Disclaimer: I don't own any JK Rowling characters, only the three I created

DA MEETINGS

"Stunning is one of the most useful spellsin your arsenal. It's sort of a wizard's bread and butter," Harry explained to everyone at the next meeting. Only Chelly had come this time, Ebony unable to attend. She hadn't seen much of her friend that day and when she had she made sure to stay off the subject of last night's feud.

"Come on then, Nigel," Harry instructed and stood at the opposite side of the room from the younger smaller boy. "Give me your best shot."

Nigel took a deep breath and held his wand up. "Stupefy!" he shouted and Harry went reeling back, hitting the wall and clashing to the floor as everyone gasped at the effect it had. It even sent Nigel backwards.

"Good," Harry grunted as he sat up. "Not bad. Who's next?"

Ron and Hermione both volunteered at the same time.

"Great," Harry nodded and gestured them both to come up as he limped off to the side.

Ron moved closer to Hermione reassuring her. "Don't worry. I'll take it easy on you," he promised and moved to the other side of the room.

Hermione shook her head. "Gee, thanks Ronald."

"I bet you three quid she kicks his ass and a month of my rocky road pudding at dinner," Luis whispered to Chelly.

"You're on. I got my bro's back on this one," Chelly nodded.

"One sickle," Fred whispered to George.

He nodded at his twin. "You're on."

Neville gave Ron an empowering shake of his fist and Ron smiled smugly as he held his wand at the ready. He opened his mouth to speak but Hermione was quicker. "Stupefy!" Ron went flying backwards bouncing off the wall behind him as Chelly and Fred let out a curse,

"Dammit," she muttered and dug in her pocket, pulling out three quid and giving them to a grinning Luis.

"Thank you," he smiled and tucked them away in his own pocket while Neville's hand movement became an ear scratch as he stared at the floor.

Fred grudgedly gave his twin the money and George smiled at him. "Thank you."

"Shut up."

"I let her do that," Ron defended himself as he came to stand by them.

"Sure you did," Fred nodded.

Chelly shook her head and put a hand over her face while Oliver patted her in the back. "And I call you my friend...I lost dessert over you."

"It was good manners," Ron continued.

"Definitely," Luis said. "Let a girl kick your ass. Makes you more of a man."

"Completely…intentional."

"I'll bet," Chelly grumbled. "Why couldn't you just hit your girlfriend with it?"

"She's not my girlfriend," he balked.

"Keep telling yourself that," she said. "It's all in time."

The door behind them opened and Ebony came in, pulling down her cloak. "Just wanted to warn you," she spoke to Harry. "Filch is sleeping in his chair right outside the door. He didn't wake up when I came in but I had my cloak on and it was just me. There are more than twenty of you so I suggest you go out the other side."

Harry nodded. "Thanks for the heads up."

"It's part of my job to keep you out of trouble," she told him and moved over to George who was quick to drape his arm around her shoulders. "But speaking of trouble…I think you and your brother need to be boiling up some…not that I'm promoting it or anything. Just suggesting you take care of Filch and what better way to try out some of your puss boil candy."

George and Fred grinned at her. "I think my evilness is rubbing off on you."

"You sure it's not the other way around," Chelly snorted. "She was a Slytherin."

"Hence why they're the perfect pair…despite the difference in looks and smarts," Fred teased.

"What do you boys say to that mere suggestion?" Ebony asked looking up at the two of them and seeing the grin on their faces and the twinkle in their eyes.

"I say it's the best idea you've ever had," George told her. "Think we can do it, Fred."

"I can guarantee it."

And boy did they ever…

QUESTIONING

"Come in, dear girl," Umbridge ushered Ebony inside. She expected this the moment she saw the new proclamation posted on the wall and when she was told to report to Umbridge's office she was in the least bit surprised. Still she couldn't help the dread she felt inside her, but kept her face as passive as she could, having learned that from her father…from Snape. She felt her heart tug at the thought. They still hadn't spoken since that night. They ate their meals at dinner at the head table in complete silence, just as they had that evening. She couldn't bring herself to say anything. After all, she had nothing to apologize for. And each day that passed that he didn't she wondered if everything had been a lie after all.

"Would you like a cup of tea, dear?" Umbridge asked as Ebony took a seat in the pink chair across from her desk. It was just like in her father's memory. Everything was bright and pink and she really did have a bunch of cat plates on her wall.

"No, thank you," she said politely.

"I'm sure you know why I called you here," she said plainly with a smile that never left her face.

"Yes, I think I do. I imagine it has to do with student organizations."

"Yes indeed. Do you know anything about it?"

"I can't say I do," she shook her head and kept eye contact.

"You're quite sure?"

"Yes. I've seen nothing or heard nothing from my friends. If they are doing anything I'm unaware of it."

"And you are not part of any activity?"

"No, ma'am."

