The next few days, Ursa is quiet in classes and hiding when she isn't in them. At lunch on Tuesday, three days after the task, the professors talk about it.

"Severus, where is Miss Malfoy?" Dumbledore asks as he notices Ursa isn't at the Slytherin or Gryffindor tables.

"Hiding in my office." Snape replies. "She's been hiding in there when she doesn't have class until I drag her to the common room at curfew. Mr Malfoy and Miss Parkinson have dragged her to breakfast the last three days and making her eat, but that's the only time she does. Dobby can't even get her to eat."

"She just sat on the ground and pet Fang during class yesterday. We were reviewing nifflers and she loves them." Hagrid says. "Didn't say a word, didn't seem happy."

"She just sat by a window and stared out it in my class this morning." McGonagall says. "I tried calling on her but she completely ignored me. What happened? Is this because of what You-Know-Who did to her?"

"No." Dumbledore says. "Her friends have not spoken to her after what happened. I told them what she told me."

"No one has heard more than a few words out of her since Saturday night." Snape says.

The next day, after Potions class, Hermione nervously walks up to Snape, the boys hiding outside the door. "P-Professor?" She asks.

"What Miss Granger?" Snape asks annoyed.

"Do you know where Ursa is hiding?"

"Why?"

"I wanted to talk to her about what happened."

"She's in my office. Come with me." The boys run away from the door and Snape walks towards it. Hermione follows Snape into the hall.

"I-I'm surprised you're..." Hermione trails off.

"Helping you? Only because it will help Ursa." They arrive at his office. "Wait here."

Snape goes inside and Ursa speaks without looking up from the parchment in front of her. "Kicking me out already?"

"Give me your wand." Snape says.

"Why?"

"Ursa..." Snape warns. Ursa rolls her eyes and looks up. She takes her wand out of her robes and hands it to him. "Come in." Hermione walks into the office nervously and cautiously.

"Really? Afraid I am going to hurt her?"

"No, I am making sure you cannot escape this conversation." Snape turns to Hermione. "Your wand too Miss Granger." Hermione quietly hands him her wand. "I will be right outside so do not try running Ursa." Ursa rolls her eyes as he leaves the office. Ursa looks down at the parchment again when the door closes.

"Dumbledore explained to us why you acted like that." Hermione says.

Ursa looks at the jar sitting on the desk. Rita is angrily flying around it, slamming into the walls to try and knock it over. "Knock it off." Ursa snaps. "The jar is stuck to the desk. I am not letting you go yet."

"It can understand you?"

"What do you want?"

"I'm sorry we thought you were faking our friendship."

"Yeah well so am I. I should have never tried to make friends. It never has ended well."

"Ursa..." Hermione sighs. "We know you aren't like your family. That you don't believe the same things despite being raised to. We understand that you were just trying keep yourself safe. We also understand what you said on the hospital wing was just to keep your mum from finding out we're friends. We're sorry for thinking you would do something like that."

"You say 'we' yet you are the only one here."

"You're closer to me than the boys so we thought it would be best if I talked to you first. They're waiting for at least me at the dungeon stairs." Hermione walks over to Ursa and holds out her hand. "Friends?" Ursa hesitates for a second before standing and hugging Hermione. Hermione hugs her back and tears fill Ursa's eyes. They let go of each other and Ursa wipes her tears.

"We made up Severus!" Ursa yells.

Snape comes back in and hands their wands to them. "Good. Now get out." He says.

"Love you too." Ursa replies as she unsticks the jar from the desk.

"Out." The girls leave the office and head towards the Great Hall. They find boys waiting at the top of the dungeon stairs.

"So are we all good now?" Ron asks.

"Yes." Ursa says.

"We're sorry we thought you would fake a friendship." Harry says. "Especially with your history."

"Thanks."

"What's with the jar?"

"Oh right." Ursa holds the jar up. "Everyone, meet how Rita Skeeter gets her information."

"A bug?" Ron questions

"No. This is Rita. She's an unregistered Animagus. I caught her in the hospital wing. Draco has known the whole time. He only told me because we can't let the information she heard about my family get out."

"So that's how she did it!" Hermione exclaims as she takes the jar.

"There was a beetle on the statue the night Hagrid told Madame Maxime about his mum." Harry says.

"Viktor pulled a bug out of my hair after we had our conversation by the lake."

