A/N: Well, school has started and I've already been booked with homework. (Not to mention band practice, which my first day made me go to bed as soon as I got home, so I had to do homework in the early morn.) But, even with AP classes swamping me with homework, I WILL NOT GIVE UP! That's not a good thing for you though. That means I'll have less leisure time to do these stories, but I'll try my best to keep them coming at a constant rate. Anywho, we learn Amaranta's past. Enjoy!

Reconciling With Amaranta

Harry couldn't believe he had actually befriended Voldermort's daughter. She looked nothing like him (though it would be hard to find another snake-like human nowadays). She had even been sending information to the Death Eaters about him! He felt. . .betrayed. He couldn't be comfortable with her in the same room anymore, which was terrible, seeing as how he had quite a few classes with her. She had attempted talking to them for some time, but after shunning her, she moved her seat as far away from them as possible in all of their classes together.

Hermoine seemed to be the only one who took pity upon her. "It's like she's becoming the next Moaning Myrtle," she said during lunch one time. "She spends all her free time crying nowadays. She's worse than Cho Chang!"

"She deserves to cry!" Ron said angrily, and Harry had to agree. "Who knows what she's told You-Know-Who about us? She's probably the one who told You-Know-Who to attack my dad!"

"Don't be silly!" Hermoine said. "There's no way she could've known you're dad would be patrolling the Department of Mysteries that night! You didn't even know that!"

"Well, she probably told them he works at the Ministry!" Ron retorted.

"They already know that," Hermoine pointed out to him. "Look, she hasn't been in the Great Hall in forever. Now that Draco's turned against her, we're her only friends!"

"No we're not," Harry said venomously. "Not anymore."

"It's not her fault who her father is!" Hermoine pleaded. "She can't choose how she's born. You of all people should know that. Just listen to her side of the story! Maybe Draco was lying."

"You heard her!" Ron argued. "She said it was the truth. We can't trust her! She's a dirty, two-faced Slytherin!"

"You know you sound just like Malfoy when you say that," Hermoine fumed, she stood up, and gathered her bags. "You're so heartless, Ron!" She stormed out of the Great Hall.

Hermoine didn't speak to them for the rest of the day, but Harry didn't mind. It gave him time to think. He was completely deaf to her entire plea of Amaranta's case.

He hadn't noticed until he was walking down to Herbology class that all the plants around Hogwarts were shriveled and brown. The fields of once green pastures had turned beige, as if they were met with winter. The Whomping Willow thrashed about even more than usual, and Proffesor Sprout had to change their lessons, because all of the Lashing Lillies had just shriveled up and died in one of her classes.

After Herbology, Harry made his way to the castle. He was heading past one of the girl's bathrooms, when a couple of Hufflepuff girls caught his attention. He didn't recognize any of them, but they were talking so loudly so that it was difficult not to eavesdrop in the otherwise deserted corridor.

"Hey, there was a girl crying in there," one of them said. "Shouldn't we go see what's wrong?"

"Oh, it's just that Slytherin girl," one with long brown hair said with a wave of her hand. "She's a human hosepipe nowadays."

"No one likes her," another one with blonde hair chimed in. "Not even the other Slytherins. I heard that Pansy Parkinson jinxed her to honk everytime she talked."

"I think Pansy's just glad she's not hanging around Draco Malfoy anymore," the brown-haired one spoke again. "She's always fancied him. I bet she's trying her best to keep them apart."

"That girl is so dark and creepy, anyways," the other said, and they all laughed as they turned the corner. Harry stared at the door to the girl's bathroom, wondering if Amaranta was still in there, crying. She was just like Snape: always bullied and hated. Harry hated himself for pitying his two enemies.

Before he could move, the door opened and out came Amaranta, eyes red and wiping her nose. She froze when she saw him, but then she turned around, head low, and began to walk away.

Harry watched, his head a heated debate. She was just about to round the corner when he shouted, "Amaranta, wait!"

She turned, wide-eyed, and looked at him. He ran to catch up to her, and stopped, unsure of what to say, or why he had even stopped her. They stared at each other for a few minutes before he said, "Follow me."

She obeyed silently, curious and eager. He led her to the seventh floor, and a door immeadiately appeared next to them. Harry opened it, but instead of being the mirrored room that the D.A. meetings usually held, it was a comfy sitting room, with large arm chairs of velvet and a cozy fire rolling in the fireplace. He set her down in the deep violet chair. "Wait here," he ordered and left the room.

He returned with Ron and Hermoine and sat them in the other chairs. He sat in the crimson one that faced the fire. Now, all sitting, confused and in a circle, they turned their eyes on Harry, expecting him to lead.

He turned first to Amaranta, and said, "I still don't trust you, but it's not fair to go on Malfoy's word alone. I want to hear your side of the story."

