at last... I daresay they'll want to interview you, Snape... and once young Harry's back in his right mind, I expect he'll want to tell the Prophet exactly how you saved him, along with Alexandria..."

Alex looked at Harry, who was clenching his teeth and pretended to gag herself quietly. But Harry had to bite back a laugh so as to not reveal their hiding place.

"And I assume Miss Selwyn will remain in my custody?" Snape asked.

"Oh yes," Fudge reassured him. "Obviously, her mother won't be suitable caretaker after the accusations made against her in aiding a fugitive willingly."

"Understandable," Snape agreed as they continued walking on.

Alex had to try really hard not to shout at him about never wanting to live with him again. Once they couldn't hear their footsteps, the three of them ran in the opposite direction down a few staircases and down a corridor that would lead them to the hospital wing. But the sound of a familiar cackling stopped them.

"Peeves!" Harry told them before yanking them both into an empty classroom. "In here!"

Carefully, Alex peaked her head out of the classroom just in time to see the infamous poltergeist bouncing down the corridor, cackling loudly and happily. Luckily, he didn't catch sight of her.

"Oh, he's horrible," Hermione whispered, as she listened behind Alex. "I bet he's all excited because the dementors are going to finish off Sirius and Alliana..." She glanced down at her watch. "Three minutes!"

After making sure Peeves was a safe distance away, they all ran out of the room and down the hallway. Alex's heart pounded as they ran as fast as they could.

"Hermione - what'll happen - if we don't get back inside - before Dumbledore locks the door?" Harry asked while panting.

"I don't want to think about it!" Hermione answered, glancing at her watch as they kept running. "One minute!"

The hospital wing entrance came into view luckily and Alex let out a sigh of relief, trying to slow her heart rate down as they got closer to it.

"Okay - I can hear Dumbledore," Hermione said. "Come on, guys!"

Carefully, they walked up to to door only to watch as it opened and Dumbledore walked out. He spoke some last minute instructions to the version of them inside the room before backing out of the room all the way. He pulled his wand out to lock the door and the three of them ran forward.

He watched them approaching, a smile growing on his face. "Well?" He asked softly.

"We did it!" Harry told him.

"My parents have gone, on Buckbeak and Cleo..." Alex added, still panting from how much running they had done.

His smiled widened. "Well done, I think -" He listened for a second in the hospital. "Yes, I think you've gone too - get inside - I'll lock you in -"

The three friends slipped back inside. The only person inside was still Ron, who was still fast asleep. The door locked, which was their cue to get back into bed. Madam Pomfrey came out of her office and glanced around.

"Did I hear the headmaster leaving? Am I allowed to look after my patients now?" She asked, her tone annoyed.

Silently, Alex took the chocolate the matron offered, especially when the older woman commented on how sweaty Alex looked. Luckily, she only brushed it off as a cold sweat from the dementors attacking them.

Glancing over, she could see Harry and Hermione were also quite jittery, listening for any indication that the Ministry officials realized that Sirius and Alliana were gone. As Alex ate another piece of chocolate, the sound of a roar came from somewhere above them.

"Uh-oh," Alex mumbled, glancing nervously at Harry and Hermione, whose own eyes widened in fear.

Then several angry voices began to grow louder as they got closer to where the four of them were in the hospital wing. Alex couldn't help but nervously grab her wand, unsure of what was about to burst through the door.  Though she had a feeling.

"Really - they'll wake everybody up! What do you they think they're doing?" Madam Pomfrey asked.

"They must have Disapparated, Severus," the sound of Fudge's voice got closer. "We should have left somebody in the room with them. When this gets out -"

"THEY DIDN'T DISAPPARATE!" Snape yelled so loud, Alex believed her bed was shaking from the sheer volume. "YOU CAN'T APPARATE OR DISAPPARATE INSIDE THIS CASTLE! THIS - HAS - SOMETHING - TO - DO -WITH - POTTER - AND - SELWYN!"

"Severus - be reasonable -they've both been locked up -"

BAM!

Alex jumped as the door to the hospital wing was flung open by Snape. He came striding into the ward with Fudge and Dumbledore following him. While Fudge appeared angry, Dumbledore looked amused over the situation unfolding in front of him.  But Snape looked downright furious.  He looked accusingly between Harry and Alex.

"OUT WITH IT, POTTER!" Snape shouted. "WHAT DID YOU AND SELWYN DO?"

"Professor Snape!" Madam Pomfrey yelled. "Control yourself!"

