Chapter Six-

Of Flirts, more lies, and Family Reunions.

Ebony awoke on the day before they were dismissed for Christmas break by a very flustered McGonagall ushering Ginny out of the dorm room. They were out of the room much too quickly for Ebony's tired eyes to follow. So fast, it looked to Ebony, that she thought she imagined it all. On top of not believing what she had seen, she was still half in dreams to even get her mind to make it sensical. So she went back into blissfully calm sleep.

She truly woke up again when the sun was up and shining outside. Jamie and Holly were absent from the dorm, and she figured they were probably already ready to go. Looking down at her bed with horror, Ebony realized she had not packed a single thing. They were leaving soon; today! She shoved her trunk open, none too gently, and started stuffing whatever muggle clothing she owned into it.

A couple of minutes later, after lots of flying clothing and scurrying around, Ebony was finally ready to go. She walked past the empty corridors, rode a carriage with complete strangers, and boarded the train without seeing a trace of any of her friends.

Boarding the Hogwarts Express back home, even for a break, without her friends was odd to her. It felt wrong. She walked past compartment after compartment, unable to find one that wasn't already full. She saw groups of close-knit friends, not unlike the way she and her friends used to be, laughing at inside jokes. It made her feel sad nostalgia for how things used to be. Just a couple months ago, she had been the same. If she tried to sit with Jamie or Holly now, she would probably get kicked out.

After several minutes of failing to find one, Ebony was becoming more worried of not finding a compartment at all. She was about to give up looking for one altogether, when she chanced upon a compartment with just enough space for herself and her trunk. She was about to slide open the door, when the boy in the compartment noticed her, and stood up to open the door for her.

"Thank you,"she said, trying her best to smile genuinely. The boy, whom had introduced himself as Derek, smiled enthusiastically at her, and ushered her into the compartment. "Sorry, if it bugs you that we're only third years," he said after introducing the other girls in the compartment. All three of them were in Ravenclaw, but each seemed so different to Ebony. Derek was obviously the friendly one that could make friends anywhere, and was overly trusting. The girl that sat across from him, whom Ebony found out was named Samantha, seemed awfully shy. Though, despite her shyness towards Ebony, she seemed perfectly verbose with the other girl and even more so with Derek. The other girl that sat besides Samantha, was named Evie. She had claimed to not have a surname. Something of which Ebony found odd, and thought was probably false. The girl was one of those people that, had she been a muggle or muggle-born, would've been considered a hipster/punk. She had short spiky hair, that had streaks of red and dark purple everywhere. Evie could probably look scary if she tried hard enough. It was a huge contrast to Samantha's slight features. Samantha had long, silky hair that was strawberry blond. She had a very light complexion and despite the hunched-over shoulders that implied weakness, there was a sense of inner strength hidden somewhere in this girl. Ebony wouldn't have been surprised if Samantha turned out the strongest-willed person out of the people she knew.

Ebony felt very out of place with these Ravenclaws. It wasn't because they were Ravenclaws, but because she felt like she was in some type of situation she had not business getting involved in.

"So, what did you say your name was, again?" Derek finally says after she's settled and sitting down. Startled, Ebony stuttered, "I-I didn't, but its Ebony." Ebony also wasn't comfortable, because the boy was sitting a little too close for her to relax. It wasn't the same type of nervousness she got when George was near. It was the type that makes you feel queasy the bad way.

Apparently, Ebony wasn't the only one whom noticed his close proximity, because Samantha's whole body was tensed. Her knuckles were turning white from gripping a book she had on her lap very tightly. Not wanting to seem like she was encouraging Derek, Ebony leaned away from him as was possible in the confines of the compartment. It was then that Ebony regretted sitting down in there. She desperately wished someone could thrust open the compartment door and save her.

"Derek!"

Derek jumped away from Ebony, and she looked up at her saviour. He was tall, she guessed about six feet, and had dark hair that stopped right over his ears. "-Think you're real hilarious, don't you?" Ebony looked from between the boy that saved her, and Derek. He says,"Will, I have no idea what you're talking about" Despite what Derek said, Ebony guessed he did because he was smirking up at the other boy she assumed to be Will. "You know exactly what I'm talking about, you little twat." Will sighed in exasperation and noticed the other people in the compartment for the first time. He didn't miss that they were all female. "What's wrong little brother? What'd you have to pay them to make them sit with you?" The boy named Will sneered at his younger brother and strode out of the compartment, not waiting for an answer. Whatever it was that had angered him, must have been really annoying.

Thinking it the perfect time for her escape, Ebony jumped and followed Will out of the compartment.

