Later That Evening

Gryffindor Tower

The Common Room was abuzz with chatter that night.

Everyone was telling stories as the fireplace was kept stoked, flames casting shadows on the tapestries as students reenacted the flight of the Weasley Twins. The students who had been by the swamp when it exploded showed off the sap marks on their robes. The whole thing made Selena feel as though she were back in Hogwarts during the medieval times, and the students were telling stories of wizards and witches from ages of old by the firelight.

"It's about time someone really stood up to Umbridge," a boy with curly black hair said.

"Something tells me it's only the beginning, Ritchie," Anne sighed, leaning against the back of the couch.

"You sound disappointed," Seamus Finnigan said. He tilted forward on the stool he was sitting on, his Irish accent becoming more apparent. "You don't like that old dementor, do you, Black?"

Anne wrinkled her nose. "Absolutely not. I want Dumbledore back as soon as possible."

"Careful, if Umbridge catches you saying that, she'll be on another hunt for the D.A," Seamus continued.

"Pipe down, you imbecile," Anne said, glancing over her shoulder at a large group of chattering students.

"Everyone has already heard what happened," Renee spoke from beside Selena. The girls and their dormmates all sat huddled on the rug in front of the fireplace. Alisson was entertaining Sierra, her black-and-white cat, with some string. Selena watched as Sierra caught the string triumphantly before turning to watch Seamus shrug and Anne scowl.

"We don't need to draw any extra attention," she said.

Selena frowned. Why was Anne getting do defensive? Renee was right, everybody had heard about the incident with Dumbledore's Army and the headmaster's escape from Hogwarts (the details about that grand escape were still just fuzzy rumors, but still.) Umbridge had already made sure their club couldn't reconvene, and with Dumbledore gone... well, Selena figured Harry Potter wasn't willing to bring the group back together just yet.

Anne sighed, standing up. "It's late. I think I'll turn in."

"Since when do you go to sleep at a decent hour?" Seamus asked, looking up at her, some of his sandy-colored hair falling into his eyes.

"I have to get up early to study for O.W.L.'s," Anne said matter-of-factly. She leveled the boy with a glare. "You should do the same."

Seamus looked half-confused and half-concerned as Anne left. Selena quickly jumped to her feet, leaving her friends without a word as Renee began to ask Seamus about their upcoming exams. The dark-haired witch wove through the cramped Common Room, managing to catch Anne just as she climbed up to the third step.

"Anne!" Selena called, looking up the spiral staircase.

Anne turned. A blanket of moonlight shone on her from behind, coming from the small window in the side of the staircase, turning her hair a pinkish tone. "Yeah?"

Selena glanced over at the people still chattering away in the Common Room before she climbed up the first few steps to stand with her cousin. "Are you okay?"

Anne arched an eyebrow. "Am I... okay? Why wouldn't I be okay?"

"Because... um... well..." Selena hesitated, not sure if she and Anne were close enough for her to be asking. Then again, it just seemed like she should ask. "Because Fred left school."

Anne rolled her eyes, making a disgusted sound in the back of her throat. She made to head up the stairs. "Please, no more girl talk, I told you."

"No, wait, I'm sorry!" Selena said, grabbing the girl's arm. She smiled apologetically. "I won't ask again."

Anne sighed, pausing. She regarded Selena for a moment. Selena tried to keep her smile on her face, feeling oddly like she was being scrutinized by Professor McGonagall during an exam. "Thanks."

Selena raised her eyebrows in surprise. She quickly recovered, beaming. "No problem."

"I'll cope," Anne said with a shrug. "I'm actually going back to the Burrow over the summer again. So in a couple months, I'll be able to see him again."

"Oh, that's brilliant!" Selena said. She was glad Anne didn't have to spend her summers here at Hogwarts alone anymore. It was probably better for her to be with friends, like Ron and Ginny, and Fred of course.

Anne nodded, beginning to smile faintly. "I'm pretty sure Mrs. Weasley thinks I'm somewhat of a poor influence on him."

