I do not own Harry Potter. All rights go to J. K. Rowling as well as Warner brothers (For the movie rights).

Daughter of Darkness

Chapter Thirty-Two

Izzy hurried out of Twilfitt and Tattings, a very high-end formal robes shop, holding onto her dress. The thought of having to wear it made her want to puke; she'd never been a dress kinda girl. Always practical; dresses made it hard to run or kick a man in the nether regions.

"There's no need to run screaming from the building," Narcissa said dryly as she followed out behind her goddaughter.

"Yes there is! That woman is a menace, she must've stuck me a dozen times!" Izzy argued.

"She wouldn't have stuck you if you'd kept still," Narcissa said, holding back a smile.

"I would've been still if I hadn't had to stand on that stupid platform like a doll for an hour and a half! My school robes took less than half that time!" Izzy said as they walked back to the inn. Narcissa did laugh this time.

"That's because Madame Malkin is always making school robes and has plenty of pre-made patterns and sizes. Formal, custom dresses and robes are a bit different, dear," Narcissa said. Izzy grumbled at a low volume so that Narcissa wouldn't hear what she said. The older woman smirked in response. "You'll get used to it, dear, I promise. Andi and Bella hated shopping but eventually they gave in, even if you had to drag them around by the hand," she grumbled.

"Now that I believe. Andi still likes to dress well, even if it's not up to your particular taste in fashion," Izzy explained.

"That doesn't surprise me in the slightest. Andi was worse than your mother when it came to shopping. She hated the gaudy and extravagant dresses. Of the three of us, she was the one that paid attention the most, always flying under people's radars. Oh sure, everyone knew what your mother was capable of, and they were always respectful, but it was Andi they underestimated at their own peril," Narcissa explained. "Always sweet, tender, and kind until someone she loved was in danger of being hurt. Then she could be quite ruthless, almost blind to the consequences of her actions if she believed them just."

"Well…let's hope I never have to meet that side of Andi," Izzy said. "So what do we need to do now? And please don't say more shopping; my feet hurt enough as it is."

Narcissa smiled down at the blue haired witch.

"No more shopping for unnecessary things right now. Well…one necessary thing. There's a rune book I've been looking for, and I asked the shopkeeper in Knockturn Alley to keep an eye out for it. I want to see if he's found it yet," Narcissa said. Izzy nodded, though her heart pounded a little at the mention of that dark place. Her mind remembered the woman covered in scars that she had done herself; runes that the woman had carved into her own body. Right now, she was wishing for a moment alone with nothing happening so she could write in her rune journal or just flip her galleon in her fingers.

"Are you alright?" Narcissa asked. "It's alright if you don't want to go into the alley at all. I-"

"No. It's fine, Narcissa. We can go in. I've never been in there before is all. Spooked me that last time I was near it. Weird people and all that," Izzy explained. Narcissa nodded and placed her hand on Izzy's shoulder.

"It's alright. Just stick by my side and don't speak to anybody, no matter what they say. Keep your head up high, and act like you belong there," Narcissa said. Izzy nodded, more confident than she felt a minute ago, as Narcissa guided her to the entrance of Knockturn Alley.

"So," Izzy said trying to distract herself from looking everywhere but in front of her. "You like runes?" she asked. Narcissa chuckled.

"I was the best in my N.E.W.T class in ancient runes. Your mother was extremely jealous when I came home, she pretended she was mad at me for doing better than her. Rune work is easy to me. It's almost like they speak to me in a language only I can understand," Narcissa said as they turned down a dark street into a dank and dusty shop.

"What can I-" the man started to say until he saw Narcissa standing there. "I know what you're here for, Narcissa, but from the way I hear it, you're dirt poor now," he said, leering at her. Izzy watched as Narcissa drew herself up to her full height, just enough to peer down at the short shop keep.

"You heard wrong, Mathias," she said, nearly purring in satisfaction as he realized his error. "This is my goddaughter, and you may address her as the Lady Black, a young woman who has graciously accepted my return to the Black family." Narcissa stood aside as Izzy stepped forward, hands clasped behind her back. If her finger was on the release pad for her wand holster, nobody else knew it.

"My apologies, my Lady and Miss Black. I meant no disrespect," the man said.

