A/N: Thanks for the reviews. Glad you are enjoying this. Let me know how you think I did on characterizations here. I don't THINK I went too far off the mark on anyone in this story, but you may not agree. Also, I know there are a few things that might be "unlikely" or "wrong", but I tried to stay pretty true to canon and known facts. Hopefully most of my "made up" stuff is where JKR didn't give us much detail.

Chapter 13

I stepped from the fireplace at the Weasleys and brushed the soot from my cloak. Harry hurried in from the other room and soon had me wrapped in a hug. He didn't look good. The dark circles under his eyes and the drawn look to his face told me he hadn't slept much, if any, during the night.

Mrs. Weasley had followed him and now hurried forward. "Come on, you two. I'll fix you something to eat and then it's off to bed with the both of you," she said. To me she added, "I tried to get him to sleep last night, but he insisted on sitting up all night by the fire in case you returned." I snuck another look at Harry, particularly his eyes, and was convinced that the hollow look I saw there had more to do with his ordeal at the Malfoy's than anything else, though I was sure he hadn't mentioned it to anyone.

We ate in silence and when it was clear we were done, Molly shooed us upstairs. I'm pretty sure it isn't what she intended, but Harry led me to the room he was sharing with Ron and we settled down on his bed together, still in our clothes. He wrapped his arms around me, and then gave a ragged sigh and finally seemed to relax. A moment later I could tell from his breathing he had dropped off to sleep. I wasn't far behind.

By the time I awoke, the wintry sun was streaming through the window. I rolled over to look at Harry, who was still deeply asleep beside me. I reached over and gently stroked his face, saddened to still see stress reflected there despite his slumber. He was far too young to look so old. I snuggled closer to him and wept. I knew things were going to get worse before they got better, and I could only hope he was up to it.

I was content to lay there with him all day, but decided it would be best to get up and see what was going on. I slipped gently out of his arms and slid out of bed. I wasn't sure where my bag had ended up so, for the time being, it looked like I was stuck in my dirty, smelly, slept-in clothes.

I left the room, closing the door behind me and made my way downstairs. I found Ron and Hermione snuggled together on the couch in the parlor, and sat down to join them. We all just looked at each other for a few moments, not entirely knowing what to say. Finally, Hermione ventured, "Is Harry still asleep?"

I nodded and rubbed my face, "He still looks exhausted." She grimaced, but made no comment.

"Do we know what's going on?" I asked.

Ron looked at Hermione and then said, "Dad's gone to the office, at the Ministry of Magic, to see what he can find out there. I know Dumbledore came to see him earlier, but I don't know what was said. So far, I think they want us to stay put."

I looked around, "Where's Draco?"

Hermione glanced awkwardly at Ron before telling me, "Ginny took him for a walk. I'm not sure either of them really wanted to go, but I think she thought it might be a good idea to get him out of the house for a while. Things are a bit tense with him here."

I nodded again and glanced at my watch. It was already nearly 1:00. "Maybe I'll go find them. See how Draco's doing... Did he and Harry tell you what happened last night? About his father?"

They nodded in unison and then Ron blurted out, "Serves him right!"

I stood up and said quietly, "I hope you're referring to Lucius." His face reddened a bit, but he only shrugged noncommitally.

Before I could leave the room, Hermione stood and asked, "Deandra? How are you doing it? I mean, it just doesn't make sense all the things you're supposed to have done and all the different places you were supposed to have been last night. How could you get around that much that fast?"

I stopped in the doorway and looked back at her, "Not now, Hermione. But I promise, you'll know soon enough." It didn't seem to entirely satisfy her, but she accepted it.

I found my cloak on a rack near the door and slipped it on, stepping out into the cold air. That more than anything helped to wake me more fully. A light snow had fallen during the night, adding to what was already on the ground. It was easy to follow the two sets of footprints out across the yard, and I did so, assuming they belonged to Ginny and Draco. The exercise felt good and I hoped I wouldn't find them too soon.

I passed the garden and headed into a wooded area, continuing on quite a way before it opened out onto a large pond. I could see them on the far side of the pond and they spotted me almost immediately, signalling for me to join them and heading in my direction.

