To those that have read this story, thank you for reading it. I hope that you enjoy this next addition to a Black and White story.
Although I would love to be JK Rowling, I sadly am not. So that also means that I do not own Harry Potter. I never have and never will.
Without further adieu, on with the story!
"What are you doing near my sister Black?" Ben demanded.
Ursula was about to snap back at him but Annabelle spoke first,
"Mum didn't raise you to talk to a girl like that Benny."
Ben looked gob smacked, "You're defending her! She called you a Death Eater!"
"If I recall correctly," Annabelle said calmly, "I was the one to accuse both Blacks of being Death Eaters. For that I apologize."
All the boys were staring at her with slack jaws. They couldn't believe their ears. According to Ben, his sister was less likely to apologize than Voldemort was to admit that he was a muggleborn. It was just then that Sirius realized the state his twin was in. He ran forward but was stopped by Ursula's glare.
"Don't come near me," she growled.
He just stared at her gob smacked, "What? I'm your brother!"
"You sure know how to show it."
It was then that James decided to open his big mouth, "Just leave it Sirius. She's just being a stupid girl."
James glared at her before walking away. Sirius glared at Ursula before following his new friend. Ursula had it and started shouting, "You walk away you little coward! You can't even defend you own sister from the rest of our insane family! ARE YOU LISTENING TO ME!" She shouted as the rest of the boys followed the other two.
Ben had walked away after giving his sister an odd look. Peter and Remus had given her apologetic looks before they scurried after their three friends.
The shouting, Ursula quickly realized, was probably not the best idea. She heard voices as black dots started to block her vision. Her head felt like it was being trampled in by an entire herd of centaurs.
"Black?"
She heard faintly. She didn't have time to respond before she collapsed.
"SHIT, Black, what the hell! You better not die because Minerva would kill me!"
Ursula tried, she honestly tried, to stand up but it was impossible. It was like Bellatrix's curse had banished all the muscles from her legs.
Annabelle reacted quickly and scooped the girl up with her quick Quidditch reflexes. Ursula lost consciousness moments later.
"What's going on here?" Lily Evans asked as she walked around the corner with Elyse.
Annabelle ignored the girls and hurried towards the infirmary. Elyse and Lily saw who was in her arms when she walked past them.
"Woot 'appened teh 'er?" Elyse asked concern for her previously missing friend.
"Listen, I don't have the time to explain, nor do I really want to. Get the hell out of my way and let me get to the bloody infirmary!" Annabelle snapped and left two dazed girls behind her.
When Annabelle burst into the infirmary, she shouted, "OH POPPY! I NEED SOME HELP HERE!"
"I just patched up Mr. Longbottom fifteen—oh sweet Merlin, put her on down here." Madame Pomfrey lost color when she saw the state of the small girl.
"What did you do to her!" The nurse demanded.
"I found her like this in the hallway," the lie rolled off her tongue easily. "I was with the boys and they heard footsteps and went to check it out. I brought her to the infirmary."
"Fine. Leave now; I have a lot of work to do."
Ten minutes later, Annabelle walked back into her home away from home. Sitting on the girls' stairs, there was a group of third year girls that were just chatting away like birds. There was a group of mixed genders sitting around the curve of the bookshelf and were doing homework...and throwing books at each other...? Annabelle snorted when it turned into an all out screaming match if Professor Hesleden, the DADA teacher, had blue eyes or green.
"Oi! Annie, over here!" A male voice shouted from the couch.
Annabelle smiled and when she got close enough she slapped Gideon on the back of his head. He yelped in pain and started grumbling about unappreciative friends, but smiling the whole time. She moved to the identical boy sitting on the armchair and settled on his lap.
"So where were you? You missed a pretty wicked fight!" Fabien's bright blue eyes twinkled with mischief.
"I took Black to the infirmary. Bellatrix is going to regret using those types of spells on a first year that doesn't even know how to send sparks out of her wand."
"Says you who was planning her downfall," Benjy said lazily from the floor. He was leaning against the sofa and was reading a book.
Annabelle just raised an eyebrow, "Who the hell let the Hufflepuff in?" Ben didn't dignify her with a response and continued to read his book in peace. Well, in as much peace you can get in the Gryffindor Common Room.
"The better question, my dear lady," Frank drawled, "is what the hell is a Hufflepuff?"
"Great question Longass. Why don't you walk up to Dumbledore tonight at dinner and ask him that. He's got to know the answer." Fabien challenged him.
Frank got an evil glint in his eye that could never mean anything good. Annabelle then noticed that he had a bandage wrapped around his hand.
"What happened to you Frank?" She asked eyeing the white fabric.
He rubbed it absentmindedly, "Malfoy sent a spell that I thought I blocked. It hit my hand and caught on fire. It bloody hurt!"
"Did Poppy say that Black is going to be okay?" Gideon asked with some genuine worry.
Annabelle just shrugged, "She said that she had a lot of work to do and kicked me out. We'll visit after dinner to make sure she hasn't died."
"Who might die?" Ben asked as he walked towards his sister, stopping at the couch. James and Sirius were with him while Remus seemed to be hanging towards the back. Peter and Elyse were nowhere to be seen.
"Seemed like you cared earlier," Annabelle shot back at him with a harsh tone.
Ben seemed surprised at her hostility, "What did I do?"
"It's Ursula Black. We found her when your cousin Bellatrix decided to use some dark magic on her. Guess while you're basking in the glory of being Gryffindor's new poster child for being a blood traitor you seem to forget the small things," Frank growled at Sirius, who was getting paler and paler as Frank went on.
"What do you mean? She's going to be okay right?" He asked them for reassurance.
When they were silent, Sirius ran out of the common room with Ben and Remus at his heals. James sighed in annoyance before he too followed his friends out of the room.
