Everything seemed to blur around us as everything Kat knew caved in on her. Mum was apologetic, telling Helen that Peter Pettigrew was dead, Helen was embarrassed that she'd told Kat in such an abrupt way. Kat was crying, the hope her Mother may be found without fuss snatched from her.

The festivity ended quickly from there, with Helen taking Kat home, Cassie insisting she must go as well. I made myself useful, getting Cassie's things together, and Fred bundling leftover cake for my friends to take.

"It'll be okay." I told Kat as she held her wand out for the Knight bus with tears falling without an end down her face. I hadn't seen her so upset since she'd told me about her Mother. "I promise."

Kat screwed her eyes shut and collapsed under Cassie's warm embrace around her shoulders. "I'll make sure she's okay" Cassie mouthed to me.

Helen murmured apologies to my Mum for ruining the evening—which Mum said she didn't, although she looked quite dazed—as the shockingly purple Knight Bus appeared from nowhere, taking my two friends away from me.

I found myself cemented in place on the grass, staring at the gap in the trees the bus had shot through. Soft skin brushed against mine, and I jumped when I realised Fred had touched my arm.

"You'd best add it to the list." Fred said softly.

"What?"

He gave me one of those determined smiles, a twinkle in his eye I saw before he pulled a prank or kissed me without me expecting it. "Well we have to find Kat's sibling don't we? And come on—this guy Pettigrew pops up again? This is all getting very X-Documents."

"X-Files." I corrected, and nudging myself against his chest, he automatically put an arm around me. "Does—does that mean you're going to help me and Elijah?"

Fred rolled his eyes. "That's a stupid question: of course I am. I'll rope in George as well, if you don't mind. We can combine our twin powers to find some answers to this conspiracy."

Looking up at him, I felt a rush of affection as hot as liquid gold. I kissed him on the scar that curved over his lip. I know knew it was the result of him crashing his broomstick into a tree when he was six--another fact I'd learned about him.

 "I love you so much, Fred Weasley."

Fred turned as red as his hair, but kissed me lightly on the top of my head. "I love you too."

We went back inside the house to find Cedric clearing the table, looking troubled and raised voices coming from the kitchen.

"What's happened now?" I asked him wearily.

"Sasha's shouting at your Mum again." The normally ever-cheery Cedric sounded irritated. "She can't ever let things go."

"I'll see what's going on." I sighed, and giving Fred's hand a quick squeeze, I hurried out into the kitchen.

Mum and Sasha were having a face off, Sasha had her fists clenched and her curls sparked with a electricity. My usually fierce Mum was leaning against the sink with her arms folded and her hands shaking.

"How was I to know Peter Pettigrew had a secret child—" Mum was bright red, and her eyes were full of tears. "He—he promised me he'd watch out for Katherine's mother, he promised he'd make sure she adjusted back to Muggle life—"

"Well maybe you didn't know him as well as you thought?" Sasha said, her voice oozing with sarcasm. "And hmm... wait a second. Does that mean, maybe, just maybe you don't know everything that goes though somebody's head?"

"Sasha don't—"

"So maybe, Mother you're letting your decades old love for our Father blind you?" I'd never heard my sister sound so cruel. "Maybe you can't accept that you're so lonely you'd overlook our Father's murdering habits for a cheeky shag—"

WHACK! Mum slapped Sasha's cheek so hard that Sasha stumbled backwards. Mum stared down at her hand, shocked at what she'd done. Sasha grabbed onto the kitchen counter, one side of her face bright pink. It was then she noticed me standing in the doorway.

"Lyra aren't you so glad you've seen the real side of our Mother?" Sasha said coldly. "She just doesn't want to admit I'm right."

Mum looked between us, her face a conflict of tears and anger. "I'm sorry Sasha--I'm really sorry, but you're acting like a child! Things aren't always black and white---you need to realise that before we can talk like adults about this--"

Sasha looked between the two of us, and to my surprise, started laughing. "I can't believe I'm the only one with some common sense in this family! Our Father is found guilty of killing muggles and one of your friends, by the way---and you and Lyra both try to find loopholes to justify your irrational behavior!"