"You?" Selena said incredulously. "Someone else is a bad influence on the Weasley Twins? Has she met her sons?"

"She has, and I think she's hoping at least part of them is your typical normal," Anne said with a laugh.

Selena found herself laughing for a moment too. And then it seemed like Anne realized she was laughing and grew quiet. Selena smothered her laughter, wishing the moment could have lasted longer. Not just for her sake, but for Anne's too. She hadn't seen Anne carefree in a while.

"Anyways," the older witch said. "Fred gave me a parting gift of sorts until I can see him." She took a few steps up higher, motioning for Selena to follow. Anne kept her voice low as she stared at Selena, blue eyes sparkling in the dim light of the staircase. "I got to talk to my father today."

Selena frowned, not sure she had heard her correctly. "Your... you talked to your father? Anne, how did-"

"A magical fire," Anne said, her expression growing a little smug. "The swamp was a great distraction. Harry wanted to talk to Papa about his father. James Potter and my father had been friends back in the day. And I just wanted to talk to him again. I actually had a few questions about our family as well. I wanted to hear more about the House of Black."

It took a moment for Selena to realize what Anne had implied. "Fred knows?" she whispered harshly.

"Yes, he knows," Anne said softly. "Hermione knows too, of course. And Ron. And Fred and George. No one else."

"Does he know about me?" Selena whispered, her shoulders tightening with anxiety.

Anne shook her head. "I swore Harry and Hermione to secrecy about it."

Selena watched her cousin's expression for a moment. Her tone was sincere. Selena began to relax. "Oh. Thank you." She was quiet for a beat before she tilted her head back up to look at Anne. This wasn't just Anne's family that was inquired about. It was hers as well. "What did you find out?"

There was a cheer from the Common Room that drew their attention.

Selena turned back as Anne climbed another step. "We'll have to talk somewhere more private. Meet me tomorrow, right after class ends, on the front lawn." Just as Selena bobbed her head, Anne waved goodnight and turned, heading out of her sight.

April 28th, 1996. Tuesday.

"All I'm saying is that he's sorry."

"Well, he can say that just as well, I should think."

"Sel..."

"Hazel..."

Selena looked up to give Hazel a half-smile. Her Hufflepuff friend simply pouted, turning back to her blossoming valerian plant. Selena looked at the sweet-smelling, white flowers that dotted the plant like little miniature bouquets. Her own valerian plant was pink, and had far less blooms.

Somehow it had twice as many hoverflies.

"Now, while the magic is helping to keep our greenhouses at the perfect temperature to grow them, valerian actually are at their best in the summer!" Professor Sprout called to the class. She motioned to the plant beside her that was taller than Professor Flitwick.

The Third Years had been caring for the herbs all term, and learning about the Potion-making properties of it.

"My mum used to make the best Treacle fudge with this," Renee said, gingerly brushing her fingers over the white flowers. "Dad just can't make it the same way."

Selena took a breath through her nose (trying to stay closer to the sweet flowers than the fertilizer - Professor Sprout liked using dragon dung) and willed herself to focus on the assignment. She only had Transfiguration after this, and it was her favorite class. She could last through it. Still, time seemed to be moving even slower, as if it knew she wanted to go see Anne and was determined to not let her.

As Selena contemplated whether or not Time Turners could work in reverse, she noticed Rolf peering at her from a few places down the row across from her. She forced herself to not look over at him, instead becoming very interested in the leaves of the valerian.

Front Lawn of Hogwarts Castle

"So, our grandfather is Orion Black. He married his second cousin, Walburga Black," Anne said.

Selena wrinkled her nose. "They were cousins?" She'd known that many pure-blood families only stayed pure-blood because of intermarriage, but still... the idea of it being her own family made it strange on a whole new level.