Draco promptly gave me a hug as soon as we were together, while Ginny stood awkwardly nearby. I pulled back and looked at him closely, "How are you holding up?" He shrugged, and Ginny took that as her cue to make an exit.

"You two will want to talk. I'll see you back at the house," she began, but Draco reached out and caught her by the arm.

"It's okay. You can stay," he told her, and I cocked an eyebrow at him curiously. He hesitated, then told me, "Ginny's been really good about keeping her family at bay, especially Ron. None of them are too keen on my being here."

I smiled in her direction and commented, "Somehow that doesn't surprise me very much. Ginny has a way of getting people to cooperate. Guess it comes from all those years she's had to deal with six brothers."

Ginny blushed pink, but said nothing and I turned my attention back to Draco. "Seriously, how are you doing? Has it really hit you yet?"

His jaw tightened, "Yeah, around 3:00 this morning. Can't really imagine my life will be any worse than it was before though."

I sighed and told him quietly, "Everybody always makes a big deal about how wonderful a family is, Draco, but the truth is what you had really wasn't a family. It was just three people living in the same house. It isn't like that for everyone - it doesn't have to be like that. If life cheated you out of a real family, then just make one of your own choosing. I never knew my parents but I have had a happy family with my aunt and uncle. Harry lived with a miserable aunt and uncle who let him know every single day of his life that they didn't like him and didn't really want him around. Now his family consists of friends from Hogwarts and an old school chum of his parents, not to mention the Weasleys practically adopting him. Find your own family, Draco - a true family - and don't give your parents another thought. They won't appreciate the effort you put into thinking about them and they haven't earned that much attention from you. You've made a good start already - you have me and you have Ginny."

Tears were slipping down Ginny's face, and she took his hand in hers. When he looked at her in surprise, she nodded fervently, "She's right." I leaned over and gave him another hug, and Ginny joined in as well. The three of us just stood there in the snow and sun, and held onto each other for quite awhile. When finally we stepped apart, Draco had to quickly wipe at his face also, though he tried not to let us see.

"Don't know about you two," I said, "But I'm starved! What say we go scare up some food?" They both agreed and we headed back to the house with me and Ginny on either side of Draco.

Once in the kitchen, Ginny set about finding something for us to eat. Harry stumbled in just as we sat down to eat our sandwiches and settled himself in the chair beside me. I cut my sandwich in two and gave him half, and he gave me a weak grin, pushing his glasses up on his nose. We mostly ate in silence and were almost done when Mr. Weasley Apparated into the room.

He sat down to join us and filled us in, "Well, still no word at the Ministry that I can find about Lucius and Bellatrix being dead. If anyone there knows, they aren't talking. Dumbledore will be checking in here shortly and I expect he'll want you lot back at Hogwarts, so you ought to have your things ready to go." We all nodded our understanding, and he turned to look more closely at me, "And I expect he'll be wondering how it is you were able to defeat two full-grown wizards on your own."

The others glanced at me, but I just shrugged, "Technically, I didn't kill them. I just outsmarted them. They basically committed suicide."

Draco gave a mirthless laugh and commented, "I'll bet Bellatrix's face looked even more shocked than my dear father's did!"

Mr. Weasley was still eyeing me curiously, but left it at that. He turned to Ginny, "Where's your mother?"

"Went to the market. She should be back soon." He nodded and rose from the table. Ginny stood as well and began clearing our plates and I got up to help her.

Behind me, still at the table, I heard Harry say to Draco, "I guess I never really said it last night in all the confusion, but...thanks." Draco was startled by the comment but merely nodded and answered, "Sure."

Ginny and I had the dishes done and put away in short order. I turned to Harry, "Where did my bag end up? I think I'd like to grab a quick shower and change out of these clothes. They've gotten a bit ripe."

He grinned, and held out his hand, "Come on, I'll show you." He led me upstairs and gave me my bag and showed me where the bathroom was, then left me to clean up while he packed his belongings and sorted through the things I had brought from Grimmauld Place.

Feeling much refreshed, I joined him a short time later, still toweling my hair dry. I discovered him looking through the photo albums I had found. "I didn't know if those were of interest or not, so I brought them along just in case," I explained. He looked up, his eyes wet with tears.

I hurried over and sat down next to him, "What is it?"

