"Settle down, children," Professor Miller called out.
Veronica sighed and turned her attention away from Kylie and towards the professor. "Good, good," Professor Miller continued. "Today is the day I teach you the spell for your heritage project that I told you of at the beginning of the year..."
Whispers broke out again. This time Professor Miller ignored it and kept talking. "But first I want to tell you a story." Veronica shot Kylie a questioning look, only to see an identical one being shot at her.
"It's about three sisters whose actions, though not well known, helped lead to the end of a recent war. I'm sure you know which war I speak of. The sisters came from a pure blooded supremest family. However, each had a different take on it. The eldest sister believed whole heartedly in what was taught by the Dark Lord, the middle chose the word of Dumbledore as truth, and the youngest despised Muggleborns but found her loyalty rooted with her family." She paused and glanced around.
"I'm sure all of the purebloods are aware of the laws against killing kin," she said softly, "For those of you who aren't, to kill a direct family member is one of the greatest unwritten laws that a person can break. Regardless or not as to whether a person has been disowned, as the sister who followed Dumbledore was, to kill blood is a great offense."
"However, the Death Eater sister did not see it that way and so she killed her sister who had chosen to follow Dumbledore in order to prove her loyalty and make up for past blunders. When the youngest sister found out, she was furious. So angry that she placed a curse upon her son and her sister and all who would come after them. Any member of the family who betrayed another would be marked by their disgrace and suffer pain from that mark for the rest of their lives, that is, if it didn't kill them."
"That's absolutely ridiculous," someone shouted. Veronica missed who it was since her focus had been entirely on Professor Miller.
Professor Miller smiled. "Perhaps, but it good example of how family plays an important role in the wizarding past and present. For you see, the curse the youngest sister cast is unbreakable, but it was not cast on herself. The order to kill her sister had been the final straw. Her loyalty was broken. Later that evening she became a spy for the Order and with her help, the favor tipped back to the Light side."
"Now, as I was saying, today we will be learning the spell that you need to cast to find out who your ancestors are. The spell will most likely need to be cast several times seeing as you only have limited powers and will not be able to cast a spell strong enough to trace back five generations, which is the minimum for this project. Afterwards, I will show you a spell that will turn the names of any magical members of your family blue. If you have any, we can look them up and find out what they did."
"The incantation to create your family tree is Legami Anima. Try practicing it now..." The bell rang. Professor Miller made an annoyed gesture. "The project is due on Thrusday. Make sure you have it with you. The farther you trace back, the better your grade," she shouted as the students rushed out the door.
Veronica sighed with relief as they left their last class of the day. She glanced over at the girls and frowned. "I have to get a good grade on this assignment."
"Tell me about it," Parker said with a yawn. "Should be a piece of cake though. We have two days till it's due."
"I can't believe you two are failing History of Magic," Kylie said laughing.
Daniella sent them a frown. "Its nothing to be laughing over."
"Relax Dani," Parker said, grinning, "Its just one class..."
"You're also barely passing Herbology," Veronica said.
"Details, details," Parker said with the wave of her hand.
Veronica shook her head. "Well, I actually care about my grades, thank you very much. My mom will kill me if I don't pass. I have to get this spell right."
"Well if you start having trouble, just go ask your mum for help," Kylie suggested, "She is the Charms teacher and this is a charm."
Veronica smiled, feeling relieved already. "Good idea. I'll visit her tonight after dinner. I'm sure she'll help me get back five generations."
Later that night, Nicci walked quickly towards her mother's office. She had to hurry. It was almost curfew.
"Stop being so pushy," Ginny snapped.
"Its time," Sirius said, ignoring her tone, "You know it as well as I do. She's old enough to know the truth."
"Sirius," Ginny warned, "I said I'll do it when I'm ready...Nicci, dear!"
Veronica froze. Great, she thought, just what I need. Caught eavesdropping on her mom and the Headmaster, no less.
"Why hello, Veronica," Sirius said pleasantly. He shot a meaningful glance at Ginny, which she pointedly ignored. Veronica stared at them in confusion. What in the world...
"Did you need something?" Ginny asked.
"Yeah, I needed to talk to you about this project in History of Magic," Veronica said.
"Go on and wait in my office," Ginny said, "I'll be there in just a minute."