"And you don't know where any meetings are held?"

"No."

"Hmmm…" she frowned and there was a knock on her door. Her face lit up as she addressed the person on the other side. "Come in."

The door opened and Ebony turned on her chair her eyes widening slightly as her father came in. But not just at seeing him there, but the bottle in his hand. Veritaserum, truth potion. This wasn't going to bode well for her in a moment.

"Ah, Severus," Umbridge beamed and stood to get the bottle from him as he stared at Ebony with a puzzled look. "You brought it, thank you so much. This will aide me well in my discoveries to find out the truth," she looked at Ebony as she said it.

"May I ask what my daughter is doing here?" Snape asked and Ebony felt her heart loosen a little as he called her his daughter once more.

"I'm just questioning students and she was on my list to question about any activities that may be going on. I'm only using your truth serum on those I feel are…withholding information," she giggled a little.

"I haven't been lying to you," she argued with the professor.

"Then this shouldn't be a problem," she said and uncorked the bottle, spilling a few drops into the tea cup in front of her. She stirred it a little and handed the cup to Ebony. "Drink it, my dear. All of it."

Ebony stared at the cup for a moment, her heart beating faster as she took it and managed to keep her hand steady. Without hesitating she drained the cup and set it on the table letting out a deep breath and waiting to feel the effects. She felt no different as she sat there, her father standing off to the side and Umbridge smiling pleasantly from her seat behind her desk.

"Do you know why you're here?" Umbridge asked.

Ebony waited to feel something constrict in her to keep her from lying but the question she already spoke the truth to so felt no different yet. "Yes."

Her smile widened as she leaned forward. "Do you know anything about any secret meetings?"

She waited for the constricted feeling to tighten her throat and keep her from telling lies. For her mind to scream the answer till her mouth couldn't fight it anymore but it didn't happen. She opened her mouth and let the lie fall out as naturally as before. "No."

Umbridge's smile faltered a bit and she must have taken the surprised look on Ebony's face to mean she was shocked from telling the truth.

"Are you part of any secret organization on campus?"

"No," Ebony said again, partially wondering why she could still lie.

"Do you know where any meetings are held?"

"No, I don't."

"Do you know who's involved in them?"

"No."

"Professor Umbridge, if I may, how could Ebony know any of these things when she knows nothing of it to begin with?" Snape intervened.

She glared at him and looked at the bottle. "Are you sure this is the right potion?"

"Why would I give you the wrong one? It is a truth potion. Ask her anything else to test it."

Umbridge's eyes went back to her. "When is your birthday?"

"April 15th 1975," she said with ease.

"What house were you in?"

"Slytherin."

"And your mother's maiden name?"

Ebony felt her throat tighten at the thought of her mother. She could still see her strikingly beautiful face and piercing dark eyes. She was twenty when she died. She had only been three when the Order killed her and a few other Death Eaters mostly her family, having no choice but to do so and Ebony couldn't blame them. Her mother had been as evil as they had come, having killed Molly Weasley's brothers. She couldn't forgive her mum for something like that, for dragging her into it and taking her to watch, telling her she'd someday be just like her mum and the others. A Death Eater. And how the Dark Lord would be so proud of her. "Vebha. She was a Slytherin. Two years older than my dad."

"What is the name of your best friend?"

"Chelly Murillo. She's aide's Potions here and dates Oliver Wood. Her birthday is May 2nd 1975."

"And what year did you graduate?"

"1990."

"Ah ha!" Umbridge proclaimed and Ebony jumped startled, wondering if she had slipped. "You were fifteen then. You wouldn't have graduated till 1992."

"She graduated early, Professor. Exceeded all of her credits and scored remarkably well on her OWLs in her fifth year. She graduated two years ahead," Snape informed her with a bored tone.

It seemed to deflate all the air from Umbridge as her smile vanished. "Very well…you may go since you obviously know nothing."

Ebony was quick to move out of the chair and leave the office and the classroom where other students waited to be questioned, more than half of them her friends and she saw Chelly was next, but didn't stop to tell her what was going on or about the truth serum she might ingest. She needed to get out. She stopped in the hallway and leaned against the wall with her eyes closed while thoughts of her mother still whirled through her mind. She wasn't sure why she thought of her now. She guessed it was Umbridge mentioning her. She never thought of her much before or what her mother had forced her to watch as a child.

She felt a hand rest warily on her shoulder. "Ebony?"

She opened her eyes but kept her gaze to the floor. "Yes?"

"Are you…all right?"

"Why do you care?" she asked in a harsh whisper, letting her emotions get the best of her. "You haven't spoken to me in days. Why do you care now?"

"You seem to be…in distress," he said and paused to try and find the words. She noticed his voice still seemed to be forced at a distance with her.

"I'm fine. I'm great. Why didn't the potion work on me? Why could I still lie? Was it a fake bottle?"