"All's forgiven," Narcissa said with a gracious smile, though the clenched hand she hid behind her dress told Izzy she wasn't happy and all most certainly wasn't forgiven. "I trust you found the book I was looking for?"

"Of course, Miss Black. I'll have you know though, someone else has made an offer on it," he said, trying and failing to hide a greedy smile.

"Oh? And who might that be?" Narcissa asked sweetly, though inside she was seething that someone would try and snatch the book she'd been after for a year. One guess as to who it-

"Lord Malfoy, Miss," he said. Narcissa scowled.

"What was his offer?" she asked.

"One hundred galleons above our agreed upon price. I turned him down though. It wasn't easy finding this book and the ministry would have my head if they caught wind that I had it," the man responded.

"I'll give you three hundred on top right now," Narcissa said coolly. The man smiled and held out his hand. The older witch did not offer her own but turned to Izzy who nodded that whatever this was, she didn't particularly care too much. Narcissa was the one comfortable spending money, not her, so she figured if Narcissa bought things, at least the money would get spent and not sit in a vault forever.

"Here you go," the man said as he pulled a thick leather-bound book from somewhere under the counter. Narcissa nearly ran her hand over it but seemed to think better of it.

"Bill the vault," Narcissa muttered as she took a piece of parchment and a quill from the shop keeper, writing down the vault number. "And not a knut over," she growled. The man nodded and wrapped the book in cloth as Narcissa finally picked it up.

"I think we have everything now," she said cheerfully as they walked out of the shop and back into the dingy alley.

"So is it a good book?" Izzy asked, curiosity getting the better of her as she thought about the runes she could learn from her godmother.

"It's an old book, I'll tell you that," Narcissa said. "I've been looking for it for over a year now ever since I found a reference to it in another book from the Malfoy library."

"Oh. Are you going to miss that? I mean, everything you owned was there?" Izzy asked.

"In some ways I will. I'll miss my son the most but…like I said…Lucius has sunken his claws into him. I'm hoping to talk to him soon though, try and get him to see that his father doesn't really care about him," Narcissa explained.

"Well…I may not like him, but he's family now I suppose," Izzy said. "If you need me to do anything-"

"I'll let you know. Thank you," Narcissa said.

"So," Izzy started, changing the conversation. "I've got a formal dress, you've got your probably illegal book, what should we do now?"

"Well we can't very well go around carrying this book. As you said, it's very illegal. We'll drop this off at Gringotts and then head back to the inn where I can give you a crash course on the Wizengamot and how you're supposed to present yourself," Narcissa explained.

"Yay…sounds like a fun time," Izzy said, rolling her eyes in annoyance. She was getting sick of all this posturing. What was so wrong about showing up to the magical government in jeans, a t-shirt, and a jacket?

They were almost out of Knockturn Alley when Narcissa almost ran into someone.

"Oh, pardon me," she said politely. The woman merely smiled.

"Oh, don't mind me. Can't watch where I'm going on the best of days," the woman replied, gesturing to her glasses covering her eyes. The moment Izzy looked at the woman, she recognized her. "Well hello there, little lamb. Nice to see you again," she purred.

"Do you know each other?" Narcissa asked, inching ever so slightly closer to her goddaughter, just in case.

"Not really," Izzy confessed. "We met only briefly last year. She's the one who gave me this," she said, pulling out the runic galleon. "As well as my little journal."

"And how is the writing going in that old thing?" the woman asked. Izzy couldn't tell why the woman would be asking. It was hard to get a read on the mysterious person in front of her, yet she answered anyway.

"It's slow. I've been trying to translate the runes on the galleon for fun but...they're so intricate and complexly put together it seems near impossible," Izzy confessed. The woman laughed.

"Well it should be complex. The witch who made it for me was the smartest woman I ever knew," the witch answered sadly.

"Oh," Izzy replied awkwardly. The way the woman sounded, it implied her friend was dead. "Why are you wearing glasses this time? You didn't seem to care the last time I met you?" Izzy asked. The woman's face turned thoughtful before taking off her glasses, exposing her gray, lifeless eyes. Izzy noticed Narcissa's grow slightly wider in surprise. After all, blindness was very uncommon in magical society. The woman suddenly turned around and pulled her hair up, exposing a scar that sat directly on top of a rune at the nape of her neck.