Veronica nodded and strode quickly into Ginny's office and took a seat. What had just happened? She was positive that she should have been in trouble for eavesdropping. Whatever the Headmaster was talking to her mom about must have really been something.
Veronica sighed with relief and glanced around carefully. She hadn't really had the chance to look around her mom's office. Everything about it was entirely cozy, from the two soft, red visitors chairs to the worn desk, cluttered with paper, broken quills, and numerous confiscated prank items. Parker would sure love to get her hands on some of those, Veronica thought smiling.
A small stack of pictures in the corner of the desk, half buried under a pile of ungraded tests caught her eye. She picked them up carefully, making sure to not knock off the tests. The first one was a picture of Ginny holding Nicci, probably days after she was born. The second was a picture of Ginny and a woman Nicci knew to be her first boss and friend, when Ginny moved to the United States. She continued to flip through them, smiling, until she came across a battered old photograph halfway through the stack.
Veronica frowned. It was a picture of a young red head sitting atop a broom. She looked to be about sixteen. It was her mother, she guessed. Though she was certain that this was the first picture she had ever seen of her mother when she was a teenager, something about it was extremely familiar.
"Now Nicci," Ginny said sternly, as she entered the room, "What have I told you about being out after curfew...Honey, what's wrong?"
Veronica looked up, a frown still set on her face. Then it clicked. She knew exactly where she'd seen this girl before. She handed Ginny the photo slowly. Ginny stared at it in horror and then looked back at Veronica.
"Why do you have a picture of Ginerva Weasley?" Nicci asked slowly, though she had a feeling she already knew the answer.
Ginny sighed and sank down into her seat, placing her face in her hands. "Shut the door and sit down Nicci," she said softly, "We have a lot to talk about."
Veronica shut the door quickly and sat down. Could her mother really be Ginerva Weasley? Could it really have been that obvious all along and she had never seen it? "So?" she demanded impatiently.
Ginny looked up and sighed. "So, its time you found out who I really am." She took a deep breath. "My real name is Ginerva Weasley..."
"And you didn't tell me!" Veronica shouted, quite surprised by her own anger.
"Calm down," Ginny said softly, "And let me tell you the story first." Veronica threw her a glare but remained silent. "It started a long time ago during the Second War. I'm sure you've heard all about that in your classes?"
"Yes."
"Then I can skip most of that," Ginny said, nodding to herself, "For me, it started after Dumbledore was murdered. I received a letter from him, Dumbledore that is. He wrote it before his death, almost as if he expected it. Perhaps he did. I really don't know. The letter spoke of a mission I was supposed to undertake, a mission I was to tell nobody about." She paused slightly, eyes glazed, remembering.
"Looking back, I assume I wasn't the only one who got a letter. Regardless, my mission was to bring a future Death Eater over to the Light. His name was Blaise Zabini."
Veronica held her tongue as her mother sat in silence. She wanted quite desperately to shout "Keep going!" but refrained. Moments later, Ginny shook her head and smiled.
"And I did. It wasn't really as hard as I'd thought it'd be. Blaise hadn't really got entangled too deeply, so getting him out wasn't that hard. But then...then he wanted to spy. I suppose that's where it all went wrong."
"And nobody knew?" Veronica asked. "Nobody knew what you were doing?"
"No," Ginny said softly, "Not even Harry. We were dating at that time." Veronica's eyes widened, but she had no chance to comment. "Anyways, Blaise started getting deeper and deeper into the Death Eater ranks. He passed over information for quite sometime before they noticed. I had to hide him."
"How did they find out?" Veronica interrupted.
"Well, Ron, as usual couldn't keep his large mouth shut," Ginny said, shaking her head, "He was the first one to find out about Blaise. Well, no, that isn't right. It was Percy first. The difference was, Percy trusted me. Funny how that ended up. Percy well, we had never been particularly close. Percy was even on bad terms with the family at the time. Yet, for some reason, he believed me." Ginny stopped, her face set in a frown. Veronica assumed she was thinking about Percy.
He was the one who died, Veronica remembered. How awful. He was the only one who had believed Mom.
"Anyways," Ginny continued, "Ron saw Blaise passing me information one afternoon. He mistaked it for the other way around. There had been a lot of suspicion that there was a spy within the Order and Ron was always one to jump to conclusions before he thought it out."