"No, I just happened to slip the counteraction to it in your coffee this morning. Yours and Murillo's as well. I even managed to drip some into Wood's and Lagunas's as a precaution. In case she decided to use it on any of them, they could find the ability to lie without hesitation."

"You knew I was involved?"

"Of course…I imagined you'd help Potter in some way. That you'd at least know about it. And I certainly knew Murillo wouldn't be able to resist. She has an inkling for trouble these days."

"Yeah, I can tell by her hands," she smiled a little up at him and the moment came and went as both of them seemed to realize that they had held no tension between them at that small fracture in time. But it passed and the barriers went right back up. "Thank you."

"Think nothing of it. Something else seems to be troubling you, what is it?"

She shook her head. "Nothing you can help me with."

"Try me."

"I have tried with you. You don't seem to listen or want to help…and considering some of the things going on in my mind that are troubling me have to do with you…I can't see you helping."

The hand on her shoulder stiffened and she regretted speaking the truth for the first time. "I see…" his hand fell from her shoulder and his eyes grew cold again. "Since I'm of no help to you…and only seem to trouble you, I will see you later then, unless that would trouble you more." He turned and left down the stairs then and Ebony slid down the wall, resting her head on her knees as she listened to his footsteps disappear. She wanted to cry. She wanted to go after him. But she refused. Not now and not here. She would fix this later.

Other footsteps approached and she heard them slow down as whoever it was clearly saw her sitting out here with her head resting on her brought up knees. She heard the person stand next to her and slide down the wall to sit by her. "Hey Ebony."

She lifted her head to look at Ginny, the fourth year smiled at her. "Hi Ginny. What are you doing here?"

She gestured at the door a few feet away. "Umbridge wanted to see me. I take it she saw you. Did it go well?"

"Great. Just don't drink any tea. She has a truth serum with her."

"Isn't that illegal?" her eyes widened.

"It's Umbridge. Half the stuff she does is illegal," Ebony snorted.

"Is that what's bothering you though…the questioning with Umbridge?"

She bit her lip. "Yes and no…some of it has to do with a question Umbridge asked me. It shouldn't have bothered me as much as it did…it was a simple question. And she couldn't know the full truth…not many do."

"Does it involve," Ginny glanced around but saw no one. "Your real father?"

"No…not really…it involves my mother."

"Your mum?" Ginny frowned. "I never thought much about that. Suppose you have to have one though."

"She died when I was three."

"Oh…I'm so sorry," Ginny apologized.

"Don't be," Ebony was quick to correct her seeing as how her mother had affected their lives. At least affected Ginny's mum's greatly. "Don't feel sorry. My mum was an evil woman. Not nice at all. She…she was a Death Eater right and true to the very end. It's why she was killed. She was trying to kill people in the Order…my Dad being one of the ones she wanted dead so she could take me away and raise me the way she wanted. Her and the other Death Eaters with her tried to kill the members of the first Order. So they killed her and the others instead."

Ginny was shocked into silence and Ebony smiled a little. "It's all right…I never told anyone that before. Never really spoke of my mother."

"I can understand why," Ginny nodded. "Do you feel better about it though?"

Ebony nodded, feeling lighter already. One load had been removed from her mind. Now all she had to deal with was her Dad. "Yeah, I do…thanks Ginny."

"No problem," she stood up with Ebony. "Anytime you need it. I better be going in though."

"Right. Don't drink the tea," she warned her. "And, oh, Ginny."

The red head paused to turn to her. "Yes?"

Ebony smiled sideways at her. "I just want you to know…I think Harry likes you more than he lets on."

The younger girl blushed the same shade of her hair. "Wh-what makes you think I like Harry?"

"It's pretty obvious. And for the record, I have no interest in him. I think I'll stick to your brother."

"Don't see how you can? He's obnoxious and arrogant and not too bright at times."

"He's your brother. And I don't see how you can be interested in Harry. He's quiet and too brave and pities himself a lot at times and he's friends with your brother and he's always serious."

"He's a great guy and cute, he's perfect," she said and blushed having given herself away.

Ebony smiled with a nod. "He's my brother…I have a hard time seeing him in any other light. But your secret is safe with me."

Ginny let out a sigh of relief and went inside the room. Ebony turned on her heel and went down the stairs to the main hall that was empty save for a few students. Before she even knew where she was going she was in front of the statue speaking the password to Dumbledore's office and moving up the swirling stairs.

The professor sat behind his desk looking over documents deeply. He paused to look up and straightened in his chair when he saw it was Ebony. "Ebony? To what do I owe the honor of this visit?"

She shrugged and walked deeper into the room. "I just needed to talk."

"About what?" he said and motioned with his hand. A chair slid across the way to her and she sat down in front of his desk. He offered her a lemon drop and she declined.

