Discovery

40.

Long after Fred left, I stayed in the tapestry room. I studied every last person on that family tree, looking for another familiar name.

There was only one that stuck out: Iola Black. Iola happened to be Miranda's middle name, and by now I knew it was not a coincidence.

"Knock knock," a voice said, and the door creaked open.

My mother stood in the doorway, looking tired as always.

"Mum!" I exclaimed, rushing to hug her. "Is this where you've been going to every evening?"

"Ah, well aren't you observant?" she laughed. "Yes, Ella, I'm a member of the Order of the Phoenix."

"What is the Order of the Phoenix?" I said curiously. "Dumbledore didn't really explain it that well."

"I don't really know if I ought to tell you..." Mum trailed off.

"Please!" I begged. "I won't tell anyone!"

"Oh, fine!" she sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "The Order of the Phoenix was formed by Dumbledore back when You-Know-Who first rose to power."

"So, you're the anti-Death Eaters?"

"Pretty much," Mum chuckled. "Why don't we go into the kitchen? I'm sure Molly wouldn't mind some help with lunch."

"Sure, but I actually have another question," I said warily. "Is there a reason I have the same name as one of Sirius's great-great relatives?"

My mother seemed to stiffen.

"Let's not discuss this now," she said, heading out the door. "I'll be in the kitchen if you need me."

"But—!" I objected, but the door creaked shut.

***

I climbed the stairs up to my room. As I wandered down the hallway, I heard a strange mumbling sound.

"Blood traitors...mudbloods...not welcome in my Mistress's house..."

I walked faster, not wanting to come in contact with whoever was muttering those hateful things. However, I barely rounded the corner before slamming into something.

"Oh— sorry—!" I exclaimed, looking up to see Sirius staring down at me.

He chuckled, placing a hand on my shoulder to steady me.

"It's alright, Ella," he said reassuringly. "It's good to see you again."

"Yeah, you too." I replied. "Thank you for the earrings, by the way."

"Your mother picked them out, actually, but I'll take the credit if you want me to." Sirius winked.

"It was a great present, regardless of who picked it out." I said thankfully.

"Happy birthday, by the way," he said. "I have something for you— if you'll follow me."

He started up another flight of stairs, and I followed closely behind.

When we got up to the fourth floor, Sirius opened up a door and stepped inside.

"You can come in," he said, searching in a drawer. "This is my old bedroom. Haven't done much with it since I ran away."

There were a few moments of silence before Sirius held a book out to me.

"Here you go. This was mine, so take good care of it, will you?"

"Of course," I said, taking the book from him carefully.

The cover was bare; no words, pictures, or names. The spine was falling apart, and some pages seemed to be coming out. The first page was titled,