"He shouted out to everyone what he thought he saw. It only took Voldemort a short time to realize what had really been going on and he came after Blaise. I hid him, of course, and myself. While Voldemort searched for Blaise, the Order searched for me. It was rather ironic. Two weeks later, Percy found me. He said my parents wanted to speak with me. He begged me to see them. Said they just wanted to hear the truth."
"I told Percy to stay with Blaise and then I went to meet my family. As soon as I got there the alarms I placed over the safehouse went off. By the time I got back, both Percy and Blaise were dead. My family got there a short time later. They blamed me. They thought I'd set it up because I told Percy to stay..." Ginny continued before breaking off.
Veronica just stared. She hated seeing her mother like that, and yet she still couldn't help from being angry.
"So now you know," Ginny said softly.
"So your entire life, at least as it was known to me, has been a lie," Veronica said, unable to stop herself, "What else did you lie about?"
Ginny sighed. "Nothing, really. I just wanted to keep you safe..."
"Safe?" Veronica sneered, "More like you wanted to keep yourself safe!" She knew it wasn't really fair to treat her mother that way, and yet at the moment she was unable to control herself. All those years of envying the other kids with grandparents, cousins, aunts. Her mother had known how much she wanted a normal family.
"That's not fair! I've been trying to keep you from getting hurt."
Veronica glared. "You kept me from my family!"
Ginny frowned, running a hand through her hair. "I guess I did. I thought I was doing the right thing. I know how much you wanted a normal family, but I never wanted you to have to experience what I did." Veronica sighed and looked away. Of course, her mother was right, despite how angry she was about being lied to.
"Do you want to meet them?"
"What?" Veronica asked, turning back in shock, "You'd let me?"
Ginny nodded. "If it's what you want." Veronica couldn't believe what she was hearing. She was already imagining what it'd be like. "You'll have to wait until school's out and I won't be going with you..."
"Why not?" Veronica asked, snapping back to reality.
Ginny looked away. "I'm not ready. I'll arrange for you to meet them after school is out for the summer. Until then, my identity and yours must remain a secret. That means no telling Parker, Daniella and Kylie. Understood?"
"Yes."
"Good. Now come on, I'll take you to your dorm. And no more trips after curfew."
It was late when Veronica walked into her dormitory and all the girls were already asleep. Veronica refrained from turning on the light and made her way to her bed.
She was rifling through her trunk in search of her pajamas when she heard soft moaning coming from Kylie's bed. Another nightmare, Veronica thought. Better wake her up before she starts screaming.
"Kylie," Veronica whispered, giving her a little shake, "Wake up. It's just a dream. Kylie!"
"Where..." Kylie began, sitting up. Veronica frowned. Kylie looked absolutely terrified.
"Daniella and Parker," Kylie said, looking around.
"Asleep," Veronica said, still frowning, "Kylie I really think you should go to Madam Pomfrey tomorrow. These nightmares are coming more and more often."
Kylie shook her head. "Not nightmares, nightmare. It's the same one, but every time I have it, I see more and more. Parker was there this time."
Veronica frowned. "That bad?"
"It's just that it seems so real. Something about it is different than a normal dream." She shook her head. "Never mind. Just go back to sleep."
Veronica nodded and moved back to her own bed. "Night Kylie."
Veronica sighed in frustration. This was the tenth time she had tried her spell today and still it didn't work. It was due tomorrow. She really should have asked her mother for help. Too bad her mom had to go and distract her by telling her how her entire life was a lie. She really had to pass this assignment. Why had everyone else's worked and not hers?
"Perhaps I can try the spell for you?" Parker suggested, lazily twirling her wand. She had finished her assignment over an hour ago and had managed to go back nine generations, which secured her a passing grade.
"If it were only that easy," Veronica said, as she banged her head lightly against the table and groaned. "Why me?" she muttered aloud.
"I could just..." Parker began.
"No you can't," Danielle interrupted, "The charm only works on the caster's family. You can't cast it for anyone else."
"Well that's just plain stupid," Parker said, shaking her head.
"I agree," Kylie said, as she cast her charm once more. She sighed and looked up. "I think mine is done. Six generations is good enough."