Anne nodded. Her red hair blew in the warm breeze as they walked. "Yeah. And they had three sons: First is Castor, your father, born in nineteen-fifty-five. Second is Sirius, born in nineteen-fifty-nine. Then Regulus, born in nineteen-sixty-one. Finally, Castor, your father, born in nineteen-sixty-nine. Regulus and your father were both in Slytherin during their time here at Hogwarts. My father was in Gryffindor." Selena noted the edge of pride that appeared in Anne's voice as she spoke of their House. "And then in nineteen-seventy-nine, Regulus went missing. He's probably dead after all these years."

"He was only eighteen," Selena said sadly. Her heart panged for this uncle she'd never met.

Anne nodded solemnly. "Your parents had already finished Hogwarts by then... Anyways. Then I was born, and in nineteen-eighty-one, my dad was framed and went to Azkaban." She took a deep breath. "By then, he wasn't even considered part of his family anymore. Your father was already estranged and had been ever since he graduated. It seems like at some point at Hogwarts, he became friends with some students who weren't pure-bloods. And then he married your mother shortly after Hogwarts."

"Well I knew that," Selena chirped. "They started dating during their Sixth year. She was the clever Ravenclaw in class, and he had to ask her for help in Charms." Selena laughed a bit, remembering her father telling her the story. "They'd agreed to get married even before they left Hogwarts."

"What you probably didn't know," Anne continued, "is that marrying a witch who wasn't a pure-blood got him kicked out of his family. He changed his name to Malast. I guess he didn't even consider himself part of the family by then either... So he was estranged. By then his father, Orion, was dead, but his mother wouldn't stand for it."

Selena bit her lip. She'd figured as much. It was still awful to hear. How could she have done that? Walburga Black had one son die, and then kicked the other two of the family. Her thoughts suddenly weren't very admirable of Walburga Black.

"Our grandmother died eleven years ago," Anne said, sounding not-at-all sorry. "Apparently seeing the House of Black ruined may have led to it. Putrid woman."

Selena glanced at Anne for a moment, squinting in the sunlight, wondering at the tone in Anne's voice. It was almost as if she knew the woman herself.

"But we need to go back in time a bit," Anne said. They began to walk down a hill. "Our maternal great-grandparents are Pollux Black and Irma Crabbe."

"You mean we're related to Vincent Crabbe?" Selena gasped, picturing the boy who followed Draco Malfoy around.

Anne nodded somewhat apologetically. "Yeah, most of the pure-blood families are all related. Which is sort of what I'm getting at. So, Pollux Black was the son of Cygnus Black and Violetta Bulstrode. Cygnus was the brother of Acturus Black, who - are you following me? - was the father of three children. One of those children was Cedrella Black. And Cedrella married Septimus... Weasley."

Selena gasped again, though this time it was more out of surprise than horror. "That's right! The Weasley family, they're pure-bloods!"

Anne shrugged. "Well, they say they have Muggle ancestors, but yeah, as far as the families are concerned, they're considered one of them. Septimus is the grandfather of Fred and the rest of the Weasley's."

Selena raised her eyebrows. She laughed a little. "So you're dating your, what, something-something cousin?"

Anne bristled, seeming slightly embarrassed. "It's a very distant relation, okay? Anyway. There are more... well, relations that aren't that great."

Selena could already anticipate what she was going to say.

"Our dear grandmother Walburga was the sister of a Cygnus Black - different Cygnus from the one who married Violetta. And Cygnus had one daughter: Bellatrix Lestrange."

Selena shivered even though it was warm out. She remembered the picture of Bellatrix on the Daily Prophet front page, how she'd tapped on the side of the frame. How much she'd resembled Selena's own father with their dark hair and grey eyes. Selena shivered again as she realized she had that same black hair.

"She's our second cousin," Anne said quietly. She was looking down at the ground, watching their feet treading over grass.

They were both silent for a bit. Selena listened to the sound of the breeze swishing through the grass. Finally, "and you learned all this from just talking with your father yesterday?"

"It was that and reading up on the House of Black," Anne said quickly. "They're a prominent family. There's loads of books on them and the rest of the notable houses."

