Chapter 38: Zoey Black

Dear Diary,

Things in life are just hard. There are a lot of things I just don't know and I'm not sure if I want to know them anymore. Why am I being so glum? Well, my dear diary, there are a lot of things to be glum about. First and for most, as you know, my father has broken out of Azkaban. Not really the kind of family reunion I had in mind. I would have wanted him to be innocent when I run back into his arms. Yes diary, I would run into his arms even if he is still filthy from thirteen years in Azkaban. AZKABAN!

Second, well, it's my fifth year in Hogwarts and it's OWLs year. I'm not confident about that. Third, well… what was third again? Oh right! My secret it slipping. No, nothing slip out or anything…it's just… it's getting harder and I just don't know anymore… the necklace I got from my mum's jewelry case is rather odd aswell… It's like… I don't know but there were two of them and well… when I accidentally sneezed I heard my sneeze come out of the other necklace! I think it's like one of those muggle phones or something… odd.

Now my last reason to be glum. That reason is Bridgit. No, she didn't do anything… well… err…. This is hard to explain … I'll just tell you what happened.

"What happened to you?"

"Like I said, I fell down the… uhm… stairs," Bridgit answered, the indifference in her voice starting to irritate Zoey. She had enough of the indifference. She wanted to get answers. Now.

"Okay, now that you've said that. Give me the real reason," she asked as she crossed her arms over her chest looking much like Echo.

Bridgit then spoke with annoyance in her tone, "What else do you want to hear?"

"The truth!" Zoey exclaimed, "That's the only thing I haven't heard from you!"

Bridgit's eyebrows furrowed, "How do you know that that wasn't the truth?"

"Because, if you were to fall you wouldn't have that many scratched and at most just a few bruises, you have one for every pale spot on your body!" Zoey said as she made a hand gesture towards Bridgit's wounds and bruises. Bridgit stayed quiet.

"Why do you even care?" Bridgit looked out the window.

"I'm your friend."

Bridgit noticeably bit her lip as she thought about what she should do. Should she tell her? Zoey was her friend and Zoey was never the one to talk about secrets. Heck, she had some secrets of her own. Zoey's facial expression calmed as the atmosphere in the empty classroom began to tense.

"Just… tell me Bridgit," Zoey said

"I – I was… tortured," the hesitance in Bridgit's voice was obvious.

Zoey's eyes widened. Tortured. Bruises and scarring caused by another person. The same things that had been happening to her for years. She was just like Bridgit. They were both being harmed physically and emotionally. "W-What?" Zoey whispered out though she had heard Bridgit perfectly.

"I was tortured okay?" Bridgit finally shouted, dropping on her knees and crying.

Zoey swallowed hard. She was not good at comforting. She approached Bridgit hesitantly and began to rub her back awkwardly.

"By who?" Zoey asked.

"B – By –" But Bridgit never got to finish for the door had slammed open revealing a rather stressed out teacher. Zoey quickly straightened herself when she caught sight of who it was. It was her Uncle.

"What are you doing here? Everyone's in the Great Hall," her uncle said, "Come on now! It's not good to be alone at the moment"

Zoey helped Bridgit to her feet before the Ravenclaw wiped away her tears. Bridgit said an apology before quickly leaving the room. Zoey bit her lip as she watched her walk away. She closed her eyes before walking towards her uncle and giving him a hug. She was shaking.

"What happened?" her uncle asked as he rubbed her back comfortingly.

Zoey just shook her head.

And that was what happened! I don't really know what to make out of it… I mean… I've been tortured before… and I've broken down and cried… but… but… No. I exactly know what to make out of it. It's hard. It's hard to tell those close to you that terrible things have happened… It's hard to explain but it just is. Ever since that night, Bridgit's been avoiding me. I can't blame her. I would have done the same thing.

Glum feeling intensifying

Oh! I just remembered. You know why everyone had been in the Great Hall that night? There was an attack. No, no one was petrified but a paintings… err… painting (?) had been ruined. Someone had scratched. The Fat Lady, the painting, is fine but she's in shock. I feel sorry for her.

