Jeremy and Remus.

January 3rd.

"Oh, Lee-Lee! Where'd you go? I'm gonna find you!" Jeremy calls fake-scouring the Manor for a four year-old Annalee.

Annalee giggles beneath the table, making Jeremy turn around in mock-shock.

"You found me!" she exclaims, leaping up and into his arms.

He twirls her around in a circle, making her giggle again.

"I did," he agrees. "And I will never let my Queen go again!"

Annalee wakes up in a hot sweat, mind running after her dream. The same dream she'd had for the past eight nights.

Or is it a memory? she thinks to herself.

Annalee, careful not to wake up Lily, walks down the stairs of the Evans' townhouse and to the kitchen table where she begins to write out a short letter to the person she believes is best equipped to handle this issue. Well, best equipped to handle this issue and not get mad at her for having a run-in with Riddle.

Dear Remus,

Hello, I hope you're doing well. I was hoping I could drop by wherever you're staying at the moment sometime soon? I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell Sirius I wrote, as I have a proposal for you that isn't quite ready for him yet. Also, this is rather urgent, so I hope to meet with you as soon as possible. Thank you.

Your friend,

Annalee H. Fawley

She ties it to her owl's leg and he flies away.

After another day of flitting around London with Lily, a response is on her bed.

Annie,

I am doing well. I hope you are as well. My father, mother, and I would be delighted to have you over. How does tomorrow at around noon work for you? Though I should tell you, if there's anything that I feel is necessary to tell Sirius to keep him safe, I will. But in the meantime, this meeting will be under hush-hush status.

Excitedly,

Remus J. Lupin

Annalee smiles.

January 4th. 

"Oh, Lee-Lee! Where'd you go? I'm gonna find you!" Jeremy calls fake-scouring the Manor for a four year-old Annalee.

Annalee giggles beneath the table, making Jeremy turn around in mock-shock.

"You found me!" she exclaims, leaping up and into his arms.

He twirls her around in a circle, making her giggle again.

"I did," he agrees. "And I will never let my Queen go again!"

Annalee wakes up again, more determined than ever to find out exactly who Jeremy is.

The hours pass by slowly until it's finally time for Anna to go to Remus'.

"Lils?" Annalee calls at 11:57.

"Yes?" Lily calls back from upstairs.

"I'm going on a shopping trip to Diagon Alley. I may be a while. I kind of feel like being alone. Sorry," Annalee responds.

"Have fun and be careful!" Lily says cheerfully.

Annalee grabs a handful of floo powder and throws it into the fire, saying clearly, "Diagon Alley."

She arrives in Diagon Alley where she finds another fire, and goes to Remus' house.

"Annie!" Remus exclaims upon seeing the girl appear in his living room. He gives her a quick hug, which she returns, then takes her to his room, exchanging pleasantries. "So what can I help you with?"

Seriously, Anna says, "I need you to promise you won't tell Sirius. It's not something that will put anyone in danger, but he'll get mad at me. Do you promise?"

"If you promise me you won't do it again, then I promise I won't tell him or anyone," Remus negotiates.

"Deal," Annalee says immediately. "So after I left the Potter house the other day, I went to the Fawley Manor-"

"-You did what?" Remus interrupts, voice dangerously low.

"I wanted my stuff!" Annalee protests. "I had a lot of books and drawings and writings and stuff."

"Well then what happened?" Remus challenges. "Anything bad? Sorry, I should rephrase: What bad thing happened?"

"Weeeeeeeeeell I kinda-sorta-maybe ran into Riddle who threatened me with Death and Stuff unless I brought someone to him. And upon my saying I have no idea who said person is he told me to look through my 'lineage' and 'memories'. So then I had this weird memory-flash-thing where I remembered this guy named Jeremy who basically looks like a male version of me, plus ten or fifteen or so years. That was Christmas eve. I kind of had a Hallmark movie moment and stuff. And then, I've been having the same dream of him for the past like nine nights in a row. And I'm having a sort of panic attack and I want to find this Jeremy," Annalee says in a cheerful tone so unfitting for the words, it screams 'MENTAL BREAKDOWN'.

Remus takes a moment to process the words. Then, he says, "Three things. First, I can't believe you ran into Voldemort and didn't die. Second, I can't believe you didn't say anything to anyone sooner. Third, I'm in."

