Two years. Two complete, entire year's and Valentine Lestrange had not grown an inch. Between the ages of eleven to twelve, she had stayed utterly unchanged. Her thirteenth birthday was approaching but that didn't seem to affect her physical stature at all. Draco and Leah, on the other hand, continued to sprout up like weeds. They each had hit another large growth spurt over the summer, earning them about another two inches each. Valentine tried her very best to ignore it. She had much more important matters to think about obviously, but sometimes it was very hard trying to be above it all when you weren't even five feet tall. That's why she liked to stand near Blaze when they were all altogether as she could always trust him to be just as short as she was. Unfortunately, for Blaze, he didn't have her threatening demeanour to ward off the playful ridicule of the others.

They'd come to Madam Malkin's Robes shop so that Draco and Leah could have all their school wear tailored to accommodate their growth spurts. Valentine's clothing needed to be altered as well, although not in the same direction as the others.

Narcissa stood by Madam Malkin, overseeing everything. Rose had planned to accompany them as well today but apparently, she and William had suddenly become swamped with some kind of family business that couldn't be avoided. Narcissa didn't mind keeping an eye on Leah, of course, she'd been doing it for near thirteen years after all.

Leah, herself, had her face pressed up close to one of the large mirrors, pulling funny faces. Draco was beside her, rearranging his bangs. Valentine wasn't certain what had suddenly made him want for a change after so long of wearing it slicked back. She didn't think it looked bad at all. Anything that made him look less like his father was golden to her.

"Draco look!" Leah could barely force out her words intelligibly.

She had a finger hooked in each corner of her mouth, stretching her lips taunt while she waggled her tongue at him.

Draco made a face of his own which only egged her on further, leaning in closer to him and doing her damned best to go cross-eyed.

"Nick off," Draco shoved her away so he could continue with his hair.

Leah immediately turned to Valentine, standing off near a rack of fabric bolts.

"Leah, put your tongue away before you lose it." Valentine's expression left no room for joking.

Leah quickly sucked her tongue back in and pouted.

"You guys are no fun!"

"No," Draco said, "we just don't think you're funny."

"But I'm hilarious."

"And I'm a walrus."

"Maybe I'll turn you into one." Leah narrowed her eyes at him.

"Could you just make me blind instead? That way I wouldn't have to look at you."

"Why are you so mean to me!"

"Many, many reasons."

"Well, none of them are good ones!"

"Inside voices." Narcissa's tone was light and soft and yet it made them both pause. That was Narcissa's 'sure, we're in public so I can't scold you properly but don't test me child' voice.

Now both Leah and Draco were pouting.

"This is your fault." Draco hissed under his breath.

"What! Not even. You should have just laughed when you were supposed to."

"I'll laugh at your funeral then, what about that?"

"I'd never invite you!"

"You'd be dead, Leah. I don't think you'd have a whole lot of say over the guest list."

"That's stupid!"

"Ahem." Narcissa cleared her voice, blinking at the two of them expectantly. They froze like possums playing dead. Narcissa moved closer to put a hand on each of their shoulders and whisper. "Please, separate immediately before I separate you both from this life."

Narcissa didn't usually have such a short temper, but it was nearly lunchtime and Draco and Leah had been at this all day. Valentine was about ready to kill them herself.

"I'm done with them, anyway." Said Madam Malkin's, not blind to Narcissa's terse attitude. She then turned to Valentine. "You're next, young lady. Change into your school robes in the dressing room and we'll have you sorted in no time."

Narcissa nudged Draco and Leah to follow so they could change back into their regular clothes. Draco headed straight for the men's room while Leah grabbed Valentine's arm and dragged her into the ladies with her.

"Leah, these rooms are too small for two people," Valentine grumbled.

"But I wanted to show you something!"

"In a dressing room?"

"Yes."

"I don't frighten easily, or at all, I but I believe I may be legitimately afraid right now."

"Gosh, you and Draco always act like I'm so much trouble."

"Yes, us and anyone else you've ever met."

Leah ignored her, half ripping her school robes off. Valentine stared, unimpressed and unsurprised. She'd seen just about every inch of Leah there was and certainly more than she ever wanted to. What could she possibly have to show her?