"I think we've heard enough, Harry," Ron said, getting out of his chair. "She's You-Know-Who's daughter, and she's been spying on us."

"Sit back down," Hermoine said firmly. "You don't know that. Give her a chance, Ron."

Ron sat back down, but not without grumbling.

"Go on, Amaranta," Hermoine said kindly to her.

The dark haired girl smiled widely, tears pouring down her face again. "Thank you," she muttered, before pushing back her tears and beginning her story. "It is true that the Dark Lord is my father, but not biologically. Mr. Malfoy told me that he killed my real parents and took me in. I don't know why he would want me, but I've hardly ever seen him, and when I do, it's a very short visit. I stay with the Malfoy's, in their manor. The Dark lord makes occasional visits to check up on me, but I've learned not to dare speak to him. Last time I tried that, he chopped my arm off, grew it back, and repeated the proccess for an hour."

Harry winced. It hurt to regrow bones, he could only imagine having to grow the whole thing back.

"But if You-Know-Who treats you like dirt," Ron said, "then why does he keep you around. You don't seem like much of a use."

"I've wondered that myself," Amaranta's eyes had stopped watering, and she continued seriously. "I've figured that he was waiting for me to grow up so he could use me for the very reason I am here: to spy on Harry and Dumbledore. I won't say that isn't why I'm here, cause it is. And at first, that was what I was doing, but as I grew to know you guys. . .No one, besides Draco, has ever treated me like an equal before. You all never ordered me around, or punished me when I did something wrong. I haven't sent them any reports. I was told to wait until the end of the year."

"But how were you enrolled at Hogwarts?" Hermoine asked. "You said you were homeschooled until now. Dumbledore checks everyone's backgrounds."

"I have been adopted by the Malfoy's," Amaranta answered. "Legally. They changed the records in a muggle orphanage to have me listed. If anyone looked up my history, they would be stumped at the orphanage. And it was true that I was homeschooled. Draco taught me all sorts of spells over the summer."

"So you mean to say, that you've grown up in the Malfoy manor all your life?" Ron said. "No wonder you have such a horrible personality."

"Ron!" Hermoine hissed.

"Well, anyone who grew up with that guy as a step-brother must be addled in the-Ow! What'd you hit me for?" Ron rubbed the lump forming on his head from where Hermoine had thunked him.

"He's not actually as bad as you think!" Amaranta said urgently. "Draco was the only person who didn't treat me like some house-elf! He was my first and only friend until I met you guys. He treated me nicely until I came to Hogwarts. I think this place does something to him."

"What are you talking about?" Ron snorted. "Malfoy's always been a prick. Always looking down on others."

"Those are just the qualities of a leader," Amaranta said. "And he seems to have something against you guys. I've never seen him be so mean to anyone, even if you are Gryffindors. He always gave me gifts, and we played in the yard all the time. Did you know he has an albino peacock? It's so pretty! His mom and dad don't really like me, but I'm aloud to eat meals with him! And-"

"One more question," Harry interrupted. He couldn't stand to hear anyone talk so affectionately about such a disgusting guy. "During the last D.A. meeting, why did you cry when your Patronus became a butterfly?"

Amaranta froze, wide-eyed, but then she relaxed, and a nostalgic smile spread across her face. "Well, things with Draco haven't gone too well, since I enrolled here at Hogwarts. They've gone straight down the gutter, in fact. When I saw the butterfly, I. . .I remembered a time when we were playing in the gardens at his manor. We were little kids, and the Dark Lord had just finished making a visit.

"He said I was like a butterfly trapped in a net. He promised, he'd get me out of the Dark Lord's net when he came of age. We were planning to runaway together. Somewhere far away form here, where there were no Death Eaters, on wizards or witches, and no Dark Lord."

"Hold on a minute," Hermoine held her hand up. "Lord Voldermort" -Ron cringed- "only came back our first year at Hogwarts. How could he have killed your parents?"

"What do you mean?" Amaranta quirked her head slightly. "I'm only five years old. He did it when I was a little baby."

They all gaped at her.

"You're lying," Ron accused. "There's no way you could be five years old and look like that! That's silly!"

"I just grew really fast," Amaranta shrugged. "I found it kind of odd how Draco grew so slow, but I figured he was an odd one. Is that weird?"

"Yes, very weird," Harry said. "But you don't sound like a five year old."

"Maybe they used some kind of spell to make her grow faster," Hermoine suggested. "I've seen that used for plants, but it's been too dangerous to use on a human. You never know what part might grow faster. They were just eager for her to grow up to pass as a teenager so she could spy on Harry."

"That might be it," Harry said, relieved. He was afraid she was. . .not human.