"Trust me," Veronica said, glancing down at her blank paper, "I'd be overjoyed with six."
"I'm sure Professor Miller will understand..."
"I doubt it," Parker said, wrinkling her nose in disgust, "That woman is a..."
"Parker!" Daniella said sharply.
"Well she is," Parker said stubbornly, crossing her arms and shooting a glare at Daniella.
"What am I going to do?" Veronica asked. "It's due right after breakfast tomorrow." She glanced at the clock. It was far too late to go try to find her mom for help.
Kylie yawned. "Well, you can always get up early."
Veronica laughed. "I guess. Maybe I'll have a sudden revelation while I'm sleeping that will tell me what I'm doing wrong."
Parker smiled. "It's doubtful. Tell you what though. I'll try to find you a way to cheat." Veronica rolled her eyes. "Or you could just fake an illness..."
"Parker," Daniella said frowning.
"Let's go to bed," Kylie interrupted, "Before Parker gets any of those "good" ideas of hers." Veronica smiled weakly. Right now, Parker's ideas were looking far more promising than her own.
Veronica groaned as she glanced at the clock. 4:50 a.m. Great, she thought bitterly. She got up quietly, so as not to wake the others, and got dressed. Then grabbing her things she headed down to the Common Room.
When she got there, the room was completely empty. "At least I get to work in peace," she muttered, before sitting down at a desk in the corner of the room.
She pulled out a blank piece of parchment. "Legami anima!" Her wand shot out a spark, but the paper remained blank. She tried again with the same result.
Well here's another way to complicate my life. She wondered briefly if she could use her new identity as an excuse with her mother when she failed History of Magic.
Two hours later, Veronica's parchment was still blank. Cursing quietly she laid her head down on the desk. It was no use and she was so tired. I'll just rest my eyes for a few minutes and then try again, she thought.
"Nicci." Someone was shaking her. "Come on, Nicci. We need to get to class."
Veronica sat up. "What? Class isn't for another hour."
"No," Daniella said softly, "It's in fifteen minutes. I told Kylie and Parker I'd come back to get you."
"But..." Veronica began, glancing at her blank parchment and then around the empty Common Room. Daniella frowned down at the paper. She seemed to be having an intense internal debate. Suddenly, she slammed her book bag on the table and started rifling through it.
"What are you doing?" Veronica asked, as she stared at her blank parchment. She frowned when she noticed Daniella had pulled out her family tree project.
"What's your father's name again?" Daniella asked softly.
Veronica stared at her curiously. "Jacob. Why do you ask?"
Veronica watched in shock as Daniella waved her wand and the names of Daniella's parents changed into her own. "Daniella, you can't," she hissed.
Daniella sent her a weak smile, and quickly scrawled Veronica's name at the top of the parchment. "Yes I can," she said, "You need this to pass, I don't. Besides, Professor Miller doesn't know anything about your family so she won't notice anything."
Veronica smiled so big she thought her face might break apart. "I don't know what to say other than thank you." Her grin faltered. "But won't you get in trouble. I mean Professor Miller...and the assignment is such a big grade..."
Daniella shrugged and handed her the parchment. "Don't worry about it. Professor Miller is a nice lady. I'll just explain to her that I couldn't get the spell to work. She'll understand."
Veronica made to interrupt, but Daniella just turned and walked out of the Common Room. Veronica reluctantly followed her to class with Daniella's family tree still clutched in her hand. By the time she reached class, Kylie was already in her seat.
"Where's Parker?" Veronica asked, looking around.
"Said she was hungry," Kylie whispered.
"But it's class time..." Daniella said nervously.
"But it's Parker," Kylie said smiling.
"But her assignment," Daniella said, eyes widening, "She won't pass..."
"Don't worry I've got it," Kylie said, grinning.
"Why?" Veronica asked.
"Well," Kylie said, shifting uncomfortably, "I just figured she wouldn't make it back in time so I told her to let me carry it."
"Oh," Veronica said. Sure it was a bit strange, but she had other things to worry about. The bell had just rang. What if Professor Miller found out? What if she got expelled? What if Daniella got expelled? What if...
"Alright everyone. Sorry I'm late," Professor Miller said, interrupting Veronica's thoughts, "Pass forward your assignments."