"T-Thank you," she said to the back of his head. Will turned halfway and after looking at her blankly for a few seconds, he says, "What?" It was only natural he was confused. She hadn't really said why she thanked him.

"-For saving me from Derek. I wasn't comfortable sitting there, anymore."

Will nods absent-mindedly and turns back to where he was headed, "Well in that case, no problem. My little brother can be a pain in the arse. And I would know..." he mumbled, more to himself. With that said, he started walking away from where Ebony stood transfixed. She didn't know what had driven her to follow him out. She had just followed a whim, and she now had no idea where to go from there. She was not feeling up to re-entering the compartment. She no longer felt quite so welcome.

Platform 93/4 - Jamie's POV

I heaved my trunk off the train and when I had everything I owned, I waved goodbye to Holly and tried to find my parents. I wasn't really looking forward meeting them, and I was especially not in the mood to stay in that house in that room for any amount of time. Being there still never ceases to make me feel suffocated. I can't blame the house, though. The house is large, and spacious.

The size has nothing to do with the suffocation.

"Jamie, dear! Let Simon carry your heavy trunk. You wouldn't want to hurt your pretty self," my mummy dearest said as soon as I was within her line of view and ear-shot. I grimaced, but continued to hold the trunk.

"Mum, I'm fine. Simon's old, and he would probably get hurt more than myself,"

Simon was our chauffeur, but he usually ended up being my mother's pack-mule-slash-bitch. Merlin knows how the poor guy can put up with her every day ...all day. I go mad just having to be in her presence for more than a couple minutes.

Mum forced a strained smile on her face, but otherwise allowed me to put away my own trunk in the outlandish car. I still can't understand what it is with the woman and having to feel and look rich. Its annoying and tacky. Also, what's with calling me "dear"? I'm not her lovely little daughter. I could never be that to her. I'm the substitute, the fake one.

After we were all set and ready, Simon pulled away from Kings Cross, and began the two hour drive to the house. That's also something I don't get. I always thought of the mini palace as a house, but never a home. I think I realized the answer once I finally say the gate into the house, and the memories of years of misery came back to me.

"Miss Jamie, you mustn't run so! Your mother, the mistress, would have a fit if you hurt herself!" said a man whom was running after a little girl of about six years of age. The little girl was running around the garden, her favourite garden, and ignored her personal butler.

The young girl giggled and laughed, a little faerie playing among the many pretty plants and butterflies. "I don't wanna listen to mummy! She never plays with me. Mummy is boring!" She lets out more peals of laughter as her puppy, Ramone, tackles her to the ground. "Ramone! Bad doggy!" Jamie giggled as she picked herself up off the floor, then as if remembering something, she sai , "Simon, would Lydia have liked running and playing with Ramone, too?"

The man named Simon looked at Jamie with a severe expression, "Miss Jamie, Lydia died when she was four, but she was your twin. Of course she would like everything you liked."

"Why did she have to die? I would've had a friend..." After having said that, the little girl fell into a severe coughing fit. She often fell ill, and it was nothing new.

"Miss Jamie, you have plenty of friends. Lydia is in a better place now. C' mon now, we have to get you inside before you fall ill again," Simon says with a softened expression. Little did he know, that the girl named Lydia was not dead. She had not died, like her mother had declared two years ago. In fact, if one investigated the mini palace, one would find the young girl crouched in a dark room underneath the house...alone.

Lydia lived in a dark, dark world. She was alone, and she was scared. Her room recieved no real light. The only light came from a small orb-like light that had been left in the room, so she would not be completely terrified. Despite never knowing love, Lydia did not hate her parents. She was not yet old enough to know that she should. The poor dear had been imprisoned, and declared dead the day before her and Jamie's fourth birthday. She could only remember snippets of the world outside her prison. Her mother had not allowed her to live free much longer. Had she been old enough to remember anything, it would've made things for her mother much more difficult.

To understand why her mother "killed" her, you would have to know more about the family history.

Lydia's mother was from a very long line of pure-blooded asian wizards. Just like nobles from old times, they felt it necessary to only hand over companies and homes to the appropriate heirs. Often times, families would give birth to twins knowing one was fated to be a shadow of the other. If something were to happen to one twin, the other would be able to replace the other with little or no obstacle. It was the perfect plan for the -now, Mrs. Harrow. She had no qualms with pretending her other daughter, Lydia, had died with dragon-pox. She did it sneakily and smoothly. So smooth did she manage it that her muggle husband, Mr. Harrow, never knew a thing.

Of course, confusing a muggle enough for them to believe their daughter is genuinely dead wasn't too hard a task the fully-trained witch.

