Lauren A. Black (my Harry Potter oc)

He may be my father, but he will never be my dad.(age 16)

It had been weeks since the Battle of Hogwarts and life was slowly returning to normal. The Order of the Phoenix had been disbanded until they were needed again. Kingsley Shacklebolt had become the Minister of Magic, which Lauren loved because she could tell everyone in a mock Draco Malfoy voice "The Minister will hear about this." Minerva Mcgonagall had become the new Headmistress of Hogwarts, which would be reopened as soon as it was repaired to the relief of Hermione. Harry Potter, now more famous then ever, had officially moved into Sirius's house, par Lauren and Sirius's request, and that he had nowhere else to go. Hermione Granger was also staying in the house, but only temporarily. When things finally died down, she and Ron were going to Australia to hunt for her parents. Relationships sprung up all over the place, giving Rita Skeeter plenty to gossip on. Harry and Ginny, Ron and Hermione, Neville and Luna, and Lauren and Colin had all announced their relationships, now that there wasn't anything to be afraid of. Well, in Colin's opinion, there was still plenty of things to be afraid of, such as Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, Harry Potter, Kingsley Shacklebolt, and all the male Weasleys'. They weren't too happy with the idea of Lauren having a boyfriend, but she made the daily death threats worth it. Yes, life was good, and for the first time, it seemed like it would stay that way. But something still bugged Lauren. She knew she had to tell her friends something, but she dreaded it. But she was a Gryffindor, and it had to be done. 

"You know how Ginny and I secretly got married last month?" Harry asked casually. 

"Yea. What about it?" Lauren questioned. 

"Well, apparently we're getting a divorce." he replied. 

"Really." she responded. "Which one of you is snogging Neville?"

 "Neither. It's because I'm having an affair with Draco Malfoy." he said calmly. Sirius burst out laughing. Hermione shook her head. 

"Now she's just being ridiculous." she declared. Lauren grinned. Their daily mocking of Rita Skeeter's articles was always fun. 

"Maybe we should put her in another jar." she suggested. 

"Oh I think we could do better than that." Hermione insisted. 

"Like getting her to interview Lauren again?" Harry asked. 

"Ah, yes. That was fun." Lauren said, recalling the article that had followed that interview. 

"Yes, cause it's so much fun to have the entire Wizarding world assume you're a slut." Harry said sarcastically. 

"I still have the article pinned on the wall!" Sirius said with a laugh. Harry face-palmed as the girls laughed. 

As with most days, Harry, Lauren, and Hermione ended up at the Burrow by noon. George, Ron, and Ginny joined them by a stream as they sat and talked. Harry and Ginny leaned against each other by a tree as Ron and Hermione wadded in the stream. 

"It's kind of nice, isn't it?" Hermione wondered out loud. "That everything's slowly going back to normal." 

"I don't think anything's ever going to be back the way it was." George said ruefully. They all knew he was still grieving over Fred, but it helped that the twins could still talk to one another through George's missing ear. 

"But at least we can move on and live out our lives," Harry replied. "No more fear. No more secrets...Right? We got everything out in the open?" 

"Just about." Ginny responded. 

"Well, if there's no more secrets, then I want an answer to something." Ron proclaimed. He turned and looked at Lauren expectantly. 

"Don't even bother asking because I know what you're going to say." she said. 

"Well?" he responded. She paused for a moment, glancing at all of them. Her eyes lingered on Harry. 

"Peter Pettigrew." she said suddenly. Ron's eyes widened, but the others frowned in confusion. 

"What about him?" George asked. Lauren took a deep breath before answering. 

"That's my father."

Harry held back a gasp. Wormtail was Lauren's father? The man who had betrayed her parents was the father of someone he considered to be his sister? He wanted to scream, but instead his mouth just hung open in shock. 

"But I want to make something clear." Lauren continued after the news had sunk in. "That revolting traitor is unfortunately my biological father, but that's all. I still hate him as much as the rest of you do. It doesn't change anything. I'm still me. I just....I'm glad I finally got it out there because it's something you should know." 

"You're right," Hermione agreed. "It doesn't change anything. And it doesn't matter. Wormtail is dead anyways." Ginny, George, and Ron nodded in agreement, but Lauren was still unsure. Harry got to his feet and walked over to her. 

"Up for a walk?" he asked. She nodded.

A little while later...

"He didn't just betray your parents." Lauren said. "He betrayed my mother too." Harry hesitated before responding. 

"I know......Lauren. I know I shouldn't ask this, but I feel like I need to know to get everything out, you know?" She nodded and he continued. "How - how did your mother die?" Lauren stopped walking. They were on a small hill, still in view of the Burrow, but they'd walked a long way. She paused for a moment, and decided to tell him the story.  

"Everyone assumes that I don't remember what happened, but I do. It scarred me." she began. "On Halloween night, as Voldemort went to kill you, Peter made his way to Grimmauld place, where my mother and I were staying with Sirius. He climbed in through the window, and the noise woke my mother and I up. She stumbled out of bed in shock and stared at him. He opened his mouth to say something, but then he saw the crib I was in. She followed his gaze, and rushed to stand in front of the crib, ready to protect me. He stared at me, and his face contorted into a mixture of anger, hurt, and jealousy. I sometimes wonder what would've happened if it hadn't been dark. If he could've seen my blonde hair the exact shade of his own. But he didn't. Peter had a short temper and he was mad. He turned his wand on my mother and she started to cry. 

"Peter," she whispered. "It's not what you think. Please." But he didn't listen and he crucio-ed her. She screamed and so did I as she collapsed to the floor in front of me. He walked over, ignoring my cries and muttered another spell. I didn't know what it was for years - not until your fight with Draco in the boy's bathroom. She shook in pain and screamed again. Then, we heard the footsteps approaching. He ran back towards the window, and climbed out just as Sirius entered the room. He took one look at my mother and dropped his wand. He rushed over to her as tears appeared in his eyes. He scrambled for his wand, but it was too late to heal her, and we all knew it. I fell silent with tears staining my face as Sirius held her close. 

"Kill him." she said softly, her voice strained. Her eyes flicked over to me and tears appeared in her eyes. "Take care of her. Please." All Sirius could do was nod. She died soon after. Sirius managed to hold himself together, and he was faced with a choice. Go after Peter and kill him, or stay with me. There was barely any hesitation. He turned around, my mother's blood staining his clothes, and he picked me up out of the crib. He took me out of the room and shut the door, wiping the tears from my face. 

"It's going to be alright, Lauren" he said in a shaky voice, as if he didn't even believe himself. "I'm gonna take good care of you, and we're going to be just fine." From that day on, I was known as Lauren Black. And if anyone asks, my biological father my be Peter Pettigrew, but my dad is Sirius Black."

"Wow." Harry said softly. "Lauren....I'm so sorry." 

"It's alright," she promised, smiling at him. "Race you back to the house?" 

"You're on!" They took off, laughing as they ran through the tall grass all the way back to the Burrow.