You know who attacked her?

My father.

Zoey bit her lip as she closed her diary and stuffed it in her bag along with the rest of her things. She stood up and walked out of the library. It had only been a day since her father's attack and everyone in school was talking about it. Each and every student asking questions on how he entered Hogwarts completely undetected. Some had guessed he had apparated and others said there was someone on the inside helping him in.

That's why Zoey did not want to reveal her secret. It was bad enough that the Minister was suspicious of her, giving her a lecture on how some people are just meant to be bad, she did not want the entire student body being frightened of her as well. Zoey did not let her father in. She didn't even know how he currently looked like. She avoided newspapers and wanted signs like the plague.

Zoey held tightly to her bag and walked down the hall. She did not want to go to class yet, Lupin would understand. She bit on her lip hard. She was scared. The rumors were right. If Sirius Black can break out of Azkaban then he sure as hell can break into Hogwarts. Zoey walked towards the Quidditch Pitch and sat on the stands. She placed her bag beside her and looked around. It was deserted. It was quiet. It was peaceful.

She closed her eyes and leaned back a bit. There was hardly and sun to warm her but it was the cold temperature that she enjoyed the most. The cold wind kissing her pale cheeks was what calmed her. She let out a sigh.

"Someone seems relaxed"

Zoey jumped and her eyes snapped wide open.

"Calm down," said the voice with a chuckle, "It's just me"

Zoey looked up at the source of the voice and saw Cedric looking down at her. She felt a blush come up her cheeks. "Hey," she greeted, "you scared me"

"So it seems," Cedric laughed as he took a seat beside Zoey.

Zoey made a soft hum. She looked at Cedric and saw why a lot of girls fancied him. He was obviously handsome, and polite. He also had all the qualities Helga Hufflepuff looked for in, well, a Hufflepuff. Zoey's blush deepened when Cedric looked at her. He caught her staring at him. Zoey was prepared to hear "Like what you see" or any other thing Fred would have most likely said but instead he said:

"Shouldn't you be in class?"

Typical prefect.

"Shouldn't you?" Zoey found herself replying. She blushed harder when she realized it came off as a bit rude.

"Watch your mouth," Cedric said with a laugh. Zoey joined in. "And, it's my free period"

The bell rang.

"Are you sure?" Zoey said with a raised eyebrow. She picked up her bag and let out a hand to Cedric. "You don't want to be late, do you?"

Cedric shook his head and took her hand. They walked away from the Quidditch pitch.


Fred glared at the back of Cedric's head as he watched him walk away with Zoey. He had come to keep Zoey company because he saw her name, in the Marauder's Map, heading towards the Quidditch Pitch alone. He found it suspicious for he knew that she should be in DADA at that moment but skipped. It was odd for Zoey to skip but it was odder for her to skip a class with a teacher that she really liked.

Fred's jealousy doubled (though he would never admit it)

He walked towards the stands where Zoey was previously seated and caught sight of a notebook. He picked it up and realized it was her diary. The diary he had snatched from her during the train ride to Hogwarts. He flipped it over and looked at the first page. His eyes widened.

"It can't be," he whispered as he flipped through the other pages scanning entry after entry, his heart hammering against his chest. "No… this has to be a mistake."

But Fred knew it was no mistake. Everything he had scene was the truth.

He held the diary firmly in his hands as he left the Quidditch Pitch in search for Echo and George and maybe even Bridgit.


In the library, seated on a table at the corner of the room hidden by aisles and aisled of books were Echo, George and Bridgit. They had a couple of books surrounding them, most of them George's, as they were discussing homework's and the like. After a few minutes the Ravenclaws decided that George was a hopeless case and decided to switch to a different topic. (Much to George's displeasure)

"So what do you think about those porcelain dolls with huge eyes?" Echo sang, "I've always wanted one… or two… or maybe even thirty"

George gave her a bemused expression, "What are you about?"