"I suppose it wouldn't hurt to show you now how I pulled my disappearing act last year," the woman said. "I got cursed in the back and the wound cut right through the rune. I was lucky the backlash didn't kill me. As it stands, I can't heal it properly, nor can I simply repeat the rune," the woman explained.

"It also means you can't add anymore runes to your body," Narcissa added, almost thoughtfully. the woman smiled and wagged a finger at the blonde.

"Right you are," the woman said.

"Why not?" Izzy asked. Both of the older women looked at each other before the blind woman gestured with her hand. Narcissa looked down at her goddaughter.

"Because now, the magic within the rune scheme is unstable. Adding anymore might trigger a cascade. It's very easy to lose runes in a ward scheme or an array, but once lost, you can't add them back. Not without first tearing down the entire runic array. For this woman, it's simply too dangerous to start over," Narcissa said. The woman nodded.

"Eh, it's probably for the best I stopped anyway. Not enough space left other than my back. Can't reach it by myself," she joked, winking in Izzy's general direction. Then she suddenly clapped her hands together. "Well! Best be going now, got a few things I need to get and phoenix ashes are rare and wait for no man or woman when they're on the market! Lamb, good seeing you again, lovely meeting your godmother and all, but I'm afraid this is where we part ways. Though, I do have a feeling we'll be meeting again. Ta ta!" she exclaimed before jogging past Narcissa without waiting for either of them to say goodbye.

"What an odd woman," Izzy muttered.

"Yes," Narcissa agreed. "We'll be having a chat about being careful who you meet in this alley when we get back to our rooms," she muttered. Izzy groaned.

"Ugh, don't be like that. I've only met her one time, it's not like I gave her my address or anything!" she exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air. Narcissa chuckled and ruffled a head of gray hair.

"Alright. You're a big girl now. I don't need to tell you about strangers or anything like that," Narcissa joked. Izzy smirked and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Thank you. Now, let's get to Gringotts. Don't need anyone seeing this book," she suggested. Narcissa nodded in agreement and the two set off for the bank.

After dropping off the book at Gringotts, Narcissa and Izzy went back to the inn and sat in Narcissa's room.

"Alright, let's get this torture over with," Izzy said sarcastically. Narcissa gave a small scowl at Izzy's disregard for her station in life and the responsibilities that came with that. Izzy could see it and decided to explain. "It's not that I hate all this, it's just rather annoying. You've had your whole life to learn all this and I've got a few days. On top of that, after those few days of lessons, I'll be announcing my Ladyship to the entire governing body. I think I'm allowed to be annoyed after all the time I spent being sad about having to leave Minerva and then suddenly having a life I never asked for to begin with!" Izzy said, ending her rant with a glare, daring Narcissa to be upset about her justified anger.

"You're right," the older witch admitted. "You're right. Let's just get through the next two days, declare yourself to the Wizengamot, and then we can take a break from all of this."

"I just don't understand why this has to be done now," Izzy sighed, rolling her purple eyes.

"Because the longer you let it sit, the longer anyone who wants to contest your ladyship has to build a case against you. The biggest case against you is that you're too young. It's happened before, and you already have a way around that through me as your godmother. By law, I am your primary caregiver if something ever happened to your mother. Since she's in prison, I automatically gain custody of you."

"Anything else you can think of that they might throw at me?" Izzy asked.

"That you're muggle-raised and therefore couldn't possibly know anything about running a noble house. Knowing what I know about you, you'll learn quick, but they won't care. Knowing Lucius, he'll try and take it from you and then make Draco the heir of House Black. He won't though since you were born before him and from Bellatrix. The line of succession goes to you by default since Sirius abdicated and you're older then Draco," Narcissa explained.

"Oh! Thank you for reminding me!" Izzy said. She got up and went to the desk, penning a quick letter and sending it off with Artemis to wherever Sirius was hiding.

"What did you send?" Narcissa asked.

"A letter to Sirius telling him to start making his way to Grimmauld place even if it isn't habitable yet. I'll want him close by when I finally dig up enough evidence that there are at least oddities and inconsistencies in Sirius' incarceration," Izzy muttered. She had been mulling over Sirius' words from before the end of the school year, trying to think of a way to free Sirius and by extension, help Harry get away from his relatives which he still refused to talk about.