"But Sasha, he might be innocent." I said this as quickly as I could. "He's been looking out for us this whole year, and me and Elijah are researching—"

Sasha clapped her hands slowly. "Oh, what a dream team! One experimented girl who's almost always on the brink of death and the arsonist of Ravenclaw tower! Wow!"

"Sasha don't be stupid—" now I was getting pissed off with her. Since when had my sister been so narrow minded?

Sasha kicked the fridge again. "Fuck this, I'm not living with two delusional people."

She stormed out of the kitchen, slamming the door so harshly behind her that the wood warped. Beyond the door I could hear Sasha's heavy footsteps up the stairs, and shouting. Painfully I stood in the kitchen, unable to move.

Within minutes, the front door slammed. Mum let out a shuddering breath and slid down onto the floor. She held her head in her hands and began sobbing.

The kitchen door opened, and Fred appeared, looking as serious as I'd ever seen him. "She said she's going to stay with Cedric—don't think he had much of a choice in it though." He hesitated, seeing Mum on the floor. "I'm sure it'll all blow over."

I needed to learn the truth about that day thirteen years ago, and about Peter Pettigrew and his secret child, before my family was torn apart.

**

Fred sadly had to go home the next day, but promised he would answer any letter I sent him lightning fast (I figured this involved him stealing Percy's owl). On the other hand, for the rest of the holidays we didn't hear a word from Sasha.

Mum threw herself into teaching me how to cook—we made pasta from scratch, soft loaves of bread, pies and cakes amongst other things—and it seemed to take her mind off Sasha, even a little bit.

We'd watch muggle films, and I would play the violin for her in the night, but it didn't fill the void Sasha left behind. I just couldn't understand how she could be so viscous to the both of us. Is that what she really thought? Did she think we were being stupid?

As I lay awake next to Mum, my mind often wandered to whether my sister was right. Were we blinded by love, and Dad was deceiving us? But as I rested my hand on the necklace he bought, I couldn't believe that all of this was for nothing.

I had to find the answers, and free my Father, if it was the last thing I did.

It was a great relief to take the floo network back to Hogwarts with Mum, by-passing the six-hour train journey in which I would probably find more ways to overthink. Mum had barely thrown her suitcase down when she told me she had to speak to Remus.

Unsure of where to go, I decided to take my bags back to Hufflepuff and then plan my next move. I'd barely gone down one flight of stairs when I found the oddest combination of people: Elijah and Hermione.

"Hello." I said hesitantly.

"You are a pain." Was Elijah's way of a greeting.

"Thanks?"

"He's had several angry letters from your sister." Hermione explained. She looked quite down, her cardigan buttoned wrong and hair frizzier than usual. "Telling him to stop looking into your Father's possible innocence."

I was so irritated I could have screamed. "I'm sorry, Elijah." I sighed. "This Christmas has been.... Dramatic to say the least."

"Tell me about it," Elijah scoffed as the three of us began walking. "I was looking forward to catching up on my muggle television shows, then Alecto says last minute she has a work trip abroad. What a see-you-next-Tuesday."

Hermione and I exchanged a glance. "What?" he said. "I don't swear in front of respectable girls like yourself."

I smiled, I had missed Elijah. "Well ignore my sister." I told him firmly. "She's been a massive bitch this Christmas. She sent Mum into a near meltdown."

"Oh dear." Hermione stopped next to a window seat. "Tell us all about it."

I explained everything: from Kat and Cassie, to Pettigrew's secret child, the necklaces, and Sasha screaming at my mother twice and effectively moving out. When I was finished, Elijah swore quietly, and Hermione's eyes grew massive.

"So that's that." I fiddled with my two necklaces. "But there's one question I have... I love you both, but I never suspected you were both friends..."

Elijah to my surprise, laughed. "I've always thought Hermione was cool—power to muggle-borns being smarter than us—but your little friends Harry and Ron were some see-you-next-Tuesdays themselves..."

So, Hermione explained how Harry had received a Firebolt broomstick—which was a very good one to my understanding—and he was very excited, even though there wasn't a note. Hermione was instantly worried it could have been jinxed, and told McGonagall.