A devious smile curls across Annalee's face as she says, "Then let's get started."

"What do we do first?"

"We write to Dumbledore and see if he has a record of a student. Then maybe we ask Fleamont if he has any potions for memory."

"I like it," Remus decides, "Because then we have the adults involved. Let's just wait until we go back to school before we talk to Dumbledore. We can go to the Potter Manor right now, though. James and Sirius are out at Zonko's, so we probably have the rest of the day."

Annalee smiles, "Shall we floo?"

"We shall," Remus agrees.

The two walk down the stairs where Hope Lupin is sitting on the couch reading.

"Oh, hello, Annalee," Hope says happily, hopping up.

Anna smiles back, "Hi. Thank you for having me. We were just going to go the Potter's. Secret Mission and all."

"Have a great time," Hope responds warmly.

The two go to the fireplace, grabbing a handful of floo powder and each saying clearly Potter Manor.

They appear inside the house where, thankfully, only Fleamont Potter is sitting in the living room reading The Daily Prophet.

"Can I help you?" Fleamont asks after a moment.

"Yes!" Remus exclaims, taking the lead. "We wanted to use your potions expertise. I'm only at grade level and Annalee is terrible at potions."

"Gee, thanks," Anna mutters.

Remus shoots her a look, "Am I wrong?"

Annalee doesn't respond, and Fleamont looks faintly amused.

"What can I help you two with?" Fleamont asks, setting his newspaper down.

"Do you know of any potions for memory?" Annalee asks boldly.

Something unidentifiable crosses Fleamont's face. "Whatever do you mean by that? To replace memories?"

"To jog one," Annalee clarifies. "Or to take one away. Or edit one."

"There's a modified version of obliviate where you can edit memories, but only a couple of people know it. A couple of very powerful people that I hope neither of you are consorting with. There is only one reversal to it that I know of. But it's incredibly complicated and even more dangerous, should it be done wrong," Fleamont explains. "Now that I've sufficiently withheld the key pieces of information, would you please tell me what this is about?"

"I think there might be something I'm missing. In my memories, I mean," Annalee says coolly. "And I need to figure out exactly what. More importantly, exactly who."

Fleamont leans forward, looking concerned. "If someone erased your memories, that's illegal."

"Well I know that, but as I believe it's been done, I'd prefer to look for solutions instead of wasting time on the who, when, where, and why of it," Annalee responds.

"All that she remembers is from a dream that she's been having," Remus interjects. "About someone named Jeremy. Looks like a male version of Annalee but plus a good deal of years."

Fleamont shoots up at that. He paces around the room, obviously deep in thought.

"You don't remember Jeremy?" he asks finally, quietly.

Annalee's eyes widen, "You know who he is?"

"He's your brother, Annalee. He ran away from home when you were five years old and when he was seventeen. He'd been disowned. His name was disgraced, nobody wanted to talk about him in the pureblood world," Fleamont explains, looking seriously concerned. "I'm sure your parents were the ones to erase your memories. I must confess... I'm not sure what to do."

"You could give us the potion!" Remus suggests with a gleaming smile.

"No," Fleamont declines. "At least not yet. In the meantime, I can give you a minor potion. It's used for when you forget something, but it's not very powerful. It can work for longer term, though."

"Thank you, Fleamont," Annalee says sincerely. "I have to be getting back soon. If I may, please don't tell James or Sirius that we were here. Or anyone for that matter. Nobody knows about this other than Remus, you, and Dumbledore when we get back to school."

"You're not telling Sirius?" Fleamont asks suddenly. "Listen, Anna, I know Sirius very well. If he finds out you're keeping something from him. His girlfriend and his best friend, it just won't end well for anyone involved. I won't spill your secret, but I'm also not going to help you pick up the pieces when it all falls apart. I'd suggest telling him soon."

"I know," Annalee says, cold exterior crumpling as she plops down to the couch, head in her hands. "But I couldn't bear to tell him and then it not happen. If the memories are irretrievable or I can't find him, it would just make the bloody disappointment so bloody much worse. And excuse the language, if you please."

Remus sits down next to her, "It'll be alright. Sirius will understand. He'll have to. And if you decide to tell him, he won't be disappointed. He'll be happy for you or he'll be disappointed with you."