"Good idea. Where are you going to start?" Narcissa asked, sitting primly on the bed.

"With that bogus trial. There should be a record, right? I mean, muggles keep records of criminals and their trials. Don't wizards?" Izzy asked. Narcissa nodded.

"Yes. You'd find it in the hall of records. A very general name but you can sort through it fairly easily. The case will also have everything attached to it like evidence, witnesses, etcetera," Narcissa explained.

"Good. Sirius said that he doesn't remember any trial if there ever was one. That just doesn't sound right so I think if we can start there, we can find the thread and keep pulling it," Izzy said excitedly.

"Not that I'm questioning your motives but…why are you so invested in exonerating Sirius? You hardly know him," Narcissa said.

"First, he's family. Second, I believe he's innocent. Third and most importantly…he's Harry's godfather, and that means I can help Harry through Sirius by getting his godfather's freedom. Harry is one of my best friends, I'd do anything for him, and if that means using whatever power I suddenly have, I'll use it. I'll prove Sirius is innocent, and nothing is going to stop me," Izzy said.

"Powerful words for someone so young," Narcissa murmured. Izzy smirked, turning back to her aunt, her eyes full of mirth before she laughed.

"We're witches and wizards. Words literally do have power in this world," Izzy said. "Now, let's get started on you teaching me how to use them."

Two days later, with no responses from Sirius, Ron, or Harry, Izzy was set to appear before the Wizengamot. Today was the day of their summer meeting, and the next time would be in the middle of fall barring an emergency of some sort. Izzy didn't have that long to wait even if she wished she did. She had to declare herself now.

"Don't be nervous. You'll head in by yourself, declare your ladyship like we rehearsed, and when they ask you about your chosen proxy, you'll speak my name and I'll enter. Don't worry, you've got this," Narcissa said, giving a reassuring up and down rub to Izzy's shoulders. The younger witch took a breath and nodded. "Good. Now, you'll have to stand with the heirs before going in, but not for long. Just breathe."

"I got this. I'll see you soon," Izzy said. Narcissa grabbed her hand as she made to leave, turning her around.

"Remember to go left. The noble and most ancient houses sit on the left of the minister," Narcissa said. Izzy nodded and this time, Narcissa let her go.

Outside the room leading to the governing body of the wizarding world, Izzy saw a line of teenagers, all of which she knew of from Hogwarts. Theodore Knott, Neville Longbottom, Pansy Parkinson, Daphne Greengrass, Draco Malfoy, and Susan Bones. Izzy swallowed and stepped forward, her steps echoing with purpose down the hallway, causing everyone to look at her. Susan gave a kind smile, Daphne gave a respectful nod of her head, Pansy and Draco both scowled, and Neville…Izzy couldn't figure out the look on his face.

"Why did you even bother to come here, Verona? It's pointless. They're never going to allow a muggle-raised girl like yourself run a house like the Ancient and Noble house of Black," Draco drawled.

"I think we'll see about that, heir Malfoy. And it's Lady Black to you from now on," She said calmly. Draco's face twisted even further into a scowl.

"You think since you've got yourself a name, one you stole no less, that that makes you someone? No. You're still a gutter baby, one so worthless her own mother would've rather gone to jail than keep her," Draco said. Izzy let the words brush off of her, thinking of Narcissa's story and how much her mother had wanted her.

"I think you'll find, dear cousin, that I came by the Black name and ladyship quite legally," she retorted, flashing the house ring. "The wards to the ancestral home have accepted me, and the goblins recognize my claim."

"Those creatures are so greedy, they'll let anyone steal a noble name if it lines their pockets," Pansy hissed, tossing her nose in the air.

"You know that's not how the goblins work, Pansy," Daphne said coolly in Izzy's defense.

"Stay out of it, Greengrass," Pansy said with a glare.

"Wonder what Longbottom has to say about this?" Draco said with a smile that was all teeth. Behind her, Izzy could practically hear Neville cringe. She knew what her mother had done to his parents.

"You leave Neville out of this!" Izzy snarled. Propriety went out the window and flew off the cliff into the ocean the moment someone tried to hurt her friends. "Or should I give you the Granger special and break your nose this time?" Draco actually growled as Pansy held him back slightly.