He held up a picture of a couple and another man. I could guess that the couple was Harry's parents; Harry looks an awful lot like his dad. But he has his mother's eyes. The other man I didn't recognize at first but then I noted his pale grey eyes and realized in an instant who it must be. "Is that...Sirius?" I squeaked out. He nodded and I stared hard at the first picture I had seen of my father. While Harry had talked to me about his parents and Sirius, he had never shown me any pictures. For all I knew, he didn't have any. Apparently he and Moony hadn't known these photo albums were in the house. We sat there together flipping through the pages as I got a tiny glimpse of the man who helped give me life. I couldn't entirely suppress the ache of knowing I would never meet him face to face, but if I couldn't I was glad that Harry had, and that they had liked each other. Somehow that was important to me.

Ron entered the room just then, but paused hesitantly when he saw the two of us sitting there, crying. "Um...Dumbledore is here. I reckon you ought to come down." He turned and slipped quietly out, leaving us to regain our composure.

As we stood and moved toward the door, I abruptly turned to Harry and wrapped my arms around his neck. "I'm glad he would have approved of my choice," I whispered. He grinned and gave me a kiss, then replied, "And I can never thank him enough for giving me you!" Eventually we managed to return our attention to the matters at hand and headed down the stairs.

Dumbledore was seated in the parlor when we put in appearance, and the rest of the Weasleys, Hermione and Draco were scattered about the room. As all the chairs were occupied, Harry and I sat on the floor near the fire. Without preamble, Dumbledore turned to us, "I need to clarify a few matters with the two of you before we do anything else. One, are you certain that Lucius Malfoy and Bellatrix Lestrange are dead?"

Harry deferred to me, and I shrugged, "As far as I could tell. They both looked dead. I checked for a pulse on Lucius, but felt none. I didn't check Bellatrix."

He nodded, "So far we have not been able to confirm this from any other source. While I do not doubt your word, we do not want to be too hasty in assuming they did not survive. Secondly, we are all curious to know how you were able to accomplish their defeat."

"As I told Mr. Weasley, really all I did was outsmart them. Neither Draco or I personally defeated them." He arched an eyebrow inquisitively at me and I continued, "Some of you already know that I use a Rebounding Spell as personal protection. This is an older spell that isn't often used by anyone today. My best friend and I developed a fascination with older spells and became quite proficient at a number of them. They provide the element of surprise, if nothing else. I had put the Rebounding Spell on both Draco and myself before we went to the dungeon with Lucius. When it became clear that Bellatrix did not believe I was a supporter of Voldemort and tried to kill me, I did not want to risk that the Rebounding Spell would be sufficient to protect me, so I invoked the Protection Charm of Protego also. Using the two together, her Killing Curse did rebound onto her, though the force of it knocked me off my feet. I would assume, based on that, that I was correct and that the Rebounding Spell wouldn't have been enough by itself. When I returned to the other room and Lucius realized Draco had been helping me to help Harry, he tried to use the Killing Curse on him. Since I had already seen the need for further protection, I used the Protection Charm for Draco as well, and the results were the same. He was knocked off his feet, but the spell rebounded onto Lucius."

Dumbledore nodded pensively as he contemplated this information. At that point, Hermione interjected, "But how have you been getting around? We left you at Grimmauld Place with Harry. The next thing I know you're at the Malfoy's house and then back at Grimmauld Place."

Dumbledore added, "And further, you were able to find Grimmauld Place even though I had never told you its location. That should not have been possible."

I smiled slightly at him and commented, "I rather thought you would have figured it out by now, Professor. Only three of you have enough information to hazard a reasonable guess. Hermione is rightfully perplexed." Dumbledore's eyes twinkled and I suspect he did know how I had accomplished it, but he gestured for me to explain. "I'm an Animagus," I told them, turning to Hermione, "which explains how I have been getting around so quickly from place to place." I turned back to Dumbledore and added, "And it also explains how I found Grimmauld Place without your telling me its location - you didn't think to shield it from owl post. Since I transform into an owl, I was able to come and go without consciously knowing its physical location. Had I tried to approach it from the street as a human, I would not have been able to find it, but as an owl that was not a problem."

Dumbledore nodded, seemingly with a bit of amusement, "Truly an oversight on our part. We did not anticipate that being a weak point, but in the future we will keep it in mind!"