Veronica cast a nervous glance at Daniella, who was looking quite pale at the moment. "Do it," Daniella whispered softly.
Veronica looked down at the paper again, and then handed it to Annabel, who was sitting in front of her. What am I doing? She thought desperately. I've got to get that back. But it was too late. Just as she made to get up, Professor Miller passed by and took the assignments from Annabel's hands, then continued down the rows.
"Its seems someone didn't turn theirs in," Professor Miller said, looking up from her pile.
"Me," Daniella said quietly.
Professor Miller's eyebrows raised. Veronica dropped her head onto her desk. This was all her fault.
"Daniella, this comes as a surprise. Explain yourself please."
"I couldn't get the spell to work..."
"You couldn't? How odd indeed," Professor Miller said, eyes narrowing slightly, "There are few reasons why the spell wouldn't work. Your parents have no reason to hide your identity do they?"
Veronica's head shot up. So that was it!
"No," Daniella said, "They're Muggles anyways."
"Ah, I see," Professor Miller said, her voice softening, "Well, come visit me tomorrow and we'll see what we can do."
Daniella smiled, looking relieved. "Okay."
Veronica had to admit she was relieved as well. She'd been worried for Daniella. She glanced over at her quickly. She felt bad. Now she actually knew why her spell wouldn't work and she couldn't even tell Daniella, who'd risked her grade and a lot more so she could pass the class. She really needed to talk to someone. But who? Who could she trust not to tell anyone but would still give her some advice? Should she go visit her family or not? What was she supposed to do? There was only one person she could tell. Tristian Malfoy. He always knew what to do. The bell rang.
And her mother hadn't specifically said she couldn't tell Tristian, she reminded herself. Of course, that was probably because her mother had no idea that she and Tristian talked, let alone that they were friends. But she just had to tell someone. She couldn't keep it to herself anymore. She would simply find him after class during free period.
Veronica packed her bag a little slower than usual. "Nicci," Kylie shouted.
"Yeah?" Veronica said as she exited the classroom. Kylie and Daniella were waiting patiently by the door.
"Daniella and I are going to check the kitchens to go retrieve Parker, then back to the Common Room. You coming?"
"No, I think I'll take a walk," Veronica said, "Maybe out by the lake. That always clears my mind."
Kylie nodded but a slight frown had appeared on her face. "I, well, we better hurry," she told Daniella.
Veronica watched curiously as Kylie took off at an abnormally fast pace towards the kitchens. Daniella frowned. "She's been acting so strange lately," she murmured to Veronica before she took off after her.
Veronica frowned as well. It was true. Ever since February or so, Kylie had been having nightmares and she was acting quite nervous when she was awake. However, now wasn't the time for that. She needed to find Tristian. The question was how. Normally, he found her.
Frowning, Veronica tried to remember what class he would have just gotten out of. Perhaps Defense, she thought.
She turned left and headed towards the Defense classroom. The hallways were strangely less crowded as she headed that way. No doubt everyone was heading to lunch or outside.
Veronica sighed in annoyance as she reached the Defense classroom. Tristian was nowhere in sight.
"Looking for someone?"
Veronica flipped around. "Tristian," she said, "You scared me."
Tristian simply smiled. "I had a feeling you needed to talk," he said pleasantly.
Veronica felt a sudden surge of annoyance. How did he do that? "Oh really? Well, I'll have you know, I'm looking for Professor Potter."
Tristian shrugged and started to walk down the hall. "Alright then."
"Wait!"
Tristian stopped, a smug smile plastered on his face. "I thought so." Veronica scowled. "So go on, tell me what's wrong."
Veronica thought briefly about leaving, just to irritate him, but stopped herself. She had to tell someone who she really was. Tristian always gave good advice. Veronica looked up and down the hallway to be sure it was clear. Tristian looked at her curiously. "Well, you can't tell anyone though because I'm not even supposed to tell anyone. It's a secret."
Tristian snorted. "Someone thought you could keep a secret."
"I'll have you know I keep plenty of secrets," Veronica said defiantly, "I haven't told anyone about you, have I?"
Tristian shook his head. "That's quite a bit different. But no matter, let's hear this big secret you're not allowed to tell anyone."
Veronica took a deep breath. "Well, I went to talk to my mom two nights ago. I needed help with my project in History of Magic."
