Author's Note: I am so very sorry for the long wait, I don't anticipate it happening again but I'm not making promises anymore because I obviously can't keep them. I hope you enjoy the chapter. *hides from your wrath*


Ariana sat on the couch in the common room, reading over her Potions textbook. There were still four weeks until exams, but she really had to do well on this one, because Professor Snape already hated her.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione were sitting on another one of the couches, and she was avoiding saying anything to them. She didn't like talking to Harry anymore, it felt too awful keeping secrets from him. If she really was keeping them both safer by keeping this a secret, then she would do that. But she certainly wasn't going to like it.

"D'ya think that'll work on Malfoy?" Ron's voice drifted over.

"Probably not," said Harry.

"If Malfoy cared about the law, this appeal wouldn't be necessary," Hermione said.

"Don't worry," said Ron. "We'll find a way to save Buckbeak."

"Do you want help with that?" Ariana asked, before she could stop herself.

They all looked over at her.

"Any help would be appreciated," said Hermione. "Do you know anything about the laws governing magical creatures?"

"Um... I've read Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them," Ariana said.

"Well, if you could pick up a book and read over the laws, that would be incredibly helpful."

"Sure." She picked one up.

"Why are you helping?" Ron asked.

"Buckbeak did nothing wrong. I love animals, and I hate people who are cruel to them. Also, Lucius Malfoy is a terrible person and I really want to see him brought down."

"Well, that's a good reason if there ever was one," said Ron. "After what he pulled on Ginny last year..."

"Yeah."

She read through the book. "Since Hagrid told them exactly what to do and Malfoy didn't do it, isn't he the one at fault?"

"Course he is," said Harry. "But the Ministry's not going to listen to that."

"I thought the government was supposed to be fair," Ariana said with a sigh.

Hermione snorted. "Who told you that?"

"My parents. They work for the American government."

"Well, not saying anything about them, but the government is rarely trustworthy."

"Oh, they're a couple of liars," Ariana snorted. "I suppose it makes sense. If they can lie to their daughter for twelve years, they can probably deceive the public."

"What did they lie to you about?"

"Who my parents were. Turns out, they knew all along."

"Wait, you found out who your parents were?" Ron asked.

"Yeah." It registered with her vaguely that Harry had known for months, but Ron and Hermione did not.

"Who are they?" Hermione asked.

She sighed. She hated the lying, why had she put herself in another scenario where she would have to? "Nobody you'd have heard of. Just a regular old wizard family. Died when their house burnt down, could have been because of the war, could not have been. But the thing is, my parents knew. And not telling me, that was just wrong of them. It's what adults do. They keep secrets from children because they think we can't handle the truth. But I hate it."

"You hate it now," said Hermione. "But once you're an adult, you'll probably find yourself keeping secrets too. That's kind of how it goes."

"Maybe a fancy lie could save Buckbeak."

"Oh? How so?"


"So," said Ginny. "Can you believe our second year is nearly over?"

"Really having a hard time processing it, actually." When this year ended, she had to go home. No more avoiding. She had to confront her parents about why they had lied to her for her entire life, about why they had kept her identity from her, kept from her the fact that she had a brother. She dreaded it, because she knew it wasn't going to end well. Of course, she couldn't exactly voice that thought to Ginny.

"Thank goodness this year is less eventful than last year," Ginny said.

Ariana snorted. "Tell me about it. May we never have another year as chaotic as last year again."

"Why do I have the feeling it's never going to be peaceful like this again while we're at Hogwarts?"

"Because crazy things are happening all around us. All the time."

"Yeah. Me getting possessed by a diary, you finding out who your parents are-"

Ariana nearly jumped out of her seat. "How did you-"

"Hermione mentioned it in conversation. Assumed I would already know. Why didn't I, Ariana?"

She swallowed; what answer could she possibly give? "Honestly, it just kind of slipped my mind. I only told Ron and Hermione because it came up."

"And Harry."

"What?"

"Ron and Hermione, and Harry."

"Oh. Well, Harry already knew. He found me right after I found out, and I kind of just ended up telling him."

"So you told Harry first? About how your parents had been keeping your identity secret from you your entire life?"

"It was a coincidence, he was mad that people had kept the Sirius Black stuff secret from him."

"What Sirius Black stuff?"

Ariana recounted the tale to Ginny; part of her thought that maybe Harry should have the right to tell people the story or not, but then, they were her parents too, so shouldn't she get that right as well?

"Oh my god," said Ginny. "That's terrible."

"I know."

"I can't believe Sirius Black would betray your parents like that."

"Yeah, it's awful."

"Ha! Caught you."

Ariana gasped. "Ginny..."

"I figured it out. It's the only reason you wouldn't have told me. You told Harry first because he's your brother!"

"I didn't tell him who they were. Just about the secret. It just came up."

"So you told him the same story you told Ron and Hermione?"

"Pretty much."

"It's still the only reason you wouldn't have told me. Someone told you not to."

She swallowed. "Dumbledore."

"Dumbledore himself?"

"He was the one who told me, because I kept asking Professor Lupin. He didn't know either. It's a closely guarded secret, and I wasn't supposed to tell anybody."

"Well, you didn't tell me, did you?"

"I guess not."

"Right. So, you're fine. Now. How on earth are you Harry Potter's sister?"

As she recounted the tale, Ariana felt a huge weight lift off her chest. She didn't have to keep secrets from Ginny anymore. "I'm sorry," she said at the end. "I know we're supposed to be honest with each other, and you told me about the Chamber..."

"Look, I was mad when Hermione first told me," said Ginny. "But if Dumbledore told you not to tell anybody, what were you supposed to do?"

"Thank you for understanding."

"Hey, what are friends for?"