Don't get her wrong, though. Mrs Harrow had nothing against muggle men. She was married to one. She just didn't want Mr. Harrow stopping her from ensuring the family business. She knew that if he ever found out the truth of Lydia's "death", he would foil her plans. Mrs. Harrow couldn't let that happen. Jamie was becoming steadily more ill, and Lydia was perfectly healthy. Lydia would have to one day become Jamie, and to be ready, she would have to never develop her own self. For that reason, Lydia was condemned to a life in the shadows unless Lydia died. It was better for one of them to "die" now, than later, when the death would cause a scandal. If Lydia took Jamie's spot, it wouldn't change anything. No one would notice. Family honour would be preserved.

"Ms. Jamie, I think its about time you got off the car," Simon cautioned.

I was successfully shaken out of my reverie, or I don't really know what it was. My mind was simply blank. I know some people don't really believe people can do that. Some don't think anyone can completely keep their mind clear, and simply not think.

Anyway, I did as Simon suggested and made my way off the vehicle. Yes, I called it a vehicle because no way in merlin's saggy left foot is that a car. I have yet to see such an enormous "car", hence my use of the word vehicle. I let Simon carry my trunk, albeit reluctantly. My dearest mother was glaring at me. I guessed she wouldn't stand for me to have to carry the thing anymore. She only let my do it at the station because she didn't like causing scenes. But it still hurt seeing the poor guy suffer.

There it is...The whole family honour thing. Merlin, this woman was mad. Sometimes I wonder how much worse it would've been had she been British. At least British pure-blooded wizards didn't feel the need to ...

My thoughts were once again interrupted by my jamming a foot on the door frame to my bedroom.

"I know its going to be a 'normal' stay at home when I run into that door. -It's weird if I don't jam my foot into it at one point," I mutter to myself. I don't run into the door on purpose...I just never remember to walk an extra step forward before I turn into the room. I look around the room, and was once again filled with a sad nostalgia. I miss my sister, my twin, every day more than the last.

This is why I never come home for the holidays, and will only return during the summer break. I can't bear to think about my dead sister anymore.

I might hate this life, but its better than the basement.

I hate that the only way I was able to find some kind of happiness was when she died. I guess I wasn't the best of sisters...

The Thompson Home- Ebony's POV

I've had an epiphany.

Want to hear it?...Okay, I've come to realize that humans are very awkward and can't seem to formulate any type of speech when faced with complicated situations. Well, at least my family is like that.

I had crossed the threshold to my home after a really awkward train ride, and even more awkward car ride home. The train ride was, to put it mildly, a fiasco. After I followed Will out of the compartment, I was left with two options: Go back into the compartment and deal with the overly-friendly third year, or stand out in the hall like an idiot. If anyone knew me at all, they could probably imagine which option I took.

That's right, I stood outside the bloody compartment like a bloody idiot.

It was extra awkward, though, when I had to get my muggle clothing out of my trunk to change back into. The girl named Evie was looking like she had something lodged in her throat. I'm guessing she was trying that hard not to laugh. Great. That's bloody fantastic. Samantha's lips were pursed into a very thin line, and she was looking down at the book on her lap. Derek didn't- or couldn't- even look up at me.

Not that I minded. It was just weird, is all. I reckon I hurt his "manly pride"(I call it ego) when I rejected his advances. On top of that, I followed his older brother out of the compartment. Oh yes, I would imagine I damaged his ego by quite a lot. I'm not entirely sure what type of twisted love triangle I had stumbled upon, but I really hope I never have to meet either of them again. Today's train ride was more than enough torture. I'm not exaggerating. It counted as much as a form of torture as the physical kind. If you don't agree try being in the same situation, and see how you feel.

Of course, I wouldn't have had any of this happen had Ginny not been MIA. Ginny, Ron, George, and Fred had been completely AWOL.

I never thought I would have missed them all as much as I missed them, then. Even Harry was gone! It was all mad. If I hadn't missed them that much, I would've been much more angry at them for abandoning me. Especially in a time of need! Okay, that was a bit melodramatic...

Oh, it was also pretty awkward when I finally met my parents again. It slipped my mind to send them a letter earlier, so I could ease their worrying a tad. Alas, I failed to. They were so worried sick about how I would greet them when I got off the train, that it was almost comical. Almost. You could imagine how they felt when I stormed out of the train, looking very sober then hugged them like they were my lifeline.

Which, in a way, they are.