"Those little dolls that stare at you with soulless eyes," Echo explained with a weird and awkward singsong voice, "It makes me wanna keep them"

"Well, it scares the hell out of me!" Bridgit butted in, "Dolls and me just don't mix"

"Are you sure you're a girl? But I can see where you're coming from… Bloody creepy," George said.

Before Bridgit could retort there was a loud bang coming from the entrance of the library followed by an angry hiss from Madam Pince. The three curiously sat up straight when Fred appeared behind the bookshelves looking rather troubled.

"Shit," Echo muttered when she remembered what she had confessed to Fred.

"Guys!" Fred said as he approached their table and slammed Zoey's diary on top of it

"Whoa there, Fred," Bridgit said as the diary's echo made her jump, "What's got your knickers in a twist?"

"Hey, Bree. I think Fred needs to be potty trained again," Echo said with a shake of her head.

Fred glared at both Echo and Bridgit but dismissed the thought of having an argument with them. There were much more important matters to worry about. He opened the notebook to the first page. Echo and George leaned in to read what was written but before they got the chance it was snatched away by Bridgit.

"What give, Bree?" Echo asked, befuddled.

"I have a feeling that this is Zoey's diary by how Fred was running," Bridgit said, tucking the notebook behind her.

"…and?" Echo challenged

"Well, we should respect our friend's privacy," Bridgit answered, emphasizing on the word 'friend'.

"Privacy? Heck, I haven't even heard her say her parent's name out loud!" Echo breathed out, irritated.

"Are you really Zoey's friend, Bridgit?" George started, "Cause last time I checked, you were avoiding her"

Bridgit stood there in shock. Her hands dropped down to her side allowing George to get the diary.

"Hey!" Bridgit shouted realizing what George had done.

George immediately opened the diary and read the first page, he immediately went stiff. He had found the reason for Fred's distress. On the front page was Zoey's full name written in her cursive penmanship: Zoey Anastasia Emeraude-Black.

"What is it?" Echo turned her head and tiptoed as she read over George's shoulder.

"Seriously guys, you shouldn't do this," Bridgit said after seeing their frozen faces.

"How could she keep this from us?" George said as he dropped the diary to the floor.

Bridgit bent over and picked up the diary from the floor. She stood up straight and took a look at the first page. Her eyes widened and her heart skipped a beat. She had found the reason to their shock.

"Why the bloody hell had she kept this from us?" George angrily said when Echo slumped back down on her seat silently wondering if she had horrible skills and choosing friends. She really did not know what to feel in this sort of situation.

"Come one guy, she has her reasons!" Bridgit defended.

"Oh yeah?" Fred finally spoke, "what kind of friends hides something this big from her best friends?" Fred finished, pain and anger evident in his voice.

"Seriously, Fred? I would have hid it too! How would you feel if your dad was a 'supposed' criminal and locked up in Azkaban, would you have shouted it to the world?" Bridgit asked.

"Sirius Black is still her father, criminal or not," Echo spoke with a venom-filled voice.

"Guys, Zoey's been a great friend… you should at least let her explain," Bridgit said gripping the diary tighter in her hold.

"If she would explain, then she should have done it before!" Echo stood up, fists balled at her sides.

"Why are you defending her anyway? You're the one who's least affected! You met Zoey a year after we did!" George shouted as she stood beside Echo.

"I might have not known her longer than you but it's obvious that I trust her more!"

At this, Fred had had enough. He walked up to Bridgit with his fists balled and punched her right in the face. Bridgit was in shock. She did not expect that to happen. She wanted to cry but she did not want to show that it hurt. She would stay strong for Zoey, after all, that's what Zoey had done for her.

"Go ahead, Fred, let you anger go. What good will it do? You just can't accept the truth!" Bridgit spoke after the sting on her cheek numbed a bit. "Because out of all the things that's probably written in this diary… We don't have the right to judge her without at least hearing her explanation"

"She should have explained years ago!" Echo shouted.

