Disclaimer: Howdy strangers…I don't own this…well I guess I own the plot…and Ebony…but nothing else…ah well.

THIS STILL CONTAINS SPOILERS FROM THE 5TH BOOK…I WARNED YOU LAST TIME…DON'T READ IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THE BOOK!

I don't really have anything to say at the moment except that I have decided to dedicate this chapter to my number 2 fan charliegirl . . . with reviews like yours I think I'm going to have to make you an equal first.

On with the show!

Chapter 3: In her eyes

Harry sat in stunned silence. Did Remus just say that the girl standing in front of him was Sirius' daughter? How could that be? How did he, Harry, not know about this? There had to be some mistake, yes that would be it, he had heard wrong. Clearing his throat slightly he looked up at Lupin and said

"Excuse me?"

"Harry, this is Ebony, she's Sirius' daughter"

"S-Sirius' d-daughter? Are, are you sure?" he stuttered

Lupin smiled "Yes Harry"

"Oh, Oh ok" Harry blinked a few times still trying to let this piece of information sink in. He turned around to see how the others were reacting. Ron's mouth was hanging open, Hermione was muttering under her breath, Fred and George just seemed surprised, Tonks was grinning, Mrs Weasley was looking teary eyed, Moody seemed to be unruffled and Dumbledore had that twinkle in his eyes; of course he already knew. Lupin turned to look at Ebony.

"Ebony, now that you've been introduced you why don't I introduce everyone else?"

The girl nodded.

"Alright, firstly there's Tonks, she's actually related to you Ebony but I'll go into that later, then Alastor Moody; an Auror and a part of the Order. Next Molly Weasley; she's the mother of the group, then her children Fred and George – they're twins – and Ron. There's also Bill, Charlie, Percy and Ginny and her husband but they aren't here. Then there's Hermione Granger, a Hogwarts student and Ron and Harry's friend, then Albus Dumbledore; Hogwarts Headmaster and leader of the Order of the Phoenix. And last but not least we have Harry Potter; your fathers Godson.

In turn everyone in the group got up and shook hands with Ebony who accepted their hands politely but did not utter one word. When it came to Harry he too got up to shake her hand in welcome. When he took her hand a strange warmth spread up his arm, startled he looked into her eyes, something sparked in them. Quickly he dropped her hand and went back to his seat. Her eyes were so much like Sirius', yet there was something else there, some spark, a thrilling life force, whatever it was it had unsettled him.

Harry tuned out for the rest of Remus' speech. He simply sat thinking about how completely odd this whole scenario was. If anyone had told him last year that he'd be meeting his dead godfather's non existent daughter he would have laughed, called them crazy and walked away. But now, faced with that very situation all he could do was sit. Sit and think. He stayed in his own private dream world until he heard someone calling his name.

"Oi! Harry! Wake up!"

It was Ron; he was waving his hand in front of Harry's face in an attempt to pull him from his thoughts. Harry swatted his hand away.

"Ron! I'm alive! I'm awake! What d'you want?" he cried

"Me and Hermione are being sent to bed, so we're just saying goodnight"

"Oh, right, I'll come up with you then" Harry said standing up

""Nah mate, don't you listen?" Harry shook his head at Ron "You have to stay here, Dumbledore wants a word"

"Okay" Harry said sitting back down again "I'll err, I'll see you two in the morning then"

"Of course, goodnight Harry" Hermione bent down and planted a kiss on his cheek before turning to leave with Ron.

Harry looked around the room and was shocked to see that it now only held himself, Dumbledore and Ebony. Dumbledore caught his eyes and beckoned for Harry to sit closer to him. Slowly Harry got to his feet and made his way to where Dumbledore and Ebony were seated. He sat down in an overstuffed armchair directly in front of the two of them.

They all sat in silence for a moment before Dumbledore decided to speak.

"Harry, Ebony, I can not imagine what this is like for the both of you. You Harry have just been informed that your late godfather has a daughter that you did not know existed. And you ebony have travelled from the other side of the globe to attend your father's funeral and to join us at Hogwarts. The peculiarity of these events must be overwhelming for the both of you yet I know that you will handle these situations wonderfully. That said, I myself must be going. I would like for you to stay and talk with each other before going to bed. I believe that it would benefit the both of you greatly. Goodnight Harry, Ebony, don't stay up for to long"

Dumbledore got up to leave the room. He paused however and turned back around to face the two silent teenagers.

"Before I go, would either of you care for a lemon drop?" he asked

 Harry snorted and shook his head but Ebony remained still.

"No? Well I'll be off then, Goodnight"

Dumbledore swept out of the drawing room leaving only Harry, Ebony and an uncomfortable silence. After a while Harry cleared his throat.

"So err, where are you from?" he asked

Ebony looked up from her hands.

"Um, Australia" she answered quietly

Harry realised then that that was the first time he had heard her speak. Ebony had a melodious voice that definitely carried a distinct Australian accent.

"Err, where in Australia?" he queried

"Brisbane" she replied

"Oh ok" Harry said not having any clue where Brisbane was.

They lapsed into silence again. Finding nothing to say Harry simply looked at Ebony. He saw so much of Sirius in her; his eyes, his cheekbones – only more feminine - , the straightness of her nose, the way her hair fell around her face. There was no denying that this was Sirius' daughter.