Sure, I was on a bit of a warpath when I first found out I was adopted, but they did raise me for the past thirteen years. That's the best kind of proof of love anyone can get. Well, it was more than enough proof for me. I am curious about Sirius, my father, and my mother...But they're still just strangers to me. They didn't raise me. They didn't love me unconditionally, no matter how many tantrums I threw as a toddler. I guess when you boil down to it...my parents are still my parents.

"So, you found it in that big heart of yours to forgive us?"

Successfully knocked out of my own thoughts I turned towards my mother whom had been the one to speak.

"What? How could you doubt that? You guys are still my parents," I said with was hopefully sounded as reassuring voice. Saying these kind of things aloud, weren't really my forte. Sure, I thought them, but I never really voiced them. Its saved me from a lot of potentially fatal situations sometimes, though. Like, that one time a couple years back with Snape. Everyone was saying that one of his hobbies was cross-dressing. With the frilly women's dress-robes and everything. At first, I didn't really think cross-dressing seemed like his type of thing.

That's what I thought until I got a good look at him the next day. If it weren't for my amazing think-before-you-speak strategy, I probably wouldn't have survived longer than that class period. I had almost let it slip, right then and there, that pink dress-robes wouldn't have looked all that bad against his pale skin tone. I doubt he would've appreciated the comment very much.

"No, we...I just thought ... Nevermind," my mum started, then quickly enveloped me in a tight hug. After that, no one really knew what to say. We stood there awkwardly, until my dad suggested putting up my trunk. He and mum helped me stuff everything in the car.

No one really spoke, not even when we arrived at my home of thirteen years. I passed by the living room, where I first learned how to stand on my feet; the kitchen where I would never stop throwing food my mother tried to feed me as a toddler. When I reached the frame for my bedroom door, I saw the little scratch marks that marked how much I grew every couple months on the side. I was tiny as a three-year-old and slowly the lines reach about four feet, where the lines suddenly became more spread out. I had finally turned eight, and I didn't feel like I needed to check my height every month. The lines were more spread apart, because I would only check every year, until I turned ten. I hadn't scratched my height in since then.

I smiled and fingered the scratch marks absent-mindedly. Things were so different now, yet, the same.

"You used to be so tiny. Its sometimes still hard to believe you're so grown up now. You used to be our little girl; our only baby."

I turned around to come face-to-face with my mother, whom had a sad smile playing along the corners of her lips.

"I'm still your little girl. That's something that would never change, mum. How can you not know that?" I guess the hug wasn't enough to convince her that I really wasn't angry, or anything.

Before my mother could start crying, I hugged her again.

"I'll always be your little girl. Never forget it"

With that said, I went inside my room and was instantly greeted by an overexcited owl. It was tiny, and obviously proud of itself for having done its job well. "Hey there, cutie. Did Ginny send you?"

I'd seen this owl before, and I was pretty sure it was Ginny's; or Ron's. I went over to the owl, and relieved it of its burden; a letter.

It was in Ginny's handwriting, and she was inviting her to spend a couple days with her family. And a little bit tacked on to the end: I would also finally meet Sirius Black; my father.

"...Bloody hell."

The Lambert Home- 3rd Person

Holly was not having the best of breaks.

For one, she still was not in speaking terms with two of her closest friends. Second, Jamie disappeared as soon as they stepped onto the platform; not even giving Holly the chance to say goodbye. Thirdly, she had to tell her mother everything about her fight with her best friends. Holly might not have had the best family memories from early childhood, but she was very close to her step-parents. In fact, she told her mother everything. She had to tell her mother, Mrs. Lambert, because they were just that close.

"Don't you think that there's something weird about both Ginny and Ebony not wanting to tell me something? It's weird!" she was explaining to Mrs. Lambert while she manually hung up garland around the living room. Holly was helping her mother decorate the home in preparation for Christmas.

Her mother paused for a moment from magically decorating the tree. She turned to Holly after awhile and said, "Well Honey, did it ever occur to you that maybe they have a secret that they're not comfortable telling anyone? Did you ever tell them about being adopted?"

"No! They don't need to know about me being adopted. That's very personal!"

Mrs. Lambert put down her wand and gave her full attention to her daughter. "Is what you're doing any different than what they're doing? They're keeping a secret, and so are you. Perhaps, it's a secret that they feel is much to personal. They'll tell you when they're ready."

Holly bit her lip and tried to give her full attention to decorating the house so that she wouldn't be thinking about what her mother had just said. She knew that her mother was perfectly right, and that her theory made much more sense than the ones she had been making up.