At that exact moment the library door had once again opened. It was Zoey. Zoey looked around worriedly as she searched the library. Her diary was missing. The last place she had written in it was in the library. She checked the table she had used and it wasn't there. Her hear skipped a beat. What if someone had taken it? She continued to search the library and nearing the end she caught sight of her friends. She ran towards them in hopes that maybe they'll help her look but then she was wrong. Zoey stopped dead in her tracks when she saw their angered and pained expressions. Bridgit was near tears as she clutched onto her, Zoey's, diary and Fred looked like he had just punched her for his hand was in a fist. Echo and George were side by side with glares.

Zoey's mouth hung agape and her eyes widened.

This could not be happening.

"Zoey…," Bridgit whispered when she caught sight of the Hufflepuff girl.

Fred, George and Echo turned towards Zoey as well when they heard Bridgit's whisper. Their glares hardened. Zoey took a step back. They had seen it. Her name. They knew. They were mad. Furious even.

"H – Hey guys," Zoey stuttered out, trying to be casual though her heart was frantic.

"Pleasure to see you here, Zoey Black," Echo hissed

Zoey winced at her tone. She knew deep down, she deserved it. She heard Bridgit protest.

"Stop defending her, damn it!" George shouted, glaring at Bridgit. He had had enough of this.

"She deserves to be listened to!" Bridgit shouted back, hopeful in putting some sense into her friend's heads.

"Why?" Fred asked as he stood his ground beside Echo and George, "We asked her before and were were ready to listen. Well now we aren't!"

"She would have told her story to us if we were her trusted friends!" Echo said after Fred's rebuke.

Zoey took in a jagged breath. The un-ruined picture was being ripped to shreds. Her happy little world was disappearing. She was losing it. Everything she loved and cherished. Slipping through her fingers. Zoey reached over to Bridgit.

"Go join them," she whispered as she grabbed hold of her diary, "No use in defending me"

"No, Zee, you deserve to explain whatever it is you hid!" Bridgit said bringing the diary out of Zoey's reach. "Why won't you let her explain?"

Zoey shook her head as tears welled up in her eyes. "No…please," she begged. She did not want this. She wanted to return to her un-ruined picture. Her happy little world.

"Sure, let the little Black explain!" Echo spat out.

Zoey looked at all of them with tears streaming down her face. She had a chance to tell them everything. Where would she start? Was it still of use? She would still be Black's daughter even if she did explain. "What am I suppose to explain?" Zoey struggled with her words.

"See? There's isn't much explaining!" Echo let out an exasperated sigh but still kept her rage-filled face.

"What about you start with why you didn't freaking tell us who you are?" Fred shouted. Fred felt betrayed and hurt. He had the right to lash.

Zoey winced at his tone. "The picture… I didn't want to ruin the picture," she spoke. It was complete and utter babble to them.

"What picture?" Bridgit asked softly.

"This," Zoey motioned to everyone, "This picture… I didn't want to ruin…. Like it is now"

"Yeah, well, sorry to say this but this picture's been ripped to shreds," George said before walking out of the library. He had had enough of this.

"No matter how you want to put the picture back together, there will always be the traces of mistrust," Echo spoke loudly. She then went to pack up her things and went after George. She too left.

"You know, Zoey, I expected a lot of people to betray, but I never expected this from you!" Fred now said, walking out of the library and not giving a single glance back.

Zoey watched as Fred left the library. She felt her heart breaking. Her world had been smashed. Everything was falling apart. She was losing everything. Zoey sobbed. They were right. She should have told them sooner. Dumbledore was right. She should have trusted them. But what difference would it have done? They would have still left her. They would have still reacted the same. Either way, she was still a Black's daughter.

Suddenly, a very painful feeling pierced through her already broken heart. This pain caused her breath to be caught in her throat and her eyes to widen. She fell to her knees. "He - He promised!" she cried, "He promised he'll never leave me!"


And here's chapter 38!

Oh~! Zoey's secret's out!

I would like to thank ZoomSkater14 and HayleyParadox for helping me with this chapter.

Also ZoomSkater14 for helping me with the previous one as well

:D

I also want to thank all of you who reviewed and the like.

Very, very much appreciated!

Now, it is late and I should be getting to bed!

Please don't forget to review and ask questions!

I really love reading and answering them!

I only own what I own!