Belinda

It has been exactly 1 hour and 45 minutes since I woke up in the Common Room with Harry. That was at 4 o'clock. Now it's 5:43, and I haven't gotten back to sleep.

My mind is racing with the possibilities, they daydreams, the fantasies. Kissing in the rain, dancing at the Yule Ball, sleeping together...okay, I'm getting a tad bit ahead of myself. This is probably just a small fling. Getting involved with Harry Potter at this point in both of our lives would be dangerous. It doesn't help that he's absolutely gorgeous either. Hermione slowly wakes up in the bed next to me.

"Good morning," I say softly.

"Oh...you're back," she replies, rather rudely.

"I'm sorry, did I upset you?" I ask, taken aback. She sighs, getting up.

"No, I'm sorry Belinda. I'm just being a prude," she says.

"No Hermione, tell me. I respect your feelings."

"It's just...you were all over each other," she whispers.

"Is that bad?" I whisper back. She glances around the room a little bit and leans closer.

"Rumors will fly, Belle. Things can get out of control. Just be careful," she whispers. AGAIN, with the warnings!

"Thanks, Mione," I reply. She smirks.

"So exactly how comfortable WAS it?" she asks smugly. I blush and smack her with my pillow. We both get dressed and then head down to breakfast.

"Oh, Belinda...ummm...I have sort of bad news," Hermione says, stopping me right outside the Great Hall.

"What?" I ask impatiently. I'm starving. And I have to talk to Kyla.

"Draco came by the Common Room last night because you were late for your meeting with Dumbledore..."
I smack myself. Shit, I forgot about that.

"And he saw you with Harry," Hermione quickly finishes. I feel my face drain of all color.

"Oh dear God," I mutter.

"Kyla seemed to calm him down?" Hermione asks more than tells.

"Okay, thanks Hermione," I say quietly. My mind is spinning again. It's making me nauseous. Just as I'm about to go sit, someone grabs me from behind and drags me out of the Hall and into a corner. At first, I think its Draco, but when I turn around, it's Kyla.

"Okay look. Draco's pissed. I'm trying to explain the concept of minding his own business, but it's not really getting through his ego, so he's still upset and ready to verbally attack you," Kyla explains. "On a lighter note, how exactly was sleeping with Harry Potter?"

"Kyla don't say it like that," I groan, smacking her. She chuckles.

"Come on, Belle, spill," she says. So I tell her everything. After all, what are best friends for?

"Wow," she says. "Wow."

"Yeah, well now I'm basically screwed beyond belief."

"Technically, you haven't screwed yet..." I smack her for saying that.

"I don't know what to do," I tell her. "My heart is all tangled up."

"Sometimes, we've just got to let what we really want go," Kyla says. "It's for our own good, especially when the situation is too sticky to handle. Than, once our hearts are untangled enough, what we let go will come back. If it's really, it'll come back."

Potions was miserable. Charms was worse. I liked Transfigurations. But the end of the day couldn't have come soon enough. Too much of Hermione's nagging, Draco and Kyla's snogging, and Snape's glares. Not enough of talking to Harry. Or touching Harry. As I begin to make my way to my last class, Defendoatrum, I walk by Dumbledore. The realization of our missed meeting last night washes over me.

"Dumbledore!" I exclaim, a little too loudly and a little too excited. My hand covers my mouth. He turns around and smiles. I run up to him.

"I would like to sincerely apologize for what happened last night, I don't know how I could've fallen asleep and forgotten about our meeting and-"

"Belinda dear, please do not fret. It's quite alright; you had a rough day yesterday. Would you like to come with me now?" he asks kindly.

"Well, I have Defendoatrum right now," I explain, praying to anyone up in the heavens that he can get me out of it.

"That's fine. Professor Snape will fully understand the importance of our meeting. Come now," he says. I eternally jump around like a lunatic and follow him into his office. The first time I was in there, I didn't get the opportunity to look around. It's homely, with cushy chairs and books everywhere. A fire burns in an elegant black marble fireplace. A beautiful, multi-colored phoenix grooms itself in a cage by the desk. Dumbledore sits behind his desk and I in turn sit across from him.

"Lemon drop?" he offers, holding out a bowl filled with the shiny, yellow candies. My favorite. The urge is great.

"No thank you," I manage. He smirks.

"Very well," is his response. He places the bowl back on the desk, dangerously close to me. "Help yourself, whenever you would like."

"Thank you," I respond.

"Well, I suppose I'll get to the point. I Owled your mother and I received her consent on telling you about your father," Dumbledore begins. My throat goes dry. I steady myself. This is something I've wondered about for my entire life. Something I've never known. And he's finally telling me the missing piece of my identity. I'm finally going to know.

"Your father Belinda, is Sirius Black. You are the only child of Sirius Black," Dumbledore says quietly, reaching over to pet the beautiful Phoenix.

Sirius Black. Betrayer of the Death Eaters. Infamous Azkaban prisoner. My father. It's a good thing I'm sitting, because I would have hit the floor like a ton of bricks. My mind is spinning. I can't wrap my head around it.

"Sirius Black?" I manage to whisper.

"He was brilliant. A troublemaker, but infinitely brilliant. He left you with power, Belinda, but he left you with burden also. There are people you have to talk to, things you need to learn, and decisions you're going to have to make."

"I'm Sirius Black's daughter," I say, mostly to myself.

"You're part of the legacy, Belinda. Own it."

-In that same dark, scary, damp place as last time-

"I let Dumbledore tell her."

"DEMETRA! You idiotic wench! Now she knows EXACTLY how much power she has!"

"Narcissa, don't you start name calling! You're sending Draco to his death bed at the rate of what you're doing!"

"Don't you even go there! Belinda's going to get killed! Do you realize exactly how awful it is that she knows about Sirius! She's not stupid, Demetra, she's going to find out everything about him that she can!"

"She was going to find out anyways, Cissy! There was no preventing it!"

"She's in trouble, Demetra. I love her dearly but she's in trouble. And when the time comes, she has the hardest choice to make of her life."

"I've raised her a Pureblood. She will do as I raised her."

"Not anymore she won't."

"And what makes you say THAT, Narcissa!"

"She's getting involved with Potter. Connect the dots, Demetra. Who's she going to betray? Harry or us?"