"Just you wait. You're no better than a common muggle, no matter how much you try and pretty yourself up with your stolen abilities like a common whore," Pansy said. She pushed Draco back as he reluctantly turned back to the now opening door.

"Thanks Daph," Izzy muttered.

"Not a problem, Lady Black," Daphne replied curtly, though she sent a sly wink in Izzy's direction along with a curtsy. Izzy nodded and proceeded into the large room after Draco and Pansy had already gone in.

The Wizengamot was hushed as she stepped inside the large circular room. Many members of the Wizengamot looked at her with interest while others looked on with disdain. At the center was Dumbledore acting as Chief Warlock. It made her angry when she saw him, but she was able to cool her temper before her hair turned red.

"Ah, I believe we have a declaration of Head status of an ancient and noble house," Dumbledore said.

"That is correct, Chief Warlock," Izzy replied. A nod from Dumbledore and she stepped onto the center platform, her chin held high and eyes not looking at anyone in particular.

"My name is Lyra Morgana Black, now Lady by abdication to the most Ancient and Noble House of Black," Izzy declared loudly using her birth name.

"I object to her status," a calm voice echoed out over the crowd. Izzy turned to see Lucius standing smugly over his peers. "She has not even been raised in our world and is only fourteen. She is not ready for the weight of responsibility that comes with running an ancient house."

"I think you'll find, Lord Malfoy, that I am more than capable of running a house responsibly with my godmother by my side, teaching me everything I need to know. It is my intention today to declare a new seat holder until the day I become of voting age within this noble body of witches and wizards."

"And who might your proxy be?" Dumbledore asked.

"I name Narcissa Black as my voice within the Wizengamot until such a time as she no longer needs to be," Izzy declared, her voice echoing over the hushed voices.

Narcissa walked in confidently wearing Wizengamot robes (where she'd gotten them, Izzy could only guess). She followed behind Izzy, taking the seat several rows up and closer to Madame Bones than Izzy would've liked. Seeing the woman give a comforting smile to her made her feel guilty, guilty enough to rethink her decision on keeping quiet about her parentage.

"I think we should heavily reconsider allowing a teenage girl to run an ancient and noble house, especially one with such history as the House of Black," Malfoy continued.

"I think you'll find, Lord Malfoy, that the House of Black chose me. Sirius Black was the previous Lord, a detail that Arcturus missed when his grandson was banished from the family by his mother. Sirius Black abdicated his lordship, and the family magic passed to me."

"I see no reason to strip her of her title," Minister Fudge butt in from his seat in the center. "We always need new blood in these hallowed halls. I say let her keep her position for now and we'll see how it goes!"

With the Ministers support behind her, Izzy was easily sworn into the Wizengamot, though not without any grumbling from the darker families.

She sat through the boring meeting feeling like her eyes were going to roll out the back of her head. Everything was so confusing. Why couldn't people say what they meant or wanted to say? Why all this posturing?

As Dumbledore banged his gavel, calling the gathering to an end, Izzy nervously stood with the rest of the Wizengamot and began filtering out of the gathering hall. She gave a nod to Narcissa directed at Madame Bones' back and received a comforting nod in return.

"Be brave," Narcissa whispered as Izzy's hand slipped out of her own.

"Madame Bones," Izzy called once she was close enough. Her face turned a bit red when she saw the head of the DMLE talking with Minister Fudge and realized she had interrupted something between them. "Sorry. I can-"

"Nonsense," Fudge said giving her a rather wide smile. "Amelia and I were just wrapping up, Lady Black."

"Oh, the whole 'Lady' thing isn't necessary, Minister," Izzy said, slightly embarrassed at shaking the hand of a man who was just last month the Minister for Magic and was now her somewhat colleague.

"Nonsense! Your name is due the respect it deserves," Fudge said. "Had I known who you were last month, I would've stopped by and chatted more!"

"Had I known who I really was last month, I think I'd have tried to do more than chat," Izzy said. Fudge froze at her words, but she gave him a disarming smile. "Oh well. Missed opportunities and all that!" she said. Fudge smiled.

"Of course, of course," he said, clapping his hands together. "Oh, there's Lucius. You wanted to talk to Amelia, so I'll leave you to that! I do look forward to working with you and your godmother in the near future," he called as he dashed off.