"Why are you looking at me?" her voice startled Harry and he quickly looked away blushing.

"I see so much of him in you" he replied softly "It's hard not to look, it's just, I miss him so much"

Harry looked back around. Ebony had silent tears running down her cheeks. Her eyes were boring into him, seeming to analyse whether or not he was truly feeling this way. Suddenly Harry found himself in a warm embrace. Ebony had obviously decided that he was truthfully feeling the same pain as her and had gotten up from the couch and thrown her arms around him. Amazingly Harry didn't feel the slightest bit uncomfortable with this. He tentatively placed his arms around her and rested his chin on her head. He could feel her sobs wracking her body and he gently rubbed her back. Finally he had found someone with the same emotions as him. Even though Lupin was evidently distraught he could not feel like had lost a father, rather a best friend or a brother. But now Harry was able to show the depth of his loss because Ebony was clearly feeling the same. So for the first time since it had happened, Harry cried, small tears slid down his pale cheeks leaving glistening trails.

They stayed like that for quite a long time; Ebony clinging to Harry with her face nestled into his chest and Harry rubbing her back comfortingly. Neither felt uncomfortable for both needed the warmth and understanding the other could give.

After a while Ebony removed her head from where it was buried in Harry's chest and tilted it up to look at him.

"I'm sorry" she muttered "it's just, you know how I feel. No one else can come close. And you knew him so well"

Harry smiled "I feel exactly the same"

He tightened his grip around her waist and she leant back into him.

"Can you imagine the looks on everyone's faces? I mean, I've known you around two hours and I've only said a few sentences to you. Yet here we are, clinging to each other for dear life. It's kinda funny really" he chuckled

"It is, isn't it?" she replied "but, as odd as this may sound, I feel . . . safe with you. Does that make sense?"

"Perfect sense" Harry answered

"Hmmm, well, I s'pose we should go to bed. Do you know where I'm sleeping?" Ebony questioned

"I s'pect in Hermione's room, there's a spare bed in there. I'm sure there are more bedrooms but I reckon you'll be with Hermione so you have some company. Do you want me to take you up?"

She nodded and removed herself from their hug. Harry got up after her and they made their way to where Hermione was sleeping. Slowly Harry opened the door.

The room was pitch black but he could hear the sound of Hermione's heavy breathing. Slowly and careful not to make any noise Harry guided Ebony over to the spare bed. He could see the outline of a trunk at the foot of it.

"Your trunks over there if you want to get some pyjamas" he whispered

"Nah, S'alright, I'm too tired to be bothered" she replied

"Alright then, G'night Ebony, it was great to meet you" Harry said

"You too Harry, and thankyou" Ebony replied

"What for?" he asked

"For understanding, you don't realise how it feels to finally find someone who knows what I'm going through"

"S'ok, I should be thanking you for the same thing" he replied

"Ah, we're a right pair aren't we?" she asked

"Certainly are. Anyway, if you need anything, and I mean anything at all, just come and get me ok? My room's the third door down from here"

"Alright then, see you in the morning"

"Night"

"G'night"

Harry stepped out of the room and shut the door behind him. Quietly as he could he made his way up the hall to his and Ron's room. When he opened the door he was bathed in light. Apparently Ron had decided to wait up for him.

"Hey, you took your time" Ron stated as Harry walked into their room "What'd you find out about her?"

"Err, not much; just that she's from Brisbane in Australia" Mumbled Harry.

"It took you an hour and a half to find out that she's from Australia! How the heck did that happen?" Ron demanded

"Oh, I err found that out straight away"

"Ok, then what did you do for the rest of the time? You weren't . . . y'know?

"What?! No way! She was just upset so we sat together, just err comforting each other I s'pose"

"A likely story" Ron said grinning slyly at Harry flushing cheeks

"Whatever" Harry muttered turning around to fetch his pyjamas. He slipped back out of the room and into the bathroom to get changed. When he returned Ron was still sitting up in his bed grinning.

"Ya know mate, there's nothing to be ashamed of" he said as Harry turned off the lights "I'm actually rather jealous, I mean, bloody hell, I haven't even had a girlfriend yet!"

"We didn't do anything!" Harry exclaimed as he climbed into bed

"Even if you didn't you still had Cho last year" Ron replied yawning

"Oh yes, now that was a great time. Let me back track, first she cried all over me, then she went all girly, the jealous of me and Hermione, the she tried to make me jealous by bringing up Cedric. Then she got angry at me 'cause I yelled when her snitchy little friend ratted on us! Oh yes, we had a ball!" Harry replied sarcastically

"Oh"

Let me tell you Ron, It's not all it's cracked up to be"

"Oh"

"G'night Ron" Harry sighed

"Oh, G'night Harry"

Harry settled back into his pillows and started to drift off to sleep. His thoughts were full of dark haired girls crying all over him, first Cho then Ebony. Strange really, he seemed to be a magnet for them, but he had a feeling that Ebony was different. What was so different about her he couldn't put his finger on, but there was something there, in her eyes . . ."

TBC . . .

Oh, and if you would be so kind . . . perhaps you could leave a comment, I really need some feedback. MERCI!