Disclaimer: I do NOT own the Harry Potter series and any of the characters. All credit goes to my hero, the wonderful J.K. Rowling! :D

Spov

"Your real name is Katie."

The moment I'd spoken those words, I wanted to take them back. The sentence hung in the air between us ugly and awkward, in a silence I couldn't take. I knew she would be angry, but her reaction was even worse than I'd thought.

"What?" she asked her voice shaking as she turned to look at me. I'd expected her to be furious, to start shouting, but what I didn't expect was for her to look warily at me, almost scared.

"I'm sorry Hallie, I just-"

"How do you know that?" she asked cutting me off her voice still shaking but at the same time it was dead, with no emotion.

"Don't worry, I'm not a stalker." I assured her a little unnerved at her expression. "I sort of found out by accident."

"How on earth could you have possible found that out by accident?" she asked and when I looked at her I could see fury in her eyes. I looked away. "I even had it changed on the rosters," she said angrily. "Half the professors don't even know."

I sighed.

"Fifth year," I stared refusing to meet her gaze. "James and I heard a rumor about an office where they keep students files, you know, their names, year, houses, and," I hesitated and then added. "Their records."

She made an irritated nose and I knew she could tell where this was going.

"Well, I think everyone knows by now that my mates and I would get into trouble now and again."

"You're right." She muttered. "Everyone knows you guys have your secrets."

"Yeah well these secrets," I said scratching the back of my head. "Are exactly why we wanted find these files. We've been caught doing a lot of stuff, little things mostly. Stupid stuff that we just got detention for. But we wanted to know just how much the school knew about what we get up to. So one night we broke into the administrations office on the fourth floor to try and find out. Turns out, it wasn't much."

"I still don't see-" she started but I cut her off.

"You might have had your name changed on the roster Hallie, but not on the file. It was right next to mine so when I saw it I-"

"Just went and helped yourself." She said darkly. "Never mind my privacy."

"I didn't know it was you." I said defensively. "At first I didn't know who it was, all the tab on the folder said was Katie Benson and I was confused. I thought you might have had a little sister I didn't know about or something, but when I didn't see your name anywhere I thought maybe there had been a misprint. So I opened it and that's when I saw that the middle name on the file was Hallie. I'd always just assumed you didn't have a middle name, I mean that's not that unusual, but neither is people going by their middle names. I figured that's what you'd done."

"Who else knows about this?" she asked quietly.

"No one." I said with complete honesty. "I didn't tell anyone."

"Why?" she asked suspiciously.

"I just figured if it was something you were keeping from you friends, it might have been important to you. Besides, it's not my secret to tell."

"And you never once wanted to ask me?" she asked skeptically. "You never wondered why?"

"Of course I did." I said frowning. "But I figured you were happier thinking I didn't know."

She looked away from me and again I regretted that I'd even brought it up. She looked very sad, but despite her expression, I couldn't help but feel that same sense of burning curiosity that consumed me when I first found her file.

"But now that you know I do," I hesitated. "Will you tell me why?"

She glared at me.

"I'm not going to tell anyone." I said quickly. "You're secret's safe with me."

"Katie was my mother's name." she said quietly.

"Was?"

"She died." She said softly, again looking away.

"Oh. Hallie, I'm so sorry." I said and I meant it. I was sorry I'd told her this, sorry I'd even brought it up. I didn't want to be the one forcing her to think about her mother, not when she looked so upset.

"Don't be it's not your fault." She said shaking her head. "You didn't know."

"What happened?" I asked wondering if I was pushing my luck. "I mean, I understand if you don't want to tell me but how did she-"

"She was killed." She said stiffly. "She was walking in London when a drunk man tried to mug her and things went wrong."

"Is that why you don't drink?"

She nodded.

"It's also why my brothers are so protective of me." She said with a sigh. "Everyone says I look just like her, so I guess, they feel like they have to keep me safe not just because I'm their little sister, but I think they feel I'm all of her they have left. They all call me Katie at home but I can't stand to be reminded-" her voice broke and I noticed again she was touching the ring that hung on the chain around her neck. "At least not here."

"That ring, was it your mothers?" I asked quietly.

"It was her engagement ring." She said softly. "My Dad knew I'd always loved it so he kept her wedding ring and I got this."

"Did he ever remarry?" I asked.

"No." and I was relieved to see her smile slightly. "He always said my mother was his one and only, and even though she was gone, he had five of her children to raise who she lives on through, and for him, what's left of her is enough. All he needs is his family."

"I wish I knew how that feels." I said shaking my head.

"To loose someone you love?" she asked incredulously.

"To have anyone who loves me half as much as your father loves you." I said bitterly. "If it makes you feel any better Hallie you can compare your family to mine, it's an absolute mess."

"You don't live with them anymore right?" she asked.

"No I left two years ago." I admitted.

"Why?"

"We had disagreements on what sort of approaches we took on life."

"You don't want to talk about it?" she asked.

"No not really." I said darkly.

"Well too bad, I told you about my family you tell me about yours."

"Hallie, my family isn't like your family. They're bad people."

"So?"

"So I don't want to talk about it."

"It's only fair." She said glaring at me.

It wasn't fair, not really. Her telling me about her nice loving family was nothing like me admitting to the insanity I'd grown up with. But her gaze was so intense, it was slightly alarming and I realized why she was so insistent. Somehow I'd managed to break through her emotional wall, and she didn't like that I'd seen her upset. She wanted to level the playing field. Almost as if she'd thought she'd handed me a weapon and expected to get one in return.

"They're pureblood supremacists." I said bitterly and I saw her eyes go wide. "I left because they're evil, cruel, terrible people and I couldn't stand to live with them. There are you happy?"

"But they're your family, don't you-" she started but I cut her off.

"My family?" I asked bitterly. "Hallie my family isn't like yours, they don't give a damn about you unless you do what you're told. And for me that was to go against everything I ever believed or stood for. Can you really see me living that sort of life? Turning into one of them?"

"No." she said quietly. "I'm sorry."

"It's alright." I said not wanting to look at her. Suddenly I realized why she'd been so upset. Knowing that she knew just how much pain thinking about my family caused me was terrifying. I'd just given her something to hold over my head and use against me whenever she wanted.

"So does that make me you're rebellious teenage crush to piss off your parents?" she asked me grinning and I started at her. "What?" she asked defensively.

"Are you making a joke?" I asked her incredulously.

"Apparently not because you didn't laugh."

"I think I'm about to go into shock." I said smiling in amazement. "Are you actually trying to cheer me up?"

"Yeah, don't read to much into it." She said her face falling into the irritated scowl I found so familiar.

"I guess you really don't hate me after all Hal."

"I told you I don't hate you."

"Does this mean you'll go-"

"No." she said stiffly and I shrugged. It was progress.

We continued to walk to the Gryffindor tower each lost in our own thoughts until suddenly, she broke the silence.

"Sirius?" she asked.

"Yeah?"

"Don't ever call me Katie." She said darkly. "If you do and someone heard you I swear I will curse you so thoroughly even James wouldn't be able to recognize you."

"Relax, alright? I'm not going to tell anyone." I said and she looked at me where her expression wary. "You've always been Hallie to me, and you always will be." I continued. "Nothing is going to change that."