"Energetic man isn't he," Amelia said, though Izzy could hear a slight amount of disdain for him in her voice.

"Yes I suppose, though I haven't known him long enough to really form…opinions of my own," Izzy replied. Amelia smiled.

"Well, you'll learn fast," she said before looking down at the younger witch. "Was there something you wanted?" Izzy shifted nervously, her hair flushing from blue to gray in a second.

"I was hoping to talk to you about a few things and, uhhh, maybe do it privately?" she asked. Amelia studied her for a moment before nodding.

"Alright. Come along, we'll go to my office," she said. Izzy let out a nervous breath and followed behind the older witch.

"So...where's Susan? I thought she'd be here today?" Izzy asked awkwardly. Amelia smiled at the mention of her niece, something Izzy noticed, and her hair slowly went gray, something Amelia noticed but didn't comment on. Instead, she said,

"Susan was confirmed as my heir last year during the fall session of the Wizengamot after her fourteenth birthday," Amelia explained.

"Oh! I didn't realize that she was older than most of our year," Izzy said, blinking in surprise.

"Yes," Amelia chuckled. "She was very disappointed that she missed the cutoff date for Hogwarts acceptance and had to wait another year."

"Oh, that makes sense," Izzy chuckled nervously.

When they reached her office, Amelia closed the door as Izzy took a seat in front of the desk. Amelia sat behind it and took off her official robes.

"So, what was it you needed to talk about?" Amelia asked gently. She could see the young girl was nervous, practically shaking, and the way her hair seemed to be getting a darker and darker gray suggested she was getting really worked up about something if the older metamorph she knew was anything to go by. "Take a deep breath. Whatever it is you have to say, just say it. I promise I won't react negatively," she said, drawing on her experience of raising Susan like her own child.

"I have something, well, several somethings I have to tell you and I wanted to say that in no way are these two incidents related and I can't even talk to you about the second incident right now but I-" Izzy took a breath and felt like she was going to puke. How would Amelia react? How would Susan? "When I went to Gringotts to have my lineage worked out on the word of someone I wasn't sure I completely trusted, I discovered quite a few things about my parentage."

There, she said it. Or at least, started to.

Amelia sighed.

"Look…I know who your mother is…I can't exactly let you go and see her, no matter how much you want to or how high up in the Wizengamot you are now," she said gently. Izzy shook her head.

"No…I know that, Narcissa explained that to me," Izzy said. "Merlin I'm mucking this all up. I'm sorry," she said. "I discovered something about my…my father. Who he was," Izzy said quietly.

Amelia stared blankly at her, and Izzy could see the wheels turning.

Amelia wasn't a stupid woman. Far from it. She hadn't gotten to be head of the DMLE by being stupid, and she'd been an auror before that, a damn good one. She looked at all the evidence in front of her, reevaluating it after she'd misinterpreted Lyra's words about her parents to mean she'd wanted to see her mother.

The girl was nervous, nearly hyperventilating, and then she mentions about her father? She had a sneaking suspicion she knew where this was going, but she needed to know for sure.

"Who is your father?" Amelia asked gently, reaching out a hand that Izzy didn't take.

"Your brother," she said.

There. It was done. She looked up to see stunned eyes, not the furious one's she'd been afraid of.

"Edgar…he…"

"Yes," Izzy whispered. "The Goblins test said so. I'm sorry for not coming to you sooner but I didn't know what to say. I wasn't evening planning on telling you yet, but you looked at me when I sat down in that massive, ugly looking room and I thought that you didn't deserve to find out anytime but as soon as possible. If there's one thing I've learned over the years, it's that the truth comes out eventually, whether one is ready or not," Izzy said, finishing her rambling and playing with her fingers, twisting them this way and that.

"Wise words for one so young," Amelia said, still looking shocked at the young woman in front of her. Her second niece.

"I'm sorry if this is…inconvenient in any way I…I never wanted that."

"No," Amelia said to reassure the girl. "Don't' be sorry. You needed time, and I understand that. I appreciate your honesty; I can't imagine how hard this was for you. Susan's told me all about you, funnily enough…told me a little about your past, how you've lived with Minerva the past few years. Thank you, for trusting me enough to tell me."

"I've wanted to know who my family was for the past fourteen years of my life. I thought you deserved to know even if you or Susan didn't want me around," Izzy said, her gray hair lightening a bit. Amelia gave a kind smile, the skin around her eyes bunching up, the strands of gray hair standing out in the offices light.

"Have you thought about telling Susan?" Amelia asked.

"I have but…I wanted to tell you first and give you the option. I won't tell her if you don't want me to and I can-"

"Susan's always wanted a sibling, a sister especially," Amelia interrupted. "She's calmed down in the last few years but as a child…well, I couldn't exactly explain why I couldn't give her a brother or sister." Amelia's words were met with a laugh.

"Got that a few times at the orphanage I grew up in. Parents would come in looking for a kid who their bio kid could play with. Bloody annoying those kinds of people were, even if the kid wasn't so bad. Siblings though are a bit of a hassle, I'll tell you that," Izzy said, cracking a joke to try and help ease the tension. Amelia looked slightly amused before dropping her head in her hands.

"I think Susan ought to know. Like you said, the truth will come out one way or another. Why don't you come to the Ossuary next week, maybe go to Diagon Alley after talking to her and collect your school supplies at the same time. We can all get to know one another then. Does that sound alright?" Amelia asked.

"I'd have to check with Narcissa, but I think I can escape my pureblood lessons for a day," Izzy said, eliciting a smirk from the older witch.

"She's your godmother, I presume?" Izzy nodded. "Do you know who the godfather is?"

"No, I'm afraid not. I suspect there isn't one seeing as my – Bellatrix, didn't exactly have too many friends towards the end of the war," Izzy said.

"That's alright. I don't think it matters anyway, so long as you have a guardian who cares about you. How long has Narcissa known?" Amelia asked.

"Since day one by accident. She was in Gringotts when the ring appeared on my finger. I was…kind of in shock," Izzy chuckled. "She just honed in on me and took me to fortescue's and we had a bit of ice cream before I went back to Minerva's," Izzy said. "Speaking of getting back, Narcissa's probably waiting for me."

"Of course," Amelia said, standing and moving to the other side of the desk. Izzy stood as well and the two walked to the door. "Oh, what was the second thing you mentioned?"

"I…well I don't think I should tell you in case you don't believe me. Fudge sure didn't when Hermione, Harry, and I told him," Izzy muttered.

"Well it can't hurt," Amelia prompted. Izzy nodded her head slightly.

"Alright. Here goes. Sirius Black is innocent and Peter Pettigrew is still alive," Izzy said.

Amelia froze. That had been the last thing she'd expected her recently discovered niece to say.

"I'm sorry. What did you say?" Amelia asked.

"I said, Sirius Black is innocent, and Peter Pettigrew is still alive. I saw the both of them a month ago and it was Sirius who abdicated his lordship, naming me his heir and handing it to me. He even wrote me a letter about it," Izzy said. Amelie took a calming breath.

"I think you'd better come to my house sooner rather than later so we can talk about how you've met with an escaped convict and a dead man with three of your friends," Amelia said.

"Of course," Izzy sighed. "Or maybe you could meet me at the Leaky Cauldron? I've been staying there with Narcissa until Grimmauld is habitable again. We could meet tomorrow?"

"Yes. Tomorrow then…be prepared for a lot of questioning," Amelia warned.

"Of course. Thank you for hearing me out when you didn't have to," Izzy said softly as she opened the door to Amelia's office.

"It was my pleasure to officially meet you, Lyra. Oh and just so you know," Amelia said as Izzy made her way out of the office. She almost had the door closed. "Because you're my niece, I won't stop hounding you on joining the auror corp," she said with an amused smirk. Izzy laughed and left the office, heading back to the Leaky Cauldron for the rest of the day.

A/N: So here's the end of the chaotic chapters for the most part. The little experiment will continue into the next chapter, but it'll end there. These past two chapters are very important to the overall story as this is where it truly begins in my opinion, these past three chapters have set up storylines that will play a key factor through fourth year and the last two have set up something more for the immediate future.

Red=angry

Gray=nervous/anxious/irritated

Orange=happy/excited

Blue=sad/overwhelmed

Purple=worried/concerned/frustrated

Green=jealous/suspicious

Brown=content/relaxed

Yellow=afraid/shocked

Pink=amusement/surprise

Silver=determination

Light blue=embarrassment