Hermione was staring at me with a bit of astonishment, "You're an Animagus? At fifteen? But you aren't registered - I checked the official register when we studied Animagi in our Third Year. There have only been seven this century and I'm sure I would remember your name if it had been there."

I grinned ruefully, "True. But apparently my father and I had more in common than I knew."

"Your father," asked Ron. "Who's your father and what's he got to do with this?" He apparently had just realized how little they knew of my personal history.

With a small sigh, I told them, "This holiday has been full of surprises, not the least of which, for me, was learning the identity of my father. It's a long story which I won't go into now, but suffice it to say my father was an unregistered Animagus also - Sirius Black."

Ron's jaw dropped and Hermione looked equally stunned. "Sirius was your father!" She glanced quickly at Harry to see if he had known this, and he nodded at her. "Moony told us," he explained. "Apparently De looks an awful lot like her mother. When Moony first met her he thought he was seeing her mother. He was able to fill in some missing pieces for her. That's how we found out about Sirius."

Dumbledore interrupted, "I believe it would be best if you postpone further discussion of this until we return to Hogwarts. I think it advisable that you all return to the school as soon as possible. There may yet be repercussions from recent events."

Mrs. Weasley stepped forward and urged us all along, "Go collect your things and bring them to the parlor." She looked at Dumbledore, "How do you want them to travel?"

He stood and answered, "I'll prepare a portkey. They should all be able to go together."

Mr. Weasley spoke up, "If you don't need me, I'd best head back to the office. I'll keep my ears open for any news." Mrs. Weasley kissed him goodbye and he Disapparated from the room.

We trickled back into the room with our belongings, and while we waited for everyone to be assembled, I quietly asked Dumbledore, "Professor, when we're back at Hogwarts, may I speak with you privately?"

He nodded, and I got the distinct impression he knew what I wanted to discuss as he glanced at Draco. "I'll have Professor McGonagall send for you when I have a moment."

At last we were all gathered and he conjured a bicycle tire to use as a portkey. We thanked Mrs. Weasley and said goodbye just as the feeling of a hook behind our navels told us we were on our way.

We landed in the entrance hall of the castle, and a few moments later the bicycle tire vanished. We all looked at one another, and then I moved to give Draco another hug before we separated to go to our dorms. It was almost dinnertime, so we dropped our belongings in our room and returned to the Great Hall.

There were only a handful of students who had stayed over the holidays. Draco had seated himself at the Slytherin table, though a bit apart from the other members of his house. I gazed at him for a moment, then signalled the others to follow me, "Come on. This is ridiculous." And I led them over to the Slytherin table, where I sat down next to Draco. My friends eyed me momentarily, but Ginny followed my lead and plunked down across the table from me and Harry quietly took a seat at my side. A bit reluctantly Ron joined Hermione when she sat down next to Ginny.

The other Slytherins were eyeing us with distrust but said nothing. Food soon materialized on the table and we set about eating, partly to avoid awkward conversation. The few Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws soon turned away from staring at us in amazement and focused on their meals as well. There were only three other Gryffindors who had stayed during the holiday. They had watched us with astonishment, but a Second Year took the hint and bravely rose. She came over and joined us as well, and the two First Years followed suit, though it looked more like they felt obligated rather than actually wanting to make the move.

The Ravenclaws had been whispering among themselves, and then five minutes into the meal, they picked up their plates and cups and transferred en masse to the Slytherin table as well. Seeing that, the Hufflepuffs looked at each and did the same. Now the original Slytherins really looked at a loss for what to do. All of them were Fourth Year or below, except for Draco. They didn't really feel comfortable getting up and moving away from upper classmen, so they stayed put but watched us all warily as if they thought this some great trick that was about to be sprung on them.

The teachers' table was largely vacant, as most had not yet returned from holiday. When Dumbledore entered the room and saw the new seating arrangement, an amused expression slid over his face and his eyes twinkled with delight. Without a word, he picked up his plate, cup and silverware and stepped down to the Slytherin table. He slipped into the space between Draco and the nearest Slytherin, set down his dinnerware and commented, "Ah, this is much cozier!" With that he set about dishing some stew onto his plate and appeared not to notice the shocked looks passing between students.