"What for?" Tristian interrupted. "You're rather good at Charms. It should have been no problem." He frowned. "That assignment was due today."
"I know, I had to use Daniella's," Veronica said dismissively.
"You cheated?" Tristian asked, smirking, "Perhaps you would have made a good Slytherin after all."
"That's not the point of the story," Veronica said scowling, "The point is that I finally found out why my mother has been lying to me and to the other professors."
Tristian became suddenly serious. "Go on."
"You see," Veronica said, not really sure how to say it, "My mom isn't really named Virginia Winters." She glanced at Tristian's face. It was was completely unreadable. "My mom is Ginerva Weasley."
"Harry!" Ginny shouted as she rounded the corner. Veronica and Tristian froze. Oh no, Veronica thought. The door to the Defense room opened and Professor Potter came out, looking worried. Double oh no!
"Virginia?" he asked. He stopped when he saw Veronica and Tristian. Ginny glanced at them too.
"Nicci?" she asked, looking quite panicked.
"Mom," Veronica said when she saw the panic on her mother's face, forgetting that she was standing when Tristian Malfoy, "What's wrong?"
Ginny shook her head, and Veronica suddenly knew what was wrong. "Another attack?" Professor Potter asked, though his eyes remained glued to Veronica and Tristian.
"Parker," Ginny said softly.
Impossible, Veronica thought, just before she took off running. "Nicci!" her mom called after her. Veronica kept running. It wasn't true. It wasn't. She'd get to the Hospital Wing and they would tell her it was all a mistake and that Parker had just been down in the kitchens eating.
The door to the Hospital Wing was only a few feet ahead. She wasn't quite sure how she'd managed to get there so fast, but right now it didn't matter.
She flung open the doors. "Where is she?" Veronica shouted.
"Nicci!" Ginny said, as she ran through the door behind her, "Its okay sweetie..."
"Where," Veronica tried again. She fought against the tears that were threatening to fall. This wasn't happening. It had to be bad, worse than the others. Her mother had never looked so frightened.
"Shhh," Ginny said softly, "We'll know as soon as Madam Pomfrey finishes."
Veronica sank slowly into a chair. She looked around the room. Kylie was tending to an extremely pale Daniella in the corner and looking quite ill herself. Professor Potter, who had followed Ginny and Veronica in, and both Professor Weasleys were speaking in whispers to each other. To Veronica's surprise Orion was pacing the center of the room. She hadn't noticed him when she entered. Sirius was trying and failing to get Orion to calm down.
"I told her," Orion fumed, throwing his hands up in the air, "I said don't go anywhere alone. But no. No, she can't listen like usual. Now look whats happened! When she wakes up I swear, I'm going to..."
"Orion," Sirius said softly, placing a hand on his shoulder, "Calm down."
Orion simply glared. "That bloody fool! I told her!"
"I'm sure you did," Sirius continued in a soothing voice.
"He found her," Ginny said, following Nicci's gaze, "He was quite upset about it..." Ginny paused. "I'm afraid she had it worse than the others." Veronica suddenly felt ill.
Everyone froze as Madam Pomfrey stepped out of a back room. "Madam Pomfrey?" Sirius asked calmly.
Madam Pomfrey frowned. Veronica resisted a sudden urge to vomit. "She'll live..." Several sighs of relief. "But this can't go on. She'll be out cold for the next few hours. You'll have to wait to speak to her."
"How much worse than the others was she?" Sirius asked.
Madam Pomfrey shook her head. "Much worse. I was worried this one wouldn't make it."
Sirius frowned. "It's as I feared."
"We'll need to close the school," Professor Potter said firmly.
Sirius nodded, a deep frown set on his face. Veronica had never seen him look so old or upset in her entire life. "Yes. Call together the other teachers. We'll meet in my office in one hour. Make sure that no student is out in the halls. We'll make arrangements for them to leave day after tomorrow."
"And what shall we do with them tomorrow?" Professor Weasley asked, running a hand through her bushy brown hair. "We can't leave them locked up in their dormitories all day."
Sirius shook his head. "We'll think of something." Veronica froze as she listened to the conversation. The adults had all but forgotten they were in the room. Veronica shared glance with Kylie and Daniella. Things couldn't possibly get worse. Hopefully...