"Maybe"

The Next Day- A Park nearby Grimmauld Place

Ebony had been waiting for awhile now. She had been told in the letter that she was to wait in the park until someone went to to take her back to where everyone was at. She looked apprehensive, and almost as if she had started to regret her decision to go. She had even lied to her parents, telling them that she was going to be staying with a friend for a couple days before Christmas. Of course, to her, it wasn't really a lie. But she had not told the whole truth. She had not wanted to think of how her mother and father would react to her wanting to meet her biological father.

So there she was. Freezing and alone, she waited and waited for what seemed like ages until someone she knew called out to her.

"Ebony! Hey, we're supposed to take you back to the house, so."

Ebony whirled around to look at the girl with flaming red hair, staring, not really sure she was seeing correctly. She had started to wonder if they were even coming.

"What took you so long?" she asked Ginny.

Ginny just bit her lip and took out a little slip of paper with an address written on it, "Look, I'm sorry if you had to wait for ages out in this weather, so just read the address and don't forget it."

"Why?-"

"Just do it. You'll need to remember it for when we get there. It's not too far from here, so you won't have to spend too much time out here anymore"Ginny revealed bluntly.

Ebony wanted nothing more than to curl up in bed, but she nonetheless followed Ginny until they were standing in between apartments eleven and thirteen.

"What happened to-"she started.

"Think about what you just read..."Ginny interrupted.

The address had said Number Twelve Grimmauld Place, but Ebony only saw eleven and thirteen...

"Oh wow...That sure is odd" As soon as Ebony had thought about the address, the building began to expand. She looked around herself, but no one else noticed what had happened. In fact, it was pretty empty outdoors, for people were curling up in bed by that time. A fact she was becoming envious of.

Ginny smiled at Ebony and said as nicely as she could, "We'll explain everything inside, but you're going to have to be very quiet when you walk in. You do not want to wake her up."

"Who?"

Ginny didn't answer, but instead, she walked Ebony into the home. It was still pretty dark and dingy, but not as much as it had been just a couple days prior. She had wished she could've told Ebony everything outside, but it would've been to risky if anything was heard by an overly curious muggle. She was not very sure as to how everyone else would react to Ebony suddenly showing up. By then, everyone else had been clued in on her parentage. Harry, Sirius, and herself had not found it an issue to tell the rest of the Weasley family about it.

Of course, it was a bit of a shock for her father and the rest of her family. Ginny had left the castle early, because her father had been attacked. He had only recently been discharged and allowed to leave the hospital. It was then, that Ginny and Harry could finally think about other things. Hence, remembering the Ebony-Sirius situation. Ginny snorted when she remembered George shooting the milk he was drinking out of his nose when he found out. Ebony rose an eyebrow at her friend.

How could she find such a house to be funny? The place seemed like the type to belong to the darkest of wizards. What were they doing there?

She was about to voice her questions, when she was led into the kitchen that looked somewhat better. As soon as they crossed the threshold Ginny called to her mother.

"Mum, we're here"

That certainly brought everyone's attention toward Ginny and Ebony. Ebony went through everyone one at a time, giving each Weasley a hug or handshake. She was pleased to know that Ginny's mother was sweet and welcoming. She didn't know how she would have survived a minute if Mrs. Weasley had been anything but.

She was, however, not pleased when she saw that Mr. Weasley looked as if he had just barely escaped death. He had ghastly bruises and was still bandaged up. Ebony was about to inquire, but stopped herself knowing no one would want to answer. After the Weasley's, she went towards the rest of the people she hadn't noticed were in there. Harry was among them and another man that was staring intently at her. She saw a bushy brunette, and she knew her to be Hermione Granger; one of Harry's best friends. She greeted Hermione and Harry first, having waved at Ron Weasley, until she finally turned to the man that was still staring at her.

It was then that she finally took in his appearance. He was not that old. She guessed that he was probably around thirty, he had a scruffy look. She had a feeling that he must have-at one point- been very handsome. Her breath stopped short when they reached his eyes, for she had finally realized how he seemed familiar. They were a startling shade of grey.

Grey.

Her grey.

He was familiar, all right.

Ebony tried to untangle her tongue, for it had chosen that moment to lodge itself into her throat. She couldn't find the right words to say. "Say something!", she thought furiously,"Saying anything is better than nothing!"It only made her feel a tiny bit better that he seemed to have the same problem.

They stared at each other for a whole two minutes, oblivious to everyone else holding their breaths in anticipation.

It was Ebony whom found her voice first.

"You're...my dad; Sirius Black," she said after a steadying breath.

Then, Sirius finally found his voice as well.

"Hello, Ebony" he said slowly, as if expecting her to run screaming from him.

(A/N: I still need to fix this. A lot. Take in mind people, that this is ONLY my first draft. I'm the write-before-you-think type of girl;])