"See here, Snape, be reasonable," Fudge tried to tell him. "This door's been locked, we just saw -"

"THEY HELPED THEM BOTH ESCAPE, I KNOW IT!" Snape shouted, Alex flinched away, not recognizing her guardian in front of her.

"Calm down, man!" Fudge barked at Snape. "You're talking nonsense!"

"YOU DON'T KNOW POTTER AND SELWYN!" Snape was screaming, spit flying from his mouth, Alex wiped a drop that hit her cheek. "THEY DID IT, I KNOW THEY DID IT -"

"That will do, Severus," Dumbledore finally spoke up quietly and calmly. "Think about what you are saying. This door has been locked since I left the ward ten minutes ago. Madam Pomfrey, have these students left their bed?"

"Of course not!" Madam Pomfrey exclaimed. "I would have heard them!"

"Well, there you have it, Severus," Dumbledore told him. "Unless you are suggesting that Harry, Alex, and Hermione are able to be in two places at once, I'm afraid I don't see any point in troubling them further."

Snape glanced around at everyone, narrowing his eyes slightly at Alex, who was doing her best to bite back a smirk trying to fight its way onto her lips. So she just grabbed another piece of chocolate and shoved it in her mouth. Without another word, he swept out of the hospital wing, his cloak swishing behind him.

"He really should consider teaching dramatic exits," Alex spoke up slightly through a mouthful of chocolate. Harry and Hermione had to stifle their laughter at her comment.

"Fellow seems quite unbalanced," Fudge stated. "I'd watch out for him if I were you, Dumbledore."

"Oh, he's not unbalanced," Dumbledore disagreed softly. "He's just suffered a severe disappointment."

"He's not the only one!" Fudged exclaimed. "The Daily Prophet's going to have a field day! We had Black cornered and he slipped through our fingers, along with his wife, yet again! All it needs now is for the story of that hippogriff's escape to get out, and I'll be the laughingstock! Well... I'd better go and notify the Ministry..."

"And the dementors?" Dumbledore inquired. "They'll be removed from the school, I trust?"

"Oh yes, they'll have to go," Fudge confirmed. "Never dreamed they'd attempt to administer the Kiss to an innocent boy... Completely out of control... no, I'll have them packed off back to Azkaban tonight... Perhaps we should think about dragons at the school entrance..."

"Hagrid would like that," Dumbledore added with a smile toward the three students, who were watching the interaction.

"If that happens, can it be a Hebridean Black dragon?" Alex asked loudly with a hopeful look in her eyes.

Fudge and Dumbledore glanced at Alex but didn't answer as they began to leave the hospital wing.  Alex slumped back, the exhaustion of the day beginning to get to her and disappointed they didn't answer but hopeful that didn't say no necessarily.

Madam Pomfrey walked back to her office, angrily muttering to herself.  The sound of a groan caused the three friends to turn and see Ron beginning to stir awake.

"What - what happened?" He groaned.  "Harry?  Why are we in here?  Where's Sirius?  Where's Alliana?  Where's Lupin?  What's going on?"

Harry, Hermione, and Alex glanced at each other with knowing smiles.  "Well, I'm going to take a well deserved nap now," Alex told them, leaning back and closing her eyes as the exhaustion began to set in. For the first time in a few weeks, she didn't worry about nightmares plaguing her sleep.

"You explain," Harry told Hermione with a slight laugh as Alex began to fall asleep.

☽

The next day when they were finally released by Madam Pomfrey, they found that the castle was almost empty of the upperclassmen.  They were all in Hogsmeade, celebrating the end of the school year.  The three who actually had permission to go decided to stay at the castle with Harry, talking about the craziness from the previous night as they walked the grounds.

And that's where the group found themselves, sitting beside the Black Lake, watching the giant squid from a distance.

Alex mindlessly picked at the grass around her, her mind wandering to where her parents were at the moment. But really, all that she cared about was the fact that they were safe and far from any dementors threatening to Kiss them.

But she was also plagued by the what the summer was going to bring.  She'd have to face Severus the entire time. And after his reaction to Sirius and Alliana escaping, she was worried for what was in store for her. Normally, they only saw each other for meal times or when she would sit and watch him working on potions. Other than that, she was outside, exploring or in her room, keeping to herself. What would happen now?

"Hey Ron," Alex spoke up, causing the three of them to look at her, "do you think your parents would be willing to let me stay at your place for the summer? I'm not too sure living with Severus Snape this summer is something I'd want to partake in."

They waited a beat to see if she was joking, but as she continued picking at the grass around her, they realized she was very serious. Harry put his arm around her to offer support but she could only muster a half smile at him.  He shared a nervous look with Ron and Hermione as they realized how cruel Severus would most likely be toward her that summer, especially since they had helped Sirius and Alliana escape.  On some level, Snape knew that they helped.

"I can write to Mum and Dad if you want?" Ron offered.

"Or maybe you can come stay with me and my family!" Hermione added, looking a little fearful. "I can ask my parents by owl tonight, they'd be happy to meet someone who grew up in the wizarding world."

Alex could only nod, trying to find her voice. "Yeah, staying at Hermione's might be better now that I think about it," she told them.

"Why not my house?" Ron asked, sounding slightly offended.

"Well, because-" she then stopped when she realized now was not the time to tell Ron that she fancied his older brother and said older brother had kissed her and hasn't talked to her a whole lot since. "Um, your house is already crowded enough, I'd hate to intrude."

"You know Mum wouldn't mind it," he told her.

"It's fine, Ron," Alex told him. "If it's okay with Hermione's parents, I'll just stay at hers."

Before Ron could attempt to debate the subject, a large shadow came over them and the four friends looked up to see Hagrid standing there.  He used a large handkerchief to wipe the sweat forming on his brow as he smiled down at the group of friends.

"Know I shouldn' feel happy, after wha' happened las' night," he began. "I mean, Black escapin' with his wife again, an' everything' - but guess what?"

"What?" They all asked, trying to pretend to be curious.

"Beaky! He escaped, along with Cleo! They're free! Bin celebratin' all night!"

"That's wonderful!" Hermione exclaimed, sending a warning look to Ron, who was trying to not laugh.

"Yeah... can't've tied him up properly," Hagrid told them. "I was worried this mornin', mind... thought they mighta met Professor Lupin on the grounds, but Lupin says he never ate anythin' las' night..."

"What?" Harry and Alex questioned quickly.

"Blimey, haven' yeh heard?" Hagrid asked. He then lowered his voice down so only they could hear him, even though there was no one else close by. "Er - Snape told all the Slytherins this mornin'... Thought everyone'd know by now... Professor Lupin's a werewolf, see. An' he was loose on the grounds las' night... He's packin' now, o' course."

"What?!" Alex exclaimed.

"He's packing?" Harry asked. "Why?"

"Leavin' isn' he?" Hagrid told them, surprised by their outburst at the news. "Resigned firs' thing this mornin'. Says he can't risk it happenin' again."

Harry scrambled to his feet, Alex following after him, the both of them sharing the same look. "We're going to see him," they said to Ron and Hermione.

They tried to protest but neither listened and promised to meet them back at the same spot. Then they ran back for the castle to where they knew Lupin would be.

As they came up to his office, Alex could hear him shuffling around inside. They both shared a look as they realized he was nearly packed all the way. Harry knocked on the door, which made Lupin look up from whatever he was looking over on his desk.

"I saw you two coming," he told them smiling before gesturing to the parchment on the desk. It was the Marauder's Map.

"We just saw Hagrid," Harry told him.

"And he said you'd resigned," Alex added. "It's not true, is it?"

"I'm afraid it is," Lupin confirmed with a sad smile.

"Why?" Harry questioned.  "The Ministry of Magic don't think you were helping Sirius and Alliana, do they?"

Alex immediately closed the door, knowing this subject was sensitive for their ears only.  Lupin nodded appreciatively at her.

"No.  Professor Dumbledore managed to convince Fudge that I was trying to save your lives." A heavy sigh left him.  "That was the final straw for Severus.  I think the loss of the Order of Merlin hit him hard.  So he - er - accidentally let slip that I am a werewolf this morning at breakfast."

A loud scoff left Alex as she shook her head.  She couldn't believe Snape had stooped so low and cost them the best Defense Against the Dark Arts professor they ever had.  Angry tears began to well in her eyes. In her eyes, Snape had ruined Lupin's life.

"You're not leaving just because of that!" Harry told him.

Lupin gave a small smile.  "This time tomorrow, the owls will start arriving from parents... They will not want a werewolf teaching their children.  And after last night, I see their point.  I could have bitten any of you... That must never happen again."

"You're the best Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher we've ever had!" Harry defended.

"Please, don't go, Lupin!" Alex pleaded, tears beginning to slip from her eyes and down her pale cheeks.

Lupin could only shake his head as he emptied the drawers from his desk.  "From what the headmaster told me this morning, you saved a lot of lives last night, Harry.  If I'm proud of anything, it's how much you've learned... Tell me about your Patronus."

Alex smiled proudly as she thought of seeing the Patronus in person herself.  Perhaps he'd be able to teach the charm to her one day.

"How'd you know about that?" Harry asked.

"What else could have driven the dementors back?"  So Harry told him everything with Alex nodding along in confirmation.  "Yes, your father was always a stag when he transformed," Lupin told him.  "You guessed right... that's why we called him Prongs."

Alex couldn't help the snort that left her.  "From the stories my mum told me, it sounds very fitting for him."

Lupin nodded with an amused smile.  "Yes, it was," he told her.  "Here - I brought this from the Shrieking Shack last night," he said, handing the Invisibility Cloak to Harry.  "And..." He hesitated for a moment before handing the Marauder's Map to Alex.  "I am no longer your teacher, so I don't feel guilty about giving you this back as well.  It's not use to me, and I daresay you, Alex, Ron, and Hermione will find uses for it."

Alex smiled before looking it over as Harry grinned at her.  "You told me Moony, Womrtail, Padfoot, and Prongs would've wanted to lure me out of school... you said they'd have thought it was funny."

"And so we would have," Lupin confirmed.  "I have no hesitation in saying that James would have been highly disappointed if his son had never found anything of the secret passages out of the castle, same with Sirius." Alex laughed at that comment.

A knock came at the door, which caused Alex to stuff the Map into her pocket as Harry hid the Invisibility Cloak.  Professor Dumbledore came in, not looking surprised that Harry and Alex were there.

"Your carriage is at the gates, Remus," he told him.

"Thank you, Headmaster," Remus responded, grabbing his suitcase and an empty water tank. "Well - goodbye, Harry. It has been a real pleasure teaching you. I feel sure we'll meet again sometime. Headmaster, there is no need to see me to the gates, I can manage..." He went to walk out before stopping. "Actually, Alex, would you be so kind as to accompany me?"

"Certainly, Professor," she told him, walking over and taking the water tank as Dumbledore bid him one last goodbye.

They walked silently for a few minutes before Lupin looked at her. "You know, I wonder what your boggart is now," he told her with a soft smile.

Alex couldn't help the smile that lifted on her lips. "Yeah, I guess it wouldn't be my mom anymore, would it?" She stated. "I mean, now that I know she actually does love me and didn't leave because she wanted to."

"Yes," Lupin smiled as they made it outside, though he was struggling, obviously a little weak from the night before.

"Are you alright, Professor?" She asked.

He nodded. "Just a little sore from last night," he told her. "Believe it or not, your father once told me he thought that transforming into a werewolf would feel relieving, you know, the joints popping out of place and everything."

Alex laughed loudly at that statement. "That sounds like something I'd say."

Lupin laughed as well. "Yes, you are more like him than you think."

She smiled softly at that thought but then they made it to the gate. Carefully, she helped him into the carriage. He looked back at her with a soft smile.

"Now, I know you've been thinking a lot about what career you want to pursue this year," he told her.

"I have," she responded truthfully.

Lupin smiled. "Well, I think you have the fine makings of becoming a Healer," he told her.

Her brow furrowed.  "Why do you say that?" She asked.

"Your kind nature, you're very smart in all your subjects, and you're knowledgeable when it comes to basic healing magic," he responded.  "It could be something you can consider."

"Thank you, Professor," she responded. Just before the carriage began to move, she stopped it. "Wait!  How do I use this?" She asked, referring to the Marauder's Map.

He smiled again. "Tap it with your wand and say, 'I solemnly swear that I am up to no good,' and then when you're done, tap it again and say, 'Mischief managed.'"

Alex smiled one last time as the carriage began to move away and she waved goodbye to him.  When she couldn't see him anymore, she pulled the Map out and tapped it with her wand, saying, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

Ink began to cover the page and she gasped in amazement.  She had never looked at it herself after it came into Harry's possession.  She could see every person on the Map and their exact position.  Slowly, she began to walk up to the castle, looking for a certain name before finding it.

Severus Snape.

☽

One more chapter, y'all!  And Happy late Thanksgiving to anyone who celebrates it!

I'll be going to Idaho this weekend for a funeral, so I should be able to post the last chapter before the weekend is over!

Don't forget to VOTE and COMMENT!

Love you guys!

-Squid☽