Padfoot's Princess

Haunted

Sierra Marlene Black stepped out of the Disillusionment Charm that Dumbledore had placed on her ever since they had Apparated to the Dursleys, and for the first time, locked eyes with her god-brother. For the last hour, she had been hidden by a mist that camouflaged in with the impeccably clean kitchen, feeling as if she would like to be invisible forever. Sierra had been silently listening in on Harry's and Dumbledore's conversation, and by the tone of his voice, she could deduce that her god-brother was kind but had gone through a lot...too much, it seemed, for someone his age.

"Hey," she said quietly, her blue orbs never wavering from his startling green gaze. "I think Dumbledore told you already, right? That I'm your god-sister."

That last part was stupid. Sierra knew that Dumbledore had told him, but she was grasping at straws, looking for any icebreaker that could penetrate the impossibly thick tension that had suddenly arisen.

"Yeah," said Harry quietly. "Sirius never told me. I never knew that he had a daughter."

"Of course you wouldn't know," said Dumbledore heavily, and both jumped. It was as if they had almost forgotten that the Headmaster was still here, listening in. "No one did. In fact, I wasn't aware Sirius had a child until after he had passed. Last week, when I was at the Blacks' residence looking for Sirius's will, I discovered a letter written by Marlene McKinnon to him, hidden underneath a pile of rubbish. I don't think Sirius ever received the letter, which stated that if she was to die, their daughter was to be sent to St. Thomas's Orphanage in Cambridge. She didn't expect your father to ever make it out of Azkaban again...after he broke out the first time."

"But I don't understand," said Sierra quickly, "Why didn't my father visit me after he got out?"

"I have some theories," said Dumbledore, "the most likely being that he never knew that your mother was pregnant in the first place. You see, you were born nine months after Sirius was sent back to Azkaban for another six years...so you must have been conceived in the first two months. As you know, your mother died very soon after you were born...the Muggles listed her reason of death as uncertain, because there were no visible marks. But I knew she had been killed instantly, by the Avada curse, and after that you were immediately sent to an orphanage. Therefore, it is very plausible that Sirius never knew that he even had a daughter."

There was stunned silence in the air. Sierra was horrified and her god-brother was twisting fabric between his hands in an effort to remain calm.

"I miss him," said Harry unexpectedly, and looked directly at Sierra. "Your father was an amazing man. He was everything I could wish in a god-father and more--funny, brave, a bit mischievous...I wish you were here to meet him, I really do."

And suddenly, Harry felt very choked up. She's the closest thing I've got to Sirius, he thought, and although he barely even knew his god-sister, he felt an overwhelming urge to keep her safe.

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Hey guys! This is my very first fanfiction, and I would really appreciate it if anyone could leave comments and possible feedback--it would mean the world to me! Also, you could leave suggestions on how you want this story to progress. Thank you so so so much for taking the time to read this story! I love you all!