The broomstick had been taken for tests, and the boys were now furious with Hermione. "I'm not sure if I did the right thing." Hermione said meekly. "But there was no note... What if a follower of You-Know-Who sent it?"

Lightly, I touched the silver constellation. "I know who sent it." I said quietly. "My Father. He didn't want to leave a note, just in case it was traced to him, I'm sure of it. He's trying to make up for the last thirteen years I think." I looked at my friends. "The necklace is fine though—Mum traced it for dark curses before giving them to us."

Hermione looked guilty. "Oh, Lyra—I didn't realise—Oh God—"

I squeezed Hermione's hand. "You did the right thing, Hermione, don't worry. You were looking out for Harry, I know you were. He's just too much of a boy to realise it."

It was with a sinking feeling, I realised that Harry still wasn't talking to me. Elijah seemed to read my mind, because in a way unlike him he patted my head like I was a giant cat.

"I did tell him he was being a twat." He said in a voice that tried to sound gentle, but instead sounded matter-of-fact. "And that you were one of the nicest people ever--I mean you forgave me and got me to grow up." He paused. "And I reminded him that he'd be dead if you hadn't snotted on him in the Chamber of Secrets."

A smile quirked on my lips. "I cried on him, actually."

Elijah waved a hand. "Same thing." He clapped his hands together, a wicked smile growing on his face. "Now—I believe we should get our task force together and prove a man's innocence!"

We got to out feet, and I felt excited at the possibility of truth. "Hermione, do you want to join us?"

She nodded eagerly, and we set off again, Elijah practically skipping towards the library. "He's way too enthusiastic, considering we have little-to-no information about Peter Pettigrew."

I stared after him. "A bit of enthusiasm is all we need."

However, within the next three hours Elijah's enthusiasm wilted. The three of us had hunched over countless ancient Daily Prophets, Hogwarts year books and text books, trying to find something, anything that could give us answers.

"I've got some pretty shit news Lyra." Elijah said grimly, rubbing at his glasses with his shirt. He huffed as he scrubbed at a smudge, his patience waning.

"What?" I put my head on my hand and stared at him. "What? It can't be more shit than anything else."

"We might not be able to find any proper answers until at least the summer holidays." Elijah threw the Hogwarts yearbook of 1978 a bit too aggressively. "I need a muggle library and the internet, God dammit."

My heart deflated. July was a very long way off, and I wasn't sure how much longer Dad could fend off the Ministry and Dementors. "But—but have we got anything to go off?"

"We have a picture of Pettigrew, and that's something." Hermione said firmly. She was waving the copy of Pettigrew's photo to dry it. The determination on her face calmed me. "That's really important."

"Is it?"

"Yeah!" Elijah said, nodding eagerly. "With his picture, we can take this to muggle hospitals and orphanages and see if somebody matching Peter Pettigrew's description was ever there. We'll be a step closer to finding Kat's half-sibling." He glanced at me. "We can also see if Pettigrew was anywhere unusual the day your Father supposedly killed those muggles and him—do door duty and stuff." he sighed dreamily. "This is exactly like being in a crime drama..."

Suddenly a thought hit me so hard, so violently the breath left my lungs. I gripped onto the table so hard I felt a splinter catch under my nail. Hermione grabbed onto my arm.

"What is it? What is it Lyra?"

Lifting my head up, I saw the concern on both of their faces. "Well—I just realised. Helen didn't say exactly how old Kat was when her mother turned up on her doorstep pregnant."

"And?"

"If that baby was born more than nine months after Pettigrew supposedly died—"

"Then Sirius Black could never have killed Pettigrew—and—and framed your Father!" Elijah finished for me, his eyes sparkling with excitement. "He might have been alive this whole time!"

Hermione scrambled on the table for parchment. "This—this is a real lead! We need to ask Kat for her Helen's address—well, if she doesn't mind of course—"

As Hermione and Elijah theorized, I could feel my heart beating frantically in my chest like a bird ready to escape its cage. Finally, finally we were making some progress.