Harry was glad that he had stopped Amaranta and talked with her. All the previous tension had died away. However, the dreaded O.W.L.'s had come at last. Their written exams were in the morning and their practicals in the afternoon. Harry felt that he did reasonably on the written exam for Charms, it was the practical that he had to worry about. He never was very good.

He had used a Gowth Charm instead of a Color-Changing Charm, causing the rat he was supposed to be turning orange to grow to the size of a boxer. He didn't dare tell Hermoine his mistake, but he could tell Ron and Amaranta though. Ron had turned his dinner plate into a mushroom with no idea how he had done it.

"That's nothing," Amaranta said, with a blush. "I accidentally turned my rat into a monkey which threw the plates at my examiner. Even if I levitated my dishes well, I'm definitely going to get failed for that."

"But turning a rat into a monkey is a difficult charm," Ron protested. "I can only change them into smaller animals, not bigger ones. I think they'll realize how good you are."

"Or how dangerous," Amaranta said with a heavy sigh. "Even if you're a good witch or wizard, if you make a mistake, you can seriously injure, or even kill someone! Let's just be glad the monkey didn't get a hold of the knives Hannah Abbot was trying to levitate."

Harry was taking his Astronomy test one night when he saw something in the corner of his eye. Pretending to write something down on his star chart, he looked over the edge of the Astronomy Tower. Umbridge was walking along the grounds along with five others. Someone's coughing reminded him he was half-way through an exam, and he peeked back through his telescope. Before he could mark Venus's location, he heard a distant knocking noise, followed by the bellowing of a large dog.

Fear pumping his heart, he looked over the edge of the tower. The light's in Hagrid's windows were on, and he could see sillouhettes of six people before the door was closed. There was a loud roar, and several kids turned away from their telescopes to see what the noise was.

"Twenty minutes to go," Professor Tofty said, and several people, including Hermoine returned to their telescopes.

There was a loud BANG! and all the kids were gaping at Hagrid's hut. The door had burst open and Hagrid was easily visible in the light that pooled onto him. Six figures were holding their wands at him, threads of red light zipping past him. Their attempts to Stun him were useless, his giant body tackling past them. Fang attempted to protect his master, and he was holding back the strangers, until he was caught by a Stunning Spell. Hagrid roared with fury and picked up the culprit, chucking him into the other perpetrators.

"Look!" cried Parvati, pointing towards the entrance hall.

The door swung open and a lone black shadow walked across the grounds towards the fight.

"We're in the middle of an examination, you know!" Professor Tofty told them all, but no one was paying him the slightest attention.

"How dare you!" the figure shouted. "How dare you!"

"It's McGonagall!" Hermoine exclaimed.

"Leave him alone!" said Professor McGonagall. "On what grounds are you attacking him? He has done nothing to warranta such -"

Hermoine, Parvati, and Lavender screamed. Four Stunners had sent their red jets of light squarely in Professor McGonagall's chest. For a moment, she was surrounded by an eerie red glow, before she collapsed onto the floor and lay immobile.

"Boxing Boggarts!" Professor Tofty shouted.

"YOU RUDDY COWARDS!" Hagrid shouted, swinging his massive fists. "HAVE SOME O'THAT! AN' THAT!"

Two of Hagrid's closest attackers were knocked out cold by his swinging hams of fists. He went to Fang's limp body and lugged it over his back as he began to run towards the gates.

"After him!" Umbridge ordered, but everyone seemed reluctant to get anywhere near Hagrid.

The other three tripped over themselves, trying to back up too fast. Umbridge tried, in vain, to Stun Hagrid one last time, but it missed, and he disappeared into the darkness.

The silence after that was absolute. No one seemed to register Professor Tofty's warn of the last five minutes. Even though Harry had only filled over a half of his star chart, he couldn't wait for the exam to be over. As all of the kids dashed down the spiral staircase, they all talked excitedly about what they had just witnessed.

"That evil, vile woman!" Hermoine cried in rage, tears showing in her eyes. "How dare she! Sneaking up on Hagrid like that! And Professor McGonagall!"

"Amaranta," Harry turned to the girl. "How come you look so calm?"

"Oh, I do?" She raised her eyebrows. Lately, she had been resorting back to her poker face, but it felt natural for her. "I'm sorry. It's not that I don't care about Professor Hagrid and Professor McGonagall. I'm just used to seeing much worse."

Harry had almost forgotten that she had grown up in nothing but Death Eater's company. It was a miracle she didn't turn out like them. Maybe it was Malfoy's influence. . .

"I dont need. . .I'm not going to the hospital wing. . .I don't want to. . ." Harry muttered, waving off Professor Tofty.