Selena nodded. She wasn't quite sure if she felt jealous or not that Anne had been able to talk to Sirius. She'd told Selena the full story once they'd met up. It seemed to take Transfiguration forever to crawl by as well, but directly after class Selena ran out and told her friends she'd see them at dinner. Anne had said that during the Great Weasley Escape, Anne and Harry had gone up to Umbridge's office and spoke to Sirius through an enchantment on the fireplace. That finally explained to Selena why she hadn't seen Anne in the hall when the twins left.

Anne had also explained that she hadn't taken the spy ear back yet because she didn't want to tell Harry about their scheme. Not yet anyways.

"We can't get rid of her this year," Anne had said. "But we can make sure she never comes back."

Selena sighed, focusing on the present. "Anne," she finally said. She watched a large, puffy white cloud cross the sky. "Are you afraid?"

"Afraid of what?"

"Afraid of what's going to happen," Selena said. She didn't take her eyes off the cloud. Something about it seemed sweet. It felt funny to look at something so innocent when they were talking about questionable family history and an Azkaban escapee. "He's back. You-Know-Who. I believe Harry. I know you do too. And she's a Death Eater." Even saying the words made Selena shudder.

Anne was quiet next to her. Out of her peripheral vision, Selena could see her red hair blowing a bit in the breeze. "It's happened before. And Voldemort-" Selena looked up at Anne in surprise, hearing the name. Her cousin turned, looking down the few inches that separated them in height. "I'm not afraid to say his name, Selena. It's just a name."

"Words have power," Selena said in a low voice. She wasn't sure where the thought came from. But it seemed true.

"So does silence," Anne replied without falter. "The only thing I've ever been silent on was who my father is."

Selena had to bite her tongue to not argue. Anne certainly hadn't been subtle about going around two years ago and nearly hexing anyone who said anything bad about Sirius Black. She seemed to have calmed down recently, at least.

"I won't let anyone else cow me into silence," Anne said, turning and throwing her arms open. "Not Umbridge, not the Minister, not even Voldemort himself!"

"Alright, alright," Selena said, hurriedly rushing in front of Anne as the older girl dropped her arms. There were people down at the shore of the Black Lake. Selena knew they couldn't hear them, but she couldn't help herself from feeling nervous about it. "Fine. But what if Bellatrix Lestrange comes after your father?"

Anne shrugged. "I think if the Ministry couldn't find him, she has as much chance of it as Umbridge finding the Room of Requirement without any help from Marietta Edgecombe."

Selena gave her cousin a disapproving look. Marietta still had bumps spelling out 'SNEAK' on her forehead. For as upset Selena was about Dumbledore's Army being caught and unofficially disbanded, she still felt bad for Marietta.

"What?" Anne said roughly.

The thumping of feet made the girls turn. Renee waved at them, dressed in sweatpants, a National Welsh Gobstones Team shirt, and sneakers. She stopped running, leaning over to pant.

"Hello, Renee," Selena said brightly.

Renee straightened with a smile, her breathing labored between words. "Hey you - two, what're you - chatting about?"

Anne regarded her cooly for a moment. Selena figured she'd make something up, but instead Anne simply said, "Bellatrix Lestrange and the Azkaban break."

Renee visibly paled. She reached up to one of her cheeks which only moments ago had been red from exercise. "Oh. Well that's... er - not the happiest stuff."

"Not really," Anne replied casually. "But I wouldn't worry about it. Like I was telling Malast here, they already caught those Death Eaters once. They'll do it again."

Renee nodded. "Yeah. 'Course."

Anne stepped away, waving to Selena. "I'll let you two go."

Selena's heart sank a little bit. "Oh, alright. I'll see you 'round."

Anne turned, walking down the rest of the grassy slope towards the Black Lake. Selena glanced over at Renee who seemed to finally have regained control of her breathing. "How was your run?"