**

That evening, I'd finally convinced Hermione to come to a sleepover at our dormitory. For the last three years, Kat and I both been whining her to come and join us. Hermione had refused saying it was against the rules to go into another common room.

But after hearing all that happened over Christmas, Hermione was willing to break some rules, something we were all thrilled about.

We excitedly told Kat all the research we'd done, and how we were a step closer to finding her half-sibling. "That's good." She nodded. "Really good."

She was laid across Cassie's lap, Cassie lightly braiding her hair. So far there didn't seem much difference with Kat and Cassie being a couple—they just were like two magnets, always connected in one way or another.

"That is so spooky, though---you have a brother or sister out there somewhere, Kat." Cassie said softly, stroking Kat's cheek. Kat leaned into her touch. "Somebody looking like you is walking through Britain somewhere, not knowing they have a big sister."

Kat stiffed up. "What if they're at Hogwarts? Hidden in plain sight."

"Once we have a name, things will be much clearer." Hermione said. She was right at home in our dorm, having the duty of de-fleaing Sooty and eating our Space Invader crisps. "I don't think we should harass second years—oh!"

"Did he have a particularly large flea?" I asked Hermione, not paying a lot of attention. I was packing my school bag, and kept getting distracted, too many thoughts in my head.

"Lyra---" Hermione said in an odd tone. Looking up, I saw that Hermione had a tiny sheet of parchment in her hand, barely the size of a pinky finger. "It was in his collar—"

Rolling across my bed, I took the parchment from her with shaking hands. Written in tiny letters, barely illegible was: Sooty has a very smart owner. Pettigrew is alive.

Running my finger over the words, I looked down at Sooty. He might have a dopey little face and chase his own tail, but somehow—somehow—he'd managed to get a message to my Father. We were on the right track.

I went to sleep that night feeling very peaceful.

**

The next few days I found both Harry and Ron very obviously ignoring me in the corridors. Ron was offended that I'd taken Hermione's side on the broomstick matter, and Harry was obviously embarrassed about losing his temper with me.

Sasha was also avoiding me like the Black Plague, and I was avoiding her too. She had been so unjustly rude to Mum, that I was having a hard time seeing her point of view. I'd yet to tell her about Pettigrew most likely being alive—a bitter part of me wanted her to be the last one to know.

But school carried on. That Thursday I ended up accidentally stumbling across Harry in the corridor after I ducked into the toilet between lessons. We stared at each other, and I stepped to the left to walk around him. He copied me. Huffing, I stood to the right, and he copied me again.

"Sorry." I said, stopping and waiting for him to decide which way to go.

"You don't have anything to be sorry for." Harry said, and I felt a blush creep up my cheeks. He wasn't talking about running into each other, and we both knew it. A similar blush was crawling up his cheeks. "So—um, Remus told me early our first dementor class is at eight tonight—"

"He told me." I said shortly. While I understood Harry's angry outburst, it didn't change that he called me a freak. He had been one of the first people other than my family to treat me normally, and it felt like a kick to the chest every time I saw him.

Sure, I still had the occasional stare from students I didn't see around often, and first years always giggled—but people whispered more because of my Father now.

Harry bit his lip and looked ten times more awkward than usual. "Um—thank you for the trainers."

I glanced down, to see he was wearing the black Nike trainers I'd bought him for Christmas. After his had broken, I'd forked out half of my savings to buy them. Even if he had been horrible to me—I wanted Harry to feel loved.

"No problem." I said and hurried towards History of Magic before Harry could try and awkwardly apologise to me.

That evening I left the dormitory at quarter to eight, which was just as well. Kat and Cassie had made a pillow fort on Kat's bed, and thought they were being subtle by kissing in there. Not that was a problem--I just felt like the biggest third wheel in history. 

When I arrived, Harry and Remus were already there, in deep conversation. As they abruptly stopped as I entered, I had a feeling I was the subject of conversation.

"Lyra!" Remus said a bit too cheerfully. "Good to see you."

I nodded towards a large trunk on the floor. "What's that, Remus?"

"Another boggart your Mother found." He explained as I stood near Harry. "We can't get a real dementor in here."