"One being my mother."

"Your mother?"

"I imagine you must have known her."

He nodded slowly. "Yes…yes I did…bright girl. Very bright. She was just…"

"Evil," Ebony filled in the gap

"Lost is the word I was thinking of, but that works too. Your mother, Calandra Vibha, was beautiful and brilliant, it's how she caught your father's eye at such a young age…but her entire family came from Slytherin and many were Death Eaters and she knew of nothing else…I think your father wanted more than anything to save her from that fate as he had derailed himself from it having come from a family of Slytherin's and Death Eaters himself. When the two of them found out Calandra was expecting, Sirius had hoped it would sway her away from the Dark Lords calling. And both had agreed to keep you and her pregnancy a secret from all others. Not many knew, just Sirius's closest friends. I knew nothing of it till after you were born. And no one in Calandra's family knew. She was afraid they'd cast her out for being with a Gryffindor and she couldn't take the humiliation. And Sirius didn't want his family to know of you either. You live here in Hogwart's for the first few years of your life, a secret inside the walls and your father would take care of you between classes when he had time and your mother seemed to sweeten up. He had thought she had changed…we all did. Till she graduated the year you were born. It was all in vain. She embraced the Death Eaters call and became one of them almost immediately after she graduated. You stayed here since your father was still a student for two more years. He raised you practically on his own and Calandra would stop in once in a great while to see you, more interested to see if you would become marked with Death Royalty than anything because it would put her in deeper graces with the Dark Lord. She took you one day when you were young, passing you off as a friend's daughter to show you what Death Eater's did…she took you to witness one of her missions…"

"I remember," Ebony spoke suddenly. "It was Molly Weasley's younger brother's. Fabian and Gideon. Calandra and some of the others, mostly her family, tortured and killed them…I remember seeing them die."

Dumbledore was silent for a moment. "I didn't know you remembered that…you were only three."

"It's as far back as I can remember…just as I remember being told she was dead and not feeling sad about it because I was glad…I was glad my mum dead because she was so mean. I remember thinking she was so cruel and it was better this way. Besides…she tried to kill my dad, Sirius."

"Yes," he nodded. "She did. And Remus and James and the others in the Order at that time. I have a feeling there's more to this though…"

Ebony nodded. "It's my Dad…"

"Severus."

Ebony met his eyes, wondering how he knew. "Yes…"

"I've seen the tension between you two as of late. I wondered myself what was going on between you two."

She shook her head. "I don't know. I was hoping you did. He's been distancing himself from me more and more ever since summer…since Sirius was back in my life."

"It's natural he feels threatened by it. I expected it to say the least."

"I did too, just not this much. He doesn't talk to me anymore. He doesn't even look at me and he's…practically disowned me as his daughter," it hurt to even speak the thought aloud

"I highly doubt he'd ever throw you to the side, Ebony. Severus loves you more than he does himself. Your one of the few things he's ever loved in his life."

"Lily being the other."

Dumbledore nodded, "Yes…and after she died he was a broken man…and then he saw you nearly the same day he lost his best friend, the only person in the world who in the end caused a change in him and made him fight for the other side, and he seemed alive again. Because of you he found a part of himself he didn't know existed, he found the ability to love again in a manner he never knew and look past any differences because he saw not who you came from, but you. A little girl who had lost the only person she had known to love just as he had…and from that day you two bonded and you became Ebony Snape…just as you are today and that bond is still there. Or else you wouldn't be here talking to me. You'd be able to move on from any distance or problem you had with Severus without a blink of an eye…but you're here because you love your father and want to mend this, because you never doubted for a moment that he loved you too. And maybe he' doing this as a way to help you."

"To help me?" she repeated baffled.

"Yes…it's the only way Severus knows how. To cut you off from him emotionally in hopes you'll forget about him and move on. He's foolish to think you will though, to think he can move on and distance himself from you as well."

"Why would he do that, Professor?"

"To save you from choosing between your biological father and himself. As much as he hates Sirius he knows he's your father and feels you should be with him now. He feels that you'd be compelled to stay with him and he doesn't want to be the reason."

"But I don't want to stay with Sirius…I love him…but…"

"You prefer your life with Severus and the bond you have there."

"Yes…," she nodded her head. "I'm more at home with Severus. I feel in my heart it's where I belong, where I've always belonged."

Dumbledore smiled. "Exactly…and does Severus know this?"

Ebony blinked a few times and found she'd never had said those words to him. "No…"

"Maybe you should. You'd be amazed at what those few words can fix."

"I'll do that," she stood up from the chair and started heading towards the door. "Thank you, Professor."

"You're welcome, my girl. If you need to talk any more of it, let me know." He watched her leave and made a mental note to speak with Severus later on to make sure he understood Ebony as well. It was his duty after all, as a near grandfather to the young girl, to help mend things between the two.