Barebacked, Leah twisted around pointing quite successfully with her long willowy limbs.

"Lookie!"

"And what exactly am I looking at?"

"Look at them! Right there!"

Valentine took a second to have a closer look and arched a brow at the red lines in the middle of her back. Draco had a handful that was practically identical.

"Stretch marks?"

"Yes!"

"And?"

"Aren't they cool?"

"Are they?"

"Yes! They are! When I first saw them I totally freaked out but then Penny and mama explained that it's just because I'm getting taller!"

"Really?" Valentine rolled her eyes. "Is that it?"

"Why aren't you more excited?" Leah pouted. "I have stripes. I'm like a tiger, Val. Or a zebra. Why doesn't that excite you?"

"Everyone gets stretch marks at one point or another, Leah."

"I know." Leah giggled. "Mama said that father has them on his back too but his are faded. And," Leah leaned in to whisper as though someone was listening in, still giggling away. "mama said she has them on her...boobs."

Valentine very nearly faced palmed.

"Are we done here?"

"I just don't understand why you aren't more excited!"

"I already told you, you idiot. Everyone gets stretch marks at one point or another. It's incredibly mundane and commonplace. What about it is supposed to excite me?"

"Awe, Val." Leah cooed. "You don't have any, do you?"

Valentine bristled at that.

"Actually I do, not that it's any of your business."

"Where?" Leah's eyes grew to the size of saucers.

"What part of 'none of your
business', do you not understand?"

"Show me! Please? You have to change anyway!"

"Why are you such a damn pest?"

"Because it provides me with endless entertainment. Now, pleaseeeee, Vaaaaal?"

Ugh.

Valentine pulled her dress off over her head, not bothering with the buttons on the back.

"Happy now?"

"Um. I can't see them?"

"Here." Valentine groaned, pointing to her hip, that was covered by the waistband of her stockings.

Leah leaned in very close, narrowing her eyes.

"Hmm." She hummed as she inspected, peering through the sheer material. "There! I see them!"

"Congratulations." Valentine reached for her own school robes.

"I never realized you were so rounded! Mama said my body type is too narrow for hips like yours." Leah reached out a hand to touch and Valentine slapped her away with a glare.

"Touch me and the only type of body you'll have is one that doesn't breath."

"Are you girls alright in there?" Narcissa called out to them. "You're taking an awfully long time."

"Val won't let me touch her!"

"I'm sorry? What?" Narcissa replied, mystified.

You really are a special kind of person Leah.

-----Pretending To Hate-----

"Val. I think I've found my soulmate."

Valentine and Leah were standing outside Magical Menagerie when Valentine felt it coming. She turned away from Leah, hand in her pocket to grab her handkerchief.

Crap. Why now?

She felt a small stab of pain in her left temple and glanced at Leah. She had her face pressed right up against the window, gawking at the large green lizard staring back at her. Draco and Narcissa were off looking at brooms, something that didn't exactly interest either girl.

The pain grew ever slowly more intense and Valentine clenched the hand in her pocket into a tight fist. She had two choices. Try to hide a nose bleed standing in plain view three feet away from Leah. Or take a chance and duck into the nearby alley to ride it out.

She could feel the blood start to trickle as Leah pressed her face further still into the glass.

"I wonder what it would be like to eat a fly?"

Valentine decided that thought alone would occupy Leah long enough and she made a quick and silent dash into the alley.

The pain spiked again and she gritted her teeth. She ripped her handkerchief from her pocket and held it to her nose as the blood began to fall. At first, the potion Snape had made for her did just what it was supposed to do quite nicely. No more sudden headaches, nose bleeds or losing consciousness. The dream may have remained but Valentine would take it if it meant she wouldn't just start randomly bleeding in the most inconvenient of moments. But that had been weeks ago. She still had another two weeks until the new school year started and she would just have to hope that no one noticed anything. She had never been gladder for Leah's grand lack of observational skills.

She rode out the pain, breathing through her nose. It had been much worse than this before and if she was lucky the bleeding would stop sooner rather than later.

