Chapter 30: Lies have Consequences

"Veronica look at me!" It was the hand on my shoulder, heavily rested against me, pressing down, I finally looked at Fred. My panicked grey eyes staring into his surprisingly calm blue ones.

"What are we doing?" He asked, his expression intense, focused.

"Finding a dog."

"Why?"

"He's going to help." I didn't leave room for explaining as I took off across the lawn towards Hagrid's pumpkin patch, running as fast as I could. I was quite fast when I put my mind to it, and the adrenaline rushing through my system fueled my methodical footfalls on the soft ground. I could hear Fred behind me, running equally as fast.

I skidded to the pumpkin patch, and startled a lying down Snuff into a standing position.

He barked once. "Sirius, we have to go."

"Who?" Fred said in confusion, I motioned for him and Sirius to follow and ran towards the castle. Fred's footbeats followed again, and a four beat running sound was added. I knew Snuff could run faster than I could, but he stayed just at my heels, obviously trusting me to lead him somewhere.

Fred overtook me somewhere up the castle stairs, and by the time we got to the gargoyle that guarded Dumbledore's office, all three of us were panting and wheezing.

"Cockroach… Cluster…" I breathed out to the gargoyle, who jumped aside as we all stepped onto the staircase.

We walked into the empty office, and Dumbledore's phoenix blinked slowly. Sirius transformed back into human, and Fred gave a yell, stumbling back as he regarded Sirius with wide eyes.

"You alright?" Sirius ignored Fred, and stepped close to me, holding my shoulders with both hands.

"Cedric is dead, something was wrong in the maze, something about Voldemort, Dumbledore wanted you here." Sirius nodded, and he actually enveloped me in a hug. Something I had never experienced from him, and rarely from anybody else.

He didn't smell too nice, and his matted hair brushed my face. But it was comforting, my father's arms around me, helping me when something so bad had happened just a half an hour before.

"You two better go down to the hospital wing, I feel as if we'll end up there soon enough." I nodded drawing away, embarrassed to feel a hot tear track on my cheek. I almost never cried.

"Who are you?" Fred asked, it had shocked me that he remained silent even until then.

"Sirius Black." He said it proudly, almost defiantly. Fred looked very taken aback, and an almost scared look came to his face, he drew his wand, and Sirius had the nerve to actually roll his eyes.

"Fred he's my dad." The words came out before I could stop them. I was quiet, but Fred stopped dead still.

"What." It wasn't even a question he was so stunned.

"We'll see you later Sirius." Sirius nodded once, and raised his hand.

"Excuse you-"

"Come on Fred."

Sirius watched with a calculating look, but said nothing as we left.

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"What in the everlasting fuck was that about?" Fred said rather quietly as we made our way down the seven levels to where the hospital wing was on the main floor.

"I think you heard. Sirius Black is my dad." I said shortly, not feeling the need to talk. Wanting more to figure out what exactly had transpired on this night.

I could feel Fred's eyes on my face as we rounded to yet another staircase. "Okay, I can believe that actually, how long have you known?"

"End of last school year." This is when Fred lost it. He stopped stock still.

"You didn't think to tell your best friend and boyfriend?" He obviously meant himself.

"Oh I'm sorry, I was just thinking how well that conversation would have gone when he was still a freshly escaped mass murderer."

"Yeah, speaking of that, he is a murderer, your dad killed thirteen people-"

"No he didn't. Peter Pettigrew killed thirteen people and blamed it on Sirius." Fred stayed quiet as I recounted the entire plot of last year.

"Your dad and his mates created the Marauders Map?"

"You got so angry, but that's what you get out of this?" I spat, astounded.

Fred rolled his eyes, "If that wasn't the plot of some bad radio program you heard one time."

I got in Fred's face, feeling quite tall and mighty even though I was a good five inches shorter than him. "It wasn't." He seemed unnerved.

"Fine. It's true. Why didn't you tell me."

"Tell me about what you had with Ludo Bagman."

"He gave me and George leprechaun gold after the World Cup, we had no money, he went off the map like a con artist and we've been broke the whole year, our life savings gone." It didn't surprise me for some reason.

"Okay, I don't blame you for not telling me. It seemed like the less people knew the better."

"Unbelievable. Getting cheated out of some gold is a lot different than finding your father after fifteen years of orphanry."

I shook my head, and finally continued walked down the stairs, picking up a quicker pace.

"You can't run away."

"You need to realize that there was sense about me not telling you!"

"How much more have you lied to me about hmm?"

I lost my patience, "Oh okay let me get my list. That parrot at the World Cup was corresponding with me and Sirius. He actually bought Ajax for me too, so that we could talk easier. That time I left in Hogsmeade I actually spent my afternoon with him, and not at some stupid bookstore sale!" My voice rose with every word, and I was yelling by the time we were finished. The school was thankfully still empty, who knew what was happening at the maze.

"I can't do this."

"Do what?"

"This." He indicated between us with his hand, looking sort of sad. "I can't deal with this level of mistrust. Maybe we were better as best friends."

I felt very sad, it weighed down on me, as it dawned that Fred was breaking up with me. "Yeah, maybe we were." I left, not saying anything more as I descended the final steps towards the hospital wing.

I cursed inwardly. This is what happens when you lie about everything Vern. I barely registered Mrs Weasley fussing over me or Harry coming down with Sirius in dog form again.

I stayed there, sitting beside Sirius on the floor through the ensuing chaos of Dumbledore and the Minister of Magic. It didn't seem to register what had happened with Moody and Voldemort coming back. The level of trickery sounded like last year all over again. I felt dull and empty, with a quiet sense of rage brewing at my current situation.

Voldemort was back, there was now no stopping the second war. I was what I was because of a war, no parents and no family, and now it was happening again. Maybe I had a better support system, I had my dad, but not my best friend.

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I had only dated Fred for about six months, but it was my first time dating anybody. Maybe that's why as I sat at the commemoration feast for Cedric, I couldn't stop thinking about him.

How little it all meant, to him, or to me, I wasn't sure. We had acted like nothing happened, back to friends in less than a moment. We must not have been really dating, shouldn't it have hurt more? Or did the romance novels I found in the back of the library on boring nights lie to me?

The mood had been solemn for several days, and the leaving feast brought all of that together. I had no idea who won the house cup, it didn't seem to matter. The Great Hall had drapes of black on the walls and as we all left after a speech that made me feel more sad than ever, I was glad the school year was over.

It was bright, sunny, and not too hot the day we left Hogwarts. I loaded my trunk into the train with some help from Angelina, and just like we always did, we sat together. Angelina, Alicia, Lee, Fred, George and I. In that sense nothing had changed.

Ajax swept to my shoulder an instant before I was supposed to get onto the train. I hastily opened his cage and he flew in, I noticed he had a letter, and grabbed it before closing the door of the cage. I had a feeling who it was from.

Vern,

You're not going to the Weasley's this summer, behind this letter, is a piece of paper that you will use when you get to your destination. On the back of this letter is a copy of a map you will use to get there. Under no circumstances can anybody see the piece of paper apart from you, not even your best friend. You'll probably stay there the whole summer, when you turn 17 you can get your apparition licence and that should help. I'll see you there.

Snuff

I turned the letter over and saw a list of directions from Kings Cross to what seemed to be the middle of a muggle neighborhood. I didn't look at the piece of paper in the back of the envelope, but tucked it away, remembering how nobody was supposed to see it.

As the train rumbled to life, I had an offhand thought, where was I going?

A/N: This is the end of the first part, the second will be up on my profile at the same time that this chapter goes up so keep an eye out for it. It will be titled Unmasked Unity