"Stupid first year Gryffindors." Benjy muttered.
He yelped as he was pelted with four pillows.
"That's it Huffy; time for you to go back to the hive."
Ursula was sitting on the edge of the hospital bed, her feet swinging back and forth as she tried to avoid looking McGonagall in the eye.
"Are you sure that you didn't see you attackers Miss Black," McGonagall's concerned voice made it impossible for her to lie to her.
"I'm sure."
McGonagall sighed, "It is a serious offence and whoever did this to you should be punished. It is not acceptable in this school to hex first years."
"What about coloring their hair?" She muttered to herself.
"What-" The transfiguration teacher couldn't finish as the door burst open. Elyse was pulling on Sirius's arm, trying to hold him back while Lily did the same to Ben.
"Sorry, Ursula!" Lily shouted over the boy's loud talking.
"Let me bloody go! I want to make sure my sister is okay!" Sirius wrenched himself free and ran to his sister's side.
"What happened? White was saying something you almost dying earlier," he said as sat down next to her and gently grabbed her shoulders and moved her a little bit so he could do his own visual check on her.
"Nothing happened. I just want to go to dinner, I'm starving."
Ursula hopped off the bed and almost lost her balance if it weren't for the four pairs of hands that flew out to steady her. McGonagall seemed to have other ideas about where she would be going,
"I think not Miss Black. You were just subjected to some pretty serious curses and you are in no shape to be leaving this infirmary."
"But Professor, Madame Pomfrey said that I could go once I felt up to it. The spells left no lasting damage."
McGonagall sighed, seeing a lost cause for what it was. "Fine, you may go to the Great Hall. But at least two of your friends must be with you at one time or another. If at any time you do not feel well, return here at once. Am I clear?"
"Crystal. Now, if you don't mind, I would love to get some food in my tummy since I haven't eaten since breakfast."
The entire group of first years moved out of the infirmary and towards the Great Hall.
"I'm sorry about overreacting. It's just that-" Ben was cut off from his apology.
"She's your sister. I get it; I would do the same if someone offended Sirius."
Sirius got a stupid look on his face as he slung his arm over her shoulders, "I always knew you loved me."
She glared at him and he quickly removed his arm and rubbed the back of his neck nervously, "I am sorry about acting like a prat earlier. I promise that will never happen again."
Ursula and Elyse both snorted.
"Like 'hat will eva 'appen." Elyse said with an eye roll.
Thus began the never ending argument between Elyse and Sirius if he could not be a prat. Lily was having a similar argument with James. Ben began trying to mediate Sirius and Elyse's argument while Remus tried to gently intervene on James and Lily's little spat.
Ursula laughed at them but then winced when a pain shot up her side.
"Are you alright Ursula?" Peter asked as he put a gentle hand on her shoulder.
She smiled, "I'll be fine Pete. Thanks for asking."
He just shrugged with a shy smile, "That's what friends are for."
They had finally reached the Great Hall and they found a seat near the front end of the table. They just began to start eating when Ben asked what had been on everyone's mind.
"So what really happened today, Ursula?"
She looked around nervously, "I got hexed by some Slytherins, that's it."
"Likely story," James said. "But we heard you say that you didn't know who hexed you when McGonagall asked. Memory tampering?" He asked, with a slightly malicious smile.
She just glared at him, knocking his stupid smile off his face,
"It was my own bloody family okay? I got upset when mum didn't even bother to mention me in the howler because I've been a disgrace since I was born because I'm a girl. Have you ever felt unloved by your parents Potter? You're the bloody apple of their eyes! So I went to the library to get away from all the idiots like you and when I decided to come back, I ran into my lovely cousin Bellatrix."
James had paled considerably, "Ursula-"
"That's not even the end of it. Apparently, I would make a perfect spy on Gryffindor. Obviously I refused and sweet Bella decided that I was in need of a lesson. Ben's sister shows up with a couple guys. They save me. The end."
The section of their table was absolutely silent. The two girls were glaring at the boys for being so stupid. All the boys had the decency to look embarrassed.
"This is why I think all boys are prats," Lily said before she excused herself from her spot and went to go sit with some of the other girls from her dorm.
"How about we start over, eh? Hello, my name is James Potter and I'm the best thing to enter this world since Quidditch."
Everyone's eyes except Elyse's lit up as James mentioned the spot.
"What's Quidditch?" She asked.
That went into a very long winded explanation about Quidditch. Elyse was saved from information overload when Frank Longbottom dramatically walked forward and knelt in front of the headmaster's chair.
"Oh, honorable, fearless leader! I have become lost on my journey and in need of some your infinite knowledge to continue on the honorable path," Frank bowed his head and kept a straight face amongst the laughs.
Dumbledore smiled down at the teenager,
"What troubles you, my young son?"
"I have searched and searched for an answer to the question that has plagued my life for so long! I no longer have anywhere else to turn! Just assure me that I am worthy enough to be in your presence before I, a mere mortal, ask the question."
Dumbledore was openly chuckling by now. A few of the teachers were in hysterics but most were holding it in pretty well. McGonagall was hiding her face behind her hands while Slughorn was laughing so hard that he was practically falling off the chair.
"Rise, son. No one is unworthy in my eyes." The Headmaster said with a bright twinkle to his eyes.
Frank widened his eyes and quickly rose to his feet,
"Thank you, kind sir. You're generosity will not be forgotten anytime soon."
"Just ask your question so you can continue you journey." Dumbledore prompted.
The Gryffindor cleared his throat and waited until all the laughter had died down. Then in the most serious expression anyone had ever seen on the jokester's face, he asked,
"What the hell is a Hufflepuff?"