She let out a soft growl. Leah may have been unobservant but one glance to her side and she would see that Valentine had all but vanished. If she was to come looking for her, which she most certainly would, then Valentine would have to deal with all the drama and coddling that she so desperately wanted to avoid. And if Narcissa were to find out, because yes, Leah would spill to her immediately if she thought it was serious, then Valentine wouldn't put it past her aunt to pull her out of school. Valentine could never allow that.

Just as the pain was residing it rose again, making the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end.

Bloody hell. Just be over already.

A voice clearing itself behind her had her whirling on the owner with a glare.

"Sorry. Didn't mean to startle you." The man held up both hands at the sight of her flashing eyes, taking a firm step back.

He was a tall, gangly man with sandy coloured hair and a moustache, but that's not what caught Valentine's attention. He had long scars scrapped across his face, faded and old. His clothing wasn't in much better condition.

He eyed her with a sense of caution and concern.

"I couldn't help but notice you might need some help?" He asked gently.

Valentine's glare deepened as if warning him to stay away. He laughed at her, a light chuckle through an unsure one.

"Alright then...if you're sure."

Despite his words, the man didn't move from where he stood a few metres away.

Valentine kept him in her line of sight as she pulled away from the handkerchief and found her nose had stopped bleeding.

Bloody finally.

She wiped away any red tell streaks and sneered over at the ragged man.

"Thanks for your concern but it's both unnecessary and annoying."

The man blinked at her and then laughed, this time it was a full, warm sound like he was surprised by the strength of her words.

"So, I can't find your parents for you or something?" He rose his brows at her.

Valentine couldn't quite tell whether he was teasing her or being serious. He did seem genuinely concerned about her but there was something in his voice that told her he was serving up some payback for Valentine's rudeness. It was probably both options. Either way, a sketchy looking man lurking in an alley was hardly going to win her trust with a joke.

"All the way to Azkaban just to see my parents?" Valentine scoffed. "Waste of time and energy if you ask me."

Whether he was teasing or not, it didn't matter because Valentine had changed the entire tone of the interaction.

"Azkaban?" The man frowned questioningly.

"My parent's permanent place of residence, not that it's any of your business." Valentine rolled her eyes distastefully as she stuffed the handkerchief back in her coat pocket. "What are you supposed to be? Some kind of street urchin?"

"Something like that." The man shrugged, a small twinkle in his eye

Valentine curled her lip at him.

"Val!"

Leah's voice rang out from the street and Valentine immediately turned away.

"Val, where did you go!"

Valentine left the man in the alley without another word.

Stepping back out into the street she saw not only Leah but Blaze as well, standing a little ways off, looking confused and pointing accusingly.

"Val, I found a rat!" Leah declared, pointing right back at the boy.

"Oi!"

-----Pretending To Hate-----

"Oh, hello Blaze." Narcissa greeted as she and Draco approached them outside Magical Menagerie.

"Hello, Mrs Malfoy." Blaze said stiffly, watching Leah out of the corner of his eye.

"Are you with your parents? Have Samantha and Nathaniel finally ventured out into the wilderness then?"

"No, ma'am. My-"

"I found him!" Said Leah.

"You did not," Blaze snapped. "I just so happened to be unfortunate enough to stumble upon you drooling over a lizard."

"His name is Vanderbilt."

"I do not care."

"You were saying?" Narcissa prompted.

"Right, I was saying-"

"He was totally lost." Leah cut in again.

"Oh, my, God, would you let me speak!"

"No."

"Leah." Narcissa clicked her tongue and Leah groaned dramatically.

"Oh, if you must then." Leah waved at Blaze, taking on the tone of a high-class lady heroine from a novel set in the eighteen hundreds.

"As I was saying," Blaze gave Leah a hard glare. "I'm here with my older brother."

"Oh? And where is he?" Narcissa asked. "I haven't seen him in years."

"Eh." Blaze shrugged. "I may have left him in a pub somewhere. He wouldn't stop flirting with the bartender so I decided to cut my loses, my brother being those said loses."

"We were here to get our robes tailored." Leah smiled. "I'm even taller now. Want to see my stretch marks?"

Narcissa seemed to choke on nothing.

"We're going to get some lunch." She cleared her voice. "Would you like to join us, Blaze?"