"She was on the window sill the day your scar hurt during Divinations." Ursa says.

"When we saw Malfoy under that tree..." Ron starts.

"Huh?" Ursa questions.

"He was talking to her, in his hand," said Hermione. "He knew, of course. That's how she's been getting all those nice little interviews with the Slytherins. They wouldn't care that she was doing something illegal, no offense Ursa."

"None taken. I know when you say something bad about Slytherins it's usually everyone else."

"Whole new pun on those Muggle bugs, the listening devices I was telling you about." Harry says.

"Haven't decided what I'm going to do with her yet but there is an Unbreakable Charm on the jar so she can't transform."

"You should keep her from writing for a year." Hermione says. "Or we'll tell the Ministry."

"Good idea." Ursa says. "I'll release you at King's Cross." Ursa speaks to Rita as she takes the jar back from Hermione. She looks at the boys. "Thanks for keeping you mouths shut when I was talking to my mother."

"I think we need to talk about Sirius." Harry says.

"Alright."

"Can we tell her at lunch?" Ron says. "I'm hungry."

"Yeah can we?" Ursa says. "I haven't eaten anything but breakfast since that night."

"Of course Wormtail did that." Ursa says after they explain what happened in the Shrieking Shack last year, which takes all of lunch and then some during Charms. "I knew he was the one that betrayed your parents but I didn't know Sirius was innocent."

"Now you do." Harry says. "How much do you know about the war?"

"Way more than I'd like to." Ursa looks around carefully before whispering. "So I have an extremely loyal Death Eater aunt in Azkaban, a first cousin that was framed for murder and being a Death Eater and escaped, another first cousin that was a Death Eater and died, and my father is a Death Eater. Geez my family is messed up."

"Did you know your dad was a Death Eater?" Hermione asks.

"Oh yeah. I knew he wasn't under the Imperius Curse. So did Crouch which is part of the reason why he tried to challenge me to fight it during the first class. How you think my parents know Severus? My father was a sixth year and my mother was a fifth year when Severus started. They introduced him to the world of blood supremacy."

"My dad knew he wasn't under the Imperius Curse but no one would listen." Ron says.

"They didn't even use Vertiaserum on him. They didn't believe a man with two very young children would risk it. Especially one who had been trying for children for like five years. I had just turned two almost two months before he fell. Draco had turned one almost 3 months prior."

Harry furrows his brow in thought. "Wait how close are Draco and you in age?" He asks.

"11 months." Ursa answers. "That's why we're in the same year. I was born at the beginning of September of '79 and Draco was born at the beginning of August of '80."

"I wondered how you were in the same year even though you weren't twins." Ron says. "You were both 11 when school started."

"Yes. And we might as well be twins. My mother said people used to ask if we were twins."

"I keep meaning to ask," Harry says. "How did you know something was up with Professor Moody?"

"I had been suspecting something was wrong since the first day but what confirmed it was when he mentioned the graveyard and said 'The Dark Lord.'"

"Why does that mean anything?" Hermione says.

"Be quiet back there." Flitwick says.

"Later." Ursa mouths.

They don't speak again until after dinner at Hagrid's for tea. "Alright explain now Ursa." Hermione says.

"Crouch mentioning the graveyard and saying 'the Dark Lord' confirmed my suspicion that it wasn't Moody because Harry hadn't mentioned a graveyard." Ursa says. "Only the Dark Lord's followers and their children call him 'the Dark Lord.' Which is why I do."

"Your dad." Ron says.

"My parents have never called him anything but 'the Dark Lord.' My guardian called him that too."

"Do you think we'll ever have a quiet year at Hogwarts?" Ron asks.

"If what I've heard about your first three years is true. No."

"Everything's going to change now isn't it?" Hermione asks.

"Yes." Harry says.

"I don't want things to change between us." Ursa says. "I'm not like my family."

"We know Ursa." Hermione says.

"If you want to write to me this summer, we'll need to use code names. Other Slytherin students. In case my parents see them. Also you cannot acknowledge me if you see me in Diagon Alley or elsewhere in public. Especially if my parents are with me. I'll have to be mean and call you names."

AN: This is the end of GoF. There will be delay in posting OotP as I want to get the videos on Tiktok caught up first. I'll be sure to let you know when I do post it