"Excellent," Renee said, smiling once again. "I went all the way to the edge of the Forbidden Forest, past the Whomping Willow, and around Professor Hagrid's house. I should have just enough time to get back to the dormitory to shower before dinner."

Selena smiled. It was kind of magical in itself how much happier she felt around Renee. "Let's go, then. I need to go play with Crescent anyways."

They turned, walking back towards Hogwarts castle.

Hey guys!

Okay, so I know there was a lot of names and dates there. I'm just going to list out the chronological order of events with the three brothers Sirius, Regulus, and Castor and their children just to help (and to help me keep things straight too tbh.) Obviously, Castor is an OC of mine! Here's the timeline:

1955, May: Castor Black is born to Orion and Walburga Black.

1959, November: Sirius Black is born to Orion and Walburga Black.

1961: Regulus Black is born to Orion and Walburga Black.

1966, September: Castor Black begins schools at Hogwarts, and is sorted into Slytherin.

1971, September: Sirius Black begins school at Hogwarts, and is sorted into Gryffindor.

1972, September: Regulus Black begins school at Hogwarts, and is sorted into Slytherin.

1973, June: Castor Black graduates from Hogwarts.

1975, January: Castor marries Caroline Buttontop. By then, his name is changed from Black to Malast. (Castor and Caroline are 20 at the time.)

1975, September: Cody Malast is born to Castor and Caroline Malast

1978, June: Sirius Black graduates from Hogwarts.

1979, June: Regulus Black graduates from Hogwarts.

1979: Regulus Black dies. (age 18. Sirius was 19 or 20 at the time, and Castor was around 24 at the time.)

1979: Orion Black dies. (age 50)

1980: Anne Black is born to Sirius Black and Athena. (Sirius is around 21 at the time.)

1981, Halloween: Sirius Black is arrested for the alleged murder of Peter Pettigrew and 12 bystander Muggles. He is sent to Azkaban for life imprisonment. (age 22. Castor is around age 26.)

1982, August: Selena Malast is born to Castor and Caroline Malast. (Castor is around 27 at the time.)

1984, November: Ivy Malast is born to Castor and Caroline Malast. (Castor is 29 at the time.)

1985: Anne Black meets Harry Potter in Preschool and they become friends. (Both are 5 at the time.)

1986, September: Cody Malast begins school at Hogwarts. He is sorted into Hufflepuff.

1987, February: Violet Malast is born to Castor and Caroline Malast. (Castor is around 32 at the time.)

1990: Athena dies. (Anne is age 10.)

1991, September: Anne Black and Harry Potter begin Hogwarts. Both are sorted into Gryffindor.

1992, June: Cody Malast graduates from Hogwarts.

1993, September: Selena Malast begins school at Hogwarts. She is sorted into Gryffindor.

1993: Sirius Black breaks out of Azkaban and escapes, being the first person to do so. (around age 34. Anne is 13 and Selena is 11.)

1995, September: Ivy Malast begins Hogwarts. She is sorted into Ravenclaw.

~o~o~o~o~o

Okay, so that's that.

Anyways, I hope you all liked the chapter! It was mostly about Anne and Selena and their family, but the next chapter will move the plot along. Counting the next chapter, I think there's only going to be three or four more chapters of this year. Possibly five. And then it's onto the Half-Blood Prince!

Eep, that's so exciting! It's been 7 years since I started this story, so the fact that I'm so close to getting to Half-Blood Prince is so thrilling. :D I have plenty of ideas (and I'm always open to more chapter ideas ;D ) that I'm excited for. After that it will be the final year (I think, though that can be discussed later.)

Without further adieu, thanks for the reviewers!

CharmedMilliE- Karry Master

SakuraDragomir

Kurono-Angel

Guest: Hey! Aw, thank you, that means so much to me! Sorry to make you all wait, I am trying to update soon and will explain why I've been gone from that story for now. No problem!

Okay, so tell me what you thought if you'd like.

Have a great week guys!

~ Loveableheart