"Yes, please, I'm begging you." Said Draco with more than a little hint of desperation. "Leah's been driving me nuts all freaking say."

"What am I? A sacrificial lamb?"

"Yes."

"That's cold, Draco."

"This is England, Blaze. It's always cold."

-----Pretending To Hate-----

They sat in one of the nicer cafes in Diagon Alley as Narcissa insisted upon it. Leah had turned her attention on Blaze much to his dismay and Draco was facing the window so he again, could fix his hair.

Valentine sat between Leah and Blaze. Narcissa had hoped it would deter the two from fighting but Valentine largely ignored them except to glare if one of them bumped her or shouted too loudly.

"I really have the worse luck," said Blaze, "running into you."

"I found you."

"I wasn't lost, Leah."

"Yeah, I think you were."

"Seriously. I wasn't. I've walked around Diagon Alley on my own before."

"Then why did you have the weird 'whaaat?' look on your face?"

"Maybe because I wasn't expecting my day to be tarnished with your presence?"

"No, I don't think that's it."

A man on the opposite side of the cafe unfolded a newspaper and all of Leah and Blaze's bickering faded into the background. The newspaper read in large black lettering, 'Escape from Azkaban!', beneath the headline was the image of a gaunt, sickly-looking man screaming hysterically. It made for a rather harrowing front page, sales would most certainly be up. It was all the general public was interested in talking about lately. No one could just escape from Azkaban prison, it was a feat considered impossible since the jail came to be.

Valentine had seen an image of that same man once before, although he had been closer to her own current age. It was in one of Narcissa's extensive collection of photographs. The second Narcissa found four-year-old Valentine and Draco staring at it, trying to figure out who this boy was, she snatched it away as if it could somehow hurt them. She muttered something under her breath about how 'she couldn't believe she missed one' and promptly tossed it into the fireplace.

Valentine figured out later through her own prying that the boy was none other than Sirius Black, the same man on the front of the Daily Prophet, the same man sentenced to life in Azkaban for murder, the same man said to have betrayed the whereabouts of Lily and James Potter to Voldemort himself. He was also, by the by, Valentine's second cousin.

But it wasn't their relation that put a bitter taste in Valentine's mouth, it was his escape. Azkaban was supposed to be a stronghold, stronger than any other. Escape from its walls was supposed to be entirely impossible. And if he could do it, what was stopping others? No longer able to be considered inescapable undermined the whole purpose of such a place. It housed the worst of the worst and if they could get out then Valentine would have a bigger problem then nose bleeds. Dozens of Death Eaters still loyal to Voldemort sat in the cells of Azkaban, slowly losing any small trace of their sanity that they had left. If they were to escape, what would stop them from going after the reason their master was destroyed? It was a headache Valentine much preferred to avoid.

"Creepy, isn't it?" Blaze wrinkled his nose.

Valentine barely glanced at him.

"I scream like that sometimes." Said Leah. "Mostly in my head though."

"Do not stare, children." Narcissa scolded them lightly and then turned off to the side to wave down a server.

"Do you think he'll come and visit you?" Blaze asked in a low tone. "You're related, aren't you?"

Valentine let out a bitter bark of laughter.

Maybe if he has a death wish. Which he might, given what twelve years in Azkaban does to the mind.

"He's disowned," Draco explained. "Has been for years since before he was even sentenced."

"Oh, right. I forgot about that."

"Trust me, if he comes calling, he'll be unwelcome."

"Draco." Narcissa hissed quietly. "This is not the kind of thing you talk about in public."

"Sorry, mother." Draco sighed although he didn't seem overly apologetic.

Narcissa ordered them food and was more than a little passive-aggressive with the teenage boy that served them. Valentine seemed to be the only one that noticed.

Someone's certainly stressed. Perhaps it's because of Sirius Black? After all, no matter how hard the Black's deny it, they are connected. And here comes rebellious cousin Sirius, dragging their dubious at best name through the dirt.

That was something that had always seemed off to Valentine. They said Sirius Black betrayed the Potters to Voldemort but Sirius had been so opposed to his own families prejudices that he ran away and ended up just another