He had just collapsed, screaming, in the middle of his History of Magic exam. Not that he could tell Professor Tofty, but he had just seen his godfather, Sirius Black, being torture by Voldermort in the Department of Mysteries! He had been seeing into Voldermort's mind more and more recently. He had witnessed Ron's father being attacked by a giant snake, and now he had just witnessed his godfather suffering a similar fate!

"I'm f-fine, sir," Harry stammered, breathing heavily. "Just had a nightmare. . ."

"Perfectly understandable," Professor Tofty nodded. "Do you think you can go back to the Great Hall and round off your answer?"

"Yes," Harry nodded, but then shook his head. "No, I think. . .I think I've written enough. . ."

"Very well," the old wizard smiled sympathetically. "I'll go collect your examination paper. You go and have a nice lie down. . ."

"I'll do that," Harry nodded, still breathing hard. "Thanks."

He waited for the bell to ring, and he heard the distant shuffle of students. Quickly, he ran to find his friends, Ron and Hermoine. "Come with me," he said urgently, pulling them along. "I've got to tell you something. . ."

He led them to an empty classroom on the first floor, closing the door behind him, and facing the other two.

"Voldermort's got Sirius."

"What?"

He told them all he had seen about Harrry collapsing during his examination, and Voldermort torturing Sirius.

"So how are we going to get there?" he asked them.

There was a moments silence before Ron said stupidly, "G-get there?"

"Get to the Department of Mysteries to rescue Sirius!" Harry said, aggrivated at them for being so dim-witted.

"But-Harry. . ." Ron said meagerly.

"What?" Harry snapped at him.

"Harry," Hermoine tried to speak in her least nagging tone of voice. "Um. . .How did Lord Voldermort. . .er. . .get into the Department of Mysteries without anyone realizing it?"

"How am I supposed to know?" he said angrily. "I want to know how we're going to get there."

"Harry, how could Voldermort have gotten Sirius when he's been in Grimmauld Place all this time?" Hermoine countered.

"Maybe Sirius cracked and went outside," Ron suggested.

"But why one Earth would Voldermort use Sirius of all people?" Hermoine said desperately. "He's been using him as a scape-goat to keep his rise to power hidden."

"Hermoine, Harry's seen them!" Ron rounded on her.

"Ok, then," Hermoine said carefully. "I've only got to say this. . .Don't you think. . .What I mean to say is. . .Don't you have this. . .hero-complex?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Harry said dangerously.

Hermoine shrunk in fear. "I mean. . .you. . .like in the Triwizard Tournament. . .you saved that little Delacour girl. . .you didn't have to. . .I don't mean it's a bad thing. . .it was a splendid thing to do. . .everyone thought you were wonderful. . ."

"So you think I'm acting the hero, huh?" Harry glared angrily. "You reckon I want to be the hero again?"

"No!" Hermoine looked shocked. "That's not what I meant at all!"

"Then spit out what you're trying to say."

"I'm trying to say that Lord Voldermort knows you, Harry. He used Ginny to lure you to the Chambr of Secrets. He knows you're the kind of person who'd come to Sirius's aid! What if this is what he wants you to do?"

"It doesn't matter if he's done this to get me there or not!" Harry wanted to strangle her. "If I don't go, Sirius is dead! There's no one left from the Order in Hogwarts to tell!"

"But Harry-"

The door suddenly opened, and Ginny and Luna came walking in. "We heard your voice and wanted to see what you were yelling about," Ginny said.

"Never you mind," Harry snapped.

"You don't have to take that tone with me," Ginny said calmly. "I was just wondering if I could help."

"Yes, you were being quite rude," Luna added.

Harry rolled his eyes. He didn't want to bother with these two right now.

"Harry, maybe they can help," Hermoine said. "We need to establish whether Sirius really left headquarters-"

"I told you-"

"Hary, I'm beggin you! Please!" Hermoine pleaded. "Let's just check and see if Sirius is home. If he's not. . .then I'll help you all I can!"

"How are we going to check?" Harry demanded.

"Umbridge's fire," Hermoine answered. "We'll see if we can contact him. We can draw Umbridge away again, but we'll need lookouts. That's where these two come in."

"Ok, but who will be the distraction?"

"I'll do it," Ron volunteered. "I'll tell her Peeves is smashing things up in the Transfiguration department. In fact, I could probably convince Peeves to do it on the way there."

"Okay," Hermoine said, pacing the room, her mind working furiously. "Well then, Harry. You and I can check if Sirius is home under the Invisibility Cloak. Even with all that, I think we'll only get five minutes."

"That'll be enough," said Harry. "Ok, let's go."

"Now?"

"Yes, now," Harry said sternly. "Siruis is being tortured this very minute! We can't wait till nightfall or something!"

"Well, okay, then," Hermoine said. "You go get the Invisibility Cloak and we'll meet you at the end of Umbridge's corridors."