"Good." Harry shuddered.

"So," Remus took out his wand. "Before we begin, remember that this is a very complex spell, so please don't be dismayed if you can't do it straight away."

"What does a patronus look like?" Harry asked, twirling his wand around absent-mindly

"Each one takes a unique form—it represents the wizard or witch who casts the spell." Remus said, back in teacher-mode. "Mine, for example is a wolf."

I glanced at Harry, but he looked as oblivious as usual. Hermione had figured out Remus was a werewolf she had confessed when I returned from Christmas—she swore not to tell—and I was amused that Harry hadn't figured it out.

"To conjure a patronus, you must think of a very happy memory." Remus said quietly. "Harry—why don't you go first?"

As Harry stood up and approached the trunk, I let my mind wander. A very happy memory... I thought about just after Kat killed the troll, and when the six of us became best friends. The very first time I'd felt part of a group, a family we created...

"We'll have a practice first. The incantation is this --" Remus cleared his throat. "Expecto patronum!"

"Expecto patronum," I repeated under my breath, copying his wand movements as I concentrated on the warmth of the memory. "Expecto Patronum!"

Harry and I both cried our spells, and identical wisps of white, like unformed ghosts appeared out of our wands. I gasped and dropped concentration.

"Did you see that?" said Harry excitedly to me, seeming to forget we weren't speaking properly. "Something happened!"

"You did good..." I trailed off, my throat dry.

"Right, then -- ready to try it on a Dementor?" Remus nodded to Harry, indicating he should go first.

Harry stood in front of the trunk, as Remus slowly lifted the lid off. The dementor rose like the moon, its scabbed hand reaching towards Harry. The candles flickered in the room, and the cloak blew a harsh breeze. I could feel my veins freeze—it was so similar to the real thing—

Harry raised his wand and said the spell, and a tiny wisp appeared from his wand. But the dementor neared closer, and the light snuffed out. Harry wobbled and collapsed onto the floor. I squealed and Remus rushed and slammed the trunk shut.

I knelt at Harry's side. I touched his face—it was very clammy. "Harry—" I dropped my wand and grabbed his face. "Harry—Harry—wake up—"

Slowly, Harry came to. He got up very slowly, leaning on my shoulder. To my surprise, he looked close to tears.

"I'm so sorry, Lyra—I never should have been so angry." His voice was shaking. "I know it's not your fault about your Father betraying my parents—I was a complete and utter—I was a twat."

I laughed and leaned onto his shoulder. Harry's shoulder was damp, and I realised I'd began crying. "I forgive you—just—just don't ever be that horrible again. I want my brother back."

Remus cleared his throat and was there with a bar of chocolate. Harry happily began eating it. "I'm not sure how you both know about the secret keeper charm." He said quietly. "As that would have meant Harry went to Hogsmeade when he shouldn't have."

Harry and I exchanged a guilty look. Remus sighed. "I won't ask questions. But—Lyra—I must tell you something."

"Yes?"

Remus sat on the desk, his shoulders sagging. "In the months leading up to James and Lily's death, Dumbledore believed there was somebody feeding information to Voldemort. Sirius believed it was me."

Harry and I both gasped. "He thought you betrayed them?" my voice was barely above a whisper.

Remus nodded gravely. "For so many years I thought he was projecting his guilt onto me—to protect himself. But—there are strange things going on this year. So many strange things."

"I agree." Harry said quietly. "There are no coincidences in Hogwarts."

The three of us were silent. "Why not we pick this up tomorrow evening?" Remus said gently. "I believe this has been eventful enough."

I couldn't help but agree, my mind whirring with new information. 

-----

A/N So sorry for the gap in updates! Work has been very stressful! :/

I'm probably going to do a bit of a time jump--everything is beginning to come together, and it doesn't make sense to have filler from the book when things are getting interesting!!! 

Also by the time a few of you have read this we would have hit 4,000 reads!! Which would mean we've all managed to get 1,000 reads in a WEEK! I'm so happy and filled with love at how much you all care about this story. 

Look for a new chapter in the next few days!!