"I know," Annalee says meekly. "I'm not even sure. He's just... I don't know."

"I agree," Remus says softly. "But he cares about you enough to not jeopardize it in any way. Though if he feels betrayed by this kind of thing, I really don't think that'll be the concern at the forefront of his mind."

"What about when he gets mad at me that I went to the Fawley Manor?" Anna protests.

"You did what?!" Fleamont hisses. "You can't do that, Anna."

"Well I already did. And I'm not going back."

"Then what happened? Take me through, step-by-step," Fleamont demands.

Remus grimaces. "I'm not sure you want to hear."

"Well I'm an auror, so you have to tell me," the Potter says, his inner child shining through.

"Fine," Anna mutters. "I packed up all of my stuff and then someone came into the room, threatened me, I drew my wand, they didn't, they told me to look through my memories, find someone, and bring Jeremy to him. Or else I die and stuff."

Fleamont glares, "Please tell me you're not talking about who I think you're talking about."

Anna grins. "I wish. But he's not going to kill me. It's an empty threat. Tom's convinced I'm going to join his side. And I mean really convinced. Last Summer, when he was mentoring me-"

"-When he was what?" Remus and Fleamont say in unison.

Annalee waves it away, "I already told Dumbledore, that's why we started the Dueling Alliance. Anyways, I must've made at least three sarcastic comments a day, and he didn't murder me. I was even muttering at the Manor. And I'm still here."

"His patience will wear out," Fleamont says simply. "The Dark Lord won't wait around for you forever. There will be a point where he sees that he won't get you, and will decide that if he can't, no one can."

"But it hasn't yet," Annalee says, stating the obvious. "And when it does, we'll go from there."

"When it does, you'll be dead," Fleamont corrects. "With men like him, you don't get a second chance."

"There are no men like him," Annalee says, finally getting up. "Back to the memory issue, we've strayed too far."

"Fine," Fleamont warns. "But we'll be coming back to this."

"I know," Annalee says gravely. "In the meantime, let's talk stronger memory potions. We're leaving for Hogwarts tomorrow and I'll ask Dumbledore then. And the second we figure out the potion, I'll tell Sirius and James and Lily and Marlene and Peter. Are we clear?"

"I'll get the potion recipe now," Fleamont says decidedly.

Annalee and Remus high-five when he walks away.

"We'll figure this out," Remus says, partly to Anna and partly to himself.

"We will," Anna affirms. "And we'll go from there."

Fleamont comes back a second later, a long piece of paper in hand.

He hands it to them, "Be careful. If you need any help, send a patronus."

Annalee and Remus nod in synchrony. The front door opens behind them, and Annalee stuffs the paper into their pockets.

"We're home!" James calls from the kitchen.

Remus and Annalee exchange glances.

The footsteps grow nearer.

James, Euphemia, Sirius, and Lily walk in.

"Annalee? I thought you were in Diagon Alley?" Lily asks with her head cocked.

A smile breaks out on Sirius' face. James just looks confused.

"I saw Remus there and we decided to surprise James and Sirius," Annalee lies so smoothly that Remus and Fleamont exchange slightly horrified glances.

Because most people have a tell when they're lying. They hold your gaze a little too intently, they look away, they stutter, and so on. But not Anna. It's like she believes it herself.

Then Fleamont remembers just where she came from, and reminds himself that Annalee Fawley was given the toolkit to be a great person. But for her, being a good one was, has, and always will be a learned behavior.

Remus, on the other hand, is simply confused. Even his friends, good as liars can be, can't make something up that fast. And if they can, they can't deliver it so well. When she's lying stoically, it's one thing. But with such kindness, it's another thing. Then again, this is the girl who, just moments ago, was detailing how the Dark Lord - the most vicious and unforgiving killer of their era - spared her for the umpteenth time because he wants her on his side.

"Aw, Princess, that's so sweet," Sirius coos happily.

Annalee glimmers such a smile that Remus practically believes the lie. Annalee presses a quick kiss to Sirius' cheek.

The group talks for a while longer until the day has expired and night has ripened.

Annalee, Remus, and Sirius all head back to their respective houses. Anna holding a thin piece of paper detailing